Tim Cooke

Well, I bring this topic right back to Eddy since he is top 5 in the world for me. I think Samoa Joe is pretty clearly the best worker in the world right now. After that, I had Bryan Danielson, Eddy Guerrero, and Rey Misterio Jr. all switching spaces between 2, 3, and 4 since they were fairly interchangable. As for 5, probably Perro Aguayo Jr. but I could see Yuki Ishikawa (his Big Loud Mouth match from September vs. Alexandr Otsuka) was awesome. Maybe Ricky Marvin. SUWA would be but he only has the one match against KENTA.

Loss- the 6/6/83 Dundee vs. Lawler match on the 'Tim Cooke Comp' is one of two versions. I think the better version is on the Memphis Arena Bouts 1983 Disc 2 that Will has in that it has more skips but shows more of a variety of matches. Track that down. Also, how did you like 12/30/85 Dundee vs. Lawler? Tim

Not to derail this thread but: " He's more than capable as a worker." HHH is so medicore in the ring. Average punches, bad moves, a neat finisher that he has no clue how to set up, weird pyschology. Just a bad worker. Tim

As my OCD continues to run rampant, I now must make a list of my personal top 25 matches. At first, I thought I would do nothing more than a list but lists without comments generally suck. So with each match, I will try to give a simple run down of why it makes such a high ranking with myself and any other comments that are necessary. This list is also going to be very limited when it comes to All Japan 1990's. Not because the matches aren't great, but because I can not for the life of me, get into them at this moment. 2 guys with awesome punches, stomps, knees, etc. give me much more joy these days....who knows why? Started thinking about this on Saturday so I am going to update a lot whenever I feel I need to add something to the list. So here goes-hopefully this will turn out to have more and more commentary on the actual matches as time goes on. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rock n Roll Express vs. Randy Savage/Lanny Poffo (1983 & 1984 Memphis) NOTE: * Both of these matches are short. The first is 9:30 and 7 minutes airs. The second is 13:50 and 7-8 minutes airs. They will count as one because essentially they are. The first leads directly into the second and the second would lead into a great third match if it happened or showed up on tape. This will be re-watched back to back sometime with more in depth comments. El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (July 18, 1987 - LA) The theatrical side of lucha with a technico versus a rudo, high stakes on the line as Santo puts up his mask versus Casas' hair. I think I said this elsewhere but in 2005, this match looks as good as anything in the wrestling world. In 1987, it must have been mind bending. Casas is responsible for every wild rudo bump that takes place today. More on this after I re-watch this week. * I also have the following from the Santo/Casas series to watch starting when I get home from work today: - Santo vs. Fuerza from Hamada's UWF June 1990 - Santo vs. Casas from UWA Commercial release (1991 probably) - Santo vs. Casas from September 19, 1997 Hair vs. Mask - Santo/Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje/Scorpio Jr. from March 13, 1999 Double Hair vs. Double Mask I anticipate that any of the last 3 matches could make this list. I have seen Fuerza/Santo before and it is solid, but it is also in Japan and thus not real lucha. El Hijo del Santo/Bestia Salvaje/Scorpio Jr. vs. El Dandy/Negro Casas/Hector Garza (11/29/96 - CMLL) This is the week after Santo's heel turn and is basically a showcase for Santo to show how great of a rudo he is and for the technico's to get revenge. The booking of this heel turn is really what places this on the list. The booking here is as good as anything I have ever seen. The national treasure of Mexico, who would never turn on his people, does the un-thinkable and turns rudo and joins sleazy Bestia and Scorpio. Technico El Dandy and rookie Phenom Hector Garza step up to the plate to put Santo in his place but they aren't enough. They need someone else-someone who knows Santo the best-his archrival Negro Casas. Can they co-exist? Where does this lead? Great fucking storytelling and if I could understand the promos in Spanish, I am sure I would be flipping out even more. El Hijo del Santo vs. La Parka (December 23, 2001 - Monterrey) The ultimate bloodbath (I could see Eddy's awesome bleeding performance at Judgement Day 2004 rivaling this). It's Super Libre so both of these guys are not happy with each other to say the least so they kick the crap out of each other with great brawling, bleed buckets, and still work in all of the typical highspots you see from these guys. COMING SOON: El Dandy vs. Negro Casas vs. El Hijo del Santo (12/6/96 - Triangular Revenge Match) Midnight Express vs. Rock n Roll Express (4/12/86 - NWA) And much much more.

