JKWebb

Man, I agree! This match is CLASSIC. I went ****3/4 after watching it again today... Probably the third time I've seen it. I think this might be my favorite 80s Memphis Tag... Just really brutal and non-stop action as described above. It feels like an all out war, with the Fabs just trying to protect each other. The finish is unforgettable and The selling is off the charts. Lane really pulls you in and when he finally throws those two kicks while selling fatigue... Gets cut off... Yep - Great story. Love it.

Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels - 10/05/2008 - Ladder Match Shawn Michaels retired Ric Flair in dramatic fashion at Wrestlemenia in 2008. Batista didn't like that, and HBK had to fake a knee injury to beat Batista. Jericho didn't like that, and called HBK out on it. He didn't like the fact that Shawn Michaels could get away with anything, and still be cheered by the fans. However, nobody liked Chris Jericho. This led to the feud that really carried the WWE from Judgment Day 2008 until it culminated at this Ladder Match at No Mercy. HBK's wife even took an elbow to the jaw building the most heated rivalry in the company for quite some time. Chris Jericho has stated in interviews that this was his favorite feud, and that this particular match is his favorite. Chris Jericho came into this match as the World Heavyweight Champion, and he truly carried himself as such during this timeframe. You get a true heel/face dynamic as the match starts. The belt hangs above the two of them as the crowd cheers for HBK and boos Y2J. They work this match at a pretty quick pace. HBK gets his left shoulder thrown into the post, which leads to a nice looking Jericho shoulder block from the top rope knocking HBK to the ground off the apron. Jericho whips him toward the ladder on the outside, but HBK reverses with a crossbody off the ladder. Jericho gets back on top with more attack of the left shoulder. Jericho gets busted open hard-way after a blow to the mouth with the ladder from HBK. The match continues and Jericho eventually goes for a reverse bull dog that is reversed by HBK throwing him into the ladder. Jericho's right knee gets tangled up in the ladder, so HBK follows up with a ladder shot to the left knee then a figure four. Jericho gets creative coming out of that with a quick kick to the ladder that is in the corner and this causes the ladder to swing around and hit HBK in the face. Jericho then goes to work on HBK's head with the ladder with a pretty brutal closing of the ladder onto the back of HBK's head. They go back and forth with the ladder during this time with some pretty stiff shots. Eventually, HBK climbs the ladder on the outside to hit the moonsault on to Jericho through a table. Jericho gets up in time to stop him, but they both end up going through the table. They took some time here to sell the impact and break up the fast pace. They eventually make it back into the ring with some back and forth action until HBK hits an elbow off the top rope through the ladder onto Jericho. Michaels does a great job here selling the pain in his arm and fatigue from the match as he sinks into the corner to deliver sweet chin music. He is greeted by a ladder to the face from Jericho. Jericho pins HBK under the ladder in attempt to secure his victory, but once he gets close the top, HBK powers the ladder up and causing Jericho to fall off the ladder and outside of the ring onto the ground. Jericho immediately goes back to selling left knee after the fall to give the feeling of legit injury. The chants kick in for HBK as he slowly climbs the ladder with fatigue, but Jericho makes it back in time to return the favor by knocking HBK off the ladder landing his left knee on the top ring rope. Jericho begins his slow climb, and then HBK. They meet at the top trading blows. Lance Cade interferes on the behalf of Jericho when it looks like HBK is getting the upper hand because Jericho's left leg becomes trapped in the ladder. HBK hits sweet chin music on Cade and heads back up to claim the title. Jericho meets him at the top and this leads to tug of war with the belt, as they each grip each side. Jericho eventually gets the best of HBK with some serious looking headbutts, and HBK falls to the ground in defeat. A great ending to WWE's best storyline of that year. ****1/2

I thought Punk was great on offense in this match. Once he established going after the left arm, he found creative waves to ground and pound on it. AJ stuck with selling it well through the majority of the match. There were a few times I thought he could have gone back to it to add some drama to his own explosive offense (Particularly the moonsault into the reverse DDT to the outside he did with his left arm). But, that is being really picky. Punk sold his neck very well after the dive to the floor, I really felt as though he was the backbone of this match. Since it felt like you connected to him more throughout the match, I thought Punk's win was beneficial to the story they told. I thought this was a really good match, but didn't feel that it really kicked up into that extra gear. ***3/4

Yesssssssssss...... been looking forward to this.

