My 8 Favorite Matches

[floyd]

Wrestling Observer's Top 24 Matches of 2008

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24. Takeshi Morishima Vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH - 12/2/07) - Morishima throws former champ Marufuji around. ****

 

23. Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs Vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico (ROH - 9/19/08) - Steen & Generico vow to win the belts! Awesome crowd. ****1/4

 

22. Kurt Angle Vs. Yuji Nagata (NJ - 1/4/08) - TNA invades their annual Dome Show. ***1/2

 

21. Kevin Steen & El Generico Vs. Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi (ROH - 3/28/08) - Really awesome Dragon gate Vs. ROH match. ****1/4

 

20. HHH Vs. Jeff Hardy (WWE - 10/5/08) - Will HHH job? Final few minutes were awesome. ****

 

19. Kurt Angle Vs. A.J. Styles (TNA Last Man Standing - 8/10/08) - Karen Angle started this mess, whoever can't get to their feet loses. ***3/4

 

18. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori Vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH - 9/6/08) - Kenta & Ishimori lost the Jr. tag titles to these guys, now they get a chance for revenge in the NTV Jr. cup finals. ****

 

17. Volador Jr., Sagrado & La Sombra Vs. El Hijo del Fantasma, La Mascara & Valiente 4/30/08) - Part of children's day at CMLL. Cool spotfest. ****

 

16. Kenta Kobashi & KENTA Vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH - 6/14/08) - Now that Kobashi's back, Kensuke office gets to pick on him. ****1/4

 

15. Naomichi Marufuji Vs. Shuji Kondo (AJ - 11/3/08) - NOAH Vs. All Japan. Lots of good stuff but went longer than it should have (40 min.). ****

 

14. Bryan Danielson Vs. Tyler Black (ROH - 7/26/08) - The ropes breaking always surprises me still. ****

 

13. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Tyler Black (ROH - 3/16/08) - Young Tyler Black makes a name for himself nearly getting the upset. ***3/4

 

12. Undertaker Vs. Edge (WWE Hell in the Cell - 8/17/08) - Undertaker seeks the World title and revenge inside the hell in the Cell. My favorite match from their series. ****1/4

 

11. KENTA Vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH - 10/25/08) - 60 minute match. KENTA was defending the Jr. title here. ****1/4

 

10. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino & Genki Horiguchi Vs. Cima & Ryo Saito & Dragon Kid (ROH - 3/29/08) - Dragon Gate pulls off it's annual awesome match. ****1/4

 

9. Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima Vs. KENTA & Kota Ibushi (ROH - 9/14/08) - Inter promotional match on a ROH show in Japan. Lots of good stuff but too long. ****

 

8. The Undertaker Vs. Edge (WWE - 3/30/08) - Crowd seemed dead to me. ***3/4

 

7. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH 6th Ann. - 2/23/08) - Another great match from their series. This time McGuiness is the champ and has to somehow defeat Danielson. Nigel's had head problems so Danielson promises to stay away from it. ****1/2

 

6. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Austin Aries (ROH - 12/29/07) - A few minutes in Nigel is messed up with a concussion and is out on his feet. but somehow they still manage to get a classic match out of it. ****1/2

 

5. Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama Vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama (NOAh - 12/2/07) - Kobashi makes his return and Misawa/Akiyama doesn't make things easy for him. ****

 

4. Blue Panther Vs. Villano V (CMLL 2/3 Falls Mask Vs. Mask - 9/19/08) - Mask Vs. Mask. Hey was that a switcharoo? ****1/4

 

3. Kurt Angle Vs. Samoa Joe (TNA Cage match - 4/13/08) - This match was promoted as a sports type build, and ended up doubling TNA PPV average. ****

 

2. Ric Flair Vs. Shawn Michaels (WWF - 3/30/08) - If Flair loses he must retire FOREVER. ****

 

1. Shawn Michaels Vs. Chris Jericho (WWE Ladder match - 10/5/08) - Jericho defends the belt in a match HBK made famous. ****1/4

[floyd]

10 for the day:

 

KENTA Vs. Kenta Kobashi (NOAH - 3/5/06) - Pretty good match where we see Kobashi wrestling his very aggressive student. ****

 

Mitsuharu Misawa Vs. Takeshi Morishima (NOAH - 3/5/06) - Old man Misawa takes on fatty Morsihma. Crowd got really into it at the end. Morishima looked great here. ****

 

Meiko Satomura Vs. Aja Kong (Sendai - 7/9/06) - One of my favorite series for the decade. Aja Kong continues to beat up on Satomura. Kong's selling is great. ****

 

Masato Tanaka Vs. Ryuji Sai (Zero-1 - 7/29/06) - Fire Festival finals. Tanaka gets his leg smashed up but vows to win. ***3/4

 

El Hijo del Santo, Mistico & Negro Casas Vs. Atlantis, Black Warrior & Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL - 8/4/06) - This trios match stands out as it it awesome! Action all the way. Mistico gets the crap beaten out of him but still looks like the greatest wrestler on the planet. More set up to the Black Warrior/Mistico match. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

Bryan Danielson Vs. Samoa Joe (ROH - 8/6/06) - Hour draw. I liked it alot better than their Midnight Express reunion match from 2004. Went back and forth and for an hour was never dull. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

Briscoes Vs. Roderick Strong & Austin Aries (ROH - 8/12/06) - Strong & Aries defend the titles in the UK. Great finish like most Briscoes matches but the whole match was good all the way. Great crowd. Probable Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

El Hijo del Santo Vs. Perro Aguayo Jr. (CMLL 2/3 Falls - 8/25/06) - OK match. was hoping for more. Aguayo had lots of outside help. ***3/4

 

LAX Vs. Christopher Daniels & AJ Styles (TNA Ultimate X - 9/24/06) - Big bumps from everyone, Hernandez looked really good. Daniels risks actual death. ****

 

Age of the Fall Vs. Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries (ROH Respect is Earned II - 6/7/08) - Danielson finds himself in the middle of the AOTF/Aries feud. Although this aired after their match, this built up Danielson/Tyler II. Pretty good main event but nothing too special. Ending was really good. ****

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Edge Vs. Ric Flair (WWE Ladder Match - 1/16/06) - Ric Flair in a ladder match!?!? Flair bumps like a 20 year old while his kids watch from ringside. ****

 

Bryan Danielson Vs. Jimmy Rave (ROH - 2/26/06) - Jimmy Rave looks to bring the ROH World title to the people of Ghana. Very likely Jimmy Rave's best match ever, title match went almost 40 minutes. ****

 

Bryan Danielson Vs. Alex Shelly (ROH - 3/18/06) - Who's the heel? Shelly is in the Embassy and from CZW while Danielson scares little girls in the audience. Good match was hoping for better. lat few minutes was great. ****

