Absolute Favourite Wrestling Companies

[Grimmas]

I'd have to really think about this, but what is your favourite wrestling companies. More specifically your favourite eras of those companies. Let's gush over some positive stuff!

[Log]

Man, I love IWA-Mid South. Sure, it's scummy as all hell (it's pro wrestling, it should be!), but they've had periods with in-ring action as good as any company in the world.

 

The mid-aughts was probably their high-point, but before and after had/have their fair share of awesome stuff.

[LowBlowPodcast]

1988 WWF Survivor Series to 1991 WWF Royal Rumble. It may not be the greatest in ring stuff, but damn do I love the characters. I can say that I have watched all the ppvs from this era at least 10 times a piece. I love all of them and just thoroughly enjoy going back and watching the television and everything from this time. I would say that WCW during the same time is also my favorite. Just a really fun time to watch wrestling.

[Memphis Mark]

Memphis . I starting watching in 1970 and followed the company until in went out of business in 97. 1970 - 1983 were the best years. The promotion went in decline after the Watts trade. However 84 -88 were still better than most promotions. Everything was hit and miss after 88 . Some bright spots were the Eric Embry/ Tom Prichard run, the Moondog Wars , Scott Bowden and the USWA / SMW wars were a few of the high points.

 

Although I did not get to watch it on a regula basis, I did catch Southeastern / Continental for a short time on Jackson , TN TV and on Knoxville , TN TV when I visited friends. SECW was like the long lost half brother to Memphis. The promotion was headlined by longtime Memphis promoter Roy Welch 's three grandsons , The Mongolian Stomper and Bob Armstrong. IMOO , SECW / CCW is under valued by some wrestling fans. SECW was a very large promotion in it 's heyday.

 

At one time Ron Fuller's promotion had purchased 5 different promotion. The Fields Gulf Coast group , Billy Golden's Central Alabama group , Nick Gulas's Northern Alabama group , John Canza's Knoxville promotion and the Tri- Cities / VA / Eastern Kentucky region made up CCW .

 

I did enjoy WCCW , SWCW , Mid- South , Crockett , Florida and Georgia , but not like the two home promotions. Never saw Portland and Stampede while they were still in business.

 

 

In the 90's I followed SMW and ECW . SMW was carrying on the great tradition of Tennessee wrestling, while ECW seemed to present a new and fresh take on Wrestling.

 

In the 2000's I followed TNA until around 2006 / 2007 , when the product just became unbearable due to Russo . I enjoyed ROH from around 2003 to 2008 . I still try to get back into ROH , but I really don't enjoy Hunter Johnston's booking . Don't really relate to today's product.

[gordi]

For me it's absolutely Osaka Pro Wrestling from roughly 2009-2014, when I was a regular attendee of their shows and their drinking parties and other events. It was such an amazing atmosphere. There were people I met there who were among my first friends in Japan, and my best drinking buddies, and eventually pretty much my second family.

 

 

 

 

Not just some of my best wrestling memories... some of the very best times of my entire life.

[khawk20]

AWA 1979-84. I would absolutely kill for more video of the promos and arena match clips from that time frame. Such a fun time to watch.

[El-P]

Not just some of my best wrestling memories... some of the very best times of my entire life.

 

Cool to see some of these pics again.

 

Well. As far as promotion I watched as it happened :

 

WWF from 96 to Summerslam 98

ECW 95-98 roughly

WCW 96-97

ARSION from 98 to 00

 

Hey, there's a pattern here (although I watched most of the ECW stuff a few years after the fact)

[Zoo Enthusiast]

WCW from May 1996 through Goldberg's Nitro title win

PWG 2009 - Steen leaving

[JerryvonKramer]

JCP / WCW 83-94 - Highest match quality US wrestling promotion ever

WWF 84-93 - Vince / Pat at creative peak

Mid-South 82-86 - Watts at creative peak

AJPW 73-98 - greatest wrestling company of all time

NJPW 79-96 - legendary angles, big time matches

 

For me, everything else is secondary to these five pillars of wrestling greatness.