I have a new ***** match to add to my very short list. Santo v Casas from July 18 1987 is so incredible. When I first saw this 5 years ago, I wanted Rey Jr v Juventud pace, spots, etc. Thus, I disliked it. Watched it for the first time in years Wednesday Night and it blew my mind. I am going through all of the Santo/Casas stuff I have (in somewhat chronological order) and this is balls out. Wrestling today doesn't connect with the fans like this match did. That sucks. Casas was a perfect rudo here, making all of Santo's offense look amazing. The one thing I noticed that I think bothered me in the past but now I get is when the rudo beatdown is occuring, when a technico takes a backdrop, they don't get good height and make it look average. I thought it was laziness or just not doing it right but it isn't. It is so when the technico goes for his revenge spots and throws the rudo in the air for a back drop, the rudo gets incredible height and makes the technico look awesome. This match works perfect in 2005, but happened in 1987. I am stoked to see the UWA 1991 Comml tape match between the two and the 9/19/97 Mask vs. Hair match next week. Tim

The fan climbing the cage was awesome. I thought the actual match sucked, considering it was DiBiase and Savage in there. Bossman/Hogan cage is much better as is Rude/Piper from the set. Tim

- What is your favorite singles match? - What is your favorite tag team (2 teams of 2) match? - What is your favorite multi-person (2 teams of 3 or more on each side) match? - What is your favorite type of wrestling? - What is your favorite angle of all time? - Who is a wrestler you found to like because of the internet? - WCW or WWF 1996-1998? - Do you like Lucha Libre? Why? - If you could book a "Super Show" card with 3 matches with a guarantee to draw a huge crowd and maintain monster heat the whole night, what would it be? My answers: - What is your favorite singles match? Right now, I am not too sure. I have really gug a ton of matches that are clipped or JIP for only a few minutes. Bill Dundee vs. Jerry Lawler from 1979 (which I should have in full shortly), Jerry Lawler vs. Randy Savage (Loser Leaves Town) but those are only 5 minute segments. Probably Eddy vs. JBL right now from 5/16/04. Story, heat, intensity, BLOOD. Next in line is Santo vs. Parka from 12/23/01. The first times I saw this, I shat on it. Seeing it again in the latest package that Will sent gave me a totally new perspective on it. - What is your favorite tag team (2 teams of 2) match? Bam. Savage/Poffo vs. RnR Express x 2 from 83 and 84. They need to be seen back to back, with original commentary and with Meltzer/Cornette commentary. As much as I love the great AJPW tags, these two matches can work ANYWHERE in the US on any day. - What is your favorite multi-person (2 teams of 3 or more on each side) match? Hmmmm, Wargames, Thunderqueen, AJPW 1990-1992 six man tags. Ah, what the hell. 4/20/91 Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi v Kawada/Misawa/Kobashi (48 minute version). The 48 minute version adds a piledriver and a swinging neckbreaker, two of my favorite moves. - What is your favorite type of wrestling? Memphis, done right with Lawler/Dundee/RnR/Eaton/Condrey/Cornette/Jimmy Hart/Joe LeDuc/Buddy Landel - What is your favorite angle of all time? Morton taking the piledriver on the table from Savage. - Who is a wrestler you found to like because of the internet? Giant Baba, Destroyer - WCW or WWF 1996-1998? WCW. Fuck the WWF. - Do you like Lucha Libre? Why? Yes, but really am more geared to liking intense, hateful Lucha now-a-days. I like the technical aspects but give me Santo/Parka killing each other over a Technico v Technico match. - If you could book a "Super Show" card with 3 matches with a guarantee to draw a huge crowd and maintain monster heat the whole night, what would it be? Main Event: Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee (1989 - Memphis - Loser Retires Forever) Semi-Main Event: Rock n Roll Express vs. Randy Savage/Lanny Poffo (1984 - Memphis - NO DQ) Opening Match: Bobby Eaton/Dennis Condrey/Big Bubba/Jim Cornette vs. Ted Dibiase/Steve Williams/Hacksaw Duggan/Tommy Rogers Tim

After watching Batista vs. Eddy from the recent No Mercy PPV, Batista isn't believable to me at all. Eddy had to kick and scream his way through a tolerable match with Batista. I get the comments Batista made about TNA now as the thing he tried too hard at (and thus overacted) were his facial expressions. Everything that was good in that match is all because of Eddy. Fucking Batista couldn't even take a camel clutch or a half crab properly. And his clotheslines/strikes are Sid like. I haven't seen any of them, but I can only imagine Trips vs. Batista series as being totally unwatchable. In other news, piss poor wrestler JBL had another good match with Rey Jr. on PPV. Nothing blow away, but excellent undercard fodder. JBL works well with Rey and Eddy. Batista apparently works well with HHH but not with Eddy. Crazy.

