Bix

Off the top of my head, I'd add Clive Myers vs Young David (Smith) from 3/17/81 (Aired 3/21, and I don't think it's aired on TWC).

That was...frustrating to say the least. Who were they, I can't recall...was frankp316 one?

From the "Gatecrasher" column in today's NY Daily News:

Meanwhile, the latest from Tracy Smothers' girlfriend (posted at WC): What the heck!?!?!

20,000 buys with PPV clearances in only 4 markets is REALLY impressive. Anyone know what was exactly happened here? I believe the issue originally was that TBS wanted no NWA-branded wrestling on WPIX (as it was another Superstation back then), which now had to be a regular Crockett show since the UWF brand was dropped. WPIX ended up with Worldwide but I'm curious what they had to do to fix the issue with Turner. Did they go through with this on the Sat. night show? I'm not sure how much I've seen from then. I had no idea about the PPV, I wonder if there's a tape of that version floating around. That seems like a really good number for them at this point, especially with the weak heel side of the main event (name-wise, I know Lancaster was awesome). I would guess that nobody has tapes of these but they would be cool to hear.

Was it Jeff or Dave who gave it the 6* rating? I always found that weird since I think they were both at at least 2 of the 3 "big' matches and this was, while excellent, not quite as good (though maybe better than Nashville in hindsight). I don't know if I've ever seen this one...was there a St. Louis promotion at this point, was it Geigel running a Central States show in St. Louis, or what? Where did it air (or was Jeff there live)? Given the description, it's weird that it's not in his top 20. Was he there live? I don't anything ever aired and the full match didn't surface until a few years ago. Pat Patterson vs Sgt. Slaughter (4/21/81 @ MSG) This was the legendary alley fight brawl. One of the best in pro wrestling history. What aired from these were great...but was probably 20% of the match or less. Was he there live or just going by the TV footage (stupid Stu & Whalen...)? Wha...? Again, was he there live? What aired was incredible, but it was massively clipped up. This was going by the clipped TV version and not a trip to Japan, right?

