My 50 favorite matches

[KB8]

Some of my friends have been trying to get me to go with them to ICW shows for a while now. I think I should stop saying I'll go and then not go and actually go for a change, because a Scottish World of Sport match might be the best idea for a gimmick match ever. Pretty sure more than a couple people have pimped Mikey Whiplash to me as well. Friend of mine went to the ICW Royal Rumble show (I'm not sure what it was called, only that they ran it at The Garage in Glasgow before the WWE's Rumble PPV was shown in the same club) and it sounded like it was nuts and definitely something I'd enjoy getting smashed and watching in person.

[Badlittlekitten]

Yeah the ICW crowds are great. They seem like a merry bunch of outcasts, rowdy and pissed up on wit, not like your typical dull 'smart' fans. I've not seen one of their shows live unfortunately, Glasgow's a bit out of range for me atm. They put a weekly show up on youtube which is a bit behind but you get the gist of what's going on. Despite the brutality and the vulgarity, ICW has a real feel good vibe about it. Always brings a smile.

[JNLister]

I'm flying up to Glasgow in May to visit a friend and go to an ICW doubleheader (womens promotion on Friday, main roster on Sunday.) Really looking forward to it.

[ohtani's jacket]

Hey, somebody else has discovered the greatness of Yumi Ikeshita. I really love when she retires and they say she's leaving to get married and everyone is like "whoah, somebody's marrying one half of The Black Pair?"

That's great. Do you know anything more about her career ohtani? There's nothing on youtube beyond 1980.

 

She retired in June of '81. Her career ran from '75 to '81 which was fairly typical for those times. She got a singles push post-Beauty Pair/Black Pair era and held the All Pacific title a few times. In fact, she was the inaugural champion, IIRC. Her partner Kumano ended up having six kids.

[NintendoLogic]

After seeing a few matches for the first time and reappraising a few more, I bumped my list back up to 50. The thread title is no longer a lie!

 

Also, some of you may have noticed some similarities between Childs' list and my own. That isn't an accident. His recommendations in both this thread and the matches you must see before you die thread were invaluable as guideposts for which matches to check out. I guess that makes us bros.

[NintendoLogic]

I've rewatched Punk/Lesnar several times, and it's had such a profound impact on me that I've had to adjust my list. Sorry, Portland.

[Jimmy Redman]

I think both Summerslam matches have a decent shot at my Top 50 or so. But I prefer to let the dust settle a bit first before thinking in those terms.

[NintendoLogic]

I've turned the corner somewhat on title match lucha. I don't think I've acquired "lucha eyes" or anything like that. I still think a lot of the matwork is too contrived/cooperative for my tastes, and for the life of me, I can't get into trios matches at all. But a few title matches are clicking for me in a way that they hadn't previously. I've updated my list to reflect my newfound appreciation. That, and I felt that the list could use a bit more stylistic variety.

[NintendoLogic]

I had thought my list was pretty well set in stone, but I've gone and made another semi-major revision. Specifically, I've dropped the more technical/mat-based matches in favor of more straightforward hard-hitting wrestling. New to the list are Duggan/DiBiase, Luger/Steamboat, Steamboat/Douglas vs. Windham/Pillman, Windham/Scorpio, Hash/Yamazaki, and Akiyama/Misawa, replacing Baba/Robinson, Satanico/Cochisse, Savage/Steamboat, Dandy/Casas, Bret/Owen, and Kong/Toyota. My initial plan was to try to expand my list to 100, but in the end I felt better whittling it down again.

[dawho5]

That Tajiri vs. Nishimura MUGA match is great. I thought the Fujinami match from 2006 was better, but I'm surprised that the Tajiri match didn't make the 2007 voting. Nishimura is fucking amazing.

[dgrblue]

One match that isn't getting any love here is the Final Conflict from 1983.

 

Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle vs. Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood. I think that's a terribly underrated match that isn't talked up enough. People talk about Hell in a Cell and Jimmy Snuka, but what about the crazy shit Slaughter was doing in that match? It's one of the matches that has really blown me away since watching all the NWA stuff for the podcast.

