MOTYs by year

[NintendoLogic]

Pretty simple concept. List your personal MOTY for every year you can think of. It can be your favorite match, the match you think is objectively the best, or whatever other criteria you like. I need to do some rewatching, but here are my picks for every year I'm reasonably certain of.

1975-Antonio Inoki vs. Billy Robinson, 12/11
1976-Giant Baba vs. Billy Robinson, 7/24
1977-Billy Robinson vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, 3/5
1978-Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones, 7/26
1979-Bob Backlund vs. Pat Patterson, 7/30
1980-Dynamite Kid vs. Tatsumi Fujinami, 2/5
1981-Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk, 3/23
1982-Jerry Lawler vs. Dutch Mantell, 3/22
1983-Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee, 6/6
1984-Sgt. Slaughter vs. Iron Sheik, 6/16
1985-Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase, 3/22
1986-Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu, 1/28
1987-Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara, 6/ 9
1988-Stan Hansen/Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Toshiaki Kawada, 12/16
1989-Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano, 8/10
1990-Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada/Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Masanobu Fuchi/Akira Taue, 10/19
1991-Vader vs. Keiji Mutoh, 8/10
1992-Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat, 6/20
1993-Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori, 4/2
1994-Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada, 6/3
1995-Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue, 6/9
1996-Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue, 5/23
1997-Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi, 1/20
1998-Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama, 7/24
1999-Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama vs. Stan Hansen/Akira Taue, 12/3
2000-Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama, 2/27
2001-Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle, 8/19
2002-Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, 9/23
2003-Kenta Kobashi vs. Yoshinari Ogawa, 11/1
2004-Kenta Kobashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, 4/25
2005-Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles, 12/11
2006-Yoshihiro Takayama/Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata/Naofumi Yamamoto, 10/9
2007-John Cena vs. Umaga, 1/28
2008-Kensuke Sasaki vs. KENTA, 7/18
2009-Minoru Suzuki/Taiyo Kea vs. Suwama/Shuji Kondo, 3/14
2010-LA Park vs. El Mesias, 12/5
2011-Dick Togo vs. Antonio Honda, 1/30
2012-Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, 4/29
2013-CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar, 8/18
2014-AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki, 8/1
2015-Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, 3/29
2016-The Revival vs. #DIY, 11/19
2017-Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles, 11/19
2018-Katsuhiko Nakajima/Masa Kitamiya vs. Go Shiozaki/Kaito Kiyomiya, 5/29
2019-LA Park vs. Jacob Fatu, 11/2
2020-WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov, 10/29
2021-CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston, 11/13
2022-Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson, 1/5
2023-Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. The Usos, 4/1
2024-Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson, 1/4

[Loss]

I'll do the years I feel comfortable doing right now based on footage viewing in the last few years.

 

1990 - El Dandy vs Angel Azteca (EMLL, 06/01)

1991 - Keiji Muto vs Masa Chono (NJPW G-1 Climax, 08/11) Unless there's something better in December

1992 - Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai (AJW Dream Rush, 11/26)

1993 - Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, 07/29)

1994 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 06/03)

1995 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJPW, 04/15)

1996 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW, 12/06)

 

Going off the top of my head based on old viewing for other years:

 

1969 - The Destroyer vs Giant Baba (JWA, 03/05)

1976 - Giant Baba vs Billy Robinson (AJPW, 07/24)

1977 - Harley Race vs Jerry Lawler (Memphis, 12/10)

1983 - MS-1 vs Sangre Chicana (EMLL, 09/23)

1984 - Jumbo Tsuruta vs Kerry Von Erich (AJPW, 05/22)

1985 - Chigusa Nagayo vs Devil Masami (AJW, 08/22)

1987 - El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (WWA, 07/18)

1989 - Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (NWA, 04/02)

2005 - Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki (NOAH, 01/08)

2006 - Mistico & Negro Casas vs Averno & Mephisto (CMLL, 04/15)

2008 - Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness (ROH, 02/23)

[JerryvonKramer]

Feel like 1985 is an interesting year.

 

Not only those matches already mentioned but also Tully vs. Magnum TA, DiBiase vs. Duggan and a whole bunch of Ric Flair.