Man.... I loved that promo. It was fantastic! So, hopefully they will ride this momentum out and stick with him. I think they will feed Shane to Brock, and Brock will demolish him. I don't think he will get a bunch of offense in. I hope that leads to some type of storyline where they call someone up like Nakamura to take on the beast. I also like the idea mentioned above where Joe comes in to get Bryan's back vs. The Miz, but would be cool if Bryan called Joe up to take on Lesnar after he kills Shane...

Pretty great selling from Sami last night. It reminded me of the Hart/Savage match from SNME when Savage sold the ankle injury so well.

I track these here and update them as I remember, re-watch, or see new matches. This is a list of matches I consider all-time classics and would at least be in the discussion of some of the greatest matches of all-time. NWA/JCP/WCW Slaughter & Kernodle vs. Streamboat & Youngblood - 03/12/1983 Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine - 07/09/1983 Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer - 10/23/1983 (GCW/NWA) Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine - 11/24/1983 Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat - 03/17/1984 Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat - 05/29/1984 Rock n' Roll Express vs. Russians - 07/09/1985 Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard - 11/28/1985 - GOAT Ric Flair vs. Ricky Morton - 07/05/1986 Rock n' Roll Express vs. The Andersons - 07/23/1986 Midnight Express vs. Rock n' Roll Express - 08/18/1986 Rock n' Roll Express vs. The Andersons 11/27/1986 (Starrcade - Cage Match) Rock n’ Roll Express vs. Raging & Ravishing - 12/06/1986 Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham -1/20/1987 First Ever War Games 1987 - July 4th Tully Blanchard vs. Dusty Rhodes - 06/13/1987 Ron Garvin vs. Ric Flair (9/26/87) - Cage Tully Blanchard vs. Barry Windham - 01/23/1988 NWA US Tag Team Champions Midnight Express vs Fantastics - Clash of the Champions I Lex Luger & Barry Windham vs. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard - 03/27/1988 Sting vs. Flair - Clash 1 Midnight Express vs. The Fantastics - World Wide 5/14/1988 Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger - Starrcade 1988 Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat - 02/20/1989 Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat - 04/02/1989 (Clash 6) Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat - 05/07/1989 Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk - 07/23/1989 Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk - 11/15/1989 Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger - 02/25/1990 Midnight Express vs. Southern Boys - GAB 1990 War Games - 02/24/1991 The Steiners vs. Sting & Lex Luger - 05/19/1991 The Enforcers vs. Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes - 11/19/1991 Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude - 02/29/1992 War Games - Sting's Squad vs. Dangerous Alliance - 05/17/1992 Arn Anderson vs. Barry Windham 06/06/1992 Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat - 06/20/1992 Sting vs. Vader - 07/12/1992 Sting vs. Vader - 12/28/1992 Sting vs. Vader - 02/21/1993 Ric Flair vs. Vader - Starrcade 1993 Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat - 05/14/1994 Randy Savage vs Ric Flair - Great American Bash 1995 Sting, Luger & Savage vs. Flair, Benoit & Mongo - 07/29/1996 (Nitro) Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. - 10/26/1997 Sting vs. DDP - 04/26/1999 WWWF/WWF/WWE Bob Backlund vs. Greg Valentine - 02/19/1979 Bob Backlund vs. Ken Patera - 05/19/1980 Bob Backlund vs. Sgt. Slaughter - 03/21/1981 Sgt. Slaughter vs. Pat Patterson - 05/04/1981 David Schultz & Roddy Piper vs. Snuka & Andre - 03/25/1984 Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Iron Shiek - 05/21/1984 Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana - 06/16/1984 Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Iron Sheik - 06/16/1984 Roddy Piper vs. Jimmy Snuka - 07/15/1984 Randy Savage vs. Tito Santana - 05/04/1986 Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat - 02/15/1987 Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat - 03/29/1987 Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant - 03/29/1987 Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage - 04/02/1989 Royal Rumble Match - 1990 Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior - 03/24/1991 Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect - 08/26/1991 Royal Rumble Match - 1992 Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart - 04/05/1992 Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage - 04/05/1992 Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect - KOTR 93 Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon - 03/20/1994 Bret Hart vs. 123 Kid - 07/01/1994 Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs. Razor Ramon & 123 Kid - 10/30/1994 Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon - 08/27/1995 Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel - 04/28/1996 Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind - 09/22/1996 Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin - 11/17/1996 Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin - 03/23/1997 Canadian Stampede 10-Man - 07/06/1997 Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker - Summerslam 1997 Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker - 10/05/1997 TLC II - 04/01/2001 Steve Austin vs. The Rock - 04/01/2001 Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle - 08/19/2001 Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock - 03/17/2002 Shawn Michaels vs. HHH - Summerslam 2002 Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker - 10/20/2002 First Elimination Chamber - Survivor Series 2002 Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho - WM 19 Steve Austin vs. The Rock - WM 19 Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff - 11/16/2003 Shawn Michaels vs. HHH - 12/29/2003 Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels - 04/03/2005 Batista vs. HHH - 06/26/2005 Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker 02/19/2006 Edge vs. Mick Foley - 04/02/2006 John Cena vs. Edge - 09/17/2006 John Cena vs. Umaga - 01/28/2007 Batista vs. Undertaker - WM23 Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho - 10/05/2008 Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker 04/05/2009 Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker - 03/28/2010 John Cena vs. CM Punk - 07/17/2011 Christian vs. Randy Orton - Summerslam 2011 John Cena vs. CM Punk - Summerslam 2011 CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho - 04/01/2012 John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - 04/29/2012 CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan - 05/20/2012 The Shield vs. Team Hell No & Ryback - 12/16/2012 CM Punk vs. John Cena - 02/25/2013 CM Punk vs. The Undertaker - 04/07/2013 CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar - 08/18/2013 John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan - 08/18/2013 HHH vs. Daniel Bryan - 04/16/2014 Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar - 03/29/2015 Sasha Banks vs. Bayley - 01/13/2016 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn - 04/01/2016 Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles - 05/01/2016 Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles - 05/22/2016 The Revival vs. #DIY - 11/19/16 Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate - 05/20/2017 AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar - 11/19/2017 Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas - 01/27/18 Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - 04/07/18 Undisputed Era vs. Mustache Mountain - aired July 11th, 2018 - NXT Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar - 11/18/2018 Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks - 10/06/2019 Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins - HIAC 2022 Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair - 04/01/2023 Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns - 04/02/2023 Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns - WM XL CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre - Bad Blood - HIAC - 2024 CM Punk vs. Gunther - Summerslam 2025 AWA Nick Bockwinkel vs. Wahoo McDaniel - 08/28/1983 Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel - 09/20/1984 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel - 09/29/1985 Stan Hansen vs. Leon White - 03/13/1986 Stan Hansen vs. Curt Hennig - 05/31/1986 Buddy Rose and Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers - 08/30/1986 Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig - 11/21/1986 Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig - 12/25/1986 Buddy Rose and Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers - 12/25/1986 and 01/17/1987 All Japan The Funks vs. Brody & Snuka - 12/13/1981 Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen - 04/14/1983 The Funks vs. Stan Hansen & Gordy - 8/31/83 Jumbo Tsuruta & Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yatsu - 1/28/86 Kawada and Tenryu vs. Hansen and Gordy - 12/16/1988 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen - 12/06/1989 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada: 2/23/1989 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenyru - 06/05/1989 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta - 09/01/1990 Kobashi/Misawa/Kawada vs. Tsuruta/Fuchi/Taue - 10/19/1990 Akira Taue, Jumbo Tsuruta, & Masa Fuchi vs. Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa, & Toshiaki Kawada - 04/20/1991 Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi vs. Tsuruta/Fuchi/Taue - 05/22/1992 Furnas & Kroffat vs. Kobashi & Kikuchi - 05/25/1992 Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada - 02/28/1993 Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi - 4/16/1993 Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi - 07/29/1993 Misawa and Kobashi vs. Kawada and Taue - 12/03/1993 Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada - 04/16/1994 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada - 06/03/1994 Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa- 04/15/1995 Misawa and Kobashi vs. Kawada and Taue - 06/09/1995 Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue - 07/24/1995 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Gary Albright - 10/25/1995 Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 05/24/96) Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi - 09/05/1996 Kawada & Taue vs. Misawa & Akiyama - 12/06/1996 Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuhara Misawa - 01/20/1997 Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW Real World Tag League 11/27/97) Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama - 07/24/1998 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi - 06/12/1998 Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuhara Misawa - 10/31/1998 Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs Vader & Stan Hansen (AJPW 12/05/98) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada - 01/22/1999 Jun Akiyama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa - 02/27/2000 New Japan Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen - 09/23/1981 Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano - 01/31/1990 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Shinya Hashimoto - 08/08/1993 Steven Regal vs. Shinya Hashimoto - 04/16/1995 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - 04/16/2014 AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki - 08/01/2014 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi - 01/04/2015 KUSHIDA vs. Kyle O’Reilly - 06/07/2015 Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito - 08/13/2016 Kota Ibush vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - 11/05/2017 and 08/12/2018 AEW Cody Rhodes vs. Dustin Rhodes - 05/25/2019 Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston - 10/27/2021 CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston - 11/13/2021 Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page - 12/15/2021 & 01/05/2022 CM Punk vs. MJF - 02/02/2022 & 03/06/2022 (Dog Collar) CM Punk vs. Mox - All Out 2022 Memphis Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk - 03/23/1981 The Fabulous Ones vs. The Moondogs - 05/02/1983 Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee - 06/06/1983 Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee - 12/30/1985 Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee - 07/14/1986 Jerry Lawler vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - 09/07/1986 Jerry Lawler vs. Austin Idol - 04/27/1987 Mid-South Magnum TA vs. Ted Dibiase - 05/27/1984 (OKC) Magnum TA vs. Ted Dibiase - 05/27/1984 (Tulsa) Ted Dibiase vs. Jim Duggan - 03/22/1985 Dick Murdoch vs. Butch Reed - 09/22/1985 Dick Murdoch vs. Butch Reed - 10/14/1985 Ric Flair vs. Ted Dibiase - 11/06/1985 Jim Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer - 11/11/1985 WCCW Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich - 08/15/1982 The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs - 07/04/1983 Kerry Von Erich vs. Michael Hayes (LLT Cage) - 11/24/1983 Terry Gordy vs. Killer Khan (Texas Death Match) - 11/22/1984 PNW Rick Martel vs. Buddy Rose - 04/26/1980 Roddy Piper and Rick Martel vs. Buddy Rose and Ed Wiskowski - 08/02/1980 Lucha MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicano - 09/23/1983 El Dandy vs. Angel Azteca - 06/01/1990 El Dandy vs. El Satanico - 10/26/1990 Pirata Morgan vs. El Faraon - 11/16/1990 El Dandy vs. El Satanico - 12/14/1990 El Dandy vs. Negro Casas - 07/03/1992 El Satanico vs. Pirata Morgan -11/26/1993 El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas vs. El Dandy - 12/06/1996 Negro Casas vs El Hijo del Santo (Hair vs Mask 9/19/1997) Atlantis vs. Villano III - 03/17/2000 Canis Lupas vs. Trauma I - 09/04/2016 NOAH Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa - 03/01/2003 Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama - 08/06/2000 ROH CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe II - 10/16/2004 Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi - 10/01/2005 FTR vs. Briscoes - 04/01/2022 FTR vs. Briscoes - Dog Collar - 12/10/2022 Puerto Rico Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colon - 01/10/1987 AJW Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori - 04/02/1993 OTHER: Vader vs Nobuhiko Takada - UWFI - 08/18/94 Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero - IWA-MS - 09/29/2007 Bloodsport: Minoru Suzuki vs. Josh Barnett - 04/05/2019 Bloodsport 6: Josh Barnett vs. Jon Moxley - 04/08/2021