 

Speaking of which, surprised not to see Tully vs. Magnum "I Quit" listed either -- is that a case of people being "too hip" to list it these days? That said, glad to see the awesome Garvin vs. Tully match on Childs's list. Tully is probably a top 5 worker of the 1980s. Without having seen the tons of Lawler that some of you guys have, I'd only have Jumbo, Flair and Stan Hansen ahead of him.

 

 

 

I am basically not ready to do my list. Maybe after AWA.

 

Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood vs Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle (3/12/83)

Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)

Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase (3/22/85)

Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard (11/28/85)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)

Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Savage (7/31/88)

Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)

War Games: Sting, Steiner Brothers & Brian Pillman vs. The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious) & Larry Zbyszko (2/24/91)

Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (94/5/92)

Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat (6/20/92)

Wargames: Sting's Squadron (Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham & Nikita Koloff) vs. The Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko) (5/17/92)

Big Van Vader vs Sting (2/21/93)

Sting vs Lex Luger vs Ric Flair (12/27/95)

 

These 15 would definitely make a 50 of mine, but there's probably loads of stuff I've forgotten about. Flair/Funk and at least 2 matches from the holy trilogy would be in my 50 as well.

I have to agree with you about slaughter, in the early 80s, he had many great matches. This tag was great. Outside of early nWo, is slaughter the biggest over heel?

[dgrblue]

 

I think it would be interesting to see which matches have been dropped from your original list.

Here are the matches that were in the OP that I subsequently dropped:

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Jack Brisco (8/28/76)

Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dynamite Kid (2/5/80)

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Billy Robinson (12/11/80)

Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk (3/23/81)

Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase (3/22/85)

Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage (Wrestlemania III, 3/29/87)

Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude (Summerslam, 8/28/89)

Sting's Squadron vs. Dangerous Alliance (Wrestlewar, 5/17/92)

Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude (Beach Blast, 6/20/92)

Bret Hart vs. 123 Kid (Raw, 7/11/94)

 

I also had the following matches in an earlier draft of the list:

 

Bob Backlund vs. Greg Valentine (2/19/79)

Devil Masami vs. Chigusa Nagayo (8/22/85)

Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs. Mayumi Ozaki/Dynamite Kansai (11/26/92)

 

For the most part, these are matches I found myself liking less the more I watched them, which would seem to indicate inappropriateness for a desert island list.

 

Wow, I did not think many remember the bret v kid,in 94, on raw no less. I have recently rewatched ut and this is one hell of a match. Nice choice.

[NintendoLogic]

I've added to/subtracted from/otherwise altered this list so many times, I've decided to move in a different direction. I took inspiration from a book I came across recently called 100 Poems by 100 Poets. The concept is as follows: I list my favorite match by each wrestler in the top 100 on the GWE list with the caveat that each match can only be listed once. Most of the picks are pretty conventional, but a few of them might be a bit surprising. Note that this isn't a list of my 100 favorite matches or even all that close to it. In fact, there are a few matches on this list I don't even particularly like that much.

 

