My Top 100 Matches of 1996

[rzombie1988]

Thought it was a good match when I watched it, but not Top 100 material. I will be rewatching all of this after all the 90s are done to try to take another look at stuff like that and see if I had a brainfart or if I stand by what I thought the first time around.

Jaw drops...

 

 

That would be in my top 5 if not number 1. I think that match is everything wrestling should be. Quick, action packed, heated and super stiff. I've called it the best sub-15 minute match ever and I still stick with it.

 

You gave it a pretty good review too so I'm quite shocked.

[Zenjo]

Zenjo's Top 100 Matches of 1996

100) El Dandy, Atlantis & Hector Garza vs Apolo Dantes, Dr Wagner Jr & Felino (CMLL 4/26/96)
99) Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJ 5/24/96)
98) Jaguar Yokota vs Lioness Aska (Jd' 4/14/96)
97) Shiro Koshinaka vs Satoshi Kojima (NJ 8/6/96)
96) Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita (AJW 8/4/96)
95) Chigusa Nagayo, Sonoko Kato, Toshie Uematsu & Sakura Hirota vs Mayumi Ozaki, Chikayo Nagashima, Sugar Sato & Reiko Amano (GAEA 8/18/96)
94) Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & NWO Sting vs Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger & Sting (War Games) (WCW 9/15/96)
93) El Dandy, El Hijo Del Santo & Silver King vs Negro Casas, Apolo Dantes & El Satanico (CMLL 2/10/96)
92) Juventud Guerrera & Psicosis vs Volador & El Mexicano (AAA 1/12/96)
91) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Gary Albright (AJ 3/2/96)

90) La Parkita, Espectrito I & II vs Super Munequito, Baby Rabbit & Mini Frisbee (AAA 3/22/96)
89) Rey Mysterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Heavy Metal & Psicosis (Indy 6/1/96)
88) Black Tiger II vs Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 6/5/96)
87) Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi (AJ 9/5/96)
86) Volk Han vs Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS 6/29/96)
85) Masahito Kakihara vs Shinjiro Ohtani (UWFI 3/1/96)
84) Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay (Parking Lot Brawl) (WCW 4/29/96)
83) Mascara Magica vs Guerrero de la Muerte (CMLL 8/16/96)
82) Great Sasuke, Masato Yakashiji, Norino Hoshikawa, Gran Hamada & Super Delfin vs Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo, Men's Teioh, Shiryu & Shoichi Funaki (Indy 12/1/96)
81) Mayumi Ozaki vs Hiromi Yagi (JWP 3/3/96)

80) Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 11/22/96)
79) Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs Yoji Anjoh & Yoshihiro Takayama (NJ 2/25/96)
78) Chapparita Asari vs Fusayo Nochi (AJW 12/8/96)
77) Sonoko Kato & Meiko Satomura vs Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima (GAEA 11/2/96)
76) Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (AJ 3/2/96)
75) Steve Austin vs Mankind (WWF 11/18/96)
74) Apolo Dantes, El Canek & Negro Casas vs Atlantis, El Hijo del Santo & Rayo de Jalisco Jr (CMLL 7/12/96)
73) Jushin Thunder Liger vs Dick Togo (NJ 6/17/96)
72) Volk Han vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 8/24/96)
71) Mariko Yoshida vs Chapparita Asari (AJW 8/4/96)

70) Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Super Delphin, Gran Naniwa & Masato Yakushiji vs Dick Togo, Men's Teioh, Taka Michinoku, Shiryu & Shoichi Funaki (M-Pro 12/16/96)
69) Chris Benoit vs Kevin Sullivan (Falls Count Anywhere) (WCW 6/16/96)
68) Rayo de Jalisco Jr vs Apolo Dantes (CMLL 5/31/96)
67) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 11/16/96)
66) Panterita & Super Munequito vs Espectrito I & II (AAA 4/18/96)
65) Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshihiro Takayama (UWFI 12/27/96)
64) El Dandy, Silver King & Mr Niebla vs Negro Casas, Black Warrior & Emilio Charles Jr (CMLL 9/6/96)
63) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJ 5/24/96)
62) Steve Austin vs Marc Mero (WWF 6/23/96)
61) Great Sasuke, Tiger Mask IV, Hikari Fukuoka & Hiromi Yagi vs Super Delphin, Gran Naniwa, Candy Okutsu & Commando Bolshoi (JWP 10/13/96)

60) Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoji Anjoh (WAR 7/21/96)
59) Chris Benoit vs Dean Malenko (WCW 8/10/96)
58) Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera (ECW 3/9/96)
57) Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWFI 6/26/96)
56) Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue (AJ 3/31/96)
55) La Fiera, Mascara Magica, Olimpico & Ringo Mendoza vs Black Warrior, Felino, Karloff Lagarde Jr & Scorpio Jr (Torneo Cibernetico) (CMLL 10/8/96)
54) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Psicosis (WCW 7/7/96)
53) Nobuhiko Takada vs Shiro Koshinaka (NJ 3/1/96)
52) Lizmark Jr, Negro Casas & Rayo deJalisco Jr vs Apolo Dantes, Bestia Salvaje & Satanico (CMLL 9/20/96)
51) Volk Han vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 7/16/96)

50) Silver King vs Emilio Charles Jr (Hair vs Hair) (CMLL 9/27/96)
49) Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura (RINGS 9/25/96)
48) Perry Saturn & John Kronus vs New Jack & Mustapha Saed (ECW 8/24/96)
47) Undertaker vs Mankind (Buried Alive Match) (WWF 10/20/96)
46) Chigusa Nagayo vs Devil Masami (GAEA 11/2/96)
45) Steve Austin vs Savio Vega (Strap Match) (WWF 5/28/96)
44) Dynamite Kansai & Kanako Motoya vs Mayumi Ozaki & Reiko Amano (JWP 6/16/96)
43) Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobuhiko Takada (WAR 12/13/96)
42) Vader vs Antonio Inoki (NJ 1/4/96)
41) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 5/23/96)

40) Aja Kong vs Kyoko Inoue (AJW 8/30/96)
39) Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs Sonoko Kato & Toshie Uematsu (GAEA 9/16/96)
38) Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels (60m Ironman) (WWF 3/31/96)
37) Jushin Thunder Liger vs Shinjiro Otani (NJ 3/17/96)
36) Kazuo Yamazaki vs Keiji Mutoh (NJ 8/2/96)
35) Chigusa Nagayo vs Sonoko Kato (GAEA 11/16/96)
34) Mascarita Magica vs Damiancito El Guerrero (CMLL 2/27/96)
33) Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay (WCW 3/24/96)
32) Genechiro Tenryu & Nobutaka Araya vs Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka (WAR 11/9/96)
31) Mima Shimoda & Jaguar Yokota vs Cooga & Chikako Shiratori (Jd' 11/24/96)

30) Eagle Sawai, Jen Yukari & Michiko Nagashima vs Chigusa Nagayo, Sonoko Kato & Bomber Hikari (LLPW 3/12/96)
29) El Dandy vs Black Warrior (CMLL 11/2/96)
28) Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue (AJ 7/24/96)
27) Nobuhiko Takada vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 4/29/96)
26) Manami Toyota vs Kyoko Inoue (AJW 12/8/96)
25) Negro Casas & El Felino & El Satanico vs El Dandy & Silver King & Lizmark (CMLL 6/28/96)
24) El Hijo Del Santo vs Felino (CMLL 4/5/96)
23) Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs Chihiro Nakano & Makie Numao (GAEA 11/18/96)
22) Shawn Michaels vs Mankind (WWF 9/22/96)
21) Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka (NJ 6/12/96)

