2015 Ongoing Match of the Year List

9. Preston Quinn v. Damien Wayne VCW 3/7

PAS: These are the two best wrestlers in the Mid-Alantic indies really for over a decade. They haven't had a ton of singles matches against each other which have made tape, so it is really cool we get a big main event title match between each other. Quinn has breathtakingly great punches, and he unloads in a bunch of different ways on Wayne, who fires back with shots of his own. Parts of this match felt like Lawler v. Mantell. They build to some very cool stuff at the end, including Quinn catching a Savage elbow into a cross armbreaker, and hitting a huge second rope brainbuster. There was some ref awkwardness after that, and while I liked the cleverness of the finish, I though they lost a bit of momentum. Still a great match, and I really hope footage of both guys is available more this year.

ER: So awesome to see this show up, as there just aren't many guys who DO what Quinn does in the ring. Quinn has arguably the best punches in wrestling (I can't think of anybody over the last several years who I would rather see punch another human), but not in a cold, context-free "that is what a good punch looks like" kind of way. His punches look great within the context of pro wrestling matches, always adding to the proceedings. His left hand is possibly my favorite left hand in pro wrestling history, and yes I understand the ground I am covering. I love the way Quinn and Wayne fight, love how Wayne brings chops that don't look silly while Quinn is able to throw punches that look great from all angles (loved his side mount punches here) and I just love how these guys move around each other. I loved the elbow drop into a triangle, thought that was a real cool reversal, and I loved how the finish played into that. Wayne's selling was really great throughout, especially post-brainbuster (Quinn also has an all time great brainbuster if you've never watched the guy), really taking the brainbuster to Kawada or Tenryu levels of selling. And the way it affected his movements afterwards was so good. Affected, but no "Ohhhhhh my neckkkkkkkk" dramatics. The ref stuff wasn't great, but a way to believably give Wayne time to recover from the brainbuster in a way that didn't feel forced. Big credit to the announce team here as well who I thought put over both men real well.


2015 MASTER LIST