COLUMN: Alan4L’s first half of 2025 match list of the best the year has had to offer so far; feel free to burn to VHS or DVD!

ProWres Paradise – Best Of 2025 Vol 1.

For my generation of wrestling fans, there was nothing that got the ol’ blood pumping quite like a good compilation of great matches, dubbed a “Comp Tape” or later “Comp DVD.” It was the sweet spot between the previous era where technology wasn’t at that point, and the modern era where people’s attention span are better served by a scroll through short form clips on TikTok or YouTube.

But for me, as I broadened my wrestling horizons, I was more than happy to invest my money and time in compilations of my favorite wrestlers, promotions, and eras. Four hours, six hours, eight hours… two volumes or twenty-two volumes… It was all good. I’d go as far as to say the compilation experience led to me (and many of my pals) actually thinking of wrestling in those terms. “Jun Akiyama had a great 2003! Hmmm, what would I have on his Best Of?”

Coming together with like-minded fans on places like the Death Valley Driver board and following projects like the Best Of The ’80s polls which revolved around compilations from the different territories was so much fun. For indy wrestlers of the 2000s, serving their fans which their comp DVDs was a great way to earn some extra cash at the merch table, and it was the perfect way to get exposure for your work.

WWE embraced comps in a big way during the DVD boom and the Ultimate Ric Flair Collection, Best Of Raw 1993/1994 and the Bret Hart set were must haves for fans around the world. I’m not sure what the modern equivalent of that is, and if they have such a thing for a Roman Reigns or a Cody Rhodes I don’t think it’s very impactful.

One of my favorite comps I ever got was put out by Japanese wrestling tape trader “PuroDVD Source” in association with one of the original wrestling podcasts (the term didn’t exist then), “The Puroresu Power Hour.” It was “The Best Of 2005” focused on Japanese wrestling with an English commentary track provided by my future good friends Dr. Keith Lipinski and Adam Summers, both then of the PPH.

Two volumes, two discs in each; one focused on the first half of the year, the other on the second. Both sets are still in my DVD cabinet 20 years later.

To celebrate the anniversary, I was watching matches from the DVDs ahead of my epic (if I do say so myself) episodes of ProWres Paradise last month covering the year 2005. But it also inspired me to do something else. No, I’m not going to make my own physical DVDs, but like I said I often think about wrestling in compilation terms. So I’m going to apply that mindset to 2025, and present to you what would have on a Best Of 2025 set.

We’ll do January to June now, and I’ll see you back here in six months to do the second half of the year. Oh, and it’s the full world of wrestling I’m covering, so a bit more expansive than the PPH set. Dr. Keith, if you’re reading this and want to record an audio track, go for it buddy!

ProWres Paradise: Best Of 2005 Volume 1.

Disc One:

• Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tomohiro Ishii (Jan 5 – NJPW/AEW)
• Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd (Jan 5 – NJPW/AEW)
• Averno & Euforia & Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Hechicero & Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher & Rocky Romero (June 17 – CMLL)
• Dani Luna vs. Miyuki Takase (Jan 26 – DPW)
• Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland (Jun 11 – AEW)
• Ricochet vs. Mark Briscoe (Stretcher Match) (May 26 – AEW)
• Homare & Shun Skywalker vs. Riiita & Jacky Kamei (March 30 – DG)
• Yamoto vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (June 4 – DG)
• Blue Panther vs. Hechicero (Jan 10 – CMLL)
• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hirooki Goto (Feb 11 – NJPW)

The wrestling year, to me, begins properly with the Tokyo Dome. As such my comp kicks off with two heavy hitter offerings from Wrestle Dynasty. From there I chose to mix it up with a hard hitting women’s contest, a sublime TV bout and a wild stipulation match from AEW PPV. Back to back offerings from Dragongate showcase two very different sides of their year with an electric tag from the Rey de Parejas and a dramatic title match between two veterans. Speaking of veterans, 64 year old Blue Panther somehow being on a Best Of 2025 comp was just too tempting to turn down. Closing out disc 1 is the most memorable title change of the year for me, Hirooki Goto’s surprise IWGP title win in Osaka.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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Disc Two:

• Los Guerreros Laguneros vs. Sky Team & Blue Panther (April 18 – CMLL)
• Z-Brats vs. Kzy, Ben-K & Hyo (April 18 – DGUSA/PWR)
• Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher (Cage Match) (March 9 – AEW)
• Fuminori Abe vs. Takuya Nomura (March 8 – wXw)
• Hiromu Takahashi vs. Akira Francesco (May 15 – NJPW)
• Toni Storm vs. Mariah May (March 9 – AEW)
• Averno vs. Mistico (Feb 2 – NJPW/CMLL)
• Kushida vs. Kosei Fujita (May 17 – NJPW)
• Gold Class vs. Natural Vibes (May 9 – DG)
• Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Jun 29 – NJPW)

April, 18 2025 was a special day in wrestling as fans were in the midst of a packed week of event in Las Vegas and beyond, and on the Friday two trios matches occurred in different promotions and countries which may have been that match-type perfected.

Disc two kicks off with them back to back, before we go to the epic Ospreay vs. Fletcher cage match at Revolution. Two shoot style contests bookend the eclectic middle portion of the disc before wrapping up with one of the best Dragongate tags in years from Korakuen Hall, and the rematch for the IWGP Title between ZSJ and defending champ Goto.

Hope you enjoyed reading this, and if you want to hear more thoughts on why I picked these matches I’ll be talking about it on the latest VIP-exclusive “ProWres Paradise” podcast at PWTorch VIP.