Alan4L

Interested to see what the debated points will be for our list! Criteria was bell to bell performance and that can be anything from athletic ability to charisma to selling to quantity of great matches. The issue is still available at bookstores in Europe and online at http://www.fightingspiritmagazine.co.uk/magazine/subscribe - so if you want to read write-ups on all 100 wrestlers (plus an awesome Big Van Vader article by Dave Ditch, then check that out!) 1. Daniel Bryan 2. Hiroshi Tanahashi 3. John Cena 4. Sami Zayn 5. CM Punk 6. Shawn Michaels 7. Rey Mysterio 8. Chris Jericho 9. KENTA 10. Prince Devitt 11. Shingo Takagi 12. The Undertaker 13. AJ Styles 14. Austin Aries 15. Nigel McGuinness 16. Daisuke Sekimoto 17. Kota Ibushi 18. CIMA 19. The Young Buck$ 20. Yuji Nagata 21. Sin Cara 22. Seth Rollins 23. Antonio Cesaro 24. The Briscoes 25. L.A Park 26. Akira Tozawa 27. Triple-H 28. Chris Hero 29. Kurt Angle 30. Edge 31. Masaaki Mochizuki 32. Jeff Hardy 33. Davey Richards 34. Adrian Neville 35. Randy Orton 36. Kevin Steen 37. Shinsuke Nakamura 38. Kazuchika Okada 39. Naomichi Marufuji 40. Masato Yoshino 41. Minoru Tanaka 42. Negro Casas 43. Minoru Suzuki 44. Hirooki Goto 45. YAMATO 46. Bobby Roode 47. Dick Togo 48. Alex Shelley 49. Eddie Edwards 50. Katsuhiko Nakajima 51. Volador Jr. 52. Ricochet 53. Zack Sabre Jr. 54. Averno 55. Takeshi Morishima 56. Naruki Doi 57. Tetsuya Naito 58. Kenny Omega 59. Dr. Wagner Jr. 60. Roderick Strong 61. Takashi Sugiura 62. La Sombra 63. Masato Tanaka 64. Christopher Daniels 65. Samoa Joe 66. El Torito 67. Dolph Ziggler 68. Go Shiozaki 69. Jun Akiyama 70. Sheamus 71. Shuji Kondo 72. Jimmy Susumu 73. Jimmy Jacobs 74. Chris Sabin 75. Evan Bourne 76. Fit Finlay 77. Christian 78. Adam Cole 79. Michael Elgin 80. Mascara Dorada 81. Johnny Gargano 82. Kyle O’Reilly 83. Kotaro Suzuki 84. Taiji Ishimori 85. Ayako Hamada 86. Dragon Kid 87. Tensai 88. Low Ki 89. Sara Del Rey 90. Dean Ambrose 91. Batista 92. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato 93. Kaz Hayashi 94. Koji Kanemoto 95. James Storm 96. Colt Cabana 97. El Ligero 98. Yuji Okabayashi 99. Tomohiro Ishii 100. Togi Makabe

Sekimoto/Sasaki/Hi69 vs. Tanaka/Kanemura/Kuroda 4/28/2006 And here we have the biggest pleasant surprise of the project so far. THIS WAS INCREDIBLE!!! One of my favourite matches I've watched so far and one of the biggest reasons was fucking W*NG KANEMURA! He looks terrible, he's sleazy as all hell and he doesn't appear to give too many fucks about anything but man alive can he ever put on a great performance in a wrestling ring. Daisuke's team are all young here. Yoshihito hadn't even found steroids yet! They are big time underdogs but they fight hard and get the crowd behind them. Hi69 gets isolated by the vets and they absolutely rape and pillage his existence until he finally gets the hot tag to Daisuke who runs WIIIILD like a maniac. Daisuke and Tanaka have what I'd assume was one of their first big interactions and the chemistry is there right away. Fantastic final stretch. Where I'll have it - Maaaaybe top 15. Kaz Hayashi vs. Shuji Kondo 2006 I remembered this as being great, and one of the better matches of 2006. But I wasn't sure how it would hold up 7 years later. The answer is that it holds up great. Better than I remembered if anything. It's definitely a match built around big spots but it's paced really well and is never boring. Feels like a real big match. Definitely a case to be made that it's the best singles match of both guy's careers. Where I'll have it - top 25

