10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2024

The counter sequence is pervasive in modern wrestling, which can often feel more homogenised with each passing week. Virtually every match develops into a fiercely-contested back-and-forth shoot-out. 

IYO SKY and Bayley may have devised the best counter of the year. 

Deep down the stretch, IYO blasted Bayley with a series of moonsaults. The idea here was to convince the audience that Bayley was done. You were conditioned to buy the subsequent near-fall - except, there was no near-fall. In an amazing twist, Bayley got her knees up and attempted the Rose Plant. In a stunning feat of agility, even by the über-athletic modern standard, IYO executed a hand-spring kip-up. This was preposterous; it was almost as if she took the move and flipped out of it at the same time. The space she navigated was miniscule. 

There’s a rhythm to a wrestling match. Most of the time, you know who’s going to kick out of what. You get into it all the same, but you know. This sequence was so creative that it summoned the rarest feeling: an overwhelming state of doubt and exhilaration. Total head-loss.  

It helps that body of the match built flawlessly to this jaw-dropping moment; Bayley, who deserved the fanfare more than most, had sold her knee impeccably, driving an oscillating sense of despair and hope.