I've been watching alot of 80's matches lately and went ahead and made my own personal Top 100. I know some of picks may be weird so feel free to comment on them, or even better, other matches that I haven't seen and you think should be in there. Here it is:

 

Floyd's Top 100 matches of the 80's

 

I'd like to add these matches would've made my list but my copies were too clipped to rate. I recommend to check them out too!:

 

Tiger Mask I Vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (New Japan - 11/4/82)

Tiger Mask I Vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (New Japan - 6/2/83)

Owen Hart Vs. Keiichi Yamada (NJ - 6/10/88 )

Owen Hart Vs. Shiro Koshinaka (NJ - 6/24/88 )

 

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100. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson Vs. The Rockers (WWF - 2/16/89) - Short but exciting match from SNME. Both teams were relatively new to the WWF and introduced themselves to the TV audience in a fun fast-paced match.

 

99. Nobuhiko Takada Vs. Shiro Koshinaka (New Japan - 2/5/87) - Koshinaka was defending the IWGP Jr. title against the former champ here. These guys had an awesome feud throughout the 80's in New Japan's Jr. division. Known as the "Broken fingers" match.

 

98. Ric Flair & Barry Windham Vs. The Midnight Express (NWA - 12/7/88 ) - Kind of like Michael Jordan was famous for his dunks and drives to the basket but everyone forgot his near perfect jump shooting, everyone forgets what an awesome tag team wrestler Flair is. The NWA World champ teams up with U.S. champ Windham to take on the Midnight Express in a dream match up at the Clash of Champions IV.

 

97. Jumbo Tsuruta Vs. Mil Mascaras (All Japan - 7/30/82) - Tsuruta defends the NWA United National Championship against Mascaras. Of all the early 80's matches I saw on All-Japan Classics, this one stood out for some reason. I dunno I guess cause I didn't expect a bloody brawl from these two. They start off all nice-like with some scientific mat wrestling but when that goes nowhere they head to the floor and start brawling like Brody Vs. Abdullah. It gets so bad that the ref stops the match and trainees come out of the woodwork to get them apart, but a bloody Tsuruta calls on the fans support so they restart the match.

 

96. Randy Savage Vs. Hulk Hogan (WWF - 4/1/89) - Savage was always a jealous psycho. But after paranoia gripped him with the thought of Hogan's "lusting" of Elizabeth and his title, Savage snapped and attacked his former friend. Now they settle it in the ring in a long awaited match for the WWF World Championship at Wrestlemania V. It's Jesse Ventura's classic commentary that knocked this match into my Top 100.

 

95. Jaguar Yokota Vs. La Galacta (AJW Hair vs. Mask - 5/7/83) - Great feud in the 80's from these two. This was one of their first matches with La Galacta putting up her mask Vs. Yokota's hair. La Galacta had lots of help from her posse, can Yokota win on her own?

 

94. Antonio Inoki Vs. Bruiser Brody (New Japan - 4/18/85) - Brody was a huge name in All-Japan but made the jump to New Japan and immediately started this dream match up against the Japanese legend. Playing by his dirty American rules, Brody injures Inoki's arm right before the match. Crowd was red hot for this one.

 

93. Ric Flair Vs. Rick Martel (All Japan - 10/21/85) - I remember reading about all those cool "unification" matches that happened in the old Apter mags, but never thought I'd see any, but years later I got to see this one. AWA World Champion Martel takes on NWA World Champ Flair in a huge match set in neutral Japan. This is title Vs. title, so whoever wins gets it all!

 

92. Team New Japan (Seiji Sakaguchi, Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiichi Yamada (Jushin Liger), Kengo Kimura & Shiro Koshinaka) Vs. Team UWF (Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido, Nobuhiko Takada & Kazuo Yamazaki) (New Japan - 5/1/86) - The New Japan Vs. UWF promotional feud had alot of great Elimination matches. This one was a gauntlet type elimination match meaning it starts as a one-on-one singles match. Then whoever loses that leaves and the next guy on his team comes to the ring to face the winner. This continues until one team in completely eliminated. This resulted in a 70 minute marathon match with some fresh matchups, and the one-on-one matches helped showcase the UWF guys to the New Japan crowd. The highlight of the match was a dramatic finish involving Fujinami which sets up one of the best matches of the 80's one month later.

