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My 50 favorite matches


NintendoLogic

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For a while, I've been entertaining the idea of compiling a list of desert island matches that would be broad enough to serve as a crash course for those just getting into pro graps. After some thought, I've managed to put together a list of 50 matches that pretty well encapsulate what I like most about wrestling. And with the discussion on the most recent Wrestling Culture podcast about favorite matches that you could watch over and over again, I felt the time was right for a favorite matches vanity list thread. As the subtitle indicates, this isn't just intended for discussion of how awesome/stupid my list is. Feel free to contribute your own. And it needn't be 50. 10 or 25 or whatever else is fine. So without further ado, here's my list. After the top ten, it's strictly in chronological order (edit: they're all in chronological order now). Also, I had intended to write a little bit about what I liked about each match, but then I got lazy. Still, I'd be happy to give my thoughts on specific matches for those curious.

 

Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk (Memphis, 3/23/81)

Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee (Memphis, 6/6/83)

Sangre Chicana vs. MS-1 (EMLL, 9/23/83)

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Iron Sheik (WWF, 6/16/84)

Terry Gordy vs. Killer Khan (WCCW, 11/22/84)

Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase (Mid-South, 3/22/85)

Bill Dundee vs. Jerry Lawler (Memphis, 12/30/85)

Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW, 1/28/86)

Midnight Rockers vs. Buddy Rose/Doug Somers (AWA, 8/30/86)

Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (NJPW, 6/9/87)

Stan Hansen/Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 12/16/88)

Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair (WCW Chi-Town Rumble, 2/20/89)

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW, 6/5/89)

Lex Luger vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW Great American Bash, 7/23/89)

Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (WCW Great American Bash, 7/23/89)

Naoki Sano vs. Jushin Liger (NJPW, 8/10/89)

Stan Hansen/Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW, 12/6/89)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW, 6/8/90)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, 9/1/90)

Jumbo Tsuruta/Masanobu Fuchi/Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada/Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, 10/19/90)

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada/Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Masanobu Fuchi/Akira Taue (AJPW, 4/20/91)

Ricky Steamboat/Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson/Larry Zbyszko (WCW Clash of the Champions XVII, 11/19/91)

Barry Windham/Dustin Rhodes vs. Larry Zbyszko/Steve Austin (WCW Superbrawl II, 2/29/92)

Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Doug Furnas/Dan Kroffat (AJPW, 5/25/92)

Big Van Vader vs. Sting (WCW Great American Bash, 7/12/92)

Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas vs. Barry Windham/Brian Pillman (WCW Starrcade, 12/28/92)

Sting vs. Big Van Vader (WCW Starrcade, 12/28/92)

Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 2/28/93)

Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori (AJW, 4/2/93)

Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (WWF King of the Ring, 6/13/93)

Barry Windham vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (WCW Clash of the Champions XXIII, 6/16/93)

Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, 7/29/93)

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (AJPW, 12/3/93)

Bunkhouse Buck vs. Dustin Rhodes (WCW Spring Stampede, 4/17/94)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 6/3/94)

Vader vs. Dustin Rhodes (WCW Clash of the Champions XXIX, 11/16/94)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (AJPW, 4/15/95)

Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, 6/9/95)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 7/24/95)

Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (WWF In Your House: Mind Games, 9/22/96)

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (WWF Survivor Series, 11/17/96)

Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama (AJPW, 12/6/96)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, 1/20/97)

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (WWF Wrestlemania 13, 3/23/97)

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Eddy Guerrero (WCW Halloween Havoc, 10/26/97)

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (NJPW, 8/2/98)

Jun Akiyama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, 2/27/00)

Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin (WWF Summerslam, 8/19/01)

Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE No Way Out, 2/15/04)

Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero (WWE Smackdown, 6/23/05)

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I've sort of been keeping a similar list myself, to keep track of matches i'd have as my all time favorites. No plans or way I could limit it to 50 or any particular # as it's a constant work in progress

 

I've only been keeping track for a little over a year thus it only list stuff i've watched in that time frame. There's a TON of things not on here that would be if I could be bothered to getting around to it :)

 

03/14/1973 Johnny Saint vs Jim Breaks

05/05/1973 (British Lightweight Title) Jim Breaks © vs Johnny Saint

11/08/1975 Steve Veidor vs Al Hayes

01/13/1980 Bobby The Brain Heenan vs Lord Alfred Hayes

03/11/1988 (IWGP JR Title) Hiroshi Hase © vs Nobuhiko Takada

06/07/1990 (UWA Middleweight Title) Yoshinari Asai © vs Negro Casas

08/19/1990 Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs Bull Nakano & Grizzly Yamato

11/17/1990 (Elimination Match) Aja Kong, Bison Kimura, Madusa, Tarantula & Xochitl Hamada vs Manami Toyota, Mariko Yoshida, Kaoru Maeda, Mika Takahashi & Estelle Moreno

11/02/1991 (World Middleweight Title) Owen Hart © vs Danny Collins

10/23/1992 Genichiro Tenryu & Koki Kitahara vs Shiro Koshinaka & Kengo Kimura

01/24/1993 Kyoko Inoue vs Takako Inoue

01/24/1993 Akira Hokuto, Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Harley Saito, Eagle Sawai & Miki Handa

