Ben Hercik’s 10 Wrestling Matches You Need To See
This was such a challenge. I am someone who watches so much wrestling, that picking just 10 matches was very hard. You have names that everyone knows, names that not many people know, and names that nobody knew who became one of the best wrestlers in the world. I am someone who loves the storytelling in a match, but also the storytelling in the build to the match where you get the payoff to the story. Some quick honorable mentions before getting into the 10 matches that are my personal favorite.
Honorable Mentions: Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Naito (G1 Climax Final, 2017), Ric Flair vs Randy Savage (Wrestlemania 8), Johnny Gargano vs Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas (Takeover: Philadelphia), AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestle Kingdom 10), Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (Wrestle Kingdom 8), KUSHIDA vs Kyle O’Reilly (BOSJ XXII Night 13), Hiromu Takahashi vs Taiji Ishimori (BOSJ 25 Finals), AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe (TNA Unbreakable 2005), Literally any match from Ring of Honor with Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Nigel McGuinness, Tyler Black, and Chris Hero.
Honorable Mentions: Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Naito (G1 Climax Final, 2017), Ric Flair vs Randy Savage (Wrestlemania 8), Johnny Gargano vs Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas (Takeover: Philadelphia), AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestle Kingdom 10), Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (Wrestle Kingdom 8), KUSHIDA vs Kyle O’Reilly (BOSJ XXII Night 13), Hiromu Takahashi vs Taiji Ishimori (BOSJ 25 Finals), AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe (TNA Unbreakable 2005), Literally any match from Ring of Honor with Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Nigel McGuinness, Tyler Black, and Chris Hero.
10) Pete Dunne Vs. Travis Banks - PROGRESS Chapter 55: Chase The Sun
This match is the one that made Travis Banks a huge name in the wrestling world. Many hardcore independent wrestling fans did know who Banks was, I remember him as a member of The Prestidge in WCPW, now Defiant Wrestling, but the ones who don’t watch to much outside of the big promotions had no clue who Banks was. Banks got to this match by winning the Super Strong Style 16 tournament hosted by Progress, and it wasn’t an easy road to the match. Banks had to beat Jimmy Havoc, Flatama, Zack Sabre Jr. and Tyler Bate just to get to the match. Dunne had everything going into the match, with the rest of British Strong Style helping him and being the NXT UK Champion, many did not give Banks a chance. Despite all of this, and the constant involvement of British Strong Style, Banks persevered. Dunne hit Banks with everything, yet Banks persevered. The rise of Travis Banks was apparent in this match, and was something that was long overdue for one of the best kept secrets in the wrestling world.
9) Eddie Guerrero Vs. Kurt Angle - Wrestlemania 20
This match is one for the purest, as you have two wrestlers that just get how wrestling works as a story. Kurt Angle came into the WWE with zero pro wrestling experience in 1998, and went on to main event the showcase of the immortals in 2003, and competed for the companies main title again in 2004. Eddie Guerrero always seemed like a guy that was always great, but he just couldn’t win the big one. Then in 2004, Eddie got a chance, and that was all he needed. Guerrero won the title from Brock Lesnar at No Way Out, in typical Eddie Guerrero fashion, to finally reach the top of the mountain. Two of the men who helped make up the Smackdown Six showed exactly the reason that they were two of the wrestlers that were selected.They traded big moves, but it seemed like Angle always had a leg up on Guerrero and nothing was going to stop him from winning his fifth WWE Championship, but he forgot that he was dealing with one of the smartest wrestlers in history. Angle turned his back to complain to the official, and Guerrero untied his boot. Angle tried to get the ankle lock in, but it was then when Guerrero’s boot came off. Guerrero was then able to roll him up for the win. This was fantastic storytelling by the two in what everyone expected to be a great match.