 

91. Ricky Steamboat Vs. Genichiro Tenryu (All Japan - 2/23/84) - This match showcased their great technical skills but also added a fast pace and exciting ending sequence. This was for the vacated NWA United National Championship (After former champ David Von Erich died). Which Hemisphere Gets the title?

 

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90. Nobuhiko Takada Vs. Bob Backlund (UWF - 12/22/88 ) - UWF got a big foreign name in Bob Backlund, who was still remembered in Japan for his classic matches against Inoki in the late 70's. Backlund seems stunned and out of his element in the early goings of the match getting the crap kicked out of him, but manages to come back with his scientific and amateur wrestling skills.

 

89. The Crush Gals (Lioness Asuka & Chigusa Nagayo) Vs. Jaguar Yokota & Devil Masami (AJW - 6/28/84) - Exciting dream match-up from four of the more popular wrestlers in All Japan Women's.

 

88. Ted DiBiase & Stan Hansen Vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan RWTL finals - 12/12/85) - It's the last day and both teams were so close in points that the winner of this match would win the annual tournament. Once again it was Japan Vs. USA.

 

87. Bob Backlund Vs. Adrian Adonis (WWF - 1/18/82) - Hard fought 40 minute match with Backlund getting bloodied at the end but making a great comeback with the fans help.

 

86. Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi & Yoshiaki Yatsu Vs. Akira Maeda, Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura (NJ - 12/8/83) - Great 6-man tag with Choshu's Ishingun Army clashing against his 1983 nemesis Tatsumi Fujinami & the Inoki gang. A real feel of hatred in this match and the fans picked up on it.

 

85. Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr. Vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (All Japan RWTL finals - 12/13/82) - While the 81 RWTL finals is considered the classic, I like the 82 one better. Stan Hansen caused the Funks the lose the 81 finals. Their feud would kept going throughout the year finally culminating in this great match.

 

84. The Dynamite Kid Vs. Tiger Mask I (NJ - 4/23/81) - Considered the weaker of their series, I really like the debut here of Tiger Mask with Dynamite Kid bewildered at all the incredible moves Tiger Mask was throwing at him. The whole DK/TM series was awesome and the moves used here in their first match set the stage for their future bouts.

 

83. Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada Vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Keiji Muto (New Japan - 3/20/87) - This was for the vacated IWGP World Tag Team titles. Maeda & Takada represented UWF while Koshinaka & Muto New Japan. Exciting match and a clash of styles with the UWF guys doing their strikes/submissions thing and the New Japan guys going new school with quicker, flashier moves

 

82. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara Vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan - 8/29/88 ) - This was the main event of the Bruiser Brody Memorial card. The Tsuruta/Tenryu feud was heating up and both teams didn't want to be the ones to lose this one.

 

81. Nobuhiko Takada Vs. Hiro Hase (NJ - 3/11/88 ) - Olympian Hase made a huge splash right out of the gate, winning the IWGP Jr. title in his first year. Here he has to prove it wasn't a fluke defending it against ex champ Takada. Both guys had a double countout when they brawled on the outside in the Top of the Super Juniors tournament a month earlier, so this match should prove who's the better wrestler.

 

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80. Footloose (Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki) Vs. The Can-Am Express (Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat) (All Japan - 6/5/89) - Fast and exciting tag team match featuring the future talent of All-Japan. Kawada & Fuyuki were defending the All Asia Tag Team titles here.