 

The Briscoe Brothers Vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans (ROH - 3/25/06) - Impromptu generation next Vs. briscoes match. Evans is crazy. ***3/4

 

KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji Vs. Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe (ROH - 3/25/06) - NOAH Vs. ROH in a Huge dream match up. You never hear about this one but I thought it was very good. Leads to the In Your Face 3-way. ****1/4

 

Blood Generation Vs. Generation Next (ROH - 3/30/06) - Night before the famous 6-man, this match is also all action with Jack Evans thrown in the mix. ****

 

Bryan Danielson Vs. Samoa Joe Vs. KENTA (ROH - 6/17/06) - When I first saw this I thought it was awesome. Not so much this time around. Still really good. Joe and KENTA hated each other. Leads to the Danielson/Joe and Danielson/KENTA classics. ****

 

William Regal Vs. Chris Benoit (WWF - 10/8/06) - From No mercy, another short great match from these two. Benoit's return match from "personal issues"... This, the Velocity or Pillman match might make my Top 100, gotta watch the all back to back to decide. ****1/4

 

Matt Sydal Vs. KENTA (ROH - 11/4/06) - Not as good as I was hoping, they didnt work well against each other. ***3/4

 

The Briscoes Vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (ROH - 4/28/07) - Dream matchup. Didn't dig this as some, who call it a strong MOTYC. Didn't get into the Guns schtick. Match was given enough time though. ****

 

Yuji Nagata Vs. Togi Makabe (NJ - 7/6/07) - I might be the only won voting this in my Top 100 but I love it. Bloody match. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

Briscoes Vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico (ROH Street Fight - 8/10/07) - Another crazy streetfight match. ****

 

No Remorse Corps & Matt Sydal Vs. The Resilience & Delirious (ROH Streetfight - 8/11/07) - Awesome forgotten brawl. Lots of crazy stuff like from the CZW/ROH streetfights. Went too long to really stand out though. ****1/4

 

Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Morishima & Takashi Suguira Vs. Kenta Kobashi, Tamon Honda & Shuhei Taniguchi (NOAH - 2/21/08) - Cool 6-man tag that reminded me of the early All japan 90's. They kept taking cheat shots at Kobashi. Hot ending. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

Nigel McGuiness Vs. Austin Aries (ROH - 3/29/08) - Rematch from Supercard of Honor. Good title match but not as awesome as their Rising Above match. ****

[Bix]

Any idea how much (if anything) was edited out of Danielson-KENTA-Joe? It was really bad live, in part due to everyone injuring everyone else.

[floyd]

Wrestling Observer's Top 15 Matches of 2009

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15. Rey Mysterio Vs. John Morrison (WWE - 9/1/09) - Wow this was a great TV match! Rey is defending the I-C belt. Goes a good length and never gets dull. ****1/4

 

14. CM Punk Vs. Jeff Hardy (WWE TLC match - 8/25/09) - I liked this ALOT better the 2nd time. Crazy spots for Hardy's World title. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

13. John Cena Vs. Randy Orton (WWE I-Quit match - 9/13/09) - The story was great with Cena never giving up despite torture. But I think the fact I care nothing for either guys didn't get me emotional invested. ***1/2

 

12. Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe (TNA - 11/15/09) - Liked this alot better the 2nd time but still not enough to call it a MOTYC. Wolfe looked great playing the heel and dissecting Angle's arm. ****

 

11. Bryan Danielson Vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH No-DQ - 12/27/08 - No the feud's not over yet! No-DQ match where Danielson gets to choke someone with a chain and not be future endeavored. Like the Manhattan match better but this is tremendous too. Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

10. KENTA Vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (Kensuke Office - 2/11/09) - Very long match for KENTA's Jr. title. Didn't love this as much s others but pretty good. ****

 

9. Samoa Joe Vs. Christopher Daniels Vs. A.J. Styles (TNA - 11/15/09) - Now this match I did love! AJ's the champ and his past meets up with him. At the pre-dawn of the Hogan era TNA spits out one last fantastic match with it's top wrestlers. Top 100 pick for me. ****1/2

 

8. Bryan Danielson Vs. Davey Richards (ROH - 9/25/09) - Good dream match before Danielson ships out, a bit too long to me though. ****

 

7. Rey Mysterio Vs. Chris Jericho (Mask Vs. Title - 6/28/09) - Jericho defends the I-C title against Rey's mask. Most likely the WWE MOTY for me. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

6. Davey Richards Vs. KENTA (ROH - 4/3/09) - Great match with them kicking the crap out of each other. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/2

 

5. KENTA & Go Shiozaki Vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH - 6/22/09) - Kobashi's out so his protege's take his place against their old foes Kensuke Office. DVDVR #1 Puro match for 2006, I thought it was good but not great. World champ Shiozaki has to step up to the plate against Sasaki and his chops. ****

 

4. Bryan Danielson Vs. Naruki Doi (DGUSA - 9/6/09) - Danielson takes on the champ. Very good well paced match. ****

 

3. KENTA Vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH - 3/1/09) - KENTA gets his chance to regain the Jr. title for NOAH. Shorter higher paced match. Great crowd and nearfalls at the end. Top 100 pick for me. ****1/2

 

2. Davey Richards Vs. Shingo Takagi (DGUSA - 9/6/09 ) - Both guys give it all they got at the best show of the year. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

1. Shawn Michaels Vs. The Undertaker (WWE - 4/5/09) - Great atmosphere. End is every kicking out of their finishers. ****1/4

[floyd]

Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi Vs. Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto (NOAH - 1/26/03) - Just because it's a new year doesn't mean the cold war is over. NJ VS. NOAH Jr's once again. Kanemoto makes such a good heel partner with Liger. ***3/4

 

CIMA Vs. Genki (Toryumon - 4/22/03) - The Finals of the El Numero Uno Tournament! ***3/4

 

Toshiaki Kawada Vs. Shinya Hashimoto (AJ - 2/22/04) - Kawada defends the Triple Crown against NJ legend Hashimoto. Both guys are hurt so it's a matter of who gets injured first and can't continue the fight. ****

 

Eddie Guerrero Vs. Kurt Angle (WWF - 3/14/04) - One of the most underrated WM matches ever, Guerrero defends against Angle. ****

 

Chris Benoit Vs. Randy Orton (WWF - 8/15/04) - World champ Benoit defneds the title against Evolution. Orton. Bah. ***3/4

 

Yoshinobu Kanemuru Vs. Low Ki (NOAH - 9/10/04) - Kanemura defends the GHC Jr. title against Low Ki! Really good match, Low Ki's style goes well in Japan. ****1/4

 

Survival Of The Fittest Final (ROH - 6/24/04) - Elimination match to see who's the fittest in ROH. Really good match with lots of stories that startup feuds. Winner gets a shot at Joe's title. ****1/4

