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Gonna finish out the 4.75 star matches today, so we've got 6 instead of 5.

#10 - Kota Ibushi vs Will Ospreay - NJPW - Wrestle Kingdom 13, January 4th
It only seems like Ospreay's insane until he gets into the ring with Kota Ibushi. These two guys really are the two best possible ambassadors for what the NEVER title was originally intended to be: a belt that crossed weight classes and incorporated the best aspects of the fast-paced and high-flying junior style and of the hard-hitting and violent heavyweight style. These two guys can do both.

They worked this match like they were offended to be in the opener. They started hot and never really slowed down afterward, but it also felt like everything had plenty of time to breathe. Even thirteen months later, without rewatching it once, I remember multiple spots from this match - Ospreay countering the Golden Triangle Moonsault by just kicking Kota out of the air, the slap fight with Ibushi in the tree of woe, and one of the most brutal Hidden Blades that Will's ever delivered.

It feels like ages ago after the year he had, but this was the first real hint that Ospreay was headed for big things, and damn did he rise to the occasion.

#9 - Kazuchika Okada vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW - New Japan Cup Semifinals, March 23rd
It may not be quite at the level of their G1 match from a few years ago, but then, not many matches are. It did follow a similar pattern, though, with Okada being a little overconfident with his stablemate and Ishii making him pay hard for it. I've loved his character evolution over the years, but cocky Okada is probably still the best Okada.

Look, I don't think I have to say much about this. It's two of the best wrestlers of the last decade. It speaks for itself.

#8 - WALTER vs David Starr - wXw - 16 Carat Gold Night 1, March 8th
Again, it's WALTER and David Starr - you know it's gonna be great. Starr's obsession with his lack of success against WALTER is a masterclass in how to do long-term wrestling storytelling, and all the different finishes they've come up with to keep it going are genius, with this one standing as no exception. Starr does a great job of showing his ever-increasing desperation in the urgency with which he works these matches against his white whale, but it'll never change the fact that he's just a couple of chops and lariats away from coming up short again.

Again, it wouldn't be too long before WALTER was getting pinned in two minutes in WWE, so it's always nice to look back at matches like this and remember when he was one of the best wrestlers on Earth.

#7 - Will Ospreay vs A-Kid - WWW - Total Rumble 9, March 30th
Dang, March was a hell of a month for wrestling.

A-Kid's match with Zack Sabre Jr. was the shock of 2018, and he followed it up just a few months later with this outing just to prove it wasn't a fluke. Look, it's not super tough to have a great match with Ospreay or ZSJ, but to have a couple legitimate MOTYCs with them takes a little something extra, and A-Kid has it. This was almost wall-to-wall excitement, but it wasn't just moves for moves' sake. The structure was really nice - big indie matches like this one often fall into the trap of making it 50/50 in order to make it feel more like a "dream match." Not here. Ospreay was clearly positioned as the better wrestler, but A-Kid got his shine as the guy overflowing with potential who just had to get some experienced. He capitalized on the openings Ospreay gave him and refused to go down to anything but Ospreay's absolute best shots, even as he accidentally evaded the Hidden Blade by simply collapsing from exhaustion. This was just everything you want out of a match like this.

#6 - Jordan Devlin vs David Starr - OTT - Fifth Year Anniversary, October 26th
I've spoken a few times in the past about how I feel very strongly that traditional heel/face dynamics in wrestling are something of an antiquated idea. And I think this match supports that position pretty well. What began as a personal issue of a friendship fractured by Starr's inability to overcome WALTER morphed into a full-scale battle of the big business vs the little guy, using as its avatars two strong personalities and fantastic wrestlers. Devlin may be a nice guy who was wronged by his pal, but he represents the WWE machine. Starr may be a stalwart pillar of a dying indie wrestling scene, but the dude's an annoying prick. That's how you build a wrestling match. Present the story and let the fans pick their side. Seriously, take five minutes and watch this incredible hype video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAFJctK0qYw

And then watch the damn match. It's free on YouTube.

The atmosphere is unique and unforgettable. Devlin is showered in boos upon his entrance despite being treated as a national hero just a few months previously and having changed nothing about himself in the interim. The swings in crowd support during the match as well, as Starr got more and more underhanded, were fascinating.

There's things about this match I don't love, but that sort of stuff falls to insignificance for something like this. I'm not gonna miss the forest for a couple trees. This may be the one match from this list I think everyone in this topic would enjoy.

#5 - Will Ospreay vs Amazing Red - NJPW - Super J Cup Night 1, August 22nd
I damn near went the full five on this match and I don't care if that makes me the high man on Earth on it. Those who chat with me about wrestling on the regular know I'm a massive Amazing Red fan. He was one of the first indie talents I ever really gravitated toward, and I'll always maintain he could've been a true pillar of TNA's X Division if they'd had any idea what they were doing. Plus, as Ospreay said in the post-match promo, if wrestling move royalties were a thing, Red would be a billionaire.

So I'll be the first to admit that this match probably resonated with me more than most, but I don't think that's because of bias so much as it's because I had extra appreciation for the story these two told. Ospreay acted the part of a wrestler that I'm sure exists in a lot of young guys on the scene right now, pretending he had no idea just how influential Red was on current wrestling. Red missing the Red Star Press and Ospreay immediately hitting it, then acting like it just suddenly clicked for him that it was Red's move was a great meta-moment and really put a bow on the subtle heel performance Ospreay gave in the match. And Red was great, as he always was. Maybe not quite as crisp as he was 18 years ago, but still, sigh, amazing. He kept up with Ospreay's pace -