10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2025

9. Kenny Omega Vs. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW Revolution)

It’s a shame that Kenny Omega feels duty-bound to save himself for big matches. It’s understandable that he wants to give his loyal fans the true Kenny Omega experience when his body permits it - but he’s so good at selling and pacing and convincing the crowd that he’s dead on his feet that he doesn’t necessarily need to emulate his old self in order to put on a masterclass. This was a magnificent effort - so fundamentally, universally great that it would have got over in any ring in any era in the world.

Omega played with the (very real) damage endured by his life-altering battle with diverticulitis. He wasn’t explosive, even springy. For much of a slow-burn epic, he could not do anything at all.

Well, he could - he had actually started the match at a blistering clip, with one supercharged elbow into the corner a jaw-dropping reminder of the 2017 vintage - but he made you forget. He made you think he was in agony, like he was suffering a career-altering setback in real time.

This was chained together beautifully. He missed a flying cross-body, landing abdomen-first, before Takeshita left him crumpled with a knee to the gut. It was when Omega dug deep to nail his You Can’t Escape on the outside - only for Takeshita to push him abdomen-first onto the guardrail - that he felt beaten.

Omega used his brilliant mind to deepen the feeling of his physical plight. In a blinding sequence, he took bumps on the underneath and side of a table, resisting the temptation to blast himself through it. He didn’t want to pop the fans; he wanted them to feel terrified for him. When he finally landed his springboard avalanche powerbomb, his selling prior to it was so incredible that it felt as though it were only possible with the support of the fans roaring him on.

Omega also resisted the urge to hit Takeshita with the One-Winged Angel, instead catching him out with a crucifix to capture the International title after a frantic exchange on the mat.

This was a great choice, faithful to the story. There was nothing emphatic about the victory; he did well to survive, much less win.