floyd

I know from listening to Figure Four Daily shows that Alverez loves Michaels big time. He constantly sneeks in about HBK being the one of greatest of all time from time to time, usually comparing his career to someone else. Here ya go!: http://floydscabana.blogspot.com/2008/01/p...f-all-time.html more listmania, PWT's Top 100 Wrestlers: http://floydscabana.blogspot.com/2008/01/p...f-all-time.html

Everyone got their opinion but I just can't seen the first half of 2007 being the BEST in-ring action of any company. Even just going by American TV which he had access too, I thought WCW was a kickass show in late 89 with the Flair, Muta, Steamboat, Luger and Funk. And 1992 when the Dangerous Allience was running wild. maybe he didn't like all the job matches or something. Kinda off topic but yeah I gotta agree with that. It's a great match and all but I'm amazed at the worship it's gotten. I think just the aura and word-of-mouth it got right it happened knocked it up to classic match-of-the-decade contender. Just as an example, I ran a Top 100 greatest matches ever on another forum about a year ago and it ended up #2 overall.

Didn't Meltzer say something about Jumbo being lazy in the 80's? Maybe Bowdren drank the cool-aid too?

Since I have time off I've been trying to catch-up with some recommended matches for 2007. In the meantime here's my Top 10 from 2006. 10. Akira Taue Vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH - Tokyo Nippon Budokan Show – 3/5/06) – This was big man (and recent GHC World Champion) Akira Taue thumping on little Marufiji. Marifuji was on a roll so far in the year but he needed a big win over one of the established stars. While maybe not a blow-away match, this one had some awesome spots and Taue was extremely game in allowing Marufuji on offense rather than going the usual NOAH big-guy Vs. little-guy route. ******************************************************************************** 9. Edge Vs. Mic Foley (WWE Wrestlemania - Falls Count Anywhere match – 5/2/06) – Despite WWE having a less-than-steller year for wrestling, Wrestlemania still has an aura about it as the biggest show of the year, and this was the best show on the card by far. After having a great match against that useless turd Randy Orton in 04, Foley returned again and had a disappointing match against Carlito Cool. So here at Wrestlemania Foley seems determined to appease the salivating sicko fans who want to see him beaten and bloodied just one more time. He brings in the usual WWE diet-hardcore fair like fire, barbed-wire bats and thumbtacks! Thumbtacks by gawd! Edge is my pick for the best WWE Wrestler of the year and he gamely keeps up with Foley by taking some big bumps. Lita’s also here for a beating, perhaps fulfilling a contract stipulation for Matt Hardys return.. A typical Foley hardcore match but it always delivers and had some original stuff in it like a barbed-wired Mr. Sock and Foley outsmarting the Spear. The Flair/Foley I-Quit match may have been more brutal than this but this one was paced better and was more memorable on the bigger stage. ******************************************************************************** 8. Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio Vs. KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH - Summer Navigation 2006 - 7/16/06) – This was the David Vs. Goliath tag match where the two Jr. guys have to survive against the big dudes. Rikio and Morishma dominate portions of the match with the power of their fat but KENTA & Marufuji counter using their quickness and tag teams moves. KENTA and Takeshi Morisihma, two of the future stars for NOAH, especially want to beat the crap out of each other. For such a long match there is not too much of a slow down and the crowd is screaming at the end with all the near-falls and big moves. ******************************************************************************** 7. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong Vs. The Briscoes (ROH – Unified – 8/12/06) – ROH had a tremendous run of tag team matches in 2006 proving that the art isn’t quite dead yet. (You reading this Vince?) Out of all the great tag matches this is probably my favorite with Strong & Aries defending the straps against ROH’s prodigal sons the Briscoes. The U.K. crowd was red-hot for the match and both teams hit on all cylinders with incredible timing and tag team moves. Lots of brain-killing finishers and near falls made this a match to remember for 2006. ******************************************************************************** 6. Do Fixer (Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito) Vs. Blood Generation (Cima, Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino) (ROH Supercard of Honor - 3/31/06) – While a very exciting match, I thought this was very overrated and I doubted it would make my final Top 10. But Dammit! Here we are and sadly I can’t deny it as it comes in at #6. :-( All six guys are from the Japanese-based Dragon’s Gate promotion and brought their exhibition match stateside for the ROH fans. The first half of the match was one of the good guy getting beat up with 6-man moves, but this was just a prelude to the quick-as-lightening finish where big spots were popping let and right with near-falls galore. This was like a TLC match, but without Ladder’s and stuff. ******************************************************************************** 5. Kurt Angle Vs. The Undertaker (WWE– No Way Out – 2/19/06) - It was built up as a MMA “grappler” Vs. “striker” match and while imagining The Undertaker as a supreme-fighting-machine striker is pretty funny, the match exceeded ALL possible expectations for it. Undertaker was incredibly game here selling left and right and taking big bumps including a nasty looking top rope belly-to-belly torpedo driver that he almost died taking. And despite being a shadow of his former self, Angle is still awesome. Lots of counters and reversals here with Taker busting out his big moves and using a triangle-choke as a counter. Angle’s thirsty for blood as he works on the ankle and is going for the tap-out win like a rapid dog. (He even had a chance to retain by count-out but demanded the match to continue so he could submit the phenom) Whoever wins the match gets the Smackdown World title and a main event slot at Wrestlemania. ******************************************************************************** 4. Bryan Danielson Vs. Roderick Strong (ROH – Supercard of Honor - 3/31/06) – Bryan Danielson always put out great defenses for his title, but it seems like he’s always one step ahead of the other guy and is controlling the match even when he’s losing, ala Ric Flair. Roderick Strong however, comes off as the Anti-American Dragon and gives the true sense that he CAN beat him for the title. It’s simply a matter of time. Danielson’s pasty white skin has a hard time against Strong’s hella-nasty Flair-chops, which loosen fans teeth fillings as they reverberate shockwaves throughout the arena. Also all those goddamn backbreakers can’t be good for his lower lumbar region. Another long match that may bore some fans with its long mat work and wear-down sequences. But if you get into it, it’s an incredible back-and-forth contest with an exciting finale. At the end Danielson almost seems to be buying time to get to another 60:00 minute draw and retain his title. ******************************************************************************** 3. KENTA Vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH – Autumn Navigation - 10/29/06) – A lot of people didn’t like this match and I think I’ve figured out why. NOAH fans are so accustomed to seeing big guys thump and chop each other around for the World title while the Jr. Heavyweights waste time in the mid-card. 2006 was supposed to be the year of KENTA, but surprisingly it was Marufuji who kicked ass all year long slowly gaining steam until upsetting Jun Akiyama for the GHC World Championship. His second defense was against his tag team partner KENTA. KENTA has history on his side as he scored a big win over Marufuji in their January match. Some nasty big moves like an Asai moonsault over the railing (nearly killing Marufuji) and a slingshot Doublestomp OVER the ropes ONTO THE CONCRETE!! Nasty stiff kicks and concussion-inducing suplexes also litter the 40 minute match. Luckily they both no-sell paralysis and keep on going, throwing everything at each other until both guys are exhausted. These two guys knew each other so well it seems they were thinking 2 or 3 moves ahead with all the counters and reversals. Although the Marufuji experiment only lasted a few month before Misawa won the title, it was a good test run for NOAH putting their Jr. guys on top, and this was the pristine match for perhaps the future of the promotion. ******************************************************************************** 2. Bryan Danielson Vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH – Unified – 8/12/06) – Danielson is the ROH World Champion. Nigel McGuinness is the ROH Pure champion. This