Shit-how much Punk have you watched? Punk put on 2 legit good to great babyface performances against Jimmy Rave in a cage on 5/14 and 6/18 vs. Austin Aries. And then his heel run on 7/8, 7/9, 7/16, and 7/23 vs. Lethal, STrong, Gibson, and Daniels respectivly, was as good heel work that has been done in the US in a while. Certainly better than any WWE heel work since heel Bret.

It's on Barnett's NWA comps. Volume 4 I think. The Dutch/Dundee/Landel break up angle is so awesome. Tim

Just watched that match last week. Liked it but it was just a good studio TV match....not that that's a bad thing. I'm really having some severe trouble in re-watching Japanese stuff to answer the question Loss posed. Don't know what it is but hopefully just a phase. I know the matches are good but I am just not feeling them where as the Savage/Poffo v RnR Express matches from Memphis are making me totally flip out. Tim

MX v RnR? RnR v Manny/Rude? Is this from the package you just got from Ginnetty? Now I am doubly excited. Tim

Just the two matches with Savage v RnR

After a second viewing in two days, I have found another lost match. February 22 1987 Rock n Roll Express v Manny Fernandez/Rick Rude (Worldwide) This match should suck. First off, the WTBS Tag Title Switch was pretty mediocre (live crowds > studio crowds for the most part). Second, Rude is 100x better than he was three years prior in Memphis but he is still green. And Manny has never been a favorite of mine. Third, Gibson plays the face in peril. But hot damn if this didn't come together so well. The first half is all RnR with double teams and heel stooging, even with useless Paul Jones becoming somewhat useful. He isn't Cornette but who is. Since Rude/Fernandez "stole" the win on WTBS, the RnR are out for their titles and revenge so they work on the arm of whichever heel is in the ring. And this isn't the Andersons using mid 50's arm bars to 'work' the arm. This has Morton and Gibson working everything around arm drags into arm bars but never staying in an arm bar for more than a few seconds. Morton brings the Backlund spot of wrenching the arm out of the socket on Rude. Even though he is really only good at punches, forearms, scoop slam, an out of no where top rope knee drop half way across the ring [Eaton must have shown him that] and decent bumping, Rude brings the great facials when Morton is wrenching his arm, making the crowd roar that their heroes are making these dirtbags pay. Gibson adds in his 'tag in, jump over top rope and drop knee on to 'whatever body part is being worked on." That may be the single greatest spot in the history of tag team wrestling. You can do it on ANY body part, it looks good, it pops the crowd, and it is generally great. Destroyer would do his great handstand kneedrop numerous times throughout matches but this is a great take on tag team wrestling. I used to think the Fantastics killed the RnR because they brought flash and more highspots. The more RnR I watch, the more it shows I was wrong. Another cool spot if Morton throwing Manny out of the ring, Manny coming right back in, repeat on the other side, Manny gets on ring apron and goes for sunset flip. You see this a lot today in tag team wrestling with heels who wrestle with face spots. So I am thinking "crap, a reason not to like this." And Morton blocks and buries punches to to Manny. A really nice take on a heel revenge spot that is spoiled by the quicker faces. Comml happens and we come back and Gibson is in peril, with Manny using nerve holds to keep him down. In addition to the Rick Mysterio Rude and his flying knee, Manny brings a clotheslines that is devastating. As I went through all of my 1986 NWA TV, I was wondering when the unreal heat started to fade out in wrestling. Stuff like the screams when the heels would double team cheat behind the refs back. I had some pre-conceived notion that is was in 1987 but clearly not at this point. Manny drawing Morton in and then double teaming Gibson while the ref is with Morton got a lot of screams and heat. The finish is a Dusty fustercluck, but I was entertained since they worked it that the faces had *2* clear finishes on Manny Fernandez and if they get a NO-DQ match or something where the ref doesn't get bumped, they will regain their titles. ----------------------------------------------- Savage v Lawler (Loser Leaves Town 1985) - only had the final 5 minutes of this on DVD and I hope a more complete version is out there. They do nothing but throw punches and it gets a hot, hot, hot reaction. Savage in Memphis is so much better than Savage in WWF. Loss or anyone want to point me to more Lanny Poffo matches as well? Tim

I did lots of trolling back in the old days at TSM. Even trolled out Loss for saying that the 5/21/01 Austin/Trips vs. Benoit/Jericho match was a fantastic, great, incredible match (THOUGH I WAS RIGHT!!!)