KENTA & Ishimori vs. Takagi & Hulk - Dragon Gate 2008 Man I think I forgot just how much I loved peak KENTA and Shingo. They were incredible here and really highlighted how both guys are missing some spark in 2013. This thing is all action. Takagi and KENTA set the tone by immediately tearing into each other at the start, and it really never lets up. I love the finish just for how definitive it is. Really high quality stuff. Where I'll have it. Should sneak into the top 40.

my friend Yujin. He's a Japanese college professor living in England. He works as a go between for a couple of Japanese companies with people in Europe, and minds the Japanese guys when they're over here. Great great guy!

totally agree, British wrestling NEEDS to keep it's stylistic identity. I think that all starts with the training.

I was about as big a Machine Guns fan as there was back when they came onto the scene. I thought there best stuff was in PWG and New Japan, with my faves being the series with Apollo 55, and their matches with the Bucks, Generico/Quicksilver and what I still think may be their best match - against Jimmy & Tyler from that All Star Weekend that took place in late 2006.

I get exactly what you mean. I've come to notice that myself, but wouldn't have been able to explain it like you did there. I was really happy with how it turned out, particularly because it was an on the spot thing (I didn't know he'd be there) and had absolutely zero questions planned. I asked the first one and then began thinking of more as the interview progressed. Togo and his wife were super cool. Really good people.

As a kid I loved the Marty/Razor/Kid/Savage vs. IRS/Diesel/Adam Bomb/Martel match just because all my babyface faves were on one team. But quality wise, I don't think anything tops 2003 Austin vs. Eric.

My sit down interview with DICK F'N TOGO! Quite enjoyed doing this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MmkdQ09_dY

Meant to pop in and say that Saturday's Rev Pro was one of the most fun wrestling shows I've ever been to. It was an absolute blast from start to finish. The crowd definitely made it, but all the wrestler's put in performances worthy of the atmosphere. It was a special night. Going to try and do a radio show with Andy and maybe one of the wrestlers over the next week, so I'll talk more about it then. Here's a good review from Voices Of Wrestling: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/10/2...13-reviewrecap/

I'll be there. It's going to be an epic show. Attendance will be close to 1,000 apparently.

you won't regret it. I'm having a blast watching this stuff and thinking about where matches will stand.

While it isn't an Attitude Era cage match, I couldn't agree more! And then as Jeff poses and says goodbye to the crowd, Punk nails him with the belt. It set up a cool mini-feud between Matt Hardy and Punk prior to the PPV match with Undertaker (which was neutering to say the least). whoops, I didn't notice the 2002 cap.

I thought Punk vs. Jeff in 2009 was pretty incredible. It was Jeff's last night in the company, and it ended so perfectly with an eye gouge while they were on top of the cage (the whole feud started over a fake eyesight injury). Just a really intense, gritty match.