 

If I never watched another second of wrestling in my life outside these five places and times, I could probably deal with it.

[thebrainfollower]

WWF from the fall of 86 through the end of 1992.

 

WCW fall of 91-spring of 92, and again from about November of 95 through June 98.

 

Smoky Mountain Wrestling particularly 92 through the spring of 94

 

Memphis from 79-84 (haven't seen much before that)

 

Mid South 1984

[soup23]

IWA-MS 2001 - 2004

JCP 1985-1987 (up until the Flair title change)

All Japan (6/8/90 - 1/20/97)

New Japan 1992 -1994 (WAR vs. NJ, the juniors tearing it up, etc)

Memphis - 1987

ROH (Joe vs. Punk 2 - Final Battle 2006)

[Exposer]

WWF - Survivor Series 96-Summerslam 97 - Awesome angles, matches, & characters. The best WWF or WWE has ever been in my opinion.

 

WWE - TLC 2012-Summerslam 2014 - The highest match quality on average in WWE history with even a few classics mixed in.

 

WCW - Starrcade 88-Fall Brawl 94 - Not the biggest fan of Crockett but 89 WCW is amazing & the match quality stayed upright for the next five years. Arguably the highest match quality on average from one company in US wrestling history.

 

WCW - Starrcade 95-Souled Out 98 - Diverse roster that is stacked top to bottom with top stars & awesome in-ring talent. Great angles & interesting things going on everywhere on the card.

 

NJPW - 1984-1996 - Tremendous wrestling company with some incredible feuds, angles, & a large handful of the greatest matches of all-time.

 

AJPW - 1991-1996 - Great booking & all-time great wrestling.

 

TN/GA/AL Indies 2001-2007 - Total nostalgia as I grew up going to these shows every weekend.

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

1989 WCW and 1992 WWF. Both had a great mix of colorful characters, solid in-ring work, memorable angles and "that's pro wrestling" type of material.

[NotJayTabb]

WCW 92 - This was the first promotion I ever watched, my first exposure to pro-wrestling, and it was the best possible way to get into wrestling. Great wrestlers, great angles, one of the best heel stables of all time in the Dangerous Alliance.

 

CZW 2002-2004 - CZW was the first indy promotion I started watching in my final years of uni, and I've still got a soft spot for that period of it. I was a big fan of the Messiah and Trent Acid, and generally enjoyed the chaotic ramshackle approach of the promotion over the too-serious RoH. Even now, I'll happily dig out an old CZW tape, not knowing which random name might come out to wrestle Nick Berk or GQ

 

Triple X Wrestling 2013- now - TXW is easily my favourite current promotion in the UK. The first company to give exposure to the likes of Zack Sabre Jr, the Dunne Brothers and Tyler Bate, they've got a real eye for emerging talent, but more importantly, a real talent for just putting on fun shows. Massively inventive, genuinely funny in places, but still able to put on really great bouts (ZSJ vs Pete Dunne is still the best match I've seen in person). Was gutted to miss the comeback show last Saturday due to holidaying.

[peachchaos]

All-time list:

 

Portland Northwest Wrestling / Don Owen (1942-1992)

Georgia Championship Wrestling / Paul Jones, Founder (1944-1984)

Continental Championship Wrestling / Roy Welch & Buddy Fuller, Founders (1954-1990)

American Wrestling Association / Verne Gagne (1960-1991)

Championship Wrestling from Florida / Eddie Graham, Founder (1961-1987)

World Class Championship Wrestling / Fritz Von Erich (1966-1990)

All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling / Takashi Matsunaga (1968-2005)

All Japan Pro Wrestling / Giant Baba (1972-1998)

New Japan Pro Wrestling / Antonio Inoki (1972-Current)

Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling / Jim Crockett Promotions (1973-1988)

World Championship Wrestling / Turner Broadcast Corporation (1988-2001)

Continental Wrestling Association / Jerry Jerrett (1977-1989)

Mid South Wrestling / Bill Watts (1979-1987)

World Wrestling Federation / Vince K. McMahon (1980-2002)

Smoky Mountain Wrestling / Jim Cornette (1991-1995)

Extreme Championship Wrestling / Paul Heyman (1994-2001)

Ring of Honor Wrestling / Cary Silken (2002-2011)

[The Russian Daydream]

JCP / WCW 83-94 - Highest match quality US wrestling promotion ever

WWF 84-93 - Vince / Pat at creative peak

Mid-South 82-86 - Watts at creative peak

AJPW 73-98 - greatest wrestling company of all time

NJPW 79-96 - legendary angles, big time matches

 

For me, everything else is secondary to these five pillars of wrestling greatness.

