5 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2013

The 2013 calendar year saw an ungodly amount of great wrestling matches. Unlike in previous years, it really came down to two companies vying for that precious top spot: WWE and NJPW.

While the former tried to maintain its spot as the #1 wrestling company in the world, NJPW continued its unstoppable rise, determined to unseat Vince’s company in that regard. Some would say they succeeded, as New Japan had an enormous collection of outstanding matches, many of which just narrowly failed to make this top five list.

But WWE also started facing competition from within as well. 2013 was the first year that saw NXT become the third brand of WWE programming. It was no longer the trashy faux-reality developmental show that didn’t have a future. Instead, it was Triple H’s personal project, and his creative direction led to some amazing matches on NXT programming (such as Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn and Cesaro vs. William Regal), that would pave the way for the NXT TakeOvers that could come in the following years.

Unfortunately, we cannot list all the great matches that happened in 2013. We can only look at the five absolute best, which are listed below.

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#5 The Undertaker vs. CM Punk – WrestleMania XXIX

By 2013, the Undertaker was in such a poor shape that he needed to wrestle against a true workhorse to have a good match. And in 2013, there wasn’t a single wrestler in WWE better than CM Punk.

On one hand, these two wrestled in a great match that, while not on the same level of back-and-forth action as ‘Taker’s previous WrestleManias, easily stole the show. Punk wrestled incredibly well (he had more grappling skill than Triple H did in his WrestleMania matches with ‘Taker), and actually had the match won several times with some believable near-falls and submission sequences.

On the other hand, this match was underscored by depressing and – according to some people – inappropriate booking elements. Punk and Paul Heyman mocking Paul Bearer’s real-life passing certainly added a great personal element that made people want to see Undertaker win more than ever (at least, for those fans that weren’t cheering loudly for Punk).

Ultimately, CM Punk deserves all the credit in the world for wrestling a competitive and dramatic match with the Undertaker, who was really beginning to show his age at this point. If it were anyone else, this match might’ve been significantly worse, but Punk had the skill and wrestling wherewithal to make this into one of Undertaker’s best WrestleMania performances.

#4 Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata - G1 Climax 2013

This was one of the wildest brawls I have ever seen. As soon as the bell rang, Ishii and Shibata literally charged at each other and started hitting each other as hard as possible.

It was the epitome of the stereotypical ‘stiff’ Japanese wrestling that was both entertaining and terrifying. In a classic ‘tough guy’ challenge, Shibata and Ishii took turns going to one knee and taking full-contact strikes from each other. You don’t see stuff like this often, especially since this was full contact striking between two wrestlers notorious for their brawling styles.

There was also an underlying story here of an underdog overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. Ishii, who had spent most of his career on the undercard, refused to give up and kept begging for more punishment. This was technically a bad idea, since Shibata had dabbled in MMA, and was notorious for hitting Kawada-level stiff kicks to his opponents.

When you add all those elements together, you get a fantastic match that you can’t turn away from. Ishii and Shibata hit each other so hard it felt like both of them were made of iron. They absorbed insanely stiff kicks, chops, head-butts, and lariats, even kicking out at one after those latter strikes.

While it’s relatively short for an NJPW match, this crazy brawling, combined with a crowd and commentators that went into a frenzy from the opening bell, is a must-see for fans that love wild brawling and tough-guy contests.

#3 CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar – SummerSlam 2013

When WWE usually books a No DQ match, that usually signals shenanigans and a bad match ending. This was not one of those cases; instead, it was one of the best matches of the year and one of the best matches of Brock Lesnar’s career.

Few people expected CM Punk to beat Lesnar, but Punk fought with the soul of a champion in this No DQ match. To even the field, Punk relied on his superior speed and love of weapons to counter Lesnar’s power and size advantage. Punk nearly had the match won several times by using submission holds that could’ve realistically made Lesnar tap out.

In a way, Punk acted as the perfect underdog in this 25-minute war with Lesnar in that he had such incredible odds to overcome. Not only did he have to face a monster in Lesnar, but he also had to fend off Lesnar’s annoying manager Paul Heyman, who kept interfering in the match. Heyman played his role perfectly here, getting involved at all the right moments and making the fans absolutely hate him, even though he’s generally loved for his promos and work with Lesnar.

Even in defeat, Punk looked like a star while Lesnar remained the nigh-indestructible juggernaut. Both of them came out looking better than before the match started, which is a very hard thing to do in wrestling.

#2 John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan – SummerSlam 2013

This match was nothing but a fantasy for many people for many years, and then it actually happened...

Daniel Bryan’s rise to WWE’s main-event scene had begun years ago, but he became entrenched in that environment after this classic WWE Championship battle.

This awesome encounter billed as ‘wrestler vs. entertainer’, proved to virtually everyone that John Cena could indeed wrestle like a true grappler when necessary (even though he had silence many doubters back in 2011).

He did his best to wrestle Bryan’s style, and did everything he could to make Bryan look like a true top star in WWE. That included showing some unusual technical grappling, which is usually non-existent for the ‘superhero’ persona Cena normally represents.

But this match was more than just great moves and fantastic near-falls. It had one of the hottest crowds in years, which erupted during Bryan’s biggest moments and when the match ended. They reacted like any NXT crowd does, and sold the action as a true spectacle. Even the commentary in this match was unusually high-quality.

For all the flack Michael Cole gets, he did a fantastic job selling the big moves and the drama of the action unfolding before him. It might not have been Jim Ross-level excitement, but he did his damnedest to make you care about the match taking place.

#1 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada – Invasion Attack 2013

Okada and Tanahashi had many epic encounters in 2013 to continue their legendary rivalry. Their match at Wrestle Kingdom 7 was great, and their battle at King of Pro Wrestling 2013 was outstanding. But this match at Invasion Attack was something else altogether.

The contest had a simple yet enjoyable story with Okada having won the New Japan Cup and wanting to get his title back. Meanwhile, Tanahashi was still the ace that wanted to prove that Okada was still the same fluke from the previous year. That story was on full display as these two wrestlers tore into each other with everything they had.

Tanahashi wrestled like a true expert, showing amazing psychology by attacking Okada’s lariat arm and blocking the dropkick he loves to do in every match. But Okada was no slouch either; he had improved considerably since the year before, and moved around the ring like Randy Orton (i.e. he made every move look so easy and crisp).

This match was stylistically like a classic war from All Japan’s King’s Road era: a detailed, complex and multi-layered contest in which two wrestlers told a deep story through their in-ring skills. Limbs were targeted and subtleties that would normally be ignored played a key part in the match’s development. That made this a gorgeous match to watch.

Once the match ended, Okada could no longer be considered a fluke, but a real world champion. He carried himself with such confidence and showed such outstanding wrestling ability against a true ace like Tanahashi that he was truly worthy of being seen as a real world champion.