Top 100 Matches of 1994

[soup23]

Honorable Mentions:

101. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs. Akira Taue & Tamon Honda (AJ 6/3/94)
102. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (RAW 8/1/94)
103. Fit Finlay vs. Doink (Germany 12/17/94)
104. Steven Regal vs. Larry Zbyszko (Clash 6/23/94)
105. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Tatsumi Kitahara (WAR 11/29/94)

***3/4

 

100. Vader vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFI 6/10/94)

Short match really maximized by story told by Tamura and Vader. Made Vader look like a monster going into the big showdown with Takada but also made Tamura look strong as he threw everything he had to Vader and had him reeling due to his aggressiveness at the beginning of the match. Match is also helped by card placement and is a perfect semi-man.

99. Kobashi/Misawa vs. Fuchi/Kawada 1/7 AJPW

Starting out as a puro fan getting into All Japan, I really appreciated the epic style matches featuring a ton of head drops. i still think I am bigger fan of those matches as some (as evidenced by some matches to come on this list) but one of the things I have really begun to appreciate is the lower level, "house" show All Japan matches. They didn't try to reinvent the wheel with this match, it just featured great work from Fuchi/Kawada, Misawa looking like the ace of the company, and Kobashi pushing his momentum from 12/3/93 with another fairly big win here.

98. Vader vs. Hacksaw Duggan (Starrcade 12/27/94)

Vader really had to make chicken salad out of chicken shit in 1994 and this is his most shining performance. I would not call The Boss a bad wrestler, but he is someone that has to have a high effort from someone else in order for the match to be good. Duggan may have not been in a good match this decade at this point, and yet here with Vader, he relives his old Mid South glory days. Vader again looks so great at taking offense from opponents but still looking like a monster. This win and the final angle with Hogan on the show feels like WCW telling him "were sorry" for how bad he was portrayed throughout much of 1994.

97. 1-2-3 Kid & Marty Jannetty vs. The Quebecers (MSG 1/17/94)

For one glorious month in January, WWF had the best tag division in the world. Fun matches were abound and this was one of the best ones. Marty and Kid were such a good team together and it is a shame how fast it disappeared. The quebecers heat segment in this match was better than in the other matches featured on the set.

96. Heavenly Bodies vs. Thrillseekers (SMW 8/5/94)

Bodies make a return to SMW and pick up a fresh looking feud working with the Thrillseekers. Jericho gives a truely great babyface performance with a broken arm and bleeds buckets. it is easy to see his potential in matches like these and it also nice to see him show up huge for this match which was up to this time probably the biggest of his career. Great southern style match and quick snapshot on SMW in 1994 for these two teams.

95. El Samurai vs. Great Sasuke (Super J Cup 4/16/94

Sasuke starts off one of the best one night performances of 1994 with a great match vs. El samurai. Some of the best junior wrestling on the set from Japan is featured in this match and the dives and nearfalls seem believably built to instead of just thrown out there.

94. Vader vs. Sting (Fall Brawl 9/18/94)

A fitting end to a great feud. This match didn't reach the highs of their 1992-1993 matches but still was a great back and forth battle with Vader finally being positioned as a contender for Hogan for the first time.

93. Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne vs. Nasty Boys (Stampede 4/17/94)

Growing up as kid whose main frame of reference was 1990-1994 WWF at this time, I thought this was the damnedest brawl I had ever seen. It still is pretty great and out of control for the 10 minutes they fight. Stiff shots, concession stands, shovels, and tables malfunctioning. This is also one of the few times where WCW production stepped up as the camera for this match helped set the frantic tone but we also had a split screen that for one of the few times was not annoying.

92. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Naoki Sano (UWFI 5/6/94)

As I said in the comments, it is hard many times to talk big picture on a lot of shootstyle stuff due to the groundwork and reversals involved. 1994 was a great year for the style and matches like these really show the depth of UWFI in 1994. Sano is one of my most underrated wrestlers of the 1990's as the more I see, the more I enjoy.

91. Cactus Jack vs. Chris Candido (SMW HH 12/26/94)

Cactus/candido was a great mid to upper card feud in SMW in December. Cactus really cut some amazing promos and based on what we saw in the yearbook, was vastly superior both in ring and out in SMW in my opinion than in ECW. Candido really meshes well with him also and this was great around the arena brawl with a big payoff in the Boo angle.

90. Gene Lydick & Steve Nelson vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Masahito Kakihara (UWFI 6/10/94)

Really interesting technical style shoot tag featuring Lydick and Nelson who really impressed.

[soup23]

89. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Aja Kong & SFakie Hasegawa (AJW 2/27/94)

 

I enjoyed both of the early Toyota/Yamada tag team matches early on in the set and this gave a good glimpse of how dominant team they are at this point in time. It is great to compare with the Hold Demon Army and Kobashi/Misawa tag teams. The comments of these match centered around Toyota doing her "thing" and Yamada's limited offense. I take no offense to both of those criticisms but feel like they were maximized well here. Aja looked like a monster but may have been my least favorite performer in this match due to here using devastating moves and then acting nonchalant. Sakie was kicking off a really fun 94 here as an up and comer and she really hangs with the big guns in AJW for the first time. Breakout performance for her.

 

88. Steven Regal vs. Larry Zbyszko (Slamboree 5/22/94

"

 

A perfect feud starter match with each person playing their role well and Zbyszko really fitting into the , "I may not be as good as I once was, but I am as good once as I ever was" Zbyszko in this limited feud with Regal played the grizzled veteran role better than Funk in his ECW appearances in my opinion on this set. Cocky over eagerness by Regal and a clever finish with Larry being able to pick up the win. This feud will be featured prominently upcoming in my top 100.