8) Shawn Michaels Vs. The Undertaker - Wrestlemania 26
There was so much on the line for these two….. Well maybe Shawn had a little more on the line. This feud lasted for a year and is still one of the best stories WWE has told in quite a long time. You have two of the best wrestlers who just matched up perfectly, with Undertaker being one of the best pure strikers ever and one of the most gifted wrestlers of his time. When looking at this match, you knew that steaks were high. Shawn Michaels career was on the line, the streak for The Undertaker at Wrestlemania was on the line, and to make things even more intense, these two had to top what they did at the previous Wrestlemania. These two work so well together, and have been the most loyal to Vince McMahon, and they were rewarded with one last main event match. The story was so well laid out. Shawn made just one mistake and it was something that had been eating at him for a whole year. In the entire match, Shawn tried to do everything flawlessly. It was this persistence and this crispness that kept Shawn alive in this match and his entire WWE career. But this is where Undertaker thrived. He wore down his opponents and broke them. This is what he did to Michaels on this night, and in the end Shawn welcomed it. If there was one person who deserved to end the legendary career of Shawn Michaels, it was The Undertaker.
7) Kazuchika Okada Vs. Tetsuya Naito - Wrestle Kingdom 12
If you haven’t yet figured out, I am a big fan of all wrestling, whether it is silly or serious, wrestling is always fun. This match was the main event of the first ever Wrestle Kingdom that I watched, and when I did some research to understand this match, there was so much more than I initially thought. Naito first won the G1 Climax tournament in 2013 to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 8. It was then that the fans turned on him and actually voted Naito out of the main event of the show. It took nearly four years Naito to win back the fans. Fast forward to the G1 Climax 24, and Naito had a huge challenge ahead of him in his block. He had to beat the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, and Zack Sabre Jr. He was able to do that, but then he had a daunting challenge to win the tournament. He had to beat the hottest wrestler on the planet at the time, Kenny Omega. Naito did that, and now it was time to try and win the title from the Rainmaker. Okada was the biggest name in New Japan, and had been IWGP Heavyweight Champion since 2016. These two went to war for that title in this match. Naito wanted to play it cool, while Okada wanted to brawl, but Naito was ready for that. Naito was willing to do anything to win the title back that caused his demise. He broke out a Reverse Frankensteiner, he used multiple Destino’s and even tried the Stardust Press. In the end, Okada was able to out last Naito and the return to grace story must wait for another time to come to a conclusion for the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, Tetsuya Naito.
6) Bret Hart Vs. Stone Cold - Wrestlemania 13
This match was a changing of the guard of sorts. You had the guy who had been with the company through thick and thin, who was one of the faces of the company but was getting more and more annoyed at the company. Bret Hart was the grizzled veteran who had given the WWE everything he had, yet he wasn’t getting what he thought he deserved. On the other hand, you had a young up and coming wrestler who had defected from WCW just two years prior competing on the grandest stage of them all, in the third to last match against a legend in the company. Hart and Austin just clicked whenever they were in the ring. Many people remember the Texas Rattlesnake for his great work in the main event scene during the Attitude Era. What many people often forget is just how damn good of a wrestler Austin was. These two were putting on a wrestling classic, but then the two started to brawl. This is where the classic double turn happened, and Bret turned his back on the fans and they embraced the mud stomping mad man we all love known as Stone Cold. These two were very good together in the ring and the match itself often seems to be forgotten due to the famous picture of Stone Cold, his face drenched in his own blood, refusing to tap out to Bret Hart’s Sharpshooter. These two were great wrestlers and that iconic image is just the icing on the cake.
5) Sasha Banks Vs. Bayley- NXT Takeover: Brooklyn
This is the match that really sparked the women’s evolution for me. You have two of the WWE Four Horsewomen, and the two with maybe the best chemistry, plus one of the best stories in NXT history. You get one of, and maybe, the best women’s match in history. Banks and Bayley just have something special together that not to many other opponents have together. On a card that featured the likes of Samoa Joe in his biggest challenge in WWE at that point (Baron Corbin, remember how good NXT Corbin was compared to main roster Corbin?), Finn Balor and Kevin Owens battling for the title in a ladder match, and the WWE debut of New Japan legend Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger taking on the very talented Tyler Breeze, these two stole the show. The back and forth of the match and the risks they were willing to take was one that was very enjoyable. When it takes Bayley busting out the very rarely used reverse Frankensteiner just to pin Banks, then you know that these two had something special. I genuinely felt bad for Finn Balor and Kevin Owens to try and follow that match. The women’s revolution may have started with the likes of Paige, AJ Lee and Kaitlyn, it was this match that allowed it to become an evolution.
