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I don't know if it is necessarily me needing to turn around on Steamboat. I will unequivocally say he was a great wrestler. I will also say however, that he is nowhere near a serious contender for my GOAT list and even in my top 10 US guys, it was easy for me to pass him by. I think this is in contrast to some people around here and other areas. Steamboat just has the tendency in matches to do little things that irk me like overselling, not showing enough fire, etc. I think Will was astute in the latest AWA podcast in pointing out that he is just playing to the back row of fans but that is not who I am in the audience so when I view a match, I give my opinion on what actually transpired and what I am physically seeing. Steamboat also had some disappointing stuff with Regal and that truly wretched match with Snuka on the All Japan set. I knew his 1989 Flair stuff was great going in and it held up to every bit. I would say Steamboat was great in all the matches. However, I would firmly astute that Flair was better in the Wrestlewar match and I preferred his performance in Clash 6 although Steamboat was splendid in that match as well. Steamboat also has too many lost years for me to consider him a contender for any GOAT conversation. Can anyone point me to any 1988,1990,1991 Steamboat that is top notch? That is three years in a span of 11 years of good footage from him to judge from 1983-1994. In regards to Final Conflict, again let me state that it is a great match. I think now in retrospect 4.5 stars may be too high but it is nitpicking since I would for sure have it over 4 stars. However, superstar hit on the flaws that I agree with besides the Slaughter bumping point and when we do our 1980's retrospective podcast I see no way it will be in my top 10 matches of the decade and maybe not even top 20. In regards to both Steamboat and the Final Conflict match in general I don't want to sound negative because I think both are great, just not the greatest.

Rumble was already being built better than Survivor Series 1990. The past history of the Rumble being brought up is a nice touch. Hogan and Love is a dynamic I am always a fan of and Hogan gives a good promo explaining why he will win the Royal rumble.

Perfect gets the cover for the magazine. Savage gives a good promo promising interference. I like how all these people were intertwined going into the Rumble and you werent 100% sure what would happen at Wrestlemania. I liked the backstage Gene interview humanizing Warrior some more.

Same replay as before. I do like the Horseman greenscreen backdrop.

Not that it matters a ton but I wish Dave did a better job distinguishing which matches he is actually rating and what is a reader's ranking. This is some ways was fun to see and they had some neat ideas but they went way too long and just had to repeat a lot and use their pace and stamina to carry them through. I wouldn't really call this a good match but it was interesting to watch early Kyoko. Build to the time limit draw was actually very well done.

The yearbook is relentless starting out. Kobashi vs. Hansen is #3 and may have been in my top 100 for 1990. This was freaking great. Opening from Hokuto was smart to me. The leg choke and mat work segment by Bull was well done and the comeback by Akira had me excited and pulling for the huge upset. I have this on the level of Bull vs. Kyoko from Jan 1994. Hopefully Joshi sustains this pace in 1991.

More I watch of this feud the more it may be a top 3 90's All Japan feud for me. This was short and condensed but packed a lot into the time given it. The chair spot was indeed awesome.

MOTYC to start us off the bat. One of the grittest brawls I have ever seen with some nasty headbutts, mat ripping, and a great dive spot using the chain. The finish is real abrupt but was not a bad idea in concept. Great start to the set.

90. Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Midnight Express (WCWSN 10/13/90) I bad mouthed the Steiners on the podcast and constantly ragged on Rick. Then a funny thing happen, they had my favorite run of them as a team from Sept-Oct 1990. This match was one of the final shout outs for the Midnights as a team and they packed everything they could into the time allotted. Eaton was amazing in this match flying all over the place and adding new stuff in. Rick was also actually smart in this match! 89. Bull Power vs. Otto Wanz (CWA 6/30/90) Two big hosses going at it with a triumphant finish for the hometown hero. This match was a simply as could be but worked expertly and the build to each of the bumps was amazingly well done. 88. El Satanico & El Dandy vs. Angel Azteca & Atlantis (EMLL 6/15/90) Hot off the heels of two singles matches the previous two weeks, we get this tag match. This was probably in retrospect the last time the Dandy/Azteca feud was really at a peak and I really loved the interactions with Atlantis in this match. Atlantis was probably the most graceful flyer in all of 1990. Really well built tag match in a year filled with great matches for CMLL. 87. Lex Luger vs. Stan Hansen (Bullrope Match) (Starrcade 12/16/90) Hansen shows he can go on American soil and Luger caps off a really good year for him. It will be interesting to see if I think 1989 Lex is better than 1990 Lex because I dug 1990 Lex a ton. This used the stipulation well and built to a finish that I was predetermined to hate until they swerved me in interesting fashion. Really fun feud overall and Hansen should have gotten a top run at the world title. 86. Terry Funk vs. Jerry Lawler (TWA 11/10/90) I am not mistaken when I say this is the least of their two matches in 1990 that we saw complete portions of. This was a good glimpse into what the MSC would look like on Monday night. There was a lot of schtick concepts throughout this but Funk and Lawler both did well not rely too heavily on those tendencies and to provide a kick ass match. 85. Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs. Masa Kurisu & Dragon Master (Texas Death Match) (FMW 4/1/90) Watching the death match origin was a fun theme of 1990. This match was my favorite of the bunch as it was the most cohesive and featured low tech weapons. They only used chairs and stuff around ringside but this was a chaotic brawl with hard shots and didn't overstay its welcome. 84. Midnight Express vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (WCWSN 3/10/90) A feud that should have been so much more. This was a fabulous first chapter with the MX really working over Pillman. Zenk must get credit in this series for mainly staying out of the way and knowing his role. The MX were simply incredible in 1990. 83. Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior (Mania 4/1/90) Not as good as I remembered but still a memorable main event in front of one of the biggest audiences in company history. The match was meticulous planned but they still delivered and credit must be given that whoever formed the match knew what the fans would want. After terrible build, I am glad I would still classify this match as good still. 82. El Hijo del Santo vs. Fuerza Guerrera (Hamada's UWF 6/7/90) I think I had this higher than anyone else but I thought it was a load of fun and great showcase for El Hijo Del Santo. Fuerza is able to bring in some nasty offense and I find it a treat whenever Santo really feels in peril like he does here. 81. Ron Garvin vs. Greg Valentine (Submission Match) (Rumble 1/21/90) Putting aside the goofy Garvin faces this was the WWF version of ANimal/Choshu with two old fucks just laying waste to each other. I doubt this match would have been on PPV with this amount of time by the end of 1990 but I am glad these guys were able to go out and have a long, stiff match.

1990 was a year that started off solid if unspectacular but morphed into a great in ring year from Mid - August on. Each promotion also took many turns throughout the year. I ranked 261 matches overall. Honorable Mentions: 105. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW 7/7/90) 104. Ric Flair vs. Tom Zenk (Power Hour 2/2/90) 103. Brian Pillman vs. Rip Rogers (WCWSN 11/10/90) 102. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 6/30/90) 101. Larry Zbyszko vs. Masa Saito (NJPW/AJPW 2/10/90) I will begin by admitting that the first four picks are sentimental choices. I will argue that all 4 are good matches but they had something in them that propelled them over the plethora of good matches below them. Personal Pick (**1/2) 100. Jerry Lawler vs. New York Mauler (USWA 4/28/90) This was my favorite Lawler heel feud. Southern as can be and an angle that has played out numerous times before but damn if Valiant and the King sell the hell out of it and it had the studio fans rocking. Personal Pick (***) 99. Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (Cage Match) (Capital Combat 5/19/90) I feel like I have talked about this match way too much but it is amazing with how much they did with so much shit surrounding it. Wonderful performances by both Flair and Luger to rise above the crap. I think this match looks better in retrospect after seeing the Starrcade debacle. Personal Pick (***) 98. Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake (SSLAM 8/27/90) My first wrestling memories will always be near and dear to me. It has carried me for 23 years in my life and is a part of my life. I really liked this feud and thought it built perfectly to a great Summerslam showdown. Hogan was someone that you might have thought of as stale by this point but he still seemed pretty fresh in 1990 and this feud was a big reason why. Tenta did a great job in the match and they made a countout finish seem like a big accomplishment for the Hulk. ***1/2 97. Ric Flair vs. Sting (GAB 7/7/90) Should have been longer but I still liked this as a standalone match and a passing of the torch performance. Stings offense looked good and for this night he seemed destined to be a big star. 96. Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (NJPW 8/19/90) Good intro for guys that will dominate the 1990's. The mat work here was real impressive and focused and I was overall impressed with how polished Benoit was at this early stage in his career. One of the few Japanese junior gems on this set. 95. Riki Choshu vs. Animal Hamaguchi (NJ 6/12/90) A match that puts a smile on my face thinking about. Two old guard members going to war in a bloody spectacle. I compared this to 6/9/87 Fuji/Choshu in the comments and agree with that. A very fun match to watch if you have 15 minutes to kill. 94. Scott Steiner vs. Bobby Eaton (Power Hour 9/21/90) Speaking of fun short matches, you have this one. Eaton was starting to step out into more singles around this time and proved he could go with this great match as part of the gauntlet series. He fed into Steiners power moves tremendously and its matches like these that kept me interested in WCW despite the horrid booking int he second half of the year. 93. Hart Foundation vs. Rockers (SNME 4/28/90) SNME is a show I am not nostalgic towards because its hey day was far removed by the time I watched, and I wasn't allowed to stay up anyway. 1990 was the peak of SNME though from what I have seen from a skit and in ring perspective. This was my favorite tag team feud in the WWF in 1990 and I think this match is tighter and more exciting than the more hyped Demos/Harts Summerslam match. 92. Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (Clash 9/5/90) Capped off the end to their great rivalry. 15 minutes of nonstop action. Flair was a little erratic in this match because of the condensed time but the action was relentless and the crowd was nuclear. Shit finish keeps this from going higher. 91. Doom vs. Rock & Roll Express (GAB 7/7/90) Fuck this crowd. I don't know why this match didn't mean jack shit to anyone in attendance but it was really good and told a great story. Doom started to look like major players in the division and the Rock & Rolls were worthy challengers that took Doom's power moves very well. This was my favorite Doom control segment on the set.

