While it may be hard to believe that 2024 is already half over, the year has sure had its fair share of brilliant wrestling matches. These are the 11 best wrestling matches of 2024... so far.
00:00 - Start
00:54 - 11
01:54 - 10
02:59 - 9
04:03 - 8
05:11 - 7
06:10 - 6
07:06 - 5
08:17 - 4
09:23 - 3
10:35 - 2
12:02 - 1
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We appreciate the comments and opinions our viewers provide. Do note that all comments are subject to YouTube auto-moderation and manual moderation review. We encourage opinions and discussion, but harassment, hate speech, bullying and other abusive posts will not be tolerated. Decisions on comment removal are made by the Community Manager. Please email us at support@wrestletalk.com with any questions or concerns.
00:00 - Start
00:54 - 11
01:54 - 10
02:59 - 9
04:03 - 8
05:11 - 7
06:10 - 6
07:06 - 5
08:17 - 4
09:23 - 3
10:35 - 2
12:02 - 1
SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/
Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/
Unlock the secrets to working in professional wrestling, sign up to https://www.wrestlingmasterclass.com/
Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/
Youtube Channel Comments Policy
We appreciate the comments and opinions our viewers provide. Do note that all comments are subject to YouTube auto-moderation and manual moderation review. We encourage opinions and discussion, but harassment, hate speech, bullying and other abusive posts will not be tolerated. Decisions on comment removal are made by the Community Manager. Please email us at support@wrestletalk.com with any questions or concerns.
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00With the dawn of a new calendar year, you may arise with renewed vigor for personal change,
00:04but by the midpoint of the year, you've fallen off that workout routine and let your heart get
00:09broken by the Toronto Maple Leafs again. Oh wait, I'm sorry, that's just me. Thankfully, in the
00:14meantime, we have had some pretty gosh darn good wrestling matches to elevate 2024 in our collective
00:19minds. We here at PFK HQ have put those minds together and agreed upon what we believe to be
00:24the 11 best matches that the wrestling industry has provided us through these last six months.
00:29Let's have them then. I'm Tempest, hailing from PartsFunKnown, and these are the 11 best
00:34wrestling matches of 2024 so far. But before we get on with our list, make sure of course that
00:38you like this video, subscribe, and enable notifications to always on so you never miss
00:42a fun list just like it. And make sure to check out our new video game channel, Control Freaks,
00:47that just launched this past week. You can check out the first ever live stream on the channel
00:51right now, and you will see a clip of it at the end. Number 11, Sami Zayn versus Gunther,
00:56WrestleMania 40, Night 1. I don't know how many people would have predicted Sami Zayn to be the
01:01one to dethrone Gunther when his now legendary reign began two years ago, but then again,
01:06I don't know if anyone could have predicted how the last two years of WWE would have gone full
01:10stop. In all that time, our beautiful boy, Sami Zayn, had his entire bloodline character arc
01:15bringing him back around to being a beloved babyface, and the most believable babyface he
01:20had ever been on the main roster. 2016 or 2017, Sami could not have beaten Gunther. 2024, one of
01:26the best babyfaces in the business, Sami Zayn? That's a different story. Any Gunther match has
01:31an easy case to make for a spot on a list like this, something like it starts and ends with
01:35Gunther. That being said, I will never not be shocked to see Sami Zayn hit Gunther with a
01:40brainbuster on the turnbuckle at WrestleMania. That feels like it should be a combination of
01:45words that crashes the simulation within which we all live, but it is real, and it helped deliver
01:50the finishing blow to the greatest intercontinental championship reign of all time. Number 10,
01:55Josh Alexander vs. Will Ospreay, TNA Impact, January 18th. The unbreakable triple threat has
02:02company. For a long time, there has only ever been one option for what was the best TNA match
02:07of all time. It was that one. But after a few Will Ospreay appearances, suddenly there are
02:12more choices to go through, like this one from the January 18th episode of TNA Impact. Will
02:17Ospreay grew up a big fan of TNA, so it only feels right that he should bless their ring with a few
02:22more 5-star matches. Also, Will doing the Styles Clash in a TNA ring just meant a little bit more
02:28than when he does it anywhere else. For the last few years, Josh Alexander has been the standard
02:32bearer for TNA and an underrated candidate for the best wrestler in the world, so getting to
02:37see him once again mix it up with arguably the best wrestler on earth is just a level of competition
02:43that is almost impossible to match. You had table spot craziness, you had homages to the TNA days of
02:49yore, and you had Josh getting one of the biggest wins of his career in Will's last match in TNA to
02:54date. If TNA's year ended there, it probably would be looked at a bit more favorably.
