2014 Match of the Year Candidates
 

He's right. So what if we just had an ongoing thread this year where we suggest our favorites so we can vote on it in December?

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THE NOMINEES:

Daniel Bryan v. Bray Wyatt @ The Royal Rumble

I really liked the 6 Man Tag with Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, & Cena against The Shield.

That was a pretty good match. You think it can win match of the year, though?

Well when the year is over I doubt the Bryan-Wyatt match can win MOTY, I liked the 6 man tag better myself, but no, I don't think either of them can.

Rybaxel vs The Prime Time Players

12 Person Stairway To Heaven Tag Team Championship Match

Nikky Chance & Agent Exile vs. Xacutor & Robb Banks vs. Eliza Raven & Matt Rage vs. Team FTW vs. High Flyers vs. S&M

Sting vs Undertaker at rasslemania

My point wasnt necessarily that Bryan/Wyatt was the best match WWE is capable of putting on the entire year. it was that it happened 3 weeks into the year and by December it'll probably get lost in the shuffle of matches from Mania and beyond that might not be as good. Its pretty much why movies that are Oscar contenders get released in December so that people remember them come nomination time.

Which is also the point of this thread.

Can I suggest a rule? No ROH or indie wrestling allowed? TNA can get a pass, but nothing with three dozen super-kicks and piledrivers should be listed.

Also, whenever the matches become available on youtube, we should post them in this thread.

I'm good with that. What about stuff from like NJPW? Their main event stuff is really good without going into spotfest territory.

Actually the best promotion of 2012 in terms of match quality, imo.

If you include NJPW or whatever, I think you still have to include ROH. At very least, you have to include TNA...I think.

Well, I mean, we don't HAVE to do anything. Just suggest whatever you want here, and we'll talk about all that later. Worst case scenario, we end up with a thread full of good matches.

The Rumble match itself is one of the worst Rumbles ever, layout and content was piss all the way. The Great Khali had a spot, crazy piss.

Then why are you talking about it in here, you crazy guy?

Cause he's fucking Heisenberg, and that's how he rolls.

Don't encourage this behavior.

Not my intention to derail, I just don't want that match to be seriously considered as a contender. No one will buy it, from my standpoint the mystery spots were shit, Nash could have powerbombed more ppl, etc.

Well if you're gonna include other promotions like NJPW I think Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Title and Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata from Wrestle Kingdom VIII deserve mention. Probably both better than anything anywhere this year.

IIRC, wasn't it two tombstones? ;)

It may not be MOTY by the end of it but Wyatt/Bryan was amazing and deserves mention as Droford said. Both guys looked like a million bucks when it was over. All great matches are ones where neither come out looking weaker. Before that match I wasn't sold on Wyatt but he is gonna be a Star sooner then we all think just because of that match. Awesome stuff. Will probably end up being Top 5 of the year.

Orton/Bryan from RAW doesn't get a nod from me although for a RAW main event it was above average.

I'm okay with NJPW, but can we modify it so that only English speaking wrestlers like MVP and Shelton Benjamin can qualify? It's not that the other wrestlers aren't good, it's just that I'm a xenophobe. :shifty:

Seriously though, we sort of have to include TNA as long as Kurt Angle is there and some of their homegrown talent is still really good. Plus, Shiima Xion is my buddy.

ROH, however, yeah, no. They just do stuff that they think should get them "match of the year", but without the emotion. It's nearly impossible to care about a modern-day ROH program.

TNA has made me care a few times in the past, WWE has made me care plenty and even when I wasn't following the feuds I could still get into a good PPV match.

He really is. I met him at a show in Florida and have been chatting with him since before he jumped to TNA. Really down to Earth guy for such a flamboyant gimmick. Mind you we don't chat like every day or anything, now it's once every few months on facebook.