was a unification match where the winner would take both belts. The rules were modified so they MUST be a winner (No Count-out or Double DQ crap like that). Also the match is contested under “Pure rules”, meaning if you get in trouble and make the ropes the ref breaks up the move. Each wrestler only has 3 rope breaks though, so after that the ref can’t break the hold. Nigel has a huge home crowd advantage as the match takes place in Great Britain. McGuinness has been close to defeating the American Dragon in previous matches, and now that his Pure title is on the line he has more incentive to win. Could this be the night? Danielson’s beat them all but McGuinness has that “There's NO way I’m going to lose tonight” look in his eyes going into the match. ******************************************************************************** Floyd’s 2006 MATCH OF THE YEAR: Team ROH (Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, Adam Pearce, B.J. Whitmer & Ace Steel ) Vs. Team CZW (Necro Butcher, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Nate Webb & Mystery partner) (ROH – Death before Dishonor 4 – Cage of Death – 7/15/06) - After lots of soul searching I still couldn’t find a reason why not. Yup. This is it. The best match of 2006 despite it being a garbage match filled with trashcans, barbed-wire and thumbtacks. All the 70’s mat masters are turning over in their graves right now. The ROH Vs. CZW feud of 2006 was incredible booked. It benefited both promotions giving fans a taste of each new talent and it helped elevate some mid-card guys (Adam Pearce, B.J. Whitmer, Nate Webb, etc…) Throughout the feud CZW seemed to have an edge, winning most of the matches or at least coming out ahead at the end, including out-brawling and winning the big 6-man fight at “The 100th Show” and performing the Passion of B.J. Whitmer at “Arena Warfare”. So this match was made to be the end-all finish for the feud. ROH had the home court advantage, but CZW had the advantage inside their original type of match……. The dreaded…. CAGE OF DEATH!!! The rules are the same as the Wargames, a huge ass cage where two guys from each team start out. After a while a coin is tossed and the winning teams sends in another wrestler for a 2-1 advantage. This continues until all the wrestlers are in the cage and then, and only then, can the match end by pinfall or submission. The booking of this match was a thing of beauty. Get rid of all the plunder and trashcan shots and we have a great story unfolding that Shakespeare himself would’ve booked. I respect you bookerman! It’s a story of tragedy, betrayal, determination, heroes, villainy and ghetto forks. I don’t want to spoil too much of this match cause I want everyone to watch it, but it had more memorable moments than I can possible remember and despite getting wild at moments, was paced perfectly to tell the story and keep the crowd into it. The match was about 50 minutes long but I swear you don’t even notice it. Also I thought it was pretty cool some of the wrestlers had signature weapons they used in the match (MO’ COWBELL!). A couple of storylines managed to pop out of this too like the B.J. Whitmer/Necro Butcher match and what Cornette does afterwards. Props to all the wrestlers and people involved in the whole ROH Vs. CZW feud which kicked all kinds of ass and culminated in this outstanding Match of the Year for 2006. .. And that's that! Sorry to TNA fans. I actually saw every PPV they had this year but didn't feel they had a match better than my #10 pick. Maybe I'll do a separate Top 10 TNA matches for 2006 list.

Wow this is awesome!! I kinda just assumed the rest of the match was simply lost forever in time and space. Thank you very much for the heads up Mr. Bix! I'll be honest, a little bit. Damn this post-Benoit world.

The final match line-ups will be the make or break-it for me, but there's some potential awesomeness to alot of those DVD's, especially the Mr. Perfect and Steve Austin. I'm PRAYING they don't do a Warrior-job on Savages though. :-( HBK got his 2nd DVD set recently, I've always hoped Flair could get another DVD set for him too, especially since this is Flair's last year in the ring.

That was pretty awesome Loss, thanks for taking the time to write all that! it's like finding a Time Capsule buried in the backyard. Pretty neat to see all those old promotions being covered back then like World Class and Portland. Sounds like McMahon was determined to screw around with Crockett with his Survivor Series and Royal Rumble shenanigans.

