Top Matches I Watched in February 2024

Top Matches I Watched in February 2024

By Alex Kalil

Another month and another good showing from wrestling in 2024. AEW continues to kill it going into Revolution. NJPW saw the last match of Okada and Ospreay, the Ospreay match being maybe the most divisive match of the year. WWE had a few and RevPro gave us an easy MOTY early on.

Bryan Danielson vs. Hechicero at AEW Collision 2/3/24: A really great technical wrestling match. Both men start off even with some nice mat wrestling before Hechicero's unique style is able to tie up Danielson and keep him off his game. Great story all match with Danielson playing defense and trying to find a way to counter Hechicero, only for the luchador to find a new way to tie up Danielson and work him over. Danielson switches to his strikes to try and fight back and things become more back and forth but Hechicero is still able to keep countering all of Danielson's best offense while Danielson is forced to go to the ropes to escape. Exciting finish as both men counter the other before Danielson is able to get a deep cover and the win. Very fun match with Danielson finding himself caught off guard by the style of Hechicero but able to finally out-wrestle him at the finish to, more or less, steal the win. ****

FTR and Daniel Garcia vs. The Patriarchy at AEW 2/3/24: A really fun classic trios match-up. Nice hot start with both teams going back and forth before Garcia is isolated and worked over for the heat. Cash gets the hot tag and FTR runs wild before Killswitch runs to put The Patriarchy back in control. Nice second set of heat on Dax before we get a second hot tag for Garcia this time. Garcia runs wild as the match breaks down with everyone getting involved. Some great exchanges from everyone before Wayne goes for the Spear but Garica dodges it. Jackknife pin by Garcia, who gets the win for his team. Super fun match with some nice story elements mixed in like Garcia getting the win for his team and a potential title shot against Christian and Killswitch being a big difference maker but never getting in the match legally. Good stuff. ****

Gabe Kidd vs. HENARE at NJPW Road to the New Beginning 2024 Night 6: A hard hitting and physical match. Both men waste no time going right at it at the bell with heavy shots. The fight quickly spills into the crowd as the two fight among the people for a bit. Awesome spot with Kidd diving over the stairs only for HENARE to knock him out of mid-air. The match gets back in the ring and quickly becomes a war of attrition. Heavy chops, kicks and punches from both men as they try to prove who can take the most punishment before both start dropping big bombs on each other and looking out on their feet. HENARE tries to end things only for Kidd to start headbutting him before HENARE hits a brutal headbutt of his own and both men are out! Neither man is able to answer the 10 count and the match is a draw. A brutal match from these two who went to war with each other and looked to just beat the hell out of each other. Would love to see a rematch down the road. ****1/4

NXT Championship Match: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Trick Williams at NXT Vengeance Day 2024: A phenomenal title match between the valiant defending champion and a white hot babyface. Trick comes out swinging and tries to take the fight to Ilja but Ilja's raw power and unrelenting offense puts the champion in control.  Some intense and physical back and forth action with Trick getting a bloody mouth and Ilja a busted nose. Trick is able to fire up on Ilja and mount a brief comeback. Carmelo Hayes gets in Ilja's face and takes a swing at him only to miss and get pushed into chop blocking Trick. Really clever spot. Trick still fights back only for his knee to give out and Ilja to nail a powerbomb. H Bomb by Ilja and a second off Bret's rope but only 2! Trick is still in this and the crowd is going wild! Trick dodges Torpedo Moscow and nails a big kick but still only 2! The referee gets taken out by accident and Trick hits the Trick Knee for the phantom pin. New referee in but still only 2. Ilja fights back now and goes for another H Bomb but Trick gets his knees up to block it. Both men charge and collide with Torpedo Moscow and Trick Knee at the same time but Ilja is able to land on top and gets the cover. Ilja retains in an incredible match. Trick really showed heart here and had a great babyface performance as he kept fighting back through all the punishment and pain and came so close to getting the win, only to fall short. ****1/2

