It is now time for May 2026 best matches of the month list. Please keep in mind these are just my opinion of the best matches I saw this month and is not a definitive list and is not the official Wrestling Republic ratings and rankings.
I’m sure there are matches that I may have missed but there are only so many hours in a day and only so much wrestling I can watch. So, please feel free to suggest matches in the comments, as it is possible, I haven’t seen them or maybe they just didn’t make my cut. If I haven’t seen it and I’m able to check it out, it may make my end of year top 25 matches list. If it just didn’t make my cut, if I have time and I’m able to I’ll re-watch the match and re-consider it for my end of the year top 25 matches list.
The top 25 list at the end of the year will be in order.
Here is the listing in no particular order:
| Event | Match Type | Match |
| NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2026 – 5-3-26 | IWGP Global Heavyweight Title | Andrade El Idolo vs Yota Tsuji (c) |
| NOAH Spring Mayhem Ryogoku 2026 – 5-2-26 | GHC Junior Heavyweight Title | Dragon Bane vs AMAKUSA (c) |
| GCW One Night Only 2026 (Philadelphia) | GCW World Title | Atticus Cogar (c) vs Marcus Mathers |
| PROGRESS Chapter 194: Super Strong Style 16 Tournament Edition 2026 – Night 2 | Tournament Finals | Charles Crowley vs Charlie Sterling |
| NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2026 | IWGP Heavyweight Title | Callum Newman (c) vs Shingo Takagi |
| WWE Backlash 2026 | Singles | Bron Breakker vs Seth Rollins |
| WWE Backlash 2026 | WWE U.S. Championship | Trick Williams (c) vs Sami Zayn |
| WWE Backlash 2026 | Singles | Iyo Sky vs Asuka |
| WWE Backlash 2026 | WWE World Heavyweight Championship | Reigns (c) vs Jacob Fatu |
| WWE Raw 5-11-26 | Singles | Iyo Sky vs Sol Ruca |
| AEW Collision – Fairway To Hell | AEW World Championship, No Count Out | Darby Allin (c) vs PAC |
| DDT King Of DDT 2026 Second Round | Tournament | MAO vs Hideki Okatani |
| NOAH Legacy Rise 2026 – 5-13-26 | GHC Heavyweight Title | Shane Haste (c) vs KENTA |
| NJPW Best Of The Super Junior 33 – 5-14-26 | Tournament | Kosei Fujita vs Francesco Akira |
| TNA Impact – 5-14-26 | TNA X-Division Championship, 2 out of 3 Falls | Leon Slater (c) vs Cedric Alexander |
| ROH Supercard Of Honor 2026 | ROH World Title | Bandido (c) vs Blake Christian |
| ROH Supercard Of Honor 2026 | ROH Women’s World Title Survival Of The Fittest 2026 Final Six Way Elimination | Athena (c) vs Billie Starkz vs Maya World vs Trish Adora vs Yuka Sakazaki vs Zayda Steel |
| NJPW Best Of The Super Junior 33 – 5-16-26 | Tournament | El Desperado vs Taiji Ishimori |
| NJPW Best Of The Super Junior 33 – 5-17-26 | Tournament | El Desperado vs Robbie Eagles |
| AEW Collison – 5-16-26 | AEW World Championship, No Count Out | Darby Allin (c) vs Sammy Guevara |
| HOG Waging War 2026 | Singles | Kevin Knight vs Amazing Red |
| HOG Waging War 2026 | HOG Heavyweight Title | Charles Mason (c) vs Joey Silver |
| WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event – 5-23-26 | 6-Woman Tag Match | Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley vs B-Fab, Jade Cargill & Michin |
| WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event – 5-23-26 | WWE IC Championship | Penta (c) vs Ethan Page |
| WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event – 5-23-26 | WWE World Tag Team Championship | Austin Theory & Logan Paul (c) vs Street Profits |
| AEW Double Or Nothing 2026 | I Quit, AEW Tag Team Championship | FTR (c) vs Copeland & Cage |
| AEW Double Or Nothing 2026 | AEW International Championship | Konosuke Takeshita vs Kazuchika Okada (c) |
| AEW Double Or Nothing 2026 | Owen Hart Foundation 2026 Men’s Tournament Quarter Final | Ospreay vs Samoa Joe |
| AEW Double Or Nothing 2026 | Owen Hart Foundation 2026 Men’s Tournament Quarter Final | Strickland vs Bandido |
| AEW Double Or Nothing 2026 | Hair vs Title – AEW Championship | Darby Allin (c) vs MJF |
| AAA Noche de Los Grandes | AAA World Cruiserweight Title | Laredo Kid (c) vs Rey Fenix |
| AAA Noche de Los Grandes | Mask vs Mask | The Original El Grande Americano vs El Grande Americano |
| WWE Clash In Italy | Undisputed WWE Championship | Cody Rhodes (c) vs Gunther |
| WWE Clash In Italy | Singles | Oba Femi vs Brock Lesnar |
| WWE Clash In Italy | WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Tribal Combat | Roman Reigns (c) vs Jacob Fatu |
MATCH OF THE MONTH: The Original El Grande Americano vs El Grande Americano
The story of this match up had no business developing into one of the most compelling angles in the business. The El Grande Americano gimmick was developed as a comedic character with Chad Gable in the role. Gable would deny he was El Grande and just like the Blue Blazer back in the day with Owen Hart. Gable would go down with an injury and Ludwig Keiser would take the mantle and put his own spin on the character and he ended up outshining Gable and unlike Gable became a fan favorite with the fans of Mexico. While Gable’s started as a parody of a lucha libre luchador, Ludwig’s became beloved by the fans not only in the home of lucha libre in Mexico but in the states as well.
Gable and Ludwig can have a great match with pretty much anyone but they truly brought the best out of one another in this feud. They settled it in the most revered match type in all of Mexico in a mask vs mask match. The mask is a symbol of respect and legacy and traditionally once a luchador loses their mask in Mexico, they may never wear it again. This was a hard-hitting bloody match that was a culmination where all of Gable’s dastardly past came back and haunted him. The storytelling and match quality were top notch and both men came off as bigger stars because of the match. Hopefully, both men can use this match as a launching pad to reach higher heights than they have ever reached before. This is a match that definitely has a chance to do quite well on the top 25 matches of the year list.
ITTMP
3 Comments
For June recommendations, I just attended Rev Pro’s British J Cup show and Robbie X v Jacky Kamei and Rhio v Kanji were both excellent matches live. The main event four way J Cup final might also be worth a look – it was fun live but not sure if that translates better or worse on video
Thank you for the suggestions, I’ll try to see if I can watch those matches but I may not be able to see them before June ends but I’ll try.
That’s fine. I figured it would be cutting it close.