My 665 favorite matches

[Loss]

I already have. It's in the 150s.

[goodhelmet]

You're fucking nuts

 

 

EDIT: I completely misread that. I thought you meant Jumbo-tenryu was in the 150s. I had no idea you had an honorable mention section.

[Loss]

Watched Fantastics/Malenkos from 7/15/89. There is some really awesome matwork here and the crowd is awesome, but it's too Brisco/Funk-ish in terms of never letting either team gain a sizeable advantage. Still a really good match for the exchanges and the offense, but no sense of urgency. It's weird to see Bobby Fulton outwork Dean Malenko, but it happened here. Believe it or not, Dean was the sloppiest of the four on the mat. Joe ROCKS, though, and I am on a mission to see more of his matches.

 

I thought the match on this disc was Fans v Malenko/Kikuchi, which is what I said earlier, but it was this one. I still want to see the other match sometime soon.

[Tim Cooke]

Fans v Malenkos is an interesting match that isn't good, but still needs to be watched to see Rogers and Fulton in an environment outside of southern tag work. Rogers flipping out, using a northern lights and german suplex, and Fulton being really good are awesome.

 

I would suggest tracking down Fan v Fuchi/Kobashi from 7/89 which is the Fans debut in Japan. Total sprint, very AJW'ish 1990-1991 opening matches in that it is a total sprint through with no regard to short or long term selling, but a fun 12 minutes.

 

Fans v Akiyama/Omori from 9/10/95 is also worth tracking down. By this point, the ever expanding Rogers, willing to update his move set even more with a moonsault (which is botches here but I have seen him hit it great in their earlier match that year-which is short). Fans are actually put at Akiyama's level in the booking which is really neat.

[Loss]

Watched Misawa/Kawada from 10/21/92. Great match, but it wasn't at the level I was expecting it to be. Spots being called on camera, repeating the Tiger Bomb spot, opening matwork that was too stationary for my liking ... maybe I need to see more surrounding footage. Weird that I'd still call it a ****1/4 match, but I would, as the build was totally logical and once they got to the final stretch, the match was tremendous. Opening sequence with Kawada headdropping Misawa when he tried something as simple as a side headlock rocked. Loved the struggle for moves and instinctive ability each man has to counter the other. I'm not sure I share jdw's sentiment that this is better than any Bret Hart match ever, though, as I think at least Bret/Owen from WM X is a better match. After watching surrounding footage, I'll come back to this and give it another look.

 

Also watched Punk/Gibson from FIP Florida Rumble and was completely underwhelmed. Maybe it was the lack of a crowd, but more than that, I just felt it was too back and forth without any semblance of a layout going in any direction at all. The finish just sort of happened.

[Tim Cooke]

Definetly come back and check out 10/21/92 after watching their series. If you watch the 1990-1992 TV in order, it stands out easily as one of the best AJPW singles matches of the time (if not the best). AJPW was still using some "throw it out there mat work to kill time" though I thought this match used it smarter than usual. Easily behind 7/93, 6/94, and 7/95, but it's basic nature really connected with me.

[Guest Benjie]

#93 - Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels (WWF 03/31/96) ***1/2

 

Before I re-watched this today I used to think that the match sucked bad. That was mainly because I read over various places how wonderful the contest was, and how it was indeed one of the best in Wrestlemania history. Upon re-watch though, I did manage to come accross a very good match. The first half is brilliant as they manage to establish Bret as the ass kicker and Michaels being the one who was more focused. I found Bret to be the more animated character and easier to enjoy. Michaels didn't manage to annoy me either so that was also a bonus. They managed to work around the headlock from Bret, and arm work from Michaels in very interesting ways. As soon as Michaels bumped hard on the outside though. I lost interest in the match due to there being a lack of a pinfall. At that point in the contest, Bret would've needed to have done something amazing to have kept me interested. The finish at the end picked the match back up, and Michaels' selling of fatigue didn't look out of place. He maybe could've done more to put over his back as causing him trouble, but that would be nit-picking. I'm not a big fan of the restart as I don't think they performed it nearly close to the level they were able to, but at least it took two SCM's to put Michaels down. ***1/4-1/2 from me.

 

It did make me wanna watch Angle vs. Lesnar, 18/9/03 Iron Man match, and Benoit vs. Hunter, 26/7/04. Anyone seen them and what did they think of them?

[Loss]

I personally think Bret/Shawn is the second best Ironman they've ever done, following Bret/Owen on 7/9/94 in Uniondale, NY, in a match only available as a handheld. I'm not a fan of that stip, so I don't *love* that match either. The best use overall I've seen of that stip was 30 minutes instead of 60 and featured Rude and Steamboat at Beach Blast '92.

 

Watched Jumbo/Tenryu 6/5/89, Tenryu/Steamboat 2/23/84 and Rey/Juvi 6/16/95 today. All terrific matches that will be added to this list.

[Guest brian]

What about Flair/Hart?

[Loss]

Flair is a mess in that match.

