MOTYs by year

[Bierschwale]

2013: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada - Invasion Attack 2013 (I feel like I am missing an obvious WWE match)

 

The two major SummerSlam matches?

[Superstar Sleeze]

Oh definitely. I think Cena/Bryan is overrated (really should re-watch) and that Punk/Brock is a great David & Goliath match, but is missing that next level transcendent greatness. Tanahashi/Okada builds really well on the previous three matches and has really interesting, unique hooks.

[Bierschwale]

I'm very comfortable with Bryan-Cena as my own 2013 MOTY though I might as well be dead if I can't find ways to talk about Hechicero-Lucero for hours on end. I actually think that Lesnar-Punk falls short, too. I feel like that the finish makes me want the babyface in Punk to lose as punishment for being such a moron as to turn his back on Brock, so that could never be in my highest echelon.

 

If I had a Most Outstanding Match of the Year and Most Loved Match of the Year, Rhodes Bros.-Shield would have to win the second. I think that dual winners are fairly rare for me. Casas-Santo is MOMTY for '97, but I don't LOVE it more than Guerrero-Mysterio or Tamura-Uematsu. '89's MOM is a Flair match (HAPPY, PARV?) but I couldn't possibly LOVE any of them more than Hash-Zangiev.

[JimArg]

I've been working on my list for quite a while (added two extra matches by year because I felt like I was leaving too much stuff out):

 

 

 

70s

 

1972: Jim Breaks vs. Adrian Street - Joint Promotions 02/12

Runner up: Les Kellett vs. Johnny Czeslaw - Joint Promotions 11/16

1973: Johnny Saint vs Jim Breaks - Joint Promotions 05/05

Runner up: Alan Sarjeant vs. Clay Thomson - Joint Promotions 06/06

1974: Mick McManus vs Alan Sarjeant - Joint Promotions 11/23

Runner up: Robby Baron vs. Peter Szacaks - Joint Promotions 03/14

1975: Clive Myers vs Steve Grey - Joint Promotions 11/23

Runner up: Antonio Inoki vs Billy Robinson - NJPW 12/11

1976: Billy Robinson vs Giant Baba - AJPW 07/24

Runner up: Terry Funk vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 06/11

1977: Clive Myers vs Alan Sarjeant - Joint Promotions 02/21

Runner up: Buddy Rose vs Jay Youngblood - Portland Wrestling 09/10

1978: Marty Jones vs Mark Rocco - Joint Promotions 07/26

Runner up: Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr. vs Abdullah the Butcher & The Sheik - AJPW 09/19

1979: Mile Zrno vs Ashura Hara - IWE 05/06

Runner up: Buddy Rose vs Roddy Piper - Portland Wrestling 05/12

 

 

80s

 

1980: Johnny Saint vs Steve Grey - Joint Promotions 01/28

Runner up: Nick Bockwinkel vs Billy Robinson - AJPW 12/11

1981: Jon Cortez vs Steve Grey - Joint Promotions 07/27

Runner up: Andre the Giant vs Stan Hansen - NJPW 09/23

1982: Dutch Mantell vs Jerry Lawler - Memphis 03/29

Runner up: Andre The Giant vs Killer Khan - NJPW 04/01

1983: MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana - EMLL 09/23

Runner up: Espectro Jr., Satanico & MS-1 vs. Mocho Cota, Sangre Chicana & La Fiera - EMLL 09/30

Runner up II: Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu - NJPW 04/21

1984: Gran Cochisse vs El Satanico - EMLL 09/14

Runner up: 5 on 5 Gauntlet Challenge - NJPW 04/09

Runner up II: Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger - UWF 12/05

1985: Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee - Memphis 12/30

Runner up: Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger - UWF 09/11

Runner up II: Magnum TA vs Tully Blanchard - NWA Starrcade

1986: Espanto Jr. vs El Hijo Del Santo - UWA 08/31

Runner up: NJPW vs UWF 5 on 5 Challenge - NJPW 05/01

Runner up II: Akira Maeda vs Tatsumi Fujinami - NJPW 06/12

1987: Jerry Lawler vs Austin Idol - Memphis 04/27

Runner up: Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara - NJPW 06/09

Runner up II: El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas - WWA 07/18

1988: Pirata Morgan vs. El Dandy - EMLL 09/23

Runner up: Espanto Jr. vs El Hijo del Santo - UWA 04/10

Runner up II: 10 Man Elimination Tag - NJPW 09/12

1989: Naoki Sano vs Jushin Liger - NJPW 08/10

Runner up: Kazuo Yamazaki vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara - UWF 07/24

Runner up II: El Dandy vs Emilio Charles - EMLL 07/28

 

90s

 

1990: El Dandy vs El Satanico - EMLL 10/14

Runner up: Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara - UWF 10/25

Runner up II: El Dandy vs Angel Azteca - EMLL 06/01

1991: Wayne Shamrock vs Naoki Sano - PWFG 05/19

Runner up: Atlantis vs Blue Panther - CMLL 08/09

Runner up II: Los Brazos vs Los Infernales - CMLL 11/22

1992: Negro Casas vs El Dandy - CMLL 07/05

Runner up: Emilio Charles Jr. vs Atlantis - CMLL 08/14

Runner up II: Volk Han vs Andrei Kopylov - RINGS 07/16

1993: El Satanico vs Pirata Morgan - AAA 11/26

Runner up: Akira Hokuto vs Shinobu Kandori - AJW 04/02

Runner up II: Shinya Hashimoto vs Genichiro Tenryu - NJPW 08/08

1994: El Dandy vs Javier Llanes - CMLL 02/22

Runner up: El Mariachi vs Blue Panther - AAA 10/30

Runner up II: Hiroshi Hase vs Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW 12/13