2000 - Aja Kong vs. Kaoru Well this was different..... If I find a match on the ballot as unique as this I'll be surprised. The violence was plentiful, but it all told such a great story that it wasn't mindless violence for the sake of it. There is one spot in here which I won't spoil with the full details but it involves Kaoru getting thrown to the floor and when you see it you will lose you're freaking mind. The story is great. Kaoru is completely and utterly outmatched so she goes with the only gameplan that gives her even the slightest chance - taking out Kong's arm and eliminating the Uraken Backfist. Her armwork though.... it's less than traditional. Overall I loved this. Parts of it are disjointed, and it could have done with a little bit more crowd heat but the effort and story are there in bucketloads. Where I'll have it: Best case between 30 and 40. 2000 NJPW - TenCozy vs. Nagata/Iizuka Not even close to the best tag match in this post but man it's still soooo much better than modern NJPW tag matches. Guys like Naito, Okada and Tanahashi need to watch this to see how to structure a tag match that doesn't just come off as run of the mill. The break-ups were all timed perfectly, the double teaming was all great, just a really good energetic tag. Where I'll have it - touch and go for a spot on the ballot. If it gets on it'll be in the 90-100 range. 2000 NJPW - NJ Juniors vs. Osaka Pro The more I watch young Makabe, the more I feel he got a raw deal on his rep at the time. He was a perfectly acceptable chunky junior with a sweet German Suplex. That's not why you're watching this though. You're watching this for TANAKA VS. MURAHAMA - SHOOTBOXERS COLLISION! These two have amazing chemistry together and I'd venture to say that their kickboxing exchanges are better than any I've ever seen in wrestling. Crazy amounts of heat and hate, fast paced action and a great finish. Only thing holding me back on this match is that there was no real build in it. Not a major complaint though considering the style of match it was. Where I'll have it - Should make the ballot, but like the match above, it's 90-100 at best. 2000 NJPW - Iizuka/Nagata vs. Kawada/Fuchi One of the best tag matches ever? I'd put this up against any 90s Kawada tag from All Japan. The AJPW matches sometimes lose me for a minute here and there but on this one, I didn't look away for a split second. Fuchi and Kawada may be the two best wrestlers ever for making every little tiny thing seem important (Finlay would be in that conversation too) and this match was a great advertisement for that. This was in the same building as the August 4th G1 show and if you thought those matches had heat, well this may have trumped them all. It was just a constant wall of noise with the reactions being insane to every twist and turn. I love how every guy is completely fucked after about 20 minutes and they're all just hobbling around broken in one way or another. This is how you do a tag match, this is how you do an interpromotional match and this is how you get five snowflakes. Where I'll have it - Top 10 for sure. I get a feeling it won't be top 5 as I can think of at least 3 or 4 matches I'd definitely have ahead of it. But yeah this is very very elite.

Really hope people enjoy the Michinoku Pro piece. Very proud of it!