4) Johnny Gargano Vs. Tommaso Ciampa - NXT Takeover: New Orleans
This story played played out so well and it is very unfortunate that we aren’t going to get the payoff that we wanted to see. After DIY broke up, it was obvious that both members were going to be key stars in the future of WWE. You have the guy getting all the sympathy and love in Gargano, and the slithering evil snake in Ciampa. In the months after the breakup, Gargano sored to new heights, even getting an NXT Championship match at Takeover: Philadelphia. This pisseed of Ciampa as he saw himself as the star of the tag team that was being held back by Gargano. This lead to a match where Gargano’s NXT Career was on the line, and was Ciampa’s first match since May of 2017. These two put on an unsanctioned match for the ages. You had big moves all over the place, weapon shots, and a good bit of story too. Gargano had to lay everything on the line to try and get back into NXT. As the match neared its end, there was a fantastic bit of storytelling and calling back to the days the two were a tag team. Even though the two had only split in May the year prior, the two seemed to have aged so much and grown so much as competitors. It is a true testament to how well the NXT Formula works, as these two were in a rivalry that was so big that it didn’t need to have the championship attached to it.
3) John Cena Vs. CM Punk- Money In The Bank 2011
What even is their left to say about this match? You had the hometown hero and second city saint CM Punk, with just hours left on his WWE contract fighting for the WWE Championship in a match he had been working for his whole life. All that was standing in his way of him achieving his lifelong dream? The unstoppable Super Cena. Just from the entrances alone, you could tell that we were in for a classic. The ovation that Punk gets from the Chicago crowd might be the biggest pop since Rob Van Dam came out for his WWE Championship match at ECW One Night Stand 2006 in the Hammerstein Ballroom. Cena not saluting the crowd was something only seen one other time, and that was at the aforementioned ECW One Night Stand. After all the fanfare, these two went to work and we all watched with one thought in mind, ‘Punk surely can’t win the championship right?’ That was when the unthinkable happened, as Punk hit the Go To Sleep on Cena and the referee counted to three. CM Punk had just stolen the title right out from under Vince McMahon’s nose. I remember being in the WWE Universe website chat room during the event, since we couldn’t afford to watch the show. When Punk won the match, I remember that everyone was going crazy and that you couldn’t read a single comment that anyone said. We all truly believed that Punk had just walked out of the company with the most prestigious championship around his waist. It wasn’t until the Best in the World DVD came out in 2012 did we learn that Punk had re-signed with WWE, during the Money in the Bank Pay Per View. What a more innocent time, when kayfabe was still a thing and we all had to trust what we saw on a weekly basis.
