5 Best Wrestling Matches of 2009
2009 was an odd year for WWE. They were pushing younger stars as much as possible, yet those young guys (like Cena, Orton, and later Sheamus) weren’t really setting the world on fire with their matches. They had good matches, sure, but nothing ground-breaking. In fact, for this list, all the WWE wrestlers listed are veterans that had been wrestling from anywhere between fifteen and twenty-five years. You know something’s weird when someone who is in their mid-forties is out-wrestling and out-drawing someone much younger than them that should be in their prime.
Luckily, there were alternatives available to those that were growing dissatisfied with WWE’s continued push of the same people. TNA and ROH were both doing well from presentation and creative standpoints (relatively-speaking), and on several occasions, we got to see some thrilling matches that showed exactly why these companies had such rabid and devoted fans.
So which matches stood above the rest in 2009? Read on to find out…
#5. A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels – TNA Turning Point 2009
This was a rematch from their epic encounter in 2005, but this time it was for the TNA World title as opposed to the X-Division title. And just like in that 5-star classic, these three men tore the house down.
All three of them had perfect chemistry here. They hit some of the most unique triple-threat moves ever seen. At one point, Daniels had a Boston Crab on Styles while locking Samoa Joe in a camel clutch. And later, hit an uranage on Styles and an inverted DDT on Joe at the same time. You just don’t see sequences like that very often, if ever.
But this wasn’t just a complete repeat of that amazing triple threat from Unbreakable 2005. This match had its own unique sequences, own flow, and own big moments. It doesn’t feel like a chaotic triple threat in any way; everything makes sense, and the drama is off the charts.
Easily one of the best matches in TNA history.