1995: Volk Han vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 06/17

Runner up: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue - AJPW 04/15

Runner up II: Yoji Anjoh vs Naoki Sano - UWFi 06/18

1996: Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono vs Alexander Otsuka & Yuki Ishikawa - BattlARTS 10/30

Runner up: Riki Choshu vs Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW 08/02

Runner up II: El Hijo del Santo, Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr. vs El Dandy, Negro Casas & Héctor Garza - CMLL 11/29

1997: Negro Casas vs El Hijo del Santo - CMLL 09/19

Runner up: Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura - RINGS 01/22

Runner up II: Bracito de Oro, Cicloncito Ramirez & Mascarita Magica vs Damiancito El Guerrero, El Fierito & Pierrothito -CMLL 10/03

1998: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - RINGS 6/27

Runner up: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 09/21

Runner up II: Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda - BattlARTS 05/27

1999: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 06/24

Runner up: El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas vs Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr. - CMLL 03/19

Runner up II: Mariko Yoshida vs Hiroumi Yagi - ARSION 02/18

 

00s

 

2000: Jun Akiyama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - AJPW 02/27

Runner up: Yoshihiro Tajiri vs Steve Corino - ECW 05/14

Runner up II: Ayako Hamada vs Mariko Yoshida - ARSION 10/17

2001: CMLL Infierno en el Ring - CMLL 09/28

Runner up: Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 03/02

Runner up II: El Hijo del Santo vs La Parka - Monterrey 12/23

2002: Yoshinari Ogawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 09/07

Runner up: Low Ki vs Bryan Danielson - ECWA 07/21

Runner up II: Negro Navarro & Shu el Guerrero vs. Solar & Skayde - AULL 11/01

2003: Osamu Nishimura vs Jun Akiyama - NJPW 08/11

Runner up: Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13

2004: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Hiroyuki Ito - U-STYLE 08/18

Runner up: Eddie Guerrero vs JBL - WWE Judgment Day

Runner up II: El Hijo del Santo vs El Hijo del Perro Aguayo - CMLL 08/13

2005: Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda - FUTEN 04/24

Runner up: Misioneros de la Muerte vs Cadetes del Espacio - IWRG 02/10

Runner up II: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Josh Barnett - U-STYLE 11/23

2006: Tatsumi Fujinami vs Osamu Nishimura - MUGA 09/25

Runner up: Negro Navarro, Villano IV, Villano V vs Dos Caras Jr, Heavy Metal & Solar 1 - AULL 02/11

Runner up II: Chris Benoit vs Finlay - WWE 05/05

2007: John Cena vs Umaga - WWE Royal Rumble

Runner up: Solar 1 & Mano Negra vs Negro Navarro & Black Terry - Lucha Libre VIP 03/10

Runner up II: Bryan Danielson vs Takeshi Morishima - ROH 08/25

2008: Yuki Ishikawa vs Carl Greco - BattlARTS 06/09

Runner up: Villano V vs Blue Panther - CMLL 09/19

Runner up II: Yuki Ishikawa, Alexander Otsuka & Munenori Sawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda, Katsumi Usuda & Super Tiger II - BattlARTS 07/26

2009: Trauma II vs Zatura - IWRG 06/18

Runner up: Jack Swagger vs Christian - ECW 02/24

Runner up II: Black Terry, Dr. Cerebro & Cerebro Negro vs Negro Navarro, Trauma I & Trauma II - IWRG 04/23

 

10s

 

2010: Takeshi Ono vs Daisuke Ikeda - FUTEN 09/26

Runner up: L.A Park vs El Mesias - AAA 12/05

Runner up II: Dick Togo v. Billy Ken Kid - Osaka Pro 02/11

2011: Virus vs Guerrero Maya Jr. - CMLL 06/07

Runner up: Dick Togo vs Antonio Honda - DDT 01/30

Runner up II: Negro Navarro & Black Terry vs Trauma I & Trauma II - Lucha Pop 08/27

2012: Angel Blanco Jr. & El Hijo del Solitario vs El Hijo Del Santo & Villano IV - TXT 02/25

Runner up: Blue Panther vs Negro Casas - CMLL 03/02

Runner up II: Fuego & Valiente vs Arkángel de la Muerte & Virus - CMLL 02/21

2013: Charles Lucero vs Rey Hechicero - Noches de Coliseo 08/04

Runner up: Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Virus - CMLL 10/06

Runner up II: Jun Akiyama vs KAI - AJPW 04/29

2014: Negro Casas vs Rush - CMLL 08/01

Runner up: Black Terry & Negro Navarro vs Trauma I & Trauma II - IWRG 12/21

Runner up II: KUSHIDA vs Jushin Liger - NJPW 06/06

2015: Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns - WWE Wrestlemania 31

Runner up: Virus vs Dr. Cerebro - Chilanga Mask 08/16

Runner up II: Low Ki vs Rey Mysterio - JAPW 11/14

2016: Trauma I vs Canis Lupus - IWRG 09/04

Runner up: AJ Styles vs Roman Reigns - WWE Payback

Runner up II: Black Terry vs Wotan - Chilanga Mask 08/21

 

 

edit: I added matches from 1972 to 1979.