 

79. The Sekigun Army (Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Nobuhiko Takada, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura)

Vs. The Ishingun Army (Riki Choshu, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Animal Hamaguchi, Isamu Teranishi & Kuniaki Kobayashi) (New Japan - 4/19/84) - Yup another elimination match. Once again it's a gauntlet match featuring one-on-one matchups. Match went almost 90 minutes with (I'm not making this up) a super hot crowd throughout. The big feature match up are leaders Inoki and Choshu.

 

78. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson Vs. The Hart Foundation (WWF - 8/28/89) - The Brainbusters stunned the world, ending Demolition's year-and-a-half reign as WWF Tag champs. The titles are not on the line here as the contract was drawn up before the switch, but a Hart Foundation win would give them a shot in the future.

 

77. Team New Japan (Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura & Umanosuke Ueda & Kantaro Hoshino) Vs. Team UWF (Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido, Nobuhiko Takada & Kazuo Yamazaki) (New Japan - 3/26/86) - This was the inaugural UWF Vs. New Japan elimination match and many people feel is the best of the bunch. It's a Survival Series type match where when your eliminated your team continues on without you. Inoki's looking for revenge against Maeda's cheap shots after his match against Fujiwara. The usually docile Japanese crowd may have been the hottest ever. The crowd was so insane the building looked like it was shaking. Which promotion's cuisine will reign supreme?

 

76. The Cobra Vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (New Japan - 8/2/84) - Short match but super high paced. The Cobra attacks Kobayashi right away and both guys start trading big moves and end up brawling on the outside.

 

75. Antonio Inoki Vs. Bruiser Brody (New Japan - 9/16/86) - One of the last matches in their long running feud, this match went the full hour with Brody going soft and trying to prove he's more than a brawler, keeping up with Inoki's old school 70's style.

 

74. Roddy Piper Vs. Greg Valentine (NWA Dog Collar match - 11/24/83) - Although he was cautioned not to wrestler after his ear injury, Piper seeks revenge against Valentine at Starrcade 83. A bloody and dangerous match where both guys are connected to each other by a metal chain around their neck.

 

73. Riki Choshu Vs. Killer Khan (All Japan - 7/31/86) - Both guys had a hard hitting match and a surprisingly dramatic finish with both guys showing their toughness.

 

72. Andre the Giant Vs. Stan Hansen (New Japan - 9/23/81) - Big match up (literally) with Hansen and the Giant brawling to a molten hot crowd.

 

71. Tiger Mask II Vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (All Japan - 6/12/85) - Kobayashi had a famous feud against Tiger Mask I in New Japan. Here he's in All Japan and him and Tiger Mask II continue the feud in a great match with some of the best aerial stuff Misawa ever tried under the hood.

 

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70. Bob Backlund Vs. Sgt Slaughter (WWF Cage - 3/21/81) - Awesome escape-rules cage match where Backlund defends the WWF World title. At first it seems Backlund is the one whose in trouble, but instead it's Slaughter whose getting bounced around and is trying to escape Backund's fury.

 

69. Nobuhiko Takada Vs. Shiro Koshinaka (New Japan - 8/5/86) - My favorite of their series. As the first ever IWGP Jr. champ, Koshinaka wants to win it back from UWF's Takada.

 

68. Dynamite Kid Vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (New Japan - 2/15/80) - Fujinami defends the WWF Jr. Championship against up-and-comer The Dynamite Kid. Two of the pillar stones to New Japan's emerging Jr. division.

 

67. Ric Flair Vs. Terry Funk (NWA - 7/23/89) - After months of career-threatening injuries, Flair finally gets his chance for revenge against the wild Terry Funk at the Great American Bash.

 

66. Antonio Inoki Vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (New Japan - 9/19/85) - Inoki and his protege Fujinami kick it old school in a scientific showcase. In fact this was called the "Basic of New Japan" match which I guess meant no face paint or flaming ladders in barbed-wire. Winner gets Karl Gotch's belt, Lou Thesz is the special referee.

 

65. Jushin Liger Vs. Naoki Sano (New Japan - 7/13/89) - Some insane spots here like Liger doing a top rope senton onto Sano ON THE CONCRETE FLOOR. Both guys couldn't continue and it was ruled a draw but their feud was only just beginning.

