Top Matches I Watched in April 2025

Top Matches I Watched in April 2025

By Alex Kalil

Another banger month from pro wrestling! While Wrestlemania wasn't the greatest this year, we still got some great stuff plus the Owen Hart Tournament has been incredible and I caught up rather good New Japan Cup. Enjoy!

Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Men's Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Will Ospreay vs. Kevin Knight at AEW Dynasty 2025: A really great back and forth match between the newcomer, Knight and the veteran, Ospreay. Match starts and we get some quick wrestling exchanges from both as the story of the match unfolds: Knight is the faster and more agile wrestler while Ospreay has the power and size advantage. Knight keeps Ospreay on his toes in the early going with his quickness until Ospreay is able to shut him down with some powerful strikes. Ospreay goes to work on Knight by using his size to slow him down and ground him while forcing Knight to work from underneath. Both men start stringing together some quick offensive shots as the match starts to build. Ospreay goes for a Styles Clash on the floor but Knight, brilliantly, tucks his arms to block it and counters into a brutal DDT on the ramp! Knight keeps on Ospreay with another DDT for a nice near-fall. Ospreay fights back and looks for his own big bombs but Knight seems to have a counter for everything and we get some awesome exchanges and near-falls. Ospreay is finally able to nail the Styles Clash for a big near-fall. Oscutter gets another near-fall before the Hidden Blade ends things. Great match that allowed Knight to get over with the fans. Lots of great back and forth action and I loved how many times Knight was able to counter Ospreay and looked to almost pick up the win. However, Ospreay was too much for Knight to overcome in this match. Great stuff. ****1/4

AEW Women's World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Megan Bayne at AEW Dynasty 2025: A perfectly booked champion vs. monster heel match. Right from the bell, the story is clear: Megan is more powerful than Toni and is able to easily manhandle her, forcing Toni to find unique ways to fight back. Lots of early spots that showcase Megan's power with big clubbing blows and tossing Toni around with suplexes. Toni keeps fighting back with some quick stick and move offense and even some high risk moves to try and take Megan off her feet. Penelope Ford keeps getting involved with some cheap shots on Toni until Luther removes her from ringside. The distraction allows Toni to hit a DDT on Megan and lock in a STF for a nice near-fall. Toni fires up and starts nailing her own suplexes on Megan before setting her up in the corner for a trio of Hip Attacks. Storm Zero by Toni and the cover but Megan kicks out at 1! Holy shit! Megan starts out-powering Toni again to cut her off. Megan sets up for Fate's Decent but Toni counters with a small package! 3 count! Toni beats the monster! I loved this match. Perfect booking with Megan dominating early on and Toni having to fight from underneath. Megan taking all of Toni's best shots and kicking out at 1 was amazing and a great finish with Megan going for the killing blow, only for Toni to out-wrestle her to get the win. ****

Three Way Match for the AEW International Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Ricochet at AEW Dynasty 2025: An incredible bell to bell action and story-filled match. We get roles for everyone in the match: Omega the defending champion trying to prove he is still the best bout machine, Bailey the new fiery babyface and Ricochet the opportunistic heel looking to do whatever it takes to win. Excellent pace to the match with everyone taking their time to feel each other out and even look for quick pins early on before we got to the bigger spots of the match. Bailey starts rolling and laying in his strikes and big dives until Ricochet chop blocks his knee and goes to work on it. Bailey sells the knee perfectly while still trying to fight back and stay in the match. So many great exchanges, counters and near-falls for everyone like Omega trying for the One-Winged Angel, only for Ricochet to counter with a Vertigo attempt and Omega instead hits Croyt’s Wrath. Bailey tries for Ultimo Weapon on Omega, who rolls out the way and locks in a knee bar on the bad knee of Bailey, only for Ricochet to break it up with a 450. Ricochet goes for a Spirit Gun but Bailey blasts him with a Crane Kick to the face! Ultimo Weapon on Ricochet but Omega breaks up the pin with a V Trigger! Ricochet sets up Bailey for a top rope Vertigo but Omega gets behind Ricochet and hits an Avalanche One-Winged Angel! Bailey is trapped in the Tree of Woe and can't escape in time to stop the cover and the 3 for Omega to retain!  WOW! What a match! Way too much action to describe everything but these 3 went out here and tore the house down with an incredible match! Loved that all 3 men stayed involved for most of the match and that everyone got a chance to shine and look like they could pull off the win. One of the best Three Way matches ever! ****3/4

Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Women's Tournament Semi-Final Match: Mercedes Mone vs. Athena at AEW Dynamite 4/16-Spring Breakthru: An excellent back and forth match. Both women come in with a near undefeated streak and the crowd is hot for this match! We get a slow start with both women working for holds and taking their time to feel each other out. Things build nicely as both women start firing off some big shots back and forth and we get a nice story to the action: Athena is the harder striker and stronger of the two while Mone is the better wrestler. A ton of great back and forth action and exchanges including Athena even using the Statement Maker on Mone, who is able to reverse it into one of her own for a nice near-fall. Match spills to the floor and Mone looks for a move off the barricade but Athena counters and dropkicks Mone into the barricade. Athena gets Mone back into the ring and goes for the O-Face but Mone catches her! Roll-up by Mone with the tights! Mone gets the win to advance! Really loved this match. Just a straight up back and forth match with these two laying in every strike and piece of offense they could dish out. Even liked the slight sloppiness of the match as a way to sell these two being in a struggle to win. Finish was perfect as it protected both women as well. Great stuff! ****1/4

Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Men's Tournament Semi-Final Match: Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Dynamite 4/16-Spring Breakthru: An absolutely incredible bell to bell wrestling match! Story of the match is clear early on with Takeshita being the bigger and stronger of the two so Ospreay has to use his speed to try and match him. Great wrestling exchanges early on that all works to highlight the story of the match as things start to build up. The counters and exchanges start coming bigger and faster like Ospreay countering a Bret's rope Brainbuster into a Stundog Millionaire before hitting an Oscutter on the ramp! Back in the ring, Ospreay looks for another Oscutter but Takeshita catches him for a Blue Thunder Bomb. NO! Ospreay counters again and is able to hit the Oscutter! So good! Ospreay looks for Stormbreaker but Takeshita counters and starts bombing Ospreay with suplexes and laying in his devastating elbows. Match picks up as both men start firing their best shots for only 1 counts! Ospreay hits Takeshita with a Bastard Driver but Takeshita fires back with a Hidden Blade! This match is insane! Takeshita cuts off Ospreay on the top rope and hits a Lariat off the top but Ospreay lands on his feet! Hidden Blade! 2 count! Takeshita blocks a second one and goes for Raging Fire, but Ospreay slips out. Styles Clash! 2 count!  Hidden Blade... NO! Takeshita blocks with a knee but Ospreay catches Takeshita and hits the Stormbreaker for the win! Holy Fuck, what a match! The slow build of this match was great all leading to one of the craziest back and forth finishing stretches of the year. Just a wild match with two incredible wrestlers! ****3/4 

Triple Threat Match for the NXT Championship: Oba Femi (c) vs. Trick Williams vs. Je'Von Evans at NXT Stand & Deliver 2025: A super fun 3 way match with everyone playing their part. Match starts and Evans wastes no time using his quickness to try and out-pace his two opponents. Doesn't take long for Oba to shut down Evans with his powerful offense and starts throwing both men around like rag dolls. Tons of great action from all 3 men the entire time and some fun 3 man spots. Evans nails a Cutter on Oba and goes for the cover but Trick takes out the referee! Trick wants to win and will do whatever it takes to do so, including powerbombing Oba through the announcer's table! Trick Shot on Evans but the referee takes too long to recover and Oba breaks up the pin. Crazy finish with Evans hitting a double jump Cutter on Oba, but Trick comes in with a Trick Shot! Cover! Oba picks up Trick and powerbombs him onto Evans! Fall From Grace on Evans and Oba gets the win. Really fun match with everyone getting a chance to shine and get some really good near-falls. ****

