These days, just taking into account WWE, AEW, and TNA, there’s more than 12 hours of wrestling available to us on our televisions/screens every week. International and independent promotions add at least
two or three times that much to the internet and streaming services. It adds up to A LOT of wrestling.
As such, we’re not going to try to tell you there was one, objective “Best” match, wrestler, or any of the other categories you see our favorite pastime being sorted into at every year’s end. We’re just gonna talk about the ones we loved, and maybe even personally believe are the best — and encourage you to do the same.
First up… matches!
John Cena vs. GUNTHER, Saturday Night’s Main Event
by Geno Mrosko
Was it technically the best match of the year, not even close. But GUNTHER was the right guy to retire Cena because he’s the realest guy on the WWE roster, a man so good you don’t have to believe in pro wrestling to still believe in him. And I loved the way they played the match and I especially loved the finish. Cena smiling, accepting the end, and then giving up was downright poetic. Even better, it made all of us FEEL something, whether you loved or hated it, after it did incredible business for the company. That’s what this whole damn thing is all about. That makes it the best match of the year.
MJF vs. Mistico at CMLL Aniversario
by Sean Rueter
This surprises me as much as it does anyone else. As one of those types who will still, on occasion, say things like “workrate”and “moveset”, I figured I’d be picking something like Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher’s cage match at Revolution, the Sami Zayn/Je’Von Evans gift WWE gave us on a fall SmackDown, or Kris Statlander’s win over Mercedes Moné from Full Gear (not their best, but still great imo).
And while I still value those things and loved those matches, as I’ve aged and it’s become easier to find examples of good in-ring action on a weekly basis — more and more, it’s a good match within or at the end of a good story that impresses me. Not to say those other options didn’t have stories — they did! But pro wrestling’s, and probably humanity’s, oldest story is good vs. evil. And we got a perfectly distilled example of that concept this year when Maxwell Jacob Friedman went to Arena Mexico in September to put his Light Heavyweight title up against Místico’s mask at CMLL’s Aniversario event.
I’m not even the biggest Max fan, and have been wanting to see him evolve his cheap heat schtick for a while now. Here, the”Mexico sucks, the U.S. rules” nationalism helped, but Mexican fans would have hated MJF even if he wasn’t a gringo. He was an arrogant prick who’d been making Mîstico’s life hell while mocking his fans. And you won’t find a more beloved wrestling hero in the world than Místico, whose gold-and-white garb is just the tip of babyface iceberg.
Pro wrestling is a lot of things, but this is one of them. And you won’t find a better example of it in the last 365.
Toni Storm vs. Mariah May at AEW Revolution
by Cain A. Knight
If I’m just going by quality of the work in the ring, then Konosuke Takeshita vs. Bandido at ROH Supercard of Honor comes to mind as the absolute must-watch match of the year. However, the incredible payoff of a long-term story in pro wrestling is often a bigger deal than pure excellence in work rate, and the small time stage of ROH is also a factor to consider.
With that in mind, I think The Hollywood Ending that “Timeless” Toni Storm had with Mariah May at AEW Revolution is the total package and a worthy choice for best match of the year. The level of ultra hardcore violence this match reached is rare, especially for women’s wrestling in the USA, and the intense, personal story between these two stars warranted every drop of blood that was shed. It’s a cathartic moment when Storm takes her heel to May’s head in the closing sequence of the bout. This match should have been the main event of the PPV, especially when the words “THE END” appeared on the big screen when all was said and done.
Nigel McGuinness vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door
by Claire Elizabeth
No great build. No special backstory. A thrown together four-way #1 contender’s match on Collision. But still they made seventeen minutes of pure high-octane technical wrestling magic.
Okay okay, maybe that’s a little reductive– do you really NEED to write a story when you have one of the premier technicians of the 2000s indie boom, laid off with injury and illness, out of the game for eleven long years and finally back in the mix and you book him to face THE premier technician of the current age, a man who has been at worst “1b” in everyone’s list of the greatest mat grapplers working today?