100. Daisuke Ikeda: vs. Alexander Otsuka (4/26/99)
99. Virus: vs. Guerrero Maya Jr. (6/7/11)
98. Kerry Von Erich: vs. Ric Flair (8/15/82)
97. The Destroyer: vs. Mil Mascaras (7/25/74)
96. L.A. Park: vs. El Mesias (12/5/10)
95. Sangre Chicana: vs. MS-1 (9/23/83)
94. Shinsuke Nakamura: vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/16/15)
93. Bob Backlund: vs. Bret Hart (Superstars, 7/30/94)
92. Dusty Rhodes: w/ Koloff/Hawk/Animal/Ellering vs. Arn/Tully/Flair/Luger/Dillon (7/4/87)
91. Too Cold Scorpio: vs. Barry Windham (Clash of the Champions, 6/17/93)
90. Ron Garvin: vs. Greg Valentine (Royal Rumble, 1/21/90)
89. Atsushi Onita: w/ Tarzan Goto vs. Masanobu Kurisu/Dragon Master (4/1/90)
88. Sami Zayn: vs. Cesaro (NXT Arrival, 2/27/14)
87. Cesaro: vs. John Cena (Raw, 7/5/15)
86. Hiroshi Tanahashi: vs. Kazuchika Okada (4/7/13)
85. Manami Toyota: vs. Aja Kong (11/20/94)
84. The Undertaker: vs. Bret Hart (One Night Only, 9/20/97)
83. Roddy Piper: vs. Bret Hart (Wrestlemania VIII, 4/5/92)
82. Steve Williams: vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (7/28/94)
81. Yoshihiro Tajiri: w/ Eddie Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas/Shelton Benjamin (Smackdown, 5/22/03)
80. Tito Santana: vs. Randy Savage (4/22/86)
79. Terry Gordy: w/ Stan Hansen vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Toshiaki Kawada (12/16/88)
78. Dynamite Kid: vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (2/5/80)
77. Rick Rude: vs. Ricky Steamboat (Beach Blast, 6/20/92)
76. Hiroshi Hase: w/ Kensuke Sasaki vs. Keiji Mutoh/Masahiro Chono (11/1/90)
75. Hulk Hogan: vs. Vader (Superbrawl V, 2/19/95)
74. Atlantis: vs. Ultimo Guerrero (9/19/14)
73. Chris Jericho: vs. The Rock (No Mercy, 10/21/01)
72. Brian Pillman: w/ Barry Windham vs. Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas (Starrcade, 12/28/92)
71. Dick Togo: vs. Antonio Honda (1/30/11)
70. Yuki Ishikawa: vs. Daisuke Ikeda (4/24/05)
69. Blue Panther: vs. El Hijo del Santo (5/28/00)
68. Kurt Angle: vs. Steve Austin (Summerslam, 8/19/01)
67. Jack Brisco: vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (8/28/76)
66. Keiji Mutoh: vs. Vader (8/10/91)
65. Shinjiro Ohtani: w/ Wild Pegasus vs. Great Sasuke/Black Tiger (10/18/94)
64. Sgt. Slaughter: vs. Iron Sheik (6/16/84)
63. Giant Baba: vs. Billy Robinson (7/24/76)
62. Kiyoshi Tamura: vs. Vader (6/10/94)
61. Bull Nakano: w/ Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada (1/24/93)
60. Volk Han: vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (1/22/97)
59. Samoa Joe: vs. AJ Styles (Turning Point, 12/11/05)
58. Owen Hart: vs. Bret Hart (Wrestlemania X, 3/20/94)
57. Bill Dundee: vs. Jerry Lawler (12/30/85)
56. Jim Breaks: vs. Johnny Saint (5/5/73)
55. Curt Hennig: vs. Bret Hart (King of the Ring, 6/13/93)
54. Greg Valentine: w/ Brutus Beefcake vs. Ricky Steamboat/Tito Santana (4/21/85)
53. Dick Murdoch: vs. Antonio Inoki (6/19/86)
52. Akira Hokuto: vs. Shinobu Kandori (4/2/93)
51. Andre The Giant: vs. Strong Kobayashi (5/6/72)
50. Billy Robinson: vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
49. Aja Kong: vs. Dynamite Kansai (8/30/95)
48. Fit Finlay: vs. Chris Benoit (Judgment Day, 5/21/06)
47. Brock Lesnar: vs. Eddie Guerrero (No Way Out, 2/15/04)
