5 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2017

In 2017, the entire wrestling world was talking about two men: Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada. On the fourth day of the year, Omega and Okada put on such a good match that it broke the scale, so to speak.

It was rated six stars out of five, which is something that hadn’t been done since 1994. That shocking rating set the stage for 2017, and soon everyone was wondering if anyone in wrestling would be able to top that score.

WWE certainly tried by putting on a phenomenal match of their own at the Royal Rumble. Unfortunately, that match didn’t get the same critical acclaim, despite a lot of people thinking it should have.

If there’s one thing that was proven beyond a doubt in 2017, it was that WWE was no longer the be all and end all of pro wrestling. You COULD have a great career outside of Vince’s company and make great money while doing so.

Don’t believe me? Just look at Kazuchika Okada, who was one of three wrestlers in 2017 to have a match rated higher than five stars. He was also named #1 on Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s PWI 500, becoming the first Japanese wrestler to ever do so.

Keep in mind that PWI has long been known to present its scores and rankings in a way that aligns with storylines and the illusory nature of wrestling; whereas other ‘outside’ publications like the Wrestling Observer have been presumed to be more critical and unbiased because they originated outside the wrestling business.

And speaking of the Wrestling Observer, that (in)famous publication became a lightning rod for controversy as the year progressed. Not only did four matches get rated more than five stars (two of which happened one day apart from each other), but Dave Meltzer also rated six other matches five stars out of five.

That means that in 2017 there were TEN matches that were deemed more or less perfect. And that doesn’t even take into account the myriad of matches rated 4.5 out of 5 or 4.75 out of five.

That tells you how many spectacular wrestling matches there were in 2017. Yet those ratings aren’t everything, and we’ve looked at these matches carefully to see which ones truly were the five best matches of the 2017 calendar year.

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#5 Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega – G1 Climax 2017

For the first time since the 1993 edition of this series, one wrestler features on this list at least three times. But this marks the first time that the same match-up appears more than once. And that is because Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada (with Gedo’s help), created one of the best wrestling rivalries of all time.

The third installment in this mythical match series featured elements from their previous two battles. The time limit element from their Dominion match returned, but this time with only 30 minutes for them to work with.

Secondly, Okada had (allegedly) suffered a neck injury during the G1 Climax tournament, yet continued to wrestle regardless. Kenny, like any wrestler with a brain, targeted that neck viciously, which was enough to get him a much-needed win.

That win would not only send Kenny to the G1 Climax finals for the second straight year, but it also proved something critical: Omega could beat Okada (albeit an Okada that wasn’t at 100%).

So not only did we get yet another breath-taking wrestling match between two of the greatest in-ring workers of this era, but the series between them was now completely even at 1-1-1. A grudge match HAD to happen sometime down the road, and luckily, it did.

#4 Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito - G1 Climax Final

One year prior, Omega and Naito wrestled in the best match of the 2016G1 Climax. Here, Omega was hoping to make history by winning the tournament again, but like in 2016, he had a monumental challenge in front of him in Tetsuya Naito.

Naito hadn’t forgotten what happened the year before either, and proceeded to do everything possible to make sure Omega wouldn’t win again. That meant hitting big move after big move, and spiking Omega on his head and neck whenever possible.

Omega did try to out-wrestle Naito, but that was almost impossible. He busted out so many big moves, including a Moonsault off the ringside barricade and a piledriver through the announce table, but nothing worked. He even tried to Powerbomb Naito off the top rope but Naito always seemed to have an answer for anything Kenny tried.

Ultimately, Naito would not be denied his chance at redemption. The fire that burned inside him – that desire to redeem himself after his 2013 world title catastrophe and being completely rejected by the fans to the point that it forced him to become Tranquilo and spit on NJPW’s heritage – could not be extinguished. He hit so many high-risk moves and neck-destroying spikes that you’d think this was 1990’s All Japan.

Even Naito’s Destino finisher – which is a type of inverted DDT – was modified so that Kenny would land on the top of his head.

That was the great story told in this match. Naito wanted to win this match far more than Kenny, and had very good reasons to want to meet Okada at Wrestle Kingdom. It set the stage for a great encounter down the road, while also proving to the whole world that Naito was as good as anyone in a big-match setting.

#3 AJ Styles vs. John Cena - Royal Rumble 2017

This will go down in history as one of the best wrestling matches in WWE history

This was WWE’s attempt to create their own version of the ‘6-star’ match between Okada and Omega from Wrestle Kingdom 11. And while it failed to reach that mark, it was still an outstanding wrestling match, and easily the best WWE match of the year.

