NintendoLogic Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 When did Sting have a match with Sid that was way better than HBK/Sid at Survivor Series? My personal pick would be Misawa in 1995. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Personally I think comparing Japanese wrestling to US wrestling is only slightly less absurd than comparing Western drama to Kabuki theater but that's just me. It really isn't. Pro wrestling is an American form of entertainment that spread to other countries, and many of the same people have been stars in both places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevieg Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Nigel NcGuinness' run as ROH champ in 08. Proved he was the ace of the company at that time and made the Rebound Lariat and the London Dungeon lethal finishers. Also took on all comers multiple times and nearly always delivered entertaining matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Last year for Bryan isn't too much of a stretch. Week to week, month to month I can't think of how many other stars' years compare that favorably. Perhaps not as many reached MOTY level as some other candidates, but the sheer number of good or better matches was something special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 I'd still put Aja's 94 above 95 for the Kansai match in January, the amazing Queendom tag and then the match with Toyota in November. Bryan's year was great, but Cesaro's was better from an in-ring standpoint in 2013. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenjo Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Yeah it was Aja's 94 that gets the praise more than 95. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Savage's 1986 was his "national" best year. Kobashi's 1993 as a hole was his best. Split on Kawada's 1993 vs 1994. 1993 has a start and finish, along with a change in roles to bridge the two. 1994 had some classics, but not finish, and the high point of the TC win was in a matches that was much less than the Carny win over Doc. If you gave me a choice of everything from either year, I'd probably take 1993. Misawa was probably at his best in 1995, but the start is slow and the finish is disappointing (vs Kobashi and then an largely uninteresting tag league). Lack of Doc took an opponent away. Hansen match was uninteresting. On the singles side it's Carny and the TC's against Kawada and Taue. He's strong in the Four Corners tags, at times flat out great. But it's really an odd year. On some level his 1993, 1994 and 1996 are more rounded and probably deeper in good matches. Even in 1996 when he's starting to get banged up again, those matches partnering with Jun give him a fresh role. Yeah... a really hard one to pick. 1995 was probably Taue's fullest year, though he was probably a better and more confident worker in 1996. It got botched a bit by having the belts go to Kobashi, but you could see in the Tag League just how confident and comfortable he was in his role. Jumbo's 1976 was pretty interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Some more... Emilio Charles Jr in '89. Blue Panther in '91. Jim Breaks in '79. Jon Cortez in 1981. Kyoko Inoue in '93. Pirata Morgan in 1989. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Split on Kawada's 1993 vs 1994. 1993 has a start and finish, along with a change in roles to bridge the two. 1994 had some classics, but not finish, and the high point of the TC win was in a matches that was much less than the Carny win over Doc. If you gave me a choice of everything from either year, I'd probably take 1993. Seconded. 1993 just inches ahead of 1994 where Kawada is concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 One kind of "quietly" outstanding year - and I'm not even sure it's his best - is Hansen's 86. You have an extremely underrated and awesome run in the AWA, the beginning of the feud of the decade candidate with Colon, and some very stellar matches from AJPW. Very versatile here in terms of where he was working and the expectations on him. Certainly one of the more under the radar great years of all time if nothing else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jushin muta liger Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 I know it was said before in the thread but Danielson's run in 06 just really pops up in my head. He kind of gave off the vibe of the old NWA touring world champ when he defended the belt during 06. He was in control in most of the matches and was able to incorporate different finishers each match like winning with the cross face chickenwing, small packages, the elbow strikes, etc. It just built so well into his matches later in his title run where the crowd bough the false finishes. I hope that if he goes heel down the road as the WWE Champ, he would be able to incorporate his 06 run move set when he does title defenses on the PPVs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFoy Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 As far as Danielson goes, I almost feel like his 07 was as good as his 06. Granted, he missed the first third of the year, but from his comeback in May until the end of the year, he had a hell of a run, and he actually changed up his style a bit from what he was doing in 06. His 04 was pretty great too, with his match against Joe in October being one of the most underdiscussed matches of the decade in my opinion. I know Cena gets a lot of talk around here, but is there anyone else who contends for US worker of the 00s besides Danielson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 When/how did his heel run in ROH actually end? I just know from watching MOTYCs he was a major heel then suddenly a babyface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jushin muta liger Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 When/how did his heel run in ROH actually end? I just know from watching MOTYCs he was a major heel then suddenly a babyface. I think the turn was right when he faced Morishima where he got the detached retina. Maybe after his match with Nigel to get the title shot against Morishima? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFoy Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Honestly it depended on who he was wrestling in 07. When he first came back in May he was definitely positioned as a heel but he wasn't heelish at all in his June match against McGuinness. He was definitely 100% babyface by the Morishima match in August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachchaos Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Austin in 2001 is worth mentioning. El Generico had a pretty incredible run there somewhere in the past few years, maybe 2011? Bret in 1994 is criminally underrated around these parts. Steiners, Quebecers, Owen x3, Yoko, Diesel, The Kid, Backlund x2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 As far as Danielson goes, I almost feel like his 07 was as good as his 06. Granted, he missed the first third of the year, but from his comeback in May until the end of the year, he had a hell of a run, and he actually changed up his style a bit from what he was doing in 06. His 04 was pretty great too, with his match against Joe in October being one of the most underdiscussed matches of the decade in my opinion. I know Cena gets a lot of talk around here, but is there anyone else who contends for US worker of the 00s besides Danielson? I think Rey was the best worker in the US for that decade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 As far as Danielson goes, I almost feel like his 07 was as good as his 06. Granted, he missed the first third of the year, but from his comeback in May until the end of the year, he had a hell of a run, and he actually changed up his style a bit from what he was doing in 06. His 04 was pretty great too, with his match against Joe in October being one of the most underdiscussed matches of the decade in my opinion. I know Cena gets a lot of talk around here, but is there anyone else who contends for US worker of the 00s besides Danielson? I think Rey was the best worker in the US for that decade You'd probably put Danielson No. 2 right? Those strike me as the only two who were consistently near the top for most of the decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Some other Japan ones that came to mind: Jumbo in '91, Tenryu in '89 and '93, when he carried the WAR/NJ feud that's among my favorite things in wrestling history, Doc in '94. The '80s lucha set makes a damn good case for Satanico in '84. I wanted to pick a Fujinami or Choshu year but couldn't isolate one for either guy. My favorite Flair year is probably '87, because I grew up on the Windham and Garvin feuds. But it lacked the territorial defenses that made his earlier years so chunky. Eddy in '04 stands right near the top of best years from the '00s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 For Fujinami, having not dived into the rest of the decade too much yet, I'd call his 1980 pretty amazing. If he has other years not just where he maintains the match quality, but does so continuing with that much matwork, that's quite the accomplishment. I'm guessing he shifts his style to work more theatrical with Choshu when their feud kicks off. I love that style too, but the early 80s Fujinami is the type of great wrestling that's harder to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Fujinami and Choshu actually worked the mat quite a bit in their remarkable '83 series -- not intricate matwork but intense battles for position and leverage that set the tone for their matches. I agree about 1980, which was cool because of the way he worked as a jr. heavyweight ace against a succession of very different opponents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Austin in 2001 is worth mentioning. As is Keiji Muto's. Insane to think two of the all time greats had one of the best years of their careers in 2001 on other sides of the world, both with fucked up knees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellmania Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 Bryan Danielson's ROH title run, particularly throughout 2006 was pretty tremendous. Had terrific matches with all the big name indy guys he faced and carried a bunch of the less impressive indy guys to fun matches. He had something like 50+ title defenses (starting in late 2005) and he was able to work a lot of different styles depending on his opponent and the context. It's hard to sell and indy guy's best year as being more substantial than a big name like Austin's best year, but from a pure ring work standpoint that was a terrific year for Bryan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 One kind of "quietly" outstanding year - and I'm not even sure it's his best - is Hansen's 86. You have an extremely underrated and awesome run in the AWA, the beginning of the feud of the decade candidate with Colon, and some very stellar matches from AJPW. Very versatile here in terms of where he was working and the expectations on him. Certainly one of the more under the radar great years of all time if nothing else. Hansen's a guy I'd have a completely awful time picking a best year for, but the whole is just something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted April 22, 2014 Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 One kind of "quietly" outstanding year - and I'm not even sure it's his best - is Hansen's 86. You have an extremely underrated and awesome run in the AWA, the beginning of the feud of the decade candidate with Colon, and some very stellar matches from AJPW. Very versatile here in terms of where he was working and the expectations on him. Certainly one of the more under the radar great years of all time if nothing else. It's fun for variety. His matches with Jumbo that year might be the more interesting ones of their long rivalry, and he has the bloodbath with Gordy that is really bloody. On the flip side, the stuff with Choshu is pretty so-so, and I'm drawing a blank on a tag with Ted that really grabbed me. Hmm... looking at the DVDVR 80s results: #114 Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/19/86) #119 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/26/86) #115 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/86) #18 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (10/21/86) #59 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (12/12/86) Not a lot of matches that year, very Jumbo-centric, zippo with Choshu, the Gordy bloodbath didn't even make the extra. Only one match strongly liked. Not one of Stan's better years in Japan. He had a lot of variety in the year with the AWA, PR and AJPW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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