 

Samoa Joe Vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH - 10/2/04) - Long ROH defense against Danielson. ****

 

Kevin Steen Vs. Super Dragon (PWG - 3/12/05) - Pretty cool indy match with kevin Steen using Super Dragons moves only to be beaten by his own. ***3/4

 

Chris Hero Vs. Milano Collection AT (IWA-MS - 4/1/06) - Really good indy main event with Milano visiting IWA-MS with his invisible dog. ****

 

The Briscoes Vs. Davey Richards and Matt Sydal (ROH - 8/13/06) - Another cool Briscoes gem over in Britain. ****1/4

 

Mic Foley Vs. Ric Flair (WWE I-Quit - 8/20/06) - I can't remember a match that pissed me off more than this one after it was finished. The match was awesome with both guys being bloodied up and doing crazy hardcore stuff, then after 10 minutes zip, it's over just like that. It came off more like a late 90's WWF match with cookie sheets than a dramatic I-Quit match. Throw out the Melina crap and give it 10 more minutes of drama and you'd have an easy MOTYC. ****

 

Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJ - 12/10/06) - Tanahashi defends the belt in a tough match against Nakamura. ****

 

Naomichi Marufuji Vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (NOAH - 12/10/06) - Marufuji defends the GHC World title against old timer Misawa. ***1/2

 

Bryan Danielson Vs. KENTA (ROH Driven - 6/23/07) - Best dark match ever? I still can't believe Danielson also had the classic against McGuiness on the same day. Final few minutes was awesome. ****1/4

 

Yuki Ishikawa, Alexander Otsuka & Munenori Sawa Vs. Daisuke Ikeda, Katsumi Usuda & Super Tiger II (BattlArts - 7/26/08) - Long elimination match where they really lay it on. So far my fav BattleArts match of the decade. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

Survival Tag Match (Kensuke Office - 8/17/08) - Team Burning (NOAH's Kenta Kobashi, KENTA, Atsushi Aoki & Akihito Ito) Vs. Team Kensuke Office (Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Takashi Okita & Kento Miyahara). It's a Survival Tag Team match which means it starts as a tag team match. When someone is eliminated, his team can add a wrestler to take his place in the tag match. This goes on until a team 3rd's man is eliminated. Meat and potatoes of the match is Kobashi/KENTA Vs. Sasaki/Nakajima. ****

[floyd]

10 for the day:

 

 

2007

 

Mistico Vs. El Averno (CMLL 2/3 Falls - 1/5/07) - Have to rewatch the 2005 series, but right now I'd say this is their best match. Typical Mistico match where he gets demolished and loses the 1st fall, then comes back. Averno a great heel and really good nearfalls at the end. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

MNM vs. The Hardy Boyz (Rumble 1/28/07) - Pretty good tag match. Joey Mercury is looking for payback after getting his face demolished by the hardyz. ***3/4

 

Mistico vs. Black Warrior (CMLL 2/3 Falls - 2/11/07) - Black Warrior been unmasked and is still after Mistico. Really good match but nothing to bump it up as great. ****

 

Samoa Joe Vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH - 2/16/07) - Two fat guys beat each other up. Dream match and was Morishima's debut and he looked great in it. ****

 

Nigel McGuinness Vs. Samoa Joe (ROH - 3/3/07) - Underrated match during Samoa Joe's farewell tour. Ending was awesome with Nigel refusing to lose the match in Liverpool. ****

 

Jimmy Jacobs Vs. B.J. Whitmer (ROH Falls Count Anywhere - 3/4/07) - Seemed a little but short to me but they gave it everything. Jacobs nearly falls off the balcony and Whitmer bleeds buckets. Predecessor to their awesome cage match on 3/31. ***3/4

 

 

2008

 

Teddy Hart Vs. Eddie Kingston Vs. Homicide (JAPW - 1/19/08) - No structure at all in this match, but that's not a bad thing. After a few minutes in the ring all 3 guys spent 20 minutes constantly brawling on the high school bleachers like a Memphis streetfight out of control. Really fun match and worth checking out. ****1/4

 

Erick Stevens Vs. Roderick Strong (FIP - 2/16/08) - Great match for the FIP title! Back and forth match with Strong sneaking heel stuff in and Strong getting busted open outside. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

Randy Orton Vs. John Cena (WWE - 2/17/08) - The awesome crowd really helped this match out alot. I actually liked the finish although I'm sure the people who payed for the PPV did NOT. ***3/4

 

RAW Elimination Chamber (WWE - 2/17/08) - Really good elimination chamber. Everyone got a chance to look and good and a good crowd. ****

[floyd]

Momoe Nakanishi Vs. Kumiko Maekawa (AJW - 2/24/02) - After 30 min and 60 min draws, there's finally a winner in this 45 min match. Exhausting near non-stop match. ****1/4

 

Manami Toyota Vs. Kaoru Ito (AJW - 2/24/02) - Ito is no Kyoko Inoue. ***3/4

 

Michael Shane Vs. Chris Sabin Vs. Frankie Kazarian (TNA - Ultimate X - 8/20/03) - 1st ever Ultimate X match and it's very good. Shane wears the crimson mask. ***3/4

 

Italian Connection Vs. Crazy MAX Vs. M2K Vs. Do Fixer (Toryumon - 8/30/03) - Super crazy 4-way elimination trios match. Lots of really silly stuff but if you can roll with it, this is an awesome match. Very possible Top 100 pick. ****1/4

 

Teddy Hart Vs. Juventud Guerrera (TNA - 9/3/03) - Semi finals from the best tournament in TNA history. ***1/2

 

RVD Vs. Christian (WWF Ladder match - 9/29/03) - Another cool ladder match from RAW. Christian's defending the belt here. ****1/4

 

The 2004 Royal Rumble (WWF - 1/25/04) - The winner of this match gets a shot at the champ at Wrestlemania! Benoit goes coast to coast. ***3/4

 

Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels (WWF RAW - 2/16/04) - After Shawn weaseled his way into the WM match, commish Austin declared whoever wins this match gets the shot at HHH. Not as awesome as the May match but still good. ****

 

The Rock & Mick Foley Vs. Evolution (WWF - 3/14/04) - Foley finds a partner to battle Evolution with in the returning Rock! Really fun match especially Flair. ****

 

Necro Butcher Vs. Toby Klein (IWA-MS - 6/25/04) - From the KOTM 2004 tourn. It's a fan bring the weapons match and they maul and carve each other up in front of 50 fans. Some really crazy stuff like computer monitors to the skull, powerbombs off bleachers and lucha Necro! ****

 

