Top Matches I Watched in November 2024
By Alex Kalil
We are on the home stretch of the year! Didn't get too as much wrestling this month but I did get in some NJPW along with a great AEW PPV and a solid WWE PPV. Enjoy
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2024: A good back and forth match from these old foes. Both men start off with some nice mat wrestling before we get to the trademark style of both: Naito working the neck and Sabre picking apart Naito with submissions. Some really nice back and forth offense from both men with a nice story of Naito trying to prove he can still be the top guy while Sabre looks to cement himself on top. A Destino out of nowhere gives Naito a big near-fall but Sabre is quick to counter a follow-up one with a Gotch-Style Piledriver! Sabre goes for a Zack Driver but Naito counters with Destino! Sabre kicks out at 2! Naito tries to stay on it but Sabre recovers and finally hits a Zack Driver. Kick-out at 1 by Naito! He will not go down easily! A second Zack Driver only gets a 2 but the third Zack Driver ends it and Sabre is the new champion! Really fun match with Naito showing he can still go and manages to go out on his shield against the better wrestler that is Sabre. ****
AEW TBS Championship Match: Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Kris Statlander at AEW Full Gear 2024: A fantastic power vs.speed match. A nice slow build to start off with Mone working over Statlander with her wrestling skills and quickness while Statlander tries to use her power to cut Mone off. Mone hits a big rana off the apron and goes after Statlander's back to try and neutralize her power. Mone starts bombarding Statlander with some big offense including multiple Meteoras and gets increasingly more frustrated at Statlander kicking out. Mone goes for the Meteora once too often and Statlander catches her and nails a big powerbomb. Statlander starts rolling and seems to hurt her knee on a backbreaker but keeps on Mone. 450 by Statlander misses and Mone goes after the knee! Frog Splash right on the knee but Statlander kicks out. Mone Maker but Statlander kicks out again! Statlander counters a second Mone Maker into Saturday Night Fever... but Mone punches at Statlander's knee to block it! Mone rolls Statlander, throat first, into the ropes and steals it with a quick roll-up! What a match. Perfect in-ring storytelling with Mone getting frustrated at Statlander not staying down and Statlander's hurt knee nicely playing into the finish. ****1/4
Jay White vs. Adam Page at AEW Full Gear 2024: A really nice follow-up to these two's match last month. White tries to out-wrestle Page early on but Page is able to dump White to the outside and causes him to land awkwardly on his leg. Page sees this and immediately goes after the leg to work White over. White nicely fights back and goes after Page's own hurt leg as well and we get a really great back and forth of these two one-legged men trying to fight each other. Lots of big offense and counters from both guys before the fight spills to the floor. Great spot with Page using an Ankle Lock on White while outside the ring and tries for the count-out. White makes it back in at 9 but is in perfect position for a Buckshot Lariat, only for White to counter with an uranage! What a spot! Great back and forth closing exchange before Page again goes for the Ankle Lock only for White to counter it right into Bladerunner! White gets the win again! Even with Page trying White's own strategy and targeting the leg, White still finds a way to counter Page, hit Bladerunner and get another win against him. ****
Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher at AEW Full Gear 2024: An amazing bell to bell wrestling match with brilliant storytelling! Ospreay comes in with a banged up neck but still goes right after Fletcher, only for Fletcher to cut him off by going right after that neck. Ospreay sells it amazingly as he struggles to use his regular offense and even use his left arm at times. Fletcher stays on Ospreay with all his offense focused on the neck, while Ospreay keeps getting in some nice hope spots to stay in this. Both men start picking up the pace and we get some amazing counters and exchanges from these two including Ospreay sliding out of a Turnbuckle Brainbuster and nailing a Styles Clash! Hidden Blade to Fletcher's face but he still kicks out! Ospreay looks for a Stormbreaker on the steel steps but Fletcher gets out of it and hits a Tombstone Piledriver off the apron onto the steps! Jesus! Ospreay is all but done! Fletcher hits a Grimstone but Ospreay somehow kicks out! Fletcher wants the Tiger Driver but Ospreay manages to fight out of it but his strikes have no power left in them. Fletcher nails a series of Leg Lariats before finally nailing the Turnbuckle Brainbuster and Fletcher pins Ospreay clean! Wow! Huge win for Fletcher as he was able to pick apart a hurt Ospreay, who fought valiantly and went out on his shield. What a match! ****1/2
Swerve Strickland vs. Bobby Lashley at AEW Full Gear 2024: A really great one-sided match to put over the new monster. Swerve tries to avoid Lashley early on but is quickly cut off and worked over by the big man. Some nice heat by Lashley as he throws Swerve around and beats him down. Swerve shows some signs of life but is cut off by Lashley each time. A big apron DDT by Swerve finally puts him in the driver's seat. Swerve Stomp through the announcer's table to a standing Lashley! Another Swerve Stomp in the ring but only gets 2! Lashley showhow recovers and hits a belly to belly on the floor before spearing Swerve through the guardrail! Another Spear in the ring before Lashley locks in the Hurt Lock and Swerve is out! Lashley gets the win. Loved this! Short and sweet with Swerve showing some fight but is overwhelmed by the size and power of Lashley. ****