 

If I never watched another second of wrestling in my life outside these five places and times, I could probably deal with it.

Our tastes are pretty much identical. I would extend WWF beyond 1993 though, probably up until SummerSlam of 1997.

 

I would also add NOAH from 2000 until The second dome show in 2005.

[JKWebb]

JCP/WCW: 1983 to 1994, then mid-96 through mid-98ish - I can watch JCP/WCW any time. My best memories of watching wrestling with friends as a kid revolve around WCW, and I still think it's the most fun for me to watch to this day. My favorite stuff from then is probably the Funk/Flair series, Steamboat/Flair, The Dangerous Alliance, The Midnight Express, Sting/Vader, and fond memories of the Monday Night Wars era w/ the nWo/Sting and the cruiserweight division.

 

Memphis (80's into 1990) - Memphis television really sucks me in. Lance Russell is probably my favorite all-time commentator, and Jerry Lawler is probably my favorite all-time promo. Those two things make for some of the best wrestling television I've ever seen. Some of my favorite things are the Bockwinkel/Lawler feud, Flair/Lawler, Jimmy Hart, Andy Kaufman/Lawler, Snowman Feud, Funk/Lawler, Dundee, Eddie Gilbert... I could go on. I love Memphis.

 

AJPW: I think All Japan offers the best wrestling of any promotion. I haven't watch much of the 70's, but working on the 80's in a more detailed way than I have before. I have seen a lot from the 80's and it's fantastic. The 90's just blow me away.

 

WWE: The WWE has always been there. I have great memories of the Rockers and Randy Savage, so I'd go with Mania 5 through 8 as a really good era of WWE for me. I also really enjoyed Punk's rise while it lasted, and I'm really enjoying NXT/CWC currently. The WWE has to be on my list. I've been watching it for almost 30-years now. There are tons of things about the WWE I've loved over the years.

[Laz]

ROH 2005-2008

This was everything I wanted in a pro wrestling product. Even the smaller, poorly lit arenas due to it being an indy aided in the feeling that this was important to pro wrestling as a whole. There was talent of all styles, solid storylines and outright rivalries, and it was presented as sport first and entertainment later. It was a lot like...

 

ECW 1998-1999

I'm only picking these years because I was late to the party, and I can absolutely agree that 1995-1997 was its creative peak, but the entire product still felt so different than the WWF or WCW and it coincided with my growing love for metal. It felt natural to me, and I can go back and watch those two years and take in some fine nostalgia.

[ohtani's jacket]

EMLL/CMLL 1983-1992 and 1996-97

Joint Promotions 1974-1984

JWP 1992-1997

All Japan Women 1977-1993

WCW 1989-1994

UWF I & II 1984-85 and 1988-90

PWFG 1991-1993

RINGS 1991-1999

IWRG 2008-2010

[JerryvonKramer]

EMLL/CMLL 1983-1992 and 1996-97

Joint Promotions 1974-1984

JWP 1992-1997

All Japan Women 1977-1993

WCW 1989-1994

UWF I & II 1984-85 and 1988-90

PWFG 1991-1993

RINGS 1991-1999

IWRG 2008-2010

 

Outrageously hipster.

[Memphis Mark]

JCP / WCW 83-94 - Highest match quality US wrestling promotion ever

WWF 84-93 - Vince / Pat at creative peak

Mid-South 82-86 - Watts at creative peak

AJPW 73-98 - greatest wrestling company of all time

NJPW 79-96 - legendary angles, big time matches

 

For me, everything else is secondary to these five pillars of wrestling greatness.