2) Kazuchika Okada Vs. Kenny Omega Saga
Is this cheating? Yes. Do I care? No. This has been the best story to watch unfold in the ring in such a long time and it just so happened to be between two of the absolute best wrestlers walking the earth today. You can’t just pick one match that stands out, as you would be missing an intricate part of the story. Let’s start from the beginning shall we? In the G1 Climax 23, you had a very stacked B Block with former tournament winner Tetsuya Naito and the ever dangerous Katsuyori Shibata, joining these two were eight very talented wrestlers including, one of them being Kenny Omega. To the surprise of many, Omega won his block and was able to beat Hirooki Goto to win the tournament. Many people wondered if Kenny Omega was worthy of a championship match. At the time, Omega had been an IWGP Intercontinental Championship once, and a two time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, and many thought that Omega was unworthy of having the championship match. On January 4th, 2017 at Wrestle Kingdom 11, Omega silenced all of his doubters and won fans over all across the globe in a losing effort against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. This was the start of a beautiful story, as Omega showed that he could hang with the best of them, and all he couldn’t do in that match was hit the One Winged Angel. Omega knew that he was one move away from the title and wanted another shot. He got his wish at Dominion, and the two put on another classic, going the full 60 minute time limit, ending the match in a draw. This ate at Omega, as he wondered just what he had to do in order to finally beat the Rainmaker. This lead to the G1 Climax 24, and stakes were raised as Omega and Okada were both put in the B Block. When the two met, there was the added pressure that the match was going to have only a 30 minute time limit. These two went to war to try and get those very important two points for the block action. This time however, Omega was ready. He was able to pin Okada after hitting the One Winged Angel. This answered a question that the fans had been asking, could Omega get over the huge hurdle that was Kazuchika Okada. That answer was now yes. Thanks to a tie between Okada and Minoru Suzuki, Omega was able to advance to the finals yet again. His challenge this time was Tetsuya Naito, and Omega came into the match not focused. You could tell that his head was already on the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 12, which would ultimately do him in as Naito was victorious. After this tournament final, Omega took a bit of a backseat to others like Naito, Suzuki, Sabre Jr. and SANADA to an extent. But Okada always had one thing lurking in his mind, him and Omega had a record of 1-1-1 and him not having a winning edge over an opponent. He wanted to have the chance to fix that score. The two met at Dominion yet again, and this time there had to be a winner, as it was a no time limit 2 out of 3 falls match. The two traded bombs back and forth for 40 minutes, when Okada rolled Omega up for the first fall. Omega had two minutes to recover, and collect his thoughts. It was the job of one of his best friends, Kota Ibushi, to help Omega recoop and recover, and it worked. Omega was able to score the second and third falls, both via One Winged Angel, to finally win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This win capped a rise that took two and a half calendar years. In that time, Kenny Omega went from a name that only the true diehard fans knew, to being the best gaijin in the modern day, and maybe one of the best gaijin in professional wrestling history.
Triple H Vs. Shawn Michaels Vs. Chris Benoit - Wrestlemania 20
This is the match that showed me just what wrestling actually is. You have three guys that just understood how to tell such a good story. Triple H was the biggest heel in the business at the time and almost seemed unstoppable at the time. But one of the only people who knew how to beat him, the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. Michaels took the title from Hunter at Survivor Series in that historic Elimination Chamber. This was also the time that those two were tied up in their blood feud where they were trying to kill each other. Then you have the added factor of Chris Benoit. Benoit had done it all at that point in wrestling. He won titles in NJPW, ECW, WCW and WWE. Except he had never won the World Heavyweight Championship in WWE. He had an opportunity to get a shot at the title, all he had to do was win the Royal Rumble match from the number 1 entrance slot. This feat had only been done by Shawn Michaels at that point. Benoit didn’t care about that as he went over one hour to win the match and a main event spot at Wrestlemania. A month later, one of Benoit’s best friend won the WWE Championship. That man was Eddie Guerrero and as both wrestlers were on Smackdown, fans thought that we were in for a huge match for the companies biggest title between two guys that fans thought would never make it to WWE. It shocked fans when Stone Cold announced that Benoit would challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Michaels was added to the match and we had one of the best main events in Wrestlemania history. No matter what Triple H did, Michaels and Benoit had an answer. And no matter what Triple H and Shawn Michaels did, Benoit would not go away. Eventually, Benoit was able to get the Crippler Crossface on Triple H, who was so close to a rope break, but Benoit pushed himself off the ropes, and Triple H tapped out in the middle of the ring. Benoit had finally did it, he reached the top of the mountain of WWE, and who was the first person to congratulate him? His best friend and WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. The two embracing and celebrating as the confetti fell is still one of, and my personal favorite, closing shot in wrestling history. Two men who were told that they were to small, that they were not good enough, and that they were never going to make it to WWE, had reached the pinnacle of the wrestling world. They had done the unthinkable and could never have this feat taken away from them.