 

64. Pat Patterson Vs. Sgt. Slaughter (WWF - 4/21/81) - This was a no-DQ Alleyfight where Slaughter got his head rammed into the ringpost and bleed so bad they had to stop it. Think about how much blood was needed for them to stop a No-DQ Alleyfight!

 

63. Jumbo Tsuruta Vs. Genichiro Tenryu (All Japan - 10/28/88 ) - Their feud keeps going in this main event matchup. Tenryu gets DQ'ed for not listening to the ref and continues beating up Tsuruta in the corner only adding more fuel to the fire in future matches.

 

62. Sangre Chicana Vs. MS-1 (EMLL 2/3 Falls Hair Vs. Hair - 9/23/83) - MS-1 thinks outside the box, ambushing Chicana on his way to the ring and beating the crap out of him to win (and lose) the first falls. Now Chicana is practically dead and all MS-1 has to do is win the 3rd fall. By the end of the match the ring was covered in crimson from both men in one of the bloodiest matches of the decade.

 

61. Ric Flair Vs. Butch Reed (Mid-South - 8/10/85) - NWA World champ Flair travels down to the Superdome to take on Butch Reed. Tremendous near hour long match with Reed being inches from winning the title.

 

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60. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers Vs. The Midnight Rockers (AWA - 9/2/86) - One of the hottest AWA feuds in the 80's, Rose & Summers defended the AWA World tag titles once again and by the end of the match all four guys were bleeding all over the ring. The Rockers refused to lose this night.

 

59. Dick Murdoch Vs. Butch Reed (Mid-South - 9/22/85) - Both guys were fan favorites so it started as a friendly but competitive match over Murdoch's North American Championship. 60 minutes later both guys are slugging it out and people are trying to hold them apart. Anyone who need proof of what's the big deal about Murdoch needs the watch this match. In fact, all heels need to watch his performance in this match.

 

58. Lioness Asuka & Chigusa Nagayo Vs. Jumping Bomb Angels (AJW 2/3 Falls - 3/20/86) - The Crush gals are defending the WWWA Tag Titles. Super fast paced tag team match where there was constant action throughout. The fans didn't know who to cheer so they cheered for both.

 

57. Lex Luger Vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA - 7/23/89) - After being sick of all the fans cheering for Steamboat him rather than him, U.S. champ Luger turned on him. This was scheduled as a No-DQ grudge match but right before the bell Luger refused to wrestle unless it's changed to a regular match.

 

56. Ric Flair Vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (All Japan - 2/3 Falls - 10/9/81) - Two of the best in the world, these guys always had classics matches against each other. Flair defends his NWA World title in a great 2/3 Falls match on Tsuruta's home turf.

 

55. Nobuhiko Takada Vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (UWF - 8/13/88 ) - One of my favorite UWF matches. Takada and Yamazaki have some of the fastest and stiffiest kicks ever seen in a wrestling ring and they go all out in this match.

 

54. The British Bulldogs Vs. Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake (WWF - 4/7/86) - After months of chasing the titles, the Bulldogs get their big match up at Wrestlemania II, this time with an outside referee to keep the Dream Team from their usual cheating ways.

 

53. Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch Vs. Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami (NJ - 12/5/84) - The MSG finals of 1984 featured the rulebreaking WWF duo against the fan favorites Inoki & Fujinami. Murdoch & Adonis unload their bag of tag team chicanery but the hometown Japanese stars wouldn't stay down for the 3 count.

 

52. Tiger Mask I Vs. Black Tiger (New Japan - 5/26/82) - Black Tiger was Mark "Rollerball" Rocco of the British World of Sports fame. Here he plays the Anti-Tiger and keeps up with Sayama's technical and aerial skills.

 

51. Jaguar Yokota Vs. Lioness Asuka (AJW - 8/22/85) - Considered by many the greatest Women's match of the 80's, Yokota defends the WWWA World Heavyweight Championship against Asuka.

