2021 Ongoing MOTY List: Lorcan vs. O'Reilly

22. Oney Lorcan vs. Kyle O'Reilly NXT 5/11

ER: It's still kind of weird to me that these kind of fights are on WWE TV, two smaller guys scrapping and trying to cauliflower ears with headlocks and headscissors before graduating to wearing each other out with stiff kicks and finishing definitively with a brutal brainbuster. It's a cool match to see anywhere but still weird to see here. This is Oney Lorcan's kind of match, and I will always look forward to seeing him grind his arm over O'Reilly's ear before elbowing him in the throat. I love how these two attack each other, throwing a lot of strikes but never feeling like either guy knows when the other was going to throw. There were a couple cool off balance kicks and Lorcan really made O'Reilly's kicks look damaging. Lorcan was great at working differently throughout the match, working as a guy losing energy and conserving himself for big explosions while weathering strikes. O'Reilly hit him with a quick strike combo that ended with a mean legsweep, and Lorcan looked like a tired guy who couldn't defend himself properly and not a guy just waiting for all the steps of a combo. There's cool stuff like Lorcan catching a kick and throwing a downward elbow into O'Reilly's knee, and I liked how when O'Reilly went into his strong finishing run he really went for it. Lorcan is the perfect guy to have in with you when you need your finishing stretch to pop, and O'Reilly was throwing hard knees, suplexes, and a brainbuster that would have made Kawada turn away. The kneedrop off the top is so cool as a mic drop finish after laying someone out with a brainbuster. I don't think anyone does a top rope kneedrop anymore and I honestly don't think anyone has done one since Bobby Eaton or Rick Rude. It's an insanely hard move to pull off and it looks awesome. 

PAS: NXT is dead now, and this was a nice example of what they did at their best. O'Reilly is a guy who went from skippable to can't miss during his NXT run and this was a vicious little fight which he does great. Lorcan is constantly moving forward and throwing big shots and O'Reilly is a very good counter wrestler. He provided a bunch of the fancy stuff, while Lorcan mostly provided the force and intensity. I thought O'Reilly's strike combos were really cool, and that leg sweep was killer. I second how great the finish was. I think if this is on the indies Lorcan kicks out and they do three more things, and I like how this was a precise and meaningful finishing blow.

2021 MOTY MASTER LIST