When we were compiling the GRAPPL 100, it quickly became apparent that there was a real absence of women's matches. In fact, just one women's match made it into the overall top 100 based on GRAPPL user average ratings.
Women's matches fared better on the GRAPPL Sleeper 25 (matches which had less than 30 ratings and thus were ineligible to make the 100), with three Stardom matches making the list.
With women's wrestling being so important in 2019, we felt that it was important to highlight the best matches so we have pulled out the Top 15 matches. We have retained the same criteria as the GRAPPL 100 so only matches with 30+ ratings are included, but we have listed some of the best "Sleepers" underneath.
Here's the list!
GRAPPL TOP 15 WOMEN'S MATCHES 2019
1
Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai & Kay Lee Ray vs.
Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox & Dakota Kai
4.21 GRAPPL rating (460 ratings)
WWE, NXT TakeOver: WarGames III, 23rd November 2019
2
Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks
4.06 GRAPPL rating (231 ratings)
WWE, Hell In A Cell, 6th October 2019
3
Shayna Baszler vs. Rhea Ripley
4.02 GRAPPL rating (119 ratings)
WWE, NXT TV, 19th December 2019
4
Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai
4.01 GRAPPL rating (429 ratings)
WWE, NXT TakeOver: Toronto, 10th August 2019
5
Gail Kim vs. Tessa Blanchard
3.88 GRAPPL rating (84 ratings)
Impact Wrestling, Rebellion, 28th April 2019
6
Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai
3.88 GRAPPL rating (92 ratings)
WWE, NXT TV, 26th June 2019
7
Asuka vs. Becky Lynch
3.81 GRAPPL rating (705 ratings)
WWE, Royal Rumble, 27th January 2019
8
Gisele Shaw vs. Tessa Blanchard
3.73 GRAPPL rating (40 ratings)
Revolution Pro, British J Cup, 24th November 2019
9
Io Shirai vs. Mia Yim
3.71 GRAPPL rating (100 ratings)
WWE, NXT TV, 13th November 2019
10
Bianca Belair vs. Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai vs. Mia Yim
3.67 GRAPPL rating (152 ratings)
WWE, NXT TV, 18th September 2019
11
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
3.64 GRAPPL rating (59 ratings)
WWE, SmackDown, 26th March 2019
12
Taya Valkyrie vs. Havok vs. Rosemary vs. Su Yung
3.63 GRAPPL rating (109 ratings)
Impact Wrestling, Slammiversary XVII, 7th July 2019
13
Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks
3.61 GRAPPL rating (634 ratings)
WWE, Royal Rumble, 27th January 2019
14
Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair vs. Io Shirai vs. Kairi Sane
3.60 GRAPPL rating (561 ratings)
WWE, NXT TakeOver: New York, 5th April 2019
15
Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair
3.59 GRAPPL rating (37 ratings)
WWE, SmackDown, 24th April 2019
Interestingly, 12 of the 15 come from WWE (7 NXT, 5 main roster) with the remaining three taking place in Impact Wrestling (2) and RevPro (1).
It's been a good year for Io Shirai who features in five of the top ten matches.
Despite the stated focus on women's wrestling, AEW don't feature at all in the Top 15. The highest rated AEW women's match was Aja Kong, Emi Sakura & Yuka Sakazaki vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho & Ryo Mizunami at Double Or Nothing, which ranks 17th overall (3.47 average rating).
Three Stardom matches actually featured highly in the "Sleepers" list (matches with between 15 and 29 ratings), and if the ratings remained consistent when viewed by more people, these would have been the top three matches overall. These were:
1
Arisa Hoshiki vs. Tam Nakano
4.56 GRAPPL rating (24 ratings)
Stardom, Shining Destiny, 16th June 2019
2
Momo Watanabe vs. Jungle Kyona
4.53 GRAPPL rating (15 ratings)
Stardom, Stardom in Nagoya, 3rd March 2019
3
Arisa Hoshiki vs. Jungle Kyona
4.31 GRAPPL rating (20 ratings)
Stardom X Stardom, 10th August 2019
Clearly worth checking out!