Top 500 of the 90s In Progress

[Superstar Sleeze]

Im glad you are doing only 50. I love lists. I love lists about pro wrestling. I love lists about pro wrestling matches. IM SO EXCITED!

 

I was going to tweet about each match because that seems en vogue, but feels like it would be disorganized and cluttered. I have no idea why so many people are flocking to twitter and leaving message boards behind.

 

#500 - KNow its rep need to see it.

 

#499- Im an M-Pro noob and need to remedy that.

 

#498 - Awesome clash of the titans match. Goldberg had great presence should have been a tweener. Great Sting match in absolutely abysmal year for him. I missed this match by one week. I went to Nitro after it, which was the Nitro one week before Flair's return. I got to see Raven break one of the Villano's neck. Bad luck.

 

#497 - Joshi noob. Shoot-style, M-Pro, FMW, Joshi, World of Sport then Lucha.

 

#496 - Sounds fucking awesome. Need to see this.

 

#495 - SMW noob. Put that between Shoot-style and M-Pro.

 

#494 - I remember this. Fun TV bout. I am totally alone in thinking their Bash at the Beach match is great. That's an awesome Austin performance.

 

#493 - I don't think of Jake when I think SMW. Ill check it out.

 

#492 - USWA noob. Damn have even ever watched wrestling?

 

#491 - Always on the lookout for this one. NJPW is the hardest thing to find on youtube/dailymotion. I should sign up for NJPW World already.

 

#490 - Awesome violent brawl. Would have this way higher. You can literally hear Regal's nose smash into a million pieces when Finlay hits him and up until that it was just dripping with hatred.

 

#489 - I know have seen this. I found all the Shawn/Marty matches to be around ***1/2 and kinda forgettable.

 

#488 - PG-13 is something I just gotta see.

 

 

#487- FUCK YEAH! So happy Jericho/Eddie vs Meng/Barbarian made the list! Awesome power vs speed tag team match. Highly recommend this.

 

#486- Jeff Jarrett killing it in USWA. What happened, bro?

 

#485 - M-Pro, yeah

 

#484 - Larry Z vs Saito, why have I not seen this?

 

#483 - Remember loving Savage vs HBK someone really milks a knee injury probably Savage since he was the babyface. Need to rewatch.

 

#482 - One of the greatest 5-minute sprints ever. All you have to say is that and I bet 95% of people on here know the exact match I am talking about.

 

#481 - Need to see Tamura like yesterday.

 

#480 - PG-13 came to Waltham, MA, that much Southern white trash greatness was just 20 minutes from my house at one point.

 

#479 - Joshi, brah, gotta see some.

 

#478 - Never seen this and was not planning to watch it, but since it made the rankings Ill take a look. Liked the Hansen & Spivey against MVC at 4/18/91.

 

#477 - Joshi, I'll see you eventually.

 

#476 - This would probably be a borderline pick for me. None of their matches stand out they are all around that ***3/4 & ****. I think I go with the Superbrawl I match.

 

#475 - I used to LOVE this match then it didn't do much for me. I think it would make the list if I did one like this. Shawn did well in these David vs Goliath matches.

 

#474 - A good Kerry match in the 90s is what I need to see.

 

#473 - Flair vs Morton in 1990, drool.

 

#472 - WAY HIGHER DUDE! Wow really shortchanged this one in my opinion. Especially knowing you will have Rey/Dragon way higher, shaking my head.

 

#471 - Good pick, liked the placement. I think Shawn vs Owen gets underrated. It is high quality.

 

#470 - WAY HIGHER DUDE! Parv & Chad have already taken you to task on this one. So I am going to lay off.

 

#469 - Vader vs Tamura, fuck yes!

 

#468 - Been watching a lot of ECW recently, I should watch this one eventually.

 

#467- M-Pro, brutha, need to make it happen.

 

#466 - Very famous match feel like I have seen it, but don't remember it.