#1 Contendership Match for the AEW World Championship: Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland at AEW Dynamite 2/7/24: An excellent back and forth match from these two rivals. Slow feeling out section early before Page fires a shot at Swerve and here we go! Story of the match becomes Page wanting to fight Swerve while Swerve uses his quickness and tries to wrestle Page. Excellent back and forth action from both men with a super hot crowd before the big bombs start coming. Page misses a Buckshot and Swerve nails one of his own! Swerve Stomp but only 2! Both men start going for bigger shots to punish the other. Swerve takes too setting up a table on the outside and goes for a 450 but Page gets his knees up. Buckshot Lariat by Page but Swerve gets his foot on the rope! Dead Eye by Page on the apron and Page is willing to take the count-out to beat Swerve now, but Swerve makes it back in at 9! Page is frustrated now and nails Nana with a chair, only for Swerve to kick it into his face. A second Swerve Stomp but Swerve hurts his ankle on the landing. Page is able to block the JML Driver and twists the ankle. Great spot! Swerve rolls to the apron to recover and hits a Dead Eye on Page through a table! My God! Swerve goes for a final Swerve Stomp but misses! The ankle gives out. Page with a Buckshot Lariat but Swerve ducks it! JML Driver by Swerve! Slow cover gets 1... 2... TIME LIMIT EXPIRES! It's a draw! What a battle from these two as they start off slow and build and build to an exciting finish even with the time limit draw. The story of the match was brilliant with Page slowly getting more and more desperate and unhinged to beat Swerve, only to be satisfied with Swerve not winning with the draw. Just incredible stuff all match. ****1/2

Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Hechicero, Mascara Dorada and Volador Jr. at AEW Dynamite 2/7/24: A super fun and exciting 6 man tag. We get the nice opening portion with everyone showing what they can do and the Luchadors seemingly having the edge. The BCC are able to take over by isolating one member at a time and using the numbers game. Some great back and forth all match and nice little stories being told all match like Hechicero still having Danielson's number, Dorada trying to prove himself as the youngest man in the match and Moxley wanting to fight everyone. Finish comes after Hechicero almost runs into the referee, who covers up. Claudio takes the opening and kicks Hechicero low for the quick roll-up and the BCC steals the win. Nice way to keep this feud going with BCC doing anything and everything to beat the faster Luchadors. ****

Tornado Tag Match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship: Ricky Starks and Big Bill (c) vs. Darby Allin and Sting at AEW Dynamite 2/7/24: A wild and fun brawl of a match. Darby and Sting go right after the champions at the bell and the fight spills into the crowd. Crazy dive by Sting onto the heels before the match makes it back to the ring. Bill is able to take out Sting for a few as Darby goes for a dive on Bill, only to be caught in a Boss Man Slam on the floor! Brutal! Starks and Bill work on Darby before Sting makes the save and the babyfaces run wild. Double team on Bill before Darby with a Coffin Drop to the outside on to Bill! Sting locks Starks in the Scorpion Death Lock! Bill tries to make the save, with Darby on his back, only for Darby to knock both men off the apron through a table. Starks is able to break the hold, and when Sting goes for a Stinger Splash, Starks removes the turnbuckle pad and Sting hits chest first on the exposed buckle. Spear by Starks but only 2! Starks goes for a second but Sting blocks it. Scorpion Death Drop! Sting covers and gets the 3! New champions! Sting is a champion in 2024! A wild fight from these two two teams with the crowd firmly behind Darby and Sting and went wild for them getting the win. Very fun match! ****

AEW International Championship Match: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii at AEW Collision 2/10/24: A good match with Cassidy facing a literal brick wall in Ishii as a challenger. Ishii is able to roll through Cassidy early on and easily takes whatever Cassidy throws at him and dishes it back even harder. Cassidy has to try different tactics to create openings like spamming DDTs to try and rock Ishii and even trying for quick pins to steal a win but Ishii won't stay down. Cassidy finally has enough and has to go all out with his offensive bombs against Ishii, utilizing the Orange Punch and Beach Break for some nice near-falls. Ishii is still able to withstand the onslaught and looks to end things with a Brainbuster, only for Cassidy to counter with a small package and get the win. The champion barely survives against the beast that is Ishii. Loved Cassidy having to try every strategy he had to try and match Ishii, while Ishii just had to throw bombs and beat the hell out of Cassidy. Nice finish with Cassidy out-wrestling Ishii to steal a win. ****

