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Find out the highest rated matches from 2024!
00:00 - Intro
01:56 - 1
02:43 - 2
03:34 - 3
04:29 - 4
04:56 - 5
05:48 - 6
06:39 - 7
07:40 - 8
08:18 - 9
08:57 - 10
09:43 - 11
10:30 - 12
11:10 - 13
11:57 - 14
12:50 - 15
13:47 - 16
14:31 - 17
15:19 - 18
16:10 - 19
16:54 - 20
17:49 - 21
18:28 - 22
19:10 - 23
19:57 - 24
20:40 - 25
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Find out the highest rated matches from 2024!
00:00 - Intro
01:56 - 1
02:43 - 2
03:34 - 3
04:29 - 4
04:56 - 5
05:48 - 6
06:39 - 7
07:40 - 8
08:18 - 9
08:57 - 10
09:43 - 11
10:30 - 12
11:10 - 13
11:57 - 14
12:50 - 15
13:47 - 16
14:31 - 17
15:19 - 18
16:10 - 19
16:54 - 20
17:49 - 21
18:28 - 22
19:10 - 23
19:57 - 24
20:40 - 25
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
00:00So, without fail, every single year I put together the list of the highest-rated matches
00:04of the previous 12 months as per Survival Series contestant Dave Meltzer, have an amazing
00:09time doing it, then post the video, go home for Christmas, and see that another 5-star
00:14match has taken place at the very end of December.
00:16The NERVE of these wrestlers, man.
00:19How dare they keep working at a high level between Christmas and New Year's?
00:22Don't they know that's when you're supposed to clock in from home and glance at your laptop
00:26twice before clocking out like the rest of us?
00:29So for the sake of giving them their flowers, shout out to Kento Miyahara and Katsuhiko
00:32Nakajima for balling out on New Year's Eve last year.
00:36They sure earned their champagne.
00:38Now without further ado, I'm Tempest hailing from partsFUNknown, and this is my favourite
00:42list of the year.
00:43This is every match rated 5 stars or higher in 2024.
00:47Yes, that's right, yes, nearly there, oh yes, now I'm feeling it, yes, now it's nearly there,
00:55come on, oh, it's nearly there, wait, what, no, no, ah, goddammit, I hate this heck of
01:02crap.
01:03Luke, what are you doing in here?
01:06Uh, I'm, uh, I'm, um.
01:08Are you trying to steal the company's data again?
01:12Maybe?
01:13Well, you know the data's all protected, right?
01:16What?
01:17How?
01:18By using Surfshark.
01:19Surfshark?
01:20Yes, Surfshark.
01:22Surfshark is a VPN that will protect your IP address, stop cybercriminals like Luke
01:27here, and allows you to watch content from all over the world.
01:30Go to surfshark.com forward slash jam that jam for four extra months of Surfshark at
01:34an unbeatable price.
01:36Grab this festive offer now by following the link in the description.
01:39Wow, that's great, Tempest.
01:41Can you, um, you let me know the password to the, uh, the back end?
01:44Oh yeah, of course, it's cmpunkdidnothingwrong69420.
01:48No spaces.
01:49Yeah, Oli did make this, didn't he?
01:52What gives you that impression?
01:54Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson, WrestleKingdom 18, 5 1⁄4 stars.
01:59Tis an annual tradition to begin the year with a fiver from The Observer on January
02:034th.
02:04New Japan holding its climactic WrestleKingdom event on the same day every year sure makes
02:08planning that easy.
02:09I actually don't think Okada and Danielson have great natural chemistry in general, but
02:14on a stage like WrestleKingdom in the Tokyo Dome, things just seem to find a way of reaching
02:19classic status.
02:20Also, points to this match for having one of the most galaxy brain entrances in wrestling
02:25history, where Okada emerged in a white and gold robe, then stopped his entrance to be
02:30scanned with a UV light to reveal the robe actually had hidden invisible colors.