Somehow, Cena and Styles managed to have a better match on this night than they did at SummerSlam 2016. They used many of the same moves as in that match, yet it still got a huge reaction as it everything was completely new.

Beneath all the big moves, finisher kick-outs and deafening fan reaction was a simple story: both of them desperately wanted the WWE Championship. Styles wanted to keep it while Cena wanted to tie Ric Flair’s record. That desperation translated into a back-and-forth war that was not dull for even a second.

Furthermore, Cena showed something that’s almost never seen from his character: real human emotion. He plays a corporate, robotic superhero so often that he doesn’t get many chances to feel real emotions like frustration, anger, and desperation. But he brought those out in this match, and showed them both through his moves and through subtle facial expressions that said more than any promo.

While some might’ve wished Styles won in the end, losing here did not harm Styles in any way. He took an incredible amount of punishment from Cena and came ever so close to winning on countless occasions. Like Bret Hart losing to the British Bulldog at SummerSlam 1992, this match was a crowning achievement for Styles, and he showed everyone just how unbelievably good he is at his craft.

#2 Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega - Dominion 6.11

Kazuchika Okada is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest professional wrestlers ever… period. Since 2013, Okada has been putting on one wrestling masterpiece after another. He has somehow developed this uncanny ability to have a wrestling clinic with any possible opponent. Forget about Shawn Michaels or Ric Flair, Okada is now the guy to use in that classic idiom, ‘X can have a 5-star match with a broom’.

But Okada wasn’t alone in putting on this outstanding wrestling marathon. Kenny Omega joined him once again, and the two of them tried to top their spectacular Wrestle Kingdom performance from six months prior.

Some say they did, and there’s plenty of evidence to support that. The biggest reason for it is that Kenny Omega is something of a wrestling genius when it comes to creative and believable wrestling spots.

In this brutal marathon that went to a 60-minute draw, Okada had the advantage and fought desperately to hit enough Rainmakers to keep Omega down. So what does Kenny do? Does he hit some wacky submission hold to break Okada’s arm? Does he simply try some kind of flip or a crazy dive?

No, he does the simplest yet the most logical thing conceivable; he falls to his knees, exhausted from suffering so much punishment from Okada. In doing so, he dodged a vicious move that could’ve ended the match right then and there.

But Okada couldn’t hit the move, and was likewise exhausted from wrestling at an intense level with Omega for almost an hour. As time ran out, Okada tried desperately to cover Omega to make his victory decisive, but he couldn’t make it, leaving us with one of the few great matches to end in a draw.

Okada didn’t beat Omega; Omega survived Okada. He didn’t get pinned; he proved that he had the potential – however slim – to beat Okada.

Was it the best match of the year? Not quite, in my opinion, as the interference from Cody made the match’s momentum come to a halt and was completely forgotten by the time the match ended. Luckily, this brought the series between this duo to 1-0-1, so that meant more wrestling greatness was to come.

#1 Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega - Wrestle Kingdom 11

This is the match that set an entirely new standard for big matches in NJPW. It was such an outstanding wrestling match that it accomplished two seemingly-impossible feats. First, that someone (Omega) was able to have a better match with Okada than Hiroshi Tanahashi. Second, that there was room for a sequel (and later, for a series to unfold).

You see, this epic match had so much great wrestling going for it that there was an important detail that almost went unnoticed. For all the amazing, dangerous and vicious moves Okada and Omega hit on each other, there was one that wasn’t: Kenny Omega’s One-Winged Angel. That move is Omega’s super-finisher, his ultimate match-ending destroyer that always ended his matches.

So when Omega and Okada clashed, people were left wondering if Omega could hit the OWA on Okada? And if he did, could Okada somehow kick out of this devastating maneuver?

These elements were all woven together in a masterful tapestry of pro wrestling storytelling. Okada and Omega demonstrated superhuman conditioning and endurance, wrestling for over 45 minutes. Yet this match didn’t feature lengthy rest periods or meaningless submission holds meant to ‘bring the crowd down’. it was 45 minutes of non-stop wrestling action that brought some fans to tears (literally: the camera panned to several audience members crying when the match ended).

Wrestling usually gets either cheers or boos from fans. In some rare cases, it can make then angry enough to riot or happy enough to scream on top of their lungs. But rarely, rarely is a match so awesome, so dramatic, so well-executed that it leaves fans crying and begging for more. That’s what Omega and Okada accomplished in this historical wrestling masterpiece.