46. CM Punk: vs. Brock Lesnar (Summerslam, 8/18/13)
45. Harley Race: vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (6/11/77)
44. Tully Blanchard: w/ Arn Anderson vs. Lex Luger/Barry Windham (Clash of the Champions, 3/27/88)
43. Rick Martel: vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (9/29/85)
42. Ted DiBiase: vs. Jim Duggan (3/22/85)
41. Riki Choshu: w/ Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu (1/28/86)
40. Yoshiaki Fujiawara: vs. Riki Choshu (6/9/87)
39. AJ Styles: vs. Minoru Suzuki (8/1/14)
38. Mick Foley: vs. Shawn Michaels (Mind Games, 9/22/96)
37. El Satanico: vs. Gran Cochisse (9/14/84)
36. Buddy Rose: w/ Doug Somers vs. Shawn Michaels/Marty Jannetty (8/30/86)
35. El Dandy: vs. Negro Casas (7/3/92)
34. Chris Benoit: vs. Bret Hart (Nitro, 10/4/99)
33. Ricky Morton: w/ Robert Gibson vs. Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane (Wrestlewar, 2/25/90)
32. Dustin Rhodes: vs. Vader (Clash of the Champions, 11/16/94)
31. Shawn Michaels: w/ Diesel vs. Razor Ramon/123 Kid (Action Zone, 10/30/94)
30. John Cena: vs. Umaga (Royal Rumble, 1/28/07)
29. El Hijo del Santo: vs. Brazo de Oro (1/13/91)
28. Bobby Eaton: w/ Austin/Rude/Arn/Zbyszko vs. Sting/Windham/Dustin/Steamboat/Koloff (Wrestlewar, 5/17/92)
27. Jun Akiyama: vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (2/27/00)
26. Akira Taue: w/ Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi (6/9/95)
25. Barry Windham: w/ Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Austin/Larry Zbyszko (Superbrawl, 2/29/92)
24. Steve Austin: vs. Bret Hart (Wrestlemania 13, 3/23/97)
23. Shinya Hashimoto: vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (8/2/98)
22. Negro Casas: w/ El Dandy/Hector Garza vs. El Hijo del Santo/Bestia Salvaje/Scorpio Jr. (11/29/96)
21. William Regal: vs. Sting (Great American Bash, 6/16/96)
20. Tatsumi Fujinami: w/ Fujiwara/Kimura/Koshinaka/Yamada vs. Choshu/M.Saito/Machine/Kobayashi/H.Saito (9/12/88)
19. Arn Anderson: w/ Larry Zbyszko vs. Dustin Rhodes/Ricky Steamboat (Clash of the Champions, 11/19/91)
18. Randy Savage: vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/15/87)
17. Bret Hart: vs. Steve Austin (Survivor Series, 11/17/96)
16. Nick Bockwinkel: vs. Curt Hennig (11/21/86)
15. Ricky Steamboat: vs. Ric Flair (Chi-Town Rumble, 2/20/89)
14. Vader: vs. Sting (Starrcade, 12/28/92)
13. Genichiro Tenryu: w/ Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/6/89)
12. Eddie Guerrero: vs. Rey Mysterio (Smackdown, 6/23/05)
11. Jumbo Tsuruta: w/ Masanobu Fuchi/Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada/Kenta Kobashi (10/19/90)
10. Jerry Lawler: vs. Bill Dundee (6/6/83)
9. Toshiaki Kawada: vs. Stan Hansen (2/28/93)
8. Kenta Kobashi: vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (1/20/97)
7. Rey Mysterio Jr.: vs. Eddy Guerrero (Halloween Havoc, 10/26/97)
6. Jushin Liger: vs. Naoki Sano (8/10/89)
5. Daniel Bryan: vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania 30, 4/6/14)
4. Mitsuharu Misawa: vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6/3/94)
3. Stan Hansen: vs. Kenta Kobashi (7/29/93)
2. Terry Funk: vs. Jerry Lawler (3/23/81)
1. Ric Flair: vs. Terry Funk (Great American Bash, 7/23/89)