GCW Tag Team Championship Match: Violence Is Forever (c) vs. Astronauts at GCW/JCW Jersey J-Cup 2024 Night 1: A very fun dream tag match from these two teams. Things start off nice and slow as both teams feel each other out before Astronauts get a bit of shine on the champions. Violence Is Forever is able to take over by isolating Nomura and, in a way, toy with both Astronauts and begs them to fight back. Nomura has enough of the games and delivers a straight punch to Ku before tagging in Abe in a fun spot. Match becomes a back and forth bomb fest of big strikes and exchanges from both teams with some nice near-falls. Abe is able to tie up Ku in an Octopus Stretch but leaves himself open for Garrini to come in and nail a vicious headbutt that knocks him out and Ku lands on top of him to get the win. Really good match from these teams but very much a tip of the iceberg for what they could do together. ****

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2024: One final match from these legendary rivals. Very much a match that plays the hits at times. Okada takes over on Tanahashi early on and even gets some nice heat before Tanahashi is able to roll back the clock and surprise Okada with some trademark offense, even a High Fly Flow off the top to the outside. Some great back and forth as always from these two and nice near-falls like Tanahashi countering a Rainmaker with a small package. Okada is able to get his knees up to block a High Fly Flow and hits his trademark stuff before a Rainmaker puts down Tanahashi and Okada walks away with one last win on his rival. ****

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2024: A phenomenal technical wrestling match from two masters. Some incredible mat wrestling early on as both look for openings to try and lock in submissions. Sabre hurts his leg when he is dropped into the ropes and Danielson is all over it. Some great heel work by Danielson while Sabre is forced to work from underneath. Danielson mocks and toys with Sabre, asking him to get to the ropes, only for Sabre to instead wrestle out of the holds and Danielson decides to start lighting him up with strikes as a receipt. Sabre starts to fire back at Danielson and we get to a battle of big bombs from both men. Some really nice near-falls and exchanges from both men before Danielson tries to again go for the LeBell Lock, only for Sabre to counter into a crucifix pin and score the pinfall. Brilliant bell to bell pro wrestling match. Just incredible to watch these two make every movement count and work towards the win. Sabre was able to out-wrestle Danielson in the end to score the pin but yet again neither man was able to make the other submit. ****3/4

Ten Man Steel Cage Tag Team Match: Will Ospreay, HENARE, Jeff Cobb and Catch 22 vs. Bullet Club War Dogs at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2024: An all out war between these two teams! Ospreay and Finlay start off as the War Dogs enter first and keep bringing in weapons: chairs, forks, tables, ladders and barbed wire. United Empire keeps entering to even the numbers up and run wild. Classic WarGames style booking. So many big moments: Cobb entering last and wrecking everyone, HENARE and Kidd renewing their feud, Akira tapping into his violent side, TJP breaking out The Aswang. The violence is upped with the introduction of thumbtacks and a barbed wire wrapped table as the War Dogs work to handcuff the bigger men, Cobb and HENARE, to the cage and neutralize them. Gedo, Callum Newman and Great O-Khan all get involved to help out their teams as War Dogs isolate Catch 22 and tear apart the ring. Ospreay saves Akira from further harm and takes the final blows from War Dogs, ending with an Overkill with barbed wire by Finlay to finally end it. Over an hour of these ten men all killing each other! Maybe a little too long but what a ride this was. A true blowoff for these two teams and felt like a war. ****1/4

Jonathan Gresham and "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Astronauts at GCW/JCW Jersey J-Cup 2024 Night 2: A fun back and forth tag match. We get a nice opening few minutes with everyone getting some shine before Bailey misses a double knee moonsault and hurts his knee. Astronauts are all over the hurt limb and isolate Bailey to work him over for a few. Gresham gets the hot tag and runs wild to get his team back into the match. We get some nice back and forth from both teams and some good near-falls before Astronauts again isolate Bailey. Gresham comes in to try and make the save only for him and Bailey to get caught in dual Octopus Stretches and Bailey has to tap. Very basic but fun match that told a nice little story. ****

Jon Moxley vs. Dax Harwood at AEW Dynamite 2/14/24: A really nice, hard hitting wrestling match. Both men start off toying with each other early on before they start firing off hard chops and strikes. A very physical and brawling style of match with these two just going ham on each other. Both men try submissions early only for their opponent to easily fight them off so the two stick to throwing hands before progressing into throwing big bombs at each other. Lots of nice near-falls from both as time starts to tick away. Moxley is able to kick the ring rope into Dax's groin for a cheap opening before laying into him with a Cutter and Curb Stomp. A piledriver only gets a 2 though! Dax is able to fight back and block a Paradigm Shift into a big Brainbuster for still only 2. Diving Headbutt by Dax off the top but Moxley moves out the way and locks Dax in a choke! Dax tries to fight out but Moxley has it on tight and Dax has to tap. Just two men going out and beating the shit out of each other. Love Moxley's desperation to win as we got closer to the time limit as well as Dax going high risk, only for it to cost him for the finish. ****