[Phil Schneider]

I love the list, but you got to watch some 2010 and 2011 FUTEN tags!

[JimArg]

I love the list, but you got to watch some 2010 and 2011 FUTEN tags!

I watched every one of those that I could find and I really, really like them, but not enough to make the list. Maybe it's Oba's comedy.

[Phil Schneider]

I also love the semi troll move of not even having Kawada v. Misawa in your top 3 for 1994

[JimArg]

I've burned out of AJPW probably, so outside of a few matches I don't really enjoy it. Having Team Taco vs Otsuka/Ishikawa in '96 instead of the RWTL final was a bit of a political move, I admit that.

[GOTNW]

I also love the semi troll move of not even having Kawada v. Misawa in your top 3 for 1994

It wouldn't make my top ten, probably would have it even lower.

[Tim Cooke]

Genuinly curious to know the 10+ matches better than the June Misawa/Kawada match

[GOTNW]

Some no brainers there would be:

Aja Kong vs Yumiko Hotta (AJW 1/24)

Nobuhiko Takada vs Vader (UWFi 8/18)

Shinya Hashimoto vs Jushin Liger (NJPW 2/24)

Shinya Hashimoto vs Hiroshi Hase (NJPW 12/13)

Vader vs Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFi 6/10)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Steve Williams (AJPW 7/28)

Blue Panther vs El Mariachi (AAA 10/30)

 

Then it becomes a issue of me not having clear ratings for a bunch of matches I've seen (pretty sure at least one of the Dynamite Kansai/Aja matches would top it among others) and needing to rewatch some stuff. For instance I thought the Owen/Bret match was a ***** classic last time I watched it, but that was at least five years ago and my taste is on another planet now.

[Bierschwale]

I've been working on my list for quite a while (added two extra matches by year because I felt like I was leaving too much stuff out):

 

 

80s

 

1980: Johnny Saint vs Steve Grey - Joint Promotions 01/28

Runner up: Nick Bockwinkel vs Billy Robinson - AJPW 12/11

1981: Jon Cortez vs Steve Grey - Joint Promotions 07/27

Runner up: Andre the Giant vs Stan Hansen - NJPW 09/23

1982: Dutch Mantell vs Jerry Lawler - Memphis 03/29

Runner up: Andre The Giant vs Killer Khan - NJPW 04/01

1983: MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana - EMLL 09/23

Runner up: Espectro Jr., Satanico & MS-1 vs. Mocho Cota, Sangre Chicana & La Fiera - EMLL 09/30

Runner up II: Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu - NJPW 04/21

1984: Gran Cochisse vs El Satanico - EMLL 09/14

Runner up: 5 on 5 Gauntlet Challenge - NJPW 04/09

Runner up II: Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger - UWF 12/05

1985: Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee - Memphis 12/30

Runner up: Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger - UWF 09/11

Runner up II: Magnum TA vs Tully Blanchard - NWA Starrcade

1986: NJPW vs UWF 5 on 5 Challenge - NJPW 05/01

Runner up: Espanto Jr. vs El Hijo Del Santo - EMLL 08/31

Runner up II: Akira Maeda vs Tatsumi Fujinami - NJPW 06/12

1987: Jerry Lawler vs Austin Idol - Memphis 04/27

Runner up: Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara - NJPW 06/09

Runner up II: El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas - WWA 07/18

1988: Pirata Morgan vs. El Dandy - EMLL 09/23

Runner up: Tatsumi Fujinami vs Antonio Inoki - NJPW 08/08

Runner up II: 10 Man Elimination Tag - NJPW 09/12

1989: Naoki Sano vs Jushin Liger - NJPW 08/10

Runner up: Kazuo Yamazaki vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara - UWF 07/24

Runner up II: El Dandy vs Emilio Charles - EMLL 07/28

 

90s

 

1990: El Dandy vs El Satanico - EMLL 10/14

Runner up: Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara - UWF 10/25

Runner up II: El Dandy vs Angel Azteca - EMLL 06/01

1991: Wayne Shamrock vs Naoki Sano - PWFG 05/19

Runner up: Atlantis vs Blue Panther - CMLL 08/09

Runner up II: Los Brazos vs Los Infernales - CMLL 11/22

1992: Negro Casas vs El Dandy - CMLL 07/05

Runner up: Emilio Charles Jr. vs Atlantis - CMLL 08/14

Runner up II: Volk Han vs Andrei Kopylov - RINGS 07/16

1993: El Satanico vs Pirata Morgan - AAA 11/26

Runner up: Akira Hokuto vs Shinobu Kandori - AJW 04/02

Runner up II: Shinya Hashimoto vs Genichiro Tenryu - NJPW 08/08

1994: El Dandy vs Javier Llanes - CMLL 02/22

Runner up: El Mariachi vs Blue Panther - AAA 10/30

Runner up II: Hiroshi Hase vs Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW 12/13

1995: Volk Han vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 06/17

Runner up: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue - AJPW 04/15

Runner up II: Yoji Anjoh vs Naoki Sano - UWFi 06/18

1996: Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono vs Alexander Otsuka & Yuki Ishikawa - BattlARTS 10/30

Runner up: Riki Choshu vs Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW 08/02