 

87. Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund (SStars 7/30/94)

Speaking of returning legends, we have Bob Backlund. Backlund was so different from everyone else in WWF at this time and this match is amazing at telling a story of him increasingly getting frustrated and eventually snapping at the end. Lawler was really good on commentary to as you could justify Bob's actions even though he was taken the handshake gesture the wrong way. This may not have ever been a big money feud, but it was so well put together and really works in retrospect viewing also.

 

86. Manami Toyota vs. Sakie Hasegawa (AJW 6/3/94)

 

Sakie steps up another level and has a great match with Toyota on this loaded day in wrestling. Less non stop action than many Toyota singles and tag matches and Hasegawa shows more aggression than in previous efforts. The upset win was such a feel good moment.

 

85. Jushin Liger, Shinjiro Otani, El Samurai & Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. Great Sasuke, Shiryu, Sato & Taka Michinoku (NJPW 6/15/94)

 

Junior wrestling has come to have been hated in modern times by me. This set only re-confimed by hatred for current matches because all the junior matches ranked here featuring good spots and some comedy but also include great transitions, wrestling, and structuring. This is a great Mich Pro vs. New Japan battle worked in some of the same vein as War vs. New Japan. More brawling is mixed in that usual for juniors and Sasuke and Liger continue their amazing years.

 

84. Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat (Clash 8/24/94)

 

A final farewell for the Dragon in a great match with Austin. I have criticized Steamboat in some ways of being overated as far as GOAT discussions are concerned, but he was an amazing wrestler and really went out with a nice match. One of the more frustrating commentated matches of the year with the Hogan push in overdrive and negating the effort going on in the ring.

 

83. Jushin Liger vs. Super Delphin (NJ 5/30/94)

 

Knew I would love this the second Delphin showed up on my screen with the outfit. Delphin is able to play up the comedy so well and then shove that aside for great wrestling. Liger bullying the other juniors around also is interesting and leads to a dramatic finish for the BOSJ.

 

82. Dustin Rhodes vs. Bunkhouse Buck (Bullrope Match) (Slamboree 5/22/94)

 

One of the few real good bullrope matches. I think this match got 1.5 stars in the Observer which is absurd. Didn't have the fun, garbage style brawl aspect of Spring Stampede but used the gimmick real well and featured plenty of stiff punches and shots with the cow bell. A ruthless brawl that had more psychology than most of the ECW matches at this time. Fitting that this match was in Philly.

81. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (AJ 4/14/94)

 

A good to great match every time out is guaranteed when these two match up. This had more prominent stakes than previous matches due to the winner advancing to the final of the Carnival. They performed accordingly with more tentative action and built the match up to a great finish. Taue only showed glimpses in 1994 of what his 1995 breakout year would bring and this was an example.

80. Gary Albright & Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Vader & John Tenta (UWFI 10/8/94)

 

This really had a big time match feel and while it certainly didn't feautre the best action from the top 100 or probably 150 matches of the year, the characters and charisma of especially tenta, albright, and Vader carry the lack of action. Everything is built up that each payoff feels like a really big deal. Just an awesome main event spectacle type match.

[soup23]

****

 

79.Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda (AJW 1/24/94)LCO was not prominently featured at all on this yearbook set and based on the supplement matches I have watched so far, I will be recommending a couple of their matches for the supplement set. This shows them getting one of their earliest high profile shots at the titles at upper tier opponents. The first and second falls of this match are really great. The third fall declines a good portion but I would not say that it falls off a cliff and I do commend them for trying and building the match up to a certain point that just didn’t resonate with the crowd.

78. Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCWSN 3/12/94)This is the showcase match for Steve Austin in 1994. The early portion of the year was full of him having capable to good matches but not being able to structure the match completely and mainly relying on selling and big bumps. This match is structured wonderfully and the comebacks mixed in by Steamboat build to one of the most dramatic matches on TV in 1994. Austin had glimpses were he looked like a main event star in 1994 but a lot of times, I don’t think he was quite able to put it all together. This match is the exception.

77. Mitsuya Nagai vs. Masayuki Naruse (RINGS 12/17/94)Rings made a quick appearance in 1994 and brought two wonderful shoot style matches to December. This match really shows off the different techniques used in wrestling and is a true striker vs. wrestler style worked match. Nagai comes off looking strong and ready to give Volk Han a challenge in their upcoming match.

76. Tracy Smothers vs. Chris Candido (Ladder Match) (SMW 4/1/94)I am guessing I will have this lower than most but still thought it was a very good match. I think the wrestling was certainly mixed in more than the WM10 ladder match. Candido and Tracy worked well together and this was their biggest showcase match where they delivered.

75. Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue (AJ 3/24/94)A kind of sneaky match that may not be as memorable as many matches surrounding it but it still really good. Taue from a distance doesn’t have any straight out amazing performances as would become his calling card in his most memorable matches, but he was really consistent in 1994. Kobashi shows his climb up the ladder here and this was a good template of what the Carnival for the year would be like.

74. Jake Roberts vs. Dirty White Boy (SMW 5/14/94)Maybe one of the best matches I have ever seen with so little moves and big spots. The story here was amazing with DWB eye and Jake used every trick in the book to mock DWB and expose the eye. Jake really was amazing for his short run in SMW and this was the best match from his time period there.