02/16/1993 (2 out of 3 Falls) Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami, Osamu Kido, Hiroshi Hase & Tayayuki Iizuka vs Genichiro Tenryu, Ashura Hara, Takashi Ishikawa, Ricky Fuyuki & Tatsumi Kitahara

04/02/1993 Devil Masami vs Chigusa Nagayo

04/02/1993 Dynamite Kansai vs Yumiko Hotta

04/02/1993 Akira Hokuto vs Shinobu Kandori

04/18/1993 Bull Nakano vs Devil Masami

06/15/1993 (Elimination Match) Riki Choshu, Shinya Hashimoto, Tatsumi Fujinami, Masa Chono & Hiroshi Hase vs Genichiro Tenryu, Ashura Hara, Takashi Ishikawa, Tatsu Goto & Super Strong Machine

07/16/1993 Chris Jericho & Ultimo Dragon vs Negro Casas & El Dandy

12/10/1993 (Mask vs Mask) Super Delfin vs Sato

07/23/1994 (WWF Title) Bret Hart © vs Bob Backlund

07/31/1996 Mayumi Ozaki Reiko Amano & Sugar Sato vs Kaoru Toshie Uematsu & Chikayo Nagashima

08/18/1996 Mayumi Ozaki, Reiko Amano, Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs Chigusa Nagayo, Sonoko Kato, Toshie Uematsu & Sakura Hirota

09/16/1996 (AJW Tag Titles) Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima © vs Sonoko Kato & Toshie Uematsu

04/12/1997 Akira Hokuto vs Kaoru

07/19/1997 (WCW Women's Cruiserweight Title) Toshie Uematsu © vs Yoshiko Tamura

11/30/1997 Mayumi Ozaki & Sugar Sato vs Kaoru & Toshiyo Yamada

11/27/1997 (RWTL) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki

10/05/1998 (B-CUP '98 Tournament R1) Yuki Ishikawa vs Mitsuhiro Matsunaga

12/27/1998 Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki vs Toshiyo Yamada & Meiko Satomura

11/09/1999 Alexander Otsuka vs Mitsuhiro Matsunaga

12/09/2001 Tetsuhiro Kuroda, Kintaro Kanemura, Mr. Gannosuke & Mammoth Sasaki vs Genichiro Tenryu, Kodo Fuyuki, Arashi & Kouki Kitahara

12/21/2001 (WEW Tag Title Tournament FINAL) Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Mr. Gannosuke vs Kintaro Kanemura & Mammoth Sasaki

10/01/2005 Kenta Kobashi vs Samoa Joe

10/02/2005 Samoa Joe & Low Ki vs Homicide & Kenta Kobashi

03/07/2008 (16 Carat Gold Tournament 2008 R1) Bryan Danielson vs Mike Quackenbush

03/08/2008 (World Of Sports Rules) Johnny Saint vs Mike Quackenbush

12/12/2008 (Tohoku Jr. Title ) Yoshitsune © vs Hayato Fujita Jr

06/17/2009 (Tohoku Jr. Title ) Hayato Fujita Jr © vs Great Sasuke

06/25/2009 Magnum Tokyo vs Toshiaki Kawada

06/25/2010 Shuri vs Kana

10/03/2010 Sakura Hirota & Kikutaro vs Toshie Uematsu & Ran YuYu

07/17/2011 (RAW Title) John Cena © vs CM Punk

09/11/2011 (Hardcore Match) Sexy Lady vs Ludark Shaitan

09/17/2011 Psycho Circus vs Fake Doink the Clown, Giant Clown & Beast the Clown

12/08/2011 (NWA Southern Title - No DQ) Se7eN © vs Drew Haskins

12/19/2011 (APW Universal Title vs Blackwell's Career) Jeckles © vs Larry Blackwell

12/23/2011 (IWGP IC Title) Masato Tanaka © vs Tomoaki Honma

12/31/2011 Team Ken Ohka vs Team Ryuichi Sekine Whole Indy Pro Wrestling World Great Battle 74 Person New Year Bonus Track

01/15/2012 Blue Panther, Atlantis & Solar vs Ultimo Guerrero, Felino & Negro Navarro

03/04/2012 (IWGP Title) Kazuchika Okada © vs Tetsuya Naito

04/22/2012 (SPW Tag Titles) The Reno Scum Adam Thornstowe & Luster The Legend © vs Virgil Flynn & El Chupacabra

05/20/2012 (RAW Title) CM Punk © vs Daniel Bryan

06/10/2012 (Anything Goes) Bully Ray vs Joseph Park

06/16/2012 (IWGP Title) Kazuchika Okada © vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

09/22/2012 (Last Man Standing) The Riv vs Levi Shapiro

10/8/2012 (IWGP Title) Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs Minoru Suzuki

10/14/2012 (Street Fight w Special Enforcer King Mo) Bobby Roode vs James Storm

 

but then I got lazy. Still, I'd be happy to give my thoughts on specific matches for those curious.

yeah this

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I think making a list for me, personally, would be way too hard. That being said, props to you both, above me, for being able to do so. However, just yesterday I was talking to a buddy of mine via e-mail & he asked me what my favorite Wrestlemania match of all-time was. We talked for a couple of hours & reminded each other of matches. Talked about Hart/Austin, Savage/Steamboat, Austin/Rock, HBK/Taker, etc. At the end of the conversation though, I was pretty sold on being able to say that my favorite was Warrior/Savage & I still believe that. Not just because of the work itself but because of the story leading into the match & the post-match soap opera. It really got me to think about the differences between wrestling promotions and cultures. I can't get that from Puro, as an example, because it's more of a sport & there's a language barrier. I was emotionally invested in the story that WWF had presented & it drew me in.