 

#465 - I honestly cant believe a good Eliminators match exists. They may be the worst tag team ever. But if they were to have a good match it would be with the FBI.

 

#464 - I need to see more Liger/Ohtani outside the wicked famous match.

 

#463 - ANother match I am always on the lookout for. Maybe it is on the Network

 

#462 - OH HELL YEAH! Great pick, brutha! Rey/Juvy vs La Parka/Psicosis absolutely kill. Everything that was great about the cruiserweight division in one delicious Nitro match.

 

#461 - Two Carolina boys stiffing the hell out of each other in 1990 yes please. Garvin vs Valentine is one of my all-time favorite match ups.

 

#460 - One of my all-time favorite matches. There is nothing I love more than two big uglies fucking chucking each other around. Vader/Boss is a match after my own heart.

 

#459 - Jarrett what the fuck, brah.

 

#458 - Oooooooo I think you shortchanged this one too. Eddie vs Jericho Fall Brawl used to think whats the big deal, watched it again and was blown away.

 

#457 - Hashimoto The Destroyer! NJPW so hard to find shit. Hope I can find this.

 

#456 - Need to see more Fantastics in AJPW

 

#455 - I just checked this out today because of the list. Check out my thoughts in the thread!

 

#454- ZUBAZ~! ALL THE STARS IN THE WORLD!!!!

 

#453 - Fucking killer face vs face match, which is of course Bret's speciality.

 

#452 - I am going to say this is a little high and would not make my list. Liked Steamboat/Douglas vs Blonds matches, but didn't love any of them. Could see why you would feel they need to be represented.

 

#451 - Hashimoto The Destroyer needs to be more present in my life.

[Loss]

#498 - Awesome clash of the titans match. Goldberg had great presence should have been a tweener. Great Sting match in absolutely abysmal year for him. I missed this match by one week. I went to Nitro after it, which was the Nitro one week before Flair's return. I got to see Raven break one of the Villano's neck. Bad luck.

Always seemed to me like Sting delivered when he was challenged to do something different. He wasn't put in a position to carry anyone very often and he did an admirable job of it here. Maybe the only other example I can think of with him in a similar role is the Benoit match from '99, which didn't make my list, even though I think it's a really good match.

 

#494 - I remember this. Fun TV bout. I am totally alone in thinking their Bash at the Beach match is great. That's an awesome Austin performance.

I like the Austin-Steamboat BATB match. But something holds it back from going over the top for me, and I've never been able to figure out what that is. I dig Austin trying to get himself DQ'd and Steamboat being too resourceful for it. The WCWSN match seemed to escalate much better to me.

 

#490 - Awesome violent brawl. Would have this way higher. You can literally hear Regal's nose smash into a million pieces when Finlay hits him and up until that it was just dripping with hatred.

I'll probably say this a few times, but 490 out of 3500+ matches is an impressive ranking. I consider all 500 of these matches elite. But yeah, I can see an argument for going higher than I did.

 

#489 - I know have seen this. I found all the Shawn/Marty matches to be around ***1/2 and kinda forgettable.

Generally speaking, I agree with you, but I do think this match stood out as special. I always mean to watch their Reno handheld match from 1/23/93. Marty has called that his best match ever.

 

#487- FUCK YEAH! So happy Jericho/Eddie vs Meng/Barbarian made the list! Awesome power vs speed tag team match. Highly recommend this.

I watched it again tonight for fun and still thought it was great. I loved when WCW would mix and match guys like this. I wish the Faces of Fear had taken on smaller teams in competitive matches more often. The dynamic works better I think because it provides a bigger contrast.

 

#483 - Remember loving Savage vs HBK someone really milks a knee injury probably Savage since he was the babyface. Need to rewatch.

Yes, it was Savage. Inter-match selling isn't a very common thing in the WWF, so I thought that was pretty cool. I also liked how giving Savage was. In beating him, he also established him as a real threat. Shawn I think had trouble looking tough early on, probably because the WWF was so size-driven and his opponents were still in that mentality, so they weren't as willing to tango as much as I wish they were.