Looking over the match listings, I assume one of those cage matches is one we have already seen Matt? If so which one? I don't want to dig too far into the DVDVR too short folder to muddle my feelings on upcoming matches.

Wow Matt, #122? Big difference of opinion as I have that at #3 a fourth of the way in and see it as a solid top 20 contender. It felt like a blowoff match where violence and chaos is appreciated in my book. The Lawler tag may be another match that is a lot better in a group setting as it is fun as fuck watching jerry work FIP, miss the legdrop, Blackwell being a complete beast, Patera hanging, plus you can get retrospective on Mulligan since he is a guy you don't often see or think about too much.

Could this have ended any other way? Now onto my top 100 matches list.

Some sound advice from Orndorff.

albano and Tolos is pretty fun interaction. The Golden Greek is a kind of strange nickname.

I also am surprised at the amount of time given to the Rhodes. Dustin on WWF in 1990 still looks strange. Dusty is much more comfortable in doing what he is doing now than the polka dot nonsense.

Good solid match to end the wrestling for the year. Anderson was really tenacious working over the back and I always enjoy a good leg injury fake out. Zenk for his part was not terrible in this and certainly could be carried to good performances.

These guys were having fun being around with each other. Garvin loses his shit when MOrton breaks the gold record and the concert footage. These clips added a good bit of context to their earlier feud. We also get a cameo from Bob Armstrong. This looks fun as hell and a good merge of WCW and Memphis.

Idol is someone that i have always liked the look better than promo ability and he stumbles his way through. Gilbert recovers for him and wraps up a great year of TV for the USWA with too much memorable stuff to list. When Lawler getting run over by a car may not make my top 5 segments of the year, the promotion was doing some great stuff.

Kings V Neck is hideous. Good promo from jerry explaining what has transpired and setting up future matches.

Action and brawl were ok but it did look like everyone ate too much food at Christmas and was going slow. I have no idea how long Bam Bam stuck around but him and the Fabs are some fresh faces for 1991.

The best promo man of the year closes out 1990 with a great one. The bounty concept is really interesting. Favorite moment is when Gilbert runs down the fans and they cut to a crowd shot and someone gives Gilbert the bird.

People were pissed at this. Slaughter does great in this role and I guess I am so far removed from the situation that it is probably less offensive to me than most.

Probably the first big tease and give away of what was going to happen in 1991. I always thought it was a great way they taped this in showing Virgils humiliation.

Really good match combining the best character aspects of each character with good wrestling and bumping. Even though Perfect bombed with top guys in 1990 I must commend him for having two of the best matches of the year in WWF with Tito and now Piper. Piper was still in good shape at this point. Would be fun to compare this to something like vs. Bret at WM 8.