73. Mascara Sagrada vs. Black Cat (AAA 5/15/94)Great performance by cat carrying an awkward Sagrada. This showed how deep AAA cards could have been and mixed in more wrestling and mat work with the great spots.

[soup23]

72. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 4/11/94)
By the numbers Misawa. Vs Kawada is still pretty dang good. This is probably competing with the 98 Carnival draw and 7/99 as the worst of their singles matches together. Still really good and probably Misawa’s best showing until 5/21 in my opinion. Kawada was also able to give him more offense and push him to a draw which advanced the storyline for 6/3/94.

71. Stan Hansen vs. Akira Taue (AJ 4/11/94)
Like the DWB/Jake match above this is a match driven by a competent competitor and an out of this world performance. In this case, Hansen turns in a sell job for the ages with his selling of the ribs. Taue may have turned in his worst performance in 1994 yearbook in this match and it didn’t really matter and was still a great match due 99% to Hansen. Hansen slowed down from 1993 and 1994 but this match proved he could still bring the goods on certain occasions.

70. Steiner Brothers vs. Hart Brothers 1/11 WWF
One of the classic WWF tag matches and holds up real well. While the great work is not as out of context in a WWF ring as you might initially imagine due to the 123 Kid/Janetty January team, this is still one of the most workrate heavy matches you will see in the states in 1994. This also built a nice storyline throughout the match and the intensity increased the longer the match went.

69. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Shiro Koshinaka (NJ 8/7/94)
The G-1 was really lackluster. Only this match and the Hash/Sasaki draw I will recommend in the supplement thread struck me as top tier matches. I was amazed that the finish didn’t at least have a finish only clip shown till I watched that piece of shit match. Ditto for Muto/Chono ending their streak of being on every yearbook. This was a great draw that really had a hot stretch in the end with Kosh look credible and Hash reeling in his dopey offense.

68. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (Cage Match) (SSlam 8/29/94)
I think to really enjoy this match two concessions must be made.
1. You have to accept the escape rules and embrace them. I don’t have any trouble with Owen running and trying to escape since one of the main drivers of the feud was that Owen was not as good as Bret, but lucked into a situation in WM 10 and took advantage. Owen wanting to outsmart Bret and winning the belt in the same motion sounds like a sound strategy for his character. I am less forgiving of Bret running for the door in the early goings but as the match progressed he did better of beating up Owen and only when he was in a vulnerable position, then going for the victory.
2. Owen would never been seen as a main even threat after this match. Owen felt like a territory star coming in for a big feud with this match as a blowoff. Even though he would turn in a magnificent performance in the Survivor Series match, his days as a main event star ended when Bret’s two feet touched. After this, the heat in their matches was diminished greatly and most of the time Owen reached for comedy in his heel demeanor.
I think this match and the Flair/Steamboat Spring Stampede matches are the two most debatable matches of the entire year.

67. Nobuhiko Takada vs. Naoki Sano (UWFI 10/14/94)
Takada looks like the ace and Sano is one of my favorite unheralded workers. Takada has taken a bad rap but 1994 featured him having excellent matches with admittedly good opponents but he carried his load. Great main event match for UWFI.

66. Angel Azteca, Volador & Winners vs. Misterioso, Solar I & Super Calo (AAA 3/19/94)
Awesome trios matches which showed off a few up and comers in AAA. Each pairing featured a special skill that the two workers possessed which gave a nice rhythm to this trios and made you look forward to the progression with the pairings.

65. Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (BATB 7/17/94)
I said in the thread and stand by that as much as one might say that Over the Edge 98 and Wrestlemania 17 potray the attitude era, this match shows the Hogan era matches. Flair provides a great opponent for Hulk and this really felt like the biggest stateside match of the year. Having watched all of 1994, while this feud was certainly not booked perfect, I will contend that Hogan didn’t kill WCW until the NOW came, it was his friends and ego that he brought with him. Hogan as a Cena esque character around this time could have been very interesting with a few tweaks and would have still worked with the N W O turn. One of Hogan's best matches of all time.

 

****1/4

64. Bret Hart vs. 1-2-3 Kid (RAW 7/11/94)
Two things that Bret excels at are on display here. Face vs. Face matches and working with a smaller, lesser opponent. Kid got a lot of offense and timed his offense brilliantly. It is a shame the crowd didn’t get into this match more and it was the best match on Raw in 1994.

63. Pantera vs. Felino (AAA 12/27/94)
Classic lucha is always a thrill to watch. Felino looked really good here especially on the mat. Felino turned in his career performance in this match. The mat work seen here was some of the best lucha matwork in the entire year.

[soup23]

62. Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 10/22/94)

If only they could have chopped ten minutes off of this match, we would have been looking at a top 20 contender. I still will likely have it ranked higher than most because I really value the struggle up to the first powerbomb for Kawada and love the ending sequence with him throwing a variety of kicks Mortel Kombat style at Williams. Awesome reaction from the crowd to with Tosh getting his first triple crown victory.

 

61. Rock & Roll Express vs. The Gangstas (SMW 9/17/94)

Not really a match at all but like I said in the comments, I will rank this as Tupelo Concession Brawl type event. The result of this brawl was one of the best things that SMW did in the year and honestly this was the real big highlight of the feud from a work perspective. The promos between these two teams were so heated that it really pained me to see them having traditional tag matches. Here, they went all out and brawled around the building for about 10 minutes in a great, intensified spectacle.

