Chad's Top 100 Matches of 1998

[soup23]

Another year in the books. This year transcended some pretty big moments in my real life in becomming a father and this was one of the more nostalgic years I have went through as I was completely locked in with both of the big two around this point. I don't think the consistent match quality is here as in other years in the decade, and each promotion has times where it dips overall but this was still an enjoyable time trekking through the year.

 

 

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 10/31/98) (*****)
2. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 6/27/98) (*****)
3. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 6/12/98) (*****)
4. Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW 7/24/98) (****3/4)
5. El Hijo del Santo vs. Felino (CMLL 10/18/98) (****3/4)
6. Koji Kanemoto vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. (NJPW 6/3/98) (****3/4)
7. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW G-1 Climax 8/1/98) (****1/2)
8. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yammamoto (RINGS 9/21/98) (****1/2)
9. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Mikhail Ilioukhine (RINGS 1/21/98) (****1/2)
10. Steve Austin vs. Dude Love (Over the Edge 5/31/98) (****1/2)
11. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs. Stan Hansen & Vader (AJPW 12/5/98) (****1/2)
12. Atlantis, Mr. Niebla & Negro Casas vs. El Hijo del Santo, Black Warrior & Blue Panther (CMLL 4/24/98) (****1/2)
13. HHH vs. The Rock (Ladder Match) (Summerslam 8/30/98) (****1/2)
14. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 5/1/98) (****1/2)
15. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs. Chris Jericho & Eddy Guerrero (Brian Hildebrand Tribute 11/29/98) (****1/4)
16. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW 4/18/98) (****1/4)
17. Olimpico vs. Halcon Negro (CMLL 10/23/98) (****1/4)
18. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Carl Greco (BattlARTS 4/24/98) (****1/4)
19. Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue (AJPW 9/11/98) (****1/4)
20. Reiko Amano & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Toshie Uematsu & Sonoko Kato (Oz Academy 6/21/98) (****1/4)
21. Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Meiko Satomura (GAEA 12/27/98) (****1/4)
22. Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW 4/11/98) (****1/4)
23. Serial Thrillaz vs. Death and Destruction (OMEGA 5/8/98) (****1/4)
24. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 8/8/98) (****1/4)
25. Hayabusa vs. Mr. Gannosuke (FMW 4/30/98) (****1/4)
26. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (BattlARTS 5/27/98) (****1/4)
27. Manami Toyota vs. Shinobu Kandori (AJW 8/23/98) (****1/4)
28. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (AJPW 6/5/98) (****1/4)
29. Akira Maeda vs. Yoshihisa Yammamoto (RINGS 7/20/98) (****1/4)
30. Ric Flair vs. Bret Hart (Souled Out 1/24/98) (****1/4)
31. Sandman vs. .Sabu (Stairway to Hell) (House Party 1/10/98) (****1/4)
32. Hayabusa, Daisuke Ikeda, Hisakatsu Oya & Ricky Fuji vs. Kodo Fuyuki, Koji Nakagawa, Kintaro Kanemura & Gedo (FMW 6/19/98) (****1/4)
33. Jun Akiyama vs. Yoshinari Ogawa (AJPW 9/11/98) (****)
34. Hayabusa vs. Kodo Fuyuki (FMW 11/20/98) (****)
35. Chris Benoit vs. Booker T (GAB 6/14/98) (****)
36. Ultimo Dragon vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (NJPW 1/4/98) (****)
37. Masato Tanaka vs. Mr. Gannosuke (FMW 1/6/98) (****)
38. Billy Kidman vs Juventud Guerrera (WCW Monday Nitro 11/16/98) (****)
39. Shadow WX vs. Tomoaki Honma (Barbed Wire Baseball Bat and Barbed Wire Board Match) (BJPW King of the Death Matches 7/26/98) (****)
40. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (NJPW G-1 Climax 8/2/98) (****)
41. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 3/29/98) (****)
42. Super Delphin & Gran Naniwa vs. Naohiro Hoshikawa & Masato Yakushiji (M-Pro 11/8/98) (****)
43. El Hijo del Santo, Felino & Negro Casas vs. Silver King, Villano IV & V (CMLL 12/18/98) (****)
44. Booker T vs. Fit Finlay (GAB 6/14/98) (****)
45. Jushin Liger, El Samurai, Kendo Ka Shin, Dr. Wagner Jr. & Hayato Nanjyo vs. Shinjiro Ohtani, Koji Kanemoto, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Kaz Hayashi & Masakazu Fukuda (Elimination Match) (NJPW 6/5/98) (****)
46. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW 1/26/98) (****)
47. Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka vs. W*ING Kanemura & Kodo Fuyuki (FMW 5/27/98) (****)
48. Chris Benoit vs. Raven (Souled Out 1/24/98) (****)
49. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (AJPW 10/11/98) (****)
50. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Alexander Otsuka (BattlARTS 8/29/98) (****)
51. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Chris Benoit (SuperBrawl 2/22/98) (****)
52. Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart (Lion’s Den Match) (Summerslam 8/30/98) (****)
53. Tracy Smothers & Little Guido vs Chris Candido & Lance Storm (ECW 03/06/98) (****)
54. The Undertaker vs. Mankind (Hell In A Cell) (KOTR 6/28/98) (****)
55. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW 3/26/98) (***3/4)
56. Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato (GAEA 1/15/98) (***3/4)
57. Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama & Satoru Asako vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Yoshinari Ogawa & Takao Omori (AJPW 8/23/98) (***3/4)
58. Olimpico vs. Halcon Negro (CMLL 10/30/98) (***3/4)
59. Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs. Daisuke Ikeda & Carl Greco (BattlARTS 4/19/98) (***3/4)
60. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Keiji Muto (NJPW G-1 Climax 7/31/98) (***3/4)
61. Billy Kidman vs. Rey Misterio Jr vs. Juventud Guerrera (Starrcade 12/27/98) (***3/4)
62. Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (NJPW 7/15/98) (***3/4)
63. Mr. Gannosuke vs. Jinsei Shinzaki (FMW 4/21/98) (***3/4)
64. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Goldberg (Havoc 10/25/98) (***1/2)
65. Eddie Guerrero vs. Billy Kidman (Starrcade 12/27/98) (***1/2)
66. Meiko Satomura vs. Sonoko Kato (GAEA 8/23/98) (***1/2)
67. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Alexander Otsuka (BattlARTS 1/20/98) (***1/2)
68. Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker (Casket Match) (Rumble 1/18/98) (***1/2)
69. RVD vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (ECW 4/4/98) (***1/2)
70. Aja Kong vs. Mariko Yoshida (ARSION 6/21/98) (***1/2)
71. Eddy Guerrero vs Rey Misterio Jr. (WCW Monday Nitro 12/21/98) ***1/2
72. Yumi Fukawa vs. Candy Okutsu (ARSION 2/18/98) (***1/2)
73. Christopher Haseman vs. Wataru Sakata (RINGS 9/21/98) (***1/2)
74. Steve Austin vs. Dude Love (Unforgiven 4/26/98) (***1/2)
75. Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock (Dungeon Match) (Fully Loaded 7/26/98) (***1/2)
76. Sting vs. Diamond Dallas Page (Nitro 3/23/98) (***1/2)
77. Eddy Guerrero & Juventud Guerrera vs. Rey Misterio Jr & Billy Kidman (Nitro 12/28/98) (***1/2)
78. Yuki Ishikawa vs Katsumi Usuda (BattlARTS 03/06/98) (***1/2)
79. Mariko Yoshida vs. Candy Okutsu (ARSION 12/18/98) (***1/2)
80. Mens Teoh vs. Shoichi Funaki (M-Pro 1/14/98) (***1/2)
81. Billy Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera (Nitro 9/14/98) (***1/2)
82. Hardy Boyz vs. Serial Thrillaz (OMEGA 12/4/98) (***1/2)
83. Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka (Heat Wave 8/2/98) (***1/2)
84. Booker T vs. Chris Benoit (Thunder 5/27/98) (***1/2)
85. Goldberg vs. Raven (Nitro 4/20/98) (*** ½)
86. Terry Funk vs. Mick Foley (Falls Count Anywhere) (RAW 5/4/98) (***1/2)
87. Chris Benoit vs. Fit Finlay (Slamboree 5/17/98) (***1/2)
88. Genichiro Tenryu & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Masa Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJPW 6/5/98) (***1/2)
89. Goldberg vs. Sting (Nitro 9/14/98) (***1/2)
90. Rey vs. Juventud (Thunder 11/12/98) (***1/2)
91. Hayabusa vs. The Gladiator (FMW 3/17/98) (***1/2)
92. Hardy Boyz vs. Venom & Shane Helms (OMEGA 7/24/98) (***1/2)
93. Rey Misterio Jr vs. Billy Kidman (Nitro 11/23/98) (***1/2)
94. Hayabusa vs. Hisakatsu Oya (FMW 12/13/98) (***1/2)
95. Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin (Mania 3/29/98) (***1/4)
96. Steve Austin, Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie & Owen Hart vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley, New Age Outlaws & Savio Vega (No Way Out 2/15/98) (***1/4)
97. X-Pac vs. Jeff Jarrett (Hair vs. Hair) (SummerSlam 8/30/98) (***1/4)
98. Shiro Koshinaka vs. Masa Chono (NJPW G-1 Climax 8/1/98) (***1/4)
99. Cruiserweight Battle Royal / Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko (Slamboree 5/17/98) (***) (PERSONAL PICK)
100. Ric Flair vs. Eric Bischoff (Nitro 12/28/98) (**) (PERSONAL PICK)