20) Mayumi Ozaki vs Dynamite Kansai (JWP 8/10/96)
19) Shinjiro Ohtani vs El Samurai (NJ 1/21/96)
18) Dynamite Kansai & Cuty Suzuki vs Devil Masami & Hikari Fukuoka (JWP 11/26/96)
17) Manami Toyota, Mariko Yoshida, Kaoru Ito & Yumi Fukawa vs Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue, Chapparita Asari, Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa (Captains Fall) (AJW 2/12/96)
16) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 7/9/96)
15) Masahiro Chono vs Keiji Mutoh (NJ 8/6/96)
14) Gran Hamada, Super Delfin, Tiger Mask IV, Gran Naniwa & Masato Yakushiji vs Dick Togo, Men's Teioh, Shiryu, Taka Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki (M-Pro 10/10/96)
13) Felino vs Mascara Magica (CMLL 5/21/96)
12) Bret Hart vs Steve Austin (WWF 11/17/96)
11) Takako Inoue vs Mariko Yoshida (AJW 10/6/96)

10) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 6/7/96)
9) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 11/29/96)
8) Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda vs Kaoru Ito & Mariko Yoshida (AJW 9/28/96)
7) Steve Williams vs Akira Taue (AJ 4/20/96)
6) Dynamite Kansai & Cuty Suzuki vs Hikari Fukuoka & Kaoru (JWP 7/7/96)
5) Ultimo Dragon vs Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 8/4/96)
4) El Hijo Del Santo, Atlantis, El Dandy & Lizmark vs Blue Panther, Felino, Dr Wagner Jr & Negro Casas (Elimination) (CMLL 3/22/96)
3) Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyota (FMW 5/5/96)
2) El Dandy vs El Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas (Hair vs Mask vs Hair) (CMLL 12/6/96)
1) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 12/6/96)

[Zenjo]

I never got around to doing an introduction for my top 100 list this year. 1996 was a fantastic year for wrestling and I had no problem coming up with 100 matches to recommend. Out of the five years I've completed so far it ranks only below 1992. It may end up only being a mid ranking year for the decade as the 90's was so strong.

 

All Japan was the best promotion of '96 and took MOTY honours with it's final attempt. New Japan was strong as usual, reaching it's financial peak at this time. A resurgent CMLL was a high point as it became the top Mexican promotion again. The plummeting AAA was a dismal low. Both WWF and WCW ended the year in stronger shape than they began it. The Monday Night Wars having a positive initial impact. AJW markedly declined with JWP and GAEA picking up some of the slack. For the first time there was no clear answer who the best Joshi promotion was. Rings was the number one shoot style promotion with UWFI sadly closing it's doors in December. Finally you had the legendary Michinoku Pro 10 mans and the best Death Match of all time.

 

To the initial list I've added:

 

Jaguar Yokota vs Lioness Aska (Jd' 4/14/96)

Mayumi Ozaki vs Hiromi Yagi (JWP 3/3/96)

Panterita & Super Munequito vs Espectrito I & II (AAA 4/18/96)

[Zenjo]

Just added a whole load of new matches, mainly from CMLL which has turned out to be right up there with All Japan for best promotion of 1996. It was an amazing resurgence after the lows of the previous few years. Plus '96 ended up being the 3rd best year of the 90's.

 

Felino vs Mascara Magica (CMLL 5/21/96)

Mascarita Magica vs Damiancito El Guerrero (CMLL 2/27/96)

Lizmark Jr, Negro Casas & Rayo deJalisco Jr vs Apolo Dantes, Bestia Salvaje & Satanico (CMLL 9/20/96)

La Fiera, Mascara Magica, Olimpico & Ringo Mendoza vs Black Warrior, Felino, Karloff Lagarde Jr & Scorpio Jr (Torneo Cibernetico) (CMLL 10/8/96)

Rayo de Jalisco Jr vs Apolo Dantes (CMLL 5/31/96)

Apolo Dantes, El Canek & Negro Casas vs Atlantis, El Hijo del Santo & Rayo de Jalisco Jr (CMLL 7/12/96)

Mascara Magica vs Guerrero de la Muerte (CMLL 8/16/96)

La Parkita, Espectrito I & II vs Super Munequito, Baby Rabbit & Mini Frisbee (AAA 3/22/96)

Chigusa Nagayo, Sonoko Kato, Toshie Uematsu & Sakura Hirota vs Mayumi Ozaki, Chikayo Nagashima, Sugar Sato & Reiko Amano (GAEA 8/18/96)