2015 Ongoing Match of the Year List

8. Daniel Bryan v. Dolph Ziggler WWE Raw 3/30

ER: Awesome match, really the first stand out WWE TV match of the year, which is crazy when you look at where we were at last year. There have been a couple decent matches, but nothing like this where you KNOW it's at another level while watching it. Things stood out early as we had an actual meaningful test of strength spot to open, and it's moments like that when you realize that so many WWE matches start the same way, as here you have two guys who actually look like they're struggling and trying to overpower the other. I liked all the strikes here and I loved the urgency of both men; if they weren't struggling on the mat they were charging each other in the corner, dishing great dropkicks and flying knees, and of course building to that nasty (and protected, you concussion worry warts) headbutt exchange building off their great top-of-ladder fight the night before. I liked the leverage holds, loved each man trying to hold the other down on backslides, everything was hot in this and didn't give me time to breathe. Great sub-10 minute match.

PAS: Ziggler was a big time college wrestlers and it is cool to see him get a chance to roll around a little on the mat. Really different performance from him in general, as he really doesn't do any pinball bumping and instead works an American Dragon match with stiff headbutts and mat counters, and looks right at home doing it. Finish run was great with that looney headbutt exchange and Ziggler running into the flying knee.

7. Daniel Bryan v. Sheamus WWE Smackdown 3/31

PAS: Bryan had a heck of a TV week. This Sheamus match was a hell of slugfest between two guys who always work well together. Bully Sheamus is pretty great, I loved him just hurling Bryan recklessly in the air. Bryan was laying it in just as hard I especially loved the leg trap into the ground and pound. Finish was fun with Bryan busting himself open on the headbutts before getting wasted by a lariat.

ER: Wow, not just a heck of a week for Bryan, but three great performances in three days! My memory is fairly unreliable these days, as if watching too much BattlArts has scrambled my brains through osmosis, but this really felt like the least "WWE" style Daniel Bryan match to date. This was a real good fight and really had already decided it was listworthy the moment Bryan took Sheamus down and smacked his temple several times with a closed fist. The sounds that fist made! Sheamus rolls to the floor and begins feeling his temple, no doubt feeling that heat that pours off your skin after getting socked. And while that was probably the nastiest part of this match, the whole match felt really mean. Both guys were really laying it in, with Bryan dishing the kicks and slaps, Sheamus doing some cool release vertical suplexes that sent Bryan sprawling, Bryan finding cool ways to slip out of Sheamus' clutches, Bryan crashing and burning wildly to the floor, etc. Finish is obviously of the non finish variety, but we get an awesome 11 minutes of beating, and that's more than enough to make me happy.


2015 MASTER LIST