Microstatistics

HHH pushed Mick Foley too far and now had to survive Foley’s most dangerous personality: Cactus Jack. HHH was quickly forced to match Jack’s level of violence and adjust to the plunder brawl setting. Despite getting badly lacerated, he displayed impressive fortitude and even lived up to his ‘cerebral assassin’ moniker as he repeatedly took advantage of Foley’s hurt knee to stop him in his tracks. The continuity with the handcuffs from the I Quit match the previous year was a nice touch, though a cop randomly showing up to unlock them was maybe a little too convenient. All-time great finishing stretch with an epic Pedigree kickout and a climactic and brutal finish. Post-match beatdown was neat since it reiterated that Jack could only be kept down but never put down. Still, ultimately, HHH beat Jack at his own game to retain the world title and prove he belonged at the top. ****1/2

The elitist JBL made this challenge for the beloved champion’s world title extremely personal by tormenting Eddie’s family and spewing racist rhetoric. Eddie was absolutely seething at the onset and began to aggressively rough up his larger opponent. A desperate JBL made use of his strength and employed smothering holds to extinguish Eddie’s momentum and power moves to damage Eddie’s back. Eddie ended up absorbing a chair-shot that busted him open extremely badly as a smug JBL sensed the opportunity and went in for the kill. Eddie displayed his immense resilience though and launched a fiery comeback, forcing JBL to cowardly resort to cheating tactics. This backfired as Eddie’s vengeful, animalistic side took over when he cracked JBL with the title belt (getting disqualified in the process) and utterly destroyed him in the post-match. One of the best WWE matches of the 2000s. ****3/8

Taichi challenged Naito for the Intercontinental Title but coordinated a pre-match assault with Takayuki Iizuka to injure Naito’s neck. Taichi feigning ignorance and prancing around as they assessed Naito’s condition was pretty funny, but they really could have shaved off several minutes from the segment. Naito made his inevitable return but was in a weakened state and it looked academic for Taichi. But Naito reversed Taichi’s attempt to permanently incapacitate him and Taichi ended up injuring his neck in a pretty fantastic momentum-shifting spot. Naito recovered to an extent, leading to a dueling neck-work section with focused offense, well-paced action, and consistent selling. Naito weathered some of Taichi’s surprising resilience and heel tactics, before giving him a taste of his own medicine and finishing him off. They probably did one near fall too many, but this was a slow-burning modern NJPW classic. ****3/8

Kobashi was a step or two slower than he was in 2003-2004 but he smartly used his strength advantage to neutralize Marufuji’s speed. In response, Marufuji attacked Kobashi’s famously bad knee in creative fashion to stem the tide. Kobashi relied on his chops to fight back and slowly built to his bombs, though the knee hampered his mobility (his bazillionth great knee selling performance). So Marufuji decided to throw caution into the wind and unloaded with high impact offense. I want to highlight Kobashi’s half nelson suplex spot since it was the type of ideal transition that is sorely lacking in modern wrestling. It was a big move that curbed Marufuji’s flurry but, instead of immediately following up on it, Kobashi went back to selling the damage he had just sustained. In the process, they subverted the back-and-forth trap and the match was organically back on an even keel. The finishing stretch was also well done as none of the near-falls or big moves were excessive, Marufuji came off as a credible threat to a heavyweight and Kobashi’s win was definitive. ****1/4

Marufuji had proven himself capable against heavyweights earlier in the year and so earned an opportunity for the GHC title. Marufuji utilized his usual strategy of targeting the knee of his larger opponent and it worked quite well until he ate a brutal backdrop on the ramp, which allowed Akiyama to somewhat recover. They worked over each other’s back and neck and Akiyama even had to resort to using unusual moves like a top rope frankensteiner since Marufuji had pushed him further than expected. A final Akiyama control stretch looked to be the end of Marufuji, but he shockingly kicked out of the Sternness Dust α and recovered enough to take advantage of Akiyama’s famous susceptibility to flash pins and pull off a stunning upset. The crowd didn’t really buy a potential title change until that near fall, which was slightly disappointing, but they definitely worked a match worthy of the occasion. ****1/4

Thanks for the correction. I'm definitely the anomaly on Satanico vs. Lizmark 98. Your position is much closer to those of others (except maybe Elliott). The continuity with the past (Lizmark is superior but Satanico escapes with the title), the rudo work, transitions, and offense just work for me.

Hmm, WWE doesn't help their case with these inconsistencies, even though this one is relatively minor. What's worse is when a babyface attacks a heel, the ring is suddenly flooded with security, referees and/or wrestlers.

