March 2016 Match of the Year Candidates

I'd like to give a little background into match grading. For the most part match grading is subjective, some people look for flawless execution of a story while others look for consistency and a feel of realism. Others view the match as a single entity while other people include the story into the grade.

I want to tell you my grading system. The story is huge to me, if the story is great, then that can raise a grade of a match a whole 1/2 star, and vice versa if the story sucks it can also drop the grade a 1/2 star. I'm also huge into realism, if a guy takes a DDT and lays on the floor for 15 minutes only to come flying in at the last second to save the match, that's a little to much for me. also a blown spot or two isn't a deal breaker if the blown spot results in a realistic feel. Lets face it, when you are doing a back flip of the second rope into a reverse DDT where you need to catch your opponent who is standing a few feet behind you, isn't always going to work out perfectly. In a real fight that move would actually hit perfectly 1 out of every 100 times. I will also give a guy a break if he kicks out of a finisher simply because finishers aren't as devastating as they used to be. While standing in the middle of the ring trading punches while the crowd yells Yay/Boo. That move is so over done and usually is placed at a point where a guy took a DDT that he jumped back up from but is trying to make us believe the strikes are really hurting him.

So the things I look for while grading matches are the story leading up to the match, whether the execution in the ring was believable and how enthralled I was by the match. Did I get sucked in? Did I at any moment utter the words Holy S!%#? Did I look forward to the match because of a great build? Was the action in the ring a great story being told?

Keep that in mind as you read what I believe are the match of the year candidates.

Beer Money vs The Wolves

March 8th 2016

Promotion: TNA

Story:

James storm recently returned to TNA, after a weird moment in NXT, to reform Beer Money with Robert Rhoode. After Kurt Angle's second to last match the week before against Bobby Rhoode, Beer Money and the Wolves both came to the ring to celebrate and pay their respects to Angle. Kurt said that he wants to see the two teams face each other for the titles so here it is.

Winner: Beer Money by pinfall after the DWI to win the TNA Tag Team Championship.

Grade: 4 1/4

What made it great:

After a slow start they really picked things up nicely with both teams hitting double team cooperation moves. and good individual story telling. Both Teams showed great chemistry not only with each other but also with the other team. I really didn't know who was going to win since no team dominated the match for very long. Not having a real story behind it hurt the match a little but the match itself was phenomenal.

Pentagon Jr. Vs Prince Puma Vs Mil Muertes

March 9th 2016

Promotion: Lucha Underground

Story: 

Lot of hatred between the three, Pentagon Jr. broke Mil's arm and there is just a strong dislike between Puma and Pentagon that has increased through a long running rivalry and Pentagon's recent turn to the dark side. Mil also defeated Puma for the title. Pentagon and Puma put on a classic the week before that Mil interfered in and left both men in a pile.

Winner: Mil Muertes by pinfall on both opponents after a double Flatliner to Retain the Luch Underground Title

Grade: 5 stars

Reason it was Great:

All Three men felt like they had a legitimate chance at winning, They never no sold each others moves making everyone look strong and they never oversold each others moves making the moves seem ridiculous. There was no laying on the outside for a ridiculously long time and then getting back into the ring in the nick of time. I also liked the fact that they didn't over due the pinfalls. We didn't get the first one until halfway through the match. The back and forth super kicks between Puma and Pentagon on Mil towards the end was phenomenal. The fact that Mil made the cover on both men was fantastic because there was no denying who the true champ is.

Dean Ambrose vs Triple H

Roadblock March 12th 2016

Promotion: WWE

Story:

After a storyline beating so Reigns could have surgery, Ambrose was thrust into a feud with Triple H. The Story was fantastically told with only a couple weeks buildup having Ambrose goading Triple H into giving him a title shot. A sit down in the ring on Smackdown gave us a great match between Owens and Ambrose too. The basis of the story was that Triple H was "scared" to face Dean and the build up was brilliantly told with both men looking intelligent and strong. They traded beat downs and left each other lying in the ring at different times. They traded one liners and fantastic face to face promos. Much like the Owens vs Ambrose Last Man Standing match. this is the way you build a rivalry.

Winner: Triple H to retain the WWE Heavyweight Title after a Pedigree

Grade: 4 3/4 stars

Reason it was great:

This may be one of the few times I have ever liked the whole feeling out process. The slow start to the match actually worked very well and showed Ambrose as a savvy cerebral wrestler while he was picking his spots and getting into "The Games" head. Incredible ring psychology and Ambrose truly seemed like a threat. Both men looked strong not only in this match but in the build up to the match.

Mil Muertes Vs Fenix

March 16th 2016

Promotion: Lucha Underground

Story:

This is the best feud in wrestling. They have built this feud correctly over the last couple years and have made it so it still doesn't feel over. What started of as a mysterious kiss by Katrina to Fenix has led to some of the greatest matches in wrestling.

Winner: Fenix by pinfall with a surprise roll up to win the LU Championship

Grade 5 star

Reason it was great :

Hard hitting and fast paced, both these guys came across as warriors who would do anything to win the championship. You could almost feel the hatred in their rivalry through the TV. Great story telling in the ring, great high spots, they sold moves brilliantly. This is the second straight week that Lucha underground has had a 5 star match. They are quickly becoming must watch TV.

Aztec Warefare 2

March 23, 2016

Promotion: Lucha Underground

Story:

After Fenix beat Muertes last week this scheduled number #1 contender match became a match for the Lucha Underground Championship

Winner: Matanza Cuerto by pinfall on Rey Mysterio Jr. to become the new LU Champion

Grade 4 3/4 Stars

Reason it was great:

Third straight week with a match of the year contender. An hour long match that I watched 3 times. The match held my interest from the opening bell. Everyone had a chance to stand out and show what they could do and they were able to continue all the current feuds seamlessly. The match had comedy, hard hitting action and a lot of what makes the Lucha style great. A couple of surprise returns didn't hurt either. Cuerto's no selling was done perfectly to sell himself as an unstoppable force. It lost a little because of the mid ring stand offs but gained because of great drama and story telling. any match that can hold my interest undivided for an hour through three viewings was a very good match.

That's all I have for now, Click the links to the right of this article to follow me on Twitter. Be sure to check out my other articles for movie and TV reviews, sports commentary also wrestling reviews and commentary for many different wrestling promotions, such as WWE, TNA, NXT, ROH, NJPW, Lucha Underground, and GFW. Also be sure to check out my articles on The Sportster.