Some of the best matches of 2024 you may not have seen

As I'm considering my top 10 matches of the year, here are some of the matches I'm still thinking about that didn't get the buzz they deserved.

It’s the start of the new year, and with that, comes a review of the old year. Now is the time when wrestling bloggers, pundits, journalists and critics begin compiling their top 10 matches of the year for Voices of Wrestling’s annual list. Some have already sent theirs in; others, like myself, are still considering.

And while many of the choices for the year are obvious, some of which will end up on my list as well, there are a few matches from 2024 I keep thinking about that I know many others haven’t seen, and that I think deserve some consideration.

While some of these won’t end up making the final cut of my list, I’m sure at least a couple of them will, and they’re all great matches worth your time.

Billy Ken Kid & Tsubasa © vs. Tigers Mask & HUB - OPW Tag Team Championship - Osaka Pro Wrestling - July 21

Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed on Jan. 1, 2024, that by the end of the year, I would consider Billy Ken Kid to be one of the 50 best wrestlers in the world. For that matter, I doubt Billy Ken Kid expected he would still be wrestling at this point, initially announcing near the end of 2023 his intent to retire in April of 2024. But, he changed his mind, and the wrestling world is better for it, with two of the best matches of the year: His challenge for the OPW Junior Heavyweight title against Ryuya Matsufusa at the start of this year, and this tag team title match.

One of the most talked about tag team matches of 2024 was the Rey de Parejas final, Naruki Doi & Dragon Kid vs. Yamato & Susumu Yokosuka. The match was universally beloved, as the two veteran teams went out their and had a classic, perfectly structured and executed tournament final. In a way, whether intentional or not, I think this match is Osaka Pro’s response.

This match isn’t quite as good, on a strictly wrestling level, it’s not as athletically impressive or as fast paced. But this match struck a chord with me on an emotional level that has made it stick with me for more than most matches this year. It’s four long-time veterans, all past their prime, who’ve worked with each other countless times in the past for decades, putting it all on the line — to have a great match, and for that championship. They beat the hell out of each other, there’s stiff strikes and big moves, and snug-looking chokeholds. And as the match goes on the damage just compounds and the exhaustion wears on them all sold to a stunning degree. The crowd, many of whom I imagine have watched them for years, are with it all the way, emotionally cheering for either team the whole time.

Billy Ken Kid, who was supposed to have already retired, is particularly impressive. The desperation is obvious as he breaks out everything he has to keep the younger team down, eventually hitting an air raid crash off the top rope and finally a One-Winged Angel to pin Tigers Mask in the center of the ring to hold onto the belts a little longer. The finish and post-match gives a cathartic pleasure I haven’t forgotten since first watching.

Mike Bailey vs. Elijah - Revolver Pro Wrestling - Feb. 17

Admittedly, being there live may play a large factor here for me. I never cared at all about Elijah, formerly known as Elias in WWE. I saw him as all gimmick and a dud in the ring. And Bailey, while very talented and occasionally great, I’ve never been as high on as others. This wasn’t a match I was looking forward to going to the show. That changed within a minute of the bell ringing.

Elijah, who hadn’t worked a match in nearly nine months when this happened, nearly took Bailey’s head off with a big boot immediately after the bell range. I was completely stunned watching this, as I had never seen Elijah work this hard in a match in his entire WWE run. He was everything I wanted him to be. Bailey, immediately, is on the backfoot for pretty much the entirety of the match. Elijah beats him, literally throws him around, hits vicious moves like a massive lariat on the ring apron sending Bailey to a rough landing on the apron before crashing to the floor.

Bailey just works the exact way he needed to get Elijah over as a monster. At every turn, every counter attempt, Elijah is there to cut Bailey off before he can get going. Only with his speed is Bailey able to outmaneuver Elijah and gain control for brief periods. And what amazed me is Elijah never gets gassed, he’s able to hang with Bailey the whole match. And he comes into the match with his own innovative counters, like pushing his legs up when Bailey goes for the moonsault knees to knock him out of the way. It showed that Elijah had done his homework and wasn’t just the standard former WWE star here for a payday. If I was a promoter with a TV show I would have called this guy the next day. Amazingly, that hasn’t happened yet.

Hechicero vs Ryan Grace - Costa Rice Wrestling Embassy - March 17

2024 was arguably nobody’s year more than it was Hechicero. The llave wizard had incredible matches all over the globe and wrestled in one of the greatest apuestas matches in Arena Mexico history. But this match, in some tiny building in Costa Rica against somebody I’ve never heard of, is what’s stuck with me more than most of his work.

Ryan Grace does not have a Cagematch profile. I have no idea how long he’s been wrestling, I would guess he’s a rookie, as he does look green on a few occasions in this match. But for me, it works for the story. This is arguably the best technician in the world going up against someone who really wants to be the best technician in the world.

This is a grappling match. Outside of one Asai moonsault to the outside this is almost entirely worked on the mat. One of the first things you’ll notice is Grace is incredibly lanky. And this works greatly to Hechicero’s advantage as he is able to tie him up in all kinds of knots all over the ring to a degree I haven’t seen in any of his other matches. But much to our, and presumably Hechicero’s, surprise, Grace has a few tricks up his sleeve as well. One of the early highlights of the match is when Grace counters Hechicero’s attempted power bomb with a hurricanrana into a pin. After kicking out, Grace has the guts to mock Hechicero with his entrance taunt. What this leads to is an excellent chess match, a battle of wits, between a wily veteran at the height of his powers bullying a young up-and-comer trying to prove his worth.

CIMA & Kaz Hayashi © vs Takehiro Yamamura & Issei Onitsuka - G-Infinity Championship - GLEAT - May 26

This may be CIMA’s last great match. And now that he’s retired, it is for a fact Kaz Hayashi’s last great match. Inversely, this is also Issei Onitsuka’s first great match.

The reason I can’t get this match out of my head is because it is centered around a body part I’ve never seen before in a match: The hands. CIMA and Hayashi tear the ring aprons off, and give Onitsuka and Yamamura the most vicious rug burn of their lives on their hands. And proceed to spend the rest of the match working over their hands in every way they can think of.

It’s one of the meanest matches I’ve watched all years, with CIMA and Hayashi sublime as the bullying veterans. Yamamura, who has been a standout all year, is exceptional, but Onitsuka is the star of this match, which I can’t believe I’m saying. For someone who I’ve always found to look like he’s trying to be fiery, this is the first time I’ve seen him show fire and actually believe it. He makes the best stand he can against the veteran champions and I couldn’t look away. It’s one last great match from the mad mind of CIMA.