 

So, if I were to make a list, I think I would have to have a way to include categories. Because although some of the best matches, bell-to-bell, that I have seen in my life come from Japan, sometimes it's not just the bell-to-bell solely that makes something memorable, fun & enjoyable.

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Great topic. Still some stuff I need to see on Nintendo Logic's list, and FLIK is always great for left-of-center recommendations.

 

I will do the 90s 500 after the 1999 Yearbook and watching all the stuff that has been recommended, but did not make a set. My favorites are changing so often these days that I think doing a list now would be premature.

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This is my desert island list, meaning the list I'd take to be entertained for an indefinite amount of time, not the list I'd necessarily recommend for a newbie or a list of the best matches I've ever seen. It's more like 60 than 50.

 

Baba vs. Billy Robinson 7/24/76

 

Johnny Saint vs. Steve Grey 1/28/80

 

Buddy Rose vs. Rick Martel 4/26/80

 

Andre vs. Hansen 9/23/81

 

Jerry Lawler vs. Dutch Mantell 3/29/82

 

Andre vs. Killer Khan 4/1/82

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Jerry Lawler 10/18/82

 

Choshu vs. Fujinami 4/3/83

 

Hansen vs. Funk 4/14/83

 

New Japan Gauntlet 4/19/84

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich 5/22/84

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel 9/20/84

 

Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana 1/21/85

 

Fujiwara vs. Super Tiger 9/11/85

 

Lawler vs. Dundee 12/30/85

 

Maeda vs. Fujiwara 1/10/86

 

NJ 5-on-5 3/26/86

 

Tully Blanchard vs. Ron Garvin 5/3/86

 

Flair vs. Ricky Morton 7/5/86

 

Santo vs. Espanto mask vs. mask 8/31/86

 

Flair vs. Windham 1/24/87

 

Jumbo/Tenryu vs. Choshu/Yatsu 2/5/87

 

Savage vs. Steamboat 2/15/87

 

Fujiwara vs. Choshu 6/9/87

 

Fujiwara vs. Yamazaki 7/24/89

 

Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano 8/10/89

 

Jumbo/Yatsu vs. Hansen/Tenryu 12/6/89

 

Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano 1/31/90

 

Kawada vs. Taue 1/15/91

 

Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi vs. Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi 4/20/91

 

Sano vs. Shamrock 5/19/91

 

Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi vs. Misawa/Kawada/Kikuchi 10/15/91

 

El Dandy vs. Negro Casas 7/3/92

 

Hansen vs. Kawada 2/28/93

 

Choshu/Hashimoto vs. Tenryu/Ishikawa 4/2/93

 

Tenryu vs. Hashimoto 6/17/93

 

Hansen vs. Kobashi 7/29/93

 

Tenryu vs. Hashimoto 8/8/93

 

Naoki Sano vs, Yoji Anjo 8/13/93

 

Tenryu vs. Hashimoto 2/17/94

 

Doc vs. Misawa 7/28/94

 

Vader vs. Takada 8/18/94

 

Vader vs. Dustin 11/16/94

 

Misawa vs. Taue 4/15/95

 

Miswa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue 6/9/95

 

Finlay vs. Regal 3/24/96

 

Tenryu vs. Takada 12/13/96

 

M-Pro 10-man 12/16/96

 

Han vs. Tamura 1/22/97

 

Rey Mysterio vs. Eddy Guerrero 10/26/97

 

Ikeda vs. Otsuka 11/5/97

Ikeda vs. Ishikawa 5/27/98

 

Ishikawa vs. Ikeda 8/29/99

 

Regal vs. Benoit 5/25/00

 

Kawada vs. Sasaki 10/9/00

 

Liger/Inoue vs. Kikuchi/Kanemaru 2/7/02

 

Danielson vs. Low-Ki 6/7/02

Liger/Tanaka vs. Kikuchi/Kanemaru 8/29/02

Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar 2/15/04

 

Hashimoto vs. Kawada 2/22/04

 

Ishikawa vs. Ikeda 4/24/05

 

Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher 6/11/05

 

Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero 6/23/05

 

Nigel vs. Danielson 6/23/07

 

Danielson vs. Morishima 8/25/07

 

BattlArts six-man 7/26/08

 

Danielson/Claudio vs. Jigsaw/Quackenbush 9/13/09

 

Mysterio vs. Punk 2/12/10

 

Hashi/Mashimo vs. Ikeda/Oba 10/24/10

 

Brock vs. Cena 4/29/12

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I think making a list for me, personally, would be way too hard.