 

#482 - One of the greatest 5-minute sprints ever. All you have to say is that and I bet 95% of people on here know the exact match I am talking about.

What's most impressive about Owen-Kid at KOTR is that it has a fully fleshed out beginning, middle and end. Maybe it would have been better with more time, but it only getting four minutes and hitting the level it did is what makes it special.

 

#476 - This would probably be a borderline pick for me. None of their matches stand out they are all around that ***3/4 & ****. I think I go with the Superbrawl I match.

I like the SuperBrawl match, and that's really the only other singles match they had that I like. One reason I prefer this one is the booking.

 

#475 - I used to LOVE this match then it didn't do much for me. I think it would make the list if I did one like this. Shawn did well in these David vs Goliath matches.

I didn't have this on the list at all at first. I think because stuff like the fire extinguisher became a comedy spot and the powerbomb through the table became so overdone. Plus, I think the psychology of Shawn being the one to use Mad Dog Vachon's prosthetic leg was a little backwards, even though Vince did try to make clear on commentary that he didn't even know what he was doing. However, it didn't feel right leaving it off. The very best sequence of the match to me is Diesel spinning out of the superkick attempt to hit Shawn with a GREAT lariat. I also like this as the type of match Shawn needed to establish himself as champion. He showed he could go the distance and slay the giant.

 

#472 - WAY HIGHER DUDE! Wow really shortchanged this one in my opinion. Especially knowing you will have Rey/Dragon way higher, shaking my head.

I've seen Rey-Psicosis from Bash at the Beach so many times and I've always thought it was a really strong match. But it's never been something I've seen at quite the elite level most people do. I think Rey and Psicosis actually had a much better match that will show up later.

 

#471 - Good pick, liked the placement. I think Shawn vs Owen gets underrated. It is high quality.

I do wish they had worked a match to fit the storyline, with Shawn taking Owen a little more seriously since he sidelined him. But the match they chose to do was very well-worked.

 

#470 - WAY HIGHER DUDE! Parv & Chad have already taken you to task on this one. So I am going to lay off.

Great match, yes, but the finish was flat and it seemed like some of the heat was lost after Rude's introduction, which is electric.

 

#462 - OH HELL YEAH! Great pick, brutha! Rey/Juvy vs La Parka/Psicosis absolutely kill. Everything that was great about the cruiserweight division in one delicious Nitro match.

It was actually worked as a "protest match", which was always a little factoid I loved about it. They were trying to make a point to WCW powers-that-be that as we know fell on deaf ears.

 

#458 - Oooooooo I think you shortchanged this one too. Eddie vs Jericho Fall Brawl used to think whats the big deal, watched it again and was blown away.

I love the hell out of this match. We're already in territory with sacred cows I think. All of these matches are matches I consider great. It's in superb company.

 

#455 - I just checked this out today because of the list. Check out my thoughts in the thread!

Glad you liked it! If this project sends people to explore stuff, that is awesome and I am thrilled.

 

#454- ZUBAZ~! ALL THE STARS IN THE WORLD!!!!

Owen-Shamrock at Fully Loaded is a very overlooked match. Owen knowing how to use the room to his advantage because he grew up scrapping in there was a really great touch. Because they were being filmed so close-up and there was no crowd, they really laid in their shots too. Tremendous match. It's short, but it didn't need to go very long.

 

#453 - Fucking killer face vs face match, which is of course Bret's speciality.

Bret-Backlund from Superstars is also very different for the time period. I liked the exchanging of holds in this one quite a bit. The post-match angle elevates it even more.

 

#452 - I am going to say this is a little high and would not make my list. Liked Steamboat/Douglas vs Blonds matches, but didn't love any of them. Could see why you would feel they need to be represented.

