Top Matches I Watched in May 2025

Top Matches I Watched in May 2025

By Alex Kalil

What a month of wrestling! AEW TV continues to be the best wrestling TV while also giving us an all time show with Double or Nothing. Plus I got back into NJPW, Dragon Gate and even Stardom. And the return of MLP!

Two Out of Three Falls Match: FTR vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong at AEW Collision 5/3: Another really good match in this tag team feud. Match starts and everyone works at a fast pace to try and get the first fall. FTR tries to go for the Shatter Machine early but Roderick is there to block it. Kyle gets Dax alone in the ring and locks in the Ankle Lock. Dax fights to the ropes or Cash to help break the hold but Roderick stops Cash and Dax has to tap out to not risk more damage to his leg. FTR rallies in the second fall and tries to isolate Kyle but Roderick gets the hot tag and runs wild on them. FTR bails to the floor and into the crowd but Kyle and Roderick follow and get the match back in the ring only for Cash to chop block Roderick to take out his knee. FTR goes to work on Roderick's knee for some nice heat until Kyle gets the hot tag to run wild and looks for another submission win. We get some good back and forth action until Kyle and Roderick try for a double back drop on Dax, only for him to land on his feet and Cash to shove Kyle from the ring. Shatter Machine on Roderick and FTR ties it up. FTR looks to follow up immediately with a Spiked Piledriver but Kyle stops it. Kyle tags in to try and buy time for Roderick to recover. FTR goes for Shatter Machine but Roderick blocks it this time. High/Low on Dax. Cover and 3! Wait! Cash put Dax's foot on the rope so the match continues. Kyle locks Cash in an Ankle Lock but he isn't the legal man. Cash rakes Kyle's eyes to break up the hold and Kyle stumbles right into Shatter Machine for the third and final fall. Another great match from these two teams who can do no wrong in the ring together. Lots of callbacks to their first 3 matches and FTR showing off their new heel tactics to get the win. ****

NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Ryohei Oiwa at NJPW Sakura Genesis 2025: A really good hard hitting match between these two. Things start off with both men trying for some mat wrestling which Oiwa seems to have the edge on over Takeshita. Oiwa starts to work Takeshita's left arm to set up for submissions as well as effect Takeshita's power. Some good moments of shine for Oiwa, who might have Takeshita's number, until Takeshita starts firing off some big strikes and offensive bombs. Oiwa does a really good job of trying to keep up with Takeshita, even taking a slam but holding the arm to work for a Kimura in a nice spot. As the match goes on, Oiwa starts to fire back on Takeshita with his own strikes and power moves as we get a nice back and forth. Oiwa keeps trying for The Grip to end things but Takeshita is able to finally fire off a devastating elbow strike to knock Oiwa's block off. The result is academic at this point, and while Oiwa is able to resist for a few, a Raging Fire by Takeshita puts him away for the win. Great match for the young Oiwa, who got to show all the potential he has, against one of the top wrestlers in the world who sold incredibly for Oiwa's offense. Unfortunately, Takeshita was able to land a powerful elbow to take away all Oiwa's momentum of the match and put him away. **** 

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. David Finlay at NJPW Sakura Genesis 2025: A classic babyface champion vs. heel match. We get some simple wrestling early on with Goto able to outpower Finlay until Finlay starts to target his back. Some really nice heat by Finlay, who toys and mocks Goto, only for Goto to reverse a powerbomb into the ring post with a hurricanrana that sends Finlay face first into the ring post. Match becomes an exciting back and forth battle from there with Goto able to roll back the clock and hit some big offense like a Death Valley Driver off the apron putting Finlay through a pair of tables and even a Kaiten! Finlay fights back as well and does a great job keeping the match more of a fight rather than a wrestling match. Into Oblivion and Overkill won't put Goto down but Finlay tries for one more killing blow, only for Goto to reverse with Shoten Kai. A trio of GTRs by Goto and the Goto Revolution continues! Just a super fun back and forth match. Both men played their roles to perfection and looked like either could win it, but Goto is on a different level right now and was able to retain. ****