Here's the list (lifted from George Mayfield's old site) with Jeff's comments from the 1989 WON yearbook. As the DVDVR '80s project picks up steam again, I figured it would be worth looking over again. I'll reply w/ my questions/comments/etc. in another post. ------------------ I tried to pick the top 20 in order, but before that I have 80 matches listed in no particular order. Where ever possible I ll list the date and site of the matches. Almost all of these matches are available on videotape. Any true wrestling fan owes it to them selves to at least try and witness them. Riki Choshu vs Killer Khan (7/31/86, Tokyo, Japan) This was a brutal Texas Death Match that ended a feud between the two that had gone on for several months. Khan bled buckets. This was when Choshu was at the top of his game. Nobuhiko Takada vs Shiro Koshinaka (2/5/87, Tokyo, Japan) This was the best match of the many matches between these two. The thing I remember best is that Koshinaka kept working on Takada s broken fingers. Bull Nakano & Candor Saito vs Dump Matsumoto & Yasuko Ishiguro (10/86) What a brawl. Chigusa Nagayo attacks Dump before the match even starts, to gain revenge for Dump attacking her earlier during a concert, which set up their hair vs hair match a month later. When the match starts, Bull & Candor, who are normally Dumps allies, attack her like sharks going after a wounded animal and Dump is in the rare position of being the babyface. Nunchakus, gasoline cans, chains, scissors, you name it. This match had a little bit of everything. Crush Girls vs Yumi Ogura & Kazue Nagahori (1/4/87, Tokyo, Japan) This was the 1st time Asuka & Nagoya had teamed in several months and showed they were still just about the best tag team in any promotion. The crowd reaction was just incredible. Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada vs Keiji Mutoh & Shiro Koshinaka (3/20/87, Tokyo, Japan) One reason this match was so great, besides the super work in the ring, was the finish. Koshinaka & Mutoh scored the big upset and won the IWGP World Tag Titles. Antonio Inoki vs Bruiser Brody (9/16/85, Tokyo, Japan) These two had several classic meetings, but this match went to a 60-minute draw. Brody was at his best here. Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada vs Kazuo Yamazaki & Yoshiaki Fujiwara (5/25/87 in Sendai and 9/1/87 in Fukuoka) These four guys just beat the hell out of each other in these two matches The 1st match was a successful title defense for Maeda & Takada. The 2nd match was the upset title change with Yamazaki pinning Takada out of nowhere after Takada had seemingly kicked his brains out. I liked the 2nd match a bit better, maybe because of the finish but both matches were classics. Satoru Sayama & Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda & Yoshiaki Fujiwara (7/23/84, Tokyo, Japan) This was a combination of UWF and New Japan styles and the UWF wrestlers were starting to go their own way, but still incorporated high flying and high spots in this match. Brutal, but excellent. Crush Girls vs Bull Nakano & Condor Saito (10/6/87) This match was the best one of the Crush Girls Chigusa Nagoya vs Dump Matsumoto (11/7/86, Osaka, Japan) This was a hair vs hair match. It was actually the 2nd hair vs hair match. Two years earlier Dump had come out the winner of that match and Chigusa had to suffer with short hair for several months. This was the better of the two because of the blood content. Chigusa bled buckets this time. Not for the weak of heart. The Cobra vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (8/2/84, Tokyo, Japan) This match had me constantly jumping out of my chair and looking for the rewind button. Kobayashi gave Cobra a back suplex off the top rope and the Cobra returned the favor by suplexing Kobayashi from the ring apron backwards into the audience. Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu (4/3/83, Tokyo, Japan) This is where Choshu won the International Title and was the best of many famous matches these two rivals had before big crowds in the two different time periods they feuded. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (12/11/87, Tokyo, Japan) I was watching this match from the front row. It was just brutal the way these guys were pounding on each other for 29 minutes. It was the 2nd best match I saw on my Japan trip. Chigusa Nagoya, Yumiko Hotta, Mika Suzuki, Yachiyo Hirata & Mika Takahashi vs Lioness Asuka, Mika Komatsu, Kazue Nagahori, Mitsuko Nishiwaki & Etsuko Mita (12/5/87, Tokyo, Japan) This match was truly unbelievable and unlike any match I ve ever seen or likely will ever see again. Dave Meltzer agreed that it was the greatest wrestling match he ever saw live. It was 50 minutes of non-stop action and high spots. I ve never seen a crowd go through so many emotional peaks and valleys in a match. The crowd noise was deafening from start to finish. Definitely the hardest working crowd as well. Nobuhiko Takada vs Hiroshi Hase (2/4/88, Osaka, Japan) I was at a tape get together at the end of 1988 to choose a match of the year. Most of the people there chose this match. Keiichi Yamada vs Hiroshi Hase (2/5/88, Tokyo, Japan) Do you realize Hase had 2 five star matches on successive days, in different cities, with different opponents? Jumbo Tsuruta vs Tiger Mask (3/9/88, Yokohama, Japan) This match contained the best five-minute period of wrestling of 1988. Unfortunately, the match itself went 15 minutes, but the last five minutes were so great it was enough to make this list. Owen Hart vs Keichi Yamada (6/10/88, Hiroshima, Japan) This was during Hart s brief tour as IWGP Jr. Champ. Hart was defending the title in Yamada s hometown, which added to the heat. Hart tried to wrestle a Flair like style of making his opponent look good, combined with his normal acrobatic style. Genchiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Jumbo Tsuruta (8/28/88, Tokyo, Japan) This was the Main Event of the Bruiser Brody Memorial Card. Just a brutal slugfest with the four guys just beating the hell out of each other. Owen Hart vs Shiro Koshinaka (6/24/88, Osaka, Japan) This match took place two weeks after the Hart-Yamada match and was every bit as good. The fans sound like they re going to bring down the house down at the end of the match. Hart was originally supposed to keep the title here except he told Masa Saito that he was going to the WWF and the plan had to be changed. Satoru Sayama vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (12/5/84, Tokyo, Japan) This was a UWF match. Dave Meltzer saw it live and said it may have been the most brutal and realistically violent match in wrestling history. The kicks Sayama threw at Fujiwara had to be seen live to be appreciated. It appeared more severe than blows in boxing or kickboxing. Foot Loose vs Shinichi Nakano & Shunji Takano (7/19/88 & 9/20/88) These two matches had the best four young workers in All Japan. They were roughly on the same level as the Midnight Express vs The Fantastics matches in the U.S. during the same year. Antonio Inoki vs Tatsumi Fujinami (8/8/88, Yokohama, Japan) This was the long awaited match-up between the teacher and the student. To the surprise of almost everyone, Inoki, who was not in the best shape at the time, went a great 60 minutes with Fujinami. This was the match that secured the Most Outstanding Wrestler award for Fujinami in my book in 1988. It was the best match of his career and carrying Inoki for 60 minutes to a classic match was his crowning achievement. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Don Nakaya Nielsen (7/31/88, Tokyo, Japan) This was my personal choice for Match of the Year in 1988. There was a genuine aura of real violence when watching this match. The funny thing is that Fujiwara s UWF buddies were watching the match in the dressing room and laughing. They found the whole idea of Fujiwara getting pounded on by Nielsen as funny. They thought Fujiwara could have taken him apart at will had it been a shoot. Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89, Tokyo, Japan) This match just narrowly missed being on the Top 20 list. This match had a classic aura about it. You knew going in that it was going to be one of those matches people would be talking about for years and it more than lived up to that billing. Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Yatsu (4/19/84, Tokyo, Japan) This was the match that introduced Takada as a budding superstar to the wrestling world. It contained more hot moves in the last eight minutes than during most 60-minute matches. Nobuhiko Takada & Shiro Koshinaka vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Keiji Mutoh (11/24/86, Sapporo, Japan) What made this match so great is that it was never suppose to happen. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka were suppose to team together in the New Japan Tournament, but Brody and N.J. had a falling out before the tour ever started. Takada & Koshinaka, neither of whom was originally scheduled to even be on this tour and were bitter rivals, were thrown together at the last minute and wound up being far and away the best team in the entire tournament. These two never teamed again after the tournament. Fujinami & Mutoh were the second best team in the tournament. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs Dory & Terry Funk (12/12/81, Tokyo, Japan) This was the match where Stan Hansen made his All Japan Pro debut. He gave Terry Funk a clothesline from outside the ring to ruin the finals of the annual Tag Team Tournament. One of the most famous matches in Japanese Wrestling annals, and I agree. Dynamite Kid vs The Cobra (7/5/84, Tokyo, Japan) A friend of mine who s a wrestler, and has had a chance to see every big match from all over said that this was one of the greatest matches of all time, so I m not about to argue. Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Akira Maeda, Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura (12/8/83, Tokyo, Japan) This was, arguably, the best six-man tag team match of the decade. All six guys were at their peak and this was the best match of the famous Ishingun vs Seikigun feud. Tiger Mask vs Pirata Morgan (12/8/84, Nagoya, Japan) Great match between two of the greatest flying wrestlers of this era. Dave Meltzer wrote in the 1984 yearbook that it was the fastest paced match he d ever seen live. Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88, Yokohama, Japan) It s hard to believe that when Riki Choshu jumped from All Japan back to New Japan, Baba didn t want Tenryu to feud with Tsuruta. Tenryu forced the issue if he couldn t turn heel. The rest is history. The Tenryu vs Tsuruta feud was the best thing All Japan has had for the last several years and the promotion doesn t seem like it was hurt by Choshu s jump. This match will probably be overlooked in the future because of their June match of this year, but it was still a great match. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody vs Dory & Terry Funk (12/13/82, Tokyo, Japan) These four had a lot of matches that could make any list of this type. They had many great ones, but in my opinion, this match, the finals of the 1982 tag team tournament, was the best of the lot. Chigusa Nagayo vs Lioness Asuka (5/85) These two have had many classic encounters, this just happened to be one of them. Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (7/13/89, Tokyo, Japan) This is the match which started the feud and got both men over big in Japan. Some may disagree, but I liked this match better than any of the other matches they ve had thus far. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu ( 12/2/86) Terry Funk, who was on tour at the same time said it was the best wrestling match he d ever seen. These four went to an incredible 30-minute draw. Crush Girls vs Jumping Bomb Angels (3/20/86, Tokyo, Japan) This match saw the Crush Girls regain the WWWA Tag Team Titles that they had held several times previously in a two out of three fall match. Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (9/20/89, Osaka, Japan) These two are probably destined to give us the match of the year in 1990. Best move of the match Liger doing a back flip off the top rope and splashing onto Sano, who was on the floor. Akira Maeda vs Don Nakaya Neilsen (10/9/86, Tokyo, Japan) This match will always be remembered as the greatest mixed match ever. Neilsen sure was the best non-wrestler ever to be in mixed matches. Maeda was supposed to get destroyed while Inoki triumphed over Leon Spinks in the Main Event on this card. Assuming that Leon Spinks had a brain was one of the biggest mistakes Inoki ever made. Dory & Terry Funk vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83, Tokyo, Japan) This was Terry Funk s original retirement match in Japan. The retirement didn t stick, but the memories did. Antonio Inoki vs Masa Saito (4/27/87, Tokyo, Japan) This was the best of their series of matches with super heat and it showed just how good Saito could be in carrying Inoki. But the best part of the match was afterwards as Fujinami helped carry Saito away from the ring and Riki Choshu slapped him, rekindling their famous feud. Satoru Sayama vs Dynamite Kid (9/2/82 @ Madison Square Garden) Many people consider this the greatest wrestling match ever held at the Garden. When these two small guys, neither of whom had ever appeared in the Garden before nor were they ever advertised to be there, got in the ring, everybody went to the popcorn stand. Those that stayed got the treat of their lives as within five minutes the entire building was on it s feet with more heat and intensity then the Garden has had for all but the greatest of grudge matches since that point. Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (3/18/89 @ The Capital Center) You could probably make a case for 100 matches between these two as the best of the past two decades. This match was given six stars by the Observer, blowing the top off the five star scale. Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich (1/25/85, St. Louis, Mo.) This may have been Kerry s best match ever. He showed all the ability that he was always billed as having. It s to bad this match didn t take place on the famous Texas Stadium card n 1984, because if it had, it would be remembered today as the greatest wrestling match of all time. Ric Flair vs Bruiser Brody (1/4/85, St. Louis, Mo.) Just a marvelous give and take match. The crowd was going nuts here. Which shows just how over Brody was at the time in St. Louis. Midnight Express vs Fantastics (4/26/88, Chattanooga, Tn.) These four had a lot of matches that could have made this list, but this was the best. It was the match that went more than 40 minutes with the Fantastics finally winning the U.S. Tag Team Titles. Freebirds vs The Von Erich s (7/4/83 & 7/4/84, Fort Worth, Tx.) There were many of these match-ups as well that could make the list, but these were probably the two best. In 1983 it was a 2 of 3 falls match, while the 1984 match, which was five-stars even though it included Mike, was the match which got the Bad Street match over as a gimmick for years in Texas. Fantastics vs Sheepherders (4/86, New Orleans, La.) This was the match that stole the show at the 1st Crockett Cup. Lots of blood and violence and it was the best example, with all the turns in the story and post-match brawl of Bill Watts style wrestling. I WAS AT THIS SHOW AND EVEN NOW, IT S ONE OF THE BEST LIVE MATCHES I VE EVER SEEN. Ted Dibiase vs Dick Murdoch (12/31/85, Oklahoma City, Ok.) Let s not be confused into thinking this was a wrestling match, because it wasn t. I don t think a single hold was used. This was one of Dibiase s 1st matches back after a Japan tour, though they did an angle before he left, where Murdoch Injured him. Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood vs Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle (3/12/83, Greensboro, N.C.) This was the match that spawned the idea of Starrcade, as the bout drew a sellout of 16,000 fans in Greensboro and turned away almost as many. These four went more than 45 minutes in a cage before Steamboat & Youngblood won the match and the NWA Tag Titles. Pat Patterson vs Sgt. Slaughter (4/21/81 @ MSG) This was the legendary alley fight brawl. One of the best in pro wrestling history. Midnight Rockers vs Buddy Rose & Doug Somers (8/31/86, Las Vegas, Nv.) My friend Jeff Steele said that this was the kind of match that made him a wrestling fan. Lots of blood and wild brawling. Got the Rockers over as one of the top teams in the business. Nick Bockwinkel vs Curt Hennig (11/21/86, Las Vegas, Nv.) This was the famous 60-minute draw that ESPN aired on New Years Eve. Doing a 60-minute draw on New Years Eve sounds like a recipe for suicide ratings, but once you started watching this match you were hooked till the end. Hennig really showed here just how good he was going to get. Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger & J.J. Dillon vs Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff & Paul Ellering (7/4/87, Atlanta, Ga.) The first ever WAR GAMES from the Omni. The most famous of all the War Games and probably the most brutal. Considering the babyface side, it s a wonder this was even a good match. Midnight Express vs Fantastics (3/27/88, Greensboro, N.C.) This was the wild brawl from the first Clash Of The Champions. Who can forget Tommy Rogers being bulldogged on the table or running full speed into a table, set up at ringside by Jim Cornette? Ric Flair vs Sting (3/27/88, Greensboro, N.C.) The match everyone will remember as the match, which made Sting a superstar. The 45-minute draw that was voted match of the year and made the first Clash the card of the year. Flair was incredible here. Probably in a good mood after spending most of the last two years in feuds with the likes of Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff. Jim Duggan vs Buzz Sawyer (11/11/85, New Orleans, La.) This was the match where the two guys brawled for about 20 minutes in the ring, then ended up going into the back of the building with their brawl and swearing up and down at each other. This match gave their feud a semblance of realism that I enjoyed. Ric Flair vs Butch Reed (10/27/85, Oklahoma City, Ok.) Best match I ever saw Reed in but with the opponent, it s no wonder. Flair thrived on having great matches with wrestlers like Reed in those days. Ric Flair vs Terry Taylor (6/1/85, New Orleans, La.) The biggest match of Taylor s career was in a Superdome Main Event. The match went 44 minutes and Taylor gave one of the best performances of his life. Terry Gordy vs Killer Khan (11/22/84, Dallas, Tx.) This was the famous Texas Death bloodbath with Kerry Von Erich as referee. While the highlight was the very first Von Erich/Freebird handshake at the end of the match, it was a great because it was one of the bloodiest matches on a big show in a promotion that rarely featured blood at the time. Eddie Gilbert & Tommy Rich vs Koko Ware & Norvell Austin (5/14/84, Memphis, Tn.) Gilbert & Rich were billed as the Fabulous Ones in those days, Ware & Austin as the Pretty Young Things . This was a tremendous brawl, going up into the stands and onto the stage in the back of the Mid South Coliseum. Ric Flair vs Lex Luger (12/26/88, Norfolk, Va.) This match for the first time showed Luger as more then just a muscular stiff. Kind of a forgotten match with all the classic matches Flair was involved in over the next few months. Owen Hart & Ben Bassarab vs The Viet Cong Express (9/6/86, Calgary, Al.) These four, all basic unknowns at the time, had a series of classic matches for several months that alerted the wrestling world to the fact that they were four of the most talented young wrestlers around. This match, a 50-minute scientific draw was the best match of the series. Ironically, three years later, when all four should be superstars, none have had the success one would have thought. Hase, a rookie at the time, got a big push initially in Japan but has been phased down. Hart had a disappointing year, but should be a major star in Japan in 1990. Bassarab is out of wrestling, while Nikura suffered a heart attack two months later and has wrestled sparingly since that time. Terry Taylor & Eddie Gilbert vs Sting & Shane Douglas (6/1/87, New Orleans, La.) This was The Battle Of New Orleans , and even though Douglas was in the original match, he had nothing to do with it making this list. Chris Adams ran in after Douglas was injured and the four brawled in the back of the arena with beer and concessions flying everywhere. Ted Dibiase vs Randy Savage (7/22/88 @ MSG) These two had several matches that could have made this list, but this was the cage match and Dibiase proved to be a human pinball here. A wild match in the usually sedate Garden, made all the more memorable by a fan climbing up the cage and trying to keep Virgil from interfering. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson vs The Rockers (2/16/89, Hershey, Pa.) These four also had a series of excellent matches from coast to-coast. This match was the most viewed of them all. The February Saturday Night Man Event match which went to a double count out. Even Vince McMahon had to realize here that he had a team in Blanchard & Anderson that were simply to good not to give the tag team titles to. Ric Flair vs Terry Funk (7/23/89, Baltimore, Md.) This was Flairs big comeback after the career threatening injury from Nashville. The wildest brawl in a long time in the NWA, with a great post-match brawl. This match paid off what it promised, and it promised a lot, which is a rare commodity in today s wrestling scene. I WAS AT THIS SHOW, THE POST MATCH BRAWL, LASTED DAM NEAR AS LONG AS THE MATCH Sgt. Slaughter vs Iron Sheik (6/16/84 @ MSG) The famous boot camp match which climaxed the feud Sgt. Slaughter has been living off of for five years plus. Tremendous timing from both men and it was one of the last great matches either man was ever involved in, and the end of an era when it came to WWF wrestling. Magnum T.A. vs Tully Blanchard (11/26/85, Greensboro, N.C.) Up until the N.Y. Knockout match, this was the most famous I Quit match in the history of the business. Many people say this is the best match ever held on a Starrcade card. Ricky Steamboat vs Tully Blanchard (11/27/84, Greensboro, N.C.) This was from the second Starrcade, and was really the only super match on the entire show. Steamboat showed everyone that he was one of the best wrestlers in the world, something which must have gone unnoticed by Dusty Rhodes, since he was never pushed hard after this match. Ricky Steamboat vs Lex Luger (7/22/89, Philadelphia, Pa.) Even though these two had a great match the next night on the PPV in Baltimore, this match was even better. Luger looked excellent staying with Steamboat, and Steamboat looked like the best wrestler in the business in leading things. Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage (3/29/87, Pontiac, Mi.) Probably the greatest match in the modern history of the WWF, before more then 93,000 fans at Wrestlemania III Hogan and Andre was the match that sold the show, this was the match that stole the show. Wayne Ferris & Kevin Sullivan vs Bill Dundee & The Dream Machine (4/81, Louisville, Ky.) I know that with a guy like Honkeytonk Man, you must be thinking that there is no way this match could have been any good. How wrong you are. This was one of those wild, in the stands type of brawls that the Memphis area is famous for. A little bit of everything took place here. Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee (6/83, Memphis, Tn.) There is no way you could make a list of the 100 great matches of the decade and not include at least one of these matches. Like Freebirds vs Von Erichs, Hansen & Brody vs The Funks and Flair vs Steamboat, these are the kind of matches that will live in history. This was the 1st loser leave town match, which Lawler won. One thing I really enjoyed about this match was the fact that all the other wrestlers in the circuit were sitting ringside and cheering both men on, giving the match an even greater sense of importance. In fact the regular T.V. show was canceled that week and they devoted the entire 90 minutes to a lengthy interview with both men and with the other wrestlers talking about probably the most famous match of the decade in Memphis. Negro Casas vs El Hijo Del Santo (7/18/87, Los Angeles, Ca.) This was a Hair vs Hair match that without any local television, drew more than 7,000 fans to the Olympic Auditorium, more than either Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan, both of whom were appearing in Los Angeles regularly at the time, had been able to draw. Many people who were there live swear this was the greatest match that they ever saw. Midnight Express vs Rock n Roll Express (4/86, Charlotte, N.C.) You have to put at least one match involving these teams in any list of this type as well. The best one I saw, which never aired on U.S. television but was televised in Japan was with Cornette in a cage above the ring. ****After reading that list of 80 matches, you re probably wondering what can top these bouts. Well we re going to try and put these top 20 matches of the decade in order, from #20 to #1, and here goes: # 20 - Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami & The Cobra vs The British Bulldogs & David Shultz (7/1/84, Tokyo Japan) At this point in time, not only were Kid & Smith the best tag team in the world, but arguably, the best tag team ever up to that point in time. The highspots with them and Cobra & Fujinami truly are the highlight film of professional wrestling. Shultz and Inoki were almost never involved, except as spectators. Incredible pacing, and it was topped off be a great post-match brawl. #19 Eddie Gilbert & Ricky Morton vs Masa Fuchi & Atsushi Onita (1981, Tupelo, Ms.) This is remembered as the second great Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl. The 1st with Lawler & Dundee vs Latham & Ferris took place in 1978. But this was a lot wilder. All four brawled in the concession stand for what seemed like 20 minutes, throwing everything, including the kitchen sink at each other. The highlights include Gilbert hitting Fuchi with a jar of mustard. The jar shattered in Fuchi s ear and blood and mustard mixed flew everywhere. The other was when the promoter jumped in to break up things and Tojo Yamamoto (who managed Fuchi & Onita) started chopping away at him. His wife, who didn t know it was all an act, jumped in and went into hysterics and tried to slug Tojo. Tojo tried to chop back but the wife wasn t selling anything, except she went nuts since she didn t know what was going on. #18 Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (12/16/88, Tokyo, Japan) This was the final match of the 1988 tag team tournament. The match established Kawada as a legitimate main eventer, but featured an incredible individual performance by Tenryu, who worked the last 10 minutes of the match by himself after Kawada had his knee injured . #17 Ted Dibiase vs Jim Duggan (3/22/85, Houston, Tx.) The greatest stipulation match ever. The two fought in tuxedos, with a Coal Miners Glove on a pole, in a cage and the loser was to leave town. Dibiase put on the match of a lifetime here and Duggan at the time was one of the best brawlers in the game. This is what a great brawl is all about. #16 Tiger Mask (Misawa) vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (6/21/85, Tokyo, Japan) This was the match that showed everyone that Misawa could live up to the reputation of the costume. The best move of the match was with Kobayashi on the floor, Mask does a dive over the top rope, flips in mid-air, and catches Kobayashi on the way over with a savage kick. It should be pointed out that about a minute or two before Misawa did this move, he had blown out his knee so bad it required surgery after the match. #15 Ric Flair vs Barry Windham (1/20/87, Fayetteville, N.C.) This match aired for the entirety of a World Wide Wrestling show about a week later, lasting 42 minutes and going to a draw. Great match, and a great job of calling the match by Dusty Rhodes at ringside, who was sweating so bad and getting so excited just watching the thing that at one point he screamed out to Tony Schiavone Hey Tony, Get me a cerveza #14 Ric Flair vs Terry Funk (11/15/89, Troy, N.Y.) The best thing about this match is that it was hyped so big beforehand that it would almost be impossible for the guys to live up to the promised brutality, especially with a ban on blood going in. Arguably the best single performance of Funk s legendary career. The highlight was Flair tossing Funk across a table; Funk slid across and hit his head on a chair as he slid off the table. One of the few great performances of Flair s career when nobody was talking about Flair s performance after the match was over. #13 - Bill Dundee & Buddy Landel vs Jerry Lawler & Dutch Mantell (3/24/86, Memphis, Tn.) Arguably, this was the best Memphis brawl of the decade. This match was a few weeks after Lawler returned after losing a loser leaves town match and this four way feud was so hot that it sold out the Mid South Coliseum in Memphis, three