Steamboat/Douglas vs Blonds from Clash 22. I wouldn't have anything else in the series at this level, although I do like all the matches. I loved how the announcers emphasized the faster pace because of the 30-minute time limit instead of the usual 60-minute time limit, and I also absolutely love that they got a belt shot over as something fatal, with blood and everything.

[elliott]

Man this rocks Loss! Thank you!

[Microstatistics]

 

#469 - Vader vs Tamura, fuck yes!

 

 

Fuck yes indeed, classic David vs. Goliath battle in a shootstyle setting with a scorching hot crowd. Infinite rewatchability value.

[concrete1992]

Loss, I WAS PROMISED 100 MATCHES A DAY! WHAT IS THIS 50 GIMMICK?!

 

Just kidding, excited to watch the list progress and know I will have seen very little of this. I'm young so '00s are a more interesting decade for me to dive into on a personal level since I have a tiny bit of perspective but I'm positive I'm going to be using this as some Saturday afternoon guide for wrestling viewing.

[Loss]

Part 2 is up! #450 - #401: http://placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-450-401/

[WingedEagle]

Loving the list and notes on it, but definitely with Sleeze in preferring everything housed here!

 

How much rewatching did you do in throwing this together? Dribs & drabs over time, concentrated focus on certain matches, or just took your original notes / lists for each year and put things together on the fly?

[Loss]

I did quite a bit of rewatching. Everything I originally ranked ****1/4 or higher I rewatched and then I selected certain things that stood out in my memory in the ***1/2-**** range. And like I mentioned above, I really tried to move away from my head and more toward my heart in how I approached the ranking. There are some matches in the lower part of the list I probably feel more fondness for than matches higher, so it's not all that, but I thought it was more fun to rank matches that meant something to me.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Lunch time, WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

#450 - I have seen this before a long time ago. Awesome bloody brawl is my recollection with a table getting involved. This is some choice Muta. Totally different than their 2001 classic.

 

#449- Saw this a long time ago. I am pretty sure this is the Birth of DX match. Have no real recollection of quality, Ill have to check this out.

 

#448 - Double J is the king of **** match in the early 90s apparently.

 

#447 - Buzz Sawyer's last hurrah. Really came to like Buzz in Mid-South should give this a watch. Also babyface Horsemen with Sting, pretty novel

 

#446- Savage vs Tenryu. I know, I know, I know. This has been on the to do list forever! So has Flair/Tenryu. I need more time

 

#445 - Awesome Dome style match. Just so big. That German is gnarly. Best Inoki match I have ever seen, but I have not seen many.

 

#444 - I know Chad/Charles loved this, but I thought it was more of a good match than great match but it has been 4 years now so I will check it out again.

 

#443 - You know what, I feel this is the most overrated of the Rocker matches. Kinda all over the place which is weird given that is Bret. There is one thing about Bret is that his matches are almost never all over the place.

 

#442 - Love their Survivor Series 95 match, need to check this one out.

 

#441 - Super fun, fast-paced, action-packed tag. Only thing that keeps it low is the clipping.

 

#440 - Never seen this. I need to find it sometime.

 

439 - Lucha...I think this has been the first Lucha match that surprises me.

 

#438, I really need to see this Sabu match. High quality Sabu is just the best.

 

#437 - Just watched this 15 days ago, awesome match. Kobashi looks elite in the loss and Misawa proves "slow n steady" wins the race.

 

#436 - One of the all-time great finish stretches, a Bret Hart masterpiece

 

#435 - A little high for me, but a great veteran NWA Champion vs young upstart match. One of my favorite match genres. I wish Windham got more chances to do this.

 

#434 - I always waffle back and forth on whether I like the 1990 or 91 match better either way Flair vs Pillman is electric!

 

#433 - OH HELL YEAH!!! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! Awesome Hogan MSG brawl. The end of an era, the last great MSG match.

 

#432 - Honma has been around this long?!?!?

 

#431 - Love the brothers vs brothers tag. Need to rewatch just because it is so great.