Six Way Hair vs. Mask Steel Cage Survival Match: Yuki Yoshioka vs. Dragon Dia vs. ISHIN vs. Kota Minoura vs. Madoka Kikuta vs. Shun Skywalker at Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 2025: A very fun, story driven match. Things start off very much like a 6 man tag match with the members of Z-Brats and D'Courage working together. Everyone goes at it until the 5 minute period is up and people can start to escape. Z-Brats on the outside work to block D'Courage from escaping while inside D'Courage is able to work over the heels like Kikuta rocking Shun and ISHIN with hip attacks as they are trapped against the cage. Z-Brats are able to take over and ISHIN tries to hold down D'Courage while Shun and Kota escape. D'Courage fight out from under ISHIN to stop them, while ISHIN immediately tries to escape himself. Dragon Dia rushes to stop ISHIN but is knocked down and ISHIN escapes the cage. Dia is hurt in the fall and D'Courage rallies to help him escape with Kikuta and Yuki literally lifting Dia up to the flag and his escape.  Yuki starts to make his escape as well when Gianni Valletta runs out and shakes the cage to stop him. Officials and Ryoya Tanaka stop Gianni and remove him from ringside as Yuki and Kota fight on the cage to escape. Z-Brats are able to blind Yuki with powder and Kota is able to escape the cage. Shun tries to get Kikuta to join him but Kikuta turns him down and D'Courage works together to attack Shun. Frog Splash by Yuki on Shun to seemingly finish him but Kukuta hits Yuki with a chair! Kukuta has joined Z-Brats, as Shun and him climb out to escape and Yuki is shaved bald. A really good match with some great storytelling. I wish the turn was better done but the effect was still there. ****

Loser Leaves Stardom Match: Tam Nakano vs. Saya Kamitani at Stardom Nighter in Korakuen: A well done and heated match between these rivals. We get the usual slow feeling out portion early as both women seem on edge and cautious with the stipulation. The match gets more and more heated as the fight spills to the outside and into the crowd for a bit. Saya is able to take over for some heat with help from her Hate stablemates. Tam starts to fire up and comes up swinging for the fences on Saya. Stiff strikes, kicks, slaps and even headbutts. Both women start throwing big bombs at each other as they are desperate to win. Amazing spot with both hitting big shots and their opponent kicking out at 1! No one is going down without a fight! Tam gets in some big near-falls until Hate and the Cosmic Angels get involved and chaos breaks out. Saya cracks Tam with a chair and hits a Star Crusher. Saya lifts Tam for one last kick to the face and gets the pin! Really great back and forth action. The stable run-ins were a little much for me but helped tell the story of these two doing anything to win. ****

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jonathan Gresham at MLP Northern Rising: A really great technical wrestling showcase between these two. Match starts and right away both start looking for holds, submissions and ways to ground the other. Lots of amazing counter for counter technical wrestling as both take over and control the match from time to time. Gresham is able to work over Sabre late into the match until Sabre starts coming back with strikes to rock Gresham. More back and forth quick counters until Sabre is able to dodge a kick and roll-up Gresham with a European Clutch to get the win. Really loved watching these two work and really liked the idea that one mistake was all it took for Sabre to take advantage and get the win. ****

"Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Gabe Kidd vs. Michael Oku at MLP Northern Rising: A very fun 3 way match. Things start off fast and we get some storytelling early with the smaller Bailey and Oku needing to work together to take out Gabe before they are able to go at it. Everyone gets a role to play with both Bailey and Oku being the high flyers but Bailey the striker and Oku the technical worker while Gabe is the big and powerful brawler. Lots of great back and forth action with the classic "2 in, 1 out" style before we get more of all 3 men involved later on. Oku gets a great spot where he tries for the Half Crab on both men only for it to get broken up both times. Gabe takes over with his big Lariats and suplexes before trying for a Piledriver on Oku. Bailey off the top with an Ultimo Weapon to Gabe's back! Time Adventure by Bailey to Oku and Bailey gets the win. A fun match with each guy getting a chance to shine and a really creative finish. ****

Will Ospreay and Adam Page vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Josh Alexander at AEW Dynamite 5/14-Beach Break: A very good classic tag team match. Bell rings and right away Ospreay is able to take control with his speed and quick offense. Takeshita and Alexander make some frequent tags to cut off Ospreay and work him over for a bit until Ospreay tags in Page, who runs wild. From there we get a pretty standard tag match with the more experienced heel tag team controlling for the most part while the unlikely allies have to work together to fight back. Lots of big spots, double team offense and near-falls for both teams with a nice back and forth flow to it. Fantastic storytelling moment with both Page and Ospreay missing a Buckshot Lariat and Hidden Blade respectively and nearly hitting the other. Even with the near miss, the two are able to hit Alexander with a Buckshot/Hidden Blade combo to get the win. Very good match that helped further the feud between Ospreay and Page while being a fun TV match. ****

