• Orange Cassidy vs PAC from AEW Revolution 2020 - Orange Cassidy overall is a fantastic gateway because his gimmick is fun in the wink-wink way that gets people past the "it's fake" barrier, but then when he takes it up a notch it's easy to cheer for him and it's so effective paired against someone no nonsense like PAC. This match does a really good job in establishing OC's gimmick and sets you up for wanting to see more.
• Will Ospreay vs Ricochet from NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2016 - This match is awesome, it's one of the matches sold me on NJPW. The Junior Heavyweight style is high action and fast paced, it makes for a can't look away watch.
• The Revival vs #DIY from NXT Takeover Toronto 2018 - This one requires a watcher that's willing to pay attention but it's a GOATed tag team match if they do, no notes.
• [Bryan Danielson vs Kenny Omega from AEW Grand Slam 2021 (no link 😔 ) - Another awesome athleticism match but in a different way to Ospreay/Ricochet. This is a fantastic showcase of two different styles done by two guys that mesh incredibly well together.

I could probably come up with more but generally I think any newbie recommendation needs a few key things:

• a hot crowd to keep the vibe up
• some sort of distinct attraction, e.g. a crazy spot, a match gimmick, an appealing wrestler gimmick, etc
• not too lore heavy. Recommending someone's first match be Omega/Okada 3 or Omega and Hangman vs the Bucks or something is waaaay too much too fast
• knowing your audience. Something my partner has taught me is that if you know what someone's type is you can find a wrestler that fits and they will be almost certainly into them in some capacity

As little respect as I have for CM Punk right now and how it's sounded like most of his issues in AEW were self-inflicted, I'd have to say the CM Punk/MJF dog collar match if we're trying to defuse the 'its fake' cries. Like, even knowing 'its fake' doesn't take away from the absolute carnage of that bout.

When I was getting my partner into wrestling I showed them this

Invisible Stan vs Invisible Man

but I also enjoy the goofier side of wrestling so

Getting people to dip their toe into pro wrestling is always gonna be an uphill battle. "It's fake" is all they have to say to convince themselves that they won't watch. Can't show them a 5 star match, "it's fake". Can't show them a flipfest, "that's gymnastics, they're not even close to eachother". Can't even show them an old school memphis brawl, even though you can see the potatoes flying.

So, what can you do? Well, your options are:

An All Out Slug Fest: Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama. Yeah, yeah, i know what you're going to say, "that's not even pro wrestling, it's mma!". That's a fair point, but misses what i'm trying to do. What i'm trying to do is disconnect "pro wrestler" from "fake". They're just throwing haymakers at eachother, and he's still standing (even though Takayama looks more like ground beef than person at the end)! Now theres a seed of doubt in that persons mind, maybe they are actually hitting eachother in pro wrestling? Now the strong style pipeline begins, Inokiism's captured another soul.

Deathmatch: Atsushi Onita vs Hayabusa, Exploding Barbed War Deathmatch. No, i'm not going to recommend showing CZW's Tournament of Death VIII or what have you. FMW is great for this occasion, as it has pomp and circumstance, which'll catch the viewers eye. The walkout, the themes, the crowd, the lights. Hayabusa looks like a power ranger to a lot of first time watchers. "Why's the ref dressed like that? I know what a 'cage match' is, but why is it covered in barbed wire?" Questions will be risen, only to be answered with a simple "the cage explodes if you touch it".

And finally, Complete and Utter Nonsense: Sami Zayn vs Johnny Knoxville. Celebrity brings attention. The Jackass crew is known for doing things for attention. Johnny Knoxville is Bugs Bunny is human form. WeeLC falls under this category. If they want fake, turn up that dial to slapstick.