 

#430 - Joshi, man, I am missing out.

 

#429 - Dick togo, Black Buffalo & Police Man sounds like the best Village People ensemble ever.

 

#428 - A little high for me. Rewatched this recently. Great atmosphere, but everything goes through Sherri and Flair is really presented as a run of the mill heel when the whole story is that it is HOGAN VS FLAIR, but it could have been Hogan vs any heel. Still a very good Hogan match because Flair is excellent.

 

#427 - Have grown not to care for this match. Finish stretch is way too long.

 

#426 - I have seen two Volk Han matches in my life and I need to see more.

 

I will do the next 25 later today. This is awesome.

[WingedEagle]

I did quite a bit of rewatching. Everything I originally ranked ****1/4 or higher I rewatched and then I selected certain things that stood out in my memory in the ***1/2-**** range. And like I mentioned above, I really tried to move away from my head and more toward my heart in how I approached the ranking. There are some matches in the lower part of the list I probably feel more fondness for than matches higher, so it's not all that, but I thought it was more fun to rank matches that meant something to me.

 

Nice, so far it seems like a great balance of head & heart. Much respect for the dedication to go back and watch everything, even if you spaced it out. Did you find the list skewed heavily to any particular years(s)? Earlier/later in the decade?

[Loss]

Hmmm, without counting up anything, I'm guessing 1992-1994 and 1996-1997 are the peak years as far as representation. I'm hoping a stathead will want to produce some numbers on stuff like that at the end.

[Superstar Sleeze]

#425 - Underrated classic. The 4/18/91 Budokan card is a contender for an all time great card.

 

#424 - Love this Misawa/Kawada match. Action-packed and fierce.

 

#423 - This will definitely be one of the first Lucha matches I check out.

 

#422 - Double J rules 400s

 

#421 - Tenryu lives everywhere

 

#420 - Watched this recently great exhibition of both men's talents

 

#419 - A team with a woman named Kong, Bison and Grizzly sounds terrifying.

 

#418 - I think I saw this and it was excellent; it will have to check again.

 

#417 - Great brawling sprint. Love the belt shots.

 

#416 - Need to rewatch this because always thought it was good not great. Love the middle finger psychology.

 

#415- Really liked this as a big man vs little man match.

 

#414 - Early Cactus is a mystery to me.

 

#413 - Rockers do the impossible and get a great match out of Powers of Pain. Legitimately amazing. Best tag team ever.

 

#412 - A Texas street fight in Japan? Love it!

 

#411 - AJPW juniors is something I have never watched, I should to see more Fuchi, Kikuchi and early Ogawa.

 

#410 - AWESOME MATCH! Action-packed sprint, not one moment of downtime.Perfect bully vs energetic babyface match.

 

#409 - Flair vs Savage, my two favorites in a great match, but don't let this fool you, the true violent classic is the Great American Bash '95 match, which I think would make my top ten US matches of the 90s. Criminally underrated.

 

#408 - Wrestlemarinepiad sounds like a great name for a card

 

#407 - Dangerous Alliance 8-man such fun popcorn.

 

#406 - Wish we had more Lawler in the 90s.

 

#405 - This is the awesome Sting vs Cactus match. In the Beach Blast match, Cactus wrestles himself. Here he goes on offense.

 

#404 - I never got this match. Need a rewatch.

 

#403 - Have not seen this in ten years. It is Jumbo vs Kobashi, my #3 and #1 wrestlers of all time and I should do myself and favor and rewatch.

 

#402 - Yes, Windham in that classic NWA World Champ vs young upstart role this time against Regal. Great shit.

 

#401 - Flair as a face vs Eaton as a heel is the definition of fun pro wrestling. Highly recommended so many great bumps. Energy is awesome.

[TravJ1979]

Hmmm, without counting up anything, I'm guessing 1992-1994 and 1996-1997 are the peak years as far as representation. I'm hoping a stathead will want to produce some numbers on stuff like that at the end.

