Microstatistics

****1/4 20. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WWE, 4/6/2014) A pretty special match since it tackles the implicit size bias prevalent in the WWE as well as the general perception of what a champion should look like. Injured people's hero Bryan attempts to overcome the odds against the clinical corporate man HHH. 19. The Revival vs. #DIY (WWE, 11/19/2016) Great mix of the old school tag formula(s) and modern offense with some additional twists and turns thrown in. Includes some really creative and smart spots. 18. Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 8/13/2016) A competitive and hard fought bomb-fest with great knee selling and heel vs. heel vibes. 17. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW, 8/1/2014) Heel vs. heel but with an interesting caveat as Suzuki's brutality turns Styles sympathetic. Neat arm psychology and drama. 16. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (WWE, 8/17/2014) Best squash ever. Lesnar is an absolute monster and Cena plays the overwhelmed ace role well. 15. Io Shirai vs. Shayna Baszler (Stardom, 2/23/2017) Excellent ace vs. invading shooter match. Really good contrast of styles and back vs. arm psychology. ****3/8 14. Black Terry vs. Barbaro Cavernario (Cara Lucha, 6/11/2016) Great mixture of elegant matwork and disturbing brawling in a clash between a tough as nails veteran and in his prime phantom. 13. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (WWE, 4/29/2012) A completely unique match considering the usual style of the promotion. The cocky MMA versed fighter returns to WWE and simply mauls the superhero ace like never seen before. Excellent pacing and fantastic arm selling and fire from Cena. The finish is controversial but narrative wise, it works wonderfully. 12. Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi (NJPW, 2/3/2019) This is slow and long but actually manages to hit the epic mark so many NJPW main events this decade have strived yet failed to reach. The focus on character and psychology with clever incorporation of huge bombs and consistent selling is probably the recipe for success. 11. Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano (NOAH, 11/3/2016) A super compact and intelligent underdog tale. This decade needed more matches like this. ****1/2 10. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker (WWE, 8/23/2015) Another Lesnar classic. A violent and dramatic big match spectacle with multiple all time great visuals. 9. The Shield vs. Daniel Bryan/Kane/Ryback (WWE, 12/16/2012) The best 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts' story I've ever seen in wrestling. Creative and violent. 8. William Regal vs. Kassius Ohno (WWE, 3/21/2013) An aggressive master vs. disciple match with high end body part psychology. A Regal clinic. 7. Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom, 12/22/2016) The best women's match this decade. Arrogant ace vs. fiery underdog challenger with huge bombs, limb psychology and drama. 6. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 8/12/2017) Great payoff to a year of good matches where the top challenger ruthlessly exploits a weakness of the ace to finally come out on top. 5. El Hijo del Santo/Villano IV vs. Angel Blanco Jr./El Hijo del Solitario (TXT, 2/25/2012) Classic, old school minimalist lucha brawl with a ton of blood and a great fighting veterans vs. bloodthirsty youngsters story. ****5/8 4. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (WWE, 3/28/2010) Tremendous combination of action, psychology and storytelling. HBK's hubris and desperation attempt to overcome Taker's toughness, leading to a finish that might be the best of its kind. 3. Rey Hechicero vs. Charles Lucero (Monterrey, 8/4/2013) Terrific title bout based around age and style differentials. Slick matwork and a highly dramatic 3rd fall. 2. Daisuke Ikeda/Takahiro Oba vs. Makoto Hashi/Kengo Mashimo (Futen, 10/24/2010) Great mix of insane violence, comedy, matwork and struggle. Scenes of Ikeda, the experienced warrior, refusing to go down without a grueling fight are genuinely epic. ****3/4 1. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WWE, 3/29/2015) A match that had everything working against it and almost seemed destined to fail but ended up being one of the greatest heavyweight clashes of all time. Epic character work, selling, violence, stiffness, a compact layout and a great upcoming ace vs. invincible champion story. Even the silly finish works on some level. General thoughts: Quality of wrestling was not as good as it was in the 2000s. WWE and some more obscure cards generally delivered the hits. The top 10 are all time classics though so it's not all bad.

Changed my 80s and 00s picks

Great post. WrestleMania 31 should have had the Summerslam 2019 ending. If the backlash continued, a heel turn would likely have remedied the situation and solidified Roman as the top guy.

Wrestler of the Decade: Black Terry Lesnar has him beat when it comes to peak and some others might have him beat when it comes to volume. But for consistency across all matches types and diversity of roles, Terry was #1. Promotion of the Decade: WWE There was quite a good amount of lucha this decade but it was distributed over multiple promotions. I liked NJPW as well but the big matches were generally underwhelming. For variety, general quality and true high end stuff, WWE (including NXT and FCW) was the most impressive. Feud of the Decade: AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW 2014-2015) They only had three matches but each was great and progressively built off the previous one.

It worked for Brock vs. Cena ER12. Otherwise, I strongly agree. I don't think Mauro is bad (or good for that matter) but why is he constantly yelling?

I'm not Seth fan but he is right in this case. Meltzer did a terrible job reporting the incident. Whether it was just a mechanical issue or something more, he was deceptively vague and exaggerated the gravity of the situation. It was essentially fearmongering.

So did they really have Cain job to Brock to setup Brock vs. Rey? I mean, don't get me wrong, that's an awesome matchup but the booking seems backwards.

I feel people are dismissing Cain based on almost nothing.

I think this description fits reddit's scjerk better. They are a shitpost subreddit that makes fun of the hivemind discussions of square circle (e.g. non-stop pro-AEW threads). A lot of it is accurate and funny but they go overboard and dismiss any legitimate criticism against WWE while mocking AEW constantly.

The lack of transitions hurts this badly as they just move from one spot to another way too easily and do it too frequently. Also the finish is too sudden and doesn't really fit the buildup. Otherwise, I can't fault the violence, aggression and creativity. All in all, a well done spotfest. ***1/4

This place is starting to sound like reddit's squaredcircle. WWE bad, AEW good

Based on that main event, if kayfabe rules applied, the Fiend should squash Brock Lesnar in 5 seconds flat. Not exactly the ideal finish but they did make him look indestructible in a way.

This is well said and I agree with the points made (though I'd change some great to many great). I guess I've become the resident Shawn Michaels defender but I'll say this is hardly his fault. I'm sure the wrestlers who idolized and modelled themselves after him don't remember him almost ripping Randy Orton's head off with a cravat or desperately punching Mr. Kennedy in the knee. He was able to balance that "I'm here to steal the show and entertain" mindset (which I admittedly hate) with a gritty, aggressive, urgent style in his post-comeback so the whole thing worked well usually. Others focus only on the former. Same case with Kobashi, not his fault others built their style around his worst aspects (endless chops, fighting sprit and no selling) rather than the things that arguably make him the GOAT.

No Graves or Young and commentary is magically a lot better. Brock vs. Rey in 2019 is interesting. Their 2003 match is awesome and they probably would have knocked it out of the park in 2014/2015. Should be good though.

Easily the best of the modern New Japan crowd. Most great matches, works well as heel or face, most consistent seller, easily the most charismatic. Can do minimalist character stuff but also work effective bombfests. Not perfect and can be inconsistent but the positives easily outweigh the flaws.