weeks in a row. Incidentally, that was the last 3 times wrestling has sold out the Coliseum from any promotion. This was a Texas Death Match and lasted more than one hour and had 27 falls. There were some incredible spots throughout and a really unique finish. #12 Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (4/2/89, New Orleans, La.) Another classic match, before a national audience. These two went for 55 minutes in a two of three-fall match showing not only that they were the two best wrestlers in the business, but also arguably the two best conditioned in the business. This was a terrific match, but it didn t have the magical quality to me that the other two matches had. Still, one of the best. #11 Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask (Sayama) (8/5/82, Tokyo, Japan) Two of the greatest wrestlers of all time met when both were at their peaks here in a 25 minute match of one incredible move after another. #10 Choshu, Fujinami, Maeda, Kimura & Super Strong Machine vs Inoki, Sakaguchi, Mutoh, Hoshino & Fujiwara (8/19/87, Tokyo, Japan) The 1987 New Japan released Summer Night Fever is the best commercial wrestling video ever produced and this match is the main reason. It was a 10-man elimination match, which went nearly 30 minutes of nothing but hot moves and brutal action. Every wrestler was at the top of their game here. #9 Tatsumi Fujinami vs Akira Maeda (6/12/86, Osaka, Japan) One of the most brutal professional-style matches ever. Maeda just kicks Fujinami to death and looks incredible. But Fujinami s selling is so realistic that when he makes the comeback, even the most jaded non-believer would be jumping up and down with excitement. As good as this match was, it probably would have been better had not something unforeseen happened, which ironically is what the match is most famous for. They were suppose to do a 30-minute draw, and were building for the last 10 minutes to be incredible, but at the 21 minute mark, Maeda hit Fujinami with a spinning flying backward kick. The heel of Maeda s boot accidentally caught Fujinami s face, which literally exploded into a crimson mask, the ultimate in doing things the hard way. Fujinami suffered a legit concussion from the kick and was out of action for some time afterward. The two quickly went to a double knockout finish to the credit of the quick thinking wrestlers and referee. This was a landslide winner for Japan s match of the year, that year. #8 - Chigusa Nagoya vs Lioness Asuka (2/26/87, Kawasaki, Japan) This was, without a doubt, the best of many memorable matches these two had with one another. The match went 35 minutes of nothing but incredible moves and near falls. It simply has to be seen to be believed, and established Chigusa as the best women wrestler of the era. #7 Ric Flair vs Barry Windham (2/14/86, Orlando, Fl.) This was from the 2nd Battle Of The Belts. This was Windham s 1st big match since returning from Titan and he showed that he was one of the five best wrestlers in the world when allowed to be. The match went more then 45 minutes to a double count out and the crowd was totally intense from start to finish. The match was originally suppose to be a 60 minute draw, but two of the under card wrestlers went way long on this live TV special and they had to change the finish as the show went on. #6 Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (1/28/86, Tokyo, Japan) Tsuruta & Tenryu who were usually the babyfaces when these teams matched-up, were definitely heels here since they continued to work on Choshu s broken ribs from a post match run in by Tsuruta a few days earlier on T.V. The match started hot, with Choshu, with taped ribs, grabbing the house mike and yelling to Tsuruta & Tenryu, if you can t beat me tonight, then you know you ll never be able to beat me. Twenty-five minutes of hot action followed, with Yatsu looking the best he would look in his entire career on this night. #5 - Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich (12/25/82, Dallas, Tx.) This was the match that started the entire Von Erich Freebird feud, and was probably the most important match in any circuit during the early part of the decade. Great performance by Flair, in carrying Von Erich, who was still pretty green at the time. Just as memorable, if not more, was the performance by Michael Hayes as special referee, starting as a babyface, and 30 minutes later being the hottest heel in the business. The most memorable portion was Terry Gordy slamming the cage door on Von Erich, which sounded so solid that none of the 15,000 fans in attendance doubted for a second that Von Erich had suffered a concussion. What was great about this match was even though the story they wanted to get across was the Freebird heel turn; they gave you 25 minutes of a classic match before the turn. #4 - Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (2/20/89, Chicago, Il.) One of those nights where magic was in the air. From the pre-match interviews, to the best ring entrances of all time to 23 classic minutes of action. Everything about this match was five stars, made even better for the viewers at home by Jim Ross doing the greatest play-by-play job ever for a single match. #3 - Lioness Asuka vs Jaguar Yokota (8/22/85, Tokyo, Japan) Yokota is the greatest female wrestler of all time and she took one of the most memorable bumps of the decade. Yokota had Asuka all set up for a suplex, when Asuka reverses the move, holds Yokota up vertical, and drops her face first into the ring. Amazing. Little disputing this match as the greatest women s wrestling match of all time. #2 Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask (Sayama) (4/23/83, Tokyo, Japan) Besides all the expected great moves, this match had Dynamite Kid breaking a water bottle on the ring post and bringing it into the ring. The spectacular finish of the best of three falls match (which ended in two straight falls of double count outs) saw Tiger give Kid a tombstone pile driver on the floor, Tiger turns to the crowd to signify victory turns around and Kid gives him a tombstone pile driver on the floor before both men simply collapse on the floor and don t get up. #1 - Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat May 7th 1989, Nashville, Tn. What can you say about the BEST wrestling match you ve ever seen? Great ring entrances. A fantastic opening chop sequence. They took the crowd down at times. Brought them as far up as you can go. There was a great post match angle with Terry Funk. About the only thing bad I can say about the match is that it didn t last long enough, and it went more then 30 minutes. I just didn t want the match to end because you knew you were living through wrestling history in the making and you wanted to savor every minute of it. Someone remarked to me that in Chicago, it seemed like Flair was the better wrestler of the two because even with the great story line it seemed Steamboat still hadn t fully hit his stride after the long layoff. In New Orleans, Steamboat had hit his stride and both wrestlers were just about even. In this match it appeared Steamboat had actually surpassed Flair. I don t know and I really don t care, because this match was the thrill of a wrestling lifetime and I want to thank both wrestlers for the privilege of watching it.