AEW World Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Orange Cassidy at AEW Full Gear 2024: Another great match from these two natural opponents. Cassidy nails the Orange Punch before Moxley even gets introduced! And another! Cassidy is here to fight! Moxley is able to cut off Cassidy by going to the eyes and crotches him on the barricade. Moxley then goes to work on Cassidy and busts him open early. Lots of good heat by Moxley as he mauls and manhandles a bloody Cassidy, who keeps trying to fight from underneath. Great added touch with Cassidy needing to land a big blow like an Orange Punch or Beach Break to even rock Moxley. Death Riders come out looking to get involved, only for the Conglomeration to clear them from ringside. Marina Shafir gets in the ring and looks to attack Cassidy but Willow Nightingale takes her out! Cassidy hits Moxley with the briefcase for a massive near-fall! Wheeler Yuta sneaks in and hits Cassidy with a Busaiku Knee behind the referee's back! Moxley nails a Death Rider and gets the win. Really loved Moxley dominating Cassidy and forcing Cassidy to dig deep to fight back. Some great near-falls before the numbers are too much for Cassidy and Moxley is able to retain. ****1/4
Super Junior Tag League 2024 Block A Match: Ichiban Sweet Boys vs. Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney at NJPW Super Junior Tag League 2024 Night 3: A very exciting and high energy match. Sweet Boys are able to start off hot and use their tag team skills to control early. The match spills to the floor and the War Dogs are able to turn the match into a wild brawl to take over. Fujita is hit with a chair to be taken out as Eagles is isolated and worked over for a bit. Fujita, somehow, makes it back into the match, gets the hot tag and turns things around for his team. Awesome dual submission spot for the Sweet Boys before Moloney goes to Fujita's eyes to break things up. We get some great back and forth action and near-falls before Fujita is hit with Spears from both War Dogs. Hit n Run on Fujita but Eagles with the last second save! Connors tries to Spear both Sweet Boys but they counter and hit a T Bomb for a nice near-fall. Fujita and Moloney go at it in the ring before Connors takes out Eagles on the outside and helps Moloney hit the Drilla Killa! Cover! Eagles with a Superkick to Moloney to make the save! The save does little to change the outcome as the War Dogs stay on the Sweet Boys before a Full Clip on Fujita finally gives them the win. Great match with a classic babyface vs. heel dynamic. Sweet Boys looked amazing and fought like hell to get that win but the brutal and violent style of the War Dogs was too much here. ****1/4
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2024: A very fun and entertaining 3 way match. Breakker and Sheamus waste no time going at it like two bulls while Ludwig plays the sneaky heel, looking for cheap shots and trying to avoid the bigger men. Some really good action all match with all three men staying involved in the match. Things pick up when Breakker goes for a Spear but hits a chair in the corner. Brogue Kick by Sheamus and a cover! But Ludwig pulls the referee from the ring! Sheamus goes after him, only for Ludwig to beat the hell out of Sheamus with his shillelagh for some great heat. Sheamus tries to fight through the pain but Ludwig cuts him off with a DDT. Spear by Breakker to Ludwig out of nowhere! Another Spear for Sheamus and Breakker retains! A fairly basic but well done 3 way match before the last 5 minutes or so really picked up and we got some awesome near-falls and action. Good stuff! ****
WarGames Match: Roman Reigns, The Uso, Sami Zayn and CM Punk vs. The Bloodline and Bronson Reed at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2024: A fantastic story and character driven violent match! Jey and Tama start off the match with Jey getting the better of him early. Bronson enters next with some chairs, which in a great spot Jey tries throwing at him before getting leveled and worked over by the big man. Jimmy enters next and the Usos are back together! They work as a team and take back the advantage on The Bloodline. Solo orders Jacob to enter next and the tide immediately turns. Jacob wrecks both Usos and allows The Bloodline to take back over. Punk tries to enter next but Reigns stops him and lets Sami enter next. Sami comes in hot and the babyfaces try to mount a comeback but Jacob is still too much to put down. The Bloodline stays in control as Loa enters with more weapons. Reigns tries to enter but Punk pushes past him to enter next. Punk sees he is walking into the lion's den so he grabs a toolbox and enters the cage swinging! Punk hits a Bulldog on Jacob onto the toolbox but Jacob pops right back up! The Bloodline, yet again, takes over, thanks mostly to Jacob being an unstoppable monster. Solo enters and the full Bloodline starts picking apart everyone. Reigns is about to enter but Solo locks the cage door. Reigns climbs the cage and dives onto the Bloodline! The two teams have a standoff as Heyman tells Reigns and Punk to work together and here we go! Uso Splashes to both Tongans. Reigns goes for a Spear on Solo but hits Punk by accident! Bronson lays out Reigns and sets him up on a table. Tsunami off the cage but Punk pulls Reigns from the table at the last second to save him! The babyfaces start taking out the Bloodline one by one. 1D to Jacob by The Usos. Jey spears Loa while Sami hits Tama with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Jimmy with a Splash off the cage onto Jacob through a table! Solo is alone with the whole babyface team. Double Superkick, Helluva Kick, GTS and finally a Spear by Reigns to Solo and the babyfaces win it! What a match! So many great storytelling moments from everyone involved and everyone playing their roles to perfection. A little slow and too long at times but everything clicked here and worked for me. ****1/2
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