Ramblings About’s Matches of the Year 2024: Best of the Rest

Spoiler. Credit: TJPW

Fuck knows how, but 2024 is drawing to an end, which means it’s time for me to wang on about my favourite things in wrestling from the last twelve months. Up first, the best of the rest. These are the matches that, on a different day, could have easily been my favourite of the year. I’ve seen a few people suggest it’s been a weaker period for wrestling, but I didn’t feel that way as I struggled to whittle this down to ten. A handful of bouts I assumed would be on here were pipped at the post and replaced by something that excited me that little bit more. So, if your favourite is missing, imagine it’s number 11.

As usual, it’s a list that reflects my tastes, which means there are some glaring holes. I intended to make this the year I dived into lucha, but I failed, so it has no representation here, not because it’s shite, but because I don’t watch enough of it. There are only so many hours in the day, and I like to spend a few of them on non-wrestling-related activities.

Anyway, on to the list!

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Mio Momono vs Senka Akatsuki, Marvelous (22/11/24) Review

Senka met Chucky. Credit: Screenshot

The older I get and the more comfortable I become in my opinions, the more I realise how little appeal your big, main-event style matches have for me. That’s not to say they can’t be great and that there isn’t catharsis in those moments, but it’s not the stuff I naturally gravitate towards. My eye is much more likely to be caught by intrigue like this. A rookie (who has less than ten matches under their belt) vs the best wrestler in the world who, before the show, was openly relishing in the idea of being booed for bullying her.

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Mio Momono’s Glorious Failure

She always goes down fighting. Credit: sya_tyo

Yes, I’m going to talk about Mio Momono again. No, I won’t apologise about it. If any other wrestlers ever get that good, I promise to go on about them incessantly, too.

I’m sad to admit it, but Mio is making glorious failure her trademark. Even when she succeeds, it’s inevitably followed by a crushing fall. As a fan of the Scottish football team, it’s all painfully familiar, and as I’ve firmly attached myself to the Momono express, I feel like I’ve cursed myself to spend even more time with my head in my hands dreaming about what could have been. I can’t help it. Mio makes me care, and it doesn’t matter if I try to sit back to watch from a position of detached cool – she always succeeds at drawing me in.

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Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for August 2024

He’s a bit good that Dragon. Credit: AEW

August saw me attend some wrestling live as I put myself through the nightmare that was an MJF vs Will Ospreay match to see AEW at Wembley, alongside a wee jaunt to RevPro and EVE. More on that later. It was also another relatively busy month for me, so I haven’t quite hit everything I would have liked to see, but that’s just how it goes. There’s still plenty of good wrestling to enjoy!

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Marvelous 8th Anniversary (8/8/24) Review

Revenge. Credit: sya_tyo

The 8th of August is a pivotal date in Marvelous lore. Not only was it when the promotion started, but it was the date Chigusa Nagayo debuted in 1980, a mighty 44 years ago. With that in mind, Marvelous loaded this one up. Takumi Iroha became the latest person to step up and try to take back the AAAW Title from Mayumi Ozaki, Team 200kg challenged Magenta for the Tag Titles, and Chi Chi faced off with Nagayo in a Barbie Showdown. What is that last one? Who knows, but you’re in the right place to find out.

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Tomoko Watanabe & Mio Momono vs Takumi Iroha & Ai Houzan, Marvelous (28/7/24) Review

One last group photo. Credit: Here

I’m not sure people appreciate how big a loss to Marvelous Tomoko Watanabe is. Okay, they’re not about to fall apart, but in a company with a small roster of primarily younger wrestlers, Watanabe’s role is vital. She’s the adult in the room, but an adult who is always willing to make herself the butt of the joke and put someone over. In the last few years, she’s done everything from being bundled up by Mystic Young Fox to being dubbed Totoro by Momoka Hanazono to being the final challenge Mio Momono had to overcome before winning the AAAW Title for the first time. Who else can do all that? The only person who comes close is Chikayo Nagashima, a wrestler who takes herself more seriously (which isn’t intended as a criticism) and isn’t a full-time roster member.

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Rambling About’s Matches of the Month for June 2024

Saran picks a scary fight. Credit: Here

June is over and done with, and like every month, it’s been busy for the old wrestling. I can’t pretend this month’s roundup is particularly eclectic, as I’m staying fairly close to my usual haunts, but there is still plenty to enjoy in there. Give it a read, and let me know if there is anything you think I need to see.

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Marvelous Sapporo (1/6/24) Review

I liked the tour poster. Credit: Marvelous

Marvelous’s trip to Hokkaido is something I look forward to every year. With the roster and some guests heading north for the weekend, the shows take on the air of a summer holiday as everyone kicks back and enjoys the chance to compete in front of a crowd that isn’t as over-saturated with wrestling as the one in Tokyo. You’re unlikely to come out of these shows with a match-of-the-year contender, but the vibes are immaculate, and that’s what I love about it. So, let’s see what went down.

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