In this monthly recurring series, the residents of Wrestle Inn will offer you their recommendation for a single match you should seek out from the last month. We might not always highlight the “best” match; perhaps we’ll pick a hidden gem instead, or a match that you may not have heard of from a promotion different to what you usually watch. But, we can guarantee that all of these picks will be more than worth your time!

Trent Breward recommends:
Sareee vs Arisa Nakajima, SEAdLINNNG 8th Anniversary (SEAdLINNNG, August 25)
Sareee’s “I’m back bitches” tour through the middle part of the year has been fantastic viewing, and it’s led to her best match since she first left Japan years ago. With the Beyond the Sea Championship on the line these two went to war. The ever underrated Arisa Nakajima proved to be a fantastic foil, daring her to go blow to blow with one of the strongest veterans in the scene while finding herself under constant attack as Sareee looked to rip her arm clean off. Physical, exciting and it all led to a great final stretch that had the crowd in the palm of their hands.

Kay Quinn recommends:
ISHIN vs Mochizuki Junior, Dangerous Gate 2023 (DRAGONGATE, August 20)
The best rookie feud of 2022 finds an excellent continuation in what was, in my opinion, the absolute highlight of this year’s Dangerous Gate. There is little time wasted in this match, which is instead packed to the brim with high-impact moves and emotional tension between the competitors. Both also really show off how much their arsenal has grown since their first match. In particular, ISHIN’s submission finisher, the Death Penalty, continues to be built as just as much of a danger as the name would suggest, exemplified in the absolutely brutal finish. These two are only getting better with every year.

Steve Howard recommends:
MJF vs Adam Cole, All In (AEW, August 27)
It’s an obvious pick to go for the main event of one of the biggest shows of all time, but this match deserved to be chosen. Three months ago I would not have believed MJF and Cole would become best friends in an odd couple relationship reminiscent of Jericho and Owens, yet the Zero Hour pre-show saw the duo become ROH tag team champions, seeds sown for one to turn on the other later in the show. It was teased multiple times with MJF’s ring and the appearance of Roderick Strong at ringside, but ultimately it never happened. The match saw great in-ring action among the tugging story; a double pin restart spot and a hilarious passing chair sequence. After the champion retained, a further tease happened but the show ended with a hug and rapturous applause from an enthralled crowd.

Ryan Dilbert recommends:
Mio Momono vs Mayumi Ozaki, Marvelous (Marvelous, August 7)
I can still feel this match in my veins days later. Ozaki’s onslaught is unsettling, brutal, a torture session. The champ Momono has to fight like hell in the face of that. Damn, this was an emotional ride. That post-bout image of a tearful Momono caked in blood will stick with me for a long time. The story of this AAAW Championship bout is powerful and straightforward enough that fans just dipping their toes into the promotion will be able to appreciate it alongside the joshi hardcores.

Fusa recommends:
Best Friends, Orange Cassidy, Eddie Kingston, & Penta El Zero Miedo vs Blackpool Combat Club, Mike Santana & Ortiz, All In (AEW, August 27)
The name of the game was violence and these 10 guys won. This was possibly the most violent match we’ve seen in AEW. Barbed wire wrapped weapons galore, broken glass, forks, skewers, umbrellas, a persona change in the middle of the match, the return of Sue and her baked goods, and of course fighting throughout Wembley Stadium. This wasn’t as all over the stadium as the prior two Stadium Stampedes were, but the match most certainly lived up to the stampede element. Blackpool Combat Club has a way of pulling a level of violence out of people that they didn’t know existed within them; Orange Cassidy wrapped his hand in tape and shoved the sticky side in a bucket of broken glass to bring the first sight of a Taipai Deathmatch in AEW, from someone you’d never expect to introduce that level of barbarity. Without a doubt the most violent match that has ever taken place in Wembley Stadium.

JJohnson recommends:
Tomohiro Ishii vs Luke Jacobs, 11th Anniversary Show (RevPro, August 26)
It’s not often (or ever) that I get to pick a match I saw live as my match of the month, but this was a classic. For my money this was the best match of All In weekend, a complete thrill from start to finish. Tons of strike exchanges, intensity and big kickouts. The packed-out crowd were hanging by every second. It was the dream Ishii match, against perhaps the dream opponent. Luke Jacobs is the new star of RevPro and British wrestling, the next product that can be elevated to the Zack Sabre Jr. and Will Ospreay level. This was a star-making performance, cementing Jacobs as a hard-hitting threat in Andy Quildan’s promotion. Ishii is the king of this style of match, but it takes two to tango.

Corey Michaels recommends:
Tam Nakano vs Megan Bayne, Stardom x Stardom (Stardom, August 12)
Boy howdy, this was a whopper. I’d been away from watching Stardom for quite a while, but this 5 Star GP season has really reignited my interest. This bout displayed both women as they should be: Megan Bayne was a goddess of war, ferocious and dominating like the Big Van Vaders and Samoa Joes of the past. Tam Nakano brought the fighting spirit she’s known for and proved why she’s one of the top talents and in the end, I was in disbelief. Stardom does that to ya.

CiaranRH recommends:
Tetsuya Naito vs Will Ospreay, G1 Climax 33 Semi-Finals (NJPW, August 13)
This is a match that I admire in two entirely different ways. The first is being invested in a match between two generational talents in front of a molten hot crowd, flawlessly giving you an unforgettable experience. The second is a deep appreciation for how Ospreay helped carry a semi-conscious Naito through the ending of this match, at one point forcing Naito’s almost deadweight through to a Destino. Thankfully Naito would be fine and compete in another stellar match the following night, but it’s moments in matches like this one that truly give you respect for the ability these athletes have.