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Konosuke Takeshita at NJPW Windy City Riot 2025: An incredible match of the old Ace facing a young rival from his past one last time. Some nice back and forth wrestling early and we get a clear visual early that Takeshita is the bigger and stronger wrestler of the two men now. Tanahashi has to use his experience to counter Takeshita and goes to work on his knee to try and ground the bigger man and weaken him. Great selling by Takeshita, who fights through all the pain to just hammer Tanahashi. Even with all the punishment he takes, Tanahashi is able to find clever ways to counter Takeshita's offense and starts to gain some ground, even hitting a High Fly Flow for a nice near-fall. Tanahashi goes for an arm-trapped German but Takeshita smashes the back of his head into Tanahashi and nails him with a violent elbow to cut off Tanahashi. Takeshita starts laying in his big shots on Tanahashi before adding insult to injury with a High Fly Flow of his own but Tanahashi kicks out at 1! The Ace will not go down easy! Tanahashi fires up and hits a standing High Fly Flow and goes for one last High Fly Flow but Takeshita gets his knees up to block it. Takeshita starts looking for the kill with more strikes and big bombs. Raging Fire by Takeshita but Tanahashi counters with one last small package to try for the win but Takeshita kicks out. Powerdrive Knee by Takeshita. And another and another. 5 in total and Tanahashi still kicks out one last time! Double Knees by Takeshita and Raging Fire finally hits to put down Tanahashi. What a match! I love Tanahashi having to be the better wrestler and out-smart Takeshita all match because he wasn't able to go toe to toe with him. Takeshita took everything Tanahashi threw and dished it right back at him before finally defeating the man that beat him over a decade ago. ****1/4

Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Women's Tournament Final Match: Mercedes Mone vs. Jamie Hayter at AEW Double or Nothing 2025: A really great back and forth match between the more experienced Mone and the hard hitting Hayter. Some nice quick wrestling in the early goings with Mone almost toying with Hayter, only for Hayter to fire back with some big powerful shots. Mone is able to use her in-ring experience to get Hayter stuck in the ropes and hit a Meteora to the outside to take over. Mone goes to work on Hayter's previously injured back and we get a nice story to the match from there: Mone trying to chip away at Hayter's power advantage while Hayter fights back from underneath. Some really great ba0ck and forth offense and I really like that as the match goes on, Mone gets more and more desperate to put Hayter away. Roll-ups and quick pins, submissions and even some top rope offense all get Mone near-falls but Hayter keeps fighting back and looking for the Hayterade, which Mone keeps countering and blocking. Hayter is able to reverse a Tombstone by Mone into one of her own for a near-fall and once again tries for the Hayterade. Mone ducks it and is able to tie up Hayter before all but dropping Hayter on her head with a roll-up for the win! Really great match that built and built as these two did everything they could to win. Really liked Mone having the Hayterade scouted and was able to block it every time Hayter went for it until Hayter went to the well once too often and Mone was able to steal a win. ****1/4

AEW Continental Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey at AEW Double or Nothing 2025: A very fun match between the cocky champion and the fiery babyface challenger. Match starts off and right away Okada doesn't take Bailey seriously as a threat until Bailey fires off some kicks. Bailey is a bit too overeager and follows Okada to the outside and misses a kick to hit the steel steps. Okada takes the opening to work on Bailey's leg for a bit to slow him down and put Okada firmly in control. Bailey is able to fire up and fight back even with his bad leg, which Okada almost arrogantly stops working on to instead target Bailey's neck. Some really good back and forth action as both men start going for bigger and bigger blows. Bailey goes for Time Adventure only to get nailed by a dropkick from Okada. Rainmaker... NO! Bailey blocks with a kick. Time Adventure by Bailey! Cover but Okada gets his hand on the rope right at 3! WOW! That was close! Bailey starts laying in more of his kicks only for Okada to respond with Lariats. Rainmaker attempted again but Bailey counters with a series of super close pins. Bailey lays out Okada with a kick and tries for Ultimo Weapon but Okada meets him coming off the top with a dropkick! Holy Shit! Okada finally hits the Rainmaker and gets the win! Great stuff by both men as Okada came in cocky and sure that he could win but Bailey was able to surprise him numerous times and almost pull off the win before Okada finally put him away. ****