For the bottom 100 (#401 - #500)

 

1990 = 20

1991 = 13

1992 = 9

1993 = 9

1994 = 15

1995 = 6

1996 = 11

1997 = 8

1998 = 4

1999 = 5

[KB8]

Bunch of stuff I love has dropped in that bottom 100. Puts it into perspective how much good stuff there was throughout the decade.

 

Things like Rockers v PoP, Eddy/Jericho v Faces of Fear, Tenryu v Muta, Michaels v Diesel (GFBE), Vader v The Boss, Eddy v Jericho from Fall Brawl, Fiera v Estrada and Vader v Dustin from the Clash are some of my favourite matches ever.

 

I should probably watch Rude v Steamboat from Superbrawl again. I thought it was good, but definitely not outstanding. Maybe I was harsh and compared it to the Beach Blast match. It's been about six years since I watched it, tbf.

 

This list is great, btw.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Another batch of goodness!!!

 

#400 - Joshi, guys

 

#399 - That Doink run in 1993 was so much fun. So many great TV matches

 

#398 - Loved the one Yamazaki and the couple Tamura matches I have seen are great. Them together would be badass.

 

#397 - Definite must-see match for me from SMW. I really need to see SMW.

 

#396 - Fucking love this match. Quintessential dueling limb psychology

 

#395 - WOAH! Huge drop for this match. Expected this to be in top 200 from the initial rankings (top 20 in a loaded 1994) What happened?

 

#394 - Hey it is Kobashi working a Hase match! Great mat wrestling vs power match, just a beautiful styles constrast working together.

 

#393 - Never thought much of this match, which is a controversial opinion but have not seen it in like 6 years.

 

392 - Choshu vs Tenryu sounds excellent

 

#391 - Muscle Storm is a great pro wrestling card Name. I need to watch more NJPW TAGS.

 

#390 - "DUST-Y!" "DUST-Y!" "DUST-Y!" Great feel-good match.

 

#389 - Woah, no way I have this one over Wargames '94. This is a great match and a quintessential Southern Tag, but Wargames should be way higher.

 

#388 - After Santo/Rey Rey this will be next.

 

#387 - Love this match, I would probably have it higher but is been six years.

 

#386 - Best RVD match ever? I think Bam Bam Bigelow & Furnas may have something to say about this.

 

#385 - Great Southern schticky match in WWF between HBK and Double J. Best Jarrett match ever? No way *****, SKeith, but a top WWF match of the 90s.

 

#384 - Thunderous! Great popcorn six-man tag. Type of match that I would try to get as high as I can.

 

#383 - Love the underdog Ogawa vs the rookie supernova Akiyama. Great action-packed sprint.

 

#382 - Liger was able to be pushed as a major draw in NXT in 2015 because of THIS MATCH! That's so impressive.

 

#381 - KAWADA FINALLY WINS!

 

#380 - Such a badass series! Takada is a great pro wrestler.

 

#379 - Never seen a Hase vs Sasaki match sounds like a good technique vs power match.

 

#378 - I am really glad this made the list. Sometimes I feel like I am the only who loves this match. This is a classic to me.

 

#377 - Love their 2001 classic in AJPW and 1996 in WAR, but need to see their 1999 NJPW match.

 

#376- OH HELL YEAH! Steiners and Nasties just chuck each other around! Great choice!

[JKWebb]

This is just fantastic! Thanks!

[JKWebb]

I think I'm going to try to watch and/or rewatch all of these in your order (500 to 1). Sounds fun to me.

[Loss]

That's awesome! I hope you check in and let us know how it goes.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Lets wrap up 375-351

 

#375 - This Manami Toyota seems pretty good at this wrestling thing.

 

#374 - I have seen a Bed of Nails Death Match before, I don't know about this one, Charles, I just don't know.

 

#373 - I thought you were going to have this one higher. I need to see more NJPW heavies.