02:36Very wacky, but hey, if the robe came out black and blue, you'd have a possible answer
02:40to that stupid dress meme that divided society a few years back.
02:43Masqueradorada vs Templario, CMLL, January 5th, 5 stars.
02:48And now for something completely different.
02:50While the unwashed masses bicker with one another about crowd sizes, CMLL has been the
02:55home of consistent hot crowds for a very long time, and one of those crowds in Arena Mexico
03:00was treated to the best straight up Lucha Libre match of the year on January 5th.
03:05Let me tell you, some of the best high flying I have ever seen has come from this match.
03:11Whether it be the picture perfect tourneo for Masqueradorada, one of the coolest Sasuke
03:15specials ever from the ramp into the ring, or the myriad of excellent counters on display,
03:22this is the very best example of high level Lucha Libre in 2024.
03:26Not sure why Templario's tiny furry friend was allowed to hit a splash in the third fall,
03:30but with a match this good, I think I can allow it.
03:33Jon Moxley vs Shingo Takagi, NJPWB, 5 stars.
03:38With the recent departures of Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay from New Japan, I feel no
03:43uncertainty in saying Shingo Takagi is their best wrestler.
03:46And that being said, this is Shingo's best match of the year.
03:57Jon Moxley has become too big of a star to compete in the never open weight division,
04:01the bell end, and it's a shame because he would fit in with the likes of Ishii, Suzuki,
04:05Takagi, and Hinare better than anywhere else on the NJPW totem pole.
04:10Which means when we do get to see one of those matchups, it is a true violent treat.
04:14With a mix of blood and mist in their eyes, Moxley fought through a war to earn a massive
04:19notch in his belt on his journey to the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
04:23A brilliant battle in the valley it was.
04:26Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay, NJPWB, 5 stars.
04:31It was an emotional battle in the valley as we all witnessed the final meeting of Kazuchika
04:35Okada and Will Ospreay.
04:37Or so we thought at the time.
04:38Yeah, this match had a bit more finality to it before Okada revealed that he'd also
04:42be following the billy goat out the door in a month's time, but while this match may
04:46not have retained its importance, the ovation from the crowd and the action bell to bell
04:51shall always remain the same.
04:53Will Ospreay vs Josh Alexander, TNA Impact, January 18th, 5.5 stars.
04:58Will Ospreay growing up a big TNA fan has been very apparent in the past, particularly
05:03in his 2019 match with Amazing Red, but Will finally getting to wrestle a match with the
05:08classic TNA logo on the mat added a level of significance to what is probably the greatest
05:14match to ever take place in a TNA ring.
05:17But you know what?
05:18Will is going to get plenty of love on this list.
05:20Let me just give some well-earned flowers to Mr. Josh Alexander.
05:25He is so excellent in this match.
05:28You could talk about everything from the devastating backbreakers to rallying after an incredible
05:32Liger bomb through a table, but when Big Josh hits a Styles Clash to set up the C4, it feels
05:38like the biggest possible statement that this guy is Mr. TNA for this generation, a title
05:45that has been thoroughly earned.
05:47Zack Sabre Jr. vs Bryan Danielson, New Japan Pro Wrestling New Beginning in Osaka, 5.5
05:52stars.
05:53Just when you thought that Zack Sabre Jr. and Bryan Danielson couldn't have had a better
05:57match at WrestleDream, they have this match.
06:00I'm not going to say that the Seattle crowd wasn't excellent, but a New Japan home crowd
06:04in Osaka is simply the perfect environment for this match.
06:08I especially want to put over the commentary of Chris Charlton and Walker Stewart, who
06:12I believe to be the best commentary duo in wrestling today, and their deconstruction
06:16of Zack and Bryan's approaches to technical wrestling, with Bryan approaching it scientifically
06:21and Zack seeing it as free-flowing like jazz music.
06:25Not only did it add extra layers of incredible insight to an incredible match, but it accentuated
06:30the artistry of technical wrestling perfectly.
