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Best wrestling seasons


Troy

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I haven't actually watched it fully, but my research suggests that Georgia Championship Wrestling from about 1979 to 1983 looks like some of the best shit ever ever. I've loved everything I've watched from it so far. It's very angle-heavy and most non-squash matches end with run ins, but so many great promos and storylines. I only have comps, but am thinking about getting the whole season sets because it's just a great wrestling show.

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The AWA in 1984 is a personal favourite. A changing of the guard and new direction in the title picture, big names being brought in, the WWF invading the Twin Cities and seeing how much busier the AWA got on a lot of fronts with different angles, the Blackwell face turn and the emergence of the Sheik's army, The LOD-Fabs matches (at a time when they were possibly the two top tag teams going), Slaughter coming in...it was a very promising time for the AWA, even in the face of losing a lot of the old stalwarts like Heenan, Jesse, Vachon, and of course, Hulk Hogan.

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84 AWA needed a Greg Gagne heel turn.

 

I love Mid South in 84, with Dundee coming in and heating up the booking. It's got the Mr. Wrestling II heel run and the RnRs and Midnights coming in. There's something pretty special about JCP in 1985 too, with the rise of Magnum and advent of the Horsemen. ECW in 2009 was super enjoyable with Christian as the babyface Ace and a good mix of old and new talent. Portland in 1979 is over the top with Roddy and Martel as the babyfaces and Rose and the Sheepherders as probably the most iconic version of the army. WCW from fall 91 to summer 1992 with a million Dangerous Alliance matches given away and Pillman vs Liger and Steamboat returning and Dustin coming into his own, etc.

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World Class 83 would certainly be on my list. After watching the AWA for years World Class was a totally different type of format with competitive matches in front of an ecstatic crowd. I didn't even get to watch the entire year back then since the syndication here didn't start until the fall. Even with only a half year at best I still thought it was great.

 

I agree with KHawk about 84 AWA. Really fun year with so many newcomers that I only read about in the Apter mags at that time.

 

WWF 84 was pretty great. You had four great feuds and Hulk Hogan as champ, who I was wondering where he went since he disappeared from AWA TV. Although you really have to see the house show matches to see the feuds really play out as the TV didn't give you much.

 

86/87 JCP is another favorite. I only saw the syndicated Worldwide show back then. Really enjoyed the arena feel of the program. Even to this day I really don't care for the TBS show and that small studio except for the interviews.

 

UWF 86/87 was also a lot of fun. I never saw MSW up to that point so UWF was my first exposure to that really hard hitting style. Every weeks show seemed to end with a non-finish of some sort. Despite that, it made it a must watch every Sunday morning.

 

I'm a sucker for tag matches which is why I enjoy AWA 88. That year as a whole had some great tag matches. AWA 88 had the potential to rival any promotion when it came to tag teams if they would have been able to keep them on the roster the entire year.

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1996 ECW

 

2006 ROH

 

2012-2013 New Japan

 

For nostalgic reasons, I will second 1989 WWF.

 

1989 JCP/WCW whatever you want to call it. Rewatching this now on the network, really enjoying.

 

1983 World Class is another focused watch i'm doing on the Network & elsewhere, and loving it.

 

Can't narrow down All Japan to a "season", as that was more of an entire era.

 

I think eventually people will look back on 2013 WWE as something really special in terms of in ring. Probably the best year of RAW ever between the ropes.

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I really, really love 2008 and 2009 WWECW. It was kind of like watching a small promotion (think Portland, Stampede or the Maritimes even) work shows in front of large crowds every week. The ECW title was booked as a serious belt, and defenses of substantial length and quality were close to a weekly affair (sometimes bi-weekly when Superstars came around). Christian and Matt Hardy both had tremendous runs as aces, but you also had stuff like Evan Bourne showcase matches, Finlay being Finlay, the emergence of Jack Swagger, Regal as a series title threat, et. They did a really good job booking in "special" talent from the "bigger" brands too. Some of my favorite matches and feuds in recent years come from that period. I'd argue that in 2008 half of the ten best wrestlers in the world were WWECW guys and 09 featured the best, week-to-week, episodic championship run I can remember the WWE doing...ever?

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Maybe? It's hard to compare because the goals were so different. WWECW was a major company disguising itself as a minor company. ECW was a minor company disguising itself as a major company. I don't think WWECW ever had the sort of storyline delivery as ECW, nor did it have anyone close to as good on the mic as the better ECW guys. But in ring alone the ECW tv shows were never as good as 08/09 WWECW.

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