Hechicero vs. Atlantis Jr. at NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania 2024 Night 7: A fun back and forth Lucha match. Hechicero has the edge early on in the match with his superior wrestling skills allowing him to counter Atlantis Jr. multiple times. A nice story plays out with Atlantis Jr. being forced to wait until Hechicero makes a mistake or takes a risk to take over and try for a comeback in a very nice babyface effort. Hechicero cuts off Atlantis Jr. on the top rope and damages Atlantis Jr.'s knee and starts making that the target of his offense. Great spot as Atlantis Jr pulls down his knee pad to help relieve the pressure on his knee. A big running knee puts Hechicero down and Atlantis Jr. goes for broke with a pair of Frog Splashes and gets the win! Nice come from behind victory for Atlantis Jr. and just a really fun match to watch. ****

Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs. FTR at AEW Dynamite 2/21/24: A really good and intense match from these two teams. Right from the opening bell, all 4 men work with a great heated and physical style and really laid in every shot to each other. FTR is able to use their tag team expertise to isolate Moxley early on before Claudio gets the hot tag and helps the BCC take over. Love the BCC trying to keep the match a fight to maintain control. As time starts to wind down, both teams start to pull out all the stops with their offense. A lot of big tag team offense and near-falls for both teams as they work at a more and more frantic pace to try and get the win. Dax is able to fight out of a choke by Moxley and shoots him off the ropes into the Shatter Machine... the time limit expires! We have a draw! A great heated match from these two teams that built to an exciting final few minutes only for it to end in a draw and leave room for a rematch down the line. Great stuff! ****

Elimination Chamber Match for the #1 Contendership for the Women's World Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Naomi vs. Liv Morgan vs. Bianca Belair vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Tiffany Stratton at WWE Elimination Chamber 2024: A very enjoyable multi-person match. Everyone plays their roles in the match nicely. Becky and Naomi start off early with some nice exchanges. Tiffany enters and looks very impressive for her level of experience. Morgan enters as the fiery babyface who is willing to take big risks. Raquel enters as a beast and wrecks everyone before Bianca enters last and matches her power. Some really well done spots including Naomi going high risk only for Tiffany to take advantage and eliminate her and Bianca hitting a KOD to take out Raquel. Match comes down to Becky, Bianca and Morgan. Bianca goes for the KOD on Becky only for Morgan to catch Bianca with a roll-up. Morgan walks right into a Mandhandle Slam and Becky punches her ticket to Wrestlemania. Good stuff all match with some impressive outings from everyone. ****

No Disqualification Match: Sammy Guevara vs. Powerhouse Hobbs at AEW Collision 2/24/24: A super fun and wild match. Sammy goes right after Hobbs at the bell, throwing himself at the big man to try and finish him early. Great story plays out with Sammy using his speed and agility and everything not nailed down to chip away at Hobbs while Hobbs is able to get ahold of Sammy and just toss him around to take over time and time again. Some great spots that plays off the story for both men like Hobbs catching Sammy coming off the top and hitting a Spinebuster off the apron through two tables! Sammy fights from underneath and nails Hobbs with a pair of beer bottles. Swanton off a ladder through more tables by Sammy! Good Lord! Sammy goes for the killing blow in the ring but Hobbs pushes the referee into the ropes and crotches Sammy on the top. World's Strongest Slam off the top through a table by Hobbs, who gets the win! What a match! Both men played their roles in the match perfectly and went all out here with the stipulation. Great TV match. ****

Bryan Danielson vs. Jun Akiyama at AEW Collision 2/24/24: A very evenly matched back and forth match. Both start off looking to mat wrestle and get the early edge. Danielson, being the younger and faster wrestler, is able to get the advantage and tries to work over the powerful knees of Akiyama while the veteran, Akiyama, tries to pick his spots to catch Danielson and take over. As the match goes on, both men start to pull out the bigger and bigger shots to try and put the other away. Some great back and forth action all match from these two with Akiyama not looking his age at all. Akiyama tries for the Wrist Clutch Exploder but Danielson fights out and catches Akiyama with a stiff knee when he shoots for Danielson's legs. Danielson winds up and hits a Busaiku Knee on Akiyama to end things. Just a fun back and forth match to sit back, watch and enjoy. ****