06:33I bow to you both.
06:35And also to Zack and Bryan, they're both pretty good too.
06:38Will Ospreay vs Michael Oku, RevPro High Stakes, 6 stars.
06:43I have been blessed to see a lot of fantastic singles matches live in person during my time,
06:48Gargano Andrade, Ospreay Sabre, Goldberg Lesnar, so when I tell you that this is the greatest
06:53singles match I have ever seen live, just know that I do not say that lightly.
06:58I may be an import here in the UK, but even I can feel what Will Ospreay means to this
07:03place.
07:04The best in the world is a Brit, and that is significant.
07:08So when he has his send-off match in front of a raucous crowd, with the sole intention
07:12of making his successor and friend of the channel, Michael Oku, the biggest star possible,
07:17you have the recipe for one of the best matches of the whole year.
07:21From tributes to the Great Mad Kurt, to Ospreay accidentally wiping out Amira before nailing
07:26the Tiger Driver, Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker for the near-fall of the year, to Oku finally
07:32submitting Will to secure his place at Top British Wrestling, you will not find better
07:37in 2024.
07:39Will Ospreay vs Konosuke Takeshita, AEW Revolution, 5 and 3 quarter stars.
07:44But that doesn't mean Will Ospreay was done trying.
07:46On a show with the emotional final match of Sting and the next chapter in the rivalry
07:51of Hangman and Swerve, Will Ospreay's proper arrival in AEW just needed to deliver a great
07:56match.
07:57Needless to say, this surpassed those very basic expectations.
08:01Hell if you told Ospreay to have the worst match of his career, he'd probably have
08:05a 5-star match by accident.
08:07It also helps that you could not have picked a better first opponent for Will, even if
08:11Takeshita was the one to drop Will back first on the top rope in a quote-unquote, friendly
08:16exhibition.
08:17Will Ospreay vs Kyle Fletcher, AEW Dynamite, March 6th, 5 stars.
08:21Not even Will hitting a dab in 2024 could ruin his first singles match on Dynamite.
08:26Little did we know at the time that this would be the preview of one of the most heated emotional
08:30rivalries of the year, but looking back on it, this was a perfect appetizer of what we
08:35would get at Full Gear.
08:36Here, this was friendly competition, but they still told the story of Will and Kyle
08:41knowing every move the other was going to do before they did it.
08:44In many ways, that would perfectly sow the seeds for what was to come, with Kyle needing
08:48to differentiate himself from everything Ospreay is, and it's these details that make this
08:53match even better on Rewatch Now.
08:55Will Ospreay vs Bryan Danielson, AEW Dynasty, 6.5 stars.
09:01So this was a bit of alright, innit?
09:02Good little match?
09:04Just another day at the office for the lads?
09:05Okay, but no, for real, this was about as close to a religious experience as I've ever
09:09had watching wrestling.
09:10The GOAT and the Billy GOAT putting on an Alice Cooper-esque performance because they
09:15had this crowd chanting, we're not worthy, when they stood opposite each other like two
09:20gunslingers waiting to see who was quickest on the draw, time stood still, and then we
09:26all saw the true passing of the torch from one best in the world to the next, because
09:30the fastest gun in the west now belongs to Billiam Ospreay.
09:35This is the second highest rated match of all time, and I cannot say for one second
09:39that it doesn't deserve it.
09:41AJ Styles vs Cody Rhodes, WWE Backlash, 5 stars.
09:45To this day, if you listen closely, you can still hear the French fans chanting.
09:49When Cody won the WWE title, I had to rewrite the code in my brain to expect and look forward
09:54to monthly title defenses of WWE's top prize.
09:57It had been a while, alright, but when Cody Rhodes defended his newly won belt for the
10:01first time in a phenomenal la-la-la-la match with AJ Styles at Backlash, a feeling of security
10:07washed over me.
10:09We could look forward to the chant being on TV every week again.
