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Rey kills Curtis with that bump. Jericho looks to have everything reigned in going for the LionTamer, but Mysterio reverses into the rana and Malenko comes out and makes the count. Jericho responds by doing a tantrum.

This was at least more upbeat than usual.

Part of this I should like with the parody aspect but this fell flat all around and was just awful. Liz laughing at the jokes was my favorite part. Hogan seems fine just cruising this summer doing these celebrity matches.

We get the big angle on the Tonight Show. I did like Hogan and Bischoff resisting arrest and trying to make the thing seem more legitimate. The crowd is of course cheering Jay doing the match but there isn't exactly a ton of buzz and Kevin Eubanks in particular had to rally them to make a reaction.

Goldberg's locker room has been defaced and he is crestfallen. THey were really botching this title reign changing the way he was presented.

The faces finally get the win over the Dudleys which is some vindication for Tommy on Beulah. I really hated the four corners chair legdrop spot including the referee. Victory comes out afterwards again and cracks people with a guitar until New Jack comes and clears house with his cart full of weapons. How many times is that scenario going to happen in 98? I did like the ending shot with all three babyfaces on ladders posing with Spike stomping around below them.

This feels like the blowoff and there was some stuff I liked throughout, but like Childs and Loss, I couldn't be bothered to be fully invested. The ramp spot looked like a football team taking the field through a paper sign when they fell through. I did like how Taz immediately got the choke afterwards and definitively go through the gatekeeper to Douglas. Not a bad match, just one I wasn't bothered to really care about. (**1/2)

This was insanely fun and a great way to get yourself over with a crowd that may not be as knowledgeable about you. Was it excessive? Sure, but they did build to the big spot like Childs said and the action was ferocious and made the 11 minutes feel like a true war. No wasted motion occurred and I was pumped for this match again like it was the first time I had watched. ***1/2

I assume the Pillman vs. Badstreet match referenced is the Clash 16, it is a fine match and won MOTN for me on that throwaway show but I have it ranked around **3/4 or so and don't think it was anything extraordinarily special. They did maximize their time wisely but there has been a ton of tv matches from the past 3-4 years in WWE that I would have above that match.

Would you agree at least that Rotunda has **** matches to his name? Mike Rotunda vs. Doug Somers 04/28/1986 AWA Mike Rotunda vs. Rick Steiner 12/26/88 (Starrcade) Mike Rotunda vs. Rick Steiner 02/30/89 (Chi-town Rumble) Mike Rotunda vs. Sting 04/01/89 (World Championship Wrestling) The Varisty Club vs. The Steiner Brothers 06/14/89 (Clash 7) The Varisty Club vs. The Steiner Brothers 07/23/89 (GAB) I enjoyed all those matches and reckon there's at least three **** affairs in there. Also, I continue to think he was perfectly cast as IRS: Listen to how nerdy and whiny his voice is and think about how perfectly it fits the character. (ASIDE: just look at Ted's kickass suit there!!) His character work -- outside of the ring -- is underrated. I'll never understand how Rotunda inspires the hatred he does while guys who have nothing fun at all to their names like Brad Armstrong get praise. Why? Why am I the only Rotunda defender on the entire board? Madness. I liked the Somers match but ranked it at #68 and would have it around ***1/2 I was really disappointed in the Steiner series as I had memories of the awesome moment from Starrcade of Rick winning and thought the match was really blah. I don't even know if the Starrcade match would reach *** for me. Chi-Town probably slight above. I would say the GAB match vs. Steiners is his best hope as that was a wild crazy brawl but still one five minute edging on **** match is not top 100 material. I am still waiting for that performance where IRS really does something that makes me really invested in his work. He probably came closest in that Somers match.

I have really appreciated the hard look at late era Satanico you are doiing Elliot.

