15 Best Non-WWE Matches Of The Last Decade (According To Dave Meltzer)

15. Tomohiro Ishii Vs. Katsuyori Shibata (5* - NJPW, 2013)

The match shared by Tomohiro Ishii and Katsuyori Shibata at NJPW's G1 Climax in 2013 must rank among the shortest to have ever been awarded the full five stars.

In the end, it clocked in at less than a quarter of an hour, which is kind of a given when you've got 20 participants to get through en route to crowning a new champion.

So why did it draw so much acclaim? Mainly, you suspect, because of its blood-curdling knees to the face, together with chest chops so stiff just watching it makes your skin blister a little.

Indeed, this was a style of wrestling rarely practiced outside of Japan, and - unorthodox though it may have been - it clearly impressed Meltzer.