MatchNotes: North America February 2025
The Top 5 Best Matches of February 2025 by North American promotions (probably featuring ample Takeshita again)
February is the shortest month but that doesn’t mean it lacked great wrestling! It’s time to take a look at the best matches by North American promotions for the month.
In case you’re just joining us for this series, we’ve divided the world along the line of North American vs non-North American promotions to allow more opportunities to highlight matches that might’ve gone a little under the radar. This will mean matches from NJPW for example won’t be on this edition even if they are from shows in North America, while co-promoted events like FantasticaMania will be categorized by the host promotion (in that case, NJPW rather than CMLL).
As a reminder, our goal for MatchNotes is to highlight great wrestling throughout the year on a consistent rating scale. We hope to bring together a multitude of opinions on wrestling happening around the world. Our scale is a hard cut-off of 0 to 5 - no negative points, no stars above 5. We try to rate every match on a card rather than having an arbitrary cut-off for TV matches, but we also are not rating matches that are purely squashes or end due to injury. Our scale is as follows:
0 = Bottom of the barrel, worst ever
0+ = Greatly disliked, actively wanted to stop watching
1+ = Disliked
2+ = Fine, liked it well enough
3+ = Good, actively want to rewatch
4+ = Great, actively want to tell others about it
5 = Match of the Year contender
Without much further ado, this week’s piece looks back on the Top 5 matches by North American promotions in February 2025.
#5: Cody Rhodes (c) vs Kevin Owens in a Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship [WWE Royal Rumble]
WWE Royal Rumble
Rating: 4.44/5
Ryan: This was a very fun culmination to a feud in a way that only Cody Rhodes (of “what do you want to talk about?” ladder promo fame - which I was happily in the audience for in DC with an “I Like Cody” sign behind him) and Kevin Owens (of ROH Ladder Wars fame) could concoct. This match and feud breathed some life into Rhodes’ reign, and it was crafted in a way in which one might’ve even thought this was Kevin Owens’s swan song for WWE (he did re-sign around this time); and once two belts were introduced to the feud, we knew where it was heading.
The duo innovated on a stipulation which sometimes feels like nothing new can be added to it. I mean, step ladders - now that’s something you rarely see in ladder matches! I was also especially a fan of the ladder spots outside the ring, including Rhodes being slammed through the joints and Owens being slammed on a ladder propped on the announce table. For a match to be the brightest and most noteworthy affair on a pay-per-view with two Royal Rumble matches is quite the feat.
How to watch: Peacock (US) [direct link to show - match at 02:02:30, subscription required], Netflix (International)
#4: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs Ángel de Oro for the NEVER Openweight Championship
CMLL Viernes Espectacular 02.28.25
Rating: 4.50/5
Ryan: And now for something completely different.
We here at MatchNotes have quite the affection for Konosuke Takeshita. It feels like every list we make, he’s pretty much assured to be there with at least one match waiting for us to talk about. When I compare this match to MJF’s International Championship (or, rather, his American Championship) defense in CMLL during his reign, this felt more like Takeshita bringing his style to CMLL rather than him adapting to the CMLL style - and this allowed Ángel de Oro to work more as a técnico against the invading Takeshita than his usual rudo persona.
Takeshita and Ángel de Oro worked extremely well together, with Takeshita serving as a good base while also being able to showcase his explosive moveset. The post-match also gave us some glimmer of the ole Cinnabon-loving face Takeshita, maybe an omen of things to come…
How to watch: CMLL YouTube [direct link to match, subscription required]
#3: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs Orange Cassidy for the AEW International Championship
AEW Dynamite 02.26.25
Rating: 4.50/5
AJ: This match single-handedly rekindled my love for Orange Cassidy. The past several months Orange Cassidy had undergone something of a character shift, swapping to dark denim and becoming a (reluctant) leader of the resistance against the Death Riders before being beaten down and disappearing for a couple months. It was a compelling character arc, but at the same time, dark never really suited OC. He was once a workhorse champion with the AEW International Championship, the same belt currently held by his opponent Konosuke Takeshita, using guile, speed, and, yes, even a bit of humor to overcome his challengers.