Once Rave dropped all of his shit, he has become quite the wrestler. Starting with the Punk match in February of this year, I have enjoyed almost all of his matches. Can't say nearly the same for Styles.

The best Styles match I have seen is 7/23/05 vs. Jimmy Rave in a streetfight in ROH. Rave carries him and Styles isn't goofy.

The Backlund/Rose lumberjack match is the best lumberjack match I have ever seen and kills this one. Look out for it, DVD 7 I believe. Tim

Loss- haven't seen that spot repeated but still have a lot of Mid South house show macthes with them to go through. Will- Fulton in the Mid South matches has been very contempt to sit with an armbar for too long. I do enjoy his willingness to get the young girls into the match. Maybe it was because he was next to Rogers....I dunno. I think he is really strong in the 1988 MX series but I think his FIP skills lack. In the ROH shoot interview, he gets so excited about wrestling. It is cool to see someone so passionate. Tim

Rogers/Fulton as babyfaces wrestled Morton/Gibson as heels in April 1989 in the Virgin Islands. Lynch has the handhelds. Disappointing. But not as disappointed I have been with most of the Fantastics matches from the new Mid South stuff. I have never been a Fulton hater but I am becoming one. Of note, on Mid South House Shows 74, watch the Dundee/Mantel beatdown of Tommy Rogers as the face in peril. Then watch the beatdown on Rogers by Eaton/Condrey on Cornette's Produced Midnight Express Volume 2 (it is also on Barnett's set but I am not sure which disc). I have really grown to appreciate Ricky Morton as a top FIP guy, but Rogers blows my mind, with his hard bumps and willingness to put over the other teams moves as death. The Clash I match is another example. The winner for most varied comebacks that get off during a FIP segment is Morton from WrestleWar 90 where he does the sunset flip spot, runs across the ring to lesp on to Eaton who stun guns him on the turnbuckle, Lane goes to powerslam him and Morton slips out-rolls up Lane-Lane blind tags-Eaton hits swinging neckbreaker, and two more I am forgetting. That match has so many incredible spots yet I couldn't dig into it as more than really good (***1/2) for some reason. In short, Morton and Rogers were so good as Face in Peril that it puts to shame guys today. The 2 RnR vs. Savage/Poffo matches from Memphis are also top 5 matches of all time for me right now (favorite-not best) as they are just doing it for me.

Loss, Joe/Punk I was excellent at the time when you thought neither could do better. And once II and III came along, they made I look amatuer. Joe's improvement from October 2004 - present makes me never want to watch any pre-October 2004 work from him, that is how great he has really got. Enjoy and more thoughts. Tim

For the MMA list, Hanson/Uno runs away with #1 probably while Lil Nog/Tokoro, Big Nog/Fedor, Fedor/CroCop, and Rua/Mid Nog round out the top 5.

That TNA three way is the anti-thesis of what wrestling is supposed to be. No emotional connection, no desire for characters to win, just a bunch of spots (some good, some bad). Having just watched a top 3 match in 2005 for me this morning, here is my list of MOTYC's. (and yes, no Angle/Michaels I or II and I would doubt III will make it either) 4/2/05 Bryan Danielson vs. Spanky (ROH) 5/7/05 Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal (ROH) 5/14/05 Perro Aguayo Jr. vs. Mistico (CMLL) 5/14/05 Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries (ROH) 6/11/05 Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher (IWA-MS) 6/23/05 Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Misterio Jr. (WWE) 7/9/05 CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong (ROH) 7/23/05 AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave (ROH) 8/13/05 Low Ki/Homicide vs. Joe/Lethal (ROH) 9/18/05 Suwa vs. KENTA (NOAH) There are a few more candidates I would add to my list like Punk/Rave 5/14, Mistico/Ultimo Guerrero 2/26, and a few others.

Be careful with ROH. Be selective and don't watch too much at a time or else you could want to not watch another wrestling show ever again. And I am indeed an ROH fan.