Runner up II: El Hijo del Santo, Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr. vs El Dandy, Negro Casas & Héctor Garza - CMLL 11/29

1997: Negro Casas vs El Hijo del Santo - CMLL 09/19

Runner up: Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura - RINGS 01/22

Runner up II: Bracito de Oro, Cicloncito Ramirez & Mascarita Magica vs Damiancito El Guerrero, El Fierito & Pierrothito -CMLL 10/03

1998: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - RINGS 6/27

Runner up: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 09/21

Runner up II: Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda - BattlARTS 05/27

1999: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 06/24

Runner up: El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas vs Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr. - CMLL 03/19

Runner up II: Mariko Yoshida vs Hiroumi Yagi - ARSION 02/18

 

00s

 

2000: Jun Akiyama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - AJPW 02/27

Runner up: Yoshihiro Tajiri vs Steve Corino - ECW 05/14

Runner up II: Ayako Hamada vs Mariko Yoshida - ARSION 10/17

2001: CMLL Infierno en el Ring - CMLL 09/28

Runner up: Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 03/02

Runner up II: El Hijo del Santo vs La Parka - Monterrey 12/23

2002: Low Ki vs Bryan Danielson - ECWA 07/21

Runner up: Negro Navarro & Shu el Guerrero vs. Solar & Skayde - AULL 11/01

Runner up II: Yoshinari Ogawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 09/07

2003: Osamu Nishimura vs Jun Akiyama - NJPW 08/11

Runner up: Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13

2004: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Hiroyuki Ito - U-STYLE 08/18

Runner up: Eddie Guerrero vs JBL - WWE Judgment Day

Runner up II: El Hijo del Santo vs El Hijo del Perro Aguayo - CMLL 08/13

2005: Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda - FUTEN 04/24

Runner up: Misioneros de la Muerte vs Cadetes del Espacio - IWRG 02/10

Runner up II: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Josh Barnett - U-STYLE 11/23

2006: Negro Navarro, Villano IV, Villano V vs Dos Caras Jr, Heavy Metal & Solar 1 - AULL 02/11

Runner up: Chris Benoit vs Finlay - WWE 05/05

Runner up II: Jun Akiyama vs Masao Inoue - NOAH 04/23

2007: John Cena vs Umaga - WWE Royal Rumble

Runner up: Solar 1 & Mano Negra vs Negro Navarro & Black Terry - Lucha Libre VIP 03/10

Runner up II: Bryan Danielson vs Takeshi Morishima - ROH 08/25

2008: Yuki Ishikawa vs Carl Greco - BattlARTS 06/09

Runner up: Villano V vs Blue Panther - CMLL 09/19

Runner up II: Yuki Ishikawa, Alexander Otsuka & Munenori Sawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda, Katsumi Usuda & Super Tiger II - BattlARTS 07/26

2009: Trauma II vs Zatura - IWRG 06/18

Runner up: Jack Swagger vs Christian - ECW 02/24

Runner up II: Black Terry, Dr. Cerebro & Cerebro Negro vs Negro Navarro, Trauma I & Trauma II - IWRG 04/23

 

10s

 

2010: Takeshi Ono vs Daisuke Ikeda - FUTEN 09/26

Runner up: L.A Park vs El Mesias - AAA 12/05

Runner up II: Dick Togo v. Billy Ken Kid - Osaka Pro 02/11

2011: Virus vs Guerrero Maya Jr. - CMLL 06/07

Runner up: Dick Togo vs Antonio Honda - DDT 01/30

Runner up II: Negro Navarro & Black Terry vs Trauma I & Trauma II - Lucha Pop 08/27

2012: Angel Blanco Jr. & El Hijo del Solitario vs El Hijo Del Santo & Villano IV - TXT 02/25

Runner up: Blue Panther vs Negro Casas - CMLL 03/02

Runner up II: Fuego & Valiente vs Arkángel de la Muerte & Virus - CMLL 02/21

2013: Charles Lucero vs Rey Hechicero - Noches de Coliseo 08/04

Runner up: Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Virus - CMLL 10/06

Runner up II: Jun Akiyama vs KAI - AJPW 04/29

2014: Negro Casas vs Rush - CMLL 08/01

Runner up: Black Terry & Negro Navarro vs Trauma I & Trauma II - IWRG 12/21

Runner up II: KUSHIDA vs Jushin Liger - NJPW 06/06

2015: Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns - WWE Wrestlemania 31

Runner up: Virus vs Dr. Cerebro - Chilanga Mask 08/16

Runner up II: Kairi Hojo vs Meiko Satomura - STARDOM 06/14

2016: Trauma I vs Canis Lupus - IWRG 09/04

Runner up: AJ Styles vs Roman Reigns - WWE Payback

Runner up II: L.A. Park vs Rush - Lucha Libre Elite 07/14

 

 

Killer list, though I'd expect nothing less.

