2014 Ongoing Match of the Year List

13. Biff Busick v. Timothy Thatcher Beyond Wrestling "Secret Show" 4/13

PAS: These are two of the three (along with Drew Gulak) of the most exciting new group of guys in Indy wrestling. They are working Euro style matches, although Euro style that owes more to Billy Robinson and Terry Rudge then Johnny Saint and Mark Rocco. Tight agressive mat wrestling and nasty uppercuts and punches. Nothing fancy just hard hitting and rough.  The big highspot was an uppercut that knocked Busick into the wall, and came off as a bigger deal then any of the crazy shit in earlier matches. I loved Busick finish here too, great sensible counter to lock in the choke nastier and looked really tight, I bought Thatcher going out. I could watch these guys work each other a ton of times.

ER: We've talked before about what an exciting trend this is in indy wrestling, and it really was something that was mostly lacking in modern pro wrestling for a long time. I remember having to seek out random 2000s Osamu Nishimura matches if I wanted to see a guy lock on a slick side headlock on the ground while pushing off the mat with his legs to get extra leverage on said side headlock. Now with plenty of Thatcher, Gulak and Busick matches floating around and these guys going all over to pick up dates, I assume it's just a matter of time before this style gets more widespread. These guys all look and work like they learned grappling and physical fitness exclusively from Farmer Burns' Guide to Young Men's Good Health. I dug Busick finally being the first one to go to blows, and this throwing Thatcher to a degree and kind of sending him scrambling to mentally regroup while figuring out what kind of fight it's become. My favorite stuff here was Thatcher bending around Busick's wrist and posting his elbow, really wrenching on stuff and making my joints scream just watching. These matches all breeze by really quick, as they're persistently competitive with minimal breathing room. The matches are a constant struggle for the two guys involved which always seems to glue my eyes to what's happening. I'm always watching for little momentum shifts or tiny openings. It's been some fascinating and exciting stuff (that will be impossible to rank by year's end).


2014 MASTER LIST