 

60. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 11/25/94)

I said earlier about how even low level Misawa/Kawada is still pretty high end stuff. This tag is even a better example. We have seen 8 matches from these two teams in the 1993-1995 period, I would only rate this match above the 1995 RWTL final and in the neighborhood of the 1/95 hour draw. That is some incredible work from the other matches. This was great to see in full and like I said in the comments, this felt like Taue really belonging in with the other three workers and he gave his best performance of the year in this match.

 

59. Larry Zbyszko vs. Steven Regal (Pro 6/25/94)

Perfect feud ender and really sad that this was the last of Regal on the yearbook. This packed so much punch in the 8 minutes the match takes place. A wonderful feud that really resonated for me as a viewer going back and looking at the year as a whole. I would say the lack of really great feuds like this and the Studd Stable/Rhodes feud really proved to be the demise of WCW in the final 3 months of the year.

 

58. Vader vs. Dustin Rhodes (Clash 11/16/94)Fantastic performances by both men in this match. Dustin goes really small in this match and works awesome as an underdog who then can go toe to toe with Vader. Vader really has to throw his whole arsenal at Rhodes and he looks better doing that here with the moonsault and everything else than at any other point in the year. Vader really was on a roll at this point in time.

 

57. Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs. Razor Ramon & 1-2-3 Kid (Action Zone 10/30/94)A famous tag match that holds up, the structure is done in such a different style than a lot of WWF tags and the work and pace are frantic. I do think this match and Diesel being layed out for so long helped the superkick become the finisher it is known as today. Incredible that one of the best matches of the WWF year happened on Action Zone.

 

56. Terry Funk vs. Sabu (WWN 2/28/94)

Perfect garbage brawl showing the best traits of both Sabu and Funk in 1994. Really neat handheld footage on this match too. Sabu would eclipse this match with a Cactus match coming up later, but this to me was clearly Funks shining moment in 1994 besides his performance in War Games.

 

55. Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue vs. Aja Kong & Manami Toyota (AJW 3/3/94)

Rock solid tag match that featured some unique pairings. Bull vs. Aja was a highlight and they revisited their feud with some spirited action. Kyoko showed some punk tendencies working over Toyota, and Toyota didn’t annoy me fully and I thought she was good in this match taking punishment and hitting everything cleanly.

 

54. Manami Toyota & Takako Inoue vs. Aja Kong & Reggie Bennett (AJW 12/10/94)

This match was so endearing to me. Reggie works so hard in this match and you really want to cheer for her and her performance and she clearly is limited athletically but gives 100% into this match. Smart start to the match allowing Aja/Reggie to catch their breath coming off the previous match. The submission work was well done here and maybe I am becoming a Toyota apologists but I thought she was incredible here and I loved her comeback. Her scoring the pinfall on Aja felt like a big defining moment.

 

53. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 7/22/94)

One of two hidden gems from All Japan I found while watching. (the other match will be recommended on the 1994 other matches to watch thread) Ace/Williams made a good team and were able to use the 1994 peak years of William’s feuds with Kobashi and Misawa and mix in Ace effectively. This was great All Japan action and I am thrilled to discover a new match I had never seen before.

 

52. Jerry Lawler vs. Dream Machine (Coward’s Way Out Match) (USWA 4/25/94)

Memphis lone wrestling gem from 1994 is this match. Using the gimmick in a great way and having such a clever finish that is so believable to end the match. Dream Machine came back from a hiatus and really featured Lawler at his best in 1994.

 

51. Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 3/29/94)

Doc arrived in this match. Going 30 minutes toe to toe with kawada and showing he could have an awesome singles match without throwing out a ton of high impact moves like the 93 Kobashi match. This match built up real well over the time limit and delivered in the viewer wanting more at the end.

 

50. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCWSN 5/14/94)

The true final chapter in one of the greatest North American rivalries of all time. A wonderful tv match that never felt rushed and showed Steamboat in fine form. I am probably lower on this than some due to my dislike of Flair’s overall tweener role in this period, but this match really felt like a fitting end to two legends of pro wrestling.

[jdw]

Fun reading.

[soup23]

Thanks John, after seeing how much of a time commitment this is, I got to give props to Loss fro doing it.

49. Dustin Rhodes vs. Bunkhouse Buck (Bunkhouse Match) (Stampede 4/17/94)
This match had the tough task of following the Nasties/Payne-Cactus streetfight and delivered a unique brawl featuring stiff punches, powder, cowbells, etc. This is a really great brawl that features nasty bumps by Dustin. Really set the feud in motion between him and Studd Stable.

48. Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai (AJW 11/20/94)
This is an epic dome match done appropriately given the setting. Big bombs thrown by both women and erases the memory of one of the most disappointing matches of the year in their 6/4 match. This match also was really suspenseful and felt like either person could have won.

47. Devil Masami/Chigusa Nagoya/Dynamite Kansai vs. Mayumi Ozaki/Cutie Suzuki/Plum Mariko 1/9 JWP
Sneaky great 6 man from early in the year. Interesting to see Chigusa/Devil on the same team and the veteran vs. up and comer theme that would be integral for many promotions in 1994 really was brought to the forefront for the first time. 2 count wins stipulation adds a lot of urgency and intrigue to the match. Long match but never boring.

46. Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ 4/15/94)
The description of these two wrestling that Childs gave about two high school football jocks is the most appropriate analogy I can make for these two. You can feel the testosterone and both men were on a roll going into this match. Both of these wrestlers vs. Kawada in the finals would have been very interesting.

45. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto (WAR 3/2/94)
1994 did not have much in the way of invading teams or interpromotional feuds. This is one of the few examples and features a big time style main event that what may lack in flash, makes up for in execution. Onita really brought a great dramatic dynamic and set up the singles with Tenryu.

44. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Atsushi Onita (No Rope Explosive Barbed Wire Cage Death Match) (FMW 5/5/94)
The aforementioned tag really segues into this match and featured Tenryu’s last great performance for the year. The build to the exploding wire was drawn out as well as the build to the powerbombs. Both men are masters at milking every move and had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands. I said in the comments, that pretty much any other two wrestlers wrestling this same exact match would have been a huge dud, but the charisma of these performers makes the match excellent.

43. El Hijo Del Santo, Perro Aguayo, Mascara Sagrada & Lizmark vs. El Satanico, La Parka, Psicosis & Black Cat (AAA 5/27/94)
Vastly preferred this match to the Triplemania all star tag. Mixture of spots abounded here and Santo looked the most vulunerable and sold more here than at most points on the set. La Parka and Psicosis also showed for the first time in 1994 what they could really bring to the table and looked like two rising stars in lucha.

42. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (Stampede 4/17/94)
I think this may in many ways be the most interesting match of 1994. I air on the side that the crowd was interested in the mat work and they stuck with the match as shown by a nice reaction to the finishing stretch. Spring Stampede may be one of the best WCW PPV’s of all time and having a great technical match on top of all the brawls really resonated with me. I thoughts Flair work and attack was more focused here than in the WCWSN match and the Hogan hype was downplayed more. Working in the chicken wing finish was a neat callback and set up a legitimate dispute for the rematch.

41. Cactus Jack vs. Sabu (Falls Count Anywhere) (NWC 10/30/94)
The best garbage style brawl from SABU in 1994. Sabu could definitely have a mystique at times and his out of control nature was paired wonderfully with Cactus in this match that goes all over the building and into a casino. These two had some disappointing matches this year but this match really presented everything you could have wanted between these two matching up. This is my top match from the year from a “small time†promotion.

40. Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund (Series 11/23/94)
This match has been talked about to death but I think it is great and will just say that if wrestling was ever a morality play, the script should be written from here. Owen looks dastardly for the first time in a while in the feud with Bret and even though his fake sympathy was still on the cartoony spectrum, the way it worked here was amazing and the crowd was along for every step.

39. El Hijo Del Santo & Octagon vs. Eddy Guerrero & Love Machine (AAA 11/6/94)
This may be hideously ranked low for some but I just did not buy Santo losing the mask and didn’t think the crowd did either. I did enjoy the saves and comebacks that both Octagon and Santo had to make and the haircut on the Gringos Locos was a nice visual but I could not call this one of the classic matches of all time and was left cold by big chunks of it.

38. Yumiko Hotta vs. Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 6/3/94)
Both of these women have rep for limited offense but they maximized their strengths and actually added a few wrinkles to have a great singles match together. Stiff shots were to be expected but the substance of this match is what really brought it together.

37. Rock N Roll Express vs. Heavenly Bodies (Loser Leaves Town Cage Match) (SMW 4/1/94)
After the disappointing iron man match and some decent tag matches, we get an appropriate blow off to this feud. This match felt like the biggest match in SMW history and was an appropriate ending to the COrnette/RNR decade feud. The Bodies waited until this night to give their best performance of the year and Ricky Morton did what Ricky Morton does best.

36. Ciclon Ramirez vs. Javier Cruz (Hair vs. Hair) (CMLL 6/7/94)
I love classic hair or mask matches in lucha due to the urgency and risk taking involved. This match involved that as we had insane bumps taken by both men and some real drama on the pinfalls. A classic match that left me wanting to see more footage of both men.

35. Steven Regal vs. Arn Anderson (SuperBrawl 2/20/94)
Screw everyone that calls this match boring. If you are willing to watch a 25 minute MMA fight, then this should be a breeze to sit through as it features great hold work, varied attacks and a really nifty surprising finish.

34. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue (AJW 10/9/94)
The end of an era for one tag team and the assertion by the Double Inoue’s. This match felt like at times it was on the verge of coming off the rails but they managed to hang on and the ending felt like a huge moment and sense of accomplishment.

33. Great Sasuke & Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus & Shinjiro Otani (NJ 10/16/94)
Great junior tag action featuring my favorite Eddy performance for the year. I can see some pushing him looking back in retrospect as a WOTYC and while he wouldn’t be in my top 10 wrestlers of the year, he did look great in this match. Otani really hung with the other four and felt like a future ace of the division. Botched finish was awkward but at least a high risk move that they tried to execute.

32. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 12/10/94)
The more I think about Misawa in 1994, the more I appreciate the subtle vulnerability he showed in a lot of the matches. He was vulnerable in the 1994 Carny draw with Tosh, 6/3/94, 7/28 Doc, the 5/18 6 man, and especially in this match. Misawa really worked on being the ace of the promotion but showing chinks in the armor. He and Kobashi had to really work together as a team here to overcome the barrage of Doc and Ace, and the ending is one of the more satisfying moments of the year for Misawa solidifying his status. Ace looked amazing here and may have outworked Doc.

31. Bull Nakano vs. Shinobu Kandori (Chain Match) (LLPW 7/14/94)Up there with any other classic chain match. Brutality between both men and Kandori showing her status in her promotion vs. the invading Bull. Just a brutal war of a match.

30. Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (Super J Cup 4/16/94)
Liger and Sasuke were great in 1994 and this was one of their shining moments telling a great coming of age story and capped off by Liger improvising on a botch move in the most dickish fashion possible. Kudos to Liger for trying an unconventional route and allowing Sasuke to advance in the tournament making him a bigger star.

29. Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ 9/3/94)
Maybe a little too long but I was never bored by this match and I don’t hold it against this match that it may have ushered in a ill advised style. These two have had wars against each other and I think this match was appropriate in showing the escalation of their feud. Kobashi seemed poised for the triple crown but was just short of putting it all together at this time.

28. Hiroshi Hase vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 12/13/94)
New Japan heavyweights were mostly disappointing for the year but Hase made the most of this being his only IWGP shot. Some decent but forgettable mat work leads to one of the most exciting finishes of the year with Hash having to bust out his entire arsenal to put Hase away. The ending angle to set up the Dome match with Sasaki was also heated.

27. Great Sasuke, Sato & Shiryu vs. Super Delphin, Jinsei Shinzaki & Gran Naniwa (M-Pro 2/4/94)Having watched the whole set, I stand by my assertion that this is the most fun match of the year. I have watched this match 3 times with needing something random to watch. Great mixture of styles and so many spots that would be repeated over the years feel fresh here and are actually used smartly. I loved the dive sequence and this match made me a fan of Delphin.

 

****1/2

26. Bull Nakano vs. Kyoko Inoue (AJW 1/24/94)
The underdog vs established star theme was my favorite thing of 1994 and something I didn’t realize how many examples within the year we had. This is one of the best examples as Bull reigns in some of Kyoko’s annoying attributes and uses her charm and flash as assets in structuring the comebacks in this match.

25. El Dandy vs. Javier Llanes (CMLL 2/22/94)
Just some jaw dropping beautiful mat work on display. This is the first time I have ever feared for a headscissors in a wrestling match. The third fall action is fine but if they had done 10 more minutes on the mat at an escalating pace, this would have really been a top 5 contender for me. Shame this is the only time we see El Dandy in the year.

24. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 2/17/94)
The end of the New Japan/WAR feud with Hashimoto overcoming the odds, the fans going nuts throwing the seat cushions, and Hash becoming the ace of the promotion. Really dramatic and my favorite Tenryu performance of the year. He knew he was not the star in this match but a great supporting player. Felt like the blow off for the last 18 months of New Japan.

23. Wild Pegasus vs. Great Sasuke (Super J Cup 4/16/94)
Tough to watch with the Benoit influence but a great match that took the Tiger mask/Dynamite template and made it better and a match that holds up over time. This was a really great night for Sasuke and a good moment for Benoit establishing himself as a top junior in Japan.

22. Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan vs. Nasty Boys (Slamboree 5/22/94)
The best garbage style brawl in WWE/WCW history. This had a high place on the card and they mixed in all the biggest spots from the Spring Stampede match into bigger moments with Schultz getting into a fight and Cactus/Sullivan getting a big win. Perfect match for Philidelphia fans mixing in best aspects of ECW style with WCW structure.

21. Volk Han vs. Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS 12/24/94)
Not one second was wasted in this match and Volk showed his caliber of wrestler. Nagai rose to the occasion and made Volk work for every transition and advantage. A wonderful match that many wrestlers nowadays should look towards to perfect this style.

[soup23]

20. Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ 4/10/94)

Fitting end to their three match series culminating in Kobashi getting his most important singles victory to date. This also felt more important to me reflecting on the year as a whole because it really was the last time in 1994 that Hansen was the #1 gaijin guy. Throughout the rest of the year he played the more established legend role.

 

19. Rey Misterio Jr vs. Juventud Guerrera (AAA 11/30/94)

Breakout performance for both men and their first true classic singles match. You really felt like you were watching the 5-10 year future of the business in lucha watching these two. Some of the dives and transitions were incredible and polished for the complexity of them.

 

18. Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (NJ 7/8/94)

Just now going through my list, I was surprised at how low this match is but I couldn’t justify putting it above anything else. I think that speaks well for the overall quality of 1994 as this is in the handful of my favorite Japan juniors matches of all time. Sasuke was pretty great in their J Cup match but that match was more featured on Liger heeling it up. This match is a straight Sasuke showcase and Liger is along for the ride. An amazing juniors match that didn’t overstay its welcome and provided drama with big spots. This would have been one of those matches I would have scoffed at before the project that Dave rated 5* but after watching the match, he is totally justified and this actually seems like one of the more forward thinking and better picks for 5* besides the most obvious matches. Congrats on a fantastic 1994 Great Sasuke as I have a feeling if I was watching all of this footage as it happens, he would have been my favorite wrestler in the world in this year.

 

17. Steven Regal vs. Larry Zbyszko (WCWSN 5/28/94)

One of the best North American TV matches of all time. Expounds and capitalizes on what they did at Slamboree and advances the storyline. Zbyszko winning was an incredible feel good moment and showed that if given time, a upper mid card feud could be given a top spot on the flagship show of the company if the stakes are high enough and the performers are up to the challenge. This match made me long for travelling world champion Regal in 1995.

 

16. Espectrito vs. Mascarita Sagrada (AAA 3/12/94)

Being predominately a US wrestling fan gives you such a jaded view of mini matches. I read Loss thoughts on this match and thought he was letting the idea of a minis match being real good overtake the actually quality of this match. I was wrong as this is the most dramatic lucha match of the year in my opinion and features some of the crispest bumping to go along with the lightening fast speed they work in. I know OJ and some others have said the best mini matches occur in 1997 and this match made me look really forward to more glimpses of this style in the future.