Here it is, I didn't get the points/#votes though sorry: 1. Jumbo Tsuruta 2. Toshiaki Kawada 3. Chris Benoit 4. Jushin Liger 5. Kenta Kobashi 6. Eddie Guerrero 7. Mitsuharu Misawa 8. Ric Flair 9. Bret Hart 10. Stan Hansen 11. Terry Funk 12. Harley Race 13. Ricky Steamboat 14. Dynamite Kid 15. Akira Hokuto 16. Steve Austin 17. Vader 18. Aja Kong 19. Nobuhiko Takada 20. El Hijo Del Santo 21. Genichiro Tenryu 22. Rey Mysterio Jr. 23. Jaguar Yokota 24. Shinya Hashimoto 25. The Destroyer 26. Akira Taue 27. Shinjiro Ohtani 28. Barry Windham 29. Manami Toyota 30. Giant Baba 31. Mayumi Ozaki 32. Blue Panther 33. Hiroshi Hase 34. Arn Anderson 35. Devil Masami 36. Billy Robinson 37. Owen Hart 38. Negro Casas 39. Chigusa Nagayo 40. Ted DiBasie 41. Jerry Lawler 42. Volk Han 43. Bull Nakano 44. Randy Savage 45. Curt Hennig 46. Shawn Michaels 47. Terry Gordy 48. Jack Brisco 49. Bobby Eaton 50. Jun Akiyama 51. Dick Murdoch 52. Steve Williams 53. Keiji Muto 54. Steven Regal 55. Dave Finlay 56. Nick Bockwinkle 57. Tully Blanchard 58. Tatsumi Fujinami 59. Mariko Yoshida 60. Dynamite Kansai 61. Akira Maeda 62. Ultimo Dragon 63. Kiyoshi Tamura 64. The Rock 65. Kyoko Inoue 66. Kazuo Yamazaki 67. El Dandy 68. Tiger Mask 69. Dory Funk Jr. 70. Mick Foley 71. Antonio Inoki 72. Masahiro Chono 73. Lioness Asuka 74. El Samurai 75. Ricky Morton 76. Bob Backlund 77. Shiro Koshinaka 78. Adrain Adonis 79. Dump Matsumoto 80. Kurt Angle 81. Mark Rocco 82. Lou Thesz 83. The Great Sasuke 84. Chris Jericho 85. Rick Rude 86. Hulk Hogan 87. Taka Michinoku 88. Brian Pillman 89. Satanico 90. Dean Malenko 91. Toshiyo Yamada 92. Psicosis 93. Tommy Rogers 94. Atlantis 95. Dan Kroffat 96. Rick Martel 97. Naoki Sano 98. Dick Togo 99. Stg. Slaughter 100. Riki Choshu 101. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi 102. Mima Shimoda 103. Davey Boy Smith 104. Jake Roberts 105. Kensuke Sasaki 106. Masa Fuchi 107. MS-1 108. Villano III 109. Triple H 110. Dusty Rhodes 111. Juventud Guerrera 112. Bruiser Brody 113. Etsuko Mita 114. Masato Tanaka 115. Jim Breaks 116. Samoa Joe 117. Bryan Danielson 118. Hayabusa 119. Yoshiaki Fujiwara 120. Buddy Rogers 121. Eddie Gilbert 122. Ray Stevens 123. Pirata Morgan 124. Dos Caras 125. La Parka 126. Megumi Kudo 127. Sting 128. Fuerza Guerrera 129. Atsushi Onita 130. Javier Cruz 131. Solar I 132. The Undertaker 133. Jimmy Snuka 134. Johnny Saint 135. Steve Grey 136. Bill Dundee 137. Dustin Rhodes 138. El Texano 139. Gorgeous George 140. Sabu 141. Rikidozan 142. Brock Lesnar 143. Karl Gotch 144. Too Cold Scorpio 145. Mil Mascaras 146. Scott Steiner 147. KENTA 148. Kintaro Kanemura 149. Silver King 150. Bruno Sammartino 151. Chavo Guerrero 152. Mr. Gannosuke 153. Roddy Piper 154. Dick Slater 155. Dr. Wagner Jr. 156. Takako Inoue 157. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka 158. Yoshihiro Takayama 159. Brazo De Oro 160. Lizmark 161. Brazo De Plata 162. Don Muraco 163. Johnny Valentine 164. Andre The Giant 165. Kaoru Ito 166. Wahoo McDaniel 167. Johnny Smith 168. Koji Kanemoto 169. Satoshi Kojima 170. Greg Valentine 171. Ultimo Guerrero 172. Jinsei Shinzaki 173. Meiko Satomura 174. Yuki Ishikawa 175. Butch Reed 176. Pat Patterson 177. Jim Londos 178. Bam Bam Bigelow 179. Sakie Hasegawa 180. Negro Navarro 181. Kuniaki Kobayashi 182. Clive Myers 183. Jerry Estrada 184. Rip Rogers 185. Gene Kiniski 186. Yugi Nagata 187. Tetsuhiro Kuroda 188. Danny Hodge 189. Momoe Nakanishi 190. Gran Hamada 191. Kazushi Sakuraba 192. Mimi Hagiwara 193. Verne Gagne 194. Sangre Chicana 195. Art Barr 196. Manny Fernandez 197. Brad Armstrong 198. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 199. El Canek 200. Ebessan 201. Emilio Charles Jr. 202. Jerry Blackwell 203. SUWA 204. Buddy Landel 205. Koji Nakagawa 206. Bill Goldberg 207. Bill Eadie 208. Tito Santana 209. Naomichi Marufuji 210. Rob Van Dam 211. Shocker 212. Edge 213. Bob Orton Jr. 214. KAORU 215. Hiromi Yagi 216. Ray Traylor 217. Don Leo Jonathan 218. El Faraon 219. Hikari Fukuoka 220. The Big Show 221. Minoru Suzuki 222. Ivan Koloff 223. Argentinino Rocca 224. Espectrito 225. Buzz Sawyer 226. Dennis Condrey 227. Abdullah The Butcher 228. Scott Hall 229. Pimpinela Escarlata 230. Mick McManus 231. Booker T 232. Jackie Saito 233. Kerry Von Erich 234. Bad News Allen 235. Larry Zbyszko 236. Pete Roberts 237. Ron Garvin 238. Masaaki Mochizuki 239. Buddy Rose 240. Chikayo Nagashima 241. Magnum Tokyo 242. Super Delfin 243. John Layfield 244. Freddy Blassie 245. Daisuke Ikeda 246. Hisakatsu Ooya 246. Talisman 248. El Signo 249. Ciclon Ramirez 250. Low Ki 251. Haku 252. Paul Orndorff 253. Magnum T.A. 255. Rey Bucanero 256. Raven 257. Yoshiaki Yatsu 257. Mad Dog Vachon 258. Shinobu Kandori 259. Candy Okutsu 260. Mike Rotundo 261. Kodo Fuyuki 262. Johnny Kidd 263. Val Venis 264. Sean Waltman 265. AKIRA 266. Marty Jannetty 267. The Sheik 268. Bill Watts 269. Masa Saito 270. Osamu Nishimura 271. Dick The Bruiser 272. Chris Adams 273. Yumiko Hotta 274. CIMA 275. Tracey Smothers 276. Debbie Malenko 276. Yumi Fukawa 278. La Fiera 279. Tom Prichard 280. Volador 281. Gran Apache 282. Marty Jones 283. Super Astro 284. Diamond Dallas Page 285. Doug Furnas 286. Azumi Hyuga 287. Eagal Sawai 288. Perro Aguayo 289. Dino Bravo 290. Stan Lane 291. Chris Candido 292. Mika Akino 293. Felineo 294. Super Crazy 294. Yoshihiro Tajiri 296. Alexander Otsuka 298. Condor Saito 298. Carlos Colon 298. Darkness Dragon 300. Jerry Graham 301. AJ Styles 302. Mikey Whipwreck 303. Steve Wright 304. Frank Gotch 305. Leo Burke 306. Yumi Ikeshita 307. El Santo 307. Mistico 308. Osamu Kido 310. The Spoiler 311. Killer Kowalski 312. The Cobra 313. Archie Gouldie 313. Pierroth Jr. 315. Robbie Bookside 316. Chris Hero 318. Michael Hayes 318. The Iron Sheik 318. Tomoko Watanabe 320. Ben Bassarab 321. Suzuki Minami 322. Blue Demon 323. Ken Patera 323. Vic Faulkner 325. Mick McMichael 326. Christopher Daniels 326. Tamon Honda 328. Chic Cullen 329. Phil Hickerson 330. Herodes 331. Dory Funk 331. Mike Awesome 333. Bison Kimura 333. Bronko Nagurski 333. Yoji Anjoh 336. Masakatsu Funaki 337. Combat Toyota 338. Kumiko Maekawa 339. Scott Norton 339. Zumbido 341. Bad Boy Hido 341. Carl Malenko 341. Pat O'Connor 344. Kazunari Murakami 345. Pedro Morales 346. Keith Hayward 346. Mascarito Sagrada 2000 346. Octagoncito 349. El Halcon 349. Katsuyori