--The Albany (GA) Herald at www.albanyherald.com/stories/20080105n2.htm has a story on Georgia's talk of closing the loophole that keeps WWE from being regulated in the state. There were some of the most embarrassing quotes ever in this story. For background, Georgia state law allows a company that has assets worth more than $25 million to avoid being regulated when it comes to Georgia. Jerry McDevitt said if the regulations Georgia has proposed are applied to WWE, they will leave the state. They quote John Mazzola of the Albany Civic Center saying the move (which has to be passed in the state legislature and no bill has even been drafted yet) is in response to Chris Benoit. He claimed WWE is not a sports event, it's entertainment (a hell of an argument when the name of the board is the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission, not to mention that I think most people are sort of aware of what WWE is). "Don't punish a company that provides sports entertainment." Nope, just "punish" all the small companies that have a harder time making ends meet and give the big guy with no financial worries a complete exemption from the rules everyone else has to follow. The funniest stuff was State Rep Ed Rynders of Albany saying how this is unfair to single out the WWE, and there should be conformity. Actually, the bill, should it even be proposed, is about conformity. Mazzola warned WWE wasn't bluffing, noting he worked at an arena in South Carolina and because there is commission regulation, WWE refuses to come to the state. That would be news to everyone in South Carolina.

I was referring more to the 2nd sentence of your post. Forgetting the murder/suicide, Benoit's Brain was still profoundly damaged.