Work in progress forever: 1979: Bob Backlund vs. Greg Valentine - WWWF - (02/19/1979) 1980: Buddy Rose & Ed Wiskowki vs. Roddy Piper & Rick Martel - PNW - (08/02/1980, 2/3 Falls) 1981: Andre The Giant vs. Stan Hansen - NJPW - (09/23/1981) 1982: Jerry Lawler vs. Dutch Mantell - Memphis (03/29/1982) 1983: Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee (6-6-1983) - Memphis "LLT" 1984: Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Iron Sheik - WWF - (06/16/1984) 1985: Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard (11/28/1985) - Starrcade 1986: Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig - AWA - (11/21/1986) 1987: Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colon - (01/06/1987) 1988: Lex Luger and Barry Windham vs. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard - Clash of the Champions - WCW - (03/27/1988) 1989: Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (04/02/1989) - Clash 6 1990: El Dandy vs. El Satanico - (12/14/1990) 1991: Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior - WrestleMania VII (03/24/1991) 1992: War Games - Sting's Squad vs. Dangerous Alliance - (05/17/1992) 1993: Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (07/29/1993) 1994: Misawa vs. Kawada - (06/03/1994) - AJPW 1995: Misawa and Kobashi vs. Kawada and Taue (06/09/1995) AJPW 1996: Kawada & Taue vs. Misawa & Akiyama (12/06/1996) 1997: Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi - (01/20/1997) - AJPW 1998: Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama - AJPW - (07/24/1998) 1999: Sting vs. DDP - WCW Nitro - 04/19/1999 2000: Atlantis vs. Villano III - 03/17/2000 2002: Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar - Hell in a Cell - (10/20/2002) 2003: Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (03/01/2003) NOAH 2004: CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe II - ROH - (10/16/2004) HR Draw 2005: Kobashi and Taue vs. Tenryu and Akiyama (09/18/2005) 2007: John Cena vs. Umaga - WWE - Royal Rumble (01/28/2007) 2008: HBK vs. Chris Jericho - No Mercy - Ladder Match (10/05/2008) 2009: HBK vs. Undertaker - WrestleMania 25 2011: CM Punk vs. John Cena - MITB - WWE - (07/17/2011) 2012: Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena - Extreme Rules - WWE 2013: CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar (04/18/2013) WWE - Summerslam 2014: HHH vs. Daniel Bryan - WrestleMania XXX 2015: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar - WrestleMania 31 - (03/29/2015) 2016: The Revival vs. #DIY - (11/19/2016) MOTD in BOLD.