Ok we're going by Bad News Gertner Rules

1. North American promotions only. Nobody cares about some Japs dropping each other on their heads for 30 minutes

2. No indie wrestling. If a tree falls down in a forrest and nobody hears it, does anybody give a fuck.

3. Rybaxel vs Los Matadores automatically gets a bye into the finals.

I care about the japs.

Also, when the 2014 ERAG match gets put up on YouTube that automatically wins. Really great match

I wonder if there will be any CM Punk matches on this list.

can I watch the Thunderdome match between Flair/Sting and Muta/Funk TODAY and have it count for this year?

Because that is the fucking match of a lifetime.

DJ Zema Ion is hilarious.

Gertner can't fool me. Seen him bring up obscure japanese wrestlers and matches here and there.

Closet puro fan.

The point is he's in the closet. It's where puro fans belong.

Going to post puro matches all up in this thread, and there will be nothing you can do to stop it.

I will hack your main frame.

PUUUUURRRROOOO WRESSSSSSRINGUUUUUUUUU

Duuuuuuuude. Nobody mentioned nominating the Rumble match. We can't spend our precious time here listing matches that shouldn't get nominated for Match of the Year. That would be insane.

Just wanted to keep it serious, serious business

Don't you fucking start that shit too. You're better than that.

Heisenberg is a fan.

Graves/Neville had a better match on NXT than I've seen on Raw in about 4 months.

So, um, officially, ABT, do you want to re-edit your first post in the thread to add new matches? Maybe put highlight videos in spoilers?

So anything MOTY worthy happen recently?

Yeah man... That Graves/Neville match from NXT.

John Cena v. Cesaro, Monday Night Raw 2/17/14

I'll add it to the original post once a good video pops up.

The only EC match that might be worthy is Shield/Wyatt's but something tells me as much as everyone is amped up for it that it won't come close to delivering on expectations.

I dunno. The Shield is really good at these 6 man tags, and The Wyatts are no slouches either. I think both sides are hungry, and we're going to see some really creative things happen.

I could be overly optimistic, but I don't think so.

It'll be like the Hardys VS. Edge and Christian ladder match that put all four guys over. It'll also spawn a dozen sequels ala TLC with the Dudleys.

Was pretty good but thought it could have gone a few more minutes.

SAWwwwwwFFFFFTTTTTT

How long was it? Twenty plus, yeah?

OwenBrowny Thrilla

Hey, fuck you.

I understand that, I just had a feeling that they could have gotten even a hotter finish with a a extra min or two of furious actiion. You know what I mean?

I was seriously just asking about the match length. I didn't have a point.

Wyatts... Shield... Make it so, AT.

Wonder if the highlights are up yet

Since this was originally my idea..and upon rewatching the replay of Arrival to be able to see the whole match, I will nominate Cesaro vs Sami Zayn. I would actually go as far as to say it was better than the Bryan/Bray match from the Rumble. Should have main evented Arrival but that doesnt really matter.

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I actually caught wrestling last night live. Really enjoyed MVP VS. Roode even with the ending.

Anyone else?
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I enjoy Bobby Roode's modified Spicolli driver.

MVP v. Roode was OK. Not MOTY though.

I'm a suplex nerd myself. I thought the screw-job from AA was pulled off well.

But yeah, you're right. Probably not a MOTY.

Austin Aries is really good at everything. Even if it's just a simple screw job.

undertaker v lesnar. gets it out of the way since every year taker's match is up there

Cesaro/Zayn, despite never seeing Zayn/El Generico ever, was by far my favorite match of the year thus far. I think Wyatts/Shield is a close second. That match was fucking nuts.

I'm going to go ahead and say no. Might be an enjoyable match, but it won't be enough.

Honestly can't see Taker/Lesnar being up there this year. It'll be a heavy-hitting slug-fest or a lot of Lesnar wearing Taker down in a slow, methodical way. Can't see it being a patch on the matches vs. Punk/HHH/HBK.

It is March... There is plenty of year left.