Someone at the F4W boards dug this up from a McGuinness interview last year. Yet this week, in the letter to WO.com, he said:

Didn't '97 have the "I've had more world titles than you've had pieces of ass!" promo?

Also, with rolling bumps, there's theoretically a much smaller chance of whiplash and thus concussions.

Wasn't Pentagon an OD and not a head injury?

Dave Meltzer posted this at WC:

G+ aired a Kobashi special to break in the New Year, and it included a nearly-complete (19:00 of 22:11) version of Danny Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi. There's a low quality WMV of the show uploaded to Sendspace and I presume that the usual suspects will have it on DVD within the next week or two. W00t!

From the new F4W:

He's not working, I quit watching ROH because the repeated spots during a live show got unwatchable.

In his book, Bret talks about how pissed off he was at the ref, Freddie Sparta. Sparta had no idea that the protocol was to stop the match so they could fix the rope, all of which would be edited out seamlessly in post-production. Bret, who was calling the match, was unable to get Sparta's attention to let him know.

Vince can take steps, but most indy promoters operate so close to the margins that it would be financial suicide. Not that things should be that way, it's just the reality. I'm not talking about most indy promoters.

There's also the issue of the booker/promoter letting them wrestle.

Well, I can't speak for Bix, but I assume he was saying either fuck the wrestlers for being dumb enough to risk brain damage or fuck the promotion for letting them do it (probably both). Yeah.

http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/h...t.asp?aID=21704 Romero (squashing someone) and Danielson were back tonight. R-O-H! R-O-H! Fuck those guys. P.S. How many concussions must Danielson have had by now? 25? 30? 40?

Where did the women thing come from? Not that I don't buy it, but I've never heard of it. Meltzer in the Observer.

Distraction from steroids, mainly.