ShittyLittleBoots

Absolutely loved this. Right from the get go when they lock up, you can just feel the intensity. Fantastic arm work by Steamboat, amazing selling by Rude, great work over Steamboat's neck. The finish is shit, but this was a clinic. ****3/4

If someone asked me to show them a match that would give them a look at WWE at it's absolute best, I would show them this. It sure isn't my favorite WWE match ever, I would rank quite a few matches above it, but it's the perfect combination of fun, wacky characters, heat, great performances, storytelling & great presentation. Great performances by Shawn Michaels, Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, The Undertaker, Jim Duggan & really everyone involved, except for Virgil who came in & threw some of the worst punches I've seen. Other than him, everyone was on point. Monsoon & especially Heenan were outstanding on commentary. And of course, how could I forget Ric f'n Flair? THE MAN. What a performance, what a man - what a match! *****

Surprised that there wasn't a thread about this match already. This gets pimped as MOTY, MOTD, an all-time great match, and it definitely lived up to the hype. Trying to get more into lucha, and I am so glad I watched this match - because it was absolutely awesome. This was a total bloodbath - one of the best blood visuals in wrestling ever. Absolutely loved how it started with MS-1 being a total dick, just beating the crap out of Chicana, and then how naturally it transitioned from MS-1 being the cocky heel in control to him being in total trouble when Chicana busted out that epic comeback of his. Loved every second of this. ****3/4

36. ***** Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (NWA Clash of the Champions #9) ****3/4 Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA WrestleWar 1989) Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA Clash of the Champions #6) Ric Flair vs. Vader (WCW Starrcade 1993) Ric Flair vs. Ricky Morton (NWA The Great American Bash Tour 1986) Ric Flair vs. Triple H (WWE Taboo Tuesday 2005) Ric Flair vs. Bret Hart (WWF House Show 01/09/93) ****1/2 Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (NWA The Great American Bash 1989) Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (WWF WrestleMania 8) Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (NWA Battle of the Belts II) Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA Chi-Town Rumble) Ric Flair vs. Sting (NWA Clash of the Champions #1) Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (NWA WrestleWar 1990) Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW Spring Stampede 1994) Ric Flair vs. Genichiro Tenryu (SWS 04/18/92) ****1/4 Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Larry Zbyszko & Sid Vicious vs. Flyin' Brian, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner & Sting (WCW WrestleWar 1991) Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (WCW The Great American Bash 1995) Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW Grand Champion Carnival II) Ric Flair vs. Ted DiBiase (MSW 11/06/85) Ric Flair vs. Terry Taylor (MSW 05/03/85) Ric Flair vs. Koko Ware (CWA 11/18/85) **** Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (NWA Worldwide 01/20/87) Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (NWA Starrcade 1988) Ric Flair vs. Rick Martel (AJPW World Champion Carnival 1985) Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes (NWA The Great American Bash Tour 1986) Ric Flair vs. Flyin' Brian (NWA 02/17/90) Ric Flair vs. Bret Hart (WWF 10/12/92) Ric Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (WCW SuperBrawl) Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW Saturday Night 04/21/94) Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (WCW Bash At The Beach 1994) Ric Flair vs. The Undertaker (WWF WrestleMania 18) Ric Flair vs. Triple H (WWE Survivor Series 2005) Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson (WCW Fall Brawl 1995) Ric Flair vs. Bret Hart (WCW/nWo Souled Out 1998) Ric Flair vs. Edge (WWE RAW 01/16/06) Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE WrestleMania 24) I still have lots of his stuff to watch... But as of now, the only guy who I am 100% sure has had more ****+ matches in my mind than him is Bryan. Kawada, Kobashi & Misawa are up there too, but it's close.

70's - Terry Funk vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (06/11/76) 80's - Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Iron Sheik (06/16/84) 90's - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (06/03/94) 00's - Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (02/23/08) 10's - Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (04/06/14)

Great intense grappling with the crowd popping for everything, pretty much. I thought it built pretty damn well to the finishing stretch. ****

The first fall was pretty great with them trading holds, working it slow, trying to fight over the control of one another. Mil established dominance in it. The 2nd fall was even better with it being about Jumbo's desperation, his big comeback before winning the fall was awesome. The 3rd fall the shortest of 'em, it was pretty much dominated by Mascaras, but he made one mistake & that ended up costing him the match. This was great. ****

It's always great to see Luke Harper in singles action. This was quite a physical match, both guys looked great with their good looking offense. Very enjoyable. ***1/2

