January 2024 was an insane month in the world of professional wrestling, both in front of and behind the camera. But behind the spectacles, controversies and surprises, one thing that has remained consistent is an excellent in ring product. In this article I’ll discuss and break down 10 must watch wrestling matches that you may have missed in January.
The standard of wrestling across the world right now is possibly the highest it’s ever been, and while WWE, AEW, TNA and others often take up the headlines, I wanted to showcase some noteworthy matches from elsewhere in the wrestling landscape that may have slipped your radar. I aim for this to become a monthly series where I highlight 10 matches you should see from around the world of wrestling.
No WWE or AEW matches will feature in these lists as they are more than covered enough, and TNA, Ring Of Honor or New Japan Pro Wrestling matches will only be covered if I feel they have flown under the radar of the mainstream. Each list will be chronological, and contain matches for either their significance, brilliance between the ropes, or in many cases both. Finally, I will only include one match per promotion in order to ensure maximum diversity. Let’s get into it
All Japan Pro Wrestling- Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Charlie Dempsey- January 3rd
Examples of WWE stars wrestling in other promotions is extremely rare in the 21st century, but appears to be something that WWE’s new regime is willing to experiment with. Last year Shinsuke Nakamura faced The Great Muta as part of Muta’s retirement tour for Pro Wrestling NOAH, allowing a nice piece of dream match nostalgia for fans. This year, AJPW acquired NXT star Charlie Dempsey for a two night run of New Year Giant shows, climaxing with this title match for the AJPW Triple Crown Championship against the incredible Katsuhiko Nakajima. It is an excellent showing for the youngster, giving Dempsey a chance to demonstrate his technical prowess against one of Japan’s best talents. Even as a fan of Dempsey’s in NXT I was surprised to see just how adept he was in a big match environment, which of course credit to both him and Nakajima, who works wonders to make his opponent look as credible as possible. A really fun demonstration of the ability of WWE’s homegrown stars to be challenged in new environments, a test that Dempsey passes with flying colours.
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling- Masha Slamovich vs Miu Yamashita- January 4th
TJPW, though not as recognisable in name value as their biggest competition in the Joshi scene, Stardom, has quietly put out some of the most consistently excellent wrestling in Japan this month. Much of the latter half of January has been taken up by the very good Princess Max Heart tournament, with the final between Daisy Monkey and Hachikuru set for February 10th. Yet despite the tournament’s merits, nothing can come close to the level of excellence I witnessed between Masha Slamovich and Miu Yamashita on January 4th, the latest in a line of great matches from the two around Japan and the USA. These two women wrestled an incredibly brutal strong style wrestling match, with the strikes laid in with such ferocity it gives the match tremendous energy. There are also great moments of storytelling laced throughout, particularly around Yamashita’s backfist finisher. A phenomenal encounter, and one which I would recommend you seek out more than perhaps any other match on this list. A wonderful spectacle of violence.