[goodhelmet]

Bret has some spotty selling, really apparent when he mounts his comebacks but Flair was killing his own move.. Early in the match, Bret works over Flair's leg and applies the figure-four. He has the move on for an eternity but completely no-sells it the rest of the match. On the flip, after Flair applies his figure four, Bret sells the leg like a champ until it was time to use his patented moves. Also, it was really apparent they were worried about going long early on when Bret works over the arm for ages only for it to mean nothing since it was clearly a time killer.

[Loss]

Two matches definitely getting added ...

 

Stan Hansen v The Destroyer - AJPW 10/30/75

First of all, anything that has Stan Hansen sporting an 80s Hollywood starlet hairdo is going to rock! But more than that, this is such a great story of a veteran going against a guy climbing the ladder, with the youngster being lured into a false sense of security and it ending up costing him the match. This is more Destroyer than Hansen, but it's a brilliant match that's simple enough that anyone who had six months of training could pull off everything they did here. The fact that the match was so simple and was still so great is what made me love it so much. The headscissors is the big move of this match and is the centerpiece to the larger story at hand, and it works so well in establishing roles, connecting with the audience, conveying the big and small points and advancing the match. YOU MUST SEE THIS.

 

Jushin Liger v Dick Togo - NJPW 06/17/96 Skydiving J Tournament

You know, maybe it's because this match took place in 1996 that you don't hear loads of praise for it, considering that was an ungodly year for work, but this is probably my second favorite Liger match ever. If I was going to show two matches to someone to really explain what Liger is all about, it would be the Samurai match from '92 and this one. Togo makes the mistake many before him have made of thinking he can be his usual assholish self to Liger and get away with it, and Liger responds by destroying his arm. There are so many odes to previous matches here that I'm sure I missed many of them - we see Liger snap in the same way he snapped when he destroyed El Samurai back in '92, but we also see that he's grown since then, as he's far better at keeping his cool. In fact, he can go into all out assault mode and still laugh about it, as he does his share of KDX mocking while Togo is laid out outside. Second, Togo makes the same mistake Otani made on 03/17 of creating an opening and not following through on it, and you just can't do that against Liger. I also like this because Togo is a bully in Michinoku Pro and he meets his match - his superior even - when he steps outside of his universe and tries to treat the kingpin of all juniors like he would treat Masato Yakushiji or Tiger Mask IV, and finds himself in Hell as a result. There's also the importance of this in the bigger picture, as it was a bad night for KDX with Taka also losing while Liger was victorious and went on to encourage all champions to unify their titles later in the night. For the night, for the time frame, for the audience viewing it live, for the larger purpose, this is a near-perfect match that works on at least two levels.

[Loss]

Wow. Destroyer/Matsuda is just ... better than words. Probably the best entirely mat-based match I've ever seen, and not because the mat work is the most advanced I've seen, but because of the simple joy that Destroyer seems to have in just wrestling. Matusda was perfectly capable and great in his role as well, but Destroyer is mind-numbingly great. He doesn't do a lot, but he doesn't have to do a lot. Soon as I can find a date on this, it's going on my list, and it's a match I have no problem calling *****.

 

Expect lots of updates in the near future since I've finished packing and going through my stuff and don't even move until next Saturday.

[Tim Cooke]

12/15/75

 

Have you seen Destroyer/Baba yet from 3/5/69?

 

The amazing thing about the Matsuda match is that he really doesn't do a lot so it is Destroyer controlling everything.

 

Post more thoughts, need something to read at work!

[Loss]

Will try to watch Destroyer/Baba before I move. I want to have at least the high points on all my DVDs watched by the end of next week.

 

Thanks for the date.

 

Just watched Fujinami/Adonis from the 6/22/84 NJ TV and it's another great, spirited match with some really hot nearfalls. It's paced more like a 90s heavyweight match than an 80s heavyweight match, and had this match ever happened in the WWF or WCW at any point from 1990-1999, it'd be considered one of the best in the promotion's history. Awesome crowd control and Adonis carries things in terrific fashion. Fujinami is very good, but this is Adrian's match.

[Loss]

Tim, have you seen Andre/Inoki from the 6/22/84 TV? How do you think it compares to Eddy/Show? I liked it more than Eddy/Show on first viewing just because Andre has so much more at his disposal, but I think Eddy is better against Show than Inoki is against Andre. Either way, it's close, as this is also a nice match with better submissions (from both guys) and more crowd heat. Where Eddy/Show is better is that Eddy does a *much* better job selling the size difference between himself and his opponent.

[Tim Cooke]

That's all on the Destroyer/Matsuda disc, isn't it?

 

Crap, I haven't watched either and will do so tonight. Incredible!!!

[Loss]

Might I also say that seeing Bobby Heenan in an AJPW ring in PERFECT video quality is perhaps the most surreal experience of my life. Does all of the old AJ footage Ginnetty is getting look this good? Sweet Jesus ...

[Tim Cooke]

That DVD was actually put together by Bix. But most AJPW footage that has aired on classics is in great quality.