[Zenjo]

Great list Chad. You have excellent taste in wrestling. As in I agree with the high end stuff and hopefully that means we don't both have bad taste. I'd have 7 of your top 10 matches in my top 10 from the Yearbook. That was slightly surprising to me as I thought there were lots of matches where we posted divergent opinions in the threads. Then I see your #11-#16 and the highest I have any of them is #71. That's a relief as I was getting worried about the PWO hive mind there.

 

What would you say were the promotions you enjoyed watching most and least during the year? And which matches in the upper echelons of your list were the most surprisingly good?

[soup23]

Great list Chad. You have excellent taste in wrestling. As in I agree with the high end stuff and hopefully that means we don't both have bad taste. I'd have 7 of your top 10 matches in my top 10 from the Yearbook. That was slightly surprising to me as I thought there were lots of matches where we posted divergent opinions in the threads. Then I see your #11-#16 and the highest I have any of them is #71. That's a relief as I was getting worried about the PWO hive mind there.

 

What would you say were the promotions you enjoyed watching most and least during the year? And which matches in the upper echelons of your list were the most surprisingly good?

 

 

Cheers Zenjo and I am surprised at the 7 out of 10 thing as well.

 

I enjoyed watching WWF's plight as I thought their angles and overall presentation of the main event stuff was top notch for the entire year until December. It was fun to track that. WCW made me sad to watch because in some ways they had the most emotionally jarring moments of the year with Flair and GOldberg winning the title but they also had some straight shit with Warrior and most Wolfpac stuff. All Japan was a pleasant surprise as 1997 felt like them on the downside and I thought the big matches kicked ass for the year and they sprinkled in some abnormal stuff like AKiyama vs. Ogawa. Rings and Battlarts was of course a lot of fun. I probably least enjoyed ECW as I couldn't get into the angles and only 2-3 of the matches really connected with me of the footage I watched.

[Zenjo]

I definitely agree about the ECW being a low point. It's true that I don't like the promotion at all, hate the atmosphere, don't think there were any really great matches, think that anyone who was any good just passed through and most of the guys who were left were bad garbage wrestlers. Even given my slight bias it still felt like the promotion had little relevance to the American wrestling scene anymore. The Attitude Era had stolen their philosophy and the big 2 had stolen their best wrestlers. Its time had been and gone.

 

All Japan was the best promotion for me in terms of match output. Over the course of the 90's I'd guess the distribution of their matches in top 100 lists would be a lot more top heavy in the second half of the decade. Which is ideal for capturing in a comp. Year in year out I think New Japan is the most consistent promotion through the Yearbooks. Never the absolute best, but can always be relied on to produce plenty of strong matches.

 

I found a handful of Lucha bouts that I liked. I'd hoped to find more but there isn't much footage online compared with earlier years. Hardly anything from the late 90's ever get pimped. AAA was generally terrible and CMLL had cooled off after 96-97. There's plenty of good Joshi about from this time, it's just harder to find than before as it's so spread out. GAEA had the best of it, Arsion was refreshing and everyone else had some highlights. AJW was depressing yet still produced two matches that I absolutely loved.

 

This year was certainly the most fun I've had following the WWF through all the Yearbooks so far. At the time I preferred Nitro because the matches were a bit longer. These days neither 2m or 6m matches are of any relevance to me so I go with whoever has the better booking and storylines. And WCW lost that battle big time.

 

Rings was awesome, it's such a shame that shoot style basically died the following year. I found a Big Japan and Battlearts match I liked which is some progress. Late 90's FMW is overated. It didn't feel like a major promotion anymore.