Top Forty

Making lists can obsess me, so I compensate by doing them routinely and making only a half-assed effort each time--in that way, I tell myself, I won't waste too many hours on them and I won't cave in to whatever capacity for anal retentiveness I might have.  It's simply the logic of language that half-assed-ness can never be a basis for anal retentiveness.

Here is my list of my personal favorite matches of 2010.  Given another two hours to work on it, it would probably be radically different than it is, but there are a few other things I'd like to do today and, besides, it's so much more fun when you guys point out obvious omissions--and boneheaded inclusions.  It's beyond just likely, it's practically assured that some of these matches occurred before 2010, but still I felt their impact significantly in the past twelve months--and by impact I mean that they entered significantly into my fantasy life--which is to say a very large chunk of my life indeed.

I learned over the last year that, unless I want blank boxes on my archived posts, I should not rely heavily on embedding content from YouTube.  I don't think this blog is "for all time" or anything like that, but I'd like at least to delay my posts' expiration dates just a little, prolong their relevance, if not make them timeless.  So at some point in 2010 I started using screen caps instead, and letting just the hyperlinks become obsolete.  Regrettably, then, several of these matches, which were once viewable via YouTube and similar sites, are no longer available for you (or me) to crosscheck.  Still, it won't require much skill in research to use the "search" option above, and find some discussion of these fights in my posts earlier in the year.

I am not married to this list, so feel free to offer critiques, feel free to be even (within reason) insulting.  Obviously I am not Pro Wrestling Illustrated, I have not seen everything there is to see, and I am a victim to my own personal tastes and kinks, so by no means assume that I make the assumption that this list is in any way definitive and conclusive.  I fully expect all of you to see things differently than my way--and ask only that you cut my half-baked opinions some slack.

Sorry there aren't more illustrations.  Lists are dry reading, but I hope a few of you will make the effort to plow through this one and mention some of the better matches I missed (or skipped) in the comments section.

1. Patrick Donovan vs Steven Thomas, BG East
2. George Terzis vs Turcan Celik, Pure Wrestling
3. Ricky Mandel vs Hector Canales, SoCal
4. Aaron Bolo vs Adam Pearce, WC-WC
5. Owen Phoenix vs David Sharp, 4 Front
6. Roger Ventura vs Kid Dynamite, Australasian
7. Nick Teeth vs Gros Papa Slash, IHW
8. Aaron Eagle vs Greg Symonds, North Texas
9. Lionheart vs CJ Banks, Shooting Star
10. Ty Hamilton vs JR Manson, Elite Wrestling Entertainment
11. John Magnum vs Phillip Aubrey, Naked Kombat
12. Alex Plexis vs Artemis Spencer, ECCW
13. Dr Kliever vs Tommy Wilson, WC-WC
14. Chris Stone and Helix vs Damian Dunne and Pete Dunne, Live Pro
15. Jay Spade vs Joey O’Riley, IWA Unlimited
16. Dr Kliever vs Ryan Taylor, WC-WC
17. Aryx Quinn vs CJ Parker, BG East
18. Alexi Adamov vs Cameron Mathews, BG East
19. George Terzis vs Eric Cairnie, Pure Wrestling
20. David Deluxeo vs Vinny Dunne, Pro Impact (NZ)
21. Jason Hades vs Steve Boz, Chicago Style Wrestling
22. Chase Burnett vs Zane Silver, Beyond Wrestling
23. Matt Vaughn vs Josh Lowry, Derby City
24. Aaron Bolo vs Peter Avalon, WC-WC
25. Roderick Strong vs Tyler Black, ROH
26. Kid Vicious vs Billy Lodi, BG East
27. Angel Estrada vs Joker, UCW-Milwaukee
28. Krush vs Al, Krushco
29. Lucien vs Kyle Braun, Krushco
30. Cody Nelson vs Tyler Reeves, Rock Hard
31. Zack Sabre Jr vs TJ Perkins, Westside Xtreme
32. Joker vs James the Never Give Up Kid, UCW-Milwaukee
33. Klown vs James the Never Give Up Kid, UCW-Milwaukee
34. Cody Nelson vs Travis Storm, Rock Hard
35. Joey Silvia vs Paul London, Premiere Wrestling Xperience
36. Ryan Taylor vs Brandon Parker and Tim Lovato, Empire Wrestling Federation
37. Rusty Stevens vs Mitch Colby, BG East
38. Krush vs Street Punk, Krushco
39. Johnny Cockstrong vs Danny Danger, Beyond Wrestling
40. Ace Hanson vs Angel, Thunder’s Arena