[Tim Cooke]

Adonis/Fujinami is top 10 NJ of all time for me as of now. Fucking Adonis whips out a piledriver, bulldog, and an assortment of incredible stomach first bumps. Sick.

 

Inoki/Andre has better spots that Eddy/Show but doesn't develop and come full circle as well. The Inoki headscissor on Andre, the cross armbreaker spot, the gutbuster on the ropes are all awesome. But that double arm spot went on WAY too long and it has too many stand off's where they re-start again. I do want to find a late 70's/early 80's Inoki/Andre match when Andre may have been a bit more spry.

 

Tim

[goodhelmet]

#34 - Hacksaw Duggan v Ted DiBiase (Mid South 03/30/85) ****1/4

 

This is more like it!!!!

[Tim Cooke]

Aw fuck, ****3/4 for me.

 

The lesson learned:

 

Don't watch wrestling when you are pissed, tired, angry, etc.

[goodhelmet]

I don't know if I would have rated it that much higher but it is easily top ten U.S. from the 80s for me at this time.

 

Loss made a comment that some of the moves in the match leading to this were pedestrian. I prefer to label them as simple yet effective. I would rather watch a believable punch than a non-pedetrian move that looks fake. Duggan-DiBiase is full of that kind of stuff.

 

As for watching when tired, I agree. Being tired can make you undermine a match or give it more credit than it's worth.

 

Pissed off? I like watching wrestling when I am pissed off. I think it allows me to wind down.

[Loss]

Kerry/Flair from 08/15/82 is the best match I've ever seen take place in World Class, and one of Flair's top ten matches ever. Probably Kerry's third best behind another match with Flair I like just a *little* bit more and the famous Jumbo match. I would have ranked this even higher with better booking. The first fall ends in controversial fashion, which is fine because it added nicely to the drama of the match and it's terrific for what it's trying to accomplish. The work in the second fall is great, especially when Flair kicks out of the clawhold pin attempt the first time, which does a lot for the heat and creates more suspense when Kerry finally does get the pin. The third fall finishes too quickly after the second fall and they end in a DDQ, which is kind of a ripoff considering that Kerry's NWA World title chase was the story of the year in World Class. We'd see that journey finalized on Christmas night, and the angle and historic value there are far superior, but this is the much better match, and it's well worth going out of your way to find and see. Aside from the booking, the only thing keeping it from reaching ***** was that Flair kept switching legs - to a point where the clueless Marc Lowrance picked up on it and comedically tried to cover for it - when he was building to the figure four. Runs about 35 minutes and could have easily gone another 20.

[Loss]

Just watched Baba/Destroyer from 3/5/69.

 

Unbelievable.

 

This match created a debt for the future that I'm not sure has totally been repaid to this day. Destroyer is the greatest heel of all time. Even in his era, he stands above Fred Blassie, who had the body language and the charisma without the awesome matwork. A comparison I noticed is that Blassie seemed to represent the theatrics of Flair while Destroyer seems to represent the more aggressive, passionate side of Flair that doesn't surface often enough. So many comedy spots on display here that Flair has lifted in matches against big stiffs since that I don't know where to start.

 

That's the first comparison.

 

Then there's Jerry Lawler. I've seen Lawler construct entire matches around hiding something in his trunks. I thought he was the first to do so, but I now know better. So, at this point, imagine Destroyer working a Ric Flair/Jerry Lawler hybrid style that exemplifies the best of both guys without the worst of either.

 

That's only the beginning.

 

Now, add in Eddy Guerrero. You know Eddy, right? The guy with perhaps the best facial expressions and demonstrative selling in wrestling today? The look of shock, the rolling out of the way of big moves and pointing to his head -- the psych Destroyer has on display here is *so very* similar to Eddy's rudo stuff from 1994-1998 or so.

 

The idea of the rule of threes being applied to wrestling may very well have its origin here also. Destroyer can outwit Baba once and it's funny. He does it twice and it's frustrating. He tries it a third time and pays a price.

 

Oh, but there's more.

 

Jushin Liger v El Samurai. Remember that match? From the BOSJ '92 final? This match is that match 23 years earlier, with Destroyer as the total prototype of Samurai using heelish taunts, heckling the crowd and having his mask moved and torn over his face. Baba is sort of Liger, but he's actually a step above Liger. The '92 match had Liger asserting himself in his role and erasing all doubt, but Baba had already passed that point before this match even happened, so he's a richer character who's more established and is able to accomplish even more by doing far less.

 

In fact, not to take away from Baba, who was awesome here, but he could have just showed up and stood still and Destroyer could have had a match almost this amazing. The fact that he didn't makes this match even better.

 

I am not speaking in hyperbole.

 

As of today, this is my new #1 pick. Not only is this the greatest match I've ever seen, but it's the blueprint for almost all of my favorite heels and the nuances they have that I love so much.

 

I could probably draw at least 9-10 more examples if I took the time to do it. This match could be worked today and it would still get over huge.

 

FIVE FUCKING STARS.