For me it was easy since I just started adding stuff 1 match at a time as I watched things. Otherwise, yeah I was the same way pretty much whear if I had to come up with any sort of organized favorite matches ever list it would have been pretty difficult.

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I thought I'd do one now, just limiting to 1992-1996. I can always make changes much later.

 

I decided to build this around personal favorites instead of what I think are the best matches.

 

Arn Anderson vs Dustin Rhodes (WCW Saturday Night 01/04/92)

Jushin Liger vs Norio Honaga (NJPW 02/08/92)

Rick Rude vs Brian Pillman (WCW Pro 02/15/92)

Aja Kong vs Bull Nakano (AJW 04/05/92)

Hiroshi Hase vs Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW 06/26/92)

El Dandy vs Negro Casas (CMLL 07/03/92)

Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai vs Takako Inoue & Yumiko Hotta (JWP 01/15/93)

Genichiro Tenryu, Ashura Hara & Takashi Ishikawa vs Keiji Muto, Akira Nogami & Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 02/05/93)

Nobuhiko Takada vs Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFI 02/13/93)

Ultimo Dragon vs Negro Casas (CMLL 03/19/93)

Bull Nakano vs Devil Masami (JWP 04/18/93)

Barry Windham vs Steven Regal (WCW Worldwide 04/18/93)

Vader vs Tatsuo Nakano (UWFI 05/06/93)

Hollywood Blonds vs Marcus Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio (WCW Worldwide 05/08/93)

Naoki Sano vs Yoji Anjo (UWFI 08/13/93)

Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 10/23/93)

Aja Kong vs Megumi Kudo (AJW 12/06/93)

Bull Nakano vs Kyoko Inoue (AJW 01/24/94)

Jushin Liger vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 02/24/94)

Espectrito vs Mascarita Sagrada (AAA 03/12/94)

Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs Akira Hokuto & Shinobu Kandori (AJW Queendom 03/27/94)

Jushin Liger vs Great Sasuke (NJPW Super J Cup 04/16/94)

Dustin Rhodes vs Bunkhouse Buck (WCW Spring Stampede 04/17/94)

Jake Roberts vs Dirty White Boy (SMW TV 05/14/94)

Kazushi Sakuraba & Masahito Kakihara vs Gene Lydick & Steve Nelson (UWFI 06/10/94)

Nobuhiko Takada vs Gary Albright (UWFI 06/10/94)

Steven Regal vs Larry Zbyszko (WCW Pro 06/25/94)

Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund (WWF Superstars 07/30/94)

Volk Han vs Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS 12/24/94)

Shinya Hashimoto vs Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW 01/04/95)

Bret Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs Owen Hart & Bob Backlund (WWF Action Zone 02/26/95)

Ricky Morton vs Al Snow (SMW TV 04/08/95)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJPW 04/15/95)

Shinjiro Otani vs Koji Kanemoto (NJPW 04/16/95)

Volk Han vs Yoshihisa Yammamoto (RINGS 06/17/95)

Espectrito vs Super Munequito (AAA 07/08/95)

Great Sasuke vs Dos Caras (Michinoku Pro 08/25/95)

Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon (WWF Summerslam 08/27/95)

Aja Kong vs Dynamite Kansai (AJW 08/30/95)

Hayabusa vs Hisakatsu Oya (FMW 08/31/95)

Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyota (FMW 05/05/96)

Vader, Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson & Sid (WWF International Incident 07/21/96)

Aja Kong vs Kyoko Inoue (AJW 08/30/96)

Rey Misterio Jr vs Dean Malenko (WCW Great American Bash 06/16/96)

Shawn Michaels vs Mankind (WWF Mind Games 09/22/96)

El Dandy vs Black Warrior (CMLL 10/15/96)

El Hijo del Santo & Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr vs Negro Casas & El Dandy & Hector Garza (CMLL 11/22/96)

Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW 11/29/96)

El Hijo del Santo & Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr vs El Dandy & Negro Casas & Hector Garza (CMLL 11/29/96)

Great Sasuke & Masato Yakashiji & Naohiro Hoshikawa & Gran Hamada & Super Delphin vs Taka Michinoku & Dick Togo & Mens Teoh & Shiryu & Shoichi Funaki (Inoki Festival 12/01/96)

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One match that isn't getting any love here is the Final Conflict from 1983.

 

Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle vs. Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood. I think that's a terribly underrated match that isn't talked up enough. People talk about Hell in a Cell and Jimmy Snuka, but what about the crazy shit Slaughter was doing in that match? It's one of the matches that has really blown me away since watching all the NWA stuff for the podcast.

 

Speaking of which, surprised not to see Tully vs. Magnum "I Quit" listed either -- is that a case of people being "too hip" to list it these days? That said, glad to see the awesome Garvin vs. Tully match on Childs's list. Tully is probably a top 5 worker of the 1980s. Without having seen the tons of Lawler that some of you guys have, I'd only have Jumbo, Flair and Stan Hansen ahead of him.