Shibata 351. Les Thornton 353. Bill Longson 354. Dream Machine 354. Millano Collection A.T. 354. Jado 354. Porkchop Cash 358. Raymond Rogeau 358. Gedo 360. Ernie Ladd 360. Hector Garza 360. Jacques Rogeau 360. Yoshinari Ogawa 364. Robert Gibson 364. Virus 367. Beef Wellington 367. The Bloody 367. Gino Hernandez 370. Hiroshi Tanahashi 370. Souko Kato 370. Tatsuhiko Takaiwa 373. Matt Borne 373. Pat Tanaka 373. Tony St. Claire 373. Toshie Uematsu 377. Gary Albright 377. Ikuto Hidaka 377. Matt Hardy 380. Cutie Suzuki 380. Johnny Ace 380. Pat Roach 383. Les Kellett 383. Terry Taylor 383. Tony Charles 386. El Brazo 386. Genki Horiguchi 386. Kane 386. Mascara Ano 2000 386. Wayne Bridges 391. Blackman 391. Dragon Kid 391. Michiko Ohmukai 391. Mikhail Illoukhine 395. Andrei Hopylov 395. Ayako Hamada 395. Bobo Brazil 395. El Solitario 395. Marabunta 395. Perry Saturn 401. Apolo Dantes 401. Eddie Graham 401. Jerry Lynn 401. Shelton Benjamin 405. Animal 405. Chavo Guerrero Jr. 405. Tatsuo Wakano 408. The Crusher 408. Luke Williams 408. Masahito Kakihara 411. Big Bruno Elrington 411. Butch Miller 411. Danny Collins 411. Kato Kung Lee 411. Plum Mariko 411. Yoshinobu Kanemaru 418. Ran Yu Yu 418. Black Buffalo 418. Dick Shikat 418. Horst Hoffman 418. Joe Malenko 418. Jonothan Boyd 418. Universo 2000 425. Doug Gilbert 425. CM Punk 425. Heavy Metal 425. Ken Lucas 425. Mr. Wrestling II 425. Sid Vicious 425. Yoshiaki Yanamoto 432. Dutch Mantell 432. Nikita Koloff 432. The Sandman 434. Akitoshi Saito 435. Dan Spivey 435. Gama Singh 435. Johnny Eagals 435. Necro Butcher 435. Villano IV 441. Jody Fleisch 441. Sakura Hirota 441. Thunderpolt Patterson 441. Yoshiko Tamura

Man all these stories like the Benoit/HHH thing and Tracy Smothers becoming the guy from memento makes me sad. Then I think about other stuff like Micky Whipwreck basically jumping up and down cause he managed to remember what he needed to get from a store or the Angle at Summerslam thing where he staggered back to the ring and wrestled a good length all messed up. It's just sad stuff. I know concussions are part of the game, but I'm hoping some things will change like more info about recognizing the warning signs and mandatory time off instead of Man-ing up. There was one thread about how a guy was sick of the injured Nigel McGuiness being the champ cause he wouldn't make more defenses, then he goes out and kills himself against Austin Aries. I think thats one of the problems, fans really need to recognize how dangerous this fake sport really is and not a video game.

I remember when I first saw this list a few years ago I really wanted to see the Top 20 so I got a copy of this match. I dunno it was really fun and all with Dr. Schultz constantly trying to get at Inoki and I'm a big Dynamite/Fujinami fan but I never saw the greatness of it as compared to the other high matches ranked here. The only match of the Top 20 that I've never seen. And it sounds awesome. :-( Just curious from all you wrestling guru's who's likely seen tons of stuff from the 80's then me. Any matches you think really should've made this list? What's your #1 match or top matches from the 80's? Just curious!