And yes there was no elaborate months-long build, but in one video package laying out Nigel’s view of wrestling as chess, compared and contrasted with ZSJ treating grappling like jazz they did more to create an out-of-the-box compelling matchup than a hundred traditional “you done me wrong, pardner” feuds could have. Immediately, instantly, and completely investing in every way.
The match itself was everything I hoped it could be, with just a little bit held back for a rematch, as it well should be– see you this time next year to wax poetic about Sabre/McGuinness II?
IYO SKY vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 41
by Marcus Benjamin
They built this match (and this city) around the idea that IYO SKY was the forgotten woman despite being the champion. Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair were so focused on each other in every promo that IYO had no choice but to remind them of her presence. That played out during this incredible match on WWE’s biggest stage of the year. These three women put the rest of the roster to shame and on notice. They owned the weekend through drama, athleticism, and good old fashioned storytelling. Three women entered, two of them focused on each other, while the third reigned supreme because everyone took her lightly.
Bandido vs. Konosuke Takeshita at ROH Supercard of Honor
by Manolo Has Pizzazz
Do you love lucha libre? Do you love strong style? If the answer is yes, then Bandido versus Konosuke Takeshita for the the ROH World Championship is the match for you. Their chemistry was fantastic for an amazing main event. One aspect that elevated the drama was the feeling that Takeshita would win the title as the bigger star in the AEW/ROH universe. For that reason, the near falls and the finish were riveting in the moment.
A lot of readers may have missed out on this epic clash, so here is video of the full match.
Rhea Ripley vs. IYO SKY at WWE Evolution
by Kyle Decker
Before starting, I’d like to say picking a “match of the year” or even a favorite match is hard. There are so many matches that it’s hard to remember them all. Sometimes can say in the comments “How about this one?” and I’d be like “Yes, that is a good one too.” AEW puts on so many good matches that it’s sometimes hard to think of ones that go heads above the rest of the really good matches they have. They’re out there, but they didn’t stick out to me as thinking about it. (Hangman Adam Page winning the AEW title got some thought for sure.)
I went with one I personally loved as I was watching and that was Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky for the women’s title at Evolution. I loved the triple threat at WrestleMania too, but a good one on one banger where Iyo isn’t purposely booked as the afterthought it more for me.
I’m a massive fan of both Ripley and Sky. The story about Rhea not being able to defeat Iyo was the crux of this story. The match was booked as two women who know each other too well and as it wore on, the friendship faded away and it was just two competitors doing what they needed to win.
One hallmark of matches I love is when they go into a proverbial overtime – a point after the match should have been over but both competitors are still standing. This took us through the crowd before finding its way to the finale.
Often, a cash-in would detract but for me, Naomi’s cash in was perfect. She was doing some of her best work as a heel and deserved the championship. Plus it telegraphs them to run back this one on one match down the road – maybe at stage like WrestleMania?
Again, there are a litany to choose from. But since I recall loving the experience of watching this match, it’s getting my nod.
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk at WrestleMania 41
by M. G0MEZ
With few exceptions, I judge Match of the Year based on four key criteria: storytelling, stage, in-ring quality, and lasting impact.
Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Paul Heyman did an outstanding job building this match on professional jealousy and personal issues, with Heyman’s shifting loyalties adding another compelling layer to the main event of WrestleMania Night One.
The action never let up, with a brawl to the floor setting the tone at the start. The highlight was an innovative sequence that saw each man hit their finisher: Punk drilled Rollins with a GTS, Reigns cut down Punk with a spear as Rollins rebounded with a devastating Curb Stomp to Reigns. Heyman’s double-cross on Punk and Reigns would seal the deal, cementing Rollins as the undisputed architect of this era.
In the aftermath, Rollins and Heyman recruited Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed to form The Vision. The faction dominated Raw for most of the year and feuded with Punk and Reigns — until Rollins’ shoulder injury reshaped the storyline.
A great story, a stellar match on wrestling’s grandest stage, and a finish that set the tone for WWE in 2025 and beyond. Simply outstanding.
Those are just some choices from a handful of internet blowhards, though. There were A LOT of matches in 2025. Tell us about the one or ones you thought were the best in the comments below, or start a conversation about your favorite in The Feed!
