January:

#1 - Manami Toyota & Sakie Hasegawa vs Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue (AJW 01/04/95) ****3/4
#2 - Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 01/19/95) ****1/2
#3 - Shinya Hashimoto vs Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW Tokyo Dome 01/04/95) ****
#4 - Bret Hart vs Diesel (WWF Royal Rumble 01/22/95) ***3/4
#5 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW 01/24/95) ***3/4
#6 - Rick & Scott Steiner vs Keiji Muto & Hiroshi Hase (NJPW Tokyo Dome 01/04/95) ***3/4
#7 - Cactus Jack vs Terry Funk (IWA Duel of the Wilds 01/08/95) ***1/2
#8 - 1-2-3 Kid vs Bam Bam Bigelow (WWF Action Zone 01/15/95) ***1/4
#9 - Jeff Jarrett vs Razor Ramon (WWF Royal Rumble 01/22/95) ***1/4
#10 - Jerry Lawler vs Dirty White Boy (SMW Super Saturday Night Fever 01/28/95) ***
#11 - Randy Savage vs Arn Anderson (WCW Saturday Night 01/28/95) ***
#12 - Cactus Jack vs Sabu (NWC 01/13/95)
#13 - 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly vs Smoking Gunns (WWF Monday Night RAW 01/23/95)
#14 - 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Tatanka (WWF Royal Rumble 01/22/95)
#15 - Buddy Landell vs Tracy Smothers (SMW Super Saturday Night Fever 01/28/95)
#16 - El Samurai vs Shinjiro Otani (NJPW Tokyo Dome 01/04/95)

Overall thoughts: Some of these may seem a little perplexing, but I really think the Four Corners tag and Steiners vs Muto/Hase were comparable in quality overall. Both had good patches, both had rough patches. Bret/Diesel was a one-sided carry job, but it was a more structured, cohesive match than either of those, which surprised me. And Hashimoto/Sasaki was exactly what it needed to be and fit the setting perfectly. As much as the WWF was in the doldrums at this point, they were doing pretty well in the ring.

February:

#1 - Bret Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs Owen Hart & Bob Backlund (WWF Action Zone 02/26/95) ****1/4
#2 - Juventud Guerrera & Fuerza Guerrera vs Rey Misterio Jr & Rey Misterio Sr (AAA 02/06/95) ****1/4
#3 - Hulk Hogan vs Vader (WCW SuperBrawl V 02/19/95) ***1/2
#4 - Shane Douglas vs Marty Jannetty (ECW Return of the Funker 02/25/95) ***1/2
#5 - Chris Benoit vs Al Snow (ECW Double Tables 02/04/95) ***1/2
#6 - Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee (USWA TV 02/25/95) ***
#7 - Heavenly Bodies & Jim Cornette vs The Gangstas & D-Lo Brown (SMW Sunday Bloody Sunday 02/26/95)

Overall thoughts: The WWF tag was just way beyond anything I might have expected it to be. A really great match, maybe one of the best in the history of the company. I did a pretty detailed review on Misterios vs Guerreras. I gave the WWF tag a slight edge just because the one thing I thought the lucha match was missing was a little aggression to accompany all the other top notch work. The New Japan tag I'm not completely comfortable leaving off, but to explain my thought process, it's really more of an angle than a match. If you look at it as a match, it's really too chaotic and has too much going on to really be good. As an angle/brawl, it's phenomenal and one of the best things on the yearbook. It does have me geared up to watch more Tenzan vs NJ matches throughout this set and it was a worthy yearbook addition. Hogan/Vader was also much better than expected, it felt like a very good New Japan match because for reasons I explained in the thread.

March:

#1 - Mayumi Ozaki, Cutie Suzuki, Candy Okutsu vs Sumiyo Toyama vs Dynamite Kansai, Devil Masami, Hikari Fukuoka & Hiromi Yagi (JWP Dead Heat 4 x 4 03/17/95) ****3/4
#2 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 03/26/95) ****1/2
#3 - Mayumi Ozaki vs Dynamite Kansai (JWP 03/17/95) ****1/4
#4 - El Hijo del Santo, Octagon & Rey Misterio Jr vs Blue Panther, Psicoisis & Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 03/16/95) ****1/4
#5 - Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue (AJPW 03/21/95) ****1/4
#6 - Manami Toyota vs Aja Kong (AJW 03/26/95) ****1/4
#7 - Masa Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW 03/07/95) ****
#8 - Wild Pegasus vs Koji Kanemoto (NJPW 03/13/95) ****
#9 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJPW 03/04/95) ****
#10 - Lioness Asuka vs Yumiko Hotta (AJW 03/26/95) ***3/4
#11 - Toshiaki Kawada vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW 03/21/95) ***3/4
#12 - Sandman & Terry Funk vs Cactus Jack & Shane Douglas (ECW TV 03/18/95) ***1/2
#13 - The Gangstas vs Tracy Smothers & Scott Armstrong (SMW TV 03/04/95) ***1/4
#14 - Manami Toyota & Blizzard Yuki vs Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue (AJW 03/21/95) ***
#15 - Dustin Rhodes vs Blacktop Bully (WCW Uncensored 03/19/95)
#16 - Super Delphin vs SATO (Michinoku Pro 03/03/95)
#17 - Bret Hart vs Owen Hart (WWF Monday Night RAW 03/27/95)
#18 - Hulk Hogan vs Vader (WCW Uncensored 03/19/95)
#19 - Rey Misterio Jr, Rey Misterio Sr & Transformer vs Juventud Guerrera, Fuerza Guerrera & Psicosis (AAA 03/05/95)
#20 - Sangre Chicana vs La Fiera (CMLL 03/17/95)
#21 - Ultimo Dragon, Corazon de Leon & Felino vs El Dandy, Negro Casas & Bestia Salvaje (CMLL 03/03/95)

Overall thoughts: The most loaded month of the year so far, but I still think the best is yet to come. The Carnival matches have all been tremendous fun. I think because of the 30-minute time limit, the matches are faster-paced than normal. So far, this seems to be a year the women are controlling, and I am curious if that's still the case after a few more months. I still feel like the best of every promotion hasn't happened yet, which is a good thing. Dundee is a tremendous interview, and I'm looking forward to seeing Ric Flair get back in the ring eventually.

April:

#1 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/15/95) *****
#2 - Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/08/95) ****3/4
#3 - Shinjiro Otani vs Koji Kanemoto (NJPW 04/16/95) ****1/2
#4 - Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/13/95) ****1/2
#5 - Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera (AAA 04/21/95) ****1/4
#6 - Chigusa Nagayo & Dynamite Kansai vs Mayumi Ozaki & Devil Masami (GAEA Debut Show 04/15/95) ****1/4
#7 - Ricky Morton vs Al Snow (SMW TV 04/08/95) ****1/4
#8 - Rock & Roll Express vs Al Snow & Unabomb (SMW TV 04/15/95) ****
#9 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/06/95) ****
#10 - Eddy Guerrero vs Dean Malenko (ECW Hostile City Showdown 04/15/95) ****
#11 - Steven Regal vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 04/16/95) ***3/4
#12 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/12/95) ***3/4
#13 - Eddy Guerrero vs 2 Cold Scorpio (ECW 3-Way Dance 04/08/95) ***3/4
#14 - Vader vs Nobuhiko Takada (UWFI 04/20/95) ***1/2
#15 - Sting vs Steve Austin (WCW Saturday Night 04/08/95) ***1/2
#16 - Vader & Arn Anderson vs Marcus Bagwell & The Patriot (WCW Saturday Night 04/15/95) ***1/4
#17 - Wild Pegasus & Shinjiro Otani vs Koji Kanemoto & Gran Hamada (NJPW 04/13/95)
#18 - Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs Rick Steiner & Taz vs Public Enemy (ECW 3-Way Dance 04/08/95)
#19 - Bam Bam Bigelow vs Lawrence Taylor (WWF Wrestlemania XI 04/02/95)
#20 - Shawn Michaels vs Diesel (WWF Wrestlemania XI 04/02/95)

Overall thoughts: Thanks to the Carnival, this is a pretty loaded month, but even outside of that, Otani/Kanemoto is a lost NJ juniors match that people should check out, and the Rock & Roll Express vs Snow/Unabomb feud is surprisingly great. There are still some All Japan matches worth seeing throughout the year, but I think the bulk of it is over now. Misawa/Taue is an all-time classic and something that should probably be considered near or at the same level as any of the GOAT All Japan matches. I haven't seen 6/9/95 in years, so with all the matches up to this point involving these four, I'm looking forward to watching it again with the strong lead-in. Tommy Rich did one of the best interviews you'll ever see in April and continues to be a highlight of the set. I have enjoyed SMW so, so much more than I did in either 1992 or 1993.