[Cap]

Updated 8/13/2018

2018 – Andrade Almas vs Johnny Gargano (1/27)

2017 – Trevor Lee vs Chip Day (3/25)

2016 – Black Terry vs Wotan (8/21)

2015 – Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kota Ibushi (1/4)

2014 – Daniel Bryan vs HHH (4/6)

2013 – Daniel Bryan vs John Cena (8/18)

2012 – El Hijo Del Santo/Villano IV vs Angel Blanco Jr/El Hijo Del Solitario (2/25)

2011 – CM Punk vs John Cena (7/17)

2010 – L.A. Park vs el Mesias (12/5)

2009 – Bryan Danielson/Claudio Castagnoli vs Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw (9/13)

2008 – Bryan Danielson vs Takeshi Morashima (12/27)

2007 – John Cena vs Umaga (1/28)

2006 – Bryan Danielson vs Nigem McGuinness (8/12)

2005 – Kenta Kobashi vs Samoa Joe (10/2)

2004 – Eddie Guerrero vs JBL (5/16)

2003 – Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa (3/1)

2002 – Bryan Danielson vs Low-Ki (3/30)

2001 – El Hijo del Santo vs LA Park (1/23)

2000 – Atlantis vs Vilano III (3/17)

1999 – Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (6/24)

1998 – Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa (10/31)

1997 – Steve Austin vs Bret Hart (3/23)

1996 – El Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas vs El Dandy (12/6)

1995 – Holy Demon Army vs Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuahru Misawa (6/9)

1994 – Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (6/3)

1993 – Shinobu Kandori vs Akira Hokuto (4/2)

1992 – Negro Casas vs el Dandy (7/3)

1991 – El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (5/17)

1990 – El Satanico vs El Dandy (12/14)

1989 – Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (4/2)

1988 – Stan Hansen/Terry Gordy vs Genichiro Tenryu/Toshiaki Kawada (12/16)

1987 – Stan Hansen vs Carlos Colon (1/6)

1986 – Nick Bockwinkel vs Curt Hennig (11/21)

1985 – Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee (12/30)

1984 – El Satanico vs Gran Cochise (9/14)

1983 – Sangre Chicana vs MS-1 (9/23)

1982 – Jerry Lawler vs Dutch Mantell (3/29)

1981 – Stan Hansen vs Andre The Giant (9/23)

1980 – Steve Grey vs Johnny Saint (1/28 – air: 2/2)

1979 – Andre The Giant vs Harley Race (1/7)

1978 – Wahoo McDaniel vs Harley Race (2/10)

1977 – Billy Robinson vs Jumbo Tsuruta (3/5)

1976 – Billy Robinson vs Giant Baba (7/24)

1975 – Steve Grey vs Clive Myers (11/20 – air: 11/22)

1974 –

1973 – Adrian Street vs Jim Breaks (2/12)

[Jetlag]

Threw up this list from my notepad file.

 

 

 

1970 Gene Kiniski vs. Giant Baba (JWA 3.12.)

1971 Roy & Tony St. Clair vs. Vic Faulkner & Bert Royal (WoS 1.12.)

1972 Tibor Szakacs vs. Jack Fallon (WoS 19.4.)

1973 Johnny Saint vs. Jim Breaks (WoS 5.5.)

1974 Verne Gagne vs. Billy Robinson (IWE 20.11.)

1975 Alan Sarjeant vs. Robby Baron (WoS 26.4.)

1976 Marty Jones vs. Terry Rudge (WoS 4.12.)

1977 Animal Hamaguchi/Mighty Inoue vs. Akihisa Takachio/Samson Kutsuwada (IWE 30.11.)

1978 Mando Guerrero vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (Los Angeles 9.6.)

1979 Jose Lothario vs. Gino Hernandez (Houston 19.1.)

1980 Axel Dieter vs. Moose Morowski (Hannover)

1981 Jon Cortez vs. Steve Grey (WoS 27.7.)

1982 Jerry Lawler vs. Dutch Mantell (Memphis 29.3.)

1983 Sangre Chicana vs. MS-1 (EMLL 23.9.)

1984 Satanico vs. Gran Cochisse (EMLL 14.9.)

1985 Dick Murdoch vs. Butch Reed (Mid-South (22.9.)

1986 Franz van Buyten vs. Dave Taylor (Hamburg 5.10.)

1987 Franz van Buyten vs. Terry Rudge (Hamburg 1.10.)

1988 El Hijo del Santo vs. Espanto Jr (April)

1989 Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (NJPW 10.8.)

1990 Pirata Morgan vs. El Faraon (EMLL 16.11.)

1991 Wayne Shamrock vs. Naoki Sano (PWFG 19.5.)

1992 Negro Casas vs. El Dandy (CMLL 3.7.)

1993 Vader vs. Sting (WCW 21.2.)

1994 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawda (AJPW 3.6.)

1995 Misawa/Kobashi vs. Holy Demon Army (AJPW 9.6.)

1996 Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 6.12.)

1997 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 20.1.)

1998 Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (BattlARTS 27.05.)

1999 Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (RINGS 24.6)

2000 Atlantis vs. Villano III (CMLL 17.3.)

2001 Sumie Sakai vs. Megumi Yabushita (Jd' 18. März)

2002 Takayama vs. Misawa (NOAH 23.9.)

2003 Tamon Honda vs. Kenta Kobashi (NOAH 13.4.)

2004 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 22.2.)

2005 Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (Futen 24.4.)

2006 Solar/Dos Caras Jr/Heavy Metal vs. Negro Navarro/Villano IV/Villano V (AULL 2.11.)

2007 Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (RoH 25.8.)