 

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50. Dynamite Kid Vs. The Cobra Vs. Davey Boy Smith (New Japan - WWF Jr. tournament - 2/7/84) - Actually this was a 3 match round-robin tournament, the guy with the most wins gets the vacated WWF Jr. title. There's no pause in between as the winner has to fight the next guy right after. All 3 matches were great.

 

49. Ric Flair Vs. Kerry Von Erich (St. Louis - 1/25/85) - Great match where Flair defends the NWA World title to a hot St. Louis crowd.

 

48. Jumbo Tsuruta Vs Genichiro Tenryu (All Japan - 10/11/89) - This was different from their other fights cause it was a brawl all up and down the ring. Probably the hottest match of theirs because of the hatred and fire from each other.

 

47. El Hjio del Santo Vs. Negro Casas (EMLL Mask Vs. Hair 2/3 Falls - 7/18/87) - El Hijo Del Santo puts on his mask on the line (and his father's reputation) for a chance to humiliate Casas. Casas gets the first fall on a quick pin stunning the crowd. Now El Hijo Del Santo has to pull it together to get the win.

 

46. Jerry Lawler Vs. Bill Dundee (Memphis - No-DQ - Title/Loser-Leaves-Town Vs. Hair(s) - 12/30/85) - Not only does Bill Dundee put his hair on the line, but his wife's too! Lawler is coming into this match blinded in one eye after a heinous attack earlier on. But you can never count out Lawler's Memphis super hero skills.

 

45. Nobuhiko Takada Vs. Akira Maeda (UWF - 11/10/88 ) - My pick for the best UWF match of the 80's. Maeda takes the early advantage, continuously getting the better of the younger Takada. Just when it seems it's over Takada starts to make a dramatic comeback with the fans cheering him on. They also made excellent use here of UWF's newer rules (Like limited knockdowns and rope breaks).

 

44. Ric Flair Vs. Lex Luger (NWA - 12/26/88 ) - After Luger lost their big title match due to a trickle of blood, this is the Starrcade rematch. Typically awesome Flair match that has Luger's fired up not to miss his 2nd chance.

 

43. Jushin Liger Vs. Naoki Sano (New Japan - 8/10/89) - Tremendous match to close the decade out as Sano goes for the IWGP Jr. title.

 

42. The Midnight Express Vs. The Fantastics (NWA - 4/26/88 ) - The Fantastics get another shot at the U.S. Tag titles in a great 40 minute match.

 

41. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta Vs. Terry & Dory Funk Jr. (All-Japan RWTL finals - 12/11/80) - 45 minute RWTL finals featuring some of the biggest names from the 70's for All-Japan. Not as slow a match as you'd think with plenty of action going on.

 

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40. Ricky Morton & Eddie Gilbert Vs. Masa Fuchi & Atsushi Onita (Memphis Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl - 2/14/81) - There was a match, but the reason this is on the list is what happened afterward. All 4 guys brawled throughout the concession stand breaking mustard jars and

planks over their heads, bleeding all over the floor. A promoter tried to break it up and got beat up, so his mark wife bravely went in to help and go the Tojo Yamamoto pimp slap for her trouble.

 

39. Randy Savage Vs. Bret Hart (WWF - 11/11/87) - My favorite SNME match ever. Bret Hart was primarily a tag team wrestler and this was his chance to show the world how good he was on his own. Savage was turning face so he had to watch Elizabeth as well as doing the best injured leg sell of all time.

 

38. The Cobra Vs. Nobuhiko Takada (New Japan - 6/17/86) - Takada defends the IWGP Jr. title against the aerial Cobra. One of the most exciting Jr. bouts of the 80's with a great ending sequence.

 

37. Ric Flair Vs. Barry Windham (NWA - 4/11/87) - From the Crockett Cup for Flair's NWA World title. Another great match from these two. The clipped version I have is awesome, I can only imagine how good the full match is.