[DocSarpolis]

Like many, I'm relying on the 80s projects and the 90s Yearbooks to reevaluate my MOTY for those years. That said, here are the few that I'm confident in:

 

1994: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 06/03)

 

 

2006: Dan Dority v. Captain Turner; Deadwood 7/9/06

 

2008: Kensuke Office v. Burning, SEM/KO 8/17/08

2009: KENTA & Shiozaki v. Sasaki & Nakajima, NOAH June 22nd

2010: L.A. Park v. El Mesias; AAA 12/5/10

2011: Dick Togo v. Antonio Honda; DDT 1/30/11

2012: Negro Casas v. Blue Panther; CMLL 3/10

[Ricky Jackson]

A bit off topic, but I really, really like 1983 as a "best overall year" candidate. The territories were firing on all cylinders for the last time. Really good stuff from Memphis, AWA, World Class, Crockett, Portland, Mid South, and strong output from Japan and Mexico (well, one classic match at least). WWF had a down year compared to what came before and what came after.

 

Classic/memorable matches from 83 off the top of my head:

 

-Lawler vs Dundee Loser Leaves Town

-Final Conflict cage match

-MS-1 vs Sangre Chicana

-Tsuruta vs Flair

-Hansen vs Terry Funk, AJPW

-Hogan vs Bockwinkel, Super Sunday

-Snuka vs Muraco MSG cage match

-Flair vs Brody, St. Louis

-Hogan vs Inoki, IWGP title

-Tons of stuff from World Class, Memphis, AWA, and Mid South that has been pimped but I haven't seen yet.

 

Big picture wise 83 also had the first Starrcade, the end of Backlund's long WWF title run, the Buddy Rose face turn, the Von Erich's/Freebirds feud, and the start of the wrestling war with Vince moving into St. Louis at the end of the year.

[jdw]

Is there an older thread like this? Or was that something that was on SmackChoice that got blown up?

[Exposer]

Is there an older thread like this? Or was that something that was on SmackChoice that got blown up?

We recently had that best match of a guy's career thread a few months ago but I seem to remember something similar to this too. I was on SC in 08-09 but I don't recall a thread like that.

[soup23]

Here are the years I feel relatively sure about:

 

1969 - The Destroyer vs Giant Baba (JWA, 03/05)

1984 - Antonio Inoki/Tatsumi Fujinami/Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Kengo Kimura/Nobuhiko Takada vs. Riki Choshu/Animal Hamaguchi/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Isamu Teranishi/Kuniaki Kobayashi ( NJPW, 4/19/84)

1985 - Tully Blanchard vs. Magnum TA (I Quit, Starrcade 85)

1986 - Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel (AWA, 11/18)

1987 - El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (WWA, 07/18)

1989 - Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (NWA, 04/02)

1990 - El Dandy vs El Satanico (EMLL, 12/14)

1992 - Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai (AJW Dream Rush, 11/26)

1993 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW, 12/3

1994 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 06/03)

1995 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW, 6/9)

1996 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW, 12/06)

1997 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, 1/20)

2010 - LA Park vs. Mesias (AAA, 12/5)

2011 - CM Punk vs. John Cena (WWE, 7/17)

2012 - Negro Casas vs. Blue Panther (CMLL, 3/2)

[Ray]

2013 - John Cena vs. CM Punk - WWE Raw 2/25

2012 - The Undertaker vs. Triple H - WWE Wrestlemania XXVIII 4/1

2011 - John Cena vs. CM Punk - WWE Money in the Bank 7/17

2010 - Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards - ROH Death Before Dishonor 6/19

2009 - KENTA vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima - Kensuke Office 2/11

2008 - Kobashi/Honda/Taniguchi vs. Morishima/Marufuji/Sugiura - NOAH 2/21

2007 - Kenta Kobashi/Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama - NOAH 12/2

2006 - KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takeshi Morishima/Takeshi Rikio - NOAH 7/16

2005 - Toshiaki Kawada vs. Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 2/16

2004 - Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama - NOAH 7/10

2003 - Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa - NOAH 3/1

2002 - Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama/Yuji Nagata - NOAH 2/17

2001 - Steve Austin vs. The Rock - WWF Wrestlemania X7 4/1

2000 - Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki - NJPW 10/9

1999 - Keiji Muto vs. Genichiro Tenryu - NJPW 12/10

1998 - Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 6/12

1997 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 1/20

1996 - Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue - AJPW 12/6

1995 - Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue - AJPW 6/9

1994 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 6/3

1993 - Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue - AJPW 12/3

1992 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 10/21

1991 - Masahiro Chono vs. Keiji Muto - NJPW 8/11

1990 - Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa - AJPW 6/8

1989 - Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 6/5

1988 - Stan Hansen/Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 12/16

1987 - Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara - NJPW 6/9

1986 - Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Akira Maeda - NJPW 6/12