Aja Kong vs. Senka Akatsuki at Marvelous Vegas: A damn near perfect wrestling match. Aja comes in as the veteran monster and Senka is the young rookie trying to prove herself. Senka charges Aja early and tries to take her off her feet but it clearly isn't working. Aja starts mauling Senka with big strikes and makes it look easy, but Senka keeps fighting back. Senka somehow knocks Aja off her feet with a clothesline! Senka follows up with a scoop slam to Aja for an insane pop! Holy shit! Cover but Aja won't even let her get a 1 count before she is back on her feet and knocking Senka on her ass. Cover by Aja but Senka fights to keep her shoulders from being pinned! The crowd is going nuts! This is insane! Aja hits one nasty back suplex and gets the win. This was wrestling in its most basic form! Aja was a monster all match while Senka fought back and got the people behind her before going down fighting all in just 5 minutes. Brilliant match! ****

Triple Threat Match for the Women's World Championship: IYO SKY (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair at WWE Wrestlemania 41 Night 2: An awesome back and forth 3 way match from these 3 women. Match starts with Bianca and Rhea wanting to go right at it and ignoring IYO, which only serves to piss her off as we get right into the action. Lots of fast paced action, counters, exchanges and big spots like all 3 hitting dives and a Tower of Doom. IYO counters a top rope Riptide and goes for the Over the Moonsault on Rhea but Rhea boots her in the face to block it and IYO falls into a Bianca KOD! 1.. 2.. Rhea breaks it up! Rhea and Bianca battle on the top and Bianca is knocked to the floor. IYO tries for a Poison Rana but Rhea blocks it and slams IYO face first into the ring post! Bianca gets behind Rhea and goes for the KOD! Rhea slips out and tries for the Riptide but Bianca escapes and whips Rhea with her hair! KOD by Bianca! Cover! IYO with an Over the Moonsault on both women! IYO covers Bianca and retains! Wow! What a match! All 3 women gave it their all and kept the match moving with lots of great action all match. Incredible finishing stretch with each looking like they could win, only for Bianca and Rhea to ignore IYO again and her to come in to get the win. ****1/4

The Young Bucks vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight at AEW Dynamite 4/23/25: A super fun, fast paced tag match. Matt and Bailey start off with a quick exchange that ends in a stalemate before Nick runs in and the Bucks take over. The Bucks are able to isolate and work over both Bailey and Knight by keeping the numbers game in their favor. Bailey and Knight are able to fight back to stay alive, even as the Bucks continue to use their tag team abilities to keep taking back control of the match. Things pick up as we get more and more big action and exchanges with Bailey and Knight starting to roll and putting the Bucks on defense. Moonsault Knees by Bailey and a UFO Splash by Knight on Nick but Matt breaks up the pin! Bucks try to escape into the crowd as Bailey and Knight follow but get cheap shotted by the Bucks. Doomsday Device on the floor to Knight! Moonsault by Bailey but Matt catches him and the Bucks hit a Meltzer Driver on the floor! Back in the ring, the Bucks go for the EVP Trigger but Knight avoids it and tries to fight back! Ricochet grabs Knight's leg long enough for the Bucks to recover and catch Knight for the EVP Trigger and the win. A very fun PWG style match. Loved the Bucks controlling early on due to their tag team experience until Bailey and Knight were able to string together some combination offense and fight back. In the end, the Bucks were able to take cheap shots, and get a little help, to get the win. ****

New Japan Cup 2025 Quarter Final Match: David Finlay vs. Yuya Uemura at NJPW New Japan Cup 2025 Night 6: A really good wrestler vs. brawler match. Some nice early back and forth wrestling and working for holds before Yuya is able to take control and go after Finlay's arm. Yuya goes to the top for a Crossbody, the very move that hurt his arm in the G1, and hesitates allowing Finlay to knock him off the top and goes to work on Yuya. Finlay isn't flashy and technical like Yuya; he is aggressive and brutal with his big power moves and brawling style of wrestling. Yuya is able to fire up and fight back to make things a more even match again. Yuya tries for the Deadbolt Suplex and locks Finlay's arms, only for Finlay to spit in Yuya's face to break it up, to which Yuya responds with a big headbutt! Yuya is willing to fight dirty too! Yuya hits the top rope Crossbody and looks to be rolling but Finlay keeps blocking the Deadbolt Suplex. Finlay is able to cut off Yuya's momentum with an Into Oblivion for a near-fall before Overkill ends things. Really fun match of two very different style wrestlers that allowed Yuya to show off his aggressive side and overcome his hesitation from his injury but Finlay was still able to get the win this time. ****