KENTA & Marufuji Vs. SUWA & Ricky Marvin (NOAH - 10/24/04) - Another awesome KENTA/Marufuji match, what's these guys problem, why can't they phone it in? ****1/4

 

Homicide Vs. CM Punk (FIP - 11/13/04) - Anything goes Falls count anywhere match including a strip bar! Punk calls them whores while Homicide takes out the dollar bills. ***3/4

 

Toshiaki Kawada Vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (AJ - 12/5/04) - Kawada defends the title and gets a nasty bloody eye. ***

 

Milano Collection A.T. Vs. Prince Devitt (NJ - 5/30/09) - Short but really good match in the Best of Super Juniors tourn. ****

[floyd]

Ric Flair Vs. HHH (WWF Cage Match - 11/1/05) - Crazy cage match where Flair bleeds so much his hair is red. ****

 

Ric Flair Vs. HHH (WWF Last Man Standing - 11/27/05) - HHH gets a chance to put down Flair and get the I-c title (which apparently to the announcers means nothing). ****1/4

 

The Kings of Wrestling Vs. The Briscoes (ROH - 12/23/06) - Pretty good tag title defense. ***3/4

 

Bryan Danielson Vs. Homicide (ROH - 12/23/06) - TNA's Homicide get one last chance to win the ROH World title. ****

 

Takeshi Morishima Vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH - 4/14/07) - World champ Morishima defends the title. ***3/4

 

Takeshi Rikio & Jun Akiyama Vs. Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama (NOAH - 4/28/07) - Another good NOAH tag team match. ****

 

World X Cup Elimination Match (TNA - 7/13/08) - This was awesome cause it was TNA's version of a Torneo Cibernetico match. Non-stop action and was given lots of time. Possible Top 100 pick for me. ****1/4

 

Mistico Vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. (CMLL 2/3 Falls - 7/27/07) - This is a tremendous match, probably the best lucha match for 2007, but the constant panning away to the plants/marks in the audience got on my nerves. Wagner plays a great heel. ****1/4

 

Chris Jericho Vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE No-DQ - 9/7/08) - This was after Jericho popped HBK's wife in the mouth so HBK gave up retirement for revenge. ****

 

Austin Aries Vs. Jimmy Jacobs (ROH Dog Collar - 11/8/08) - Thier feud continues in a very bloody dog collar match. ****

 

Kurt Angle Vs. Abyss (TNA Falls count anywhere - 11/9/08) - Angle takes on the monster in a Falls count anywhere match. Angle did stupid stuff he should never do and it make the match more entertaining than I thought possible. ****

 

Nigel McGuinness Vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH - 11/22/08) - Another great match between them but won't make my list. Nigel defending the belt here and the final few minutes may be the best of their whole series. ****1/4

[floyd]

Yuki Ishikawa Vs. Kazunari Murakami (BattleArts - 11/26/00) - Short but stiff match. Best part of this match was when they took the shoot into the crowd! ****

 

CM Punk Vs. Chris Hero (IWA-MS - 10/6/01) - Refreshing match as it goes less than an hour. ***1/2

 

Eddie Guerrero Vs. CM Punk (IWA-MS - 3/2/02) - Really good match from Guerrero's IWA tour. ***3/4

 

Toshiaki Kawada Vs. Katsuyori Shibata (AJ - 4/11/03) - About as great a 7 minute match as you can get. Shibata starts off strong but again falls to experiance. ****

 

Kevin Steen Vs. Super Dragon (PWG - 7/10/05) - Really great match with some awesome moves including Steen catching Dragon in mid air and hitting a rolling fireman's carry into the 1st 4 rows. Possible Top 100. ****1/4

 

Kevin Steen Vs. Super Dragon (PWG - 9/3/05) - 30+ minute match from a tournament opening round. They play off the last match which is cool and bring out the big moves at the end. ***3/4

 

Kevin Steen Vs. Super Dragon (PWG No DQ - 12/16/05) - Crazy streetfight. ****1/4

 

Roderick Strong & Austin Aries Vs. Blood Generation (ROH - 4/1/06) - Day after their MOTYC, Blood generation still have enough to put another great match for the ROG Tag titles. ****

 

Homicide Vs. Colt Cabana (ROH Chicago Streetfight - 4/1/06) - Their long running feud finally ends tonight! ****

 

Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk Vs. Mic Foley & Edge (WWE - 6/17/06) - Foley turns his back on ECW! All the fun stuff like barbed wire and cat fights. ***3/4

 

John Cena Vs. RVD (WWE - 6/17/06) - RVD goes for the World title. Match isn't anything special but the crowd reaction makes it memorable. ***1/2

 

Mistico Vs. Black Warrior (CMLL - 2/3 Falls Mask Vs. Mask - 9/29/06) - It's mask Vs. mask. Another great Mistico match with Black Warriors making him submit seconds into the match! ****1/4

 

LAX Vs. Christopher Daniels & AJ Styles (TNA Cage - 10/22/06) - Daniels & Styles defend the belts inside the cage! No interference from Konnan is possible. My favorite of the series. ****

 

Jimmy Jacobs Vs. B.J. Whitmer (IWA-MS I-Quit - 3/1/08) - The feud continues! Crazy match where Jacobs bleeds buckets but won't quit. ****

 

Mitsuharu Misawa Vs. Takeshi Morishima (NOAH - 3/2/08) - Misawa defends the GHC World title. 2 years from their last big match, Misawa's older and Morishima's fatter. Better than the 2006 match IMO. ****

 

Shingo Takagi & Hulk BXB Vs. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori (Dragon Gate - 3/20/08) - Pretty cool tag match with NOAH taking on Dragon gate. Think this leads to the Takagi/Hulk feud. ****

 

The Age of the Fall Vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (ROH - 4/18/08) - Awesome match. I think the MCMG were better against them then the Briscoes. Possible Top 100. ****1/4

 

The Briscoes Vs. Austin Aries & Kota Ibushi (ROH - 4/18/08) - Aries & Japanese import Ibushi worked great taking on the Briscoes. ****1/4

 

Jimmy Jacobs Vs. BJ Whitmer (IWA-MA Barbed Wire - 4/18/08) - Long bloody feud ending barbed wire match. Possible Top 100. ****1/4

 

Negro Casas Vs. Mistico (CMLL 2/3 Falls - 3/20/09) - 2 year champ Mistico defends the Welterweight title against legendary heel Casas. ***3/4

 

Mistico Vs. Negro Casas (CMLL 2/3 Falls Mask Vs. Hair - 9/18/09) - From the 76th Anniversary show. How many times has Casas lost his hair? ****

 

Survival of the Fittest 2009 (ROH - 10/10/09) - Really good Survival of the Fittest match, especially the final Roderick Strong Vs. Tyler Black matchup. ****

 