[WingedEagle]

Always enjoy these kinds of lists. Fun take on it.

[TheU_2001]

I've added to/subtracted from/otherwise altered this list so many times, I've decided to move in a different direction. I took inspiration from a book I came across recently called 100 Poems by 100 Poets. The concept is as follows: I list my favorite match by each wrestler in the top 100 on the GWE list with the caveat that each match can only be listed once. Most of the picks are pretty conventional, but a few of them might be a bit surprising. Note that this isn't a list of my 100 favorite matches or even all that close to it. In fact, there are a few matches on this list I don't even particularly like that much.

 

100. Daisuke Ikeda: vs. Alexander Otsuka (4/26/99)

99. Virus: vs. Guerrero Maya Jr. (6/7/11)

98. Kerry Von Erich: vs. Ric Flair (8/15/82)

97. The Destroyer: vs. Mil Mascaras (7/25/74)

96. L.A. Park: vs. El Mesias (12/5/10)

95. Sangre Chicana: vs. MS-1 (9/23/83)

94. Shinsuke Nakamura: vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/16/15)

93. Bob Backlund: vs. Bret Hart (Superstars, 7/30/94)

92. Dusty Rhodes: w/ Koloff/Hawk/Animal/Ellering vs. Arn/Tully/Flair/Luger/Dillon (7/4/87)

91. Too Cold Scorpio: vs. Barry Windham (Clash of the Champions, 6/17/93)

90. Ron Garvin: vs. Greg Valentine (Royal Rumble, 1/21/90)

89. Atsushi Onita: w/ Tarzan Goto vs. Masanobu Kurisu/Dragon Master (4/1/90)

88. Sami Zayn: vs. Cesaro (NXT Arrival, 2/27/14)

87. Cesaro: vs. John Cena (Raw, 7/5/15)

86. Hiroshi Tanahashi: vs. Kazuchika Okada (4/7/13)

85. Manami Toyota: vs. Aja Kong (11/20/94)

84. The Undertaker: vs. Bret Hart (One Night Only, 9/20/97)

83. Roddy Piper: vs. Bret Hart (Wrestlemania VIII, 4/5/92)

82. Steve Williams: vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (7/28/94)

81. Yoshihiro Tajiri: w/ Eddie Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas/Shelton Benjamin (Smackdown, 5/22/03)