An early WWE TV MOTYC for 2017 - The Revival & DIY showcased their excellent chemistry once again in this banger. As always, Revival's sneaky heel tactics ruled, the leg work was awesome & Johnny Gargano was at it again with that excellent selling of his. Then the ending was like cherry on top - the visual of Dash & Dawson hugging each other before getting killed by Gargano & Ciampa was pretty epic. Absolutely not on the same level as their 2 classics from 2016 - but it didn't need to be. Great match. ****

Worked like a sprint - this was all action, high energy w/ a pretty hot crowd. They packed lots of action into 16 minutes - the selling never bothered me, but it definitely could've been better. A very strong TV match, well worth watching. ***1/2

On paper these 2 going over 40 minutes sounds VERY unappealing, but I wanted to give it a chance, and goddamn, I gotta say that I was very positively surprised by how good this match was! Marty dominated ZSJ for the most of it, and he actually looked good doing it. I enjoyed his work on top, and for once, he didn't overdo the whole Villain shtick. Zack was really good too, working from underneath, sneaking those submissions & wacky pin attempts in - I think if he had showed more fire, like he has done in his matches vs. Hero for an example, this would've been even better. Really good match. ***3/4

Their 12/16/13 match is the greatest TV match in WWE history, but this is top-5, too. Fantastic dueling limb work, Orton's work on Bryan's arm especially looked vicious, and Bryan sold it very well. These 2 had such a fantastic chemistry with each other. ****3/4

Randy Orton's career performance & the greatest match in WWE TV history. Everything Randy Orton did in this match was absolutely perfect - from his entrance, to his facial expressions, to his banter with Charles Robinson, to his brutal work over Bryan. Without a doubt the greatest performance of his career. Daniel Bryan was absolutely on point as well, selling Orton's work really well, and being just his fantastic self - loved his shine & his comebacks were tremendous. It really doesn't get much better than this. One of my favorite matches of all-time. ****3/4

One of the better HIAC matches. This had a fantastic sense of urgency, intensity & hatred between the 2 men. Orton was really good as the vicious heel, and Bryan was absolutely brilliant as the all action, revenge seeking, full of fire babyface. Sure, the finish was shit, but this was still a tremendous match & deserves more love. ****1/4

I think this match is pretty underappreciated. It wasn't as good as their 2 big TV matches that year (06/24 & 12/16) - but it was still great. Seeing Orton work as a heel after 3 years of working as a boring babyface was very refreshing, and he was really good at his role here. His work on top was strong, and I enjoyed the ways he cut off Bryan's comebacks. Bryan was his usual tremendous self as the babyface full of fire. ****

Why this doesn't get talked up more? I just finished watching it for the first time & I was absolutely blown away. Old school brawl, full of hate, defined heel & babyface roles, kick-ass performances by all - especially by HBK, who gave one of his best performances ever in my eyes. ****1/2 - ****3/4, leaning more towards ****3/4 now. Incredible match.

Shibata vs. Naito from 07/30/16 is a must see.

Nakamura vs. Ibushi from 2015

Main Event got ***3/4 from me. The first half was really damn dull - like some of the worst graps I've seen in recent times, just so empty & hollow - but then they kicked it into the high gear and the rest was lovely.

Yep. He was absolutely great & had Nakamura been up to his level, the match could've been a classic.

Dash & Dawson vs. Gargano & Ciampa is the best non-All Japan 2-on-2 tag I've seen. That was magic.

An absolutely perfectly worked match. No flaws. Amazing storytelling, amazing selling. It's at least ****3/4, but honestly could see myself giving it the full 5.

I'd love to hear your take on this match. Also I think this is something you'd like:

Daniel Bryan: 2001 - vs. Low Ki (APW King of the Indies) 2002 - vs. Low Ki (ROH Round Robin Challenge) 2003 - vs. Paul London (ROH The Epic Encounter) 2004 - vs. Samoa Joe (ROH Midnight Express Reunion) 2005 - vs. Roderick Strong (ROH Vendetta) 2006 - vs. KENTA (ROH Glory By Honor V) 2007 - vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH Manhattan Mayhem II) 2008 - vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH 6th Anniversary Show) 2009 - vs. Chris Hero (PWG Guerre Sans Frontieres) 2010 - vs. Bobby Fish (EVOLVE 4) 2011 - vs. Mark Henry (WWE SmackDown 11/29) 2012 - vs. CM Punk (WWE Over the Limit) 2013 - vs. John Cena (WWE SummerSlam) 2014 - vs. Triple H (WWE WrestleMania 30) 2015 - vs. Roman Reigns (WWE Fastlane)

Recent ones: Roderick Strong vs. Matt Riddle (EVOLVE 64) AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns (Payback) Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio (Fastlane Kickoff)