ZAIAH MELTZER'S TOP 100 CAW MATCHES OF 2020: #10 - #7!

 10. SEA Climax Day 1 10/13/20 Fyana vs Pom ***** +9

Fire Pro is the greatest wrestling simulator of all time and I will not hear otherwise from anyone else. You want proof? Go take a look at this match. The pure chaotic nature of mixing strong style joshi wrestling with an arcade style fighting game, makes this match standout from every other match on this list.  While other wrestling games look to go further into the more realistic style of simulation wrestling (which I honestly don’t have a problem with), it’s good to see games like Fire Pro keep it’s more “arcade like” feel to it and it’s also great to see leagues like SEA, pushing a game like this into the fore front of CAW to switch up from the monogamy of 2K19. 

WATCH HERE: YouTube Link

9. NDP Chapter 25 06/04/20 Incineroar vs Optimus Prime ***** +10

Nowadays, it seems like a lot of CAW leagues blend into one another. Sometimes it feels like everyone wants the same style show and appeal when it comes to CAW Leagues. That’s why it is so refreshing for a show like NDP to come along. A CAW league that fully embraces the absolute absurdity that is virtual wrestling and has no problem sharing that with the rest of the world. However, with how wacky it can be, we can’t forget the genuine moments that New Dawn has shared with its audience as well. Which brings us to this match right here. A battle between two of the faces of NDP, fighting for the top prize of the game. And man, did this ever feel like a main event battle. Just watching a giant Pokemon and a Autobot duke it out is weird enough on its own, but in New Dawn, it absolutely works. There’s so much care put into the booking of these characters you can see it when you look at the reactions from the YouTube Chat and hear it from the commentary booth. Everyone was so excited to see what was going to happen through the whole duration of this contest. And with a satisfying ending to boot, this is truly a one of a kind match from a one of a kind league. 

WATCH HERE: YouTube Link

8. DCA Takedown #135 05/21/20 Claudio Dragonheart vs Takeru Yukimura ***** +11

Sometimes to have a great match, you don’t need to be picture perfect, have the best edits, or even the best quality. Sometimes all you need to do is go bat shit crazy and that’s exactly what this match is. The stories of both Claudio and Takeru were well documented heading into this match. With Takeru now taking on a whole new personality and mind set, thanks to his most recent heel turn, he was now looking to prove his legitimacy by beating a man that might be the most unstoppable force in CAW today in the form of Claudio Dragonheart. And from that point, it was game on. For nearly 50 minutes, these two beat the holy hell out of one another. Make no mistake about it, this was not a technical wrestling masterpiece, this was just two men going to war for the entirety of this contest. There was at one point where Takeru does a springboard pele kick to the back of Claudios head… LIKE… WHAT?! That’s how insane this match gets. By the end of it, you’re exhausted, but in the best way possible. Literally one of the most exhilarating matches you will probably ever see. 

WATCH HERE: YouTube Link

7. UWL Oblivion 07/24/20 Claudio Dragonheart vs Sly Cooper ***** +12

There really needs to be something said about how different UWL is from everyone else. I mentioned it with NDP earlier on, but it really is refreshing when leagues go out of their way to differentiate themselves from everybody else, and I think UWL does that the best. Where most others would be content with just being a pop culture wrestling show (and there’s nothing wrong if you do prefer or run a show like that), UWL goes full Game of Thrones and sends you on a journey the whole show through. From the characters, to the matches, all the way to the twist and turns, you never know what might happen on a UWL show. Enter Oblivion, where the main event match would be headlined by the two biggest acts from UWL, Sly Cooper and Claudio Dragonheart. A battle to see who truly was the better warrior coming out of UWL, as they battled for the biggest prize in that company. The match was exactly what you would think it would be. Sly having to overcome the odds with Claudio either matching, or outdoing, Sly in every skill possible. You never know who might truly come out the winner and it makes it all the more exciting when you’re watching it. By the end of it, you’re nearly at your wits end trying to figure out who was going to win and at the edge of your seat the whole time through. And I won’t even dare spoil the finish of the match, and the afterwards for that matter, because it truly is the cherry on top of this masterful match. 

WATCH HERE: YouTube Link