Austin Aries Vs. Davey Richards (ROH - 11/13/09) - Bit disappointed in this one as I like both guys. Long match for Aries's title. I've seen this rated very high though so you might want to check it out. ***3/4

 

Davey Richards Vs. YAMATO (DGUSA - 11/28/09) - Perfect example of a great match that will just miss my Top 100. Back and forth match for the #1 contenders spot, YAMATO looked really good here. ****1/4

[floyd]

Kenta & Kotaro Suzuki Vs. Mikami & Kudo (NOAH Differ Cup - 2/9/03) - Good tag for 3rd place in the Differ Cup. Best part was when a ladder got involved. Yes KENTA did a spot of a ladder in NOAH! ****

 

Generation Next Vs. John Walters, Jimmy Rave & The Briscoes (ROH - 5/22/04) - Awesome 40 minute 8-man tag with Generation Next debuting. EVERYONE got a chance to look great. WWE and NXT, watch this match and take notes! ****1/4

 

Jado & Gedo Vs Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue (NJ - 3/4/05) - Really good long tag where Inoue gets beat up Ricky Morton style. ****

 

Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Yokosuka & K-ness Vs. CIMA, Naruki Doi & Shingo Takagi (DG - 2/23/05) - Dragon gate-reffic 6-man tag. ***3/4

 

Kenta Kobashi & Kensuke Sasaki Vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Katsuhiko Nakajima (Kensuke Office - 2/11/06) - Tenryu's NOAH is ALL gold, and this might be a Top 100 match for me. ****1/4

 

Shawn Micheals Vs. Chris Jericho (WWE - 5/18/08) - Really good forgotten match. HBK hurts his knee. Or is he faking? ****

 

Blue Panther Vs. Atlantis (CMLL - 7/11/08) - They have another excellent match for Atlantis's 25 year anniversary. If you like scientific match wrestling you should check it out although I liked Santo Jr/Blue Panther better. ***3/4

 

Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa Vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Yuta Yoshikawa (BattlArts - 8/31/08) - Another good battle arts match but I like the July elimination match better. Stiff beatings and leg locks galore. ***3/4

 

Blue Panther Vs. Villano V (CMLL - 9/29/08) - Rematch from the upset of the decade. The unmasked Blue Panther may seem OK but he's pissed. ***1/2

 

CM Punk Vs. Jeff Hardy (WWE Loser Leaves Town Cage Match - 8/28/09) - Lots of really good near-escapes from the cage to add to the drama. ****

 

El Generico Vs. Shingo Takagi (PWG - 9/4/09) - Not as awesome as I remember but still really good especially the last few moments. ****

 

Chris Hero Vs. Bryan Danielson (PWG - 9/4/09) - Better than any of their ROH matches IMO. 40 min match during Danielson's farewell to indy tour. ****1/4

 

Desmond Wolfe Vs. Kurt Angle (TNA 3 Degrees of Pain - 12/20/09) - 2/3 Falls match. 1st-Regular match no cage allowed. 2nd-submission match no cage allowed. 3rd-Cage match. Good stuff especially the 1st 2 falls, but the crowd seemed dead to me. ***3/4

 

Koji Kanemoto Vs. Fujita Jr. Hayato (NJ - 12/22/09) - Short good J-Cup match with lots of heat. They beat the crap out of each other then have lots of nearfalls to a hot crowd. ****1/4

 

Naomichi Marufuji Vs. Prince Devitt (NJ - J-Cup Finals - 12/23/09) - J-Cup finals. Good finals and it's New Japan Vs. NOAH! Devitt brings the high flying and Marufuji the weird moves. ****

[floyd]

I've tried getting into the current wrestling scene but just can't. Nothing seems to interest me. So I've been watching some 90's matches and I figured I'd leave some of my thoughts here, as my taste is sometimes wayy off the page and I'm curious to know people's opinions on the matches.

 

The Jushin Liger Vs. Chris Benoit Trilogy (1990)

 

Whenever people thing of Liger in 1990 they think of the Sano blowoff match (and rightfully so), but I thought his series against Benoit was tremendous, even better then any of their other matches years later. As a fan of the Tiger Mask Vs. Dynamite Kid series, I really dug this alot. When they say Benoit imitated Dynamite kid there's no doubt left while watching this, EVERY bump he takes is the same as DK and even has the same expressions. And Liger was a much smoother Tiger Mask. I'm curious how the people who voted the TM/DK matches so low in the DVDVR poll feel about this series?

 

Jushin Liger Vs. Chris Benoit (NJ - 3/19/90) - Liger's the IWGP Jr. champ here. Benoit's under the mask and is known as the Pegasus Kid. Starts off slow but really picks up in the final half and was completely awesome at the end. Liger gets the win but it was back and forth down the stretch. Tremendous start to the series, I demand a rematch! ~ 15 min. ****

 

Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (NJ - 8/19/90) - The 2nd match. Tatsumi Fujinami says something before the match and practically has all the girls throwing their hotel keys and panties at him. Just as solid as the 1st match and they did even more crazy spots at the end. I really liked the TM/DK tribute arm reversals to start the match. Benoit is more aggressive and uses his power much more here including presslamming Liger to the floor then roughing him up outside. In fact while its back and forth it seems Benoit is the better wrestler tonight and he gets the win and the title after an exciting ending sequence.~ 15 min. ****

 

Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (NJ - 11/1/90) - I'm the first to admit that the first two matches had a better build up, but this last match is my favorite because of the hot crowd and more moves~!. Hey I gotta be honest. The reason for the pace is both guys ditch most of the sportmanship and are more aggressive, especially Liger who's determined to get his title back. Benoit's sporting a different victory mask here. They throw the wear down portion out the window as 10 sec in Liger is presslamed over toe ropes and eats a Benoit top rope missile dropkick to the FLOOR. Liger comes back and his a running suicide senton crashing both guys into the guardrail. After this they see who's better on the mat. Back and forth finish with both guys being exhausted but Benoit misses his top rope legdrop (that won him the title) and Liger hits a shooting star press for the title! BIG fan of this series, wrestling is fun again. ~ 12 min. ****1/4

 

*******************************************

 

Ronnie Garvin Vs. Greg Valetine (WWF - I-Quit match - 1/21/90) - Hearing Tony Schiavone commentating for WWF is weird. Cant remember the full storyline but I think Ronnie Garvin lost a retirement match and he became a ref, so Valetine kept giving him shit but then got beat up. So Valentine got Garvin's retirement stip thrown out and here we are. This is an anything goes I-Quit match. Stiff match but the I-Quit stip dint mean anything. In fact there was about 7 or 8 pinfall attempts (which the ref of course didn't count). First half I didn't think was anything special but it picked up towards the end. Both guys were wearing shin guards to protect themselves from the figure four but both were taken off by the end. Garvin comes back from a figure four to win it with a Scorpion deathlock. Not near as good as their 89 match but pretty good towards the end. ~ 16 min. ***1/2