02:599. Bayley vs. Io Skye, WrestleMania 40, Night 2
03:03For too long, Bayley was the maligned member of the Four Horsewomen. That may sound a bit bizarre
03:08given that Bayley's two reigns as SmackDown Women's Champion were longer than all seven of
03:13Charlotte's, and Becky's, and Sasha's for that matter. But when you look at Bayley's track
03:18record at WrestleMania, you really get the sense that she has rarely been at the forefront of WWE's
03:23mind when booking the biggest show of the year. Hell, after carrying the women's division during
03:27the entire pandemic, what did she get at WrestleMania? Hosting next to Hulk Hogan.
03:32It's been disappointing to be a Bayley fan at times, so when she won the Royal Rumble and was
03:36set up to face Io Skye to cap off a near two-year relationship, Bayley finally had the chance to
03:41deliver a show-stealing match at WrestleMania, and so she did. The work in this match is so
03:47crisp. I see replays of Io flipping out of the rose plant in my dreams, and this comes not only
03:53as a fan of Bayley, but also of Io, to get to see these two completely underrated and fantastic
03:59wrestlers steal the show on the grandest stage of them all.
04:038. Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland, Forbidden Door
04:07This door may have been as forbidden as an unlocked Canadian front door, but hot damn did
04:12it ever provide an energy that was completely absent from the rest of this year's Crossover
04:16Spectacular. Two young, driven, hungry fighters battling over who would lead AEW into the future
04:23is the perfect formula to create an immensely heated and moving main event match, and really,
04:29that is what AEW is needing right now. Will Ospreay is practically untouchable bell to bell
04:35at this stage, and if you haven't learned that through four entries on this list, oh, you wait,
04:40and Swerve is managing to become a bigger star in real time right before our eyes in matches like
04:45this. Will's inner conflict to remain a good lad had been built tremendously during his first few
04:50months in the company, and was paid off very well for this chapter of the story, with everyone's
04:55favorite screwjob-wielding, thumb-shaped manager trying unsuccessfully to tempt the billy goat to
05:00the dark side, while Swerve once again showed that he has no such conflict. It is simple
05:05storytelling effectively layered on top of spectacular wrestling, and that is my f***ing jam.
05:11Number 7. Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles, Backlash
05:18Yes, let us first address the many, very noisy French elephants in the room.
05:23Some people have said that the French crowd at Backlash was actually self-indulgent. Others have
05:28said that the crowd made this main event match as revered as it is. Well, I'm here to tell you
05:32that both of those groups are wrong. I mean, the crowd does make the match better, but it was pretty
05:37darn special on its own. After finally winning the big one, Cody Rhodes needed a top-tier title
05:42defense to remind everyone that they could look forward to the top champion being on every
05:46pay-per-view again. Enter AJ Styles, who really needed a bounce-back performance after quite a
05:52few years of circling the mid-card. Thankfully, we got both. AJ had his best match in bloody years
05:58and boosted his main event stock tremendously, even if he did get beat with only one crossroads
06:03like an absolute scrub. Come on, AJ. We all know it takes three of them to get the job done these
06:09days. Number 6. Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Revolution
06:13The AEW faithful had seen Will Ospreay a number of times to this point, but at Revolution,
06:18they were invited to his debutante ball. Will had his coming-out party before him
06:23with some, quote, friendly, end quote, competition, and I say, quote, end quote,
06:28because no one who would drop your ass upside down on the ropes leaving these marks on your
06:34back is your friend. This match was just f***ing excellent, and I know that goes without saying
06:40given the nature of this list, but everyone was asking to see this match in the office after it
06:45happened. I watched it live, I watched it with Oli at lunch, I watched it with my partner when
06:49I got home, and every time I watched it, I loved it more. Konosuke Takeshita has become AEW's
06:55break glass in case of emergency great match guy over the last year, and honestly, the debut of
07:00the new top babyface of your promotion is about as good a reason to pull out that ace from your
07:04sleeve as you can get. Number 5. Bryan Danielson vs.
07:08Zack Sabre Jr., New Japan Pro Wrestling New Beginning in Osaka
07:12Submission. Submission. Submission wrestling. If anyone has watched the Danielson-Sabre match
07:19from Wrestle Dream last year and not seen their rematch in Osaka from this February,
07:23they have done themselves a disservice. This is the brilliant match from Seattle,
07:28but more. More grabs. More holds. More techers. I love this match so much. Again and again,
07:34Bryan and Zack proved that technical wrestling is not the boring medium that some portray it to be,
07:39and against one another, they once again produced a masterful display,
07:43befitting the two best masters of the technical wrestling craft in the world.
07:47The Japanese crowd actually helps this a lot, as the more respectful audience reacts very positively
07:53to the breaking of holds in the ropes, putting even more emphasis on the fundamentals of the
07:57match, and building the drama on display when the two lads just start battering each other
08:02while in-dueling heel hooks. If Bryan took the easy way out, winning with a wrestling
08:07move at Wrestle Dream, Zack proved his superiority here with an old-fashioned roll-up.
08:13If that sounds silly, it's because it is, but it only makes me love this match more.
