Top Matches I Watched in October 2025

Top Matches I Watched in October 2025

By Alex Kalil

We are getting closer and closer to the end of the year but wrestling is still killing it. Finally finished the G1 Climax from NJPW. Meanwhile, AEW delivered another killer PPV and quality TV. As did ROH/CMLL, WWE and even AAA.

G1 Climax 2025 Block A Match: Yuya Uemura vs. Ryohei Oiwa at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 13: A simple but well executed match. Both men start off with some great mat wrestling and very basic back and forth with lots of armdrags, dropkicks and holds. We get some nice storytelling with Oiwa having the size and power advantage, which he uses to target the head and neck of Yuya while Yuya uses his speed and quickness to work on Oiwa's arm. Loved watching these two work back and forth while utilizing their strategies so well. Every time Yuya takes over it is by getting Oiwa in some form of an arm submission while Oiwa is able to cut off Yuya's momentum by grabbing a headlock. Simple but effective wrestling. As the match goes on, both guys start landing bigger and bigger bombs and we get some really good near-falls. We get a fantastic finishing stretch as both men are able to keep counting the other and blocking their killing blow before Yuya is finally able to block a Lariat and lock in and hit the Deadbolt Suplex for the pin! Just an awesome match! Would have prefered if the limb work played into the finish a little more but this great back and forth wrestling is exactly what I want more of from NJPW. ****

G1 Climax 2025 Block A Match: David Finlay vs. Yuya Uemura at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 15: A very good back and forth match of a brawler vs. technical wrestler. We get a nice slow start with both men trying to keep the matches in their wheelhouse. Yuya is able to ground and work over Finlay's arm, which Finlay sells nicely. Tide of the match turns when Finlay hits a brutal powerbomb into the ring post to take over and starts going after Yuya's back with some nice power offense and lots of backbreakers. Yuya stays in the match by constantly going after the arm time and time again to try and cut off Finlay's momentum. A pair of Dragon Screws gives Yuya an opening to tie up Finlay in some great looking submissions for a long time until Finlay is just able to get the ropes. Both men start looking for the killing blow but Finlay nicely keeps blocking the Deadbolt Suplex by biting Yuya's ear and headbutting him. Finlay finally counters an attempt with an Overkill before nailing one final Overkill to get the win. Really good stuff from both men. Yuya was able to chip away at the brutish Finlay but failed to hit the killing blow, which Finlay was able to counter into his own finisher to get the win and advance. **** 

G1 Climax 2025 Block B Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. YOSHI-HASHI at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 16: A really good match of the valiant YOSHI-HASHI trying to topple the champion, Sabre. Bell sounds and Sabre goes right to work on YOSHI-HASHI with strikes and submissions. Some great fire by YOSHI-HASHI, who knows he is in a losing battle but keeps fighting back the whole time. Some nice targeted offense by YOSHI-HASHI as he goes after Sabre's neck to try and find some kind of opening to steal a win. Sabre does a great job of being the bully though as every hope spot by YOSHI-HASHI is followed up by Sabre finding a way to shut him down. YOSHI-HASHI uses every trick he can to try and stay in the match: top rope offense like a Loose Explosion and even some Goto offense like an Ushigoroshi for a nice near-fall. YOSHI-HASHI finally tries to beat Sabre at his own game and locks in an armbar but Sabre is quick to wrestle out of it and into his own submission. Even with the crowd behind him, YOSHI-HASHI has to tap out to give Sabre the win. Very good stuff with YOSHI-HASHI being the easy to love babyface trying with all his might to beat the seemingly unbeatable Sabre. YOSHI-HASHI goes out on his shield but he still fails. ****

ROH World Championship Match: Bandido (c) vs. Hechicero at CMLL Viernes Espectacular 10/3: A really great back and forth wrestling and storytelling match. Things start off with both men trying to out-wrestle each other and right away we can see that Hechicero is the better mat wrestler but Bandido is stronger. Bandido is able to use that strength to string together some nice offense and put Hechicero on the ropes. Hechicero is able to capitalize by trapping Bandido's arm in the guardrail and slamming the door on his shoulder; now Bandido is a wounded man. Some great selling by Bandido as he tries to use his hurt shoulder to keep fighting back, only for Hechicero to keep going after the shoulder to cut him off. Hechicero's attack on the arm finally pays off with an armbreaker that pops Bandido's shoulder out his socket! Bandido now only has one arm but he is still fighting back! We get a fun finishing stretch before Bandido somehow is able to lift Hechicero and nail an X-Knee but can't hit the 21-Plex with only one arm. Instead, Bandido is able to roll-up Hechicero and steal a win to retain! A really good match that allowed Bandido to fight from underneath nearly all match after Hechicero made a target of his arm. Some great back and forth action with fantastic selling by Bandido. A solid rematch from these two. ****1/4