I'm back to fast forwarding through segments I can't sit through and hitting the highlights. I enjoyed the Brock/Slater segment. I'm switching over to Hulu Plus in a few weeks, so I'm wondering how that will affect my opinion on the show as a whole. It seems like it might be more enjoyable with some of the fat trimmed. That being said, I was one of the ones praising that first three hour Raw after the draft.

I loved this match! Kikuchi just would not stay down, and it was fantastic. The lariats in this match were BRUTAL. Most everyone has talked about the Misawa/Jumbo hate, which is awesome, but I also loved the Kawada and Jumbo chemistry here. This match made me want to see more Jumbo and Kawada right away. I'm really looking forward to the rest of AJPW in 1990 as I move forward here, I really want to skip other things to continue with it at this point, but I'm still going chronologically. Taue looked really vicious at times, and I loved the brawling surrounding the main match towards the end as well. As Drew said, just an awesome awesome match.

I know what you mean - Along with the family and job you mentioned - just this week (on my radar): -SCI 2016 was released Monday and there were three hours of Raw - plus a doc on FS1 about CM Punk -Tonight is "SMACKDOWN LIVE!" as Mauro would shout it -Friday night we have ROH and Evolve to choose from - I can't decide which one I want to go with... likely Evolve -Saturday is more Evolve and NXT Takeover -Sunday is 8 hours of Summerslam -Between all that, I'm working on completing some of those DVDR sets you mentioned It's pretty crazy. Plus the other stuff you mentioned that I'm not including as choices for me. I'm not complaining, because I love wrestling. But, it can be hard to keep up...

JCP/WCW: 1983 to 1994, then mid-96 through mid-98ish - I can watch JCP/WCW any time. My best memories of watching wrestling with friends as a kid revolve around WCW, and I still think it's the most fun for me to watch to this day. My favorite stuff from then is probably the Funk/Flair series, Steamboat/Flair, The Dangerous Alliance, The Midnight Express, Sting/Vader, and fond memories of the Monday Night Wars era w/ the nWo/Sting and the cruiserweight division. Memphis (80's into 1990) - Memphis television really sucks me in. Lance Russell is probably my favorite all-time commentator, and Jerry Lawler is probably my favorite all-time promo. Those two things make for some of the best wrestling television I've ever seen. Some of my favorite things are the Bockwinkel/Lawler feud, Flair/Lawler, Jimmy Hart, Andy Kaufman/Lawler, Snowman Feud, Funk/Lawler, Dundee, Eddie Gilbert... I could go on. I love Memphis. AJPW: I think All Japan offers the best wrestling of any promotion. I haven't watch much of the 70's, but working on the 80's in a more detailed way than I have before. I have seen a lot from the 80's and it's fantastic. The 90's just blow me away. WWE: The WWE has always been there. I have great memories of the Rockers and Randy Savage, so I'd go with Mania 5 through 8 as a really good era of WWE for me. I also really enjoyed Punk's rise while it lasted, and I'm really enjoying NXT/CWC currently. The WWE has to be on my list. I've been watching it for almost 30-years now. There are tons of things about the WWE I've loved over the years.