80. Tito Santana: vs. Randy Savage (4/22/86)

79. Terry Gordy: w/ Stan Hansen vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Toshiaki Kawada (12/16/88)

78. Dynamite Kid: vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (2/5/80)

77. Rick Rude: vs. Ricky Steamboat (Beach Blast, 6/20/92)

76. Hiroshi Hase: w/ Kensuke Sasaki vs. Keiji Mutoh/Masahiro Chono (11/1/90)

75. Hulk Hogan: vs. Vader (Superbrawl V, 2/19/95)

74. Atlantis: vs. Ultimo Guerrero (9/19/14)

73. Chris Jericho: vs. The Rock (No Mercy, 10/21/01)

72. Brian Pillman: w/ Barry Windham vs. Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas (Starrcade, 12/28/92)

71. Dick Togo: vs. Antonio Honda (1/30/11)

70. Yuki Ishikawa: vs. Daisuke Ikeda (4/24/05)

69. Blue Panther: vs. El Hijo del Santo (5/28/00)

68. Kurt Angle: vs. Steve Austin (Summerslam, 8/19/01)

67. Jack Brisco: vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (8/28/76)

66. Keiji Mutoh: vs. Vader (8/10/91)

65. Shinjiro Ohtani: w/ Wild Pegasus vs. Great Sasuke/Black Tiger (10/18/94)

64. Sgt. Slaughter: vs. Iron Sheik (6/16/84)

63. Giant Baba: vs. Billy Robinson (7/24/76)

62. Kiyoshi Tamura: vs. Vader (6/10/94)

61. Bull Nakano: w/ Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada (1/24/93)

60. Volk Han: vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (1/22/97)

59. Samoa Joe: vs. AJ Styles (Turning Point, 12/11/05)

58. Owen Hart: vs. Bret Hart (Wrestlemania X, 3/20/94)

57. Bill Dundee: vs. Jerry Lawler (12/30/85)

56. Jim Breaks: vs. Johnny Saint (5/5/73)

55. Curt Hennig: vs. Bret Hart (King of the Ring, 6/13/93)

54. Greg Valentine: w/ Brutus Beefcake vs. Ricky Steamboat/Tito Santana (4/21/85)

53. Dick Murdoch: vs. Antonio Inoki (6/19/86)

52. Akira Hokuto: vs. Shinobu Kandori (4/2/93)

51. Andre The Giant: vs. Strong Kobayashi (5/6/72)

50. Billy Robinson: vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)

49. Aja Kong: vs. Dynamite Kansai (8/30/95)

48. Fit Finlay: vs. Chris Benoit (Judgment Day, 5/21/06)

47. Brock Lesnar: vs. Eddie Guerrero (No Way Out, 2/15/04)

46. CM Punk: vs. Brock Lesnar (Summerslam, 8/18/13)

45. Harley Race: vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (6/11/77)

44. Tully Blanchard: w/ Arn Anderson vs. Lex Luger/Barry Windham (Clash of the Champions, 3/27/88)

43. Rick Martel: vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (9/29/85)

42. Ted DiBiase: vs. Jim Duggan (3/22/85)

41. Riki Choshu: w/ Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu (1/28/86)

40. Yoshiaki Fujiawara: vs. Riki Choshu (6/9/87)

39. AJ Styles: vs. Minoru Suzuki (8/1/14)

38. Mick Foley: vs. Shawn Michaels (Mind Games, 9/22/96)

37. El Satanico: vs. Gran Cochisse (9/14/84)

36. Buddy Rose: w/ Doug Somers vs. Shawn Michaels/Marty Jannetty (8/30/86)

35. El Dandy: vs. Negro Casas (7/3/92)

34. Chris Benoit: vs. Bret Hart (Nitro, 10/4/99)

33. Ricky Morton: w/ Robert Gibson vs. Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane (Wrestlewar, 2/25/90)

32. Dustin Rhodes: vs. Vader (Clash of the Champions, 11/16/94)

31. Shawn Michaels: w/ Diesel vs. Razor Ramon/123 Kid (Action Zone, 10/30/94)

30. John Cena: vs. Umaga (Royal Rumble, 1/28/07)

29. El Hijo del Santo: vs. Brazo de Oro (1/13/91)

28. Bobby Eaton: w/ Austin/Rude/Arn/Zbyszko vs. Sting/Windham/Dustin/Steamboat/Koloff (Wrestlewar, 5/17/92)

27. Jun Akiyama: vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (2/27/00)

26. Akira Taue: w/ Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi (6/9/95)

25. Barry Windham: w/ Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Austin/Larry Zbyszko (Superbrawl, 2/29/92)

24. Steve Austin: vs. Bret Hart (Wrestlemania 13, 3/23/97)

23. Shinya Hashimoto: vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (8/2/98)

22. Negro Casas: w/ El Dandy/Hector Garza vs. El Hijo del Santo/Bestia Salvaje/Scorpio Jr. (11/29/96)

21. William Regal: vs. Sting (Great American Bash, 6/16/96)

20. Tatsumi Fujinami: w/ Fujiwara/Kimura/Koshinaka/Yamada vs. Choshu/M.Saito/Machine/Kobayashi/H.Saito (9/12/88)

19. Arn Anderson: w/ Larry Zbyszko vs. Dustin Rhodes/Ricky Steamboat (Clash of the Champions, 11/19/91)

18. Randy Savage: vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/15/87)

17. Bret Hart: vs. Steve Austin (Survivor Series, 11/17/96)

16. Nick Bockwinkel: vs. Curt Hennig (11/21/86)

15. Ricky Steamboat: vs. Ric Flair (Chi-Town Rumble, 2/20/89)

14. Vader: vs. Sting (Starrcade, 12/28/92)

13. Genichiro Tenryu: w/ Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/6/89)

12. Eddie Guerrero: vs. Rey Mysterio (Smackdown, 6/23/05)

11. Jumbo Tsuruta: w/ Masanobu Fuchi/Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada/Kenta Kobashi (10/19/90)

10. Jerry Lawler: vs. Bill Dundee (6/6/83)

9. Toshiaki Kawada: vs. Stan Hansen (2/28/93)

8. Kenta Kobashi: vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (1/20/97)

7. Rey Mysterio Jr.: vs. Eddy Guerrero (Halloween Havoc, 10/26/97)

6. Jushin Liger: vs. Naoki Sano (8/10/89)

5. Daniel Bryan: vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania 30, 4/6/14)

4. Mitsuharu Misawa: vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6/3/94)

3. Stan Hansen: vs. Kenta Kobashi (7/29/93)

2. Terry Funk: vs. Jerry Lawler (3/23/81)

1. Ric Flair: vs. Terry Funk (Great American Bash, 7/23/89)

This list is awesome and is an awesome concept for one. Nice job.