G1 Climax 2025 Playoff Match: David Finlay vs. Konosuke Takeshita at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 17: A very fast paced and hard hitting match. Both men go right at it from the bell with Finlay trying to be the aggressive brawler early. Takeshita is able to use his own size and power to stop Finlay, only for Finlay to immediately start going after Takeshita's hurt knee with some really vicious looking offense. Takeshita does a great job selling the knee even as he responds back by running Finlay into the turnbuckle to target Finlay's previously injured shoulder. I love the storytelling of the match with both men being beaten down from the tournament and so now they are pushing themselves to their limit to try and outlast the other. Lots of big bombs, strikes and near-falls and even a nice count-out tease when Finlay powerbombs Takeshita off the apron through a pair of tables and Takeshita just barely beats the count! From there, Finlay is spamming powerbombs and buckle bombs to try and put down Takeshita, but the Alpha just keeps fighting back with his own big offense. Takeshita is able to counter a powerbomb into a Last Ride and follows up with a Powerdrive Knee. Raging Fire and Takeshita advances! What a match! Loved the fast pace to the match with both men knowing they couldn't afford to let this go too long and tried to beat their already hurt opponent into the dirt. Takeshita was able to weather the storm long enough to put away Finlay and move on. ****1/4

G1 Climax 2025 Playoff Match: Shota Umino vs. Yota Tsuji at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 17: A great back and forth match from these two future top stars. We get the standard feeling out process early with both men looking even in terms of wrestling skills. Tsuji starts to up the physicality by starching Shota with some brutal chops and using his size and power advantage to pretty much bully Shota. A nice little story beat to the match is Tsuji seemingly pushing Shota to fire back on him and fight harder to match him. Tsuji wants Shota to be his equal and push each other further. Shota finally gets an opening with a dropkick to Tsuji's knee and goes to work on the big man with Dragon Screws and STFs to try and keep Tsuji on the mat. Tsuji is able to keep rallying and fighting back even with the bad knee now. Great spot with Tsuji trying for the Marlowe Crash, only for his knee to give out and Shota to go right back to work on it. Tsuji is finally able to cut off Shota's momentum with a Boston Crab, calling back to their past as Young Lions, but Shota is able to fight his way to the ropes to break the hold. Finishing stretch is these two going all out with lots of strikes, lariats, counters and exchanges. Shota does a great job of continuously blocking and avoiding the Gene Blaster until finally Tsuji is able to nail it but Shota kicks out! Tsuji goes for broke and hits a Guerrero Special before one final Gene Blaster gives him the win! While a long match, everything here really worked for me. Some great selling and back and forth action from these two trying to prove that they do belong at the top of the card. Shota tried to chip away at Tsuji's base but Tsuji was able to fight through the pain to get the win. ****1/4

G1 Climax 2025 Semi-Final Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Konosuke Takeshita at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 18: An incredible battle of technical wrestling vs. hard hitting offense. We get a good bit of mat wrestling to start before Sabre turns up the intensity by going after Takeshita's right arm with his vicious and targeted limb work. Takeshita is able to fight back nicely though with a draping DDT to the floor and some big offensive bombs all aimed for Sabre's neck. Sabre quickly changes up his tactics and starts going after the bad knee of Takeshita; now Takeshita has a bad arm and leg for Sabre to pick apart. Love the story to the match with Takeshita trying to grit his teeth and bomb Sabre into the ground while Sabre just has to wait for an opening to slap on a submission to cut off Takeshita's momentum and take control. Two great spots that highlight this is Takeshita hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb only for Sabre to kick out and immediately lock in a Triangle Choke and later Sabre hitting a Zack Driver for a cover and when Takeshita kicks out, Sabre goes right into a kneebar for a really great near submission win. Through it all, Takeshita is able to keep fighting back and using his damaged right arm to rattle Sabre with his powerful elbows. Fantastic back and forth finishing stretch as both men start firing their best shots at each other. Takeshita is able to fight Sabre into the corner and muscle him up to nail an insane top rope Brainbuster! Sabre looks out of it! Powerdrive Knee by Takeshita and Raging Fire seals it and Takeshita advances to the G1 Finals! What a match! Both men had their strategies for winning and utilized them perfectly. Loved seeing Sabre being the more aggressive and maybe even cocky heel champion that looked to pick apart Takeshita, only for Takeshita to survive it this time and hammer Sabre into defeat. ****1/2

