10 Best Wrestling Matches I've Seen Live

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to attend WrestleMania 32 and many of the surrounding events. 

All in all, I saw WrestleMania, Raw, NXT TakeOver: Dallas, WWN's Mercury Rising, and EVOLVE 58 and 59 over the course of four days and was simply blown away by the volume of amazing wrestling I got to witness firsthand. 

From AJ Styles to Sasha Banks, from Shinsuke Nakamura to American Alpha, from Zack Sabre Jr. to Ricochet, the best in the world were on display creating magic.

Inevitably, the talk of the weekend turned to debate over which match was best, and while I had my own opinions, I started to wonder about the best matches I've seen live anywhere. 

I've been to a lot of wrestling shows - growing up in New York afforded me the opportunity to see many local events, while a rich and generous brother has afforded me the opportunity to travel to many others. 

There were certainly some great bouts over WrestleMania weekend, but did any of them crack the top ten?

The only way to find out was to sit down and make a list - to go over every Raw and Smackdown, every Ring of Honor and EVOLVE show, every WrestleMania and SummerSlam, and every Wrestle Kingdom. 

I managed to put together a list of the ten best matches I've seen live, and you can share the best matches you've seen live in the comments!

Fans had waited for years to see Chris Benoit finally take his place in the main event. After years of being considered the most underutilised talent in WCW, he jumped to WWE and spent the next several years slowly climbing the card. 

Still, the few title shots he got didn't pan out, and it wasn't until he won the 2004 Royal Rumble that he looked to be getting a real chance.

Benoit challenged Triple H at Madison Square Garden's WrestleMania XX, with Shawn Michaels thrown into the bout for good measure. The three men ended up having one of the best Triple Threat matches in wrestling history, with alliances shifting throughout and each competitor trying to find an advantage. 

Triple H and Michaels put Benoit through a table at one point, but he came back to submit "The Game" with the Crippler Crossface, winning the title.

The live bout took place in front of 18,000 wrestling fans who wanted nothing more than to see Benoit win the title. The earlier Goldberg-Brock Lesnar match proved just how "smart" the crowd was, and they brought the same level of energy to the main event. 

When Benoit made Triple H tap out, we all rejoiced (my brother rushed me as soon as the bell rang), and wrestling mattered. While it's hard to rewatch (or even think about) some of Benoit's best matches these days, this was a true masterpiece.