As the year comes to a close, rewinding a bit to go over favorite matches seems par for the course. Let’s see which matches just barely missed Mathew’s Top 25 cut!

Hello everyone, I would first like to say that I hope everyone had an amazing holiday. Secondly, the year has come to a close as starting tomorrow, I will be writing my Top 25 Matches of 2018 where we will see which matches were my personal favorites of the year.

This article though will be for the honorable mentions that while they were amazing matches, they just didn’t make the cut and I thought I would give them some love here at least and you should at least check them out. I separated them from the company for the majority of them while the rest will be listed under as other.

So I hope you enjoy and look forward to the real list starting tomorrow!

WWE:

• Men’s Royal Rumble (Royal Rumble 1/28/18)
• Women’s Royal Rumble (Royal Rumble 1/28/18)
• AJ Styles vs. John Cena (SmackDown Live 2/27/18)
• Mustafa Ali vs. Cedric Alexander (205 Live 1/23/18)
• Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev (Fastlane 3/11/18)
• Bobby Roode vs. Randy Orton (Fastlane 3/11/18)
• Lars Sullivan vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet vs. Adam Cole vs. Killian Dain (NXT Takeover: NOLA 4/7/18)
• Andrade Cien Almas vs. Aleister Black (NXT Takeover: NOLA 4/7/18)
• Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: NOLA 4/7/18)
• The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor (Raw 4/30/18)
• Seth Rollins vs. The Miz (Backlash 5/6/18)
• AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown Live 5/15/18)
• Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live 5/29/18)
• Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy vs. Hideo Itami (205 Live 6/19/18)
• Cedric Alexander vs. Hideo Itami (205 Live 7/10/18)
• Undisputed Era vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (NXT Takeover: Chicago 6/16/18)
• Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet (NXT Takeover: Chicago 6/16/18)
• Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: Chicago (6/16/18)
• Undisputed Era vs. Mustache Mountain (UK Championship Tournament Day 1 6/25/18)
• Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
• Meiko Satomura vs. Mercedes Martinez (MYC 10/3/18)
• Toni Storm vs. Meiko Satomura (MYC 10/24/18)
• Undisputed Era vs. Mustache Mountain (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)
• Adam Cole vs. Ricochet (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)
• Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)
• Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz (SummerSlam 8/19/18)
• Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream, (NXT 8/23/18)
• Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne (NXT 9/19/18)
• AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• Hideo Itami vs. Mustafa Ali (205 Live 10/23/18)
• Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black (NXT Takeover: WarGames 11/17/18)
• Undisputed Era vs. Ricochet, Pete Dunne, & War Raiders (NXT Takeover: WarGames 11/17/18)
• Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (TLC 12/16/18)
• Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (TLC 12/16/18)

NJPW:

• Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho (Wrestle Kingdom 12 1/4/18)
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (Wrestle Kingdom 12 1/4/18)
• Kenny Omega vs. Jay White (New Beginning in Sapporo 1/28/18)
• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki (New Beginning in Sapporo 1/27/18)
• Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA (New Beginning in Osaka 2/10/18)
• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Juice Robinson (New Japan Cup 3/16/18)
• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (New Japan Cup 3/21/18)
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Sakura Genesis 4/1/18)
• Golden Lovers vs. Young Bucks (Strong Style Evolved 3/25/18)
• KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay (Wrestling Dontaku 5/4/18)
• Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi (Dominion 6/9/18)
• Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho (Dominion 6/9/18)
• Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada (G1 Climax 7/14/18)
• Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito (G1 Climax 7/15/18)
• Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto (G1 Climax 7/19/18)
• Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Climax 7/21/18)
• Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA (G1 Climax 7/26/18)
• Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kenny Omega (G1 Climax 8/4/18)
• Tomohiro Ishii vs. SANADA (G1 Climax 8/11/18)
• Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kota Ibushi (G1 Climax 7/28/18)
• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (G1 Climax 8/10/18)
• Golden Lovers vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii (Fighting Spirit Unleashed 9/30/18)
• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (Destruction in Kobe 9/23/18)
• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White (King of Pro Wrestling 10/8/18)
• Kenny Omega vs. Cody vs. Kota Ibushi (King of Pro Wrestling 10/8/18)
• Chris Jericho vs. EVIL (Power Struggle
• Golden Lovers vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Will Ospreay (Road to Tokyo Dome 12/15/18)

AJPW:

• Joe Doering vs. Zeus (New Year Wars 1/2/18)
• Violent Giants vs. Yoshiken (Yokohama Twilight Blues 2/3/18)
• Koji Iwamoto vs. Josh Bodon (Dream Power Series 3/25/18)
• Yoshitatsu vs. Suwama (Champions Carnival 4/22/18)
• Kento Miyahara vs. Shingo Takagi (Champions Carnival 4/7/18)
• Shingo Takagi vs. Yuji Hino (Champions Carnival 4/15/18)
• Zeus vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Champions Carnival 4/20/18)
• Jun Akiyama vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Champions Carnival 4/25/18)
• Kento Miyahara vs Yuji Hino (Champions Carnival 4/29/18)
• Kento Miyahara vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Super Power Series 5/24/18)
• Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata vs. NEXTREAM (Dynamite Series 6/12/18)
• Kento Miyahara vs. Dylan James (Dynamite Series 6/12/18)
• Kento Miyahara vs. Zeus (Summer Action Series 7/29/18)
• Zeus vs. Naoya Nomura (Oudou Tournament 9/17/18)
• Koji Iwamoto vs. Shuji Kondo (Oudou Tournament 9/22/18)
• Kento Miyahara vs. Jake Lee (Oudou Tournament 9/22/18)
• Kengo Mashimo vs. Zeus (Oudou Tournament 9/24/18)
• Yuji Hino vs. Kento Miyahara (Oudou Tournament 9/24/18)
• Kengo Mashimo vs. Kento Miyahara (Oudou Tournament 9/24/180
• Violent Giants vs. The Bomber (Real World Tag League 12/11/18)

Dragon Gate:

• Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Kzy (Kotoka Road to Final 2/7/18)
• Ryo Saito vs. Shingo Takagi (Kotoka Road to Final 3/6/18)
• Dragon Kid vs. Yosuke Santa Maria (Dead or Alive 5/6/18)
• YAMATO vs. Kzy (King of Gate 5/8/18)
• Naruki Doi vs. YAMATO (King of Gate 6/1/18)
• Ben-K & Big R Shimizu vs. BxB Hulk & YAMATO (Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 7/22/18)
• BxB Hulk & YAMATO vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Shun Skywalker (Dangerous Gate 9/28/18)
• Masato Yoshino vs. Naruki Doi (Dangerous Gate 9/28/18)
• Masato Yoshino vs. Ben-K (Gate of Destiny 11/4/18)
• Ben-K, Big R Shimizu & PAC vs. BxB Hulk, Flamita & YAMATO vs. Genki Horiguchi, Kzy & Susumu Yokosuka vs. Jason Lee, Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi (Gate of Evolution 11/6/18)
• Masato Yoshino vs. PAC (Fantastic Gate 12/4/18)

NOAH:

• Kenoh vs. Takashi Sugiura (Great Voyage in Yokohama 3/11/18)
• Takashi Sugiura vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Navigation with Breeze 5/29/18)
• Takashi Sugiura vs. Kenoh (Navigation with Emerald Spirits 6/26/18)
• Akitoshi Saito & Naomichi Marufuji defeat Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya (Junior Heavyweight Tag League 7/28/18)
• Takashi Sugiura & Daisuke Harada vs Atsushi Aoki & Jun Akiyama (Flight 9/1/18)
• Naomichi Marufuji vs. Hideo Itami (Flight 9/1/18)
• Daisuke Harada vs. Kotaro Suzuki (Global League 10/30/18)
• Kenoh vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Global League 11/8/18)
• Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (Global League 11/25/18)
• Kotaro Suzuki vs. Daisuke Harada (Great Voyage in Yokohama Vol. 2 12/16/18)
• Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Yuji Hino & Maybach Taniguchi (Great Voyage in Yokohama Vol. 2 12/16/18)
• Takashi Sugiura vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (Great Voyage in Yokohama Vol. 2 12/16/18)

Stardom:

• Toni Storm vs. Meiko Satomura (Queen’s Fes 2/18/18)
• Io Shirai & Tam Nakano vs. Kagetsu & Natsu Sumire (Dream Slam in Nagoya 4/1/18)
• Toni Storm vs. Mayu Iwatani (Dream Slam in Nagoya 4/1/18)
• Kagetsu vs. Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom Rebirth 4/15/18)
• Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani (Cinderella Tournament)
• Io Shirai vs. Kagetsu (Golden Week Stars 5/5/18)
• Io Shirai vs. Momo Watanabe (Gold Star 5/23/18)
• Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu & Hazuki (Goddesses of Destiny 6/19/18)
• Momo Watanabe vs. Hazuki (Bright Summer 7/16/18)
• Starlight Kid vs. AZM (Queen’s Fes in Sapporo 6/3/18)
• Jungle Kyona vs. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom x Stardom 8/12/18)
• Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatami (Stardom x Stardom 8/12/18)
• Konami vs. Kagetsu (5 Star Grand Prix 8/18/18)
• Tam Nakano vs. Jungle Kyona (5 Star Grand Prix 8/26/18)
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Utami Hayashishita (5 Star Grand Prix 9/24/18)
• Kagetsu vs. Momo Watanabe (Grand Champion Carnival 9/30/18)
• Momo Watanabe vs. Mayu Iwatani (True Fight 10/23/18)

