Wrestling’s Top 10 Matches of January: A Month of Heartbreak

PROGRESS Chapter 60: Unboxing Live 2

As we enter the top five, there’s a carryover name from number six, that being Will Ospreay. The Aerial Assassin returned to PROGRESS as Travis Banks’ surprise opponent, and the match they put on was nothing short of a classic for the promotion.

Ospreay made his way down to the ring to a roaring ovation, kneeling down to kiss the logo in the center of the ring. The biggest star to ever come out of PROGRESS was set to square off with their current champion.

The pacing of this match was perhaps the biggest surprise to me of anything. It wasn’t a fast paced, edge of your seat speed customary for a Banks or Ospreay match, but instead it was a beautifully laid out much like a New Japan main event.

Towards the middle of the match, Ospreay was in complete control. He decided it was Rainmaker time, but Terminator Travis had other plans. Ospreay reared his arm back and laid one in, but Banks just looked him dead in the eyes, and it was then that Ospreay knew he’d made a mistake. It was a truly beautiful spot.

As the match neared its finish, Banks had Ospreay locked in the Lion’s Clutch in the center of the ring, the move that has made most everyone tap during his title reign.

Ospreay was fighting with everything in his being to get to the ropes, but when he couldn’t, he realized his inevitable fate. He looked down before tapping, reached for the logo in the center of the ring, grabbing at it as if it could save him, and then he tapped out, finishing a beautiful PROGRESS main event.