Nice to see your thoughts on some of these matches, OJ. I guess the main appeal of the Inoue match is that it is a cleverly constructed subversion of the NOAH formula. Joe vs. Punk III actually had relatively bearable commentary (and crowd involvement). It'll only get worse if you watch more ROH.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Joe technically retired now? Not to excuse the general lack of intervention, but that would explain him not wanting to get physically involved.

My top 5 right now would be Fujiwara 1990, Kong 1994, Kobashi 2003, Eddie 2004 and Bryan 2006.

What could hurt Cesaro's case is lack of high-end, memorable stuff. Sure, there is a lot of solid stuff here and there but is there a standout Cesaro tag? The 2009 Chikara tag with Bryan is the only one I can think of. Daisuke Ikeda is probably my pick for this century. Kobashi might be the all time pick.

Thanks guys.

This is the ballot I submitted for the 2020 GME edition. In case anyone is interested, I wrote a brief review for each match (https://gweproject.freeforums.net/thread/1982/microstatistics-2019-chronological-top-100), focusing more on narrative points than anything so as to capture the essence of these matches. 1. Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue/Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 6/9/1995) 2. Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (WWF, 9/22/1996) 3. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Volk Han (RINGS, 9/26/1997) 4. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWF, 10/25/1990) 5. Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (NJPW, 4/30/1992) 6. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WWF, 3/20/1994) 7. Los Gringos Locos vs. El Hijo del Santo/Octagon (AAA, 11/6/1994) 8. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WWE, 3/29/2015) 9. El Satanico vs. Sangre Chicana (EMLL, 5/26/1989) 10. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Akira Maeda (NJPW, 6/12/1986) 11. Mayumi Ozaki/Dynamite Kansai vs. Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada (AJW, 11/26/1992) 12. Rey Hechicero vs. Charles Lucero (Monterrey, 8/4/2013) 13. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 6/24/1999) 14. Jun Akiyama vs. Masao Inoue (NOAH, 4/23/2006) 15. Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Misterio Jr. (WCW, 10/26/1997) 16. Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (NJPW, 1/31/1990) 17. Akira Hokuto/Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai/Yumiko Hotta (AJW, 8/24/1994) 18. LCO vs. Tomoko Watanabe/Kaoru Ito (AJW, 9/21/1997) 19. Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (NOAH, 7/10/2004) 20. Greg Valentine vs. Roddy Piper (NWA, 11/24/1983) 21. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Hiroyuki Ito (U-Style, 8/18/2004) 22. Mariko Yoshida vs. Hiromi Yagi (ARSION, 2/18/1999) 23. Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk (ROH, 12/4/2004) 24. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (NOAH, 3/1/2003) 25. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (WWE, 3/28/2010) 26. Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori (AJW, 4/2/1993) 27. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (WWF, 3/23/1997) 28. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Morton (NWA, 7/5/1986) 29. Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude (WCW, 6/20/1992) 30. El Hijo del Santo vs. El Dandy vs. Negro Casas (CMLL, 12/6/1996) 31. Yuki Ishikawa/Alexander Otsuka/Munenori Sawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda/Katsumi Usuda/Super Tiger II (BattlARTS, 7/26/2008) 32. Jim Breaks vs. Adrian Street (JP, 2/12/1972) 33. LCO vs. Ayako Hamada/AKINO (ARSION, 12/11/1999) 34. Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide (ROH, 12/23/2006) 35. Black Tiger II vs. Wild Pegasus (NJPW, 6/11/1996) 36. El Hijo del Santo vs. Felino (Monterrey, 10/18/1998) 37. El Satanico vs. Gran Cochise (EMLL, 9/14/1984) 38. Akira Taue vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW, 4/11/1994) 39. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Akira Maeda (UWF, 8/13/1989) 40. Shinjiro Ohtani vs. El Samurai (NJPW, 1/21/1996) 41. Aja Kong vs. Yumiko Hotta (AJW, 1/24/1994) 42. Jesse James vs. Al Costello (LA, 6/8/1960) 43. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Super Tiger (UWF, 9/7/1984) 44. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS, 6/27/1998) 45. Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca (EMLL, 1/27/1984) 46. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 8/12/2017) 47. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Volk Han (RINGS, 1/22/1997) 48. El Satanico vs. Lizmark (CMLL, 7/14/1998) 49. William Regal vs. Kassius Ohno (WWE, 3/21/2013) 50. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker (WWE, 8/23/2015) 51. Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA (ROH, 9/16/2006) 52. Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (NJPW, 2/9/1997) 53. Cactus Jack vs. Triple H (WWF, 1/23/2000) 54. AJ Styles vs. Abyss (TNA, 4/24/2005) 55. Vader vs. Sting (WCW, 7/12/1992) 56. Daniel Bryan/Kane/Ryback vs. The Shield (WWE, 12/16/2012) 57. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, 1/20/1997) 58. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Antonio Inoki (NJPW, 8/8/1988) 59. Axel Dieter vs. Moose Morowski (Hannover, 10/5/1980) 60. Lou Thesz vs. Buddy Rogers (Chicago, 6/21/1950) 61. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, 6/3/1994) 62. Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, 4/15/1995) 63. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW, 6/5/1989) 64. Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom, 12/22/2016) 65. Hiroshi Hase vs. The Great Muta (NJPW, 12/14/1992) 66. Akira Hokuto vs. KAORU (GAEA, 4/12/1997) 67. Yuji Nagata vs. Togi Makabe (NJPW, 7/6/2007) 68. Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi (NJPW, 2/3/2019) 69. Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Doug Furnas/Dan Kroffat (AJPW, 5/25/1992) 70. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa (NOAH, 12/9/2001) 71. Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL (WWE, 5/16/2004) 72. El Hijo del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. (EMLL, 8/31/1986) 73. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (AJPW, 5/22/1984) 74. Jim Londos vs. Bronco Nagurski (Philadelphia, 11/18/1938) 75. Volk Han vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS, 11/22/1996) 76. Akira Hokuto/Shinobu Kandori vs. Aja Kong/Bull Nakano (AJW, 3/27/1994) 77. Atlantis vs. Villano III (CMLL, 3/17/2000) 78. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH, 8/25/2007) 79. Volk Han vs. Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS, 12/24/1994) 80. Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee (CWA, 12/30/1985) 81. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe (TNA, 12/11/2005) 82. Steve Grey vs. Johnny Saint (JP, 1/28/1980) 83. Daisuke Ikeda/Takahiro Oba vs. Makoto Hashi/Kengo Mashimo (Futen, 10/24/2010) 84. Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW, 4/14/1983) 85. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Osamu Nishimura (MUGA, 9/25/2006) 86. Terry Funk vs. Jerry Lawler (CWA, 4/6/1981) 87. Midnight Rockers vs. Buddy Rose/Doug Somers (AWA, 8/30/1986) 88. Jushin Liger vs. The Great Sasuke (NJPW, 4/16/1994) 89. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Jack Brisco (AJPW, 8/28/1976) 90. Kenta Kobashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 4/23/2006) 91. Io Shirai vs. Shayna Baszler (Stardom, 2/23/2017) 92. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WWF, 8/27/1995) 93. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (WWE, 8/17/2014) 94. The Destroyer vs. The Spirit (AJPW, 7/25/1975) 95. Kenta Kobashi vs. Tamon Honda (NOAH, 4/13/2003) 96. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (UWF, 4/15/1990) 97. Jun Akiyama vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 9/9/2006) 98. AMW vs. Triple X (TNA, 12/5/2004) 99. El Satanico/Averno/Mephisto vs. Tarzan Boy/Rey Bucanero/Ultimo Guerrero/Mascara Magica (CMLL, 9/28/2001) 100. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (WWF, 11/17/1996)