10:12It was over.
10:14We would be okay.
10:16You couldn't ask for a much better match and environment for your new babyface champion,
10:21even if AJ got beat with only one crossroads.
10:24Silly AJ, didn't you know that's only a third of Cody's finisher?
10:27There were two more to go!
10:29Tomohiro Ishii vs Masa Kitamiya, Pro Wrestling Noah One Night Dream 2, 5 stars.
10:34The best possible opponents for Tomohiro Ishii are people who are completely unprepared to
10:39wrestle Tomohiro Ishii, and people who match his freak.
10:43Two opposite ends of the Ishii spectrum of excellence.
10:46Masa Kitamiya was very clearly at the latter end.
10:49I mean, he basically is Ishii with a mohawk.
10:52That might be a bit reductive, but the perfect mirroring of styles made for Ishii's best
10:57match of the year.
10:58Just two thick boys clotheslining and headbutting the piss out of each other until one could
11:02not get up.
11:03I've loved every match on this list, but this match did a lot for me because of the variety.
11:08And speaking of, Zack Sabre Jr. vs Hechicero CMLL Sabados de Coliseo, 5 stars.
11:14The emergence of Hechicero as a global superstar has been one of the great highlights of 2024
11:21if you are a fan of technical wrestling.
11:23Thankfully, the result of that has been getting matches like this.
11:26A two out of three falls match, as is custom in Mexico, between two of the most masterful
11:30technicians in the world.
11:32I feel very fortunate to have seen the rematch in Rev Pro, but even with that personal bias,
11:37this one's better.
11:38A smaller, more intimate crowd of fans losing their minds for technical wizardry, it just
11:44makes for such an incredible atmosphere, and two masters of the mat handled the rest, taking
11:49the sometimes less flashy style of grappling and churning out one of the most exciting
11:54matches of the year.
11:55Will Ospreay vs Swerve Strickland AEW New Japan Pro Wrestling Forbidden Door, 5.5 stars.
12:01Of the many, many Will Ospreay matches on this list, this one, I believe, accomplished
12:07the most.
12:08To this point, Swerve Strickland's reign as AEW World Champion had been solid, it had
12:12been good, but in this match of the year contender, Swerve felt more like the undisputed top guy
12:18of AEW than he had in any other match of 2024 to this point.
12:23Solidly and definitively defeating Will Ospreay, who many people thought was guaranteed to
12:29be the next world champion, in a f***ing brilliant match that still left plenty of room for Will
12:36to grow as well.
12:37The next time Will challenges for the world title, he'll be able to say that he only
12:41lost last time because of his conflict with Don Callis.
12:44This match ticks all the boxes, and it is one of the very best of the year.
12:49Will Ospreay vs. MJF, AEW Dynamite July 17th, 5 ¾ stars.
12:54This match goes down .00001% in my estimation, because until the end of time, we will not
13:01be able to just say for the sake of convenience that this was an hour match without a bell
13:05end in the comments saying, um, actually.
13:07But man, I can't be mad at this match.
13:09It deserves to be on the short list of the best TV wrestling matches of all time.
13:14This match seamlessly transitions from what first appears to be a great TV title match,
13:19paced very well, and could have peaked after 20 minutes with Ospreay selling his knee,
13:24to a 45-minute epic with Will's shoulder becoming the focus and peaking with MJF's
13:29elbow through the table, to an oh-my-god-they're-going-broadway final stretch ending with MJF winning the
13:35title with one second left.
13:37MJF may be known for his mouth more than anything, but in situations like this you can really
13:42see that it is in his wrestling that he truly shines the brightest.
13:46Kinnosuke Takeshita vs. El Phantasmo, New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax 34 Day 12, 5
13:52stars.
13:53Sometimes I long for the days where half of this list would just be G1 Climax matches,
13:57but these days, I guess that longing just makes a match like this all the more special.