 

I am basically not ready to do my list. Maybe after AWA.

 

Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood vs Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle (3/12/83)

Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)

Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase (3/22/85)

Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard (11/28/85)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)

Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Savage (7/31/88)

Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)

War Games: Sting, Steiner Brothers & Brian Pillman vs. The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious) & Larry Zbyszko (2/24/91)

Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (94/5/92)

Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat (6/20/92)

Wargames: Sting's Squadron (Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham & Nikita Koloff) vs. The Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko) (5/17/92)

Big Van Vader vs Sting (2/21/93)

Sting vs Lex Luger vs Ric Flair (12/27/95)

 

These 15 would definitely make a 50 of mine, but there's probably loads of stuff I've forgotten about. Flair/Funk and at least 2 matches from the holy trilogy would be in my 50 as well.

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Alright, well, I would like to list some, although I'll be taking the Flik approach & not trying to put them into order based on favorite, I'll just do it chronologically. Keep in mind that these are favorite matches, not best matches. Some matches were just really instrumental in my fandom during different points in my life. Especially ECW when I was in high school & still in mega-mark mode or when I was a child & a Hulkamaniac. I am never going to be stranded on a deserted island & if I were, I would not have any power or a DVD player & a television anyway! To be fair, I think this paragraph only exists as a defense mechanism anyway as no one wants to have their opinions be called out, but I highly doubt anyone is going over each list with a fine-toothed comb anyway. Hulk Hogan Vs. André the Giant; WWF (3/29/87)

Hulk Hogan Vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage; WWF (4/2/89)

Ric Flair Vs. Terry Funk; WCW (7/23/89)

The Hulkamaniacs: Hulk Hogan, Demolition & Jake Roberts Vs. The Million $ Team: Ted DiBiase, The Powers of Pain & Zeus; WWF (11/23/89)

Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake Vs. Mr. Perfect; WWF (4/1/90)

Hulk Hogan Vs. The Ultimate Warrior; WWF (4/1/90)

The Steiner Brothers Vs. The Nasty Boyz; WCW (10/27/90)

The Ultimate Warrior Vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage; WWF (3/24/91)

"Macho Man" Randy Savage Vs Shawn Michaels; WWF (4/14/92)

Sting's Squadron Vs. The Dangerous Alliance; WCW (5/17/92)

Bret "Hitman" Hart Vs. "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith; WWF (8/29/92)

Stan Hansen Vs. Toshiaki Kawada; AJPW (2/28/93)

Stan Hansen Vs. Kenta Kobashi; AJPW (7/29/93)

Shawn Michaels Vs. Razor Ramon; WWF (3/20/94)

Mitsuharu Misawa Vs. Toshiaki Kawada; AJPW (6/3/94)

Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada Vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi; AJPW (6/9/95)

Bret "Hitman" Hart Vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin; WWF (3/23/97)

"The Franchise" Shane Douglas Vs. Taz; ECW (1/10/99)

Rob Van Dam Vs. Jerry Lynn; ECW (3/21/99)

Rob Van Dam Vs. Scotty Anton; ECW (7/16/00)

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin Vs. The Rock; WWF (4/1/01)

Eddie Guerrero Vs. Brock Lesnar; WWE (2/15/04)

Samoa Joe Vs. Kenta Kobash; ROH (10/1/05)

The Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels; WWE (4/5/09)

The Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels; WWE (3/28/10)

John Cena Vs. Batista; WWE (4/25/10)

C.M. Punk Vs. John Cena; WWE (7/17/11)

Kazuchika Okada Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi; NJPW (2/12/12)

Kazuchika Okada Vs. Tetsuya Naito; NJPW (4/3/12)

John Cena Vs. Brock Lesnar; WWE (4/29/12)

Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Minoru Suzuki; NJPW (10/8/12)

I will say that this thread gave me an interesting idea for a new thread subject, which I am way too lazy to write right now. Not necessarily guilty pleasures, but more smark darlings that you can't get into. There are a few guys that are universally praised that I can just not get into, no matter how much of their stuff I watch. They just don't entertain me & in some cases, bore the fuck out of me.

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I will say that this thread gave me an interesting idea for a new thread subject, which I am way too lazy to write right now. Not necessarily guilty pleasures, but more smark darlings that you can't get into. There are a few guys that are universally praised that I can just not get into, no matter how much of their stuff I watch. They just don't entertain me & in some cases, bore the fuck out of me.

I already did something like that.

 

http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?showtopic=14217

 

Anyway, here's my list broken down by promotion:

 

19-AJPW

12-WCW

8-WWE

3-Memphis, NJPW

1-AJW, AWA, CMLL, Mid-South, WCCW

 

And by wrestler:

 

12-Mitsuharu Misawa

9-Toshiaki Kawada

7-Kenta Kobashi, Jumbo Tsuruta

6-Akira Taue

4-Steve Austin, Stan Hansen, Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, Genichiro Tenryu

3-Eddy Guerrero, Bret Hart, Jerry Lawler, Vader, Barry Windham

 

What does this say about my tastes? Well, I value strong storytelling above all else. I tend to enjoy high-end brawls and well-done big man-little man matchups. I really like targeted body part work that plays an important role in how a match unfolds and isn't just done to kill time. The Hart/Austin submission match isn't my favorite match, but it is the most influential on the development of my tastes. It's the match I've watched more than any other, and it's the one that led me to the view that brawling combined with submission wrestling is basically the ideal style of wrestling.