 

15. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (Ladder Match) (Mania 3/20/94)

I really thought this held up a lot better than I imagined and think it is a great dramatic spectacle that still has spots that look brutal. People may have dived higher or performed more dangerous moves many times over but this match somehow still looked fresh and the moves had more impact while watching. The only spot in a ladder match I could compare in the past 10 years to some of the brutality here and that resonates with me is Ziggler getting hurled into the announcers table at MITB this year. The camera angle of Shawn coming off with the splash is so iconic and looks so good. It is kind of a shame that Shawn scuffled following this as I would say this was his first big time performance as a singles wrestler.

 

14. Aja Kong vs. Yumiko Hotta (AJW 1/24/94)

A brutal match that made me squeamish at times. The hand work particulary always makes me uncomfortable. This match had a big impact on me because my wife was watching with me and couldn’t believe the amount of pain these two women were going through. This was probably only the 3rd or so puro match she has paid close enough attention to analyze and she was more invested in this one than any other. Just a war.

 

13. El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis, Blue Panther y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 7/15/94)

For much of the first half of the year, I was low on Santo. He would come in do some stuff, hit his dive and go home. IN this match, he looked like truly the best wrestler in the world and one of the best of all time. Hitting some crazy dives and mixing in some super fast mat work. Him vs. Blue Panther is always a treat to watch and I thought Blue Panther added a lot taking a role in these trios traditionally held by someone else. Panther was able to glue together portions of this match making it my favorite trios match of the year.

 

12. Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong (AJW 11/20/94

)

The perfect match for a big setting. The comparison may not be the best but in some ways it did remind me of Shawn/Taker from WM 25 in that they threw bombs at each other and didn’t stop. An all action match that may lack some psychology in the top ten but had great execution and was enthralling to watch.

 

11. Blue Panther vs. El Mariachi (AAA 10/30/94)

Maybe one step below Llanes/Dandy in mat work but close and a much better final fall makes this my top lucha match of the year. Seeing Solar now is nice and I always love his mat exchanges but seeing him here more in his prime was a real treat and showed him in a more spry state.

[jdw]

39. El Hijo Del Santo & Octagon vs. Eddy Guerrero & Love Machine (AAA 11/6/94)

This may be hideously ranked low for some but I just did not buy Santo losing the mask and didn’t think the crowd did either. I did enjoy the saves and comebacks that both Octagon and Santo had to make and the haircut on the Gringos Locos was a nice visual but I could not call this one of the classic matches of all time and was left cold by big chunks of it.

In the building that day...

 

The crowd bought *Octagon* losing The Santo Mask in the second fall when it was 2-on-1 after Santito had been eliminated. I know that none of us would buy that, and it seems in 100% of Santito's other mask matches that the fans pretty much knew the deal. But here... somehow they got themselves worked up and bought into it. Of the handful of memorable pops that I've been in the middle of in the US, Japan and Mexico, that probably is #1 of a crowd just losing their shit with a lusty, thankful near-emotional pop.

 

Again, to me it was obvious: of course there was going to be a 3rd fall, and of course Santito wasn't losing the mask. But the pop for the *second* fall in the building just blew the shit out of the third fall pop, and wasn't just a "we're happy because our guys won the fall/match" pop. It was really a:

 

"Holy Shit! Oh my God! Octagon save The Santo Mask... Praise Jesus!"

 

Level pop. Never been in the middle of anything else like it in pro wrestling. 18 years later, it's still mind numbing to recall and just one of those things that TV has a tough time capturing, or even a jaded fan like me who knew how the match was going to go before it started has a tough time describing. The *crowd pop* was a vastly more "Wow" moment for me to look around at than what Eddy & Art & Octagon did to get it.

 

John

[soup23]

Very cool hearing the backstory of that John and it is a shame that the crowd was not mic'd in a way that really transferred on tv as I thought the pop was really nice but not transparent. I feel like this will be a match worth revisiting with fresh eyes later on because really of all the all timed pimped classic matches from 2000 and before, this one left me the most cold.

[jdw]

I'm not totally pimping it as an all-time classic. Enjoyed it, but I've been to lucha matches that I thought were better. But the pop... that was a Wow.

[soup23]

10. War Games (Fall Brawl 9/18/94)
My favorite gimmick match in one of my favorite iterations of the match was assured a high spot. The no blood thing is a slight downer but everything else about this match is perfect storytelling. Colonel Robert Parker gives one of the best “untrained manager†wrestling performances of all time. Funk looks like a deranged mad man and mixes in his spots. The nasties clobber people and take stiff shots, Dusty comes in for the comeback pop and does his thing leading right to the finish and Dustin and Arn hold the glue for their respective teams. A wonderful multiman match.

9. Steve Williams vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJ 7/28/94)
Real good action leading to what is my favorite sell job of a single move of all time. Misawa’s near two year reign needed something epic to dispel him in order to be believable especially coming off the war a month earlier with Kawada. The back drop driver and subsequent selling did this fantastically. One of my favorite matches where you can really see Doc’s chances of winning growing within the match and by the end you know he is winning and it feels like you guessed it all along.

8. Jushin Liger vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 2/24/94)
Like I said earlier one the prevailing themes of 1994 was underdog vs. favorite and this is my favorite example in the year of that match. Liger and Hashimoto both gave their best performance of the year here with Hashimoto giving just enough offense to Liger and using his advantages to overcome him and Liger taking extreme chances because he knows that is the only chance of hope he has. I love the struggle to the finish.

 

****3/4

7. Vader vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWFI 8/18/94)
I have not seen the high end Battlarts stuff before so my opinion my change but as of this moment this is my favorite shoot style match of all time and I think it will always be the most accessible match for the style. This match definitely mixed in pro wrestling elements and suspense but didn’t do that at the expense of the brutality of the shots. Vader was a wrestler you cheered for vehemently in 1994 and this was his biggest moment of the year.

6. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (Mania 3/20/94)
One of the best North American matches of all time performed on a big platform. Like I said in many of the comments, I can resonate with the early moments of this feud so well because being an older brother there is some understated animosity between my brother and me, but if we came to blows, I don’t necessarily think it would be a blood feud. This match played off those elements that Bret wanted to shut Owen up respectfully and Owen was willing to do everything in his power to prove he was superior. I still think this is my favorite commentating job of 1994 and have to compliment both Vince and King for their work here. Finish is perfect with callbacks to previous Bret matches.

5. Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs. Akira Hokuto & Shinobu Kandori (AJW 3/27/94)
This match made me fall in love with joshi in general. I am someone that started watching puro in 2001, got all the essential stuff from joshi, loved them but didn’t feel any huge attachment to them, and then moved on essentially seeing VERY limited bits and pieces since then. This match and set in general changed that at least for the time being and has caused me to revaluate a lot of the 1990’s in Japan as a whole. The story was told wonderfully and this is my favorite example of feuding partners coming together and overcoming the odds. Nakano was maybe the WOTY for the first half of the year and this was her best performance.

4. Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 4/16/94)
The 10/22 had a great crowd and was definitely a feel good moment but this match and subsequent victory felt like a defining moment. Williams had really proven himself to be a great worker and this allowed him to take all of his improvements and mix it into a classic match. Kawada got one more boost of momentum and made Misawa look like he was in severe danger.

 

*****

3. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW 5/21/94)
Really changed the tag team style formula in All Japan for good. The ending stretch the first time I watched this match was enthralling and on this rewatch it was as gripping as ever. In some ways it reminds me of Secretariat at the Belmont in that you think the workers are just going too fast and working for too long a pace that eventually they will collapse, but they just keep escalating and escalating without resulting into goofy breakup attempts and moves. A match I knew was great before but really felt like it could crack my top 50 matches of all time now.

2. Akira Hokuto & Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai & Yumiko Hotta (AJW 8/24/94)
Kind of funny to have this ranked at #2 and Loss didn’t even have it in his top 100 but I loved every second of this and could not justify lowering it on my rankings. If it was not for one of the five greatest matches of all time also occurring in this year, this would have been my #1. My joshi passion grew with the Queendom tag, but it was confirmed in this match. Aja losing in a shocking upset and really throwing Hokuto into severe danger. Hokuto overcoming the odds to take out Hotta but just doesn’t have enough in the tank to beat Kansai. This match made Kansai look strong, Hokuto look like a warrior and legend, Hotta look like an asskicker, and Aja look vulnerable and have a sense of a changing of the guard. I don’t want anything more out of my wrestling and I love being able to learn as many developments and new features about the wrestlers by just watching them have a match. I may be the only one and need to revisit a ton of stuff but right now this would be my favorite joshi match of all time.

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 6/3/94)
My #2 match of all time. This match was really enhanced by watching the set as whole and majestic performances by both men. I still don’t think there is a clear cut answer whether the right guy won and in many ways it enriches the match.

[FLIK]

2. Akira Hokuto & Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai & Yumiko Hotta (AJW 8/24/94)

Kind of funny to have this ranked at #2 and Loss didn’t even have it in his top 100 but I loved every second of this and could not justify anything else putting it higher. If it was not for one of the five greatest matches of all time also occurring in this year, this would have been my #1. My joshi passion grew with the Queendom tag, but it was confirmed in this match. Aja losing in a shocking upset and really throwing Hokuto into severe danger. Hokuto overcoming the odds to take out Hotta but just doesn’t have enough in the tank to beat Kansai. This match made Kansai look strong, Hokuto look like a warrior and legend, Hotta look like an asskicker, and Aja look vulnerable and have a sense of a changing of the tide. I don’t want anything more out of my wrestler and I love being able to learn as many developments and new features about the wrestlers by just watching them have a match. I may be the only one and need to revisit a ton of stuff but right now this would be my favorite joshi match of all time.

Naw, you're not alone in loving this. Loss & the others that didn't like it much are kind of outliers as traditionally this was always a pretty highly regarded match by most others who've seen it.

[jdw]

Fun reading Soup.

[Loss]

Yes. Excellent stuff. I've grown to enjoy the breaks between yearbooks just as much as the yearbooks themselves, but maybe one day, I'll get motivated to do this again.

[soup23]

I think stepping away and digesting this stuff is the way to go. For instance, I have been unable to tackle the AWA set because of this set. Watching 120 hours of footage in 2.5 months is a daunting task and I think the yearbook sets in general are more addicting because of the episodic nature of all the angles developing throughout the year. I have 3 more matches left on my watch list for recommendations on the supplemental set then will be taking a long abscence from 1994. Timing will work out well because just after I am recharged, I will have the 1990 yearbook to dive into. Again thanks to Loss and Will for this set because I don't think I have enjoyed watching wrestling this much since childhood and in a hobby like pro wrestling, these projects are good justification for the commitments I make.

[Zenjo]

Great top 100. I'll certainly be referencing this when I get onto the 1994 yearbook.

 

I do think that you should reconsider your #90 however.

[soup23]

Ugh don't know how that happened but my #90 match of the year was:

 

90. Gene Lydick & Steve Nelson vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Masahito Kakihara (UWFI 6/10/94)

 

Really interesting technical style shoot tag featuring Lydick and Nelson who really impressed.