 

36. Team Choshu (Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami, Akira Maeda, Kengo Kimura & Super Strong Machine) Vs. Team Noki (Antonio Inoki, Seiji Sakaguchi, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Kantaro Hoshino, Keiji Muto) (New Japan Elimination match - 8/19/87) - Awesome 10-man Elimination match that had super crowd heat. The fun thing was the mixing of all the UWF and New Japan guys. Future star Keiji Muto really got a big boost in this match as the fans were going crazy for him for his gutsy performance.

 

35. Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Morton (NWA Cage - 7/5/86) - From the Bash Tour. All those rumors I heard of how great Morton/Flair matches were was proved in this match. Morton's wearing a face mask to protect his broken nose but doesn't let that deter him from putting on one of the best cage matches of the decade.

 

34. Ric Flair Vs. Kerry Von Erich (World Class 2/3 Falls - 8/15/82) - The return cage match gets all the praise, but I think this was the better bout. Flair goes to Texas to defend the NWA World title against Von Erich.

 

33. The Midnight Express Vs. The Fantastics (NWA - 3/27/88 ) - From the Clash of Champions I. They knew they only had 10 minutes and they used every minute of it to put on an exciting fast paced match. Some big time brawling from teams not known for it.

 

32. Tully Blanchard Vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA - 11/22/84) - From Starrcade 84. Steamboat's been chasing after that T.V. title but has busted up ribs. These two were respectively possibly the greatest heel and babyface of the 80's.

 

31. Ric Flair Vs. Ted Dibiase (Mid-South - 11/6/85) - Flair was in Watts country and was scheduled to take on Butch Reed, but he got injured so DiBiase got the shot. Before the match Dick Murodoch came out mad saying he's the #1 contender. Harsh words were spoken and before you knew it DiBiase was brainbusted on the concrete floor and bleeding heavy. Still bleeding profusely, the heel DiBiase wouldn't quit and came out for the title match to the fans cheers. Can DiBiase pull off the miracle?

 

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30. Kuniaki Kobayashi Vs. Tiger Mask I (New Japan - 1/6/83) - Exciting fast paced Jr. match. The Kobayashi/Tiger Mask series was just as good as the Dynamite Kid one.

 

29. Ric Flair Vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (All Japan 2/3 Falls - 6/8/83) - Another awesome match from these two. Match went to an hour draw with Tsuruta only one fall away from winning the NWA title from a bloody Flair.

 

28. Akira Maeda Vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (New Japan - 6/12/86) - Fujinami had a gutsy performance in an elimination match a month earlier, but tired and bloody, he was easy prey at the end for Maeda. This time it's one and one between what most people consider the two best guys from each team in the inter-promotional feud.

 

27. Dump Matsumoto Vs. Chigusa Nagayo (AJW - Hair Vs. Hair - 8/28/85) - Overmatched big time in weight and size, Nagayo makes up for it with her heart and rage. This is actually 2 matches, the one inside the ring with chains, scissors and blood, and the one outside with each girls army's brawling around the ring. Who will be humilated with the haircut?

 

26. Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA - 5/29/84) - From the "Night of the Champions" card. Only days after regaining the NWA World title in Japan, Flair has to defend it again against his old rival Steamboat.

 

25. Bob Backlund Vs. Ken Patera (WWF Texas Deathmatch - 5/19/80) - After their January match went to a DQ and people had to pull them apart, this Texas Deathmatch was set up for the WWF title. No DQ, No Count Out. Can Backlund put his amateur wrestling aside and brawl against the Strongman?

 

24. Ric Flair Vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (All Japan - 6/8/82) - Usually the big World title matches were 2 out of 3 Falls, but only 1 fall here. Flair defends the NWA World title here. A bit of a quicker pace then the rest of their classic matches. Two legends.

 

23. Devil Masami Vs. Chigusa Nagayo (AJW - 8/22/85) - Masami was defending her All Pacific Championship here. The famous Jaguar/Asuka main event gets the most praise, but I actually thought this match was better. A 40 minute match that had everything, mat wrestling, brawling and big moves. Like Steamboat/Flair it was more of a chess match and an effort not to make a mistake that your opponent could take advantage of.