G1 Climax 2025 Final Match: EVIL vs. Konosuke Takeshita at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 19: A hard hitting and physical match. We get an even back and forth to start but very quickly  get the standard House of Torture run-ins. Every time Takeshita starts rolling, someone gets involved and allows EVIL to take over. Finally Takeshita has enough and starts laying out House of Torture members before wiping them out with a dive. Rocky Romero, the Young Lions at ringside and even Zack Sabre Jr. help clear ringside and we finally get a match between just the two men involved. EVIL is able to pick at Takeshita's hurt knee to cut him off while also working the back with some of his big offense while Takeshita keeps fighting through the pain to hit his own big shots. Really nice spot with EVIL locking Takeshita in a Scorpion Deathlock to target both the back and knee for an extended period of time before Takeshita is just barely able to reach the ropes. EVIL starts looking for Everything is EVIL, only for Takeshita to constantly block it and even hit one of his own. Takeshita starts gaining some momentum so naturally EVIL resorts to a low blow and a Lariat for a super close near-fall. EVIL goes to the well once too often though as Takeshita counters Everything is EVIL with a Last Ride right into a Powerdrive Knee. Raging Fire by Takeshita and Takeshita wins the G1 Climax! Once we got past the House of Torture bullshit, this became a really good match with both men throwing bombs at each other. EVIL still cuts corners and cheats throughout the match but he was also willing to try and beat Takeshita at his own game. However, EVIL kept trying for the killing blow which allowed Takeshita to counter into his own to get the pin and win the whole tournament. ****

500K Tag Team Match: The Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express at AEW WrestleDream 2025: A really exciting and action-filled tag match. Things kick off and Jurassic Express is able to run wild early, thanks to the combination of Perry's speed and agility and Luchasaurus' power. Nice bit of storytelling early with Perry able to counter a lot of the Bucks' trademark spots due to their history together. The Bucks do manage to isolate Perry for a bit for some heat before Luchasaurus gets the hot tag and things pick up. Match becomes a fast paced, back and forth battle with both teams pulling out some nice offense. A Lucha Brothers Double Stomp/Package Piledriver by the Bucks for a big nearfall before a BTE Trigger on Perry! Luchasaurus with the save! Jurassic Express is able to fight back and nails Matt with a TK Driver but Nick makes the save this time! A second BTE Trigger on Perry but he kicks out! Bucks set up for the TK Driver but Luchasaurus catches Nick with a Chokeslam! Countdown to Extinction on Matt and Jurassic Express beat the Bucks for the first time ever! What a match! A classic start with the babyfaces running wild before the heels cut them off and force them to fight from underneath. Love Luchasaurus being such a powerhouse all match so the Bucks kept their focus on Perry but Perry was able to fight back just as much. Lots of great near-falls before Jurassic Express gets the clean win. ****1/4 

AEW TNT Championship Match: Kyle Fletcher (c) vs. Mark Briscoe at AEW WrestleDream 2025: Another really good match in these two's series. We get a clear story to the match in the opening minutes with Fletcher trying for a headlock, only for Mark to fight him off and take the match to the floor. Fletcher wants to wrestle but Mark is here to fight! Mark is able to run wild for a few but goes high risk early and misses a cannonball off the apron. Fletcher takes advantage and immediately starts to target and work over Mark's back with his offense. Mark does a great job of fighting back, only for Fletcher to constantly cut him off again and go right back to working him over. The match spills onto the apron and Mark is able to nail a brutal Jay Driller on the apron to buy himself time to regroup. Back in the ring, Mark is able to hit Fletcher with a Froggy Bow while he is draped on the ropes and a follow up one to a standing Fletcher on the floor. A third and final Froggy Bow in the ring but Fletcher kicks out. Some back and forth counters from both men before Mark nails the Jay Driller! Cover! 1..2.. Fletcher gets his finger on the rope! Mark looks for the Cut-Throat Driver but Fletcher grabs the referee to slip out and low blows Mark. Brainbuster and a cover. Mark kicks out! Fletcher has enough and unloads every shot he has left on Mark. Running knee, Lawn Dart into the corner and a Leg Lariat before Fletcher lifts Mark and hits the Turnbuckle Brainbuster to put him away and retain. A great bell to bell action filled match. Loved Mark fighting back all match and going all out with his offense to try and put Fletcher away. Fletcher gave a hell of a fight too but head to resort to a cheap shot to cut off Mark and get the win. ****1/4

