1998

Will update at the end of each month, not looking for a particular top 50 or 100 or anything, just adding matches I thought were of particular MOTYC quality. Through January: Kiyoshi Tamura vs Mikhail Ilioukhine (RINGS 01/21/98) Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato (GAEA 01/15/98) Sandman vs Sabu (ECW House Party 01/10/98) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW 01/26/98) Yuki Ishikawa vs Alexander Otsuka (BattlARTS 01/20/98) 1998's January certainly had nothing on 1999's January.

Another year in the books. This year transcended some pretty big moments in my real life in becomming a father and this was one of the more nostalgic years I have went through as I was completely locked in with both of the big two around this point. I don't think the consistent match quality is here as in other years in the decade, and each promotion has times where it dips overall but this was still an enjoyable time trekking through the year. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 10/31/98) (*****) Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 6/27/98) (*****) Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 6/12/98) (*****) Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW 7/24/98) …

Post them here.

January: #1 - Kiyoshi Tamura vs Mikhail Ilioukhine (RINGS 01/21/98) ****1/2 #2 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW 01/26/98) ***3/4 #3 - Yuki Ishikawa vs Alexander Otsuka (BattlARTS 01/20/98) ***3/4 #4 - Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker (WWF Royal Rumble 01/18/98) ***3/4 #5 - Raven vs Chris Benoit (WCW Souled Out 01/24/98) ***1/2 #6 - Mr. Aguila, Pantera, Salsero & Venum Black vs Juventud Guerrera, Mosco De La Merced, Pantera Del Ring & Super Crazy (Promo Azteca 01/30/98) ***1/2 #7 - Rey Misterio Jr. vs Juventud Guerrera (WCW Thunder 01/15/98) ***1/2 #8 - Ultimo Dragon vs Shinjiro Otani (NJPW Tokyo Dome 01/04/98) ***1/2 #9 - Etsuko Mita & Mima Shim…

#100 - Toshiaki Kawada vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW 03/26/98) #99 - Terry Funk vs Mick Foley (WWF Monday Night RAW 05/04/98) #98 - Diamond Dallas Page vs Chris Benoit vs Raven (WCW Uncensored 03/15/98) #97 - Mens Teoh vs Shoichi Funaki (Michinoku Pro 01/14/98) #96 - Masato Tanaka vs Mr. Gannosuke (FMW 01/06/98) #95 - Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page (WCW Halloween Havoc 10/25/98) #94 - Booker T vs Chris Benoit (WCW Saturday Night 05/30/98) #93 - Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki vs Toshiyo Yamada & Meiko Satomura (GAEA 12/27/98) #92 - Ric Flair vs Bret Hart (WCW Souled Out 01/24/98) #91 - Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato (…

Apparently the 1998 Yearbook is a definitive list... WCW US Champion Diamond Dallas Page vs Bret Hart - WCW World War III WCW gives their best two working main eventers over 15 minutes and it pays off with a very good match unfortunately in front of a dead crowd. Most WCW main events are short due to the nature of the wrestlers, but DDP and Bret Hart have proven themselves to be the two best main eventers in the company and glad they were rewarded with the main event slot. DDP won the US Title from Hart the night after the famous DDP/Goldberg Halloween Havoc match in a great short match which really showcased DDP's grit. Bret Hart threw a temper tantrum after t…

Top 100 Matches of 1998 1. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW 6/5/1998) 2. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 6/27/1998) 3. El Hijo del Santo vs Felino (Monterrey 10/18/98) 4. Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda (BattlARTS 5/27/98) 5. Shinobu Kandori v. Yumiko Hotta (LLPW 3/21/98) 6. Yuki Ishikawa vs Alexander Otsuka (BattlARTS 01/20/98) 7. Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobutaka Araya (WAR 01/14/98) 8. Shinya Hashimoto vs Kazuo Yamazaki (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/02/98) 9. Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW Super Power Series 06/12/98