Luke Jacobs vs. JJ Gale at RevPro High Stakes 2024: A really good match between the experienced Jacobs and rookie Gale. Match starts off with both men going at it with big strikes. Gale tries to use his quickness and agility to counter the size and power of Jacobs. Nice little story highlight with Gale's high risk offense costing him control of the match a few times when Jacobs is able to counter him. Gale does a good job fighting from underneath and taking everything Jacobs throws at him and even gets some big near-falls in. Brutal finish with Jacobs grabbing Gale's leg and arms and murders him with a headbutt! Two stiff powerbombs and Jacobs gets the win in a fun outing. Very nice showcase for Gale but Jacobs was still too much for him to handle. ****

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Connor Mills at RevPro High Stakes 2024: A really good technical match from these two. Both men start off trying to work for holds and submissions on the mat and we get some fantastic exchanges with neither able to get a clear advantage. Connor is able to hit a brutal looking Dragon Screw on Sabre to hurt his leg and put the veteran on defense. Nice selling by Sabre, who tries to switch things up by using his strikes to rock Connor and look for openings, only for Connor to keep going to the leg. Really good near-falls down the stretch with Connor looking more and more like he might pull off the upset, only for Connor to get cute and go for some Danielson offense and Sabre counters it. Connor panics and tries to escape but gets locked in Sabre's submission game. A pair of PKs by Sabre is enough to end things. Really great showing by Connor, who's cockiness ended up costing him. ****

RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship Match: Michael Oku (c) vs. Will Ospreay at RevPro High Stakes 2024: An incredible story-driven and action-filled match. Match starts off and right away you can tell this match will be different from their match 2 years ago, Oku is older and more mature and doesn't back down to Ospreay's early attempts at head games. Some nice early exchanges with both looking evenly matched here. Brilliant spot with Ospreay seemingly tweaking his knee but walks it off and is fine only for Oku to go after the knee a few minutes later to set up for the Half Crab. Ospreay is done playing around and starts to get violent and vicious with Oku and busts him open. Fantastic heat for Ospreay, who even kicks Oku's girlfriend, Amira when she refuses to throw in the towel for Oku. That sets off Oku who fires up on Ospreay and busts him open in response! More incredible back and forth from these two men before Oku nails a Hidden Blade on Ospreay. Just like Ospreay did last time, Oku picks up Ospreay to keep breaking the count and punish Ospreay more. Ospreay hits one of his own and a Styles Clash for a nice near-fall. Ospreay goes for another Hidden Blade but hits Amira! Oku rolls Ospreay into a Half Crab, but Ospreay grabs his hair to pull him back and break the hold. Storm Driver 93! Hidden Blade and a Stormbreaker but Oku kicks out!!! Oku is able to duck another Hidden Blade and counter Ospreay into a nasty reverse Canadian Destroyer! Frog Splash! And another! Ospreay somehow kicks out but Oku rolls right into a Half Crab! Oku sits back and Ospreay finally taps! Oku finally beats Ospreay in an incredible match! Every moment, every move and every near-fall felt important and earned. Pro Wrestling Cinema! *****

Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston and FTR at AEW Dynamite 2/28/24: A fun TV match to build to their PPV matches. Nice feeling out segment early on before Cash and Moxley get in and start throwing stiff chops and headbutts at each other. BCC is able to maintain control by isolating and working one member of FTR and keeping the match more of a brawl. Some nice heat before the babyfaces are able to get the hot tag to run wild and the match breaks down into a wild fight. Some really good tag team offense and near-falls from both sides. Maybe a little too cute with the "everyone does this at the same time" spot but still good. Everyone starts landing their best shots and it comes down to Danielson and Kingston. Danielson ducks the Backfist and drops Kingston on his head before a Busaiku Knee knocks Kingston cold but Danielson wants to send a message. Head stomps to Kingston before Danielson chokes out Kingston with a Triangle Choke. A good match to keep the heat going into the PPV. ****