Ricky Jackson Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 The decade is almost over and it's really been an interesting, exciting, and transformative one for pro wrestling. There have been really high highs and some pretty low lows. Personally, at the start of the decade I was pretty uninterested in modern wrestling and I think the overall state of the business was at a low point. It seemed like it was all WWE and not much else, at least what was garnering buzz and perceived as being healthy. Slowly things began to change, with the rise of New Japan being the first spark. By mid-decade I was getting back into modern stuff, with my gateway drug being the women in NXT. As the decade ends, I'm probably more interested in new wrestling than I have been since around 2005-06, although still a serious old school fan deep down. I think that creative, variety and quality wise wrestling is much better in 2019 than in 2010, even if overall mainstream popularity may be lower than it has been since maybe the mid-90s. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to discuss the best of the 2010s. Best matches, best wrestlers, best shows, best promotion, etc. We can talk about the biggest moments, breakout stars, best developments, whatever. I'd like to see what consensus comes from this board, made up of some of the hardest of the hardcores I'll start the ball rolling with a few off the top of my head... Best match: I'm far, far from being an expert on 2010s wrestling and one who has seen all the most hyped matches. Of the ones I did see, I think Sasha Banks vs Bayley from Takeover Brooklyn 2015 stands out the most. It was the culmination of a title chase, a great match, felt huge at the time in front of a large, hot crowd, and is historically important Best show: NXT Takeover Philadelphia 2018 At the peak of my NXT fandom and one of the peaks of the decade when coupled with a really good Royal Rumble show the next day in the same building. Loved the main event, one of my favorite matches of the decade. Undercard was solid, with Black vs Cole probably being the standout Best wrestler: It feels like this should go to one of the women, with their great advancement being one of the best stories of the decade, but as I think about it, I dont think any one really stands head and shoulders above the crowd. Daniel Bryan was hugely important and consistently awesome, but he missed a good chunk of the decade to injury. Again, I'm far from an expert, but I feel like Kazuchika Okada is probably the pick, combining matches, star power, consistency and the remarkable story of going from TNA joke to history changing megastar over the course of the decade These are just my knee jerk, emotional, and only partially informed picks. Let's hear what PWO has to say! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 The two best matches I have seen this decade, and ever, pretty much : Omega vs Naito, G1 Climax Final 2017 and Omega vs Okada 2/3 falls from Dominion 2018. Okada is pretty easily the wrestler of the decade. Most important promotion, to me : Lucha Underground. It got me back into the groove of modern pro-wrestling after pretty much 12 years of not caring anymore, opened my mind to look toward the future instead of the past. Best development : the creation of AEW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactus Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 From the creation of NXT, NJPW's resurgence and WWE's Saudi deal creating some of the most batshit insane 'dream matches', so much has changed since the start of the decade. Okada would be the easy choice for wrestler of the decade, so I won't pick him. I think you can make a case for Brock Lesnar. Since his 2012 return, he's had some classics with Cena, Styles, Reigns and Bryan and he's arguably one of WWE's only big money draws. Going from a good TNA X-Division wrestler to one of the all time greats in the space of a decade, AJ Styles is another candidate worth discussing. Best event is tricky, although it would probably go to a NXT Takeover. Near enough all of them are great and there's never really any stinkers on those shows. Either Cena vs Brock at Extreme Rules 2012 or Okada vs Shibata takes my MOTD. A lot of the big NJPW main events don't hold up on rewatches, as I found out when I tried to watch the first Okada/Omega match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeg Posted November 29, 2019 Report Share Posted November 29, 2019 To me the best matches of the decade were Okada vs Shibata, AJ Styles vs MiSu, Canis Lupus vs Trauma 1 mask vs mask, Tyler Bate vs Walter, Cena vs Punk MITB, Gargano vs Almas, Gargano vs Ciampa 1, and Dustin vs Cody. Wrestler of the Decade would probably be AJ Styles, Okada, Daniel Bryan or LA Park for me. Feud of the decade I'd give to LA Park vs Dr Wagner Jr, LA Park vs Rush, or Gargano vs Ciampa. All of those feuds were super heated, yet none of them had a satisfying conclusion unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenese Sarwieh Posted November 30, 2019 Report Share Posted November 30, 2019 Like stated above Okada is a layup for wrestler of the decade (and rightfully deserved) but I'm going with Tetsuya Naito. From 2013 til now has been the story of his quest to win the IWGP title at the Tokyo Dome. From making promises in Osaka, fans voting on the main event, having a stint in CMLL, to forming LIJ it always comes back with him trying to get that belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeg Posted November 30, 2019 Report Share Posted November 30, 2019 I'd agree that Naito's 5 year long title chase has been one of the best things in wrestling this decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted December 1, 2019 Report Share Posted December 1, 2019 Match of the Decade: Okada vs. Shibata (Sakura Genesis)-Understandable if folks don't consider this match due to Shibata's injury, but as a whole the match is still a masterpiece. Not just with the stiffness and intensity of Shibata's assault, but the character work of Okada as the cocky, hotshot ace who tries to beat Shibata at his own game. Wrestler of the Decade: Hiroshi Tanahashi-Arguably the most consistent big match wrestler of the decade. Even if his body is broken down, you can still count on Tana to deliver the goods in a main event match. While Okada can be more attributed to New Japan's rise as a global promotion, his rivalry with Tanahashi was a huge part of that. Feud of the Decade: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada-As stated above, this feud and the acclaim it received was a huge part of New Japan's upswing in the 2010's (especially in regards to its popularity in the U.S). And while the matches are great (the lowest I've gone is 4 on the WK 7 match), the story is one of the best in recent memory. Tanahashi was the established hero of the promotion having his claim to the throne challenged by this guy who was first seen as a joke but quickly revealed to be a wrestling prodigy. Okada's over-confidence would get in the way of his natural talent however, with the Rainmaker unable to defeat Tanahashi at the Dome. While he should have probably gone over at WK 9, Okada's triumph at WK 10 is what truly established him as a reliable draw and ace for New Japan (the maintaining of wrist control is one of my favorite visuals ever). Tanahashi would continue to nip at his heels, but Okada has been nearly untouchable since. Best Development: All In and the creation of AEW. With the fall of TNA on cable television and WWE's over-farming of the indies, AEW has been a real game-changer for wrestling in the U.S. Best TV Show: Season 1 of Lucha Underground. A bit of a sentimental pick as LU brought back the spark of my wrestling fandom after countless disappointments and frustrations with WWE. It would never quite be the same after the first season, but the combination of storytelling, unconventional presentation, characters, and great matches was a godsend and ultimately led me to exploring other promotions/eras outside of modern WWE. Also, without LU I question whether or not guys like Fenix or Pentagon would be where they are today. Major Show of the Decade: There's still a ton I haven't seen but I'll go with either Dominion 2017 for Takeover: New Orleans. Dominion 2017 to me remains the peak of the Bushiroad era of New Japan. A near-perfect card from top-to-bottom with hot angles and wrestlers. Takeover: New Orleans is my pick for the best show NXT has ever done and while the Gargano-Ciampa feud went downhill afterwards, their match was executed to perfection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microstatistics Posted December 2, 2019 Report Share Posted December 2, 2019 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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