May:

#1 - The Gangstas vs The Thugz (SMW Charlotte Memories 05/20/95) ***3/4
#2 - Bret Hart vs Hakushi (WWF In Your House 05/14/95) ***3/4
#3 - Hayabusa vs Atsushi Onita (FMW 05/05/95) ***3/4
#4 - Manami Toyota vs Kyoko Inoue (AJW 05/07/95) ***1/2
#5 - PG-13 vs The Thugz (SMW Volunteer Slam IV 05/19/95) ***1/4
#6 - Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda vs Yuki Ishikawa & Shoichi Funaki (PWFG 05/19/95) ***1/4
#7 - Tommy Dreamer & Mikey Whipwreck vs Raven & Stevie Richards (ECW Enter the Sandman 05/13/95) ***
#8 - El Hijo del Santo vs Psicosis (AAA 05/03/95) ***
#9 - Bob Armstrong & Terry Funk vs The Gangstas (SMW Volunteer Slam IV 05/19/95)
#10 - Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler (WWF In Your House 05/14/95)

Overall thoughts: For wrestling, not the best month of the set, but for angles and interviews, it's the best so far. Lawler getting PG-13, Bill Dundee and Brian Christopher on the same page so they can focus on the bigger picture is really one of the best segments I have ever seen, and is in contention for the best wrestling "thing" (match or otherwise) of the year for me to this point. It's great watching Al Snow continue to improve, and I really love the Snow/Unabomb vs Rock & Rolls feud. Toyota/Kyoko had enough going for it in spite of the weaknesses that it deserved a decent rating. It was a good match. It was not an MOTY by any means. Bret/Hakushi from a wrestling action standpoint was the best match of the month, but the heat and intensity in the Gangstas/Thugz match pushes that one slightly ahead. I wish I would have liked Santo/Psicosis more, and Muto/Hash will make a supplemental unedited when we do it, because the finish looked good. I'm even morbidly curious about seeing the full Misawa/Hansen, so we'll see.

It does look like Loss enjoyed Carny '95 quite a bit:

Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue (AJPW 03/21/95) ****1/4
Toshiaki Kawada vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW 03/21/95) ***3/4
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 03/26/95) ****1/2
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/06/95) ****
Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/08/95) ****3/4
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/12/95) ***3/4
Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/13/95) ****1/2
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/15/95) *****

I would be interested if he found some time between yearbooks to check out the other matches available from it and what his thoughts are:

Commercial
03/21/95 Hansen vs Omori
03/21/95 Misawa vs Furnas

Commercial
03/24/95 Akiyama vs Omori
03/24/95 Misawa & Kobashi & Hansen vs. Kawada & Taue & Baba

Commercial
03/26/95 Akiyama vs Furnas
03/26/95 Kawada & Taue & Ogawa vs Baba & Hansen & Omori

NTV:
03/30/95 Taue & Inoue vs. Misawa & Asako
03/30/95 Kobashi vs. Akiyama

Bootleg
04/02/95 Kawada & Taue & Ace vs Misawa & Kobashi & Hansen (WPW Dome)

Commercial
04/06/95 Ace & Kroffat & Eagle vs Hansen & Baba & Ogawa
04/06/95 Kenta Kobashi vs Takao Omori
04/06/95 Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama

Commercial
04/12/95 Kobashi & Akiyama & Shiga vs Ace & Kroffat & Eagle
04/12/95 Stan Hansen vs Doug Furnas
04/12/95 Toshiaki Kawada vs Takao Omori

Special TV
04/13/95 Stan Hansen vs Jun Akiyama

NTV
04/15/95 Hansen & Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada & Ace & Omori


John

Considering how fast I've been breezing through these, two weeks to finish a month's worth of stuff is pretty slow, but I'm trying to pace myself because I was starting to feel a little burned out. Better to slow down than stop completely after all. I should also point out regarding the 6/9 tag that I thought it was an all-time classic and absolutely loved it. I just don't love it quite to the degree that others do. But I do understand the appeal. I hope no one takes me liking Misawa/Taue slightly better as a negative.