1985 - Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee - CWA Memphis, TN 12/30

1984 - Sgt. Slaughter vs. Iron Sheik - WWF Madison Square Garden 6/16

1983 - Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee - CWA Memphis, TN 6/6

1982 - Bob Backlund vs. Buddy Rose - WWF Madison Square Garden 8/30

1981 - Stan Hansen vs. Andre The Giant - NJPW 9/23

1980 - Bob Backlund vs. Stan Hansen - NJPW 9/30

1979 - Bob Backlund vs. Antonio Inoki - NJPW 11/30

1978 - Jumbo Tsuruta/Giant Baba vs. Dory Funk Jr./Terry Funk - AJPW 12/15

1977 - Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race - AJPW 6/11

1976 - Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Terry Funk - AJPW 6/11

1975 - Giant Baba vs. Harley Race - AJPW 12/9

1974 - The Destroyer vs. Mil Mascaras - AJPW 7/25

1973 - Antonio Inoki/Seiji Sakaguchi vs. Lou Thesz/Karl Gotch - NJPW 10/14

1972 - Giant Baba vs. The Destroyer - AJPW 12/11

1971 - Antonio Inoki vs. The Destroyer - JWA 5/19

1970 - Antonio Inoki vs. Dory Funk Jr. - JWA 8/2

1969 - Giant Baba vs. The Destroyer - JWA 3/5

1968 - Giant Baba vs. Bruno Sammartino - JWA 8/7

1967 - Giant Baba vs. Gene Kiniski - JWA 8/14

1966 - Giant Baba vs. Fritz Von Erich - JWA 12/3

1965 - Toyonobori vs. The Destroyer - JWA 2/26

1964 - Bruno Sammartino vs. Freddie Blassie - Los Angeles, CA ?/?

1963 - Rikidozan vs. The Destroyer - JWA 12/2

1962 - Rikidozan vs. Freddie Blassie - JWA 4/23

1961 - Pat O'Connor vs. Buddy Rogers - NWA Chicago, IL 6/30

1960 - Jerry Graham vs. Joe Savoldi - Melbourne, Australia ?/?

1959 - Edouard Carpentier vs. Mike Gallagher - Buffalo, NY 2/6

1958 - Verne Gagne vs. Hans Schmidt - Buffalo, NY ?/?

1957 - Lou Thesz vs. Rikidozan - JWA 10/13

1956 - Verne Gagne vs. Wilbur Snyder - Chicago, IL 5/6

1955 - Lou Thesz vs. Don Leo Jonathan - Chicago, IL 2/26

1954 - Rikidozan vs. Masahiko Kimura - JWA 12/22

1953 - Bob Orton Sr. vs. Hans Schmidt - Chicago, IL 8/28

1952 - Verne Gagne vs. Hans Schmidt - Chicago, IL 6/27

1951 - Lou Thesz vs. Mighty Atlas - Chicago, IL 3/30

1950 - Antonino Rocca vs. Benito Gardini - Chicago, IL 2/3

[Graham Crackers]

Based upon the DVDVR 80s sets so far:

 

1980 - Tatsumi Fujinami vs Kengo Kimura (NJPW, 9/25)

1981 - Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk (Empty Arena) (CWA, 4/6)

1982 - Jerry Lawler vs Dutch Mantell (Barbed Wire Match) (CWA, 3/29)

1983 - Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee (Loser Leaves Town) (CWA, 6/6)

1984 - Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Kengo Kimura & Nobuhiko Takada vs Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Isamu Teranishi & Kuniaki Kobayashi (Gauntlet Match) (NJPW, 4/19)

1985 - Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger (UWF, 9/11)

1986 - Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Kengo Kimura, Umanosuke Ueda & Kantaro Hoshino vs Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido, Nobuhiko Takada & Kazuo Yamazaki (Elimination Match) (NJPW, 3/26)

1987 - Riki Choshu vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (NJPW, 6/9)

1988 - Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (AJPW, 12/16)

1989 - Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki (UWF, 7/24)

 

Other years I'm confident about:

 

1990 - Angel Azteca vs El Dandy (EMLL, 6/1)

1992 - Negro Casas vs El Dandy (EMLL, 7/5)

1993 - Genichiro Tenryu vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW, 8/8)

1994 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 6/3)

1995 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW, 6/9)