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I thought about listing Tully/Magnum, Jerry, but I decided I needed only one Tully match for the desert island, and I enjoy the Garvin match a little more, especially because it evokes my childhood love of televised NWA wrestling.

I have a hard time making lists like this, but Magnum/ Tully "I Quit" is by far my #1 match of all time, followed by Lawler/ Dundee Loser Leaves Town 6/83.
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Wow, I even posted in the thread. My, I have done a 180 on Steen since a year ago.

 

Coincidentally, I was specifically thinking of Jumbo & Liger & Dylan, in the very first reply, said Jumbo. So at least I know I'm not alone!

 

 

EDIT: vvv I haven't even seen enough Tenryu to form an opinion of him. All I've seen from him has been garbage but he's been a broken down man in all of 'em.

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Coming up with 50 would take too long, however I can make up a top 10.

 

10. Heenan Family (Andre the Giant/Arn Anderson/Haku/Bobby Heenan) vs. Ultimate Warrior/Jim Neidhart/Rockers, Survivor Series '89

9. Kainentai Deluxe vs. Great Sasuke/Gran Hamada/Super Delfin/Tiger Mask IV/Gran Naniwa, 10/10/96

8. Don Muraco vs. Jimmy Snuka, Fijian Strap Match 10/7/83

7. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Eddie Guerrero, Halloween Havoc `97

6. Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair, WrestleMania 8

5. Akira Taue/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi, 6/9/95

4. Steven Regal vs. Belfast Bruiser, Uncensored `96

3. Stan Hansen vs. Andre the Giant, NJPW 9/23/81

2. Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior, WrestleMania 7

1. Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart, Survivor Series '96

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Why are people high on Tenryu but down on Jumbo? In my world it is the exact opposite.

 

Even after seeing all the high-end stuff from 89, I still think Jumbo is much better than Tenryu.

That's fairly new. I think it's a backlash toward All Japan's standing as the Unquestioned Best Wrestling Ever, and Jumbo has just been a victim of it. Before Jumbo, Flair was a victim of it. People get tired of the same stuff being played up all the time and are always on the lookout for something new. Jumbo as GOAT was a relatively new idea at one point, and eventually he became a safe pick. Eventually Tenryu will become a safe pick.

 

I love All Japan, but I do think it got a lion's share of the discussion for years and years online, to a point where other good stuff - like the NJ heavies and FMW - didn't get nearly the same level of talk. I still think All Japan is better than those things, but I don't think those things should have been so ignored either. (Yes, jdw, I know you talked about some NJ heavies stuff at the time, but you were a single voice in a crowd of match lists featuring 6/3/94 and 6/9/95 over and over and over and over.)

 

Realizing that every New Japan heavies match isn't horrible - with some being good and even great - has been the single biggest surprise for me watching 1992-1996.

 

In short, I think anyone being down on Jumbo is more reflective of the ebbs and flows of talking about wrestling online than it is Jumbo himself.

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Why are people high on Tenryu but down on Jumbo? In my world it is the exact opposite.

 

Even after seeing all the high-end stuff from 89, I still think Jumbo is much better than Tenryu.

I think Jumbo is a dreadfully boring wrestler at times. This is not to be mistaken with the Jumbo is Lazy talking point which I don't really see. I just think there are points where he is borderline Dory Funk Jr.esque in terms of not emoting or emoting in a way that I find uninteresting. Tenryu is a guy who works in these crazy, fiery burst of energy and can deliver more with facial expressions than Jumbo can (I guarantee you others will disagree with this and that's fine, but I don't think Jumbo was a master of "the look" the way Tenryu was).

 

Having said that if you were saying to me "who was the better worker in the 80's?" I'd probably take Jumbo begrudgingly. I don't like early 80's Tenryu as much as some and even though I prefer Tenryu pretty safely toward the end of the decade (and especially in 88 and 89), if you are factoring in the entire decade Jumbo is probably the better pick.

 

Where Tenryu really leaps ahead for me (besides the fact that I just generally prefer him) is 90's-present day. I like 70's Jumbo, but I don't like him as much as I like 90's Tenryu, particularly the WAR v. NJPW stuff which is really incredible. I'd honestly rate something like Tenryu v. Hash with the very best stuff from anywhere in the 90's though I'd probably be in the distinct minority. Jumbo's 90's run is something I would really need to go back and watch to be fair (though I have ZERO desire to do that), but I can't see enjoying it the way I enjoy 90's Tenryu at this point. Throw in grumpy, lumpy old man Tenryu being one of the best wrestlers in the world in the early 00's and his handful of good performances even in the last few years and I would rate him ahead of Jumbo.

