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Over the past seven days, we witnessed top tier quality of matches in wrestling. The question is, which match was the best of the week?
The 2021 Royal Rumble took place on Sunday, and the PPV was stellar from start to finish. We also saw the continuation of the Men's and Women's Dusty Classics on NXT. AEW presented Beach Break, bringing together Kenny Omega and IMPACT Wrestling Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers for tag team action.
There were a lot of great matches in the past seven days. Let's take a look at the best of the week, starting with WWE's annual January PPV event.
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#5 WWE Universal Championship Match - Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble 2021
There have been so few screw-ups in the Roman Reigns "Tribal Chief" storyline since his return that you could count them all on one hand and have four fingers and a thumb to spare. Pitting the Universal Champion against Kevin Owens was, of course, another great step. The WWE Universe thought that we had moved past this storyline back in December, but a last-minute twist by Adam Pearce left the Prize Fighter with another opportunity, this time in a Last Man Standing Match.
Reigns and Owens did everything they needed to sell fans on this one, all that was left was for them to deliver at the Royal Rumble. Of course, they did. It was a hard-hitting slobber knocker for the ages. The Head of the Table was once again on the verge of losing his title to the only man who has been an actual threat to his rule during his reign. Reigns ran down Owens in the back with a golf cart, sending Owens through the window in the process.
It wasn't enough to put him away, though. Owens' never-say-die attitude was even able to drive Reigns through a table with a frog splash. Reigns, several times, was able to save himself by climbing onto whatever he could find. Roman's comments about his challenger's grandfathers fueled the fire, and Owens was close to victory on several occasions. In the final moments, Owens locked Roman Reigns up in a pair of handcuffs, leaving him unable to rise to his feet.
This moment is the only reason that this match isn't higher on the list. Unfortunately, Paul Heyman struggled with the cuffs, and while Roman managed to knock out the referee, a second ref walked in, unable to actually make the ten-count. They remedied this as best they could, with Reigns managing to get onto his feet while squatting down to the floor.
Kevin Owens would end up getting choked out by Reigns, failing to make the ten-count. Aside from that one slip-up, this was an epic war between two of the toughest competitors in all of WWE.
#4 TJP vs. Rohit Raju in a singles match on IMPACT Wrestling
If you don't watch IMPACT Wrestling, you're missing quality performances. There's at least one match a week that elevates the company to rival the top products in pro wrestling. A top-notch women's roster in their Knockouts Division, a tag team division that's now been invaded by AEW's Private Party, and a singles division so deep that two championships seem to be surrounded by a dozen challengers at a time.
We're focusing on the X-Division Champion this week, as TJP faced off against Rohit Raju in a non-title match. Raju has been chasing TJP for the belt ever since losing it to his alter-ego, Manik. Match after match, these two have delivered some absolute bangers, and Tuesday was no different. However, Rohit had a card up his sleeve.
The week before, Raju was seen talking to a "mystery man" while asking for their help. It turns out that it was his former Desi Hit Squad partner, returning IMPACT Wrestling star Mahabali Shera.
With a powerhouse in his corner, Raju may well be on his way back to the X-Division Championship. Thanks to his win on Tuesday, he'll face TJP for the title at IMPACT Wrestling No Surrender.
#3 Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa deliver the best women's match of the week on AEW Beach Break
Weekly watchers of AEW know that each episode of Dynamite guarantees at least one match of the week contender. AEW critics love to bring up the fact that their women's division leaves a lot to be desired. On AEW Beach Break, those critics were proven wrong.
AEW's women's division was badly missing Britt Baker in the latter half of 2020. Thankfully, the good doctor returned near the end of the year and has been on fire since. She faced off against the former NWA World Women's Champion this week, and the two stole the show. Thunder Rosa, alongside Serena Deeb and some other late additions to the roster, helped to bring out the best in the women's division.
On Wednesday, Rosa, one of the most exciting wrestlers in the States, had a hard-fought battle with Dr. Britt Baker. Not only did they manage to put on a great match, but it ended up being the best performance of the night, even outshining Kenny Omega, The Good Brothers, Jon Moxley, and Death Triangle in the main event.
Late into the match, an Air Raid Crash set up Britt Baker for the Lockjaw. Rosa managed to escape momentarily. After a curb stomp, Rosa fought out of yet another Lockjaw attempt. The former NWA Women's Champion seemed poise for victory, but a distraction from Rebel, who yanked off a turnbuckle pad, was enough to buy Baker some time.
Baker escaped the Fire Thunder Driver and drove Rosa's face into the second turnbuckle with a swinging flatliner. At that point, Rosa was out like a light. For good measure, Baker locked in the Lockjaw, getting the victory over Thunder Rosa.
This absolutely lived up to the hype, and you have to know that we're just getting started with this rivalry. And it's exciting to know that the next match will be that much better.
#2 WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E vs. Apollo Crews vs. Sami Zayn on SmackDown
Big E had a title defense in a Triple Threat Match on SmackDown. The Intercontinental Champion faced off against Sami Zayn and Apollo Crews, looking to knock off two top contenders in one go.
Two weeks ago, Sami Zayn interrupted a title match between E and Crews, forcing a DQ and setting up this bout. Zayn has been protesting Big E's title win since December and hoped that his campaign against injustice would end with the title back around his waist on SmackDown.
Unfortunately for Zayn, that didn't happen. This match was non-stop action with two fan favorites and a new and improved Apollo Crews. No slowdown, no chance for a break in the match. These three men hit each other with their heavy guns from the word go, and it served to elevate Big E as a world-class champion.
A pretty memorable moment saw Big E catch Apollo Crews with a German suplex, where Crews had set Zayn up in an exploder suplex. Zayn was nearly launched across and out the ring, as Big E continued to impress with his incredible strength.
In the end, Big E caught Crews with the Big Ending, retaining his championship. What, and who, is next for him?
#1 Undisputed Era vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher: NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarter-Final Match
The NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic always manages to deliver one great match after another. One of the greatest tournaments in pro wrestling, it's the time when WWE's third brand shines a bright light on the tag team division. Former Dusty Cup winners The Undisputed Era looked to become the only team to ever win the tournament twice.
Their opponents this week? Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher. This unlikely duo was just in the fight of their lives in the Fight Pit match weeks ago. Now they're one of the toughest teams in the tournament, and that's all thanks to the mutual respect they've gained and their love for tearing apart opponents. The Undisputed Era's Adam Cole and Roderick Strong learned that in the main event match of NXT this week.
Bringing these four competitors into the same match, the WWE Universe knew heading into the show that this was going to deliver. Cole, Strong, Ciampa, and Thatcher did more than that. This was hard-hitting, this was technical, this was a car crash, and it was just flat out incredible.
Cole and Ciampa have already had a few wars in their past, so when they kicked off this tag team match, anticipation was high. However, the showdown between the aggressive, limb snapping Timothy Thatcher and Undisputed Era's workhorse Roderick Strong was the real meat and potatoes of this match.
Thatcher's game revolved heavily around his drawing and mat expertise, something that Strong was well-versed in, leaving us wanting to see a singles match between these two down the line.
Though they only recently began teaming with one another, Thatcher and Ciampa have worked incredibly well as a tag team and even managed to pick up an upset victory over The Undisputed Era. This was not only the best match of the week but one of the best tag matches in recent memory.