 

22. Tiger Mask I Vs The Dynamite Kid (New Japan - 8/5/82) - I really would've added 2 or 3 more TM/DK matches on this list but only focused on the most important ones. This was their best from 82 with back-and-forth action and exciting moves.

 

21. Team Horsemen (Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger & J.J. Dillion) Vs. Team Kick-the-Horsemens-Ass (Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, The Road Warriors and Paul Ellering) (NWA Wargames - 7/4/87) - A massive two ring cage is set up for the Horsemen to finally get what's coming to them. Thought up by Dusty Rhodes probably while drunk, the rules are 2 men start off. Then after 5 minutes a coin is tossed and the winning team sends in a member for a 2-on-1 advantage. Every few minutes thereafter the opposing team gets the send a member from their team in. The match can only by stopped by submission after everyone's inside the cage. The crowd was so loud you could barely hear Jim Ross's screaming out his commentary.

 

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20. Antonio Inoki Vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (New Japan - 8/8/88 ) - Super Saiyan scientific match that went an hour. Inoki was being phased down but still was going to make it hard for his protege Fujinami to get the big one here.

 

19. Kerry Von Erich Vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (NWA 2/3 Falls - 5/22/84) - A mere week after losing the AWA World title, Jumbo gets a chance at the NWA World belt against new champ Von Erich. A fantastic and criminally underrated 2/3 falls match.

 

18. Ted DiBiase Vs. Jim Duggan (Mid-South Coal miners glove on a pole, Tuxedo, Loser-leaves town, Cage match - 3/22/85) - Most likely Vince Russo's favorite match. Former friends, DiBiase turned on him and they've been brawling all throughout the year. This is the big finale though inside a steel cage with a coal miner's glove hanging on a pole to put the other guy away. Short but bloody match. Crowd was going nuts.

 

17. Barry Windham Vs. Ric Flair (NWA - 1/20/87) - Awesome free TV match that went 45 minutes. It seemed at every moment Windham was going to win and the title against the Nature Boy.

 

16. Tully Blanchard Vs. Magnum T.A. (NWA - I-Quit cage match - 11/28/85) - Barbaric match where the only way to lose is to quit. Magnum has been chasing the U.S. title but Blanchard always manages to escape with the title. There is no escape from the cage. You heard of those method actor that get so into a role they believe it? Look at these guys faces at the end of the match. More of a felony than a match here.

 

15. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu Vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan - 1/28/86) - Choshu and Tsurta went to a 60:00 draw a few months back so their feud wasn't settled yet. These 2 teams had some great matches but this was the best with Tsuruta/Tenryu defending the tag titles. All four guys looked great especially the underrated Yatsu and the crowd was super into it.

 

14. Nick Bockwinkle Vs. Curt Hennig (AWA - 12/31/86) - This match lasted to an hour draw and was shown New Years night on ESPN. Bockwinkle was defending the AWA World title against the younger contender Curt Hennig.

 

13. Ric Flair Vs. Kerry Von Erich (Hawaii - 10/12/85) - These guys always had tremendous matches and this was the best of them. Flair defends the NWA World title in a fantastic hour long draw.

 

12. Randy Savage Vs. Ricky Steamboat (WWF - 3/29/87) - After having to almost retire from wrestling, Steamboat makes an incredible recovery from a crushed larynx to get revenge in front of the largest audience up to that point. Savage was also defending his Intercontinental championship.

 

11. Ric Flair Vs. Terry Funk (NWA I-Quit match - 11/15/89) - Defintily one of the hottest feud in the 80's was the insane Funk targeting Flair which included piledriving him through a table, smacking him around with a branding iron and even trying to suffocate him with a plastic bag. Now this is it. The final match. Both men's pride is on the line and both have vowed to retire and shake the other man's hand if they have to admit defeat. Match can only be stopped by verbally saying "I Quit" on a microphone in front of a national T.V. audence.

