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Your "So So Good" Top 100 Matches of All Time

elliott

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zep81 Newbie

zep81

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  On 5/24/2017 at 7:47 AM, Jetlag said:

You should upload that 1991 Santo/Casas match. I recall it being pretty great despite poor picture quality. These two developed had these borderline shootstyle lucha matches that are so fascinating.

 

El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (WWA 05/17/1991)
Upped it on YT for anyone who wants it.
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Cap Rookie

Cap

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I am not above taking a misdirected thank you for doing absolutely nothing.

 

Edit: Just watched it and yep, that was fantastic. I was a little skeptical because I tend to be somewhat wary of hidden gems and the description was hard for me to put together in my brain, but this was a master class in compelling grappling. Absolute classic.

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elliott Enthusiast

elliott

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Raising the stakes. Top 100 Japanese matches of all Time:

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

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Matt D Community Regular

Matt D

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  On 5/24/2017 at 3:37 PM, zep81 said:

 

  On 5/24/2017 at 7:47 AM, Jetlag said:

You should upload that 1991 Santo/Casas match. I recall it being pretty great despite poor picture quality. These two developed had these borderline shootstyle lucha matches that are so fascinating.

 

El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (WWA 05/17/1991)
Upped it on YT for anyone who wants it.

 

Piling on the thanks for that upload. If I had ever seen it, it was before I had any sense of what I was watching. I really love how defined the rudo/tecnico roles were in that brilliant opening matwork. (And obviously it picks up to be an almost iconic version of the rest of the form as it goes).

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peachchaos Newbie

peachchaos

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  On 8/24/2017 at 7:38 AM, elliott said:

Raising the stakes. Top 100 Japanese matches of all Time:

 

9. Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Abdullah the Butcher & The Sheik (2/3 Falls) 7/15/79 AJPW

8. Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi 7/27/93 AJPW

4. Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyoda (No Rope Exposive Barbed Wire Death Match) 5/5/96 FMW

3. Stan Hansen vs Andre the Giant 9/23/81 NJPW

2. Akira Hokuto vs Shinobu Kandori 4/2/93 AJW

 

I haven't seen nearly as much from Japan, but these are some of my favorites as well. Although I have no memory of that 94 AJW tag for whatever reason.

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elliott Enthusiast

elliott

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Taking these all at once.

 

Phil:

  Quote
Interesting. Nothing at all from the past decade in the top 100 for Japan? Any reason (not disputing, just intrigued)

 

Dick Togo retired and Yuki Ishikawa moved to Canada. :) Its actually very likely that something from 2010-11 BattlARTS should be on there, but I haven't watched it yet if there is.

 

I've got the Dick Togo match and the BattlArts Elimination 6 man from 08 on there! But I'll give a real answer.

 

I really hate to make generalizations because there are ALWAYS exceptions and usually a lot of them. But I kinda have to. The short answer would be personal footage exposure. The reason for that is that I don't think Japanese wrestling was as good in the past decade as it was before that. I have no intention of taking a giant dump on wrestling that I know some people here really love. But that's pretty much it. I've tried watching a lot of the big New Japan matches and I just have no interest. I get why it works for folks, but its not for me. And there is so much wrestling to invest time in. There are definitely exceptions. I loved that Nakamura vs Sakuraba match. That's always one I remember. There are others I know I've enjoyed but none that much and I don't think that match was good enough to make my list.

 

There are a lot of wild Hansen, Funk, Choshu, Tenryu brawls, shoot style and 10 Man New Japan Matches. There's less 90s All Japan than you're likely to see on a list like this and most of the highly pimped Japanese wrestling from the last decade I've seen is a lost closer in style to 90s All Japan than a Terry Funk brawl or a 13 minute Kiyoshi Tamura match.