TLC Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: The Street Profits (c) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns vs. #DIY at WWE Smackdown 4/25: A wild, car crash style match! Everyone goes right at it and the fight spills all over the ring and ringside as the weapons come into play. Lots of chairs, ladders, tables and even a prosthetic leg all come into play with a ton of wild spots. Big dives to the outside and off the ladders. Sabin splashes Dawkins through a table. Ford does a Senton over the top to the outside onto Ciampa through a table! Ciampa stops Ford from going up the ladder and hits an Air Raid Crash through a ladder! Skull & Bones on Gargano by the Guns through another table! Ciampa tries to climb up for the belts but the Guns move the ladder and leave him hanging! Dawkins with a Spear off a ladder to Ciampa and through a table! Holy shit! The Guns, Gargano and Ford all fight to get up the ladder with Ford trapped in the ladder at one point. Ford is able to climb the side of the ladder to knock Sabin and Gargano off the top! Ford gets the belts for the Street Profits to retain! Insane match with so many awesome spots. Crowd took a little while to get into the action but once they did, they were super into all the action. Big match for all 3 teams! ****1/4

New Japan Cup 2025 Semi-Final Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. David Finlay at NJPW New Japan Cup 2025 Night 7: A really good match from these two that highlights their different styles. Sabre looks to out-wrestle Finlay early on, ground him and work for a submission. Finlay is able to fight back by using his more aggressive style by throwing stiff shots at Sabre and hitting big offensive bombs. Nice story to the match with Sabre able to keep countering Finlay to take back over with a variety of different moves like a Zack Driver out of nowhere to cut off Finlay's momentum, some submissions and even a European Clutch.  Through it all, Finlay is able to take everything Sabre dishes out and throws back his own shots to stay in the match. Nice spot with Sabre cutting off a charging Finlay with a Guillotine Choke, only for Finlay to lift Sabre and hit Into Oblivion for a good near-fall. Sabre is still in the match though and tries for a Gedo Roll-Up for a really good near-fall of his own. Sabre goes for the Zack Driver but Finlay is able to counter it and rolls right into Overkill to get the win! Really good stuff all match. Loved both men having their style of working the match and blending the two together well. Sabre seemed to be able to stop Finlay time and time again but Finlay was determined to win and fought like hell to do so and advance. ****

New Japan Cup 2025 Final Match: David Finlay vs. Shota Umino at NJPW New Japan Cup 2025 Night 9: A really great back and forth battle between these two. Things start off slow as both feel each other out but it doesn't take Shota long to use his newly found edge to go after Finlay's knee. Dropkicks and Dragon Scress by Shota to soften up the knee before locking in the STF for a nice near-fall. Finlay responds back by cutting off Shota with an Irish Curse Backbreaker, even with the one good knee. Finlay doesn't stop there and quickly turns this match into a fight on the outside and slams Shota through the timekeeper's table to go after Shota's back. With both men now wounded, they go at each other with all they got. Lots of back and forth action and counters all while the crowd cheered on both men. Finlay goes for a Spear but gets cut off by a knee from Shota, followed by a big Lariat. Shota tries for the Second Chapter, but Finlay fights it off and nails Into Oblivion. Finlay goes for the killing blow but Shota with a roll-up! Kickout! Shota goes for the Second Chapter one more time but Finlay rolls to block it and nails Overkill for the 3 and the win! Awesome stuff by both men with the last several minutes of back and forth exchanges and near-falls really getting the crowd into all the action. Finlay gets the win here but you get the feeling it could have gone either way. ****1/4