 

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10. Sgt. Slaughter Vs. The Iron Sheik (WWF Bootcamp - 6/16/84) - Exhausting, bloody and brutal. Both guy hate each other so much they put everything on the line in a dangerous No-DQ Bootcamp Streetfight where anything goes. Will the dreaded loaded boot come into play?

 

9. Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA - 2/20/89) - The first and fastest paced match of the 89 Steamboat/Flair trilogy. Steamboat came out of nowhere to challenge his old foe. Flair defends the belt in a great back and forth match.

 

8. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy Vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (All Japan RWTL finals - 12/16/88 ) - The 1988 RWTL finals. Tenryu and the youngster Kawada take on the two tough American dudes. Kawada wants to make a name for himself and goes all out but his inexperience oveshadows his enthusiasm and soon he's injured. Can Tenryu put on a big T on his shirt and pull of the superhero finish?

 

7. Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA - 5/7/89) - Part 3 of their trilogy with Steamboat defending the NWA World title again against Flair. In case of an hour draw or disputed finish there are three judges at ringside.

 

6. Chigusa Nagoya Vs. Lioness Asuka (AJW - 2/26/87) - Tag team partners collide for a chance at the WWWA World title. Awesome match that went the exhausting 30 minute distance but with all the fans screaming for a finish they restarted the match. There must be a winner!

 

5. Ric Flair Vs. Barry Windham (Florida - 2/14/86) - Flair travels to sunny Florida to defend the NWA World title at the Battle of the Belts II. If there was anyone who really was in Flair elitle league inside the ring, I'd have to say either Steamboat, Tsuruta or Windham. Windham tried his best here to get the title but feel just short in 45 minutes.

 

4. Ric Flair Vs. Sting (NWA - 3/27/88 ) - Often called the most overrated match of all time, I'm still a mark for it. Flair turns a face painted newbie wrestler into the future of WCW in 45 minutes. I'm a huge Sting fan but I still think Sting should've given 10% of his wrestling earnings to Flair after this career defining performance.

 

3. Dynamite Kid Vs. Tiger Mask (New Japan - 4/21/83) - The final match and thr culmination of the tremendous Tiger Mask/Dynamite feud. After all their many famous matches, Dynamite Kid has never beaten Tiger Mask. Dynamite knew this and put everythig he could into this match to get that elusive pin. The great thing about this series is if you see if from start to finish, you'll see various moves in one match being repeated, then counterd in the next, then Those ones countered into the next and so on. Both guys knew each other so well at this point that you needed somethig extra to get that first mistake whether it's some insane highrisk aerial move or Dynamite Kid breaking a bottle n the ringpost and demanding the match be restarted.

 

2. Jumbo Tsuruta Vs. Genichiro Tenryu (All Japan - 6/5/89) - Tsuruta had just unified 3 Champioships belts into the famous "Triple-Crown" of All-Japan. One of his first defenses was against long time ex-tag team partner and long time nemesis Tenryu. Outstanding match from start to finish especially the near-falls at the end harkening to the future 90's All-Japan main events. Tenryu was actually getting the better of Tsuruta in recent bouts but this time Jumbo wasn't going to lose his new legacy so easily.

 

1. Ric Flair Vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA 2/3 Falls - 4/2/89) - I still remember as a kid watching this on free TV with my jaw to the floor, wondering how a match could be so long but be so... awesome. No mistakes can be made here. Their first match was a quicker pace and Flair doesn't want to make a slip up here. Amazing match that went just a shade under an hour and went back and forth throughout. The 55 minutes flew by like 15. At this time in their careers these guys were about as even in the ring as you can be.

 

 

 

Wrestlers with most matches on the list

---------------------------------------------

Ric Flair - 23

Nobuhiko Takada - 11

Jumbo Tsuruta - 11

Tatsumi Fujinami - 10

Ricky Steamboat - 8

Antonio Inoki - 8