Top 10 Matches Of The Year – WrestleTalk Awards

2020 has been an incredibly crazy year due to COVID. However, unlikely pretty much every other aspect of life else wrestling has somehow been able to continue, with neither WWE nor AEW missing a single show as a result of the pandemic this year.

As we approach the end 0f 2020 and head into 2021, WrestleTalk has decided to draw up a list of the ten best wrestling matches of the year, with bouts from main roster WWE, AEW, NJPW & NXT featured.

The opinions aren’t just my own (so please don’t blame me), with votes being cast by every single member of the WrestleTalk team, as well as some of the fantastic content creators and journalists that we have had the pleasure of working with in 2020.

What are your thoughts on this list and do you think we’ve missed anyone one? Let us know in the comments on Twitter or Facebook.

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10. Finn Balor (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly – NXT Championship – NXT TakeOver 31

Voted as the tenth best match in 2020 is the brutal NXT Championship match at TakeOver WarGames between Finn Balor and Undisputed ERA member Kyle O’Reilly.

The build to the match was superb, with Kyle transitioning away from being solely a tag team wrestling, albeit a fantastic one, to becoming half of one of the best NXT feuds of the year.

The action in the ring was superb, with Finn and Kyle actually both picking up injuries coming out of the bout, with Finn still not having wrestled a match following this TakeOver main event.

NXT probably wasn’t as good in 2020 as it has been in previous years, but this match between Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly undoubtedly deserves its spot as one of the best matches of the year.

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9. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kota Ibushi – IWGP Heavyweight Championship – Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day One

Wrestle Kingdom is New Japan Pro Wrestling’s answer to WrestleMania and in terms of match quality, it is often the best show of the year. The best match of the show this year was the main event of night one, Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi.

Okada is the ultimate champion in pro wrestling. Arguably the best worker in the world, Okada was set to defend his title against the “Golden Star” Kota Ibushi. Ibushi had been in the shadow of former partner Kenny Omega for years with Omega reaching the main event success he never could in New Japan.

Wrestle Kingdom 14 was Ibushi’s chance to finally reach the mountaintop of pro wrestling and become IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Unfortunately for him, there is a reason Okada has been largely unbeatable since 2016.

Their match was incredibly dynamic with Ibushi losing control of his temper and allowing his dark side to emerge. The problem with Ibushi has always been when he loses control he loses focus. Such was the case here as Okada was able to weather the onslaught from his opponent and retain the title in a truly classic match.

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