2008 Yuki Ishikawa vs. Carl Greco (BattlARTS 9.6.)

2009 Ikeda/Ono vs. Suruga/Oba (Futen 26.4.)

2010 Kengo Mashimo/Manabu Suruga vs. Takeshi Ono/Takahiro Oba (Futen 30.5.)

2011 Terry/Navarro vs. Apache/Angel Mortal (IWRG 16.1.)

2012 Hijo del Santo/Villano IV vs. Hijo del Santo/Angel Blanco Jr. (TxT 25.2.)

2013 Charles Lucero vs. Rey Hechicero (Monterrey 4.8.)

2014 Kongo Kong vs. Danny Cannon (IWA MS 1.5.)

2015 KAGETSU vs.Tsubasa Kuragaki (OZ Academy 11.1.)

2016 Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai 16.10.)

 

 

 

Didn't do anything from before 1970 because there's so many matches there where there's no date. Just doesn't feel fair.

 

Also kinda feel like the Top 10-30 area of some members list would be much more interesting than the #1. With so many years there are so many great matches that picking 1 feels like an injustice.

[Phil Schneider]

Love the Kongo Kong v. Danny Cannon pick, don't think I would have it #1, but it is a great match

[JerryvonKramer]

Some no brainers there would be:

Aja Kong vs Yumiko Hotta (AJW 1/24)

Nobuhiko Takada vs Vader (UWFi 8/18)

Shinya Hashimoto vs Jushin Liger (NJPW 2/24)

Shinya Hashimoto vs Hiroshi Hase (NJPW 12/13)

Vader vs Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFi 6/10)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Steve Williams (AJPW 7/28)

Blue Panther vs El Mariachi (AAA 10/30)

 

Then it becomes a issue of me not having clear ratings for a bunch of matches I've seen (pretty sure at least one of the Dynamite Kansai/Aja matches would top it among others) and needing to rewatch some stuff. For instance I thought the Owen/Bret match was a ***** classic last time I watched it, but that was at least five years ago and my taste is on another planet now.

I can't be sure if I've seen Hase vs Hash need to double check. Will rectify if not.

 

Seems very weird to me having Misawa / Williams over Misawa / Kawada.

 

Edit: turns out I have: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/32747-hiroshi-hase/&do=findComment&comment=5717167

[Jordan]

Alright, been working on this for a minute but feel content with it for now. Will probably update and move matches up/down as time passes.

 

 

1976 - Terry Funk vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, AJPW 6/11

1977 - Billy Robinson vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, AJPW 3/5

1978 - Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ryuma Go, NJPW 11/30

1979 - Wahoo McDaniel vs. The Spoiler, 4/21

1980 - Axel Dieter vs. Moose Morowski, 10/5

1981 - Stan Hansen vs. Andre the Giant, NJPW 9/23

1982 - Jerry Lawler vs. Dutch Mantell, CWA 3/29

1983 - MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana, EMLL 9/23

1984 - Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Super Tiger, UWF 12/5

1985 - Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee, CWA 12/30

1986 - El Hijo del Santo vs. Espanto Jr., EMLL 8/31

1987 - Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Riki Choshu, NJPW 6/9

1988 - Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW 12/16

1989 - Masakatsu Funaki vs. Tatsuo Nakano, UWF 7/24

1990 - El Satanico vs. El Dandy, EMLL 12/14

1991 - Wayne Shamrock vs. Naoki Sano, PWFG 5/19

1992 - Negro Casas vs. El Dandy, CMLL 7/3

1993 - Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen, AJPW 2/28

1994 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW 6/3

1995 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue, AJPW 4/15

1996 - Shinya Hashimoto vs. Riki Choshu, NJPW 8/2

1997 - Negro Casas vs. El Hijo del Santo, Hair vs. Mask, CMLL 9/19

1998 - Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki, NJPW 8/2

1999 - Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto RINGS 6/24

2000 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama, AJPW 2/27

2001 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, NOAH 4/15

2002 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, NOAH 9/23

2003 - Kenta Kobashi vs. Tamon Honda, NOAH 4/13

2004 - Shinya Hashimoto vs. Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW 2/22

2005 - Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher, IWA-MS 6/11

2006 - Finlay vs. Chris Benoit, WWE Judgment Day 5/21

2007 - John Cena vs. Umaga, WWE Royal Rumble 1/28

2008 - Yuki Ishikawa, Alexander Otsuka & Munenori Sawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda, Katsumi Usuda & Super Tiger II, BattlArts 7/26

2009 - Christian vs. Jack Swagger, WWE 2/24

2010 - Daisuke Ikeda vs. Takeshi Ono, FUTEN 9/26

2011 - Finlay vs. Sami Callihan, EVOLVE 7/26

2012 - Negro Casas vs. Blue Panther, CMLL 3/2

2013 - Sheamus vs. Cesaro, WWE Main Event 6/5

2014 - Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori vs. Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara, AJPW 12/6

2015 - Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar, WWE Wrestlemania 31 3/29

2016 - Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles, WWE Payback 5/1

 

[rzombie1988]

Wish I got to see that Black Terry vs Wotan match in full people were pimping last year, seemed like an easy MOTY.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Alright, been working on this for a minute but feel content with it for now. Will probably update and move matches up/down as time passes.