Misc:

• Nick Aldis vs. Cody (All In 9/1/18)
• Kagetsu & Hazuki vs. Chihiro Mashimoto & DASH Chisako (Sendai Girls 11/16/18)
• Pete Dunne vs. Ilja Dragunov (Progress Chapter 76: Hello Wembley! 9/30/18)
• Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb vs. Bandido (PWG: Battle of Los Angeles 9/16/18)
• Ilja Dragunov vs. Shingo Takagi (PWG: Battle of Los Angeles 9/15/18)
• Shotaro Ashino vs. Manabu Soya (Wrestle-1 Trans Magic 3/14/18)
• Manabu Soya vs. Shotaro Ashino (Wrestle-1 Love in Yokohama 9/2/18)
• Shotaro Ashino vs. Koji Doi (Wrestle-1 Grand Prix Finals 7/18/18)
• WALTER vs. Will Ospreay (OTT 4 Year Anniversary 10/13/18)
• WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Progress Chapter 79: Pumpkin Spice Progress 10/28/18)
• Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus vs. CIMA, Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz (PWG: Battle of Los Angeles 9/15/18)
• CIMA vs. Konosuke Takeshita (DDT: Ryogoku Peter Pan Fall Festival 10/21/18)
• Tomohiro Ishii vs. Keith Lee (RPW: Epic Encounter 5/11/18)
• Jay Lethal vs. Will Ospreay (ROH Death Before Dishonor 9/28/18)
• Kenny Omega vs. Cody (ROH Supercard of Honor XII 4/7/18)
• Cody vs. Nick Aldia (NWA 70th Anniversary 10/21/18)
• Tessa Blanchard vs. Mercedes Martinez (RISE 10: Insanity 10/19/18)
• Austin Aries vs. Johnny Impact (Impact Bound for Glory 10/14/18)
• Austin Aries vs. Pentagon vs. Rey Fenix (Impact Redemption 4/22/18)
• Matt Sydal vs. Brian Cage (Impact Slammiversary 7/22/18)
• Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon Jr. (Impact Slammiversary 7/22/18)
• Will Ospreay vs. Matt Riddle (OTT ScrapperMania IV 5/12/18)
• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Matt Riddle (Evolve 102 4/5/18)
• Jordan Devlin vs. Will Ospreay (Progress Chapter 72: Got Got Need 6/24/18)
• Arisa Nakajima vs. Rina Yamashita (SEAdLINNNG d-Higher 10/3/18)
• Nanae Takahashi vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto ( SEAdLINNNG d-Higher 10/3/18)
• Arisa Nakajima vs. Nanae Takahashi (SEAdLINNNG Go! Beyond! 11/3/18)
• Mika Iwata vs. Hana Kimura (Sendai Girls 4/19/18)
• Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Cassandra Miyagi (Sendai Girls 10/14/18)
• Masashi Takeda vs. Jun Kasai (FREEDOM Tokyo Death Carnival 8/28/18)
• Hideki Suzuki vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW Ryogokutan 2018 11/11/18)
• Hideyoshi Kamitani & Takuya Nomura vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya (Riki Chosu Power Hall 7/10/18)
• Bobby Gunns vs. Ilja Dragunov (wXw World Tag Team League 6/10/18)
• Meiko Satomura vs. Io Shirai vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto (Fortune Dream V 6/11/18)
• Matt Riddle vs. Shane Strickland (Evolve 108 8/4/18)
• Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham (ROH TV 9/8/18)
• Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi vs. HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (DDT Judgement 3/25/18)

Any of these companies you might not be familiar with, take these matches as a good starting point. Even though they didn’t make my Top 25, doesn’t mean they aren’t enjoyable and well wrestled. If any of these were some of your favorites of 2018, keep your eyes open for my Top 25. That way you can see what I thought was maybe a little better.