2007 was a surprisingly good year for wrestling overall, from Takeshi Morishima’s reign in Ring Of Honor to John Cena’s peak as a performer in WWE represented by his match vs Umaga in Royal Rumble 2007. The rivalry that marked the year wasn’t in any of those companies, in fact it took place in one of my favourite indies of the 2000’s IWA Mid South and another promotion by the name of Combat Zone Wrestling. Yes, Chris Hero and Eddie Kingston had a great 2007 each but we will go in depth with it later down the line when we will revisit their best match together. In Japan, NJPW had the best matches by far thanks to Yuji Nagata who if this was wrestlers of the year would be very high no doubt about it. Outside of New Japan, Dragon Gate had some good trios matches as usual but they didn’t reach the heights that they achieved a year earlier that is comprehensible considering what a year 2006 was for them with success inside and outside of their home country Japan. The best of Joshi belongs to the classics that still survived: Meiko Satomura vs Shinobu Kandori in LLPW and Azumi Hyuga vs Kaori Yoneyama in JWP. The first one is a little bit disappointing considering the reputation of both performers and the other one was much better than I expected but this is maybe my fault because I’m not at all familiar with Azumi Hyuga and the same goes for Kaori Yoneyama. In Europe WXW had some notable matches by the lights of wrestlers like Chris Hero, Ares and Claudio Castagnoli. There’s two matches that you’ve maybe seen before, Ares vs Chris Hero and Drake Younger vs Thumbtack Jack in a deathmatch with razorblades and a lot of screams. That match wasn’t the best deathmatch of the year, in my opinion that honor goes to Yuko Miyamoto vs Takashi Sasaki in a Scaffold deathmatch with many lighttubes, this style doesn’t deserve a deep dive this year. In Lucha outside Dr Wagner Jr vs Místico there wasn’t really a lot to celebrate.
5th Nigel McGuinness vs Austin Aries in Ring Of Honor 12/29
This match took place at the event Rising Above that aired in March 7th 2008 but it was recorded in 2007 so it counts.
Nigel McGuinness is defending his ROH World Title against a former Ring of Honor champion in Austin Aries who wants to be the first two-time champion in the history of the company and Nigel wants to avoid it by any means necessary. The first act is marked by Nigel’s cut in his eyebrow that I think is accidental because of the way it happened, a lot of typical Ring Of Honor spots like some variations of Samoa Joe’s Ole Kicks and Nigel hits a Tower of London outside of the ring. The champion struggles a lot during the match and I loved it, it feels inspired by those NWA World Title defenses where the title reign always felt in danger, like in that old classics the champion retains. It was great all around, enough to be here. EPIC
4th Yuji Nagata vs Togi Makabe 7/6
An awesome bloody brawl from beginning to end, this is Yuji Nagata’s best match of the year, that’s something considering that he had two great matches against Hiroshi Tanahashi in April 13th and August 12th which are regarded as New Japan classics for a reason. The match is just two big guys hitting each other really hard and I don’t think that we need more to enjoy wrestling because in essence this branch of theatre is incredibly simple and this piece of wrestling history proves it, this match exposed and compromised my vision of pro wrestling by being extremely simplistic in nature. So there’s that a banger from to big dudes that just continously beating each other with whatever they could find, a match which I can’t recommend enough. There’s nothing more to be said just enjoy it. EPIC
3rd Eddie Kingston vs Chris Hero 9/29
This match took place in the Ted Petty Invitational 2007, it’s a Last Man Standing match, 5 months after their match at CZW Out with the Old, In with the New in April 9th where Eddie Kingston lost and had to abandon Combat Zone Wrestling. Because of the stipulation, a Memphis style Loser Leaves Town but this isn’t about Lawler and Dundee, it is about Hero and Kingston having a hatred-filled brawl fueled by fighting spirit and determination. Now the feelings between these two are stronger than ever and it shows, Hero even uses the barricade for his advantage, that spot was unique, the closest thing I’ve seen was that 1997 AJW Steel Cage match that LCO had against Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe but this is different it works as a form of humiliation that exposes Eddie Kingston’s style of brawling and it establishes Chris Hero as the more intelligent more methodical wrestler. It isn’t a braindead brawl with blood for the sake of it, this is the peak of a meaningful narrative in hostile territory in the form of IWA Mid South which crowd is interesting to say the least. EPIC
2nd Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness 9/6
It took place in ROH, the event Driven, yes that one, the best match of the best rivalry in Ring of Honor history, so why is it only the second best match of the year? It’s full of tension, with Nigel trying to not only beat Danielson but also being a respected champion in the process. I love the narrative and how indirectly involved Takeshi Morishima in the mix is brilliant, it’s very simplistic I know but it really did what it needed to do, having Nigel McGuinness as a respected champion and escape the shadow of the last champion and this match achieves this goal perfectly. I think this match makes Austin Aries vs Nigel McGuinness great because you can’t have a great NWA style championship match without a respected champion that is a heel every time he defends his belt in enemy territory. This match made ROH’s 2007 more enjoyable overall, they made the golden era of the company a bit longer that’s an achievement by itself, it’s awesome but it isn’t number one. EPIC
1st Bryan Danielson vs Takeshi Morishima 8/25
So what makes this the match of the year, maybe the presence and the challenge that Takeshi Morishima presents, the impression that he is absolutely unbeatable and Bryan Danielson’s technical genius can’t do anything about it, that’s the appeal of the match. Seeing how Bryan Danielson struggles for every inch, every opportunity and every chance at a comeback that he may have over the course of the match. It’s the first time The American Dragon challenges for ROH World Title since he lost his belt to Homicide in Final Battle 2006 in one of the most heartwarming moments of the year, that time Dragon was the favourite he came so close to keeping the belt that time that having him as underdog struggling for position is shocking to say the least. It’s a statement, Takeshi Morishima is here to stay as Ring Of Honor World Champion. Bryan Danielson proves once again that he is the best wrestler in the world. That’s Manhattan Mayhem. EPIC