[NintendoLogic]

I've done plenty of rewatching and reconsidering, and it's high time to update the top 100 list. Here's where it stands right now (new selections in bold)

 

100. Daisuke Ikeda: vs. Alexander Otsuka (4/26/99)
99. Virus: vs. Metalico (5/31/19)
98. Kerry Von Erich: vs. Ric Flair (8/15/82)
97. The Destroyer: vs. Giant Baba (3/5/69)
96. L.A. Park: vs. El Mesias (12/5/10)
95. Sangre Chicana: vs. MS-1 (9/23/83)
94. Shinsuke Nakamura: vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/16/15)
93. Bob Backlund: vs. Ken Patera (5/19/80)
92. Dusty Rhodes: w/ Koloff/Hawk/Animal/Ellering vs. Arn/Tully/Flair/Luger/Dillon (7/4/87)
91. Too Cold Scorpio: vs. Barry Windham (Clash of the Champions, 6/17/93)
90. Ron Garvin: vs. Greg Valentine (Royal Rumble, 1/21/90)
89. Atsushi Onita: w/ Tarzan Goto vs. Masanobu Kurisu/Dragon Master (4/1/90)
88. Sami Zayn: vs. Cesaro (NXT Arrival, 2/27/14)
87. Cesaro: w/ Bryan Danielson vs. Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw (9/13/09)
86. Hiroshi Tanahashi: vs. Kazuchika Okada (4/7/13)
85. Manami Toyota: vs. Aja Kong (11/20/94)
84. The Undertaker: vs. Brock Lesnar (No Mercy, 10/20/02)
83. Roddy Piper: vs. Bret Hart (Wrestlemania VIII, 4/5/92)
82. Steve Williams: vs. Stan Hansen (6/5/90)
81. Yoshihiro Tajiri: w/ Eddie Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas/Shelton Benjamin (Smackdown, 5/22/03)
80. Tito Santana: vs. Randy Savage (4/22/86)
79. Terry Gordy: w/ Stan Hansen vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Toshiaki Kawada (12/16/88)
78. Dynamite Kid: vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (2/5/80)
77. Rick Rude: vs. Ricky Steamboat (Beach Blast, 6/20/92)
76. Hiroshi Hase: vs. Masahiro Chono (8/6/93)
75. Hulk Hogan: vs. Vader (Superbrawl V, 2/19/95)
74. Atlantis: vs. Ultimo Guerrero (9/19/14)
73. Chris Jericho: vs. Triple H (Fully Loaded, 7/23/00)
72. Brian Pillman: w/ Barry Windham vs. Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas (Starrcade, 12/28/92)
71. Dick Togo: vs. Antonio Honda (1/30/11)
70. Yuki Ishikawa: w/ Yuta Yoshikawa vs. Ikuto Hitaka/Munenori Sawa (8/31/08)
69. Blue Panther: vs. Villano V (9/19/08)
68. Kurt Angle: vs. Steve Austin (Summerslam, 8/19/01)
67. Jack Brisco: vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (8/28/76)
66. Keiji Mutoh: vs. Masahiro Chono (8/11/91)
65. Shinjiro Ohtani: w/ Wild Pegasus vs. Great Sasuke/Black Tiger (10/18/94)
64. Sgt. Slaughter: vs. Iron Sheik (6/16/84)
63. Giant Baba: vs. Billy Robinson (7/24/76)
62. Kiyoshi Tamura: vs. Vader (6/10/94)
61. Bull Nakano: w/ Aja Kong vs. Akira Hokuto/Shinobu Kandori (3/27/94)
60. Volk Han: vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (1/22/97)
59. Samoa Joe: vs. AJ Styles (Turning Point, 12/11/05)
58. Owen Hart: vs. Bret Hart (Wrestlemania X, 3/20/94)
57. Bill Dundee: vs. Jerry Lawler (12/30/85)
56. Jim Breaks: vs. Johnny Saint (5/5/73)
55. Curt Hennig: vs. Bret Hart (King of the Ring, 6/13/93)
54. Greg Valentine: w/ Brutus Beefcake vs. Ricky Steamboat/Tito Santana (4/21/85)
53. Dick Murdoch: vs. Antonio Inoki (6/19/86)
52. Akira Hokuto: vs. Shinobu Kandori (4/2/93)
51. Andre the Giant: vs. Strong Kobayashi (5/6/72)
50. Billy Robinson: vs. Antonio Inoki (12/11/75)
49. Aja Kong: vs. Dynamite Kansai (8/30/95)
