Top Matches I Watched in February 2025

Top Matches I Watched in February 2025 By Alex Kalil

Another great month for wrestling! NJPW continues a nice hot streak right now as does AEW with match quality. A great Royal Rumble again! Finally! And even Stardom! Let's go!

Royal Rumble Match at WWE Royal Rumble 2025: A really exciting and unpredictable Rumble match. Things start off with Rey and Penta for a cool Lucha back and forth before more people enter. Bron Breakker enters and starts cleaning house. Fun spot with IShowSpeed taking the place of a hurt Tozawa, only to get murdered by a Spear from Bron. That was amazing! Jacob Fatu enters and starts wrecking everyone as well. Joe Hendry enters for a nice pop before Roman Reigns enters and takes over. Bron cuts off Roman with a Spear but Roman is able to reverse Bron and eliminate him. More big names like Drew, Jey and AJ Styles enter. Braun enters and eliminates Jacob to get revenge. John Cena enters and dumps out Braun and Finn. Roman and Cena stare down as CM Punk enters followed by Seth Rollins! Rollins goes right after Punk! Logan Paul enters last and we start getting the big eliminations. Drew is eliminated by Priest. Logan Paul has a neat spot where he leaps to the announcer's table to stay in and trips AJ to eliminate him. Rollins and Roman go at it yet again and Punk dumps out both of them! Logan dumps out Punk right behind them! Rollins Curb Stomps Roman on the floor and gets into it with Punk! It's down to Cena, Jey and Logan. Cena is able to eliminate Logan. Cena and Jey battle it out and the fight ends up on the apron. Cena lifts Jey for an AA but Jey slips off and knocks Cena off the apron. Jey Uso wins the Royal Rumble! What a wild Rumble. Cool to see guys like Penta, Bron and Jacob get to shine early before the main event guys enter. Lots of story elements late in the match to build to future matches and a surprise winner. A very good Rumble! ****1/4

NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. KUSHIDA at NJPW Battle in the Valley 2025: A really good match of power vs. technical wrestling skills. Match starts off with some nice mat wrestling from both men before Takeshita tries to power KUSHIDA around while KUSHIDA goes after Takeshita's limbs. That is the story for the rest of the match: Takeshita wanting to hit big power moves while KUSHIDA goes after the arm and knee of Takeshita to work for the submission win. Some great submission work by KUSHIDA, even a few instances of him going after one limb just to create an opening to go after the other one. All this while Takeshita sells nicely but still keeps firing back on KUSHIDA with some nice big bombs. KUSHIDA works at a more frantic pace as the match goes on to try and keep Takeshita on the defensive but Takeshita is able to rock KUSHIDA with a big elbow. Raging Fire ends it and Takeshita retains. Really good stuff where they did a nice job of making it look like KUSHIDA could pull off the upset before Takeshita finally lands one big elbow to end that chance. ****

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hechicero at NJPW Battle in the Valley 2025: Another great bell to bell wrestling match from these two. Right from the start these two go at it with amazing submissions and back and forth technical wrestling. Incredible counters to every hold that they are able to pull off all while the crowd was hooked by it. Both men try to utilize their strikes for an opening and Hechicero looks to use his Lucha style to counter Sabre but Sabre is able to keep firing back and keep things even. Back and forth pinning attempts late into the match and Sabre is able to get in a deep Jackknife pin for the win. Just another great wrestling display from both these men with Sabre once again beating Hechicero, this time by pinning him. ****

Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet at AEW Dynamite 2/5/25: A really great and physical match from these two! Ricochet jumps Swerve on the ramp and attacks him with a chair. Ricochet is able to get Swerve in the ring and looks for the quick win but Swerve ain't going down easy and starts fighting back. Great heated action all match with these two going blow for blow and counter for counter all match. Some awesome spots like Swerve countering a rana to powerbomb Ricochet on the guardrail! Ouch! As the match goes on, we get some nice big near-falls with Swerve hitting the Swerve Stomp and Ricochet hitting a 450 and Shooting Star Press for 2. Ricochet goes for Spirit Gun but Swerve cuts him off with a House Call! Swerve goes for a Swerve Stomp but Ricochet covers up and inadvertently low blows Swerve! Spirit Gun by Ricochet and he gets the win. Awesome first match from these two with a lot of heat to their offense. I liked the clever finish with Ricochet cheating on accident and stealing the win. ****1/4

Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe at AEW Collision 2/8/25: A really great TV match from these two. Fletcher starts off hot and catches Mark with a boot at the bell and goes right to work on him. Fletcher gets a little cocky and Mark is quick to take advantage and starts brawling with Fletcher. Mark goes for the Cactus Elbow off the apron but Fletcher catches him and lawn darts him into the ring post! Mark is busted open and Fletcher is all over him. Good stuff from here with Fletcher working over a bloody Mark, who keeps fighting back. Classic babyface vs. heel wrestling stuff. Mark is able to slip out of a Turnbuckle Brainbuster by Fletcher and goes for the Cut-Throat Driver. Fletcher grabs the referee to block it and the distraction lets Fletcher kick Mark low. Brainbuster and a cover but only 2! Fletcher starts bombing Mark with Half-Nelson Supexes but Mark isn't going down! Fletcher tries for a Superplex to the outside but Mark fights him off. Froggy Bow off the top to the outside and drives Fletcher through a table! Holy Shit! Mark gets Fletcher in the ring for another Froggy Bow but only gets a 2! Mark keeps on Fletcher and goes for broke with a potential top rope Jay Driller. Fletcher is able to fight out of it though and levels Mark with a pair of Leg Lariats. Turnbuckle Brainbuster by Fletcher finally gives him the win. What a match! Fletcher looked like a killer here and really took the fight to Mark, who fought like hell and did everything he could to try and beat Fletcher. Really great match. ****

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: El Desperado (c) vs. Kosei Fujita at NJPW Road to the New Beginning 2025 Night 7: An awesome battle between two very talented technical wrestlers! Things start off even with some really nice mat wrestling from both men before they start firing off chops at each other. Fujita seems to be able to out-strike Desperado as things progress so Desperado goes after the knee to set up for Numero Dos. Fujita keeps fighting back, only for Desperado to go after the bad shoulder of Fujita and gives himself two body parts to work over. Great stuff with Desperado really working over Fujita and forcing him to dig deep to fight back, which Fujita does with his own submission work. Desperado has to, yet again, change his game plan and starts bombing Fujita with some big offense. Fujita is able to stay on Desperado with his submissions, even tying up Desperado for an amazing looking submission right into a roll-up for a big near-fall. Desperado is finally able to hit Pinche Loco. Desperado rolls and looks for another but Fujita backdrops him for a cover! Only 2! That was Fujita's last breath of resistance as another Pinche Loco by Desperado ends it. Awesome stuff! Loved Fujita pushing Desperado and forcing him to, in a way, keep up with the young challenger. Desperado was able to keep changing his tactics on the fly to put away Fujita on this day but clearly the gap between the two is shrinking with each match. ****1/4

AEW World Trios Championship Match: Claudio Castagnoli, PAC and Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong at AEW Dynamite 2/12/25: A super fun trios match. Things start off hot with all 6 men getting into a wild brawl on the floor. Action gets into the ring and settles down as the Undisputed Kingdom gets some shine early before the Death Riders are able to use the numbers and cheap tactics to isolate and work over the babyfaces. Some great old school stuff like distracting the referee for a cheap shot, cutting off the ring and double teams all building to a hot tag. Very well done. Cole finally gets the hot tag after both Kyle and Roderick got worked over and cleans house. Things break down as we get a ton of action with all 6 men going at it. Undisputed Kingdom gets Wheeler alone and Kyle looks to tap him out with an Ankle Lock. Claudio distracts the referee by trying to bring in a chair and Wheeler uses the opening to low blow Kyle and roll him up to steal the win. Really enjoyed the chaos of the match with a really hot crowd. Death Riders finally come off like a dangerous unit even if they had to cheat to steal the win in the end. ****

MJF vs. Dustin Rhodes at AEW Dynamite 2/12/25: A very classic Southern style match. Match kicks off and MJF immediately tries to put distance between himself and Dustin. When Dustin follows and forces MJF back in the ring, MJF goes after the arm to set up for the Salt of the Earth and we have our story of the match: MJF works the arm and Dustin fights back in front of his hometown. Great heel work by MJF as he mocks and toys with Dustin while working him over and Dustin just digs deep to power out and fight back. Old school wrestling done right! The match builds upon itself as we get some bigger and bigger offense from both men. MJF goes for a Cross Rhodes but Dustin counters into one of his own for a big near-fall. Dustin tries for the Final Reckoning but MJF blocks and fakes a knee injury to hit a piledriver for another nice near-fall. MJF gets annoyed at Dustin staying in the match so he grabs a chair to break Dustin's arm, only for the referee to take the chair away and leave MJF open for a Shattered Dreams by Dustin for a massive pop. This is great! Final Reckoning finally hits but only a 2 count! Dustin goes for one more but MJF is able to hit one of his own right into the Salt of the Earth! Dustin fights to get to the ropes but MJF pulls him back to the center and locks in a Crossface. Dustin passes out and the referee calls for the bell. What a match! A perfect TV match that let Dustin be the valiant babyface for his hometown while MJF played the perfect heel who picked him apart. Great stuff! ****

