10 Awesome Wrestling Matches You May Have Missed In 2018
Underrated treasures from NXT, 205 Live, Japan, Mexico, and more!
Attempting to keep up with all the great wrestling going on in the world isn't just daunting: it's impossible.
Brilliant matches go down every single week, in every corner of the globe, often between competitors even the internet's most seasoned wrestling geeks haven't heard of. There aren't enough hours in the day to catch it all. Even WWE, with their five original brands, deliver too much content for the average consumer to devour, forcing fans to cherry-pick.
It's great, because although the industry remains devoid of true competition, alternatives are never more than a few clicks away, and there are now more options for those seeking a break from the norm than ever before. On the other hand, the scene's quality and vastness mean countless great matches go without attracting the praise or attention they deserve. Let's now address that as 2018 comes to a close.
Raw, SmackDown, and WWE/NJPW pay-per-view matches are excluded on account of their platforms. Instead, these are the year's true under-the-radar bangers, the kind of bouts anyone could be excused for missing the first time around, but everyone should make an effort to see during year-end season.
10. Meiko Satomura Vs. Io Shirai (Sendai Girls - 19 April)
Two titans of modern women's wrestling collide in a high-level Sendai Girls clash that's sure to feature on many an indie puroresu/joshi fan's 'Match Of The Year' ballot.
Io Shirai and Meiko Satomura should be familiar to anyone who caught this year's Mae Young Classic. Though neither showed their best work in the tournament, both were highlights. Satomura established herself as a domineering ring general and early favourite from the moment she first stepped through the ropes, while the livewire Shirai (who finally signed with WWE earlier this year) showed flashes of her athletic talents, particularly in her awesome final versus Toni Storm at the Evolution pay-per-view.
Here, Shirai steps into Satomura's world. Sendai is Meiko's promotion, and, with the veteran well-established as joshi's ultimate 'Final Boss' character, she spends the entire runtime trying to impose her will on the invader. Methodical matwork unravels with kicks and crossfaces. It builds and builds and builds in both stiffness and drama. By the end, neither woman has anything left in the tank, having expended everything following a well-crafted closing stretch to cap 20 minutes of energetic action.
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