I've really enjoyed looking at all these lists. I'll be using them as a reference point for things I haven't seen. I worked on this list in March for a road trip with my good brothers to Dallas for 32. I'm not saying these matches have to be called the greatest of all-time, but I am saying that in March of 2016 they were my personal favorite matches that I could recall seeing. I'm sure there are some matches I've seen since then that might bump some out, but I'd have to reflect more on that. This is something that easily changes over time. I take things into account like sentimental value and if I attended live, or at least I think I do. So, it really is just a favorites list. I am about to jump into the Portland set and the All Japan 80's set, so I'm sure this will change drastically after I complete those. Here's a list of 100 matches I love. ***Edit - I was going to think about tracking this and updating it. But, I think it would drive me crazy. This would change everyday and it's too hard to choose between what I actually think is great vs. favorites. I can't imagine how hard it is to try to map out what you actually think the greatest 100 matches of all-time are. Kudos to those who have, because I love looking at them. I made a few changes from the original post, but I'm never coming back to it again. ***Sting vs. Vader - 12/28/1992 - My personal fav match 1. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (4-2-1989) Clash VI 2. Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard (11-28-1985) Starrcade 3. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (03/01/2003) NOAH 4. War Games (5-17-1992) - Sting's Squad vs. Dangerous Alliance 6. Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee (6-6-1983) Loser Leaves Town/Memphis 7. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (7-23-1989) Great American Bash 8. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (06/03/1994) AJPW 9. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (01/20/1997) AJPW 10. Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel (11-21-1986) AWA/60-Minute Draw 11. Buddy Rose and Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (08/30/1986) AWA/"Blood in the Sand" 12. Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee (12/30/1985) Loser Leaves Town/No DQ/Memphis 13. HBK vs. Undertaker (10/05/1997) Badd Blood/Hell in a Cell 14. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (04/29/2012) - Extreme Rules 15. Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (07/29/1993) AJPW 16. HBK vs. Mankind (09/22/1996) Mind Games 17. CM Punk vs. John Cena (07/17/2011) Money in the Bank 18. Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat (06/20/1992) Beach Blast/Iron Man 19. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (03/23/1997) WrestleMania 13 20. Sting vs. Vader (02/21/1993) Superbrawl III/Strap Match 21. CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar (04/18/2013) Summerslam 22. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (03/29/2015) WrestleMania 31 23. Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (02/25/1990) WrestleWar 24. Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada (02/28/1993) AJPW 25. John Cena vs. Umaga (01/28/2007) Royal Rumble/Last Man Standing 26. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (02/20/1989) Chi-Town Rumble 27. Midnight Rockers vs. Buddy Rose and Doug Somers (12/25/1986) AWA/"Brawl in St. Paul" 28. Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk (03/23/1981) Memphis/No DQ 29. Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (07/24/1998) AJPW 30. Liger vs. Naoki Sano (01/31/1990) NJPW 31. Lex Luger and Barry Windham vs. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard (03/27/1988) Clash of the Champions 32. Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine (11/24/1983) Starrcade 33. Ted Dibiase vs. Jim Duggan (03/22/1985) Mid-South/Loser Leaves Town etc. 34. Royal Rumble Match (01/19/1992) WWF/Royal Rumble 35. The Enforcers vs. Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes: Clash of the Champions 17 36. HBK vs. The Undertaker (04/25/2009) WrestleMania 25 37. Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat: Maple Leaf Wrestling IC Title Match - (02/15/1987) 38. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (11-15-1989) Clash 9/"I Quit" 39. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat - WrestleWar 1989 40. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (09/01/1990) AJPW 41. Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior (03/24/1991) WrestleMania 7 42. Curt Hennig vs. Stan Hansen (05/31/1986) AWA 43. Jerry Lawler vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - Texas Death Match (09/07/1986) Memphis 44. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Wahoo McDaniel (08/28/1983) AWA 45. Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper: WrestleMania 8 46. HBK vs. Chris Jericho (10/05/2008) No Mercy/Ladder Match 47. Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (09/23/1981) AJPW 48. CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe II: ROH (HR Draw) 10/16/2004 49. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, AJPW (10/31/1998) 50. Atlantis vs. Villano III - 03/17/2000 51. Ric Flair vs. Vader - Starrcade 1993 52. MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicano - 09/23/1983 53. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon - Ladder Match - Mania X 54. Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff - Survivor Series 2003 55. CM Punk vs. John Cena - RAW (02/25/2013) 56. Rick Martel vs. Nick Bockwinkel (09/20/1984) AWA 57. Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (06/09/1995) AJPW 58. Misawa and Kobashi vs. Kawada and Taue (12/03/1993) AJPW 59. Canadian Stampede - 10-Man Tag 61. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (06/05/1989) AJPW 62. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. - Halloween Havoc 1997 63. Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi (10/01/2005) ROH 64. Magnum TA vs. Ted Dibiase: Mid-South (05/27/1984) 65. Lex Luger, Sting, Barry Windham vs. Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, and Arn Anderson (04/03/1988) NWA Main Event 66. Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (04/14/1983) AJPW 67. Midnight Express vs. Southern Boys - Great American Bash 1990 68. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin - Survivor Series 1996 69. Midnight Express vs. The Fantastics (03/27/1988) Clash of the Champions 70. HHH vs. Daniel Bryan - WrestleMania XXX 71. War Games 1991 72. Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee, NO DQ, LLT, Memphis (07/14/1986) 73. Midnight Express vs. Rock N Roll Express - WresteWar 1990 74. Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude - Superbrawl II 75. Buddy Rose and Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (01/17/1987) AWA 76. Sting vs. Vader - Great American Bash 1992 77. Macho Man vs. Ric Flair - WrestleMania VIII 79. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi (01/04/2015) NJPW 80. Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colon (01/06/1987) - Bullrope Match - WWC - Puerto Rico 81. Jim Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer - Mid-South (11/11/1985) 82. Kawada and Tenryu vs. Hansen and Gordy (12/16/1988) AJPW 83. Rick Martel vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (09/29/1985) AWA 84. Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana - MSG 6/16/1984 85. HBK vs. Diesel: In Your House 87. Stan Hansen vs. Leon White: 03/13/1986 AWA 88. IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki - G-1 Climax Day 7 90. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - AJPW - 02/27/2000 91. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (12/25/1986) AWA 92. Rock N Roll Express vs. Ivan Koloff and Krusher Khrushchev (JCP 09/09/1985)/NWA Tag Titles 93. Jumbo Tsuruta and Yatsu vs. Tenryu and Hansen - 12/09/1989 - AJPW 94. Kawada & Taue vs. Misawa and Akiyama - 12/06/1996 95. Jerry Lawler vs. Austin Idol - Memphis - 04/27/1987 - Steel Cage/Hair vs. Hair 96. Steve Austin vs. Dude Love - Over the Edge - 05/31/1998 97. Ric Flair vs. Ted Dibiase: 11-6-1985/Mid-South (More of an angle than a match or would be higher) 98. The Fabulous Ones vs The Moondogs - 05/02/1983 99. Sgt. Slaughter vs. Pat Patterson 05/04/1981 - Alley Fight/WWF 100. CM Punk vs. The Undertaker - WrestleMania 29 I took out a couple of matches because I know El Dandy vs. El Satanico 12/14/1990 and Ric Flair vs. Koko Ware from Memphis (11/18/1985) would fall in here as two of my personal favorite matches not listed. I'd probably add the Last Battle of ATL now and since mine is really more a reflection of favorites - Savage vs. Dibiase at MSG June of 1988 would be on there somewhere too.