Shingo Takagi vs. Drilla Moloney at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2025: A really nice, hard hitting match to put over the new guy in the heavyweight division. From the bell, both men come out swinging away with big strikes and big offense. Some nice storytelling with Drilla  being faster than Shingo at times but Shingo is more experienced like when Drilla avoids a DDT so when Shingo sets up for it a second time, he just punches Drilla in the face. Love it. Also really liked Drilla looking for the Drilla Killa all match and even pulling out a Made in Japan and Clark Connor's Gore to try and get the win. Shingo fires back with his own big bombs including Made in Japan for a nice near-fall. Shingo goes for Last of the Dragon but Drilla is able to slip out and muscles Shingo up for the Drilla Killa! And that gets the 3! Big win for Drilla, who stood toe to toe with Shingo and matched him all match. Good way to start his run as a heavyweight. ****

NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Oleg Boltin at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2025: A hard hitting Hoss fight! Oleg comes out the gate and is able to out-power Takeshita to take him off his feet early. Takeshita rolls to the outside to regroup but Oleg stays on him, only to be run, shoulder first, into the ring post. Takeshita makes a target of the shoulder and goes to work on it, trying to take away Oleg's power and strength. Some nice selling by Oleg, who still fights back as the crowd really gets behind him. Oleg starts slugging it out with Takeshita including an awesome spot where the two lock arms and start throwing shots and Oleg rocks Takeshita! Oleg starts bombing Takeshita before Takeshita cuts him off with a brutal Lariat. 1 count on Oleg! Powerdrive Knee by Takeshita! Another kickout! Takeshita locks in a Guillotine and chokes the life out of Oleg. Raging Fire finally puts down Oleg and gives Takeshita the win. What a match! Oleg starts off hot before hurting his shoulder which gave Takeshita something to work on and Oleg something to overcome. Amazing babyface comeback that had the crowd truly behind Oleg. Loved that in a straight up back and forth bomb-fest, Oleg could keep fighting back so Takeshita had to choke the fight out of the young man. Star-making match for Oleg. ****1/2

IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship Match: Yota Tsuji (c) vs. Gabe Kidd at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2025: This was a fight! Both men slapped each other before the bell and smiled. Here we go! We get a physical lock-up early before Gabe makes this a fight by just chopping and forearming the hell of Tsuji. Loved seeing Gabe pushing Tsuji to prove himself and fire back, which Tsuji does and the match breaks down into two warriors going at it. Back and forth shots all match with each wanting the other to stand and fight. This was awesome. As things go on, we get some nice big bombs and even a nice callback to their Young Lion days with Tsuji using the Boston Crab for a great near-fall. Tsuji goes for Gene Blaster but Gabe counters with an Inoki Abdominal Stretch! So great! More vicious strikes from both men before Tsuji tries for another Gene Blaster but Gabe counters with a piledriver this time! Gabe starts rolling and turns Tsuji inside out with a Lariat. Gabe looks for the Oni Knee but Tsuji cuts him in half with a Gene Blaster! Both men are down and can't make it to their feet as the referee counts to 10. The match is ruled a draw! I loved this! A physical back and forth fight with these two men just beating the hell out of each other. Loved Gabe having the Gene Blaster well scouted and with ways to counter it but left himself open for one when going for the killing blow. Unfortunately, Tsuji had taken too much punishment to take advantage and both men were counted out for the draw. Can't wait for the rematch! ****3/4 

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hirooki Goto at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2025: An exciting and emotional match! Goto comes in looking to finally win the World Title but Sabre isn't going to let him do so easily. Match plays out how you expect early on with Goto having the power advantage so Sabre goes to the neck to start picking him apart. Goto cuts off Sabre's momentum with an Ushigiroshi and starts working Sabre's neck himself. Goto starts rolling and even hits a one man Shoto in the corner for a nice near-fall but Sabre hits a Zack Driver to stop Goto in his tracks. Sabre is back in the driver seat and looks to tap out Goto but the crowd cheers him on as he makes it to the ropes for a huge pop! Sabre tries to stay on Goto, but Goto is fighting back! Goto hits Shoten and the crowd is rocking for him! Goto could do this! Goto looks for the GTR but Sabre keeps blocking and countering it. Sabre with a European Clutch! It's over! 1,2... Kickout! Goto is still in this! Lariat by Goto! GTR! And another GTR! Goto is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion! What a match! Sabre tried to play spoiler here for Goto and go through his trademark playbook but Goto was not having it tonight. Sabre even broke out the Zack Driver early just to stop the momentum of Goto but with the crowd and his family behind him, Goto was not staying down tonight. Even at the end, Sabre did everything he could to avoid the GTR and get the win but Goto fought through it all, hit the GTR and finally won the big one! The G in IWGP stands for Goto! ****1/2

Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher at AEW Grand Slam Australia 2025: A super exciting and action-filled tag match. Ospreay and Fletcher start off and pick up right where they left off last time they met. Omega and Ospreay are able to use their quick offense to control early for the most part and work well as a team. The tide of the match turns when Fletcher shoves Ospreay into Omega's gut and goes to work on Omega's still healing midsection. Heels isolate and work over Omega for some good heat before Omega makes the big tag to Ospreay. Match picks up as everyone starts moving at an insane pace and hitting bigger and bigger offense. Tons of big spots, counters and near-falls that you would expect from these 4 men.  Heels are able to cut off the babyface's momentum with stereo Tombstones for a nice near-fall. Heels, once again, isolate Omega and start hammering him with big bombs like a Powerdrive Knee and a double team Brainbuster. Cover but Ospreay makes the save! Ospreay literally covers Omega with his own body to protect him from the heels! What a babyface! Ospreay counters a Brainbuster by Fletcher into a Stunner and starts fighting back! Omega and Takeshita go at it as Ospreay takes out Fletcher. Omega gets Takeshita up as Ospreay comes off the top for a One-Winged Angel/Hidden Blade combo! Holy fuck! Omega gets the pin on Takeshita! Incredible bell to bell action and a nice story thread of Omega being the weak link of the team and Ospreay doing all he can to protect him at times. What a match! ****1/2

AEW International Championship Match: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Orange Cassidy at AEW Dynamite 2/26/25: An excellent bell to bell action-filled match! Some mind games at the start with Takeshita taking Cassidy's sunglasses and Cassidy doing his lazy strikes before both men get serious. Cassidy is faster but Takeshita's power is able to shut down Cassidy's early momentum and he goes to work on Cassidy for some heat. Cassidy does a nice job fighting back even as Takeshita is able to stop him time and time again. Awesome spot with Cassidy going for Stundog Millionaire but Takeshita just powers him up into a Blue Thunder Bomb. Wow! Match spills to the floor and Cassidy is able to sucker Takeshita in close and hits a Beach Break on the announcer's table! Cassidy tries to keep the pressure on with more big bombs but a diving DDT is cut off by a big Takeshita elbow! Raging Fire by Takeshita but Cassidy counters with a Stundog Millionaire! Orange Punch is stopped by Takeshita, who catches Cassidy. Bastard Driver by Takeshita only for Cassidy to counter a German Suplex into a roll-up! Kickout! Another Orange Punch is blocked and Takeshita hits Raging Fire and finally puts Cassidy down. What a finish and what a match! Loved Cassidy knowing he was outmatched so he had to go for big shots all match for any hope of winning. Takeshita yet again looks like a world class wrestler here as he was able to easily counter some of Cassidy's best shots to get the win. ****1/4

Wonder of Stardom Championship Match: Starlight Kid (c) vs. Rina at Stardom Path of Thunder: A very good match to put over the young Rina. Match starts and Starlight Kid tries to keep the pace fast before Rina cuts her off by attacking Starlight Kid with a whip and a chairshot to the arm. Rina goes to work on the arm for a bit until Starlight Kid ups the aggression and starts viciously attacking Rina's knee. Story of the match switches with Starlight Kid as the aggressive heel and Rina the babyface in peril for her hometown crowd. Great selling by Rina, who does everything she can to fight back only for Starlight Kid to keep going after the knee. Rina finally has to use her own damaged knee to fight back by blocking a top rope splash and answering back with a pair of double knees from the top. Rina is rolling now and starts landing her own big bombs for some nice near-falls like a Cop Killa and a really great arm submission where Starlight Kid is all but trapped and yet somehow makes it to the ropes.  Rina goes for Hana Kimura's Tiger Lilly, but Starlight Kid is able to fight out of it and finally takes back over. Some big bombs by Starlight Kid but Rina keeps kicking out and refusing to go down. Starlight Kid is able to lock in the Black Tiger Leg Destroyer and although Rina tries to fight for the ropes, the hold is locked in too deep and she has to tap. Amazing job pivoting to Rina being the babyface for the match in front of her hometown because once they did, the match really clicked. Starlight Kid comes off like a strong defending champion while Rina shows promise as a fiery babyface. Really good stuff. ****