 

 

1976 - Terry Funk vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, AJPW 6/11

1977 - Billy Robinson vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, AJPW 3/5

1978 - Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ryuma Go, NJPW 11/30

1979 - Wahoo McDaniel vs. The Spoiler, 4/21

1980 - Axel Dieter vs. Moose Morowski, 10/5

1981 - Stan Hansen vs. Andre the Giant, NJPW 9/23

1982 - Jerry Lawler vs. Dutch Mantell, CWA 3/29

1983 - MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana, EMLL 9/23

1984 - Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Super Tiger, UWF 12/5

1985 - Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee, CWA 12/30

1986 - El Hijo del Santo vs. Espanto Jr., EMLL 8/31

1987 - Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Riki Choshu, NJPW 6/9

1988 - Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW 12/16

1989 - Masakatsu Funaki vs. Tatsuo Nakano, UWF 7/24

1990 - El Satanico vs. El Dandy, EMLL 12/14

1991 - Wayne Shamrock vs. Naoki Sano, PWFG 5/19

1992 - Negro Casas vs. El Dandy, CMLL 7/3

1993 - Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen, AJPW 2/28

1994 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW 6/3

1995 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue, AJPW 4/15

1996 - Shinya Hashimoto vs. Riki Choshu, NJPW 8/6

1997 - Negro Casas vs. El Hijo del Santo, Hair vs. Mask, CMLL 9/19

1998 - Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki, NJPW 8/2

1999 - Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto RINGS 6/24

2000 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama, AJPW 2/27

2001 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, NOAH 4/15

2002 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, NOAH 9/23

2003 - Kenta Kobashi vs. Tamon Honda, NOAH 4/13

2004 - Shinya Hashimoto vs. Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW 2/22

2005 - Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher, IWA-MS 6/11

2006 - Finlay vs. Chris Benoit, WWE Judgment Day 5/21

2007 - John Cena vs. Umaga, WWE Royal Rumble 1/28

2008 - Yuki Ishikawa, Alexander Otsuka & Munenori Sawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda, Katsumi Usuda & Super Tiger II, BattlArts 7/26

2009 - Christian vs. Jack Swagger, WWE 2/24

2010 - Daisuke Ikeda vs. Takeshi Ono, FUTEN 9/26

2011 - Finlay vs. Sami Callihan, EVOLVE 7/26

2012 - Negro Casas vs. Blue Panther, CMLL 3/2

2013 - Sheamus vs. Cesaro, WWE Main Event 6/5

2014 - Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori vs. Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara, AJPW 12/6

2015 - Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar, WWE Wrestlemania 32 3/29

2016 - Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles, WWE Payback 5/1

 

Brutha way to get 2016 correct! You can be on my team any day of the week! 😃

[Bierschwale]

Agreed with Phil on Cannon-Kong, even if it's a sentimental thought because of HOW GOOD Cannon could have been/Kongo never getting his respect.

 

I'm also Payback > Extreme Rules forever. Both are truly great but the sense of escalation on Payback is perfect.

[NintendoLogic]

Added my final pick for 2016 and my first pick for 2017.

[Phil Schneider]

We are updating this weekly over at Segunda Caida, with a new entry every Tuesday and a challenge every Saturday. Just had a new upset for 2006

 

 

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2017/03/all-time-moty-list-head-to-head.html

 

1950 Buddy Rogers v. Lou Thez Chicago 6/21/50

1962 Dan Aubriot v. Pierre Bernaert French Catch 9/11/62
1965 Gilbert Cesca/Ben Chemoil v. Anton Tejaro/Inca Peruano French Catch 3/12/65
1967 Anton Tejero v. Walter Borders French Catch 8/29/67

1971 Bert Royal/Vic Faulkner v. Tony & Roy St. Clair WoS 1/12/71
1975 The Destroyer v. The Spirit AJPW 7/25/75
1976 Killer Karl Kox v. Dick Murdoch AJPW 12/9/76
1977 Harley Race v. Terry Funk NWA Houston 7/1/77
1978 Wahoo McDaniel v. Harley Race NWA Houston 2/10/78
1979 The Spoiler v. Wahoo McDaniel NWA Houston 4/21/79

1980 Roddy Piper/Rick Martel v. Buddy Rose/Ed Wiskowski PNW 8/2/80
1981 Andre the Giant v. Stan Hansen NJPW 9/23/81
1983 Sangre Chicana v. MS-1 CMLL 9/23/83
1986 Akira Maeda/Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Osamu Kido/Nobuhiko Takada/Kazuo Yamazaki v. Antonio Inoki/Tatsumi Fujinami/Kantaro Hoshino/Kengo Kimura/Umanosuke Ueda NJPW 3/26/86
1989 Yoshiaki Fujiwara v. Kazuo Yamazaki UWF 7/24/89

1990 Atsushi Onita/Tarzan Goto v. Kendo Nagasaki/Masanobu Kurisu FMW 4/27/90
1991 Vader v. Tatsumi Fujinami CWA 12/21/91
1994 Mitsuharu Misawa v. Toshiaki Kawada AJPW 6/3/94
1997 El Hijo Del Santo v. Negro Casas CMLL 9/19/97
1999 El Hijo Del Santo/Negro Casas v. Bestia Salvaje/Scorpio Jr. CMLL 3/19/99

2001 La Parka v. El Hijo Del Santo Monterey 12/23/01
2002 American Dragon v. Low-Ki JAPW 6/7/02
2003 Tamon Honda v. Kenta Kobashi NOAH 4/13/03
2004 Necro Butcher v. Toby Klein IWA-MS 6/25/04
2005 Daisuke Ikeda v. Yuki Ishikawa FUTEN 4/24/05
2006 Team Anarchy (Shadow Jackson/Nemesis/Slim J/Ace Rockwell) v. The Devil's Reject's (Iceberg/Tank/Azrael/Shaun Tempers) NWA Anarchy 7/22/06