 

But in the particulars I just prefer the way he works. I've said this before, but I really hate the Jumbo character the way many people hate the John Cena character. I know he's a good wrestler, but he's someone I find almost completely unlikable. Tenryu just strikes me as a guy who can flip the switch better and has a dynamic quality to him that Jumbo lacks. I admit I can't even fully articulate it, but the energy of even something as secondary as Tenryu v. Hayabusa really stands out to me, where even the better Jumbo performances/matches (like say the Kerry match) really fade into the background with time.

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Why are people high on Tenryu but down on Jumbo? In my world it is the exact opposite.

 

Even after seeing all the high-end stuff from 89, I still think Jumbo is much better than Tenryu.

That's fairly new. I think it's a backlash toward All Japan's standing as the Unquestioned Best Wrestling Ever, and Jumbo has just been a victim of it. Before Jumbo, Flair was a victim of it. People get tired of the same stuff being played up all the time and are always on the lookout for something new. Jumbo as GOAT was a relatively new idea at one point, and eventually he became a safe pick. Eventually Tenryu will become a safe pick.

 

I love All Japan, but I do think it got a lion's share of the discussion for years and years online, to a point where other good stuff - like the NJ heavies and FMW - didn't get nearly the same level of talk. I still think All Japan is better than those things, but I don't think those things should have been so ignored either. (Yes, jdw, I know you talked about some NJ heavies stuff at the time, but you were a single voice in a crowd of match lists featuring 6/3/94 and 6/9/95 over and over and over and over.)

 

Realizing that every New Japan heavies match isn't horrible - with some being good and even great - has been the single biggest surprise for me watching 1992-1996.

 

In short, I think anyone being down on Jumbo is more reflective of the ebbs and flows of talking about wrestling online than it is Jumbo himself.

 

This is true to a degree, though I'm not sure that it explains everything. Tenryu's WAR run wasn't even on the radar for most people until the last few years (and frankly still isn't outside of a small group of people). It's true that people are looking for new things, but in looking for new things people also discover things that they legitimately find to be better. I completely ignored Lucha for years and years. Now I look back and think I was being a complete moron because there is tons of Lucha that is on the level of the best stuff from anywhere in the world. The same could be said for Europe. Portland footage practically didn't even exist - now we can confirm that Buddy Rose really was one of the all time greats.

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Yeah, I don't think it's a calculated counterculture or anything like that, as some have suggested. I just think people are generally predisposed to be excited about new things. It's human nature.

 

Jerry, both have strong years in 1990 and are well represented. I'm interested in seeing your thoughts on them after just finishing the DVDVR All Japan 80s set.

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Why are people high on Tenryu but down on Jumbo? In my world it is the exact opposite.

 

Even after seeing all the high-end stuff from 89, I still think Jumbo is much better than Tenryu.

I think Jumbo is a dreadfully boring wrestler at times. This is not to be mistaken with the Jumbo is Lazy talking point which I don't really see. I just think there are points where he is borderline Dory Funk Jr.esque in terms of not emoting or emoting in a way that I find uninteresting. Tenryu is a guy who works in these crazy, fiery burst of energy and can deliver more with facial expressions than Jumbo can (I guarantee you others will disagree with this and that's fine, but I don't think Jumbo was a master of "the look" the way Tenryu was).

 

Having said that if you were saying to me "who was the better worker in the 80's?" I'd probably take Jumbo begrudgingly. I don't like early 80's Tenryu as much as some and even though I prefer Tenryu pretty safely toward the end of the decade (and especially in 88 and 89), if you are factoring in the entire decade Jumbo is probably the better pick.

 

Where Tenryu really leaps ahead for me (besides the fact that I just generally prefer him) is 90's-present day. I like 70's Jumbo, but I don't like him as much as I like 90's Tenryu, particularly the WAR v. NJPW stuff which is really incredible. I'd honestly rate something like Tenryu v. Hash with the very best stuff from anywhere in the 90's though I'd probably be in the distinct minority. Jumbo's 90's run is something I would really need to go back and watch to be fair (though I have ZERO desire to do that), but I can't see enjoying it the way I enjoy 90's Tenryu at this point. Throw in grumpy, lumpy old man Tenryu being one of the best wrestlers in the world in the early 00's and his handful of good performances even in the last few years and I would rate him ahead of Jumbo.

 

But in the particulars I just prefer the way he works. I've said this before, but I really hate the Jumbo character the way many people hate the John Cena character. I know he's a good wrestler, but he's someone I find almost completely unlikable. Tenryu just strikes me as a guy who can flip the switch better and has a dynamic quality to him that Jumbo lacks. I admit I can't even fully articulate it, but the energy of even something as secondary as Tenryu v. Hayabusa really stands out to me, where even the better Jumbo performances/matches (like say the Kerry match) really fade into the background with time.

 

This is interesting Dylan because for me Tenryu is someone who seems like he just doesn't give a shit a lot of the time. Jumbo, on the other hand, knows when to pop the crowd, always shows good fire and a kind of gritty determination -- almost like a Japanese version of Sting's character, only more dominant than Sting ever was (by which I mean Jumbo vs. Vader would have been a fair fight, not Vader kicking Jumbo's ass for 20 minutes).