2000 - Atlantis vs Villano III (Mask vs Mask) (CMLL, 3/17)

2004 - JBL vs Eddie Guerrero (WWE, 5/16)

2007 - Nigel McGuinness vs Austin Aries (ROH, 12/29)

2008 - Yuki Ishikawa, Alexander Otsuka & Munenori Sawa vs Daisuke Ikeda, Katsumi Usuda & Super Tiger II (Elimination Match) (BattlArts, 7/26)

2009 - Mike Quackenbush, Kendo & Solar vs Negro Navarro, Mr. Ferrari & Claudio Castagnoli (Invasion Azteca, 3/8)

2010 - Makoto Hashi & Kengo Mashimo vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takahiro Oba (FUTEN 10/24)

2011 - Virus vs Guerrero Maya Jr. (CMLL, 6/7)

2012 - John Cena vs Brock Lesnar (WWE, 4/29)

 

A bit off topic, but I really, really like 1983 as a "best overall year" candidate.

1986 is a major candidate for me. The 10 man elimination from NJPW is my MOTY but Choshu/Yatsu vs Jumbo/Tenryu and Hijo Del Santo vs Espanto Jr are some of my favorite matches of all time.

[Chess Knight]

2009 - Mike Quackenbush, Kendo & Solar vs Negro Navarro, Mr. Ferrari & Claudio Castagnoli (Invasion Azteca, 3/8)

Was this made available after it got taken down? Does anybody have it?

[Graham Crackers]

2009 - Mike Quackenbush, Kendo & Solar vs Negro Navarro, Mr. Ferrari & Claudio Castagnoli (Invasion Azteca, 3/8)

Was this made available after it got taken down? Does anybody have it?

 

I hope someone does. I haven't seen it since then but I was talking about it with a friend the other day and it put me in the mood to watch it again.

[Eduardo]

1982 - Jerry Lawler vs Dutch Mantell (Barbed Wire Match) (CWA, 3/29)

I love this match so much, one of my top three Memphis matches of the 1980's. I would also have it as my MOTY for 1982.

 

I forgot who it was, but in the DVDVR thread for this match, someone compared it to a big time prizefight.

[jdw]

Is there an older thread like this? Or was that something that was on SmackChoice that got blown up?

We recently had that best match of a guy's career thread a few months ago but I seem to remember something similar to this too. I was on SC in 08-09 but I don't recall a thread like that.

 

Maybe it was a thread on Albums Of The Year. But I seem to recall that was based on a Match of the Year thread... especially because I think it was the first time I saw someone rate the Race-Lawler draw as a MOTY (let alone a MOTYC) when it was... well... far more of a "this is suppose to be good" than "holy shit this actually is good" match. Especially in 1977 where there were some great matches out there on disc.

[Graham Crackers]

1982 - Jerry Lawler vs Dutch Mantell (Barbed Wire Match) (CWA, 3/29)

I love this match so much, one of my top three Memphis matches of the 1980's. I would also have it as my MOTY for 1982.

 

I forgot who it was, but in the DVDVR thread for this match, someone compared it to a big time prizefight.

 

It's my favorite match from the Memphis set. For me it feels epic in a way that few matches do and one of the only matches where a double KO feels like a possibility. As for the prizefight comparison, I remember someone comparing the final minutes to the final round of the Thrilla in Manilla. I haven't watched it in a while but I thought that was a call from Lance Russel. Maybe it was just a post in that thread.

[Wahoos Leg]

Fun idea. I'll work up a list.

[NintendoLogic]

Added:

 

1998-Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama, 7/24

2000-Jun Akiyama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, 2/27

2002-Tsuyoshi Kikuchi/Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jushin Liger/Minoru Tanaka, 8/29

[Jimmy Redman]

Semi-confident on the 80s after doing a lot of watching:

 

1980 - Bob Backlund vs Ken Patera (Texas Death Match), WWF 19/5

1981 - Andre the Giant vs Stan Hansen, NJPW 23/9

1982 - Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk, AJPW 11/10

1983 - Roddy Piper vs Greg Valentine (Dog Collar), Starrcade

1984 - Sgt Slaughter vs Iron Sheik (Boot Camp), WWF 16/6

1985 - Rock N Roll Express vs Koloff/Khruschev, WCW 9/7

1986 - Midnight Rockers vs Rose/Somers, AWA 30/8

1987 - Stan Hansen vs Carlos Colon (Cage Match), WWC

1988 - Midnight Express vs Fantastics, Great American Bash

1989 - Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (2/3 Falls), Clash 2/4