 

So that's what going on. I'm just not that into Tanahashi, Okada, Sekimoto, or Dragon Gate. Pimp me some 2010-2011 BattlARTS and Dick Togo and I'm all over it. :)

 

 

Matt D about Santo/Casas 91

  Quote
Piling on the thanks for that upload. If I had ever seen it, it was before I had any sense of what I was watching. I really love how defined the rudo/tecnico roles were in that brilliant opening matwork. (And obviously it picks up to be an almost iconic version of the rest of the form as it goes).

 

Everyone that hasn't still needs to check out that Casas/Santo match from 91 or rewatch it if you've seen it but its been years. That match is SOOO great. I need to rewatch it keeping the rudo/tecnico divide in mind because everytime I've been kinda taken aback by the almost Regal like ferocity of the mat work in this match. Amazing match to add to the 87 & 97 classics. I'm not ready to do a top 100 Lucha matches list yet, but all 3 of them would be top 10 at worst.

 

Stacey

  Quote
Too hipster.

 

Or not hipster enough? Speaking of, that SummerSlam 4 Way would be like #6 on this list. :)

 

Concrete

  Quote
tbf there is one 81. Dick Togo vs Antonio Honda 1/30/11 DDT

 

There is also:

38. Yuki Ishikawa, Alexander Otsuka & Munenori Sawa vs Daisuke Ikeda, Katsumi Usuda & Super Tiger II 7/26/08 BattlARTS

 

But I assumed Phil meant 2010-present when he said "Nothing from the past decade...?" So, yeah. But its just those 2 from the past 10 years.

 

Peach

  Quote
I haven't seen nearly as much from Japan, but these are some of my favorites as well. Although I have no memory of that 94 AJW tag for whatever reason.

 

The 94 Queendom tag is the only thing I feel comfortable calling in the same universe as Chicana/MS-1. I almost hesitate to start writing about it, because I don't want to turn this into a thesis. So I'll just say its the greatest storytelling in a match ever. Watch that shit!

 

Parv & Peach

  On 8/24/2017 at 1:36 PM, JerryvonKramer said:

Certainly interesting that he put Funks vs Sheik and Abby above virtually every major AJPW classic.

  Quote

With 3 of them placing in his top 40!

 

Can we assume he hasn't seen the 1978 match?

 

I love Funks vs Sheik & Abby more than just about any feud in wrestling history. Its one of those feuds that just transcends wrestling and becomes a life experience in a way stuff like Misawa/Kobashi or Jumbo/Tenryu just couldn't possibly. Maybe a little bit is the blood and guts because I feel the same way about Dump/Chigusa, Hansen/FunkI and Hokuto/Kandori. But Hashimoto and Maeda hit that "bigger than life" feeling quite a lot for me without the blood. I probably could/should have put the 12/78 tag league match on towards the bottom.

 

HOWEVER. I know Peach is talking about the 9/78 match. I have seen it. Parv sent me a YT link back during GWE and I watched it immediately and bookmarked the page. Unfortunately that particular video has since been pulled. I have searched for it a bunch of times since then but haven't found it. I even saw it listed on an episode of All Japan Classic but when I ordered the disc and watched it, it was actually the 7/79 or 12/79 match. I was super bummed, but there were still some cool ass matches on that classics disc so I got over it. So I know I've seen it. I know I fucking loved it. But I haven't been able to watch it since the first time. I've watched all of these matches, and many more, since the end of GWE and ranking shit as I go. So, if you can point me in the right direction, I'd be happy to get another Funks vs Abby/Sheik match on there :)

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Boss Rock Explorer

Boss Rock

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Thought I'd give this a go. This isn't necessarily a list of my highest ranked matches (otherwise I'd have a lot more from the last two years), but rather, a list of my favorite and essential matches. Also note that these are ordered chronologically rather than by best (although if forced to choose right now, I'd probably go Misawa, Kawada, and Kobashi vs. Jumbo's Army '90, Kobashi-Misawa '97 or the Queendom tag).