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: Brodido (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita at AEW WrestleDream 2025: A fantastic and exciting back and forth tag team match! We get the standard start with both teams feeling each other out. Some nice storytelling early on with Brodido working as a team to keep control while Okada and Takeshita work as two individuals. Brodido gets too confident early and Okada cuts them off and starts to go after Bandido's shoulder to get some heat.  Takeshita joins in but Okada and him still can't function as a team well and Bandido makes the tag to Brody, who runs wild. From here, the match becomes a wild back and forth of big offense, double team moves and near-falls for everyone. Some big spots like Takeshita going for a Powerdrive Knee but Okada tagging himself in, a Bastard Driver on Brody by Takeshita before Brody comes back and German Suplex all 3 men at once! Okada finally goes for the Rainmaker on Bandido but misses and hits Takeshita! Okada smiles about it! Bandido catches Okada with an X-Knee but can't hit the 21-Plex due to his hurt shoulder. Brody fires up Bandido and takes out Takeshita with a dive. Bandido goes for the 21-Plex on Okada again and hits it with one goddamn arm! Holy Shit! Cover and 3! Brodido retains! I loved this match! The unlikely team of Brodido is able to work together to beat the two superior but individual wrestlers. A big win for Brodido while adding more build-up to Okada vs. Takeshita. ****1/2

AEW World Championship Match: Adam Page (c) vs. Samoa Joe at AEW WrestleDream 2025: A very good David vs. Goliath style match. Right from the opening it is clear that Joe has the size and power advantage as he looks to ground and slow down Page, who looks to hit hard and fast. Match follows this story nicely with Joe constantly looking to snuff out any of Page's momentum and Page needing to fight from underneath. Joe runs through all his classic offense to punish Page but Page takes it all and fires back with his own shots. Both men start looking for the killing blow with Joe trying for the Muscle Buster and Page trying for Dead Eye but both are blocked. Page goes for the Buckshot Lariat but Joe ducks and locks in the choke! Page is fading and looks out but he somehow gets his foot on the ropes to break the hold! Joe goes for the Muscle Buster again but Page slips out and nails a Dead Eye! Buckshot Lariat by Page but Joe is still standing! A second Buckshot and Joe is still up! One final Buckshot Lariat takes Joe off his feet and Page covers for the win! A really good match that put over the toughness of Page as he fought back against the overwhelming Joe. who looked like a monster here. Finish was good as it protected Joe and made it look like Page just survived instead of won. ****

I Quit Match: Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin at AEW WrestleDream 2025: A brutal and insane match! We start off hot with Darby taking the fight right to Moxley. Marina Shafir gets involved right away by grabbing Darby's leg and gives Moxley an opening to take over. Moxley goes to work and bloodies Darby's mouth by making him bite the rope and kicking it before hammering him with a chain wrapped fist! Moxley isn't done there as he traps Darby's hand on the steps and shoves a skewer under his fingernail! JESUS! Darby is still not quitting though as he fights back and even starts choking Moxley with his AEW flag over the ropes like Page did to beat Moxley. A thumb to the eye breaks up the choke and lets Moxley catch his breath but Darby goes to the top for a Coffin Drop, only for Marina to pull Moxley out of the way as Darby crashes onto the apron! Moxley starts whipping Darby with his own belt but Darby still keeps trying to scratch and claw and find some way to keep attacking Moxley. Darby gets some lighter fluid and starts spraying Moxley with it, which brings the Death Riders to ringside. Darby tries to fight them off but a Cutter from Moxley stops him. Moxley grabs a taser and shocks Darby before a Curb Stomp and a Paradigm Shift into a chair. But Darby is still trying to get back to his feet. Bulldog Choke by Moxley but Darby just flips him off instead of quitting. Claudio ups the violence and military presses Darby out of the ring and onto the announce table! Holy Shit! Another Paradigm Shift off the apron through a pair of tables and Darby still will not quit! The Death Rider set up a tank of water and Moxley tries to fucking drown Darby in it! Moxley is begging Darby to quit but he won't! Lights go out! IT'S STING!!! Sting clears the ring of the Death Riders with his bat before handing it to Darby! Baseball bat shot by Darby to Moxley! Scorpion Death Drop and a Coffin Drop before Darby locks Moxley in the Scorpion Death Lock! Moxley quits! Darby has survived and won! This was a great storytelling match of Darby fighting through everything that Moxley threw at him. From big spots and submissions to straight up torture and attempted murder, Darby took it all and kept fighting back. In the end, Sting was able to even the odds but Darby was the one to deliver the final blow and make Moxley quit. ****1/4

