2013 Match of the Year

William Regal vs. Kassius Ohno NXT 3/21/13

ER: Regal was only a handful of matches away from retiring with this absolute banger as his final match ever. But, we understandably had to get that overseas house show Michael McGillicutty feud rolling. So while this wasn't Regal's literal wrestling swan song, it's awesome the level he was still competing at when he decided to hang them up. This has everything: cool grappling, stiff work, nice counters, logical build, and two of my favorite wrestlers of all time. I loved all the collar and elbow lock-ups, trying to shake the other, both hanging on without it ever getting gimmicky. Regal has no problem at all working as beloved jerk veteran villain, mulekicking Ohno in the corner...and then throwing a few more in for good measure. It's not like he's giving up any size to Ohno, Regal is just great at being a jerk and shows that even more when he starts going after Ohno's fingers. We get a lot of finger break spots now, but this was used great, presented as Regal taking a mean shortcut to get to where he wanted. Ohno brings it right back and hits a great series of high kicks in the corner, full boot to face, hits a cool Fuerza bump dropkick to the floor, and kicks Regal's head right into the ringpost from the floor. Ohno also does some fun camera selling of his hand, popping his knuckle to make it look like he was popping his finger back in place. Both guys throw hard, heavy suplexes, and I loved Ohno going for several cravat variations, working a few angles and shifting position to make up for his hand. Some nice nearfalls, Ohno elbowing his way out of a Regal Stretch attempt, and the ever opportunistic Regal catching Ohno mid-rolling elbow is all we need. I loved Ohno getting sent cross-legged by that elbow, and his crumple from the death blow was perfect.

PAS: What an absolute master class Regal performed. This is one of the greatest matches of his career right at the very end. A slim trim Ohno was pretty awesome in this, but almost anyone would have been overshadowed by William Regal this night. I loved all the early lockups and the story of Ohno as a skilled knowledgeable competitor who was always a step behind a wily veteran, this was the most Fujiwaraish match I have seen with Regal. He never really had a chance to have a long run as a maestro, really just the trio of NXT matches (this one, Ambrose and Cesaro), as he was still mostly a comedy worker during his last WWE run. Here he knows every dirty trick to keep Ohno off balance, including the greatest finger breaking spot in wrestling history,  until Ohno starts going to the head. We get a series of huge kicks to the temple and Regal does this amazing job of concussion selling, glassy eyes, stumbling, red face, incredible performance. Everything he did from that point was on instinct and Ohno kept pounding away at his temple and skull. With the combo of the headshots and the finger breaking, this has to be one of the most viscerally violent matches in WWE history. Loved Regal's desperation elbow and knee strike and by the end of this match it felt like round 15 in Manila. What a treat, it was too bad Regal's injuries got so bad, because I would have loved to see him gatekeep all the big NXT stars. What a legend.


COMPLETE AND ACCURATE REGAL

ALL TIME MOTY LIST