 

If I never watched another second of wrestling in my life outside these five places and times, I could probably deal with it.

 

 

Do you give Watts or Dundee the creative credit for MId- South ? or both ?

[ohtani's jacket]

 

EMLL/CMLL 1983-1992 and 1996-97

Joint Promotions 1974-1984

JWP 1992-1997

All Japan Women 1977-1993

WCW 1989-1994

UWF I & II 1984-85 and 1988-90

PWFG 1991-1993

RINGS 1991-1999

IWRG 2008-2010

 

Outrageously hipster.

 

 

I thought this was the "absolute favourite wrestling companies" thread not your most staid opinions on pro-wrestling! Besides, IWRG is the only really hipster pick. Maybe JWP and PWFG but I also included the major promotions for Joshi and shoot style.

 

Fred Kohler's promotion might join my list soon.

[Tim Evans]

USWA 1990-1996: I know that 1980's Memphis is the best but Early 90's Memphis is probably my favorite. So many great feuds like USWA/SMW, USWA/WWF, Embry/Dirty White Boy, Embry/Moondogs, Moondogs/Lawler and Jarrett etc. It went downhill towards the summer of 1996 after losing a bunch of people.

 

WWC: 2011- March 2016: Recent WWC is so good but no one talks about it because the TV is kinda bad. 2011 started the short-lived IWAPR vs WWC feud with a bunch of ex IWA guys like Chicano, Thunder and Lightning, Invader and others coming in. This period also featured Sandow coming in as Idol Stevens and really finding his footing. 2013 had the return of Savio Vega which led to the return of TNT and the rise of young guys that sadly didn't stay long like Chris Angel, Aj Castillo Abbad and the awesome Sons of Samoa tag team. Also had Ray Gonzalez being great as the lead babyface, the dominance of Mighty Ursus in 2015 and Mike Mendoza/El Cuervo. This year has been a mixed bag. It featured the what I believe is the feud of the year with Mendoza/Cuervo vs La Revolution(Masked shield gimmick that has lasted longer than the Shield ever did) and Mr. 450 having great matches week in and week out. These days it has gotten stale but I hope things pick up with the Chicano heel turn.

[JerryvonKramer]

 

JCP / WCW 83-94 - Highest match quality US wrestling promotion ever

WWF 84-93 - Vince / Pat at creative peak

Mid-South 82-86 - Watts at creative peak

AJPW 73-98 - greatest wrestling company of all time

NJPW 79-96 - legendary angles, big time matches

 

For me, everything else is secondary to these five pillars of wrestling greatness.

 

If I never watched another second of wrestling in my life outside these five places and times, I could probably deal with it.

 

 

Do you give Watts or Dundee the creative credit for MId- South ? or both ?

 

 

You'd have to give some credit also to Buck Robley, as well as Ernie Ladd.

 

But Watts was the point man, whose attention to detail insisted on internal consistency. His run arguably represents the pinnacle of logical storytelling in a wrestling framework, and since bookers came and went, I'd have to give overall credit to him.

[elliott]

For me it is BattlArts. I love the original run from 96-2001 and all of the comeback stuff from the late 2000s I've seen has been awesome as well.

 

But 96-2001 BattlArts was amazing. They were a shoot style promotion but weren't a shoot style promotion. Obviously the style was a major influence on the promotion, but they'd have guys like TAKA Michinoku on the card doing springboard dropkicks or Otsuka doing a giant swing and dives out of the ring. They basically took all of the best things from wrestling in the 90s and stirred them up in a big pot. You had guys like Greg Valentine and Bob Backlund show up. Victor Krueger being a giant fish out of water. Takeshi Ono being the greatest scrawny prick ever until Murakami shows up and redefines scrawny prickishness. The FMW feud. Otsuka vs Matsunaga. I haven't even mentioned Ikeda vs Ishikawa which I'll take every time over Misawa vs Kawada. Motherfucking Carl Greco being the American Volk Han rocking a soul patch and hoop earring. Are you kdding? BattlArts. Its the best.

 

Oh and Memphis from probably 1974 until, I dunno, Lawler left for the WWF?