 

Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (WCW - 2/25/90) - We're JIPPED about 10 min in and Luger is in full control until he misses a charge and crashed to the outside. Jim Ross and Terry Funk are the commentators. Flair takes over with illegal tactics while Nancy Sullivan distracts the ref. Luger comes back with the fans help and starts to work on Flairs legs (and laughably messes up a figure four attempt). The commentators and crowd is awesome and even in 1990 Flair is still the best ever. Back and forth until Flair locks on the Figure Four and Luger is about to pass out. But suddenly a crippled Sting hobbles to the ring and slaps Luger awake. Flair with Judo chops but Luger cant feel any pain now! Ref gets bumped and Luger gets some 3 counts while he snoozes. Ref wakes up just as Luger locks in the Human Torture rack for the sure title win but suddenly the horsemen rush out and stomp on Sting. Luger bails to save his friend while the ref counts 10. I'd put their Starcade 88 match a tad higher but this is awesome and is my 1990 WCW MOTY. ~ 30 min (Jipped). ****1/4

 

El Hijo Del Santo vs. Fuerza Guerrera (UWF - 6/7/90) - Fuereza is Juvy's dad and everyone should know who Santo Jr. is. In a nasty moment Santo Jr. gets hit with a 0.6 Ganzo bomb. Great stuff but wayyyyyy to short, I'd rather see these guys in a 20+ min 2/3 Falls match. Santo Jr. wins with an eletric chairdrop off the top and UWA plays Mariachi music during the replays. ***1/2

 

Aja Kong vs. Bull Nakano (AJW Cage match - 11/14/90) - This is an escape only cage match. A fight breaks out during the pre-match interview. Shit happens right away with Aja Kong ambushing Nakano on the way to the ring and jabs her with ghetto scissors before tossing her through the first 12 rows of seats. Finally in the cage and Aja Kong bites at the wound then tosses Nakano into the harsh steel. This must be a lights out match cause lights go out for a min. These girls are swinging wildly, with each blow either hitting full force or completely missing by a mile like a worked Nasty Boys match. There no top on the cage so other women from their camps were throwing in plunder to hit each other with. Nunchucks too! Nakano hits the a running off the cage MMA kick that Bryan Alverez went crazy over. Both are busted open now and Nakano get hold of the scissors and slices up Kong's arm. This is a women match by the way. With all the brutality the handlers keep trying to scale the cage to help/save their wrestler but are kept out. There is no stopping this match. Someone throws in a super long chain and Nakano ties Kong to the cage then tries to escape. Nakano's face is completely covered in blood. Memorable finish is Nakano hitting a crazy top of the cage legdrop! She then escapes the cage to get the win while the monster slumbers. A little too much sillyness for me but still pretty brutal. ~ 22 min. ***3/4

[floyd]

Jumbo Vs. Misawa in 1990

 

Jumbo Tsurua, Great Kabuki & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, & Akira Taue (AJ - 5/26/90) - Start of the feud with young Misawa's group being nexus and Jumbo is I guess John Cena. Think that makes Kawada David Otunga. . Really fun 6 man tag setting the stage and a good crowd. Jumbo smacks all 3 guys down at once like they were the three stooges. Taue looked especially good and the Jumbo Vs. Misawa moments were great (they kept teasing a huge brawl but were calmed down) leading up to their big one-on-one matchup. ~ 22 min. ****

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJ - 6/8/90) - The big match up, a match to set the new ace for the decade, kinda like Warrior/Hogan. There is a buzz in the air and the crowd if hyped for this match, especially cheering on underdog Misawa. Misawa is quick to start using his fancy dandy Tiger Mask II moves but Jumbo stops him and starts working him over 70's All japan style. Two of the stiffest clotheslines ever by Jumbo shakes the ring. Love the finish as Jumbo makes 2 or 3 small mistakes, all adding together and making him weak enough for a surprise pinfall loss. Misawa's surprised and actually shows emotion for 0.2 sec after realizing he got the win. My current 1990 MOTY. Voted #34th greatest match ever in PWT Top 100. ~ 24 min. ****3/4

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJ - 9/1/90) - This match might be better than the 1st but I like 6/8 more because of the atmosphere. Jumbo is much more aggressive here, working Misawa over outside and using a chair, he's also noticeably not making any mistakes and capitalizing on all of Misawa's. Both guys are exhausted at the end at its back and forth with nearfalls until Jumbo finally get the pin and the revenge win. Voted #89th greatest match ever in PWT Top 100. ~ 20 min. ****1/2

 

Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada (AJ - 9/30/90) - Good match but I dont love it as much as other who have called it a classic. Went to a 45 min draw. The big story was Taue, who had treacherously joined Jumbo's group, gets the crap kicked out of him and all bloodied up. The beating was so bad Taue & Jumbo were the clear fan favorites. Taue survived with his sumo slaps and this draw sets up their big RWTL rematch. ~ 40 of 45 min shown. ****

 

Jumbo Tsurua, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi (AJ - 10/19/90) - All the great 6-man tags sorta blend together, but I thought this was one of the best. Kobashi gets a broken nose and plays Ricky Morton for most of the match but refuses to give up. Fuchi get lost in these tags but I think he's tremendous, especially being a veteran heel. Taue & Kawada especially have hate for each other in this one. Great finish and a hot crowd. ~ 26 min. ****1/2

 

Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada (AJ - 12/7/90) - Although this wasn't the RWTL finals, this rematch took place on the last night and was a much faster and more exciting match. They did the old AJ storyline of the veteran Tsuruta being taken completely out so young Taue has to win or survive on his own. he get the hot tag and Jumbo takes over, then lets Taue back in to finish it up. He falls just short getting pinned by a Kawada powerbomb. ~ 19 min. ****1/4

 

Next up, Top 11 WON matches for 1990.