 

Zero confidence on the 90s so I will leave those. The 21st Century will be dreadfully WWE-centric:

 

2000 - TLC I, Summerslam

2001 - Austin/Hunter vs Benoit/Jericho, Raw 24/5

2002 - Angle/Benoit vs Edge/Rey (2/3 Falls), Smackdown 7/11

2003 - Team Austin vs Team Bischoff, Survivor Series

2004 - Trish Stratus vs Lita, Raw 6/12

2005 - Money in the Bank, WM21

2006 - Trish Stratus vs Mickie James, New Year's Revolution

2007 - John Cena vs Umaga (LMS), Royal Rumble

2008 - Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair, WM24

2009 - Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker, WM25

2010 - Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker, WM26

2011 - John Cena vs CM Punk, Money in the Bank

2012 - John Cena vs Brock Lesnar, Extreme Rules

2013 - John Cena vs CM Punk, Raw 25/2 (so far)

[Childs]

2009 - Mike Quackenbush, Kendo & Solar vs Negro Navarro, Mr. Ferrari & Claudio Castagnoli (Invasion Azteca, 3/8)

Was this made available after it got taken down? Does anybody have it?

 

I hope someone does. I haven't seen it since then but I was talking about it with a friend the other day and it put me in the mood to watch it again.

 

It bugs me that I've never seen the video of this, because we we there live, and I've always wanted to know how well it held up.

[NintendoLogic]

Added:

 

1972-Karl Gotch vs. Antonio Inoki, 3/6

1974-The Destroyer vs. Mil Mascaras, 7/25

1975-Harley Race vs. Giant Baba, 12/9

1977-Billy Robinson vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, 3/5

2008-Undertaker vs. Edge, 3/30

 

Also, I decided to only list matches from 1972 on. That was the year New Japan and All Japan were founded as well as the year PWI awards started, so I figured it was as good a starting point as any. Plus, the relative dearth of footage before then means that I would most likely just end up duplicating Ray's outstanding list.

[NintendoLogic]

Added:

 

1978-Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones, 7/26

1979-Dory Funk Jr./Terry Funk vs. Giant Baba/Jumbo Tsuruta, 11/30

 

Also, I changed my 2008 pick to Panther/Villano. I'm not 100% in love with it, but it's good enough for what I think is a pretty weak year overall.

[floyd]

Know I missing some but mine is something like this:

 

1950's - Rikidozen Vs. Lou Thesz (JWA - 10/7/57)

 

1961 - Pat O'Conner Vs. Buddy Rogers (NWA - 6/30/61)

1962 - Rikidozan Vs. Freddie Blassie (JWA - 4/23/62)

1963 - Rikidozan Vs. The Destroyer (JWA - 12/2/63)

1964 - ???

1965 - Toyonobori Vs. The Destroyer (JWA - 2/26/65)

1966 - Giant Baba Vs Fritz von Erich (JWA - 12/3/66)

1967 - Gene Kiniski Vs. Giant Baba (JWA - 8/14/67)

1968 - Bruno Sammartino Vs. Giant Baba (JWA - 8/7/68)

1969 - Giant Baba Vs. The Destroyer (JWA - 3/5/69)

 

1970 - Antonio Inoki Vs. Dory Funk Jr. (JWA - 8/2/70)

1971 - Antonio Inoki Vs. The Destroyer (JWA - 5/19/71)

1972 - Dory Funk Jr. Vs. Jack Brisco (Florida - 2/8/72)

1973 - The Destroyer Vs. Mil Mascaras (AJ - 10/9/73)

1974 - The Destroyer Vs. Mil Mascaras (AJ - 7/25/74)

1975 - Antonio Inoki Vs. Billy Robinson (NJ - 12/11/75)

1976 - Jumbo Tsuruta Vs. Terry Funk (AJ - 6/11/76)

1977 - Jumbo Tsuruta Vs. Billy Robinson (AJ - 3/5/77)

1978 - Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta Vs. the Funks (AJ - 12/15/78)

1979 - Abdullah the Butcher & The Sheik Vs. The Funks (AJ - 12/13/79)

 

1980 - Bob Backlund Vs. Ken Patera (WWF Streetfight - 5/19/80)

1981 - Stan Hansen Vs. Andre The Giant (NJ - 9/23/81)

1982 - Ric Flair Vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJ - 6/8/82)