 

Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk (March 23, 1981)

Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk (Empty Arena, April 6, 1981)

Stan Hansen vs. Andre the Giant (NJPW, September 23, 1981)

Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (AJPW, September 11, 1982)

El Satanico vs. Atlantis (EMLL, 1984)

Ted DiBiase vs. Jim Duggan (MSW, March 22, 1985)

Stan Hansen vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW, July 27, 1988)

Stan Hansen and Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Toshiaki Kawada (Real World Tag League Day 22, 1988)

Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (Chi-Town Rumble 1989)

Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (Clash of the Champions VI)

Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WrestleWar 1989)

Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (Great American Bash 1989)

Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (Clash of the Champions IX)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW, July 27, 1990)

Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, and Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW, October 19, 1990)

El Satanico vs. El Dandy (EMLL, October 26, 1990)

El Dandy vs. El Satanico (EMLL, December 14, 1990)

Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, and Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW, April 20, 1991)

Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW Summer Action Series II, September 4, 1991)

Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta and Akira Taue (AJPW Summer Action Series II, September 4, 1991)

Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (NJPW, March 30, 1992)

Negro Casas vs. El Dandy (CMLL, July 3, 1992)

Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, February 28, 1993)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW April 21, 1993)

Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, July 29, 1993)

Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams (AJPW, August 31, 1993)

El Satanico vs. Pirata Morgan (AAA, November 11, 1993)

Akira Hokuto and Shinobu Kandori vs. Aja Kong and Bull Nakano (Queendom II, March 27, 1994)

Jushin Liger vs. The Great Sasuke (Super J Cup, April 16, 1994)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, June 3, 1994)

Cactus Jack vs. Vader (Halloween Havoc 1994)

Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota (AJW, November 20, 1994)

Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, June 9, 1995)

Akira Hokuto vs. Manami Toyota (AJW, September 2, 1995)

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud (Big Ass Extreme Bash 1996)

Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, May 23, 1996)

Undertaker vs. Mankind (Summerslam 1996)

Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW, September 5, 1996)

Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (In Your House: Mind Games)

Undertaker vs. Mankind (In Your House: Buried Alive)

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Bret Hart (Survivor Series 1996)

Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, December 6, 1996)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, January 20, 1997)

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, June 6, 1997)

Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker (Badd Blood 1997)

Jun Akiyama vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, July 24, 1998)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Vader (AJPW, May 2, 1999)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW, February 27, 2000)

Kenta Kobashi vs. Vader (AJPW, February 27, 2000)

Atlantis vs. Villano 3 (CMLL, March 17, 2000)

The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge and Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz (WrestleMania 2000)

The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge and Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz (WrestleMania X-Seven)

Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker (No Mercy, 2002)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (NOAH, March 1, 2003)

Jun Akiyama vs. Kenta Kobashi (NOAH, July 10, 2004)

Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi (NOAH, September 10, 2004)

America’s Most Wanted vs. Triple X (Turning Point 2004)

A.J. Styles vs. Abyss (Lockdown, 2005)

A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe (Turning Point 2005)

Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA (NOAH, December 2, 2006)

Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinnes (ROH Unified 2006)

John Cena vs. Umaga (Royal Rumble 2007)

Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Sixth Anniversary Show)

Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker (WrestleMania 25)

Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho (The Bash 2009)

Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker (WrestleMania 26)

CM Punk vs. John Cena (Money in the Bank 2011)

El Mesias vs. L.A. Park (Triplemania 19)

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (Extreme Rules 2012)

Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (King of Pro Wrestling 2012)

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Invastion Attack 2013)

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Climax 23, August 4, 2013)

Kota Ibushi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (G1 Climax 23, August 4, 2013)

Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk (Summerslam 2013)

Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena (Summerslam 2013)

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (King of Pro Wrestling 2013)

Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WrestleMania 30)

Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton (WrestleMania 30)

The Shield vs. Evolution (Payback 2014)

A.J. Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki (G1 Climax 24, August 1, 2014)

Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (G1 Climax 24, August 10, 2014)

Kota Ibushi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestle Kingdom 9)

Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (Royal Rumble 2015)

Fenix vs. Mil Muertes (Lucha Underground, March 18, 2015)

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WrestleMania 31)

Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (G1 Climax 25, August 15, 2015)

Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura (Year-End Climax, December 23, 2015)

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Wrestle Kingdom 10)

Kamaitachi vs. Dragon Lee (Fantastica Mania 2016)

Kamaitachi vs. Dragon Lee (CMLL, March 4, 2016)

Aztec Warfare 2 (Lucha Underground, March 23, 2016)

A.J. Styles vs. Roman Reigns (Extreme Rules 2016)

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (G1 Climax 26, August 13, 2016)

A.J. Styles vs. John Cena (Royal Rumble 2017)

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (Dominion 6.11 2017)

Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Special in USA, July 2, 2017)

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (G1 Climax, August 12, 2017)

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (G1 Climax, August 13, 2017)

Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns (Summerslam 2017)

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Tabe Newbie

Tabe

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  On 8/24/2017 at 7:38 AM, elliott said:

Raising the stakes. Top 100 Japanese matches of all Time:

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Man, nobody loves shoot-style more than me and even I wouldn't put two U-Style matches in the top 30 :)

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elliott Enthusiast

elliott

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  On 8/25/2017 at 5:26 PM, Tabe said:

 

  On 8/24/2017 at 7:38 AM, elliott said:

Raising the stakes. Top 100 Japanese matches of all Time:

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Man, nobody loves shoot-style more than me and even I wouldn't put two U-Style matches in the top 30 :)

 

 

Hahaha! Well if not for you and your dang awesome comps :)

 

I don't think Tamura slowed down one iota between RINGS moving to shoots and U-Style starting up. There are rather obvious reasons for that, but yeah. Dude was every bit as great in 03/04 as 97/98.

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peachchaos Newbie

peachchaos

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  On 8/25/2017 at 3:48 AM, elliott said:

Taking these all at once.

 

Peach

  Quote
I haven't seen nearly as much from Japan, but these are some of my favorites as well. Although I have no memory of that 94 AJW tag for whatever reason.

 

The 94 Queendom tag is the only thing I feel comfortable calling in the same universe as Chicana/MS-1. I almost hesitate to start writing about it, because I don't want to turn this into a thesis. So I'll just say its the greatest storytelling in a match ever. Watch that shit!

 

Parv & Peach

  On 8/24/2017 at 1:36 PM, JerryvonKramer said:

Certainly interesting that he put Funks vs Sheik and Abby above virtually every major AJPW classic.

  Quote

With 3 of them placing in his top 40!

 

Can we assume he hasn't seen the 1978 match?

 

I probably could/should have put the 12/78 tag league match on towards the bottom.

 

HOWEVER. I know Peach is talking about the 9/78 match.

 

Oh, wow. THAT match. Pretty sure I had that at #1 for 1994 even.

 

Sorry to disappoint but the only Funks/Arabs tag from that year is 12/78. The version that had been on YouTube was of really poor VQ so that may account for the difference in opinion on rewatch. Clarity breeds contempt. First world problems.

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KB8 Contributor

KB8

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I've tried to do this a couple times, but I give up after a little while because I feel like I might be shortchanging too much stuff. Outside of the '96 yearbook I've barely watched any 90s All Japan in around a decade and don't really remember anything about matches like 6/3/94 or 6/9/95 other than "I thought they were great wrestling matches." I don't really love the style at this point, but I'd feel weird leaving it all off a list like this. And it's not like I didn't still think the '96 Tag League final was outstanding on a re-watch so who even knows? You see my predicament.

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NintendoLogic Mentor

NintendoLogic

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KB8's post reminded me of something I think about periodically. How often do you guys watch your favorite matches? I generally only watch the matches at the top of my favorites list about once a year, if that. Part of that is an attempt to prevent the matches from seeming less special due to overexposure. If I'm really into a song, I have a tendency to listen to it repeatedly until I get sick of it, and I don't want that to happen with matches I like. Also, I'm all about the thrill of discovery and reevaluation, and there's basically zero chance of my opinion of 6/9/95 or Hart/Austin changing meaningfully.

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