AEW Unified Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Bandido at AEW Dynamite 10/22: A really fun and exciting back and forth match. We get a very standard feeling out process early with Bandido trying to use his speed to counter the power and ability of Okada. Very back and forth flow early with neither man able to gain a real advantage. A nice touch with Okada's cocky and dismissive attitude toward Bandido gives Bandido an opening to start stringing together some quick offensive flurries. Okada responds by going after Bandido's bad shoulder to cut him off and get some heat on him. With Bandido hurt, Okada again gets cocky and Bandido catches him with a backfist. X-Knee by Bandido and the 21-Plex! But Bandido's shoulder prevents him from bridging and the delay gives Okada enough time to kick-out. Okada starts trying for the Rainmaker to end things but Bandido is able to block and even counters into a Rainmaker of his own! Another X-Knee and Okada is set for the 21-Plex. Okada is able to slip out and perfectly sets up Bandido for a Rainmaker and nails it! Okada retains in a great match! Awesome showing by both men especially Bandido, who was able to go blow for blow with Okada and almost pull off the win. However, when Okada got serious and stopped toying with Bandido, he was able to nail the Rainmaker to end things. ****

AAA Mega Championship Match: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Dragon Lee at AAA Heroes Inmortales 2025: A simple but fun back and forth match. We get an easy to follow story from the opening: Dragon Lee is faster and more agile while Dominik has to take shortcuts to gain control. Lots of big flashy high risk spots from Dragon Lee as he is clearly going all out to try and put away Dominik, who does everything he can to cut off Dragon Lee and slow him down. Things pick up with Dominik countering an over the top rana to the floor with a brutal powerbomb on the apron. Dominik milks the advantage for too long and Dragon Lee is able to hit a huge dive to the outside with both men crashing through the announce table! We get a chaotic but easy to follow finish as Dragon Lee misses an elbow and hits the referee. Dragon Lee hits an insane dive in the crowd before getting Dominik in the ring to hit Operation Dragon but the referee is slow with the count. Dominik takes advantage and hits Dragon Lee with the ring bell hammer and sets Dragon Lee up for the 619. Dragon Lee catches it and removes the hammer from Dominik's boot. Referee sees the hammer and takes it from Dragon Lee as Dominik whacks him with his boot. A Frog Splash later, Dominik retains. A very by the books heel champion title match. The finish was well laid out even with all the gimmicks in play and it was nice to see Dominik being pushed in the ring to keep up with a fast paced wrestler. ****

World Tag Team Championship Match: Finn Balor and JD McDonagh (c) vs. AJ Styles and Dragon Lee at WWE Raw 10/20: A very fun tag match. Match starts off with Dragon Lee using his speed to push the pace against Judgement Day. However, Judgement Day are able to use their tag experience to cut off Dragon Lee and slow things down a bit for some nice heat. Dragon Lee gets the hot tag to AJ, who comes in and clears house, only to get low bridged by JD to the floor. Really clever way to cut off the babyface hot tag. AJ is forced to fight from underneath and rally before getting the tag to Dragon Lee and things break down from there. Lots of back and forth action before AJ nails Balor with a Phenomenal Forearm. Cover but a last second save by JD! Judgement Day nails AJ with a Moonsault followed by a Coup de Grace. Cover but Dragon Lee leaps over JD to break it up! What a spot! Dragon Lee takes out JD with a dive as Balor and AJ go at it in the ring. Balor tries for a Style Clash but AJ is able to block and reverse it into a Styles Clash of his own! Cover! AJ and Dragon Lee are the tag team champions! Huge upset. A very good back and forth match and I liked that the makeshift team more or less stole a win out of nowhere for the shocking win. ****

Four Way #1 Contendership Match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks vs. FTR vs. Jet Speed vs. Jurassic Express at AEW Dynamite 10/29-Fright Night Dynamite: A very exciting and fast paced multiple team match. Nice start to the match with each team feeling each other out and testing the waters in the early goings. Bucks and FTR join forces to cut off the babyfaces and clear the ring before going after each other for a bit of fun. Things calm down and we get the standard multi-team action. Lots of blind tags, big spots and double team offense. Awesome spot with Bailey catching Perry on his shoulders when going for a Doomsday Device on Knight. With Perry and Bailey on the apron, Knight dropkicks Perry off Bailey's shoulders into everyone else on the floor. So good! Bucks come in and cut everyone off with Superkicks and even a Shatter Machine to Cash before a BTE Trigger on Knight. Kickout! Wow! Match breaks down as everyone gets in some big spots before FTR is able to sneak in and nail Knight with a Shatter Machine for the quick pin. A lot of fun in this match as all 4 of these teams work super well together. Some nice storytelling mixed in like Bucks and FTR working together before FTR gets the sneaky win. ****