I really like the post-match selling when they raise their hands as well. I thought last night's show was the best hour presented so far. I really enjoyed Tajiri and Metalik, and I was pondering the thought that it might be my favorite match thus far in the CWC. Then, Ibushi vs. Alexander happened, and they completely tore the house down. The chant to sign Alexander and Trips showing up at the end will be an unforgettable moment. I would say it is probably a top 5 match for WWE this year (for me). Great show last night!

Current Favorite Wrestler to Watch: Shinsuke Nakamura (but, Jerry Lawler for promos) Last Fun Match: Last night I watched Kota Ibushi vs. Togi Makabe from 9-23-15 (NEVER Openweight Championship), and I really enjoyed it, but the match I thought was the most fun (recently), was probably the night before last watching AJ Styles vs. Tanahashi from 8-14-15 Wrestler You Want to See More of: Based on the rave reviews from SCI2016, I'm going to be checking into Matt Riddle. I'm also wanting to do a deeper dive into Chris Hero. Last Live Show Attended: Smackdown last week in Nashville, TN (08/02/2016) Match Most Looking Forward to: Probably Joe vs. Nakamura - I'm looking forward to the CWC Finals as well, because I think Ibushi will tear the house down with someone. Last Fun Interview/Promo: The Jerry Lawler/Dundee vs. Eddie Gilbert/Dirty White Boy stuff from around July/August of 1990 Last Interesting Thing Read: Brad Stutts on the SCI Tournament Last Worthwhile Podcast Listened to: Ricochet on the Steve Austin Show Most Fun Watching Wrestling Lately: The 1990 Yearbook and New Japan on AXS TV Favorite Recent Post: I'm enjoying reading this one. Favorite Thing about the Wrestling Landscape (3 Months): Probably the CWC and the rise of Shinsuke Nakamura in NXT - from the past, I really enjoyed watching the Lawler/Snowman Feud from the 90s and All Japan 90's. I've also enjoyed JR calling New Japan on AXS and Mauro Ranallo on Smackdown. -Shout out to the impressions from Marty & Sarah

The production was slick. There were new camera angles. The matches were really good with unpredictable finishes. We had the return of squash matches, and they were glorious. Raw is finally captivating again. I really hope they stay the course here. I don't care what they call the "Universal" title, as long as the show is produced this way. Finally, each part of the roster had a feeling of importance again. I really hope they keep this up.

I found the ending of this pretty interesting. It was obvious that the crowd was thrilled to see Sting run out and assist the Road Warriors, they were going nuts for him. I think Ornodorff actually thought the reaction was for him. He gets really hyped here at this point, and jumps in front of Sting and onto the top middle turnbuckle pointing at the crowd and shaking his fist. Sting, is behind him with the other guys looking up at Orndorff being too nice of a guy to take his segment back, which I think it was likely designed to have been Sting's moment. It would have made more sense with Sting out front and the other faces backing him. As the camera pans away, you realize JYD finally hit the ring. The other guys were too fast for him, but I guess it's good he made it before the credits rolled.

Outside of what has already been discussed, I loved the exchanges between Kobashi and Jumbo. Jumbo looked like he was really beating down Kobashi. It looked very painful, and Kobashi was selling it well. I absolutely loved this match, and it's definitely in the top 3 of the year at this point for me. Just coming back to note that this match hit the list (Top 500 90s) at #323 here: http://placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-350-301/2/ It didn't stay in my top 3 of the year, but I still remember loving it.

This match was really fun. I wouldn't put it over the MX vs. Pillman/Z-Man match, but I still really enjoyed it. I heard that this is Burt Reynold's favorite match of all-time. Butch Reed's performance stood out to me in this match, and I really enjoyed the fun offense from Scott Steiner.

I really enjoyed this match. When they started in on Pillman's neck, I was really sucked in. Pllman with some great selling. I agree that Z-Man really did lack the fire he needed after getting the hot tag. His punches towards the end right before the finish looked really weak. That being said, MX were just genius as always in this match. It was interesting to read Marty's note above in contrast to hearing the love he has for Stan Lane now on podcasts. I agree, I don't think "the gap is as sizeable" either, and I also prefer Lane to Condrey. I'd say this was the match of the night.

The Flair ponytail is awesome. I vote yes to the ponytail. This match was a blast! Flair and Luger just have a great chemistry.

Pete's review of this segment is spot on, so I won't have much to add to that. As mentioned, Eddie Marlin was so good here. Just fantastic. The entire segment really just blew me away. I was watching this without looking at the menu, or knowing what was coming next, and it felt so "authentic" and "real" as mentioned above. When we recently had the GWE vote on the board, I was so close to placing Lawler at number one. I had recently watched the Memphis 80's set, and was so very very close. He truly is "The King." What a great segment and promos all around. The crowd was great here too, all the shouts and noises in the background from the crowd played a big role in making this special. I am really looking forward to watching this story unfold.