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2007 was one of the most difficult years ever for pro wrestling. It started off good, but by the end of June, it became a dark time indeed. This was because Chris Benoit killed his family before committing suicide. These events sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling world, and its impact is still felt to this day.
For some people, it was doubly depressing to learn of these events. Not only were his actions as a person horrifying, but Benoit was a wrestler was a hero and symbol of greatness for many people. Just look at his crowning achievement only three years prior at WrestleMania XX.
Or better yet, look back at previous entries in this series, as Benoit had been having MOTY contenders as far back as 1994.
But Benoit wasn’t the only wrestler to have a big impact on the wrestling world that year. Many others left their mark as well (and most of them were in a good way). In ROH, stars like Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe were tearing it up with their incredible skills like they had been in previous years.
In WWE, meanwhile, we saw the continuation of a trend that had started in 2006, whereby a wrestler once known for average-at-best matches was becoming the real show-stealer.
So which matches were the best of the best in 2007? Read on…
5. Batista vs. The Undertaker - WrestleMania 23
In 2007, despite being over forty years old and incredibly broken down, the Undertaker was continuing his in-ring renaissance. He was having great matches with everyone, including Batista, of all people. What makes this so surprising is that there has been ample evidence showing that the Undertaker almost always meshed poorly with big men not named Kane.Remember that line about a wrestler with previously-average matches stealing the show? That’s the Undertaker.
But that was not the case with Batista. Undertaker seemed to have perfect chemistry with ‘the Animal’, which led to a series of fantastic matches. That series began at WrestleMania 23, in a match widely praised as the one that stole the show.
Batista and Undertaker had a brutal big man fight, with lots of crazy sequences that brought over 70,000 to their feet. That action was complemented by a very animated crowd that booed Batista viciously, as they clearly didn’t want to see the Streak end at Batista’s hands.
Whether it was ‘Taker’s epic suicide dive, the powerslam into the announce table, or the drama of so many believable near-falls, this match was simply outstanding. Luckily, this wouldn’t be the last time these two men would clash, as they had several more matches that led to their rivalry winning Feud of the Year by the Wrestling Observer.
4. Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima - ROH Fifth Year Festival: NYC
You had two big brawlers, both of which weighed near the 300-pound mark. Yet of the two, Morishima was the bigger man, and he used that superior size to his advantage. Morishima got so much out of so little by demolishing Joe with his weight. He even managed to make a butt splash look painful, which isn’t something most people can do. Sometimes people don’t want to see grappling, but an old-school hoss fight. This is one of those contests.
Yet in classic ROH fashion, you had big men doing things big men aren’t meant to do. This included Morishima hitting a missile dropkick and Joe hitting an elbow suicida through the ropes like he’s Daniel Bryan. It’s amazing athleticism like this that made ROH such a great promotion to watch in the 2000s.
If there’s one thing this match proved, it’s that Samoa Joe had all the tools needed to be a true wrestling superstar. Even without the WWE-approved chiselled physique, Joe told a great story in the ring. He even showed some phenomenal strength by lifting Morishima onto his shoulder for the Muscle Buster (again, Morishima weighed almost 300 pounds, and Joe held him on one shoulder), which was one of the greatest visuals of the entire year.
3. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Kota Ibushi – July 15, 2007
As expected of four junior heavyweights in NOAH, they tore the house down. on one hand, KENTA and Marufuji brought such intensity to their sequences one would be forgiven for thinking they legitimately hated each other. At the same time, Ishimori and Ibushi moved with lightning speed and technical precision in almost everything they did.This match doesn’t require much explanation. KENTA and Marufuji are still rivals, but this time they each have a newcomer teaming with them. KENTA has Ishimori, who is now known as the newest member of Bullet Club OG. Marufuji, meanwhile, has Ibushi, who is known for doing moonsaults off cars and being partners with Kenny Omega.
Furthermore, this match highlighted one of the problems with WWE matches. In WWE, you can only break-up a pinfall once. In this match, pinfalls were broken up several times, which led to even more dramatic sequences with each passing move. Not only did this make each attempt more exciting, but the wrestlers had to resort to bigger and more powerful moves, which only showed their determination to win.
However, if there’s one thing to take away from this match, it’s that Ibushi is a special talent. This match took place in 2007, when Ibushi was still relatively new to most people. Yet he did things that few others could do. He moved around the ring with such grace and skill that he looked like a 20-year pro. His standing splashes and aerial maneuvers were out of this world, and set the tone for the greatness that was to come with his work.
2. Takeshi Morishima vs. Bryan Danielson – ROH Mayhem in Manhattan II
Six minutes into this big fight for the ROH World Championship, Takeshi Morishima (who hit people very hard), hit Bryan in the face with some stiff shots. One of these shots detached his retina, which made it difficult for him to see out of one of his eyes.There are some matches that are great because of their action, some that are great because of the atmosphere, and some that are great because something unseen happens that makes a match better in retrospect. This match is an example of a little bit of the first two and a lot of the third.
Let me repeat that. His retina was detached, and he still wrestled. In a match against a man over twice his size. And not only did he keep wrestling, but he wrestled as if nothing had happened. The only sign of anything being possibly wrong was that he kept covering his eye with one hand.
Yet this didn’t slow down his pacing, didn’t interfere with his moves, and didn’t make him botch anything (including a dive from the top rope into the crowd). He was still able to wrestle the same match as if a dangerous injury hadn’t even happened, which is simply astonishing.
1. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels – Ironman match - RAW, April 23, 2007
Cena showed a side of himself that hadn’t been seen much before; he wrestled like an actual wrestler, as opposed to a modern WWE ‘superstar’. We actually witnessed some chain grappling from Cena and some logical ring psychology and storytelling. These things were rare in Cena matches at the time, thanks to his opponent being Shawn Michaels.
By 2007, John Cena’s relationship with many fans had started to sour. People started turning on him for his pure-babyface persona and supposed lack of wrestling ability. But Cena proved everyone wrong with this match, which is also one of the few cases when a rematch is better than the first encounter between two wrestlers.
As a testament to his abilities, Shawn out-wrestled Cena throughout the match, and seemed to have an answer for everything Cena threw at him. He blocked Cena’s big moves, kept getting out of Cena’s signature STF, and kept coming back no matter how much Cena out-powered him.
In an odd visual, Michaels actually felt like the underdog in this match, which actually made the closing sequence that much better. If one ever needed proof of Michaels’ mastery of ring awareness and excellent match structure ability, watch this match. Its 45-minute length will simply fly by.