FTR vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong at AEW Collision 4/26-Playoff Palooza: A great finale to these two team's trilogy of matches. Match starts and right away Kyle and Roderick are able to control early with their quick strikes and offense to put FTR on the back foot early. FTR keeps fighting back to keep themselves in the match before they are able to isolate Roderick and attack his ankle by dropkicking the steel steps into it. Roderick tries to recover on the floor  as Kyle is left all alone in the ring. Some great near tags as Kyle would fight to the corner only for Roderick to still be down or a member of FTR would rush over to take him off the apron and go back to attacking the ankle. Through it all, Kyle keeps up the fight on FTR and eventually gets to Roderick for the hot tag! Roderick tries to start rolling but he is working with one leg and it doesn't take long for FTR to go for the ankle again with Dax locking in a Figure Four in the ring. Kyle comes flying in with a top rope knee to make the save! Kyle is in now and lays in some strikes before locking in an Ankle Lock on Dax. Cash in with the save this time with a top rope splash on Kyle. FTR with the spiked Piledriver and they get the win. Really good tag team action. Babyfaces run wild early until the heels take out one of their members and we get a great heat segment. Kyle is able to fight back like a true babyface to give his team a chance but Roderick is too hurt to make much of a difference and FTR is able to, yet again, isolate and get the win. ****

The Young Bucks, Kazuchika Okada and Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega, Mark Briscoe, "Speedball" Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight at AEW Dynamite 4/30: A super fun and exciting All Star tag match. Right from the start, they tease Omega and Okada locking up, only for Okada to tag out right away to avoid Omega. The Bucks are able to isolate Omega right away and they work a classic old school style match with the heels using the numbers game to get some early heat, only for the babyfaces to start outsmarting them and turn the tables on them. Eventually the heels take back over as they toy with the babyfaces and mock the crowd. Things start to pick up with all 4 of the babyfaces hitting big dives to start a comeback, only for the heels to use their tandem offense to cut them off again. At long last, Mark gets the hot tag and starts running wild on the heels! Lots of fast paced action until Omega and Okada finally get in the ring together! The two old rivals go at it as the crowd goes nuts! The Bucks come in to stop Omega as things break down. Everyone is hitting big offense and we get some great near-falls. Insane spot with Ricochet on Bailey's shoulders while standing on the apron and Knight dropkicks Ricochet off Bailey and into the Bucks on the floor! WOW! Mark and Okada are alone in the ring and Mark goes for the Froggy Bow but Ricochet shoves Mark off the top rope. Rainmaker by Okada and that ends it. Awesome match with so many storylines and feuds intertwined together. Amazing action all match with everyone looking incredible plus the tease of more Okada and Omega down the road. Super fun match! ****1/4

Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Men's Tournament Semi-Final Match: Adam Page vs. Kyle Fletcher at AEW Dynamite 4/30: A hard hitting fight between these two. Match starts and Fletcher tries to keep things as a straight up wrestling match by working Page over with holds and trying to ground him. Page gets annoyed by Fletcher's tactics and starts to fire off some heavy handed strikes and big offensive blows on Fletcher. From there the match becomes Page having the advantage in a fight and Fletcher trying to wrestle smarter to counter Page. Nice display of this is Fletcher constantly avoiding the Buckshot Lariat every time Page goes to the apron and looks to be setting up for it. As the match goes on, Fletcher starts landing his own big bombs on Page and we get a really good back and forth battle from these two with some really good near-falls as well. Page is able to counter Fletcher late into the match and nails a Dead Eye on the apron and a Moonsault to the outside. Page rolls Fletcher into the ring and looks for the Buckshot but Fletcher uses the referee as a human shield. Low blow by Fletcher and a Brainbuster! Cover! Kickout by Page! Fletcher looks for the Turnbuckle Brainbuster for the killing blow but Page is able to fight him off. Buckshot Lariat from the top rope and out of the corner! Another Buckshot by Page and he gets the win! This was a great straight up match! Fletcher was the smarter and better wrestler of the two, evident by him having the Buckshot so well scouted, but Page was driven to get the win here. Lots of great near-falls before Page is able to catch Fletcher off guard with a Buckshot variation before a proper Buckshot gets Page the win ****1/4