 

#372 - Been ages since I watched this one. I need to do a complete AJPW 90s rewatch as a treat to myself.

 

#371 - I have never seen a Dos Caras match

 

#370 - I have never thought to watch this match!

 

#369 - Dream match on paper, never seen it.

 

#368 - Wicked bitchin bloody brawl, I'd have this one higher

 

#367 - Takada vs Tamura sounds bitchin

 

#366 - I have really liked Bigelow in 98, should revisit him.

 

#365 - Love Bret vs Kid match, great another great example of Bret killing it in the face vs face match

 

#364 - Forget women in Hell In A Cell, how about women in a barbed wire match!

 

#363 - Midget Madness!

 

#362 - Love this match, I think it is one of Bret's masterpieces. HIGHER!

 

#361 - Maybe it was this Hase/Hash match I expected you to be way high on.

 

#360 - Pretty damn high for this. Im with Parv, Kawada/Albright is great, but not exceptional.

 

#359 - El Hijo Del Santo knows how to wrestle.

 

#358 - Hansen/Kobashi greatest match up of all time

 

#357 - Lioness Asuka has hands down the greatest pro wrestling name of all time

 

#356 - Never seen this! I love Hash, but need to see more!

 

#355 - Chono/Tenzan in UWFi sounds interesting.

 

#354 - Kaientai in their natural habitat!

 

#353 - Rey Mysterio Sr exists!

 

#352 - AJPW 4/18/91 is a badass card

 

#351 - Gracie-Hunter in worked matches is not something I have seen much of.

[Loss]

#350 - #301 is up.

 

http://placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-350-301/

 

And Sleaze, I owe you two replies, which I'll get to this weekend!

[BigBadMick]

Any chance of a podcast on all this, loss?

[JKWebb]

I second that request for a podcast if possible.

[elliott]

I think I'm going to try to watch and/or rewatch all of these in your order (500 to 1). Sounds fun to me.

 

I thought about doing this too actually!

 

edit: And I wanted to say third on the podcast request

 

Also, I'm wondering if Loss can speak to the 95 G1 Final between Muto & Hash finishing 311th. Was that an oversight. I ask not soley because its one of my favorite matches, but also because Loss ranked it 8th in his 1995 top 100 and gave it ****3/4. Did your opinion on the match change at some point? Just curious. Loving this countdown.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Lets take a look another 25 of the greatest matches of the 90s. Im falling behind!

 

 

#350 - Just watched this in Colorado. Hard-hitting with heavy hands. Think this falls short of the 93-94 classics, but a great match.

 

#349 - Never even heard of these guys!

 

#348 - Loved Fujiwara in the 80s not seen anything besides that.

 

#347 - Need see more of these Liger matches.

 

#346 - Aja Kong vs Bull Nakano sounds impressive on paper

 

#345 - LOVE THIS "MATCH"! Absolute great remake of the concession stand brawl. For my money, the better version.

 

#344 - Got on twitter to say I prefer WCW match but I can see why people like these ECW matches

 

#343 - Been ages since I seen this

 

#342 - When I was doing my AJPW watching, never watched the Johnny Ace tags. Don't know why Im so JohnnyAce-phobic.

 

#341 - Toyota vs Kong seems like a natural pairing

 

#340 - I have been meaning to watch this match for ages. It sounds like a barnburner.

 

#339 - Never saw the match that predated the Finals, will have to check it out. Doc was so good in 94

 

338 - 1995 Champions Carnival is the greatest tournament ever. The recent G-1 Climaxes don't come close.

 

#337 - I need to see this. Sabu from 93-95 is one of my all-time favorite wrestlers.

 

#336 - Bodies vs THUGS sounds great, SMW sounds so good on paper just have had trouble finding the stuff. Maybe with Network I can get to it.

 

#335 - Loved their 6/00 match, which I thought was a top 40 match of the decade, can imagine their 99 match is pretty sick.

 

#334 - Only seen their October 91 match, should check this out.