I don't get it with Brad. I wouldn't say he sucks and I might have him above Rotunda (big surprise there) but he is not someone I see as making my list as I have never came out of a Brad Armstrong match exhilarated and feeling super high on him. His Badstreet run was fine and his Cursed gimmick was sort of neat given the self deprecating culture of the late 90's, but I don't know if he has ever had a **** match and he was someone that did get a decent amount of chances.

Nice article Alan, I appreciate how I got Meltzer'd off the podcast listing.

This sounds awesome. Shows how neutered WWE can be at times as this would have absolutely been green lighted in the late 90's.

10 1990's Shawn matches: I went for more under the radar choices as well as some obvious ones that I think show off Shawn's strengths. 1. The Rockers vs. Hart Foundation (Ft. Wayne 10/30/90) 2. Randy Savage vs Shawn Michaels (WWF Munich 04/14/92) 3. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (RAW 8/1/94) 4. Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon (WWF Summerslam 08/27/95) 5. Shawn Michaels vs Owen Hart (WWF In Your House VI 02/18/96) 6. Vader, Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson & Sid (WWF International Incident 07/21/96) 7. Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin (KOTR 6/8/97) 8. Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (RAW 8/11/97) 9. Shawn Michaels vs. Davey Boy Smith (One Night Only 9/20/97) 10. Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin (WWF Wrestlemania XIV 03/30/98)

Which one did you watch, December 25,86 or the one in January. You answer depends on whether you are Matt D's lovechild or not.

2002-2006 right to the end of Homicide getting the belt was the peak for me. The combination of meeting my wife and falling out of indy wrestling after being invested for 5 years made me trail off in 2007.

Ibushi vs. Nakamura at the dome would be grand. Loved their G-1 match from 2013.

Are these little potshots at the forum necessary? In my experience here, people are generally pretty willing to give credit where it's due, no matter the promotion or era. Where is the potshot? The Bully run last year was very Memphis like. The promos, thw angles, the style of work. People here like Memphis. Nobody here pays attention to TNA. Other nomination threads make that clear. I think people who dig Memphis would see some things they liked in that Bully run. I watched more TNA in 2013 than at any other point due to reading Scott's recaps for the site and peeping an interest at stuff he praised. I really enjoyed Bully's run and thought he did an admirable job but I never thought we were seeing anything comparable to Dutch, Dundee, Lawler or Idol in their prime. I also don't think his work was on par with the first three in their prime and I am not ranking promo ability or angles in my overall listing.

it certainly is. I do feel like I have enjoyed Tanahashi enough that he won't go on my ballot as a "nod" to his high acclaim elsewhere but due to my enjoyment of his work. For instance, I thought he was splendid in the King of Pro Wrestling match vs. Okada last year and the Ishii match from the G-1.

I think the argument centers around tastes too much and will delve into respecting a style and someone being successful doing it while not liking it. I think Tanahashi absolutely can be lumped with Toyota in this regard and my final 100 will definitely have Toyota on it and more than likely Tanahashi. Tana definitely has quirks that irk me and deviate wrestling further from a style of my enjoyment. I don't think I have ever seen a great prolonged mat sequence from Tanahashi focused around wrenching of holds and escapes like Regal vs. Arn from SuperBrawl. I do think he blows through his finishers to a big degree at points. I also think the intricacy of his epic finishing runs can devalue some of the table setting being presented. This could be a knock for All Japan in the 1990's but they also did sprint at times hence a 10 minute Kawada vs. Kobashi 1998 Carnival match that ends in the stretch plum and the 1/20/97 Akiyama vs. Taue upset. On the contrary, Tanahashi has a legion of English speaking fans in a way I don't think we have seen since the rise of Three Musketeers. Just because everything someone does isn't to my liking doesn't mean I can't enjoy the artistic thought being put into the performance by the performer. Tanahashi based on his book quotes understands his strengths as a wrestler and that is commendable.

Zandig never presented himself like a star to the extent of Tanahashi. He also in no way defined a style like Tanahashi has. Jun Kasai is a better comparison and I could see a death match junkie nominating someone like Kasai.