1983 - Dynamite Kid Vs. Tiger Mask (NJ - 4/21/83)

1984 - Kerry Von Erich Vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJ - 5/22/84)

1985 - Ric Flair Vs. Kerry Von Erich (Hawaii - 10/12/85)

1986 - Ric Flair vs Barry Windham (Florida - 2/14/86)

1987 - Ric Flair vs Barry Windham (NWA - 1/20/87)

1988 - Ric Flair Vs. Sting (NWA - 3/27/88)

1989 - Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA - 4/2/89)

 

1990 - Jumbo Tsuruta Vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJ - 6/8/90)

1991 - Hiro Hase & Kensuke Sasaki Vs. The Steiners (NJ - 3/21/91)

1992 - Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada Vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki (AJW - 11/26/92)

1993 - Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada Vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki (AJW - 4/11/93)

1994 - Mitsuharu Misawa Vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ - 6/3/94)

1995 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi Vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ - 6/9/95)

1996 - Shawn Michaels Vs. Mankind (WWF - 9/22/96)

1997 - Bret Hart Vs. Steve Austin (WWF I-Quit - 3/23/97)

1998 - Mitsuharu Misawa Vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ - 10/31/98)

1999 - Mitsuharu Misawa Vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ - 6/11/99)

 

2000 - HHH Vs. Cactus Jack (WWF Streetfight - 1/23/00)

2001 - Aja Kong Vs. Meiko Satamura (GAEA - 12/15/01)

2002 - Genichiro Tenryu Vs. Satoshi Kojima (AJ - 7/17/02)

2003 - Mitsuharu Misawa Vs. Kenta Kobashi (NOAH - 3/1/03)

2004 - HHH Vs. Shawn Michaels Vs. Chris Benoit (WWE - 3/14/04)

2005 - Kenta Kobashi Vs. Kensuke Sasaki (NOAH - 7/18/05)

2006 - CZW Vs. ROH (ROH/CZW Cage of Death - 7/15/06)

2007 - Nigel McGuinness Vs. Austin Aries (ROH - 12/29/07)

2008 - Nigel McGuinness Vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH - 2/23/08)

2009 - Katsuhiko Nakajima Vs. KENTA (NOAH - 3/1/09)

 

2010 - Tyler Black Vs. Davey Richards (ROH - 6/19/10)

2011 - John Cena Vs. CM Punk (WWF - 7/17/11)

2012 - Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJ - 10/8/12)

2013 - Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJ - 4/7/13)

[silverwidow]

My top 5 MOTYs...

 

#1 Misawa/Akiyama vs. Kawada/Taue (AJPW 12/6/96) *****

#2 Misawa vs. Kobashi (AJPW 1/20/97) *****

#3 Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue (AJPW 6/9/95) *****

#4 Misawa vs. Kawada (AJPW 6/3/94) *****

#5 Hansen vs. Kobashi (AJPW 7/29/93) *****

[Frankensteiner]

Here's my current list:

 

1980 - Bob Backlund vs. Ken Patera (Texas Death), 5/19

1981 - Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk (No DQ), 3/21

1982 - Bob Backlund vs. Adrian Adonis, 1/18

1983 - Sangre Chicana vs. MS-1

1984 - Rick Martel vs. Nick Bockwinkel, 9/20

1985 - Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase (Cage), 3/22

1986 - La Fiera vs. Babe Face (Hair v. Hair)

1987 - Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara, 8/29

1988 - NJ 10-man elimination match, 9/12

1989 - ?

 

1990 - El Dandy vs. El Satanico, 12/14

1991 - Atlantis vs. Blue Panther, 8/9 ***MOTD***

1992 - Sting vs. Vader, 12/28

1993 - Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect, 6/13

1994 - Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (Cage), 8/29

1995 - Volk Han vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, 6/17

1996 - Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin, 11/17

1997 - Volk Han vs. Kiyoshi Tamura, 1/22

1998 - Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, 9/21

1999 - Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, 6/24

 

2000 - Atlantis vs. Villano III, 3/17

...

2011 - CM Punk vs. John Cena, 7/17

2012 - CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan, 5/23

 

After thinking about the list I would say 1992 - 1997 are the strongest years. For example, Dandy/Llanes from 1994 would be my MOTY in at least 10 other years.

[NintendoLogic]

I wish people wouldn't call Hart/Austin an I Quit match. It may seem like nitpicking, but it's really an important difference. It's better than an I Quit match precisely because it doesn't have the nonsense with the microphone.