 

#333 - This is an excellent hidden gem Charles found years ago.

 

#332 - Dandy in 1990 is a wrestler I need to see.

 

#331 - Such a great matchup historically, 2001 and 2004 too. Of course in April they have a MOTDC

 

#330 - Joshi street fight

 

#329 - I don't think I have seen this. A lot of All Japan Ive missed apparently

 

#328 - Honma is quite the death match worker

 

#327 - I wonder who rules the this lower portion more, M-Pro or Jeff Jarrett

 

#326 - Early 90s Liger is something I really need to check out.

[Loss]

 

#449- Saw this a long time ago. I am pretty sure this is the Birth of DX match. Have no real recollection of quality, Ill have to check this out.

Please do. It's a really strong TV match.

 

#448 - Double J is the king of **** match in the early 90s apparently.

He definitely is. He rarely went above that mark, but he has quite a few ***-**** matches from 1990-1993, including more that just barely didn't make the list.

 

#447 - Buzz Sawyer's last hurrah. Really came to like Buzz in Mid-South should give this a watch. Also babyface Horsemen with Sting, pretty novel

I sincerely believe you will love this match. It's worth going out of your way to watch.

 

#444 - I know Chad/Charles loved this, but I thought it was more of a good match than great match but it has been 4 years now so I will check it out again.

I thought it was a really strong thinking man's match. There's a lot of really cool detail work. Windham was in a groove as a heel and we know Steamboat's story.

 

#443 - You know what, I feel this is the most overrated of the Rocker matches. Kinda all over the place which is weird given that is Bret. There is one thing about Bret is that his matches are almost never all over the place.

I can absolutely admit a lot of the flaws in this match, but for some reason, they didn't phase me much. I think what appealed to me most about this is that because we got it with no commentary or production sweetening, we were able to hear the action a lot more, which made it all seem so much more physical. I sometimes think WWF/WWE matches are probably better than they seem to be because even stiff shots don't seem that way because of the overly processed way they film matches. Here, you could hear breathing and smacking of skin and stuff like that. It makes a difference.

 

#442 - Love their Survivor Series 95 match, need to check this one out.

It's not quite as good, but it's still pretty great. It's in some ways a primitive version of the Survivor Series match. You'll see what I mean if you watch it.

 

#441 - Super fun, fast-paced, action-packed tag. Only thing that keeps it low is the clipping.

I might have gone higher even with the clipping, but I thought there were too many hot tags in too rapid succession. I still think it's a great match, mainly for Kobashi's tremendous bandaged performance.

 

#437 - Just watched this 15 days ago, awesome match. Kobashi looks elite in the loss and Misawa proves "slow n steady" wins the race.

It grew on me after a rewatch. I don't see it as in the same stratosphere as their post-1996 matches, but it's still great.

 

#436 - One of the all-time great finish stretches, a Bret Hart masterpiece

I do agree that it's a master Bret Hart performance. I think if I was ranking matches based on one-man performances in carrying a match, this would be in the top ten of the decade. But I do think this was on the bland side at time, and Davey Boy looked awful. Everything great about the match is because of Bret Hart.

 

#434 - I always waffle back and forth on whether I like the 1990 or 91 match better either way Flair vs Pillman is electric!

I like this one more just because Pillman seemed more fired up. He was fired up in the February 1990 match too, but with the Horsemen feud happening during this time, there was a stronger hook in '91 I think. The only great singles match Flair had in '91 IMO.

 

#428 - A little high for me. Rewatched this recently. Great atmosphere, but everything goes through Sherri and Flair is really presented as a run of the mill heel when the whole story is that it is HOGAN VS FLAIR, but it could have been Hogan vs any heel. Still a very good Hogan match because Flair is excellent.

To me, this is the only time Hogan vs Flair was ever done right, or at least the closest example of it. Hogan seemed motivated to have a great match debuting in WCW and the atmosphere was awesome. I get the criticisms, though.