Anarchy in the Arena Match: Kenny Omega, Swerve Strickland, The Opps and Willow Nightingale vs. Death Riders and The Young Bucks at AEW Double or Nothing 2025: A wild and chaotic fight! Everyone starts off hot as they brawl all over the arena and action is too crazy to call. Moxley stabbing Hobbs with a fork! Shibata PK-ing Yuta with a barbed wire wrapped boot. Claudio swinging Swerve into a speaker to shut off the music. Willow getting chained to the ring post by her ear! Swerve going wild with a staple gun to everyone! Hobbs and Willow clearing house and looking like beasts! The Bucks superkicking everyone including Rick Knox. Hook returns to attack Claudio but leaves the match. Joe gets Moxley in a choke when Gabe Kidd runs in to attack and stop the babyfaces. EVP Trigger to Omega with tacks in his mouth! The match works its way back to the ramp where Mark Briscoe joins in the fight! The babyfaces are able to lock the Death Riders in an ambulance and hold the doors closed. It's down to the Bucks vs. Omega and Swerve! V-Trigger and House Call to the Bucks. Swerve puts on shoes covered in tacks! Omega with a One-Winged Angel to Matt off the stage through an exploding table! Holy shit! Swerve Stomp by Swerve with the tacks on Nick and that is it! What a match! The chaos, the wild spots, the crowd going insane, the perfect blending of so many angles and storylines all in one match and topped off with some awesome music playing over the action. This was pure wrestling fun in the best way possible! *****

Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Men's Tournament Final Match: Adam Page vs. Will Ospreay at AEW Double or Nothing 2025: An incredible back and forth match between two of the best wrestlers in AEW. We get some nice standard offense early on with the story being weaved into the action so well. Page is the tougher and harder hitting wrestler of the two while Ospreay is faster, more agile and able to string together offense more quickly than Page. Both men go for their biggest shot early, the Buckshot Lariat and Hidden Blade respectively, and both are able to be avoided. From there, we get a fantastic back and forth pace to the match with Page trying to just hammer Ospreay into defeat while Ospreay looks to weather the storm and chip away at Page. A great but simple spot is Ospreay backing Page into the corner with elbows only for Page to drop Ospreay with one stiff elbow. Ospreay is able to fight Page, but Page has the power to drop him with one big shot. The back and forth exchanges keep coming as both men start going for the bigger bombs and even pull out some different moves. Page tries for Daniels' Best Moonsault Ever but slips on it, allowing Ospreay to nail a Hidden Blade only for Page to roll to the apron and avoid the pin. Ospreay follows and hits Page with a Style Clash from the apron to the floor! Holy shit! Page just beats the count getting back in the ring, only to be hit with an Oscutter and yet he still kicks out! Ospreay starts to get frustrated at Page's tenacity and tries to put him through the announcer's table. Page is able to reverse Ospreay and hits Dead Eye as the table collapses, so Page hits a second one on the rubble for good measure. Page gets Ospreay in the ring and sets up for the Buckshot. Ospreay locks eyes with Page and readys the Hidden Blade. The two men charge! Page hits the Buckshot Lariat! Ospreay kicks out! Page tries for another Buckshot but Ospreay is there with the Hidden Blade this time! Stormbreaker! Page kicks out! My God! Ospreay tries for another Hidden Blade to the back of Page's head but Page collapses at the last moment for Ospreay to miss it. What a spot! Ospreay hits a V-Trigger and even goes for the One-Winged Angel, only for Page to block and counter with Big Pressure but Ospreay gets a foot on the ropes. Awesome touch of these two using offense from their greatest rivals. Page again goes back to the Buckshot but Ospreay blocks again and tries for the Stormbreaker. Page slips out and nails a big Lariat. One final Buckshot Lariat! Page does it! Page wins the Owen and is going to All In! What a match! The slow build of these two starting out with different strategies but on even footing. Ospreay slowly realizing that he is not able to out-strike Page and having to try for bigger and bigger offense while Page stuck to looking for the Buckshot all match as the Ace up his sleeve. In the end, Page was able to deliver a decisive Buckshot Lariat to get the win. A damn near perfect match. *****

NXT Women's Championship Match: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Jordynne Grace at NXT Battleground 2025: A really good back and forth match between the defending champion and the powerhouse challenger. Some early exchanges from both women showcase Grace having the power advantage while Vaquer is able to work at a faster pace. Very back and forth flow to the match with Vaquer using her speed and agility as well as her mat wrestling and submission skills to try and chip away at Grace's absolute power. Grace is able to display some good agility of her own and keeps Vaquer on her toes nicely by countering a lot of her trademark offense. Some nice near-falls down the stretch like a big spot with Vaquer avoiding a charging Grace, who crashes through the barricade. Vaquer is quick to follow-up in the ring with a SVB Backbreaker but only gets a 2 count. A nice strikes exchange from the two women before Vaquer is able to use a Dragon Screw in the ropes to create space and get to the top rope. Grace tries to follow but Vaquer knocks her off and nails the Spiral Tap for the win. Just a straight up well done back and forth match from two very talented women. ****