Listmania commence! I have a tracking thread like this on the other boards I post at so I may as well leave it here too. If anyone has any specific match they'd like more detailed thoughts on rather than a series of snowflakes just holla. Updated for 9/29 (New additions in bold) Including Dec 2012, Observer style. WWE: Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena (8/18) ****3/4 Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk (8/18) ****3/4 Money In The Bank Rising Stars (7/14) ****3/4 The Shield vs. Cena/Ryback/Seamus (2/18 ) ****3/4 The Shield vs. Team Hell No (5/27) ****1/2 The Shield vs. Bryan/Kane/Kingston (5/20) ****1/2 The Shield vs. Bryan/Kane/Ryback (TLC) (12/16) ****1/2 John Cena vs. CM Punk (2/25) ****1/2 The Undertaker vs. CM Punk (4/7) ****1/2 Daniel Bryan vs. Antonio Cesaro (7/22) ****1/2 The Shield vs. The Usos (7/14) ****1/4 Money In The Bank All Stars (7/14) ****1/4 CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho (6/16) ****1/4 Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins (6/10) ****1/4 Bryan/Kane/Orton vs. The Shield (6/14) ****1/4 Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler (2/13) ****1/4 Elimination Chamber (2/18 ) ****1/4 Seamus vs. Dolph Ziggler (1/9) ****1/4 The Shield vs. Orton/Bryan/Kane (6/3) ****1/4 The Shield vs. Orton/Seamus/Kingston (5/24) ****1/4 The Shield vs. Cena/Bryan/Kane (4/30) ****1/4 Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston (4/30) ****1/4 Kofi Kingston vs. Antonio Cesaro (5/1) ****1/4 Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian (8/18) ****1/4 Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro (2/3 Falls) (8/21) ****1/4 Goldust vs. Randy Orton (9/9) **** Dean Ambrose vs. Daniel Bryan (9/9) **** Sami Zayn vs. Jack Swagger (9/4) **** The Shield vs. Bryan/PTP/Usos/RVD/Ziggler/Ryder/Gabriel (9/23) **** Randy Orton vs. Christian vs. Rob Van Dam (8/2) **** Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam (8/9) **** Daniel Bryan vs. Ryback (6/3) **** The Shield vs. Cena/Bryan/Kane (Elimination) (5/13) **** Daniel Bryan vs. Ryback (5/3) **** Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes (4/30) **** The Shield vs. The Undertaker/Hell No (4/22) **** Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler (2/1) **** The Shield vs. Jericho/Ryback/Seamus (2/19) **** Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho (7/15) **** Daniel Bryan vs. Seamus (7/8) **** Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio (6/16) **** The Shield vs. Orton/Bryan (6/16) **** Puro: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (4/7) (NJPW) ***** Kota Ibushi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/4) (NJPW) ***** Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii (8/2) (NJPW) ***** Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii (8/4) (NJPW) ***** Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/11) (NJPW) ****3/4 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (8/10) (NJPW) ****3/4 Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino (5/5) (DG) ****3/4 The Jimmys vs. World-1 International (12/23) (DG) ****3/4 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (1/4) (NJPW) ****3/4 Junior Stars vs. Aoki/Suzuki (3/17) (AJPW) ****3/4 Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Ryuichi Kawakami (6/30) ****3/4 Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (6/22) (NJPW) ****3/4 Tozawa/Hulk vs. Ricochet/Doi (7/21) (DG) ****3/4 CIMA vs. Shingo Tagaki (7/21) (DG) ****1/2 Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe (6/22) (NJPW) ****1/2 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (4/7) (NJPW) ****1/2 Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii (3/17) (NJPW) ****1/2 Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada (3/23) (NJPW) ****1/2 GET WILD vs. Akiyama/Shiozaki (3/17) (AJPW) ****1/2 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Karl Anderson (2/10) (NJPW) ****1/2 Junior Stars vs. Hayashi & Kondo (1/3) (AJPW) ****1/2 Masato Tanaka vs. Tomohiro Ishii (2/3) (NJPW) ****1/2 Prince Devitt vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/2 El Generico vs. Kenny Omega (12/23) (DDT) ****1/2 The Jimmys vs. World-1 International/CIMA (12/6) (DG) ****1/2 CIMA vs. Shingo Takagi vs. BxB Hulk (12/23) (DG) ****1/2 Akira Tozawa vs. YAMATO (12/23) (DG) ****1/2 Aoki/Suzuki vs. Junior Stars (5/18) (AJPW) ****1/2 Kenny Omega vs. KUSHIDA (6/6) (NJPW) ****1/2 Masaaki Mochizuki vs. YAMATO (5/10) (DG) ****1/2 KENTA vs. Takashi Sugiura (5/12) (NOAH) ****1/2 Jun Akiyama vs. KAI (4/29) (AJPW) ****1/2 Go Shiozaki vs. KAI (4/29) (AJPW) ****1/2 Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki (5/3) (NJPW) ****1/2 BxB Nation vs. Takagi/YAMATO (5/5) (DG) ****1/2 BxB Nation vs. RyoSuka (4/19) (DG) ****1/2 Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada (8/4) (NJPW) ****1/2 Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi (8/2) (NJPW) ****1/2 YAMATO vs. Ryo “Jimmy” Saito (9/12) (DG) ****1/2 Kazuchika Okada vs. Satoshi Kojima (9/29) (NJPW) ****1/2 Kota Ibushi vs. Minoru Suzuki (8/10) (NJPW) ****1/2 Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi (8/18) (DDT) ****1/4 Satoshi Kojima vs. Kazuchika Okada (8/11) (NJPW) ****1/4 Tetsuya Naito vs. Karl Anderson (8/11) (NJPW) ****1/4 Tomihiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe (8/10) (NJPW) ****1/4 Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/10) (NJPW) ****1/4 Katsuyori Shibata vs. Satoshi Kojima (8/2) (NJPW) ****1/4 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8/3) (NJPW) ****1/4 Tetsuya Naito vs. Minoru Suzuki (8/4) (NJPW) ****1/4 akatsuki vs. Mad Blankey (8/1) (DG) ****1/4 Suwama vs. Go Shiozaki (7/14) (AJPW) ****1/4 Shingo Takagi vs. Ricochet (5/25) (DG) ****1/4 Kobashi/Akiyama/Sasaki/Muto vs. Shiozaki/KENTA/Taniguchi/Kanemaru (5/11) (NOAH) ****1/4 CIMA vs. Akira Tozawa (5/5) (DG) ****1/4 Team High Tension vs. Team Veteran Returns (5/5) (DG) ****1/4 Ricochet vs. Jimmy Susumu (5/5) (DG) ****1/4 The Jimmys vs. World-1 International (5/10) (DG) ****1/4 Dragon Kid vs. Jimmy Susumu (5/17) (DG) ****1/4 CIMA vs. K-ness (4/4) (DG) ****1/4 Prince Devitt vs. Alex Shelley (4/5) (NJPW) ****1/4 Killer Elite Squad vs. Nakamura/Ishii (4/5) (NJPW) ****1/4 The Jimmys vs. Veteran Army (12/28) (DG) ****1/4 Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/4 Shuji Kondo vs. Taiji Ishimori (1/27) (NOAH) ****1/4 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/4 Hayato “Jr” Fujita vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (12/12) (M-Pro) ****1/4 Dragon Kid vs. KAGETORA (12/23) (DG) ****1/4 The Jimmys vs. Team Veteran Returns/Nagata (Elimination) (12/2) (DG) ****1/4 Shuji Kondo vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (2/23) (AJPW) ****1/4 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt (3/3) (NJPW) ****1/4 Mr. Quu Quu Toyanaka Dolphin vs. Naoki Tanisaki (1/27) (DG) ****1/4 Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt (7/20) (NJPW) ****1/4 Prince Devitt vs. Gedo (7/5) (NJPW) ****1/4 CIMA/Mochizuki/Fujii/Uhaa/Saito vs. YAMATO/Hulk/Yoshino/Doi/Susumu (7/4) (DG) ****1/4 Suwama vs. Jun Akiyama (6/30) (AJPW) ****1/4 Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Minoru Tanaka (6/30) (AJPW) ****1/4 Aoki/Suzuki vs. Kondo/Hayashi (6/30) (AJPW) ****1/4 Akiyama/Shiozaki vs. Suwama/Doering (6/2) (AJPW) ****1/4 Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Masato Tanaka (4/5) (Z1) ****1/4 Prince Devitt vs. Alex Shelley (6/9) (NJPW) ****1/4 YAMATO vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (No DQ) (7/21) (DG) ****1/4 Masato Yoshino vs. K-Ness (7/21) (DG) ****1/4 La Sombra vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (7/20) (NJPW) ****1/4 Tomohiro Ishii vs. Minoru Suzuki (7/20) (NJPW) ****1/4 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt (Lumberjack Deathmatch) (9/28) (NJPW) ****1/4 Taiji Ishimori vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (8/4) (NOAH) ****1/4 Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi (3/31) (BJW) ****1/4 Takagi/Tozawa vs. YAMATO/Hulk (9/7) (DG) **** T-Hawk/Eita vs. Susumu/Kanda (9/7) (DG) **** Sekimoto/Okabayashi vs. Kondo/Hayashi (9/8) (W-1) **** World-1 International vs. Mad Blankey (Naniwa Elimination) (8/23) (DG) **** Shingo Takagi vs. YAMATO (8/23) (DG) **** Lance Archer vs. Satoshi Kojima (8/10) (NJPW) **** Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii (8/8) (NJPW) **** Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/7) (NJPW) **** Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/7) (NJPW) **** Satoshi Kojima vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8/4) (NJPW) **** Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt (8/4) (NJPW) **** Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/1) (NJPW) **** Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada (8/2) (NJPW) **** Prince Devitt vs. Lance Archer (8/2) (NJPW) **** Tetsuya Naito vs. Yuji Nagata (8/3) (NJPW) **** Hirooki Goto vs. Satoshi Kojima (8/3) (NJPW) **** Mad Blankey vs. World-1 International (7/14) (DG) **** Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Kotoka (8/1) (DG) **** Masato Tanaka vs. Tetsuya Naito (7/20) (NJPW) **** Hayato Jr. Fujita vs. Koji Kanemoto (6/9) (M-Pro) **** Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Hiroshi Yamato (6/2) (AJPW) **** Takagi/YAMATO vs. Fujii/Mochizuki (6/2) (DG) **** Ishii/Nakamura vs. Suzuki/Benjamin (6/22) (NJPW) **** Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (6/22) (NJPW) **** Forever Hooligans vs. Timesplitters (6/22) (NJPW) **** Liger/Titan/Tiger/KUSHIDA/BUSHI vs. Ricochet/Koslov/Romero/Kendrick/Barretta (6/9) (NJPW) **** Shigehiro Irie vs. Kota Ibushi (5/3) (DDT) **** Urano/HARASHIMA vs. Ibushi/Omega (1/20) (DDT) **** KENTA/Takayama vs. Sasaki/Nakajima (4/28) (NOAH) **** Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Manabu Soya (3/1) (BJW) **** Go Shiozaki vs. Masayuki Kono (4/21) (AJPW) **** Go Shiozaki vs. Ryota Hama (4/27) (AJPW) **** Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (5/3) (NJPW) **** Kenny Omega vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (5/30) (NJPW) **** Prince Devitt vs. Ricochet (5/30) (NJPW) **** Shingo Takagi vs. YAMATO (5/25) (DG) **** Kota Ibushi vs. Daichi Hashimoto (4/15) (Z1) **** Tomohiro Ishii vs. Satoshi Kojima (3/11) (NJPW) **** Kaz Hayashi vs. Kotaro Suzuki (2/23) (AJPW) **** Baka Hentai vs. Junior Stars (1/27) (AJPW) **** Baka Hentai vs. Junior Stars (2/10) (AJPW) **** World-1 International vs. Team Veteran Returns (2/7) (DG) **** Mochizuki/Fujii vs. Kanda/Horiguchi (1/27) (DG) **** Takeshi Morishima vs. Satoshi Kojima (12/9) (NOAH) **** Suwama vs. Go Shiozaki (4/18) (AJPW) **** YAMATO vs. Kenchiro Arai (4/4) (DG) **** Seiya Sanada vs. Masayuki Kono (3/10) (AJPW) **** CIMA vs. Masato Yoshino (3/3) (DG) **** PWG: Inner City Machine Guns vs. Del Sol/Fox (3/22) ****3/4 The Young Buck$ vs. Del Sol/Fox (6/15) ****3/4 Kyle O’Reilly vs. TJ Perkins (8/9) ****1/2 The Young Buck$ vs. The Inner City Machine Guns vs. The Dojo Bros (Ladder Match) (8/9) ****1/2 The Young Buck$ vs. Taylor/Gargano (3/22) ****1/2 The Young Buck$ vs. The Dojo Bros (3/23) ****1/2 The Dojo Bros vs. The Young Buck$ (12/1) ****1/2 The Dojo Bros vs. The Super Smash Bros (12/1) ****1/2 Davey Richards vs. Kyle O’Reilly (6/15) ****1/4 Kevin Steen vs. Drake Younger (6/15) ****1/4 The Young Buck$ vs. The Inner City Machine Guns (1/12) ****1/4 Cage vs. Mack vs. Perkins vs. B-Boy (12/1) ****1/4 Kevin Steen vs. Adam Cole (Guerrilla Warfare) (12/1) ****1/4 The Unbreakable Fucking Steen Machines vs. Fox/Swann/Ricochet (3/23) ****1/4 Mack/Candice/B-Boy vs. Ryan/Avalon/Taylor (8/9) **** Samuray Del Sol vs. TJ Perkins (3/23) **** Drake Younger vs. Sami Callihan (Guerrilla Warfare) (3/22) **** Paul London vs. Kevin Steen (3/22) **** Sami Callihan vs. Drake Younger (12/1) **** The Dojo Bros vs. Taylor/Gargano (6/15) **** DGUSA/EVOLVE: Johnny Gargano vs. Shingo Takagi (4/6) ****3/4 Ricochet vs. Akira Tozawa (4/6) ****1/2 The Young Buck$ vs. CIMA & AR Fox (4/6) ****1/2 Drew Gulak vs. Biff Busick (9/22) ****1/4 The Super Smash Brothers vs. Eita & Tomahawk T.T. (4/6) ****1/4 The Young Buck$ vs. Eita & Tomahawk T.T. (6/2) ****1/4 Johnny Gargano vs. Samuray Del Sol (6/2) ****1/4 Bravados/Everett vs. Dos Ben Dejos/Strickland (6/2) **** AR Fox vs. Nick Jackson (5/30) **** Chuck Taylor vs. Anthony Nese vs. Jigsaw vs. Fire Ant vs. Arik Cannon vs. Shane Strikland (4/6) **** ROH: Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (Ladder War) (12/16) ****3/4 Michael Elgin vs. Paul London (8/3) ****1/4 Michael Elgin vs. ACH (5/11) ****1/4 Kevin Steen vs. Jay Briscoe (4/5) ****1/4 Michael Elgin vs. Jay Lethal (4/5) ****1/4 American Wolves vs. redDRagon (12/16) ****1/4 Adam Cole vs. Jimmy Jacobs (1/18) ****1/4 Eddie Edwards vs. Taiji Ishimori (5/4) ****1/4 Davey Richards vs. Kyle O’Reilly (4/6) ****1/4 The Young Buck$ vs. Forever Hooligans (8/17) ****1/4 Adrenaline Rush vs. C&C Wrestle Factory vs. The Young Buck$ (8/3) **** Davey Richards vs. Bobby Fish (7/19) **** redDRagon vs. Forever Hooligans (7/27) **** American Wolves vs. redDRagon (4/5) **** wXw: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tommy End (3/3) ****3/4 Super Crazy/ Marvin vs. Taylor/Ricochet (3/3) ****1/2 Johnny Moss vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (3/1) ****1/2 Ricky Marvin vs. Jonathan Gresham (3/1) ****1/4 AUTsiders vs. RockSkillet (3/3) **** Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Robert Dreissker (3/2) **** Tommy End vs. Jonathan Gresham (3/2) **** Bad Bones vs. Yuji Okabayashi (3/3) **** Taylor/Ricochet vs. Hot & Spicy (3/2) **** Tommy End vs. Ricochet (3/1) **** Other: Elgin/ACH vs. Richards/O’Reilly (5/17) (AAW) ****1/2 Kitsune vs. AR Fox (3/16) (ISW) ****1/2 Ricochet vs. Samuray Del Sol (3/24) (King Of Flight) ****1/2 Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Fujita Jr. Hayato (3/9) (4FW) ****1/2 Quackenbush/Liger vs. Jigsaw/The Shard (4/6) (Chikara) ****1/4 Samuray Del Sol vs. AR Fox (3/24) (King Of Flight) ****1/4 Nick Jackson vs. AR Fox (3/24) (King Of Flight) ****1/4 Jon Davis vs. Samuray Del Sol (3/15) (FIP) ****1/4 Namajague vs. Rey Cometa (4/26) (CMLL) ****1/4 Shane Hollister vs. Jimmy Jacobs (3/23) (AAW) ****1/4 L.A. Park vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. (5/11) (TxT) ****1/4 The Colony vs Devastation Corporation (6/2) (Chikara) ****1/4 Michael Elgin vs. TJ Perkins (4/19) (QPW) ****1/4 Rush vs. El Terrible (1/22) (CMLL) **** Flamita vs. Rich Swann (12/16) (DTU **** Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kenny Omega (3/8) (4FW) **** ACH vs. Mat Fitchett (2/10) (AAW) **** Namajague/Okumura vs. Stuka Jr./Rey Cometa (3/23) (CMLL) ****

2000 - SUWA vs. Dragon Kid SUWA was absolutely amazing here. The ultimate bully punk. DK isn't as smooth as he is now but that was part of his charm here and he hit everything clean enough that it worked. The first portion of the match and everything around the restart is decent, but it's the last third which is what really makes this match special. SUWA hits an absolutely gorgeous Sweeter Bomb (which is a move that if you haven't see, you need to) in probably my highpoint of the match, but the finish is nothing to sniff at either. Post match features a surprise debutant who seemed oddly tentative, and some epic heeling by SUWA. Where I'll have it: Maybe top 40. 2000 - Kawada vs. Kensuke AT THE BIG EGG DOME!!! Talk about big fight atmosphere! As much as I love modern New Japan, I don't think they've been able to create a big fight feel like this had. Then again, they don't have Kawada. Sasaki's entrance jacket is bad ass, and it goes swimmingly with his haircut at the time. First really great moment of the match is when Kensuke hits the kind punchy type strike and I don't think he was happy with how it landed but Kawada being the absolute master that he is, staggers and falls to his ass, selling the rough looking strike as though it knocked him loopy. One of those matches that you can't take your eye off for a second. You know it ain't going long, so any strike could be a key moment in the match. Where I'll have it: I'd say it's a lock for top 20, but top 10 ain't out of the question.

I thought this was fine but a level below some of the other Allmark vs. Brown & Dynamite matches from 2013. Brown & Dynamite are a great heel tag team that would do well pretty much anywhere. One great thing about those guys is how well they work different gimmick matches. The ladder match Dylan mentioned is okay. There is a table match between Dynamite vs. Allmark that is legitimately good match and before that I am not sure I ever saw a table match I liked at all. I think I mentioned in another thread the 8-man elimination over the top rope match from ASW in August that sounds like a messy gimmick match but was exected very well. James Mason, Allmark, Brown, Dynamite, and El Ligero are all really good in ASW currently. Outside of ASW I’ve liked what I have seen of Zack Sabre Jr. this year. The Johnny Moss match from wXw was sort of oddly structured but I thought it worked. Doesn’t necessarily fit in this thread since it happened in Japan but I liked Sabre’s GHC Jr. title match versus Ishimori quite a bit mainly because of Sabre. I think he is still sort of figuring things out but in terms of who he is but he has the tools and is getting there. Is this available anywhere? just a music video they made. They're taking painfully long to release the DVD. At this point they should just put it on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pVY-RlEKPU

I forgot about Rampage, but wasn't that a similar deal as MVK. Valkabious or did he actually sign and make it over to Florida? yup, he was called Monty Lynch. Here he is against Bray Wyatt.

Rampage Brown was already on WWE's books but ended up leaving. First and foremost I wanna see Martin Stone (Danny Burch in NXT) do really well there. If he succeeds then maybe Kris Travis could follow next - loads of personality, tall and developing into a good worker.

Dylan I'm absolutely shocked you like Marty. I would have pegged him to be your most hated wrestler ever if you had seen him. Glad to be wrong!

first and foremost, I think the funniest character to come along since 2005/2006 Larry Sweeney is Scottish wrestler Grado. If you haven't seen any of his videos with Colt Cabana on youtube they are absolutely hysterical. His other youtube stuff is great too. And just look at these crowd reactions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ZVeYQf6Tc the more serious documentary on him is fantastic too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Sr55fI6zU Cheapshot was bang on with all the names he mentioned. Johnny Moss in particular, if he didn't have other things going on in his life, could have easily become a major player in Japan or WWE. He's just never been able to make wrestling a top priority. When he does show up on shows, it's a treat. His match with Zack at 16 Carat this year was great. I'm really excited about the weekend of October 18/19, when 4FW are bringing in a bunch of Michinoku Pro guys and Rev Pro are doing their biggest ever show with Tanahashi vs. Marty Scurll, Devitt vs. Ricochet, Zack vs. Davey and much more (including Grado!). I think one of the coolest things about the UK scene right now is how it's filled with good people. There used to be so many scuzzballs around and loads of scandal and people trying to screw each other. Now you've got promoters, wrestlers and even fans all working together to make the scene as a whole a positive one. Best UK match I've seen this year was Zack Sabre Jr. vs Fujita Jr. Hayato in 4FW on March 9th. The Ligero/Tozawa match was great but I would say it's tied with this gem as my 2012 UK MOTY:

that's where I first saw it too!

My current active fave five: 1. Tomohiro Ishii - makes the most meaningless match special. He's got a fire and a charisma that is totally unique to him. People might think he peaked during the G1 but I don't think he's done just yet. Watch out for one or two more big MOTYC's from him before 2013 is out. 2. Daisuke Sekimoto - having such a great run with the Strong championship. His matches with Okabayashi and Kawakami were tremendous. Underrated as a smart worker. 3. Katsuyori Shibata - the guy is just on fire this year. Every match of his feels special. Kinda like Brock. 4. Akira Tozawa - has shot back up my ranks since turning babyface. Best thing for him. 5. Daniel Bryan - we haven't had a guy delivering high quality matches as frequently on WWE TV in years. The Cena match cements his run for me. I had about 20 others guys I could have squeezed in there. Such a great crop of wrestlers around right now.