Also, take a look at the matches here. This was a hell of a month. This and April have been the best months of the year so far. I don't know which is better, and that's a pointless comparison anyway, as they're both great. Anyway, here are my rankings for the month:

#1 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW 06/09/95) *****
#2 - El Hijo del Santo, Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr & La Parka vs Pentagon, Blue Panther, Psicosis & Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 06/18/95) ****3/4
#3 - Manami Toyota vs Aja Kong (AJW 06/27/95) ****1/2
#4 - Yoji Anjo vs Naoki Sano (UWFI 06/18/95) ****1/2
#5 - Volk Han vs Yoshihisa Yammamoto (RINGS 06/17/95) ****1/4
#6 - Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs Masa Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJPW 06/12/95) ****1/4
#7 - Hayabusa vs Hisakatsu Oya (FMW Korauken Hall 06/27/95) ****
#8 - Octagoncito, Mascarita Sagrada, Torerito & Super Munequito vs Espectrito, Espectrito II, La Parkita & Fuercita Guerrera (AAA 06/18/95) ****
#9 - Rob Van Dam vs Dan Kroffat (AJPW 06/09/95) ****
#10 - Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Satoru Asako vs Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Tamon Honda (AJPW 06/30/95) ****
#11 - Rock & Roll Express vs PG-13 (USWA Night To Remember 06/11/95) ***3/4
#12 - Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera (AAA 06/16/95) ***3/4
#13 - Ric Flair vs Randy Savage (WCW Great American Bash 06/18/95) ***3/4
#14 - Owen Hart vs Davey Boy Smith (WWF Monday Night RAW 06/05/95) ***1/2
#15 - Silver King vs Apolo Dantes (CMLL 06/23/95) ***1/4
#16 - Konnan, Perro Aguayo, La Parka & Octagon vs Pentagon, Cien Caras, Jerry Estrada & Mascara Ano 2000 (AAA 06/10/95) ***
#17 - Cactus Jack vs The Sandman (ECW Barbed Wire, Hoodies and Chokeslams 06/17/95) ***
#18 - Black Tiger vs Koji Kanemoto (NJPW 06/25/95)

The thing that looks cool to me about the month of June is there is 10 different promotions that produced a 3.5 star match or better.

July:

#1 - Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue (AJPW 07/24/95) ****1/2
#2 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 07/24/95) ****1/4
#3 - Espectrito vs Super Munequito (AAA 07/08/95) ****1/4
#4 - Mayumi Ozaki vs Dynamite Kansai (JWP 07/23/95) ****1/4
#5 - El Hijo del Santo, Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr & La Parka, Pentagon, Jerry Estrada, Psicosis & Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 07/08/95) ****
#6 - Masahito Kakihara & Hiromitsu Kanehara vs Yoji Anjo & Yoshihiro Takayama (UWFI 07/13/95) ****
#7 - Rey Misterio Jr, Octagon & Super Muneco vs Psicosis, Fuerza Guerrera & Blue Panther (AAA 07/04/95) ****
#8 - Shawn Michaels vs Jeff Jarrett (WWF In Your House 07/23/95) ****
#9 - Chris Jericho vs Ultimo Dragon (WAR 07/07/95) ***1/2
#10 - Bret Hart vs Hakushi (WWF Monday Night RAW 07/24/95) ***1/2
#11 - Hayabusa vs The Gladiator (FMW 07/30/95) ***
#12 - Stevie Richards vs Luna Vachon (ECW Heat Wave 07/15/95, Cage match)
#13 - Kazushi Sakuraba & Naoki Sano vs Joe Malenko & Yoji Anjo (UWFI 07/22/95)
#14 - Al Snow & Unabomb vs The Thugz (SMW TV 07/15/95)
#15 - Raven & Stevie Richards vs Tommy Dreamer & Luna Vachon (ECW Hardcore Heaven 07/01/95)
#16 - Jimmy Snuka, Bob Backlund & Mil Mascaras vs The Eliminators & Hector Garza (WAR 07/07/95)
#17 - Barry Horowitz vs Skip (WWF Action Zone 07/09/95)
#18 - PG-13 vs Matt & Jeff Hardy (SMW TV 07/15/95)

Overall thoughts: In months where All Japan has featured matches, they're still head and shoulders above just about everything else. Kobashi/Taue I preferred to Misawa/Kawada, although I also thought Misawa/Kawada was fantastic. It felt like a lesser version of Misawa/Taue in some ways because of the similar layout though. The AAA matches are strong and there's some other good stuff as well. This was a great month for promos, and the angles on the USWA TV side of the USWA/SMW feud have been consistently excellent. PG-13, Lawler, Rich, Smothers and the Rock & Rolls are all tremendous interviews at this point, with Landell probably the biggest standout of all.