48. Fit Finlay: vs. Chris Benoit (Judgment Day, 5/21/06)
47. Brock Lesnar: vs. John Cena (Extreme Rules, 4/29/12)
46. CM Punk: vs. Brock Lesnar (Summerslam, 8/18/13)
45. Harley Race: vs. Andre the Giant (1/7/79)
44. Tully Blanchard: w/ Arn Anderson vs. Lex Luger/Barry Windham (Clash of the Champions, 3/27/88)
43. Rick Martel: vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (9/29/85)
42. Ted DiBiase: vs. Jim Duggan (3/22/85)
41. Riki Choshu: w/ Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu (1/28/86)
40. Yoshiaki Fujiawara: vs. Riki Choshu (6/9/87)
39. AJ Styles: vs. Minoru Suzuki (8/1/14)
38. Mick Foley: vs. Shawn Michaels (Mind Games, 9/22/96)
37. El Satanico: vs. Super Astro (10/26/84)
36. Buddy Rose: w/ Doug Somers vs. Shawn Michaels/Marty Jannetty (8/30/86)
35. El Dandy: vs. Pirata Morgan (9/23/88)
34. Chris Benoit: w/ Chris Jericho vs. Steve Austin/Triple H (Raw, 5/21/01)
33. Ricky Morton: w/ Robert Gibson vs. Ole Anderson/Arn Anderson (Starrcade, 11/27/86)
32. Dustin Rhodes: vs. Vader (Clash of the Champions, 11/16/94)
31. Shawn Michaels: w/ Diesel vs. Razor Ramon/123 Kid (Action Zone, 10/30/94)
30. John Cena: vs. Umaga (Royal Rumble, 1/28/07)
29. El Hijo del Santo: vs. Brazo de Oro (1/13/91)
28. Bobby Eaton: w/ Stan Lane vs. Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson (Wrestlewar, 2/25/90)
27. Jun Akiyama: w/ Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (12/6/96)
26. Akira Taue: w/ Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi (6/9/95)
25. Barry Windham: w/ Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Austin/Larry Zbyszko (Superbrawl, 2/29/92)
24. Steve Austin: vs. Bret Hart (Wrestlemania 13, 3/23/97)
23. Shinya Hashimoto: vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (8/2/98)
22. Negro Casas: w/ El Dandy/Hector Garza vs. El Hijo del Santo/Bestia Salvaje/Scorpio Jr. (11/29/96)
21. William Regal: vs. Sting (Great American Bash, 6/16/96)
20. Tatsumi Fujinami: w/ Choshu/Maeda/Kimura/SSM vs. Inoki/Fuijwara/Sakaguchi/Hoshino/Mutoh (8/19/87)
19. Arn Anderson: w/ Larry Zbyszko vs. Dustin Rhodes/Ricky Steamboat (Clash of the Champions, 11/19/91)
18. Randy Savage: vs. Ricky Steamboat (Wrestlemania III, 3/29/87)
17. Bret Hart: vs. Steve Austin (Survivor Series, 11/17/96)
16. Nick Bockwinkel: vs. Curt Hennig (11/21/86)
15. Ricky Steamboat: vs. Ric Flair (Clash of the Champions VI, 4/2/89)
14. Vader: vs. Sting (Starrcade, 12/28/92)
13. Genichiro Tenryu: vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (6/5/89)
12. Eddie Guerrero: vs. Brock Lesnar (No Way Out, 2/15/04)
11. Jumbo Tsuruta: w/ Masanobu Fuchi/Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada/Kenta Kobashi (10/19/90)
10. Jerry Lawler: vs. Bill Dundee (6/6/83)
9. Toshiaki Kawada: w/ Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi (12/3/93)
8. Kenta Kobashi: vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (1/20/97)
7. Rey Mysterio Jr.: vs. Eddy Guerrero (Halloween Havoc, 10/26/97)
6. Jushin Liger: vs. Naoki Sano (8/10/89)
5. Daniel Bryan: vs. Takeshi Morishima (8/25/07)
4. Mitsuharu Misawa: vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6/3/94)
3. Stan Hansen: vs. Kenta Kobashi (7/29/93)
2. Terry Funk: vs. Jerry Lawler (3/23/81)
1. Ric Flair: vs. Terry Funk (Great American Bash, 7/23/89)