The “old" Orange Cassidy was in full display here, starting the match with a gag involving multiple pairs of sunglasses before hitting the ground running at full capacity. Meanwhile, Konosuke Takeshita has already proven himself as one of the best young wrestlers in the business, and this match was no exception, where he used his immense size and strength to prove himself an immovable object to Orange Cassidy’s unstoppable force. In the end, champ Takeshita retained, blocking Orange Cassidy’s finisher, the Orange Punch, before hitting his own Raging Fire, after a short but bombastic bout that included Takeshita being driven through the announcers’ desk, plenty of fighting on the outside, and, of course, interference by the detestable Don Callis.
Takeshita continues to prove himself the best in the business, but I did also have one other takeaway from this incredible match: Welcome back, Orange Cassidy.
How to watch: Max [direct link to show - match at 01:30:00, subscription required]
#2: Kyle Fletcher vs Mark Briscoe
AEW Collision 02.08.25
Rating: 4.54/5
Luke “Feels”: Wrestlers who have chemistry with every person they share a ring with are the rare unicorns that every promoter on the planet should be tripping over themselves to hire. What happens when you put two of these world class workers together in a singles match? In the words of Cochise from Walter Hill's The Warriors, "Magic. A whooole lotta magic."
That's what we were blessed with when Kyle Fletcher and Mark Briscoe met in the main event of the February 8th, 2025 edition of AEW Collision. Pitting a seasoned veteran vs. a young main event prospect, this was also a rubber match as both competitors were 1-1 against each other in singles competition. And boy, did they act like they would rather die than lose this series. You don't pull out a Froggy Bow onto a table outside the ring if you're not committed to winning at any cost, the crowd raucously behind the practitioner of Redneck Kung Fu™. Unfortunately for Briscoe (the purveyor of the Froggy Bow mentioned above) and the crowd, it was Fletcher who walked out of the arena with the decisive win, taking the series (for now) and avenging his loss to Briscoe in their much-more consequential Continental Classic bout just two months before.
As it stands, Briscoe isn't done with the Don Callis Family as a whole, yet he'll have to wait for the opportunity to arise if he wants another crack at Fletcher. But for the series closer, the duo delivered one of the best matches in the month of February that still has us buzzing thinking about it since its air date.
How to watch: Max [direct link to show - match at 01:31:00, subscription required]
Honorable Mentions
Before we get to #1, here are a few matches from February 2025 that we wanted to recognize that didn’t quite make the cut:
Reyes del Aire 2025 Torneo Cibernetico [CMLL Martes Populares 02.04.25]
Don Callis Family vs Hounds of Hell [AEW Dynamite 02.05.25]
Ricochet vs Swerve Strickland [AEW Dynamite 02.05.25]
El Barbaro Cavernario, Hechicero & Soberano Jr. vs. Atlantis Jr., Mistico & Titan [CMLL Viernes Espectacular 02.07.25]
Bandido vs. Bryan Keith [AEW Collision 02.08.25]
#1: Kenny Omega & Will Ospreay vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher
AEW Grand Slam Australia
Rating: 4.69/5
Ryan: Going into this match, I had high expectations. And why shouldn't I? It's the Best Bout Machine, it's the reigning Wrestler of the Year, it's 2025’s early favorite for Wrestler of the Year, it's the Next Big Thing. Why wouldn't I be anticipating this highly?
And who would've thunk it, they exceeded expectations somehow! The match was laid out more like a lucha tag in style, and the action was so expertly scripted that I don't think even the strictest sticklers to "you must hold the tag rope!" would be upset with the spectacle they witnessed. The matched showcased how the competitors know each other so well and can counter everything each other can lay out. I cannot say enough good things about how this match was laid out, and how it cycled energy back and forth with the amazing crowd. Just a simply outstanding match and my best of the year thus far.
No review can leave out that this match had the craziest Doomsday Device ever created, combining a One Winged Angel with the Hidden Blade. Kicking out of just one of them is near impossible, but both? Now that's how you keep someone strong in defeat.
How to watch: Max [direct link to show - match starts at 00:00:00, subscription required]
We hope you enjoyed this look back on the best wrestling of February 2025 from North American promotions! If you haven’t seen last month’s then check it out below!
MatchNotes: North America January 2025
Here at WrestleWatch we try to keep things in the ring separate from what goes on behind the scenes; more often than not, the factors at play leading to a free agency saga are not found within the squared circle.