August:

#1 - Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon (WWF Summerslam 08/27/95) ****3/4
#2 - Keiji Muto vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/15/95) ****3/4
#3 - Aja Kong vs Dynamite Kansai (AJW 08/30/95) ****1/2
#4 - Hayabusa vs Hisakatsu Oya (FMW 08/31/95) ****1/4
#5 - Al Snow vs Marty Jannetty (SMW Superbowl of Wrestling 08/04/95) ****1/4
#6 - Keiji Muto vs Masa Chono (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/12/95) ****
#7 - Great Sasuke vs Dos Caras (Michinoku Pro Mask League 08/25/95) ****
#8 - Heavenly Bodies vs The Thugz (SMW Superbowl of Wrestling 08/04/95) ***3/4
#9 - Keiji Muto vs Shiro Koshinaka (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/12/95) ***3/4
#10 - Manami Toyota & Sakie Hasegawa vs Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue (AJW 08/30/95) ***3/4
#11 - Eddy Guerrero vs Dean Malenko (ECW TV 08/08/95) ***1/2
#12 - Shinya Hashimoto vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/13/95) ***1/2
#13 - Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Taka Michinoku (PWFG 08/26/95) ***1/2
#14 - Shinya Hashimoto vs Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/12/95) ***1/4
#15 - Cactus Jack, Dean Malenko & 2 Cold Scorpio vs Eddy Guerrero, Rick & Scott Steiner (ECW TV 08/05/95) ***
#16 - Shawn Michaels vs Buddy Landell (SMW Superbowl of Wrestling 08/04/95) ***
#17 - Eddy Guerrero vs Dean Malenko (ECW TV 08/01/95)
#18 - Cactus Jack vs Terry Funk (IWA King of the Death Matches 08/20/95)

Overall thoughts: Shawn/Razor doesn't have the emotion of some of the best WWF matches ever. But it more than makes up for that by being such a soundly executed, smart wrestling match. This is as close to All Japan as the WWF will ever get. Muto/Hashimoto and Kong/Kansai were similar matches in some ways, in that the wrestler being built around in the present beats the big star of the past few years in a big, meaningful way, with a match layout that enhances the result instead of it being happenstance. I would also call Hayabusa/Oya and Snow/Jannetty similar matches -- "technical" matches on shows that weren't going to have much technical wrestling. Hayabusa/Oya I considered slightly better because it seemed like more was at stake. Muto/Chono is another "big", theatrical match worth checking out, and Sasuke/Caras has Sasuke showing off a totally different element to his game. There's flying, but it's the matwork that makes this match so good. This is not at all how I would have expected all of this to shake out going into the month, so you might say August was the month of shattering perceptions that I had that weren't entirely correct -- both in the matches that I loved the most (Michaels/Ramon, Hayabusa/Oya), and those that were good but also a little disappointing (Toyota/Sakegawa vs Inoues).

September:

#1 - Rey Misterio Jr vs Psicosis (AAA 09/22/95) ****1/2
#2 - Manami Toyota vs Yumiko Hotta (AJW 09/03/95) ****1/4
#3 - Silver King vs Miguel Perez (CMLL 09/22/95) ****
#4 - Brian Pillman vs Johnny B. Badd (WCW Fall Brawl 09/17/95) ****
#5 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJPW 09/10/95) ***3/4
#6 - Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson (WCW Fall Brawl 09/17/95) ***3/4
#7 - Manami Toyota vs Akira Hokuto (AJW 09/02/95) ***1/2
#8 - Rey Misterio Jr vs Psicosis (ECW Gangstas Paradise 09/16/95) ***1/2
#9 - El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (CMLL 09/29/95) ***1/2
#10 - Chigusa Nagayo vs Mayumi Ozaki (GAEA 09/17/95) ***1/2
#11 - Keiji Muto vs Junji Hirata (NJPW 09/25/95) ***1/2
#12 - Bret Hart vs Jean Pierre Lafitte (WWF In Your House III 09/24/95) ***1/2
#13 - Marty Jannetty vs Skip (WWF Monday Night RAW 09/25/95) ***
#14 - 1-2-3 Kid vs Razor Ramon (WWF Monday Night RAW 09/18/95) ***
#15 - Raven & Stevie Richards vs Pit Bulls (ECW Gangstas Paradise 09/16/95)
#16 - Jerry Lawler vs Jesse James Armstrong (USWA TV 09/23/95)
#17 - Ric Flair vs Sting (WCW Monday Nitro 09/04/95)
#18 - Brian Pillman vs Jushin Liger (WCW Monday Nitro 09/04/95)