14:02Kinnosuke Takeshita has probably been earmarked for success in AEW since his tweets about
14:06Cinnabon, but after years of us waiting, his run in the 2024 G1 Climax made putting it
14:12off any longer impossible.
14:14You know a match is good when you get a lunchtime audience in the WrestleTalk office.
14:17EOP has become a bit of a lovable underdog on New Japan's roster, and in the G1 the
14:22chances of seeing an upset drastic go up, which always helps to make the matches more
14:27dramatic and the fans more invested.
14:29Will Ospreay vs. MJF, AEW All In, 5 stars.
14:34As a long-time fan of Ring of Honor and old Japanese promotions, I have seen a lot of
14:38streamers in my time watching wrestling.
14:40Hell, I've thrown some myself, but with that being said, I have never seen streamers
14:45go into business for themselves like I did in this match.
14:49Maybe speed at Wrestlemania.
14:50Anyway, Will and MJF completed their duology in classic fashion in front of AEW's largest
14:56crowd of the year, and I am very glad to have been in attendance for it.
14:59This match does a great job of tying up all the threads and acknowledging all the best
15:03bits of this relatively short feud, whether it be MJF barking at Will that anyone can
15:08do flips, or the return of Daniel Garcia, or Will finally finding someone horrible enough
15:13to warrant the use of the Tiger Driver, with all the streamers blowing in the evening breeze.
15:18Ryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland, AEW All In, 5.25 stars.
15:23I wasn't at Wrestlemania 30.
15:25I have never seen a Wrestlemania main event live in person, but as I walked out of Wembley
15:30Stadium after this match, there was a little bit of magic in the air, with friends and
15:34strangers alike saying this must have been what it felt like to watch the miracle on
15:38Bourbon Street.
15:39Bryan Danielson fighting from his knees, covered in blood, telling his wife and children he
15:43loves them with each strike, is maybe the greatest 10 seconds of wrestling I've ever
15:47seen in my life.
15:48Bryan Danielson may not have had an AEW World Championship reign for the ages, but he did
15:53win it in a match for the ages, defeating a Swerve Strickland who had leveled himself
15:58up to become the final boss of AEW, giving the people in attendance a memory we shall
16:04never, ever forget.
16:07Will Ospreay vs. Pac, AEW All Out, 5.5 stars.
16:11This may be the greatest match to ever have been completely forgotten by Luke Owen.
16:15I tried to ask him if there was a better one, but classically, he couldn't remember what
16:19he'd forgotten.
16:20It doesn't matter if this match happens in York Hall in London, or NOW Arena in Chicago,
16:25Will Ospreay and Pac are a match made in wrestling heaven.
16:28They seem more similar on paper than they are.
16:31Both are impeccable British wrestlers who have revolutionized the style of high-flying,
16:35but Will relies more on calculated risks and high-impact moves, while Pac's style revolves
16:41around dynamic, explosive offense and a grittier and more brutal approach.
16:45All of this to say that when slotted together, they make for a perfect match, and one that
16:49I am going to force Luke to rewatch.
16:52CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre, WWE Bad Blood, 5 stars.
16:58This match was a brutal, bloody, and completely necessary resurrection of a once-bastardized
17:05stipulation.
17:06Through perfect circumstances and the full effort of everyone involved, CM Punk vs. Drew
17:12McIntyre provided us with the best Hell in a Cell match in decades, and by far the WWE
17:19match of the year.
17:20CM Punk may have his flaws, but at his core, he knows exactly how old-school grudge match
17:26blow-offs should be built and executed.
17:29Not only that, but Drew McIntyre is the kind of badass that you legitimately would never
17:34want to be locked in a cage with, which completes the formula for an all-time great Hell in
17:40a Cell match.
17:41The formula that so many people failed to crack for years and years and years.
17:47Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet vs. Konosuke Takeshita, AEW Wrestle Dream, 5.5 stars.
