Superstar Sleeze Posted March 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Best of NWA 1983-1987 Part 2 However, what is free is of course Pro Wrestling Love! This time we discuss a match that is on the short list for the absolute Greatest Pro Wrestling Match Ever in History. It pits the World Champion Ric Flair vs teen idol Ricky Morton in a battle of what it means to be a man. There is a lot about Ric Flair the character that is cool: the jewelry, the bravado and the ladies it attracts. It reminds me a lot of Wolf of Wall Street. Leo DiCaprio's character has that same cockswagger that can be very appealing and intoxicating. What the movie does so well is it obliterates that fantasy. The fun & games are over. You are left seeing a small, insecure, and abusive man. In reality, that is who Ric Flair the character is. It is all Woos and struts, until someone threatens him and his sense of self. He lashes out. He tries to permanently disfigure Ricky Morton by rubbing his face into concrete. Why? Because Ric Flair is a small, petty, sorry excuse for what a man should be. That's a great fucking heel! Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton is the pinnacle of wrestling storytelling and its climax inside a steel cage on July 6, 1986 is perhaps the Greatest Match Ever. Also, inside you will find two of Ric Flair's classics against Barry Windham, a hidden gem against Kerry Von Erich in Hawaii and two very famous bloody brawls: Greg Valentine vs Roddy Piper in a Dog Collar match and then many other's pick for the greatest match of all time Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA in an I Quit Steel Cage match. It is a loaded edition of Pro Wrestling Love because it is the Best of the NWA 1983-87! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-39-best-of-nwa.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted March 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 Best of US Wrestling 1977-1982 Part 1 Is it just me or has March Madness been quite tame this year? I guess it cant be every year that a #16 seed upends an #1 seed. However, Pro Wrestling Love is about to experience it is own form of March Madness as this will be the first of NINE blogs over the course of the next ten days! That's right, nine blogs! The deadline for the Greatest Match Ever Project is fast approach and I am disappointed to say I will not be making my goal of watching every important match to take place in Japan and America between 1980-2009. The good news is better luck next year because it will be an annual tradition. The first of this flurry deals with a period of time in US wrestling that is mostly shrouded in mystery due to a lack of footage. It looks at the best of US Wrestling from 1977 through 1982 and as you would expect the three central figures of American wrestling in the 1980s dominate this era too and that is the Nature Boy Ric Flair, Jerry "The King" Lawler and Nick Bockwinkel. Even though it does not make my top 12 matches, everyone should seek out the Lawler/Flair angle from 1982 that is run on TV and as it is Top 5 TV angle of all time. The Lawler vs Bockwinkel matches from the 1980s are some of the best ever and Flair going down to Texas to face the Von Erich boys always produces great matches! All this and much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love Vol. 40! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-40-best-of-us.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted March 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2019 Best of US Wrestling 1977-1982 Duke vs Central Florida had a thrilling finish! One of the best endings to a basketball game, I have seen in forever. I have Duke winning in one of my pools so I was pulling for them and glad that dude didnt pull a JR Smith when he grabbed the bound off the missed free throw. You know what else is thrilling? A King-Sized comeback from Jerry "The King" Lawler! We have that in spades as he takes three out of the top six spots for the Best that United States Pro Wrestling had to offer between 1977-1982. However, can he topple the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair topple the "Modern Day Warrior" Kerry Von Erich in one of their many classics this time from Dallas? Also inside is the best hidden gem uncovered by the Houston footage revolution of 2016 and a hidden gem from Kentucky featuring a very Macho Man OOOOOOOHHHH YEEEAHHHHHH! Check out Pro Wrestling Love vol. 41! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-41-best-of-us.html Best of All Japan 1997-1999 Part 1 Quick turnaround as I am going to wrestling tonight at the Gahden, kid! I am hoping we get a good crazed Ronda Rousey promo and an appearance by THE MAN BECKY LYNCH! Before Becky Lynch was The Man, there was Mitsuharu Misawa, the Ace, the GOAT. All Japan of the 1990s is the sacred era of pro wrestling, many consider it the pinnacle of the wrestling industry. There has been some backlash over the years, but for the most part it remains well-regarded and it is still the standard for the great pro wrestling. Its peak was roughly 1993-1996, but the entire decade is littered with classics. This blog looks at the end of this glorious run where the excesses of the style take their toll and the boss, Giant Baba passes away in 1999 leaving the promotion in turmoil and ultimately causing the All Japan/NOAH schism in 2000. However, 1997-1999 still has many, many great matches. It offers new tag team pairings such as the Ace Misawa & Rat Boy Ogawa and the ultra-macho team of Burning (Kobashi & Akiyama) to combat the old standard-bearers Holy Demon Army (Kawada & Taue). It also features when Kawada, the Wile E. Coyote to Misawa's Roadrunner finally gets his big win but probably four years too late to mean anything. It is also characterized by one of the most prolific feuds in history: Misawa vs Kobashi. All this and much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 42: Best of All Japan 1997-1999. https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-42-best-of-all.