The ballot (Top 100 list) for the 2nd annual Greatest match ever project is due by the end of Summerslam (8/23/2020). The link for project rules: https://gweproject.freeforums.net/thread/1985/2020-rules The link for ballot submission: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMcuMs1zZe7Pv48tuizennOALSNqMp_qUr6GY35LVK_glxyA/viewform?usp=sf_link Hope you can participate, the more the merrier

Mayor Kane voted against a mask mandate. Disappointing, not surprising, and ironic.

For a combination of high-end stuff, longevity over the 20 years and variety, it's Bryan and it's not even close for me. By the same criteria, Styles is probably #2. Akiyama is definitely up there. Samoa Joe, Minoru Suzuki, Kenta Kobashi, Brock Lesnar, Daisuke Ikeda, El Hijo del Santo, Yuji Nagata etc. etc. This is a tricky question because you could argue that something like Eddie's 2004-2005 run is better than entire careers.

****1/4 20. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WWE, 4/6/2014) A pretty special match since it tackles the implicit size bias prevalent in the WWE as well as the general perception of what a champion should look like. Injured people's hero Bryan attempts to overcome the odds against the clinical corporate man HHH. 19. The Revival vs. #DIY (WWE, 11/19/2016) Great mix of the old school tag formula(s) and modern offense with some additional twists and turns thrown in. Includes some really creative and smart spots. 18. Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 8/13/2016) A competitive and hard fought bomb-fest with great knee selling and heel vs. heel vibes. 17. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW, 8/1/2014) Heel vs. heel but with an interesting caveat as Suzuki's brutality turns Styles sympathetic. Neat arm psychology and drama. 16. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (WWE, 8/17/2014) Best squash ever. Lesnar is an absolute monster and Cena plays the overwhelmed ace role well. 15. Io Shirai vs. Shayna Baszler (Stardom, 2/23/2017) Excellent ace vs. invading shooter match. Really good contrast of styles and back vs. arm psychology. ****3/8 14. Black Terry vs. Barbaro Cavernario (Cara Lucha, 6/11/2016) Great mixture of elegant matwork and disturbing brawling in a clash between a tough as nails veteran and in his prime phantom. 13. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (WWE, 4/29/2012) A completely unique match considering the usual style of the promotion. The cocky MMA versed fighter returns to WWE and simply mauls the superhero ace like never seen before. Excellent pacing and fantastic arm selling and fire from Cena. The finish is controversial but narrative wise, it works wonderfully. 12. Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi (NJPW, 2/3/2019) This is slow and long but actually manages to hit the epic mark so many NJPW main events this decade have strived yet failed to reach. The focus on character and psychology with clever incorporation of huge bombs and consistent selling is probably the recipe for success. 11. Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano (NOAH, 11/3/2016) A super compact and intelligent underdog tale. This decade needed more matches like this. ****1/2 10. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker (WWE, 8/23/2015) Another Lesnar classic. A violent and dramatic big match spectacle with multiple all time great visuals. 9. The Shield vs. Daniel Bryan/Kane/Ryback (WWE, 12/16/2012) The best 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts' story I've ever seen in wrestling. Creative and violent. 8. William Regal vs. Kassius Ohno (WWE, 3/21/2013) An aggressive master vs. disciple match with high end body part psychology. A Regal clinic. 7. Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom, 12/22/2016) The best women's match this decade. Arrogant ace vs. fiery underdog challenger with huge bombs, limb psychology and drama. 6. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 8/12/2017) Great payoff to a year of good matches where the top challenger ruthlessly exploits a weakness of the ace to finally come out on top. 5. El Hijo del Santo/Villano IV vs. Angel Blanco Jr./El Hijo del Solitario (TXT, 2/25/2012) Classic, old school minimalist lucha brawl with a ton of blood and a great fighting veterans vs. bloodthirsty youngsters story. ****5/8 4. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (WWE, 3/28/2010) Tremendous combination of action, psychology and storytelling. HBK's hubris and desperation attempt to overcome Taker's toughness, leading to a finish that might be the best of its kind. 3. Rey Hechicero vs. Charles Lucero (Monterrey, 8/4/2013) Terrific title bout based around age and style differentials. Slick matwork and a highly dramatic 3rd fall. 2. Daisuke Ikeda/Takahiro Oba vs. Makoto Hashi/Kengo Mashimo (Futen, 10/24/2010) Great mix of insane violence, comedy, matwork and struggle. Scenes of Ikeda, the experienced warrior, refusing to go down without a grueling fight are genuinely epic. ****3/4 1. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WWE, 3/29/2015) A match that had everything working against it and almost seemed destined to fail but ended up being one of the greatest heavyweight clashes of all time. Epic character work, selling, violence, stiffness, a compact layout and a great upcoming ace vs. invincible champion story. Even the silly finish works on some level. General thoughts: Quality of wrestling was not as good as it was in the 2000s. WWE and some more obscure cards generally delivered the hits. The top 10 are all time classics though so it's not all bad.

Changed my 80s and 00s picks

Great post. WrestleMania 31 should have had the Summerslam 2019 ending. If the backlash continued, a heel turn would likely have remedied the situation and solidified Roman as the top guy.

Wrestler of the Decade: Black Terry Lesnar has him beat when it comes to peak and some others might have him beat when it comes to volume. But for consistency across all matches types and diversity of roles, Terry was #1. Promotion of the Decade: WWE There was quite a good amount of lucha this decade but it was distributed over multiple promotions. I liked NJPW as well but the big matches were generally underwhelming. For variety, general quality and true high end stuff, WWE (including NXT and FCW) was the most impressive. Feud of the Decade: AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW 2014-2015) They only had three matches but each was great and progressively built off the previous one.

It worked for Brock vs. Cena ER12. Otherwise, I strongly agree. I don't think Mauro is bad (or good for that matter) but why is he constantly yelling?

I'm not Seth fan but he is right in this case. Meltzer did a terrible job reporting the incident. Whether it was just a mechanical issue or something more, he was deceptively vague and exaggerated the gravity of the situation. It was essentially fearmongering.

So did they really have Cain job to Brock to setup Brock vs. Rey? I mean, don't get me wrong, that's an awesome matchup but the booking seems backwards.

I feel people are dismissing Cain based on almost nothing.

I think this description fits reddit's scjerk better. They are a shitpost subreddit that makes fun of the hivemind discussions of square circle (e.g. non-stop pro-AEW threads). A lot of it is accurate and funny but they go overboard and dismiss any legitimate criticism against WWE while mocking AEW constantly.