17:53While the first thing to come to mind regarding this match may be the heartbreaking betrayal
17:57at the very end, everything leading up to that moment should be regarded as possibly
18:01the greatest three-way in wrestling history.
18:03It's the highest rated for what it's worth, is it better than the TNA unbreakable triple
18:08threat?
18:09I'll let you all decide in what I'm sure will be a very civil discussion in the comments.
18:13But seriously though, the entire sequence of three men throwing each other around, culminating
18:17in Takeshita initiating the best double German suplex since WrestleMania 22 should get 5
18:23stars all on its own.
18:24Konosuke Takeshita vs. Speedball Mike Bailey, Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, Forged in Excellence,
18:29Night 1, 5 stars.
18:31I love the AEW International title the most when it feels like the roaming champion title,
18:36being defended in countries and promotions all over the world.
18:40And saying that, this is the best match ever contested under that very arbitrary qualifier.
18:45Speedball has been one of the industry's best for a long time, and he's a pretty great
18:49wrestler too.
18:50Oh, I'm sorry, did you think I was talking about his wrestling?
18:52Well, surprise, I was talking about his mullet.
18:55That gorgeous flowing mullet.
18:57Takeshita launched his title reign and Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling with a classic, and I applaud
19:01him for it.
19:02Also, I didn't know just how badly I needed to hear Mauro Ranallo's voice calling Pro
19:06Wrestling in 2024.
19:08Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shingo Takagi, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Power Struggle, 5 1⁄4 stars.
19:13Zack began his year beating a dragon in a 5 star match, and he ended his year beating
19:17a dragon in a 5 star match.
19:19Closing out New Japan Pro Wrestling's involvement on this list is the main event of their final
19:23major show of the year, Power Struggle.
19:25AKA, the last chance for anyone to dethrone the world champion to secure their spot in
19:30the main event of Wrestle Kingdom.
19:31So there's even more on the line than your typical excellent New Japan main event.
19:35With such high stakes came a match of equal magnitude and heartbreak, because if your
19:39soul didn't cry out while watching Shingo try and crawl to make the cover after the
19:44last of the dragon to finally prove himself that he was a worthy world champion, only
19:49to just come up short again, then I simply don't consider you human.
19:53Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher, AEW Full Gear, 5 1⁄4 stars.
19:58Just 10 minutes ago, I said that Will Ospreay vs. Swerve was the 5 star match that accomplished
20:02the most this year.
20:03Well, now I may have to go back on that because Kyle Fletcher's star-making performance was
20:07every bit as elevating as the Swerve match.
20:10Will Ospreay gets a lot of flack for being a good wrestler, how dare he, with people
20:14most cranky about Ospreay's acrobatic style.
20:17But this match was not great because of the great moves both men managed to perform.
20:22It was great because AEW crafted a story between two great characters, and then they wrestled
20:28an incredible match built on intense drama that made a new top star, and that is pro
20:34wrestling to a tee.
20:36And finally, Will Ospreay vs. TBA, AEW World's End, 5 and some extra number of stars I'm
20:42sure.
20:43At the time that this list has gone out, World's End was last night, and judging by the sheer
20:46probability of it all, Will Ospreay probably had another 5 star match.
20:50Hell, he's gone 7 for 8 on AEW pay-per-views this year, which I guess means his match with
20:55Roddy Strong at Double or Nothing was Ospreay's version of a dud being only 4 and ¾ stars.
21:01But while I don't know how the C2 has gone at the time I'm writing this, I'm going
21:05to make the safe bet that dear old Will churned out one last fiver for the year.
21:10That should cover my bases this time, right?
21:13Right?
21:14Thank you for watching this list and all the ones we've done this year on PartsFunKnown.
21:17Make sure of course that you're subscribed to the channel so you never miss another one
21:20just like it, and make sure you check out the most recent edition of Worst Match Ever.
21:25It is my favourite show to make right now, so make sure you watch it.
21:28He's got the barbed wire Christmas tree match.