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted March 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2019 Best of All Japan 1997-1999 Part 2 Doing back-to-back nights at the Gahden, kid! As I am seeing the final KISS tour. Had two great experiences previously seeing KISS, Paul Stanley is a riot on the microphone, cant wait to hear what zany thing he says. Last night's RAW was pretty decent. A surprisingly funny Triple H, nice sendoff for Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, a big Yankees Suck chant and got to see Ronda & The Man Becky Lynch, a solid night of pro wrestling. We continue the Pro Wrestling Love with pinnacle of Pro Wrestling, All Japan in the 90s. I have teased that some of these blogs have greatest match ever contenders in them. I have whittled the short list for #1 down to six matches. One of those six matches is included in today's blog. Growing up in the late 90s/early 00s, American fans seemed obsessed with the Misawa/Kawada feud of All Japan. When would Kawada get that big win and stop choking? I think whats interesting is how the viewing prism has shifted over the years from Misawa/Kawada dominating the conversation to Misawa/Kobashi. I think it is part that Misawa/Kobashi had the more triumphant conclusion to their story in the form of 3/1/03 and the other part is people going back realizing that Misawa/Kobashi matches are really incredible and really only 6/3/94 can compare to the multiple high level Misawa/Kobashi matches. What makes the Misawa vs Kobashi matches so good is the attention to detail in the matches and from match to match. Kobashi was my pick for the greatest wrestler ever as he combines amazing offensive firepower and sympathetic selling better than any wrestler ever. You can see his growth and maturity between 1/20/97 and 10/31/98. He wrestles a much-more mistake free style AND he wrestles a more suffocating style, it is a true full court press to stymie any Misawa offense. Within a match, Misawa and Kobashi make do a better job than anyone else making mistakes and tactical error mean something. Everything has consequence in a Misawa/Kobashi match. You put together the characters, the history, the amazing offense and selling, the incredible crescendos to the finish and add that attention to detail you definitely have a contender for the greatest match ever. That's only two of the six matches discussed in this blog so check it out for much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 43! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-vol-43-best-of-all-japan.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted March 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2019 Best of Japanese Junior Heavyweights 1989-1999 I have rocked 'n' rolled all night and partied everyday too many days in a row! I am excited to get to bed early. KISS kicked ass definitely a top 5 live act I have ever seen. Much like KISS attracted eyeballs through elaborate costumes, Keiichi Yamada became a shooting star when he became Jushin "Thunder" Liger! Throughout on the 90s, Liger would be on an endless quest to find his equal, his rival. This blog captures the greatest matches of Japanese Junior Heavyweight Wrestling, Jushin Liger was the crown jewel of the division and he helped propelled the division into prominence with his feud against Naoki Sano and putting over Michinoku Pro's Great Sasuke. Michinoku Pro was a promotion completely devoted to junior heavyweight wrestling. Its best year was 1996 as Kaientai DX stable was running roughshod over the promotion and definitely worth watching. All this and much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 44! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-44-best-of.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted March 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2019 Best of Japanese Junior Heavyweights 1989-1999 Part 2 EAT EM UP TIGERS! Tigers win on opening day! March Madness continues tonight and I am looking for Oregon to make it to the Elite Eight! GO DUCKS! But honestly, I am less interested in Ducks and more interested in Ligers today. I think of all the different styles of pro wrestling the most influential on today's in-ring product is the Japanese Junior Heavyweight style of the 1990s which blended the workrate of Stampede, the Strong Style of Inokiism and lucha libre. Jushin Liger is one of the most accessible Japanese wrestlers to Western fans because of his Western influences and expressive selling even within a full mask and bodysuit. The opening matwork is typical of the New Japan style, but after that it has all the trademarks of today's style with high-powered offense and plenty of highspots. Crucial differences do remain as the 90s Juniors style still emphasized narrative-based storytelling, body part psychology and selling. Most importantly, it did rely on overly choreographed sequences, but rather organically developed highspots that felt earned. As expected Liger dominates the blog taking four out of the top six spots with the likes of Ohtani, Kanemoto, Great Sasuke and Sano. However, can he hold onto #1 or will Michinoku Pro and Kaientai DX take the top spot? Find out and check out all this and much more in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 45! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-45-best-japanese.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted March 31, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2019 Best of JCP/WCW 1988-1990 Did you miss me? I know I took off one day, but I am back with four, yes FOUR straight days of Pro Wrestling Love! If that does not make you say CALLOOH CALLAY I dont know what will! We are covering in my opinion the best three year stretch any American promotion has ever had (only All Japan in the mid-90s can compete) as Ric Flair was on another planet during this stretch. At 40 years old, Ric Flair had the best calendar year any pro wrestler has ever heard in 1989. Everyone points to the Steamboat and Funk series, which do dominate my Top 12, but he was getting it done on TV, on house shows and in tag team matches. He was so versatile at this time wrestling heel against Steamboat and babyface against Funk. His spot-calling was pitch perfect and his energy level was through the roof. In addition, the talent depth during this period was insane and it is incredible how they squandered it. There is a six man tag team match in 1988 with the babyface side comprising of Sting, Lex Luger and Barry Windham. Boy did the future look bright and blond on that day! Overshadowed by Flair's historic run was just how damn great the new incarnation of the Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) who redefine what great tag team wrestling was in America with the Fantastics and the best match of the historic Midnight Express vs Rock N Roll Express happened during this period. All this and much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 46! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-46-best-of-world.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted March 31, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2019 Best of World Championship Wrestling 1988-1990 Part 2 I had a really good shot at a perfect Final Four until Kentucky blew it. Alas! Good news is if Duke wins tonight, my chances of winning good money go up astronomically! Lets Go Blue Devils! Ten year old Martin hates that I wrote that sentence, but ten year old Martin never had $800 either. You know what's worth more to me than $800 Pro Wrestling Love. You can't put a price on Love, baby! Honestly, the top five matches of this Pro Wrestling Love edition are my number one contenders for the top spot in Greatest Match Ever. Think about that. One promotion in a year produced five matches that could be considered the Greatest Match of All Time and who was in all of these matches, The Nature Boy Ric Flair of course! WOOOOOOOOOO! Growing up, I thought the brawls with Terry Funk were the best thing I have ever seen. The matches with Steamboat take my breathe away as they are cardio workouts par excellence and so psychical. To me my magnus opus of wrestling reviews, will be my breakdown of Ric Flair vs Lex Luger at Starrcade 1988. Not to toot my own horn, but toot! toot! I dont think I have ever done such a good job and I am not sure I ever will again. It is the review I am most proud of. So which of these five matches finish #1? What is the only non-Flair match to make my Top 6? Well you just have to click the link to find out! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-47-best-of-world.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2019 Best of Other Heavyweight Japan 1996-1999 Part 1 Got to see Masato Tanaka last night live in Worcester BABY! Guess what! He is featured prominently in the latest edition of Pro Wrestling Love! This article looks at the best heavyweight matches to take place in the non-major companies of Japan (so no New Japan or All Japan) between 1996-1999 and thus features a lot of shoot-style from RINGS, which was clicking on all cylinders with the magnificent foursome of Volk Han, Koyoshi Tamura, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka and Yoshihisa Yamamoto. Dying Days WAR also produced some greatness as the dream match of Takada vs Tenryu right before UWFi shut down and Takada would go to start PRIDE. FMW made the transition from a Deathmatch company to Attitude Era, America style company featuring Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka and the amazing Mr. Gannosuke! Mr. Gannosuke does not get enough press in America for how awesome he is a perfect combination of heel sleaze, garbage brawling and strong mat fundamentals. This is the potpourri of Pro Wrestling Love with a little for everyone to love so check it out! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/04/pro-wrestling-love-vol-48-best-of-other.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2019 Best of Other Heavyweight Puroresu 1996-1999 Part II THE MANIA CONTINUES! The Pro Wrestling Love Will Always Continue! However, I will be taking a sabbatical to recharge my batteries so I want to thank everyone who took time to read these (FORTY-NINE Holy Shit, my original intention was 64, but I am proud to complete 75% of the goal). If you got any sort of pleasure out of them or found a new match you liked than I did my job and I spread the Pro Wrestling Love! I watched & reviewed 1,934 matches so far and here's to another 1,934 matches! The last blog completes the countdown started yesterday as the best of Japanese Heavyweight wrestling not to take place in All Japan or New Japan. But it might as well be called the Best of RINGS, only a crazy Genichiro Tenryu brawl stops them from sweeping the Top 6, click to find out which one! Pro Wrestling loves its Trilogies and there may be no better than the Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura trilogy so click the link and savor all the Pro Wrestling Love! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/04/pro-wrestling-love-vol-49-best-of-other.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2019 Updated Compendium of all 49 volumes of Pro Wrestling Love! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2018/10/pro-wrestling-love-compendium.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted March 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 Pro Wrestling Love Vol. 50: Top 100 WWF/E Matches of 1978-2014 Can you believe it has been almost a year since the last volume of Pro Wrestling Love! With all this COVID-19 going around, never has Pro Wrestling Love been more needed! So I present my 100 Greatest WWF/WWE Matches of All Time! Big shoutout to the boys at Place To Be Nation for hosting the voting for this project last year. I will definitely participate in their WCW edition for this year. This was the impetus I needed to finally put this list together. So I hope you enjoy and maybe you discover a match or two to watch while you are in isolation. Hope you & yours stay safe & heathy during this pandemic! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-50-greatest-100.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2020 Pro Wrestling Love vol. 51 is coming at you with the Best WWE has to offer from 2005-2009 part 1! This era sees Cena & Batista winning their first World Titles at 2005's edition of WrestleMania. I can consider this the First Wave of Cena Era. I think in 2010 he really became the Man. In 2005-2009, he had a lot of support from Attitude Era stars like HHH, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Kurt Angle (until 2006), Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio. In addition, he had his contemporaries like Batista, Randy Orton and Edge to shoulder the burden. What I love about this era is that no real canon has ever been established! So there are a ton of what I believe head-turners and shockers on this list! So check it out! This era is a treasure trove of hidden gems! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-51-best-of-wwe.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2020 I have found out by accidentally not posting out here the link to Pro Wrestling Love vol. 52 that the majority of the views come from here. So I want thank everyone for reading! This is the Top 6 Matches of WWE from 2005-2009! Can Cena stave off the career resurgence of Shawn Michaels to hold on the top spot? http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/04/pro-wrestling-love-vol-52-best-of-wwe.html?m=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 Best of WWE 2010-2014 Part 1...#24-#19 I became a fan in August of 1997. I have two favorite times of being a fan from 1997-2001 (when I was a kid, everything is better when you are a kid) and from 2012-2014. For me my favorite time from WWE was 2012-2014. From an in-ring perspective the WWE was never and has never been as good as it was from 2012-2014. It was so good that normally I do a Top 12, but I could contain my excitement for this time period so we are doing a Four-Part, Top 24 to represent how glorious this period was. Shoutout to Jimmy Redman for her love of WWE and exposing to me to so much great wrestling. Her Top 100 List of the Best WWE Matches to take place in 2013 alone is the greatest list ever put together and is an invaluable resource in exploring this treasure trove of great matches. Also I would be remiss not to mention to not sleep on the honorable mentions. A lot of these honorable mentions are rated at ****1/2 and are excellent matches in their own right they just happen to occur in the most stacked time period in WWE history. https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/04/pro-wrestling-love-vol-53-best-of-wwe.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2020 Best of WWE 2010-2014 Part 1...#18-#13 WWE was so damn good between 2010-2014 that we are breaking this down in 4 parts! This part is chock full of NXT as a whopping 4 out of 6 matches come from the "development" league, lets be real, its WWE's take on a "Super Indy". Sami Zayn was the heart & soul of NXT and was on a babyface run of life time. Find out what NXT matches made it and what two main show matches made it by clicking below. We are at the halfway point! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/04/pro-wrestling-love-vol-54-best-of-wwe.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2020 Best of WWE 2010-2014 Part 3...#12-#7 This period is such an embarrassment of riches and varied that no single man repeats once during any of the six matches. Usually when we think of great workrate eras, there is a dominant person(s), Four Corners in AJPW 90s, Lawler in Memphis, Flair in Crockett, Tanahashi & Okada in New Japan, or Bret & Shawn in WWF 90s. The WWE 2010-2014 had such a balanced attack that you really got a lot of different looks from the talent. In this volume, the 2010 WWE Match of the Year is unveiled, the crown jewel of the Hall of Pain run and the match that made me join PWO in order to defend its honor. This match is a hill I am willing to die on. Click on the link and check it & see. https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/04/pro-wrestling-love-vol-55-best-of-wwe.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2020 Best of WWE 2010-2014 Top 6 Pretty amazing that with this publication that I have thoroughly covered WWE from 1978-2014. I have looked over 500 matches. Now that being said 500 match barely scratches the surface of all the WWE matches that have occurred over the time period. I covered anything that was of a note and additionally included matches that piqued my interest and was able to find some hidden gems. I am definitely still looking for any further recommendations. The Top 6 of WWE in 2010-2014 was dominated by John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. Each of these men have at least two matches in the top 6. Who of these four all-time greats will take the top spot? Click and see! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/04/pro-wrestling-love-vol-56-best-of-wwe.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted May 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2020 Pro Wrestling Love vol. 57: Best of All Japan Pro Wrestling 1993-1994 vol. 1 I was first introduced to the existence of Japanese Pro Wrestling through the 1998 edition of PWI 500. Stone Cold and Goldberg topped the list as 9-year old Martin expected, but who is this "Mitsuharu Misawa" that is third? I was immediately intrigued at this idea that pro wrestling existed outside of America. In the PWI Almanac 1997, I learned more about All Japan and New Japan Pro Wrestling, the wrestlers, titles and matches. I found websites like ProWrestlingHistory.com and Great Hisa's Wrestling-Titles.com (both of which are still in existence today) and I learned all I could about the vaunted All Japan Pro Wrestling. In my learning, I found out that All Japan in the 90s was praised as the greatest pro wrestling that has ever existed. I had no clue as a child how the hell to go about procuring a tape of wrestling from Japan and I was not about to ask my Dad either. So I was content reading reviews about the Misawa/Kawada rivalry or Kobashi's legendary matches with Stan Hansen and dreaming in my head of what it must be like. Then it happened, the greatest thing ever: Youtube unlocking the floodgates of Japanese Pro Wrestling goodness. I was watching 6/3/94 and 6/9/95 without any primary source context but in complete child-like wonderment of these gods among men. By college, I started to flesh out my understanding of the vaunted 90s All Japan catalog, which widely remains what most wrestling fans consider the greatest wrestling of all time. I sat down watched 37 matches from 1993-1994, the heart of era, and it was such a moving experience and unlike previous viewings I think I was finally ready to truly appreciate the greatness of the storytelling and character work by the major wrestlers of All Japan Pro Wrestling: Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue, Stan Hansen and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, domo arigato. All Japan ICHIBAN~! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/05/pro-wrestling-love-vol-57-best-of-all.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted May 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 Best of All Japan 1993-1994 Part 2 Yesterday, I explained how I discovered Japanese pro wrestling and what it has meant to me over basically my whole life. Today, I don't even know how to put in words the greatness of the pro wrestling that is covered in today's blog. I think the word that great Romantics of the 19th century would use to describe Misawa vs Kawada, Kobashi vs Hansen and Misawa/Kobashi vs Holy Demon Army would be simply, "sublime". This 58th edition of the esteemed Pro Wrestling Love series is the Top 6 matches to take place in All Japan Pro Wrestling during 1993-1994, but honestly any match in the Top 5 could be my pick for the Greatest of All Time, any country, any time that's how damn good these 5 matches are on top. I just went with this order for now, but I think I will re-watch again before I submit my final list for the Greatest Pro Wrestling Match Ever project in August. What will finish #1? Any pro wrestling fan worth his weight in salt knows these dates: 7/29/93, 12/3/93, 5/21/94, 6/3/94 or 7/28/94 (Goddamnit I know that match aint known by its date but it should be! Dr. Death SHOCKED the World!) It is the most competitive, loaded edition of Pro Wrestling LOVE!!!! So don't just sit there eyes wide open, slackjawed click the link and revel in the glory. https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/05/pro-wrestling-love-vol-58-best-of-all.