2010 Daisuke Ikeda/Takahiro Oba v. Makoto Hashi/Kengo Mashimo FUTEN 10/25/10
2011 Dick Togo v. Antonio Honda DDT 1/30/11
2014 The Shield v. The Wyatts WWE 2/23/14
2015 Rey Mysterio Jr. v. Low-Ki JAPW 11/14/15

[brockobama]

Decided I was only going to list matches from the years I've been alive, because A.) it offers an opportunity for strangers on the internet to ridicule me for my age, and B.) it's the years I'm most familiar with. Also, because I'm only covering a relatively small amount of years and since I'm still quite new to this site and haven't exposed my tastes too much (i.e. offered more opportunities for ridicule), I thought I'd do my number two matches for each year as well.

 

1993

1. Akira Hokuto vs Shinobu Kandori – AJW 04/02
2. Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi – AJPW 07/29

1994

1. Bret Hart vs Owen Hart – WWF 08/29
2. Shinya Hashimoto vs Hiroshi Hase – NJPW 12/13

1995

1. Aja Kong vs Manami Toyota – AJW 03/16
2. Nobuhiko Takada vs Vader – UWFi 04/20

1996

1. Nobuhiko Takada vs Shinya Hashimoto – NJPW 04/29
2. Shinya Hashimoto vs Riki Choshu – NJPW 08/02

1997

1. Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin – WWF 03/23
2. Negro Casas vs El Hijo del Santo – CMLL 09/19

1998

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Dude Love – WWF 05/31
2. Shinya Hashimoto vs Kazuo Yamazaki – NJPW 08/02

1999

1. El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas vs Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr – CMLL 03/19
2. Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto – RINGS 06/24

2000

1. Atlantis vs Villano III – CMLL 03/17
2. Yoshihiro Tajiri vs Super Crazy – ECW 01/21

2001

1. Aja Kong vs Meiko Satomura – GAEA 12/15
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin & Triple H vs Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho – WWF 05/21

2002

1. Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker – WWE 10/20
2. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa – NOAH 09/23

2003

1. Either of the Homicide vs Steve Corino bloodbaths in ROH, leaning closer to the NHB on 08/16
2. Shin M2K vs Italian Connection vs Do Fixer vs Crazy MAX – Toryumon 08/30

2004

1. Necro Butcher vs Toby Klein – IWA Mid-South 06/25
2. Samoa Joe vs Bryan Danielson – ROH 10/02

2005

1. Samoa Joe vs Necro Butcher – IWA Mid-South 06/11
2. Either of the H8 Club vs Tough Crazy Bastards matches in CZW during the summer, with the 06/11 match being way bloodier and wilder on the whole and the 07/09 rematch having a better payoff and a few crazier, crazier spots. I'd probably lean towards 06/11 because the one-two punch Necro had on that day is nothing short of incredible. Two classics in the space of like five hours? Move over, Danielson.

2006

1. Takashi Sasaki vs Abdullah Kobayashi – BJW 03/31
2. Chris Hero, Necro Butcher, & Super Dragon vs Samoa Joe, BJ Whitmer, & Adam Pearce – ROH 04/22

2007

1. John Cena vs Umaga – WWE 01/28
2. Chris Hero vs Eddie Kingston – CZW 04/07

2008

1. Yuki Ishikawa, Alexander Otsuka, & Munenori Sawa vs Daisuke Ikeda, Katsumi Usuda, & Super Tiger – BattlArts 07/26
2. Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels – WWE 10/05

2009

1. Fire Ant & Soldier Ant vs Chuck Taylor & Icarus – Chikara 05/24
2. Amasis & Ophidian vs Fire Ant & Soldier Ant – Chikara 01/25

2010

1. Daisuke Ikeda vs Takeshi Ono – Futen 09/26
2. Shingo Takagi vs BxB Hulk – Dragon Gate 07/11

2011

1. John Cena vs CM Punk – WWE 07/17
2. Eddie Kingston vs Mike Quackenbush – Chikara 11/13

2012

1. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar – WWE 04/29
2. Blood Warriors vs Junction Three – Losing Unit Disbands – Dragon Gate 02/09

2013

1. Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW 08/04
2. MASADA vs Jun Kasai – CZW 04/05

2014

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata – NJPW 07/26
2. Timothy Thatcher vs Jonathan Gresham – Beyond 08/31

2015

1. Minoru Suzuki vs Takashi Sugiura – NOAH 09/19
2. Timothy Thatcher vs Joe Graves – PREMIER 11/28

2016

1. Meiko Satomura vs Aja Kong – Sendai Girls 04/08
2. Canis Lupus vs Trauma I – IWRG 09/04

Outside of the 90’s stuff, which has been covered at great length on this site, 2007, 2011, and 2015 were all pretty hard to narrow down to top two for me. Might not light everyone’s world on fire, but what I perceive to be the high-end stuff from those years are real good matches that mean a lot to me.

(The all-Chikara year is only slightly a joke)

[Jetlag]

Hey, I'm also a 1993er! And I think GOTNW is even younger. The future belongs to us! And now I've been reminded that I need to watch Thatcher/Graves. Thanks!

[Superstar Sleeze]

My gimmick is blown! I am no longer the youngster. Sad!