[floyd]

Wrestling Observer's Top 11 matches of 1990

 

11. Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (8/19/90) - Mentioned above. ****

 

10. Yoshihiro Asai vs. Negro Casas (UWF - 6/7/90) - In a few months Asai will put on a mask and go by the name Ultimo Dragon. It's Hamada's UWF which means a worked shoot style but the occasional running lucha dive is OK too. Wouldn't say its a MOTYC but a fun match. Casas mostly works submissions while Asai takes to the air. Asai wins the match with an Cross armed Ocean Suplex. Every match I see him in, Casas gets more and more awesome. ~ 17 min. ***3/4

 

9. Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton vs. Joe Malenko & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (AJ - 9/1/90) - I know alot of AJ aficionados dont see much into this match but I think it's great. A wild and fast paced match with Kikuchi, who tries to no sell everything, ends up taking all his bumps in career ending ways. Rogers and Malenko go all MMA at one point. Crowd is red hot for this one with the Fantastics getting the win after a Doomsday device and double splashes. Fantastics were fantastic even in Japan. ~ 11 min (JIPPED). ****1/4

 

8. Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (WCW - 2/25/90) - Mentioned above. ****1/4

 

7. Keiji Muto vs. Hiroshi Hase (9/14/90) - Before their famous 1992 match there was this bloody match too. Muta's the heel and rams Hase in the ringpost outside. 10 sec later Hase is covered in his own blood. Back in and Hase is in big trouble but the fans chanting his name gives him da power! Hase's making the big comeback but is starting to get woozy from blood loss. Hase tries a top rope double axe handle but Muta sprays the mist into his face midflight! Now Muta brings in some kind of banner stand and starts beating the crap out of Hase promoting a DQ. This feud isn't over and there is a great tag team match few weeks later. Hase bleeds a ton but will eventually get his receipt in the Muta Scale match a few years later. ~ 18 min. ***1/2

 

6. Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs Dragon Master & Masanobu Kurisu (FMW - Texas Deathmatch - 4/1/90) - All 4 guys are in their street clothes dressed like a Bunkhouse match. Match starts CRAZY right off the bat with Onita diving onto both of them and him and Dragon master legitimately fighting on top of the fans in the first 5 rows. In fact the entire first few rows are vacated and every chair there is used in the match. Few minutes in and all 4 guys are busted open. Say what would want about Onita's style, the dude seems to bring alot of charisma to these matches. Dragon master eats a double DDT for a fall but gets up at the 7 count. Onita's shirt comes of and he's revealed to be covered in bandages from past matches, welcome to FMW. Finally after an Onita powerbomb Kurisu is unable to get to his feet. FMW was always the ECW of Japan to me, not just for the hardcore stuff, but because it was such a break from the norm. ~ 11 min. ***3/4

 

5. The Steiners vs. The Nasty Boys (10/27/90) - A perfect match cause the Steiner needed someone to try out all their new crazy power moves and the Nasty Boys are dumb enough to take it. Steiners are defending the U.S. Tag titles. Starts off as a brawl but then Scott gets hit by a chair. Nastys work on Scott's back and keep him in their corner until Rick gets in and it ends with a nasty looking Franksteiner. After the match Nastys beat the crap out of them with the belts. ~ 16 min. ***3/4

 

4. Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WWF - 4/1/90) - Just an incredible build up to this match. It was the top 2 fan favorites and the promotions singles champions going head to head. Awesome crowd and match goes back and forth. Lots of slow stretches in this match but the crowd and atmosphere hides alot of the down time. Match goes twice as long as everyone had thought and both guys are exhausted at the end. Warriors stuns the world by avoiding the leg drop and winning the title, ushering in the Warrior era which would last the entire decade. Well maybe not.. ~ 23 min. ****1/4

 

3. Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane vs. Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong (WCW - 7/8/90) - For the U.S. tag titles. If the Feb match against the RNR Express was their greatest hits package, this was their proof to the world as to just how awesome a team they were against any opponent. Crowd is solidly behind the MxC. Lane tries to be Bruce Lee but ends up as Robert Wall instead. Southern Boys are demolishing the Express until cheating stops them in their tracks. Smother get the full treatment of double team moves and is beaten down until he makes the hot tag. Southern Boys are going crazy and it looks like new champs until Stan Lane gets a cheapshot kick to the head and the Express somehow retain once again! Crowd was INSANELY into the match by the end. As far as opening match tag team matches go, this is about as good as you will ever see. ~ 18min. ****1/2

 

2. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJ - 6/8/90) - Mentioned above. Awesome match. ****3/4

 

1. Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (NJ - 1/31/90) - Sano took the Jr title from Liger in a series of great matches in 1989. Here Liger is looking for revenge and the title back. Liger starts super fast taking lot of risks but they dont pay off and Sano takes control. Looks like another win for Sano as he nearly tears off Liger's mask and bloodies him up. it looks like Sano not only want to win the match but humiliate Liger and prove he's the future of the division. Liger refuses to lose though and eventually makes the big comeback ending with a shooting star press and officially starting New Japan's awesome Junior's era. ~20 min. ****1/2

[smkelly]

As usual, good stuff, man. I sent you a message through GMail.

[floyd]

As usual, good stuff, man. I sent you a message through GMail.

Ahh dang sorry, i never check my gmail. lemme go see if I can remember my password.

 

Stan Hansen Vs. Vader (NJ/AJ - 2/10/90) - The two biggest companies in Japan: New Japan and All Japan, held a joint show featuring both their talent. The result? 64,000 fans. My opinion of this match seems to go up or down every time I see it. I really dug it alot this time round. Super stiff match, they were both the big tough guys from each promotion so they really laid it in. So stiff in fact that Vader's eye apparently popped out of the socket legit but luckily was kept in by the swelling. Amazingly after that Vader still did some crazy bumps like coming off the top rope and fighting on the outside. I just watched Atlantis Vs. Blue Panther from 1991 and this is the exact opposite of that match. No structure. No finesse. Sloppy. Harsh language. But man did they potato the crap out of each other and the crowd loved every moment of it. ****1/4

 

Riki Choshu & George Takano vs Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask II (NJ/AJ - 2/10/90) - To say the fans are excited isn't quite enough. The crowd heat is freakishly molten. Choshu Vs. Tenryu is the big matchup people want to see. Misawa's still under the mask here. To start Misawa get dropped like a jobber so in comes Tenryu against Choshu igniting the crowd. Choshu/Tenryu beat each other up while the Juniors go to the air. Ending is both Misawa and Takano (DVDVR's fav wrestler) are on the outside nearly dead, until Misawa somehow get in the ring at the 19 count while Takano just misses it. All Japan wins by count out! Great fans dream tag. ****

 

Jerry Estrada Vs. El Satánico (EMLL - 2/3 Falls Hair Vs. Hair match - 3/23/90) - Not much of Hair Vs. Hair match to me. Something was lacking especially the hatred and the desperation not to lose that these matches usually have. Best part was when Estrada goes to the top rope but a fan grabs his leg to save heel Satánico's hair. Satanico wins the final fall and Estrada has to cut his pretty hair. 14 women in the stands faint. ***1/2

 

Terry Gordy & Dr. Death Steve Williams vs. Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey (AJ - 4/18/90) - A manly match for the Miracle Violence Connections tag belts. Four tough foreigners beat the tar out of each other. Dr. Death and Spivey especially seem to hate each other. For such a stiff match this goes pretty long, almost 20 minutes. Not quite at the top for me but worth checking out. ***3/4

 

