EnviousStupid

The conclusion to both teams' rivalry over the years, as well as the first of their matches - whether singles or tag - to have a decisive finish. Terry puts on an all-time great babyface performance, getting pummeled and maimed far worse than their 1977 outing, which makes for some incredibly cathartic payoffs. Dory also takes a good beating of his own, and the heels put every dirty trick to work before one costs them the win. Easily a classic from All Japan and still one of the best Tag League finals that there's ever been. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY5wtCuzOg4

I consider this to be the most ambitious Pure Rules match to have ever happened. Maybe not the best (depending on whether we consider Bryan/Nigel at Unified worked under Pure Rules), but one that utilizes the stipulation better than everything that came before it, while still maintaining a classic David vs Goliath story at the heart of it all. Draper stands at over a foot taller and has the clear size advantage. Despite the gap in experience, Gresham isn't able to take him down early and work from above. His best shot is to keep the action constantly moving and create whatever few opportunities may arise against the big man. To clarify, he's doing the "theory of perpetual motion" shtick that was brought up in the old Fair for Flair psychology episode, just far more accurately than Nature Boy ever did. Unfortunately for Gresham, that means getting beaten down by a larger, stronger man and quickly feeling the effects. There's a slight variation to the Bearhug that Draper applies here compared to prior matches: rather than swinging them around in the air, here the hold is regularly brought down to the mat, grinding Gresham down with a greater sense of urgency than ever before. It leads to Draper draining all of Gresham's rope breaks early, with the challenger having not wasted a single one of his own. I appreciate the level of commitment these two put into making Draper look so dominant. No one would've thought Draper were the favourite to beat Gresham, but now he stands with an overwhelming advantage for the rest of the match that organically brings into question whether Gresham can overcome the obstacle in front of him. However, Gresham had been slowly chipping away at the legs of Draper ever since they first locked up and that work starts to pay off. It becomes a target that Gresham hones in on and can take the big man off his feet, but more importantly, it slows Draper down when trying to take back control. Initially, Gresham was the one taking the brunt of the offense. Now it's around 50/50, with signs of Draper on the defensive as the champion is cutting him down to size. What's lost by working a slower pace is made up for in aggression from the champ, finally making a breakthrough that forces Draper to use his rope breaks. It's around this point in the match where the specific rules of the stipulation become a thing of beauty to watch unfold. At the cost of a warning, Draper uses a closed-fist punch to regain momentum - the same punch that has cost Gresham title matches as recently as that same year. It's treated as a potential knockout blow, with Gresham lying motionless as the referee reaches a count of 8. Just before he can count to 10, Gresham manages to roll his body underneath the ropes and, according to the rules, renders him as outside of the ring, forcing the referee to start a new count. This is something I have never seen happen before in any match and absolutely warrants the look of disbelief from Draper, who clearly would've been declared the new Pure champion then and there. Draper follows up with some big power moves and reversal pins that only amount to near falls. Draper tries for a submission, but his leg gives out and in turn, gives Gresham the biggest opportunity of the match. He hits a Suicide Dive and doesn't let go, transitioning into a Sleeper Hold on the outside nearly 20 minutes in as the referee starts the count. Commentary points out that in the event of a double count out, Gresham would retain his championship. Draper can't shake him off his back, and once he manages to climb back into the ring, he's already run out of rope breaks and reluctantly taps out. It's one of the best matches of the year. Maybe even THE best match of 2021, and almost certainly the best one that didn't really gain traction after it happened. It was worked in front of no crowd, yet that never hindered just how engaging the storytelling was. I would consider it in the same vein as a Flair-Luger '88 or Hart-Diesel '95 in that while it's not a carry job, it's just about the best possible match you could expect from the better wrestler leading the way. He played specifically towards Draper's strengths, made him out to be an insurmountable figure, before barely scraping away with a victory.

This is from the first round of the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament (and for my money, the best match of the tournament). A great showcase between wrestlers from different generations; with Dustin barely keeping up against one of the best wrestlers in the world. You can see it from the feeling out segments, coming away always a step or two behind Bryan and the gap between them only continues to widen. Even Bryan just casually walking through his work on top leaves a mark on the old timer who can't just shake off the damage. Dustin has to pick his spots carefully if he hopes to have a chance at beating Bryan, but at the end of the day, he can't capitalize on those chances when it counts. It's the kind of story that best works in a form like pro wrestling, where the journey is palpable through every action and reaction. Moreover, there aren't many who're more adept at pulling it off than Bryan and Dustin here.

This is a Flair-Sting match worked better than any Flair-Sting match I've ever seen. Bianca gets a ton of shine to impress through her feats of strength and athleticism. Meanwhile Sasha sticks to her role as the heel, gradually showing more aggression and desperation to keep the challenger grounded. She even resorts to using Bianca's own hair against her numerous times and it leads to a wonderful payoff that everyone in the crowd would've heard. One of the brightest moments of WWE programming all year.

One of the most fundamentally sound matches in recent memory. It's also one of the best matches to feature a Young Lion, playing up both the standard maneuvers a Young Lion is often restricted to, along with the difference in experience between both wrestlers. Most of the match is spent emphasizing these moves: Headlocks, Headscissors, Bearhugs, etc. Each of them is worked with a sense of struggle and intensity, always building to a necessary reversal. Just when it seems as though Coughlin may be on Gresham's level, they repeat the first sequence of a Headlock Takeover-Headscissors and this time, Gresham swiftly counters for the victory. Good match on its own, that's only further elevated with the context of its stipulation.

This is probably the first year since 1985 where I don't think anyone from AJPW is a real standout #1 contender for the year. WCW had managed to put out a great product nearly all year with the likes of Sting and Vader having strong cases of their own. Jushin Liger was generally outstanding both in New Japan and WCW whenever used. But for me, I think Bull Nakano stands out the most. This was her last year as ace of AJW, being part of great rivalries against the likes of Akira Hokuto and Aja Kong, the latter having dominated the whole company for the last few years and finally culminating with Bull dropping the WWWA world title to her. She had been one of the most badass figures in all of wrestling, and with her first pinfall loss since 1989, helped cement someone new as the undisputed ace.