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted June 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2020 6/9/95 It still makes me cry every time. Yes, it has been 25 years since the greatest match of all time: Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue for All Japan Pro Wrestling in the Budokan Hall on 6/9/95. The match is so famous, so epic, so notorious it is simply known by the day it happened: 6/9/95. There are only two moments in the history of pro wrestling that have made me cry. Oddly enough, both moments always make me cry. No matter, how many times I have seen them or how many years removed I am from first watching it, they just tug at the right heartstring and all of sudden the room gets very dusty. The first moment is Miss Elizabeth hopping the rail at WrestleMania VII to save "Macho Man" Randy Savage from Sensational Sherri. The second is, from a tag team match that took place on June 9, 1995 in Budokan Hall for the All Japan Pro Wrestling Promotion, Kenta Kobashi crawling to put his body on top of his friend/mentor, Mitsuharu Misawa to save him from the merciless beating at the hands of the Holy Demon Army, Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue. 6/9/95 is an emotional tour de force that transcends language, culture and time. It is a human story the story of Toshiaki Kawda and his loyal henchman, Akira Taue, so obsessed and consumed by jealousy to finally topple and pin the valiant champion Misawa and his emotional protege, Kenta Kobashi that they shamelessly, ruthlessly and mercilessly exploit an eye injury of Misawa and leg injury of Kobashi. This pro wrestling match marries world-class athleticism with emotional roller coaster storytelling like many try to, but few if any have ever achieved. It is the greatest pro wrestling match of all time. It is 6/9/95. https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/06/pro-wrestling-love-vol-60-6995-25-years.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted June 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2020 Best of ECW Part 1 I forgot to post this here. To the surprise of no one, no ECW match really warrants much consideration for a Top 100 Greatest Wrestling Match Ever, but I would also say that is a terrible way to watch ECW and a pretty terrible way to watch wrestling overall (in large part I think the decline I've wrestling can be tied to presenting Great Wrestling instead of compelling characters & angles that lead to great wrestling). I implore people to watch ECW in context of its promos and angles, which are addictive especially in 1995-96 Paul E was firing on all cylinders and creating an engrossing week-to-week product. However, I am stuck in my ways and it is quicker for me to make a list of the Top 12 ECW matches I enjoyed the most. Should have Part 2 up soon. https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/05/pro-wrestling-lov-vol-59-best-of.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted July 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2020 Best of All Japan Pro Wrestling 1995-96 Part 1 Can Kawada finally beat Misawa? Akira Taue becomes AKIRA FUCKING TAUE~! Who is this Jun Akiyama cat and how is he so damn good already? Johnny Ace is singing "My boyfriend's back and you're in trouble!" And it is one Last Shootout at the OK Corral between Kenta Kobashi and Stan Hansen aka the Greatest Pro Wrestling Rivalry! All this and much, much more! Click the link and check it & see! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/07/pro-wrestling-love-vol-62-best-of-all.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted July 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Best of All Japan '95-'95 Part II Ahhhhhh, the greatness of All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1995 & 1996. Almost two months ago, I devoted an entire blog to the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever pitting Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue aka 6/9/95 so obviously that took top honors. There are still a ton of amazing matches that are contenders for the Top Matches to ever take place. It is a honor to give fresh, brand new insight on All Japan match because they are so well-characterized and deeply analyzed. I think I accomplished that on both 12/6/96 (Misawa/Akiyama vs Kawada/Taue) and 7/24/95 (Misawa vs Kawada IV), the latter, which I have boldly proclaimed is better than 6/3/94 (Misawa vs Kawada III). Finally I unveil my favorite moment to ever happen in any pro wrestling match! There is a lot of ground covered in this volume of Pro Wrestling Love! Click the link & check it & see! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/07/pro-wrestling-love-vol-63-best-of-all.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AA484 Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Haven't said it before but I love reading your match reviews and blog posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.