 

Tenryu is legitimately boring to me until 1988. Jumbo is much more likable as Baba's protege than Tenryu is as Jumbo's. I don't know what it is, it's just that expressionless, pissed off looking face that Tenryu has constantly. So many times the announcer calls him out and he barely even acknowledges the crowd. I can understand that if he's meant to be playing some sort of Dean Malenko-like iceman, but that isn't how Tenryu is ever presented to us. He's meant to be plucky and have inner-resolve and fire. Where is all of that stuff pre-88? Jumbo shows it all the way through the 80s, peaking in about 1986 when Choshu turns up.

 

Tenryu is consistently the least of the four workers in those epic tags from 86 and 87 with Choshu and Yatsu for me. Nothing about workrate, that's not in doubt, it's about charisma and not being a very good babyface. He's never convincing as a babyface. Might be a cultural thing, but I can't really understand why the Japanese fans ever cheered him. Jumbo is representing the All Japan establishment in those matches. He's the equivalent of a Flair or Arn during the NWO invasion in the mid-90s and he's not only perfect in that role, he shows genuine passion, genuinely looks like he gives a shit in all those matches.

 

He's also perfect in a similar role after Tenryu's heel turn later on, representing an older generation and set of values against this upstart. For me, even in 1989, Tenryu still isn't dickish enough to get across how what he's doing is such an affront to Jumbo. He's MUCH better suited to that role than his earlier role as number 2, but I wouldn't say he EXCELS in the role.

 

In a sense, his work in the ring is just so good during that time that it almost doesn't matter, but for me -- someone who never stops caring about character, connection with the crowd and all of that stuff -- it's a barrier to truly loving Tenryu. I appreciate his work during that period, but I don't love him or even like him. Whereas Jumbo shows me enough personality -- whether it's being pissed off that the crowd is popping for heels, kicking the ass of some youngster who has the audacity to think he can take on the mighty Jumbo, or just plain old-fashioned babyface stuff like popping the crowd or showing fire -- for me to LOVE him.

 

We don't have promos so I'll never love him like I'll love someone like Flair, but as much as it's possible for me to love him I do. This might be some eye-of-the-beholder stuff here because the comparison with Dory Funk Jr. is borderline absurd in my mind. I'd happily argue that Tenryu is closer to being Dory boring than Jumbo is in terms of showing us personality.

 

My big proviso here is that -- as you know -- I don't have the 90s to draw on. The yearbooks may well challenge this view, but early 90s Jumbo has a massive rep so my initial gut feeling would be that they wont.

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Well, they're a strange comparison in a lot of ways because their career arcs were so different. I'm not sure everyone realizes this, but Tenryu was actually a year older than Jumbo.

 

Jumbo was a prodigy who was cut off abruptly by illness when he was 41 and still one of the best workers in the world. Tenryu really didn't get good until he was 35 and didn't reach greatness until he was almost 40. But he was still producing MOTYCs throughout the 1990s and well into the 2000s.

 

If you don't connect with the Tenryu of 1989, I'm not sure you'll ever connect with him fully. He was rarely fiery in the same way as Jumbo, who adopted a more American approach to showing passion. Tenryu was more given to subtle expressions of disdain and perfectly timed bits of in-ring nastiness. He was particularly good as a surly legend dealing with fiery young opponents, and there's no one I'd rather watch in an inter-promotional match. He was also a great seller, adept at making lower-ranked opponents look good while maintaining the overall sense of hierarchy.

 

You could say a lot of the same things about early-1990s Jumbo, and there's no question that Jumbo had more physical talent and was better move-for-move. I don't fault anyone who thinks Jumbo was clearly better; in a lot of ways, he was.

 

But post-1988 Tenryu consistently took matches to a place where the violence was a little uncomfortable and the suspension of disbelief was pretty complete. He was a badass who felt like he walked into the arena off the set of a western or a samurai movie. I pop for his best stuff like I pop for few things in wrestling history.

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Coming up with 50 would take too long, however I can make up a top 10.

 

10. Heenan Family (Andre the Giant/Arn Anderson/Haku/Bobby Heenan) vs. Ultimate Warrior/Jim Neidhart/Rockers, Survivor Series '89

I was wondering if I was the only one who was so crazy about this match. The whole thng is Bobby Heenan gold, with the final fall and postmatch being ridiculously awesome. I remember wearing out the old VHS tape.

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Coming up with 50 would take too long, however I can make up a top 10.

 

10. Heenan Family (Andre the Giant/Arn Anderson/Haku/Bobby Heenan) vs. Ultimate Warrior/Jim Neidhart/Rockers, Survivor Series '89

I was wondering if I was the only one who was so crazy about this match. The whole thng is Bobby Heenan gold, with the final fall and postmatch being ridiculously awesome. I remember wearing out the old VHS tape.

 

I couldn't tell if it was nostalgia or just awesomeness that makes me love that match. Gorilla and Jesse are at their best in this one too. Heenan pinning a Rocker and never wanting in the ring was so great. Really, this was about the best booked match in WWF history. Definitely, the best booked Survivor Series match. Especially when you consider they replaced Tully with Bobby shortly before the match.

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