08:17Number 4. The Young Bucks vs. Darby Allin and Sting Revolution
08:24For Sting's final ever wrestling match, we probably knew we were going to see something
08:28incredibly special. Some may have thought that something special would have been limited to
08:33Sting's sons appearing dressed like him, and you know what? I bet most would have been satisfied
08:37with that, and a good match, but then Darby Allin did the stupidest thing I have ever seen in a
08:42wrestling match. Or, pardon me, the stupidest thing I have ever seen in a wrestling match,
08:47so far. If it isn't for you, that's fine, but if you were a jackass kid, this probably popped you
08:53like it did me and a number of others in the office. But for as amazing as all of these things
08:58are, the fire-up and comeback of Sting in his final match, taking apart these dastardly Young
09:03Bucks, could have brought a tear to my eye. I say this because it did. It's just exactly what the
09:09final match of Sting should have been, and we all talked about whether he should put someone over on
09:14his way out or not in the lead-up to this show, but when it was all over, it was clear the only
09:19way Sting's career could end was with his hand raised in Greensboro. Number 3. Michael Oku vs.
09:26Will Ospreay. Rev Pro, high stakes. Probably the match the least amount of people watching this
09:31list would have seen, but definitely the personal favorite of mine. Two years ago, when I did my
09:36list of every 5-star match of 2022, I said that Michael Oku vs. Will Ospreay was the best
09:42storytelling match of the year. Now, with these two a little older, a little wiser, and much better
09:47in the ring, they had the best singles match I have ever seen live, and one of the best matches
09:53I have ever seen, period. 47 minutes of some of the most heated, most emotional, and most
09:59masterfully performed wrestling you will see in front of a British crowd that was saying goodbye
10:04to one of their own. I could pick out any of the moments in this match to highlight. The tribute to
10:09Mad Kurt, Will wiping out Amira, the many, many false finishes that all built to the final moment
10:16where Oku finally proved he was above Will in the land of Rev Pro. It is a perfect match, and to that
10:22crowd, on that day, there is nothing that these lads could have done better. If you take one thing
10:27away from this list, it is that you should seek out this match and tell Michael Oku he is a tweener
10:32on Twitter. He'll love it, I promise. Number two, Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns, Wrestlemania 40,
10:38night two. Now, the reason I couldn't say that last match was the most emotional match of 2024
10:44so far was because this match also exists. Is it the best example of two folks exchanging holds
10:50and putting on a good old-fashioned wrestling bout? No, but you know what it is? A goddamn
10:56Wrestlemania main event. It might be the most Wrestlemania main event of all time. You don't get
11:02to end a four-year title reign every day. You don't get to have the f***ing Avengers assemble to take
11:07down the biggest bad guy in the industry every day. Hell, you don't even get to have that happen at
11:12virtually any Wrestlemania. The stars aligned for what can only be remembered as one of the most
11:17cathartic moments in WWE history when Cody Rhodes finally defeated Roman Reigns to win the WWE
11:24championship like all the Cody crybabies always knew he could. It is also very well wrestled. It
11:30isn't exactly a breaking news story that Cody and Roman are very good at this thing, but the graphs
11:35don't matter as much. Like, is the Superbowl halftime show the best concert of the year?
11:41Maybe to some if you love the show of it all, while others may prefer a beautifully performed
11:45rendition of their favorite music done flawlessly in an intimate venue. Everyone can have that
11:50preference, but there is no question that the Superbowl halftime show is the biggest concert
11:55of the year. This match was that, complete with all the freezing temperatures, bells, and whistles
12:00that make it as great as it is. And number one, Will Ospreay versus Bryan Danielson, Dynasty. Now,
12:06every once in a while, the graphs do just top everything though. AEW putting together the
12:11roster that they have has meant, among other things, that they can put on the absolute best
12:17wrestling matches in the world today by putting the absolute best wrestlers in the world in the
12:22ring together. That is exactly what we got when Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson went hold for
12:27hold for Psycho Knee for Hidden Blade. I don't think there has been a match of this caliber
12:32anywhere in the world since Kenny Omega defeated Kazuchika Okada. And if you disagree, I respect
12:37it and would love to see the matches that are comparable. People like to throw the term aura
12:41around in wrestling these days, but to me, when the people chant holy s*** at just a pre-match
12:46stare down, that is aura defined. I don't care that there wasn't two years of story behind it,
12:52the story of who is the best wrestler being told by two people with a claim to that is perfect
12:57pro wrestling. And this match told it to an unparalleled degree. Good luck to all the matches
13:02left to happen this year. You'll need a lot to top this one. And that's our list. Make sure,
13:06of course, that you like this video, subscribe and enable notifications to always on so you never
13:10miss a list just like it. And make sure you subscribe to Control Freaks. You can check
13:14out a clip from our live stream right here.
13:36I've just lost all my s***. I've got a blue shell now.