Overall thoughts: I didn't comment on it last month since I only saw the first match, but Toyota had quite the three day spell. I think the 8/30 and 9/2 matches are wildly overrated, but they're still really good, and the Hotta match is fantastic. Rey and Psicosis had the best match I've ever seen them have together. In fact, it was a really strong month for lucha singles matches, with King/Perez and Santo/Casas also impressing. The Fall Brawl pair are both excellent. WCW is moving in a good direction. Misawa/Taue I criticized and called disappointing, but I did still like the match. There were positives, and I thought they cut a great pace. It was disappointing by the standards of what I was expecting going in, but still really good. Muto/Hirata is the type of match that has been rare in some ways in '95 -- the guy way beneath the champ in the pecking order still making a good showing in a title match. All Japan has that too, but it's easier to overlook because we've seen most of the pairings so many times. Also, see Jannetty/Skip because Marty Jannetty for one match looks like wrestling's biggest star. Pretty surreal. But the WWF is obviously hurting, evident by the darker arenas, and the Clique stuff is starting to swallow everything else whole.

Agreed on the 9/2 Hokuto/Toyota as overrated -- people used to pimp it as some 5-star classic when it doesn't sniff their 1993 JGP match or even their 8/90 draw (which hopefully you'll get to at some point).

October:

#1 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW 10/15/95) ****1/2
#2 - Rey Misterio Jr vs Psicosis (ECW TV 10/07/95) ****1/4
#3 - Toshiaki Kawada vs Gary Albright (AJPW 10/25/95) ****
#4 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 10/25/95) ****
#5 - Eddy Guerrero vs Chris Benoit (WCW Monday Nitro 10/16/95) ***1/2
#6 - Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith & Yokozuna vs Diesel, Shawn Michaels & Undertaker (WWF Monday Night RAW 10/09/95) ***1/2
#7 - Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs Blue Bloods (WCW Main Event 10/29/95) ***1/4
#8 - Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs Razor Ramon & 1-2-3 Kid (WWF Superstars 10/28/95) ***
#9 - Keiji Muto vs Nobuhiko Takada (NJPW vs UWFI Tokyo Dome 10/09/95)
#10 - Hayabusa & Mitsuhiro Matsunaga vs W*ING Kanemura & Masato Tanaka (FMW 10/28/95)
#11 - PG-13 vs Tracy Smothers & Jesse James Armstrong (USWA TV 10/28/95)
#12 - The Sandman vs Mikey Whipwreck (ECW TV 10/31/95, Ladder match)
#13 - 1-2-3 Kid vs Razor Ramon (WWF Monday Night RAW 10/02/95)
#14 - The Sandman vs Mikey Whipwreck (ECW TV 10/24/95)
#15 - The Sandman vs Mikey Whipwreck (ECW TV 10/03/95)
#16 - Cactus Jack vs El Puerto Ricano (ECW TV 10/10/95)
#17 - Dean Douglas vs Razor Ramon (WWF In Your House IV 10/22/95)

Overall thoughts: A few great matches at the top, but a lot of angle-driven stuff. The match list doesn't really tell the story, but I've enjoyed October quite a bit for the feuds. Last-legs SMW was fun for a while and is starting to look embarrassing. Sandman/Mikey is terrific. Landell is always good for a fun promo, and the Flair/Sting stuff has been hot.

November:

#1 - Hayabusa, W*ING Kanemura & Masato Tanaka vs The Gladiator, Hisakatsu Oya & Super Leather (FMW 11/11/95) ****
#2 - Bret Hart vs Diesel (WWF Survivor Series 11/19/95) ****
#3 - Masa Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Yoji Anjo & Yoshihiro Takayama (UWFI 11/25/95) ****
#4 - Eddy Guerrero vs Chris Benoit (WCW Saturday Night 11/18/95) ***1/2
#5 - Brad Armstrong, Tracy Smothers & Dirty White Boy vs Heavenly Bodies & Robert Gibson (SMW TV 11/25/95) ***1/2
#6 - Ricky Morton, Tracy Smothers & Dirty White Boy vs Heavenly Bodies & Robert Gibson (SMW Thanksgiving Thunder 11/25/95) ***1/4
#7 - Taka Michinoku vs Tiger Mask IV (Michinoku Pro 11/23/95) ***
#8 - Rey Misterio Jr vs Psicosis (ECW November To Remember 11/18/95, Mexican Death Match) ***
#9 - Shawn Michaels vs Owen Hart (WWF Monday Night RAW 11/20/95)
#10 - Hulk Hogan vs Sting (WCW Monday Nitro 11/20/95)
#11 - Ricky Morton, Tracy Smothers & Dirty White Boy vs Heavenly Bodies & Robert Gibson (SMW Final Show 11/26/95)
#12 - Diamond Dallas Page vs Johnny B. Badd (WCW World War 3 11/26/95)
#13 - Steve Austin vs Mikey Whipwreck (ECW November To Remember 11/18/95)
#14 - Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki vs Hikari Fukuoka & Kaoru (GAEA 11/25/95)
#15 - Jushin Liger vs Barry Houston (WCW Pro 11/18/95)
#16 - Skip, Rad Radford, Tom Pritchard & 1-2-3 Kid vs Marty Jannetty, Hakushi, Barry Horowitz & Bob Holly (WWF Survivor Series 11/19/95)
#17 - Cactus Jack & Raven vs Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk (ECW November To Remember 11/18/95)

Overall thoughts: There are a few interesting things going on, but AJ/NJ/AJW not having a lot going on made this a slower month than normal.

December:

#1 - Manami Toyota vs Dynamite Kansai (AJW Monday Night Sensation 12/04/95) ****1/4
#2 - Jushin Liger vs Ultimo Dragon (WAR Super J Cup 12/13/95) ****
#3 - Taka Michinoku vs Tiger Mask IV (Michinoku Pro 12/11/95) ***3/4
#4 - Keiji Muto vs Shiro Koshinaka (NJPW 12/11/95) ***3/4
#5 - Ultimo Dragon vs Shinjiro Otani (WAR Super J Cup 12/13/95) ***3/4
#6 - Megumi Kudo & Bison Kimura vs Aja Kong & Megumi Kudo (FMW 12/11/95) ***3/4
#7 - Bret Hart vs Davey Boy Smith (WWF In Your House 12/17/95) ***3/4
#8 - Ric Flair vs Randy Savage (WCW Monday Nitro 12/25/95) ***1/2
#9 - Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho (WAR Super J Cup 12/13/95) ***1/2
#10 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW 12/09/95) ***1/2
#11 - Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs Masa Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJPW 12/11/95) ***1/2
#12 - Hayabusa, Great Sasuke & Koji Nakagawa vs Taka Michinoku, Super Delphin & Ricky Fuji (FMW 12/21/95) ***1/2
#13 - Eddy Guerrero vs Shinjiro Otani (WCW Starrcade 12/27/95) ***1/2
#14 - Jushin Liger vs Gedo (WAR Super J Cup 12/13/95) ***1/4
#15 - Rey Misterio Jr vs Psicosis (WAR Super J Cup 12/13/95) ***1/4
#16 - Jushin Liger vs Gran Naniwa (WAR Super J Cup 12/13/95) ***
#17 - Mikey Whipwreck vs 2 Cold Scorpio (ECW Holiday Hell 12/29/95) ***
#18 - Steve Austin vs Mikey Whipwreck vs The Sandman (ECW TV 12/12/95)
#19 - Dave Finlay vs 2 Cold Scorpio (Bremen 12/15/95)
#20 - Psicosis & Halloween vs Leon Negro & Ultraman (AAA 12/25/95)
#21 - Megumi Kudo vs Shark Tsuchiya (FMW 12/22/95)
#22 - Ric Flair vs Sting vs Lex Luger (WCW Starrcade 12/27/95)
#23 - Hulk Hogan & Sting vs Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (WCW Monday Nitro 12/11/95)
#24 - Bret Hart vs Davey Boy Smith (Stu Hart Tribute Show 12/15/95)
#25 - Gran Naniwa vs Damien 666 (WAR Super J Cup 12/13/95)
#26 - Cactus Jack vs Sabu (ECW Holiday Hell 12/29/95)
#27 - Ric Flair vs Randy Savage (WCW Starrcade 12/27/95)
#28 - Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund (WWF Monday Night RAW 12/11/95)