El Dandy, El Satánico & Emilio Charles Jr. vs. Atlantis, Javier Cruz & Angel Azteca (EMLL - 2/3 Falls - 5/11/90) - Great 30 min trios match. The Dandy Vs. Azteca had so many great tags matches in 1990, it reminds me of the All Japan and Dangerous Alliance 6-man tags, where they were ALL awesome and sometimes it's hard to pick the best of the bunch. Never a dull moment. CMLL TV in 1990 was incredible. ****1/4

 

El Dandy vs. Angel Azteca (EMLL - 2/3 Falls - 6/1/90) - Azteca's defending the Middleweight title here. Awesome match. Although they're feuding this is a scientific title match to see who the better wrestler is. Superb matwork for the first fall which Azteca wins with a bearhug/chickwing submission. Dandy evens it up in the 2nd with a crucifix pin. 3rd fall they take more risks and lots of nearfalls. Back and forth Dandy finally gets the pin and the title at the 37 min mark. I might be overrating this a bit but then who the hell am I to doubt El Dandy? MOTY stuff. ****3/4

 

El Dandy vs. El Satánico (EMLL - 2/3 Falls Hair Vs. Hair Match - 12/14/90) - Former tag team partners collide. Right before the match Satanico smashes El Dandy's pretty face into the post busting him wide open. Dandy's in big time trouble to begin the match but somehow surprises everyone with a flash pin for the 1st fall! 2nd fall Satanico is pissed and keeps up the pressure. He evens it up with a submission win. Dandy's white trunks are completely red now. 3rd fall Satanico goes crazy with his blade and is just pouring blood. Lots of great nearfalls at the end. Finish is something. Ref gets bumped out of the ring but quickly returns. But when he returns good guy El Dandy is faking that Satanico kicked him in the balls. The ref awards El Dandy the 3rd fall! Gah what a way to lose your hair, but it's still better than how Love machine lost his mask. Great Hair Vs. Hair match! ****1/4

[floyd]

Wrestling Observer's Top 18 Matches of 1991 - Part 1 of 3

 

*****************************

 

#18. Ric Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (NJ/WCW - 3/21/91) - Maybe the 2 best workers in the 80's finally meet for the WCW World title. OK match, bit of a disappointment. Goes ~ 25 min and Flair gets busted open. Towards the end the ref (a WCW official) gets bumped out of the ring. While he's out Flair gets backdropped over the top rope which is an automatically DQ. But the ref is out and doesn't see it, so the match continues and a New Japan ref comes in and counts the 3 for Fujinami! Tatsumi Fujinami is the new WCW World champ! Well not really... Yes they pulled a Dusty finish in front of 65,000 at the Tokyo Dome! ***

 

#17. Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Esther Moreno & Manami Toyota (AJW 2/3 Falls - 4/29/91) - I had never heard of this match before but WOW was this AWESOME. Went ~ 30 minutes, this is for Jungle Jack's tag team titles. There is no scarier wrestler in history than Aja Kong.

1st Fall) Kong & Kimura are just to much for the undersized girls and toss them around the ring like garbage. Moreno & Toyota just wont stop moving though and stun the giants by winning the falls with double moonsaults.

2nd fall) Moreno get busted open BAD and her face is just covered in blood. The first two falls are non-stop action at a ridiculous pace and ends when Bison pins Moreno with a Tiger Mask I twisting splash from the top.

3rd Fall) Jungle jack is determined to slow down the pace and starts using submission moves but it all goes bonzo gonzo again. In one cool sequence all the women do dives to the outside including the Vader-like Kong flying off the top turnbuckle to the floor!! Finally Kong ends it with a top rope piledriver onto Toyota for the pin. I'll have to watch it again but right now this might be my new MOTY for 1991. ****1/2

 

#16. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ - 10/24/91) - Kawada gets a crack at the Triple Crown in a big matchup. Bryan Alverez would love this match cause it's so simple. In fact Kawada only uses 3 holds for the first 3/4th of the match (headlock, abdominal stretch and sleeper hold). But he so bound and determined to keep these holds on that Jumbo cant get any offense in and is quickly weakening. Eventually Jumbo ruins the party and makes the comeback and gets the win after two belly to back suplexes. But Kawada's plan almost worked. ****1/4

 

#15. Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart (NJ - 4/27/91) - A match from that years Best of Super Juniors tournament. Pretty good back and forth match, I don't love it quite as much as others but understand why. ****

 

#14. Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair (WWF - 10/25/91) - In the 80's people debated who would win this anticipated match but of course everyone knew it would never happen. From Oakland, this is their first meeting ever. God bless fans and their cams. Short but good match. the crowd is INSANE like a early 80's MSG main event. Flair actually wins the match and the title (by cheating) and parades the belt around until a 2nd ref runs in and stooges the truth. So Hogan retains... this time... Why wasn't this a WM main event? Oh yeah Sid was the future. Instead I had to wait till 94 to see this match and have Shaquille O'Neal involved. ***1/2

 

#13. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ - 5/24/91) - Only the last 10 minutes are shown. I would actually rate this higher if it was the full match. This is the opposite of Kawada/Jumbo, this is all action and nearfalls with Kobashi keeping the pace fast. But once again Jumbo proved too much for these kids. ****1/4

 

#12. Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (NJ - 10/18/91) - Good match, nothing too spectacular, from New Japan. Benoit had lost his mask to Liger a few month before. The cool thing about this is my only copy is the WCW showing so you had Jim Ross calling it. ***3/4

 

 

I also watched:

 

Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue vs. Bison Kimura & Aja Kong (AJW - 1/11/91 - Double Hair Vs. Hair Match) - The Aja Kong Vs. Nakano feud continues, this time they bring in their friends. Whichever team loses has their head shaved! Starts off as a tag match with rules and stuff but then 2nd half its anything goes including plunder and cheating. Jungle Jack takes the loss and unlike Kevin Nash, has more balls and gets their hair shaved off. ****

 

The Rockers Vs. The Orient Express (WWF - 1/19/91) - Liked this alot more than I remembered. Long opening tag match (20+ min). Both teams recreate a RnR Vs. MxC match. Rockers are way too much for them to start but evil Japanese cheating gives the Express the advantage. The Rockers were great as always but the Orient Express really impressed me here. Rockers come back and get the win. Lots of high flying here for WWF back in the day. Hot crowd and a solid match = thumbs up. ****1/4

 

Brazo De Oro, Brazo De Plata & El Brazo vs MS-1, Pirata Morgan & Satanico (CMLL - 2/3 Falls - 11/22/91) - Pretty cool trios match to crown the 1st CMLL 6-mans title. Super Porky is the biggest (literally) star here doing crazy moves and bouncing people around with his fat belly power. Los Infernales get the win at the end and the shiny new belts. ****