Microstatistics

Yeah, that foul wasn't really a foul. But I thought the penalty decision was fair and was surprised that the majority of pundits were slamming it, considering penalties have been given for a lot less. Also Kante was sick I think, which explains his performance considering he was immense during all the other games (excluding maybe the second half of the semi). Agree 2014 WC was better but this one was more open in that no one apart from France looked consistently convincing (maybe Brazil but they got rattled by Belgium early and didn't recover in time) so it felt like anything could happen. While in that one the top teams were clear as was the second tier and so on.

Also France this tournament were like Alexander Otsuka or El Dandy or Tatsumi Fujinami in that they could play different styles depending on the opponent and play multiple different ways within one match.

What a weird final. Really glad France won, they have been the best team this tournament. They didn't bring their best game to the final (atleast in the first half) but they adjusted, created and took all their chances. Croatia learned the harsh lesson that domination means nothing if you can't seal the deal (a classic wrestling theme too like in Liger vs. Sano from 1/1990). Really impressive midfield play from them but they barely managed any real chances and were pretty much drained by the end. Still, an excellent performance. And good god, the vitrol towards France on places like reddit's r/soccer is unreal. They were fully on the Croatia underdog bandwagon and were so salty throughout the match. France got a bit lucky in the first half with the free kick but acting like Croatia was robbed and France cheated their way to the title is ridiculous.

MOTYC for me. Young phantom vs. the maestro. I don't usually like Riddle but he was pretty great here. I think facing Suzuki forced him to cut the crap and just play to his strengths. Loved him sneaking in strikes whenever he had an opening on the ground. Strong grappling, struggle and purposeful, intense strike exchanges. Compact layout. ****

Yeah, I'm not sure about those criticisms of Brock. WWE are the ones negotiating the deals and agreeing to the demands. They could easily say "No, this is too much money for the amount of work you are putting in" and let him go. Brock is a draw but, and correct me if I'm wrong, his departure wouldn't seriously impact revenue. Plus in this matches he has no problem putting people over and making them look strong. He just wants to be paid, a true mercenary. Having said that and as one of the bigger Brock fans on the board, I wish Roman had won at WM and Brock had moved away from the main event scene or left for UFC.

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'll throw out some matches for HeadCheese and dawho5 just to wrap this up. Akira Maeda vs. Masakatsu Funaki, UWF 10/25/1990 Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho from The Bash 2008

I'd like to join in if possible.

Kane? Really?

I'm trying to think of a wrestling equivalent to Portugal. Luckiest team ever in recent years, everything seems to go their way (though they make full use of their chances to be fair). Mind-numbingly boring to watch too.

AJ vs Rusev should rule. Bigger/stronger opponents (Abyss, Roman, even Lance Archer) usually bring out the best in Styles.

Greatest superheavyweight ever, by a margin of light years. Excellent in every setting and promotion. RIP.

Great find. Kawada turned into a wrestling genius whenever this guys faced off, unreal chemistry. Very different dynamic from the 10/95 match. fxnj has covered all the key points especially the part about Kawada's smug asshole character work. Really great match, possible Top 10 contender for AJPW during the 90s. ****1/4

But it's not encouraging discussion, that's sort of my point. Most, if not all, of the interesting debates are taking place in the discussion folder. I don't know, maybe it's me but the nomination process just feels like an obligation. Also a giant number of matches being nominated was always going to be an issue with this kind of project. But I seriously doubt people will nominate random matches they are not considering for their lists. I agree with this. If a match can't convince 3 people that it is worth considering, it's probably not worth considering. This is assuming people have actively watched the matches nominated and thought they weren't good enough, which is a huge leap. More likely is that they haven't got to them yet.

Great rec Sleeze. Yet more evidence that Shawn was a compelling offensive wrestler. Really good match. Pretty unique layout as Shawn controls his much larger opponent for large chunks of time. Tenacious and focused arm work on Batista, who sold well. Clever finish. ***1/2

One thing I'll say about Okada and Omega is kudos to them for living up to and even surpassing the insane hype the match had in other circles. A lot of people thought anything less than the GOAT match would be disappointing and this actually delivered for them. Agree with superkix, their G1 match is the best and is a true classic in my view. I liked this fine but, for modern wrestling specifically, I'll take compact over epic any day.

Glad you liked it. And I agree that's a match everyone should check out, for the sheer uniqueness value atleast.

I agree 100% with this. I think the strict nomination process is actually hurting discussion and participation (opposite of the original intent). I think if a person nominates a match, it should automatically be eligible to vote on. This would actually free up time for interesting discussions and topics and be less of a burden on everybody. Enforcing a deadline before which everything has to be nominated is fair (for statistical processing or however way the final list is determined). I'm not in charge but I request Grimmas or whoever is responsible to change the nomination policy.

Yeah, those Jumbo head stomps were a thing of beauty. Negro Casas has amazing ones too.

Yeah, that extended resthold segment was not the best idea.

I think it's hurt by that fact it's not hosted here, which would have been ideal because of maximum exposure/visibility. But I can understand the reasons Loss indicated and his decision, though I'll say the discussion has been a lot more, uh, pleasant (for lack of a better word). Also I think the burnout factor is less of an issue because of the diversity of stuff nominated and the fact you're not watching multiple matches from one wrestler in a row. The podcasts idea is a good one.

Tanahashi vs. Okada from 5/4 was given a *****1/2 rating. So, accordingly, 5 out of the 6 greatest matches in wrestling history have apparantly happened since the beginning of 2017.

Speaking of, I didn't realize it until now but the Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar dream match is back on the table (in theory atleast). Ideally, it should have happened at some point in 2014/2015 when Brock was at his best but better late than never.

I agree with fxnj in that this is very good but not a classic. Stuff I really liked - Funk's ultra aggressive arm work, his third fall fatigue/blood loss selling and his stubborn, tenacious attempts to secure the spinning toe hold even if it was getting his face caved in. I liked Race's punches and headbutts in the third fall but he brought nothing otherwise, in fact he actively hurt the match at times. I wanted to point out one sequence in particular: In the third fall, a bloody Funk is working over the right leg of Race. Race's selling is minimal but at one point he decides to drop a kneedrop with his left leg. Then proceeds to sell that leg for nearly 1 minute in what is probably the dumbest spot I've ever seen in wrestling. After that Funk returns to working over the right leg (as he should) like nothing happened. That spot nearly killed the match for me and almost made me want to yell at my screen "You had an injured leg RIGHT THERE to do that exact spot and it would have fit the context perfectly and looked great".

I've been watching a lot of AJ Styles over the past few months and I think AJ's WWE run is actually his weakest. I mean he consistently delivers good performances but it's lacking in the high end matches, unlike NJPW and especially TNA.

As if you needed more proof that Otsuka was one of the most versatile performers in history. Great mix of styles match with some outstanding Otsuka selling. Bizarre and fascinating. Truly amazing spectacle. ****1/4 elliot wrote a great piece on why he thinks this is a possible Top 10 match for all time: http://gweproject.freeforums.net/post/2280/thread