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Every week wrestling fans are treated to many fantastic matches across all brands, promotions, and companies. Wrestling fans are spoilt for choice with great action from WWE, NXT, AEW, and IMPACT Wrestling.
This week Monday Night RAW gave fans a brilliant match, and NXT had a handful of excellent outings in another strong and solid show.
IMPACT Wrestling put on a great show as the invasion angle continued while AEW had a rare misstep and only had one standout match on the show.
SmackDown is usually WWE's strongest weekly show, but for some reason, this week, the matches were short, ineffective, and lacked purpose.
Here are the best five wrestling matches of the week.
#5 Jon Moxley and Nick Comoroto had a great wrestling match on AEW Dynamite (January 20)
This was Jon Moxley's first wrestling match since losing the AEW Championship to Kenny Omega on December 2.
His opponent was a beast of a man named Nick Comoroto. Comoroto has been making a name for himself on Dark and got a huge opportunity to face one of AEW's biggest stars on this week's Dynamite.
The match was a brutal back and forth as the two brawlers slugged it out in a powerful display of hard-hitting violence.
The bout was quick but allowed Comoroto the chance to show his old-school heel charisma and offence while Moxley returned to the ring with strong and dominant fashion.
The finish of the match came when Moxley hit a German Suplex before locking in a sleeper hold and forcing the big man to fade out. It was another submission win for Moxley as he continues to assert new holds into his repertoire.
After the match, Moxley cut a promo on Omega and stated that he looks forward to regaining the title while leaving a trail of broken limbs along the way.
#4 Kushida and Leon Ruff vs. Austin Theory and Johnny Gargano showcased excellent wrestling to kick off NXT (January 20)
Tag team wrestling is on fire at the moment in NXT. The first-round matches of the Dusty Rhodes Classic Tournament continued with a great opening contest on an excellent episode.
Kushida and Ruff have recently gelled well as a team and showed just how good they are by defeating the North American Champion and Theory to progress to the second round.
The action was highly entertaining and full of innovative spots and sequences. The quartet worked very well together. Kushida and Ruff got to shine while Johnny "Wrestling" continued his brilliant heel work, and Theory got to show off his power.
The result was the right one as Kushida got a substantial pinfall victory over Gargano, which looks to be setting up a title match between the two further down the line.
Over the years, the Dusty Classic has provided fans with makeshift teams, which have proven to be very successful. For example, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, Ricochet and Aleister Black, and Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle all won the coveted trophy. Could Kushida and Leon Ruff be the next duo to win the Dusty Classic? It is a strong possibility.
#3 Private Party vs. Chris Sabin and James Storm on IMPACT Wrestling (January 19)
AEW's Private Party crashed IMPACT Wrestling this week to take on Chris Sabin and James Storm in a No. 1 contenders match for the IMPACT Tag Team Championships.
The match dynamics were fascinating as Quen and Kassidy played the heel invaders while Sabin and Storm the heroic defenders.
The match was a highly-entertaining and energetic encounter with Private Party putting on their best performance to date. The young team gelled well with the veteran duo of Sabin and Storm, who made Private Party look like strong and legitimate contenders.
To really put over that AEW is the bad guy in this scenario, Jerry Lynn held Sabin's leg to allow Private Party to hit Gin and Juice for the win and a future match against the Good Brothers' IMPACT tag titles.
After the match, the Good Brothers confronted the AEW invaders, which caused a wild brawl between all three teams. The ending was well played and adds further intrigue into the AEW/IMPACT relationship.
#2 Timothy Thatcher vs. Tommasso Ciampa in a Fight Pit wrestling match on NXT (January 20)
Timothy Thatcher and Tommasso Ciampa took their wrestling contest to a violent conclusion this week on NXT. As the name of the match suggests, this was a fight and what a fight it was. Two of NXT's most grizzled competitors fought tooth and nail inside the adapted steel cage.
Ciampa was the ruthless and grinding fighter that he has proven himself to be throughout his career, while Thatcher was every bit the relentless and unforgiving technical expert he is.
The action inside the pit was super-stiff, brutal, and violent as both men did all they could to not only win the match but hurt each other in the process. The match was a vicious and pulverising knock-down-drag-out fight that was perfectly executed while telling a great story of hatred, animosity, and respect.
The result was the correct one as Thatcher needed to assert his position as the intelligent, catch-as-catch-can wrestler who is extremely difficult to beat. Thatcher is now the only wrestler in the world to have won two Fight Pit matches and looks to have carved out a stipulation match specific to him and his wrestling style.
#1 Ricochet and AJ Styles had an epic wrestling match on WWE RAW (January 18)
Ricochet and AJ Styles put on one of the best wrestling matches seen on Monday Night RAW in weeks. A match this good between these two magnificent performers should come as no surprise to the WWE Universe.
The "Phenomenal One" never fails to entertain, and Ricochet is one of the most breathtaking performers in the wrestling business. Their styles meshed perfectly which made for an awesome match.
The match was everything one could wish for from two Superstars of this quality. The action fast, fierce, and thrilling as both competitors came to show out from start to finish.
The action built steadily throughout with both fighters delivering their high-flying offence and signature moves. The match reached its epic conclusion with one of the best and most inventive Style Clashes ever seen on WWE television.
The match was so good that Styles took to Twitter to compliment his opponent. In the post Styles called the "One and Only" an "incredible" talent.
Hopefully, the impressive showing will be a turning point for Ricochet who has been struggling on Monday Night RAW as of late while AJ Styles continues to bring his best every time he is on television.
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