10 Dream Wrestling Matches That Only Happened Once
4. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki
From the epic stare down to the hard fought finale, this is a proper dream match that actually lives up to expectations. AJ Styles and Minoru Suzuki were each outsiders in New Japan Pro Wrestling, both the leaders of heel factions. and at the 2014 G1 Climax, their paths collided.
The similarities end there, though, and the disparate techniques of the two performers make this a fantastically exciting watch. We start off with a flurry of quick offence from Styles, who gets Suzuki off his feet and out of the ring surprisingly quickly. Once Suzuki gets his hands on AJ, though, the match turns on its head, and he deals out his full repertoire of brutally convincing strikes which Styles sells for his life.
While he’s every part the gaijin heel, Styles plays the underdog to perfection here. He absorbs Suzuki’s thunderous chops and fires back with his own; there’s a great mat based trade of submissions towards the end, before AJ finally hoists his foe into the Styles Clash and proves why, in 2014, there was no one better.