2021 Ongoing MOTY List: Jungle Boy vs. Omega

23. Kenny Omega vs. Jungle Boy AEW Dynamite 6/26

PAS: This was a very good Race/Flair style NWA title defense from Omega, which isn't really something I have seen in him before. Jungle Boy is the fan favorite underdog who is there to prove he belongs in the ring with a champion. The crowd singing along to Tarzan Boy, the family in the crowd, it really gave him the local star feel even though this wasn't a territory. I thought the chop exchanges early really gave this a Pillman vs. Flair WCWSN feel, and I thought the back work during the picture in picture was cool, although hurt by the ads (they should really look into going commercial free for special main events like this). The multiple dives were really cool, and I liked how Omega didn't break out any dives of his own to try to outshine Jungle Boy, he kept it mostly grounded and worked as the bigger guy. I really liked both snare trap near falls, and Omega having to rip hair and eyes to get out of the second one really put over the danger of that move. I didn't care for the forearm exchange and thought it had a kick out or two too many in the middle of the end stretch, but that is 2021 wrestling for you. Omega finished it clean which was the right call and it certainly took no shine off of Jungle Boy to lose. The goal here was to give the young kid a couple of big moments and make the crowd believe next time he gets a shot he might have a shot, and they really did that here.  

ER: A smart match that really presented Jungle Boy like a real star, and if this was somehow your first time seeing him you definitely would have thought he was a star. The crowd reactions were incredibly strong throughout, and it made it really easy to believe we were going to see an upset. Jungle Boy was clearly the underdog, but it's cool seeing Omega actually work a bit like a heavy. I was expecting this to be Omega competing with JB as a flash contest, but instead it was Omega's overly complicated offense that kept giving Jungle Boy openings. Omega is good at getting under JB's skin, loved that weirdo bullshit in the beginning where Omega was gingerly removing hair from Jungle Boy's eyes, and loved the juxtaposition late in the match of Omega yanking that hair to get out of the snare trap. Boy's strikes looked good, his elbows to the jaw and back of the head genuinely did look like strikes that would stagger Omega, but they were also smart about not turning this into a big strike exchange. Boy outquicks Omega, nails a couple tope suicidas and a tope con giro, and manages to reverse the OWA a couple of times (which makes sense as it should be the reversed move in wrestling). The poison rana as a OWA is where that move actually makes the most natural sense, and I loved how the pulled it off here. I thought some of the kickouts or big moves were a bit much, and I hate spots like that superplex that Jungle Boy had to stand perfectly still for while Omega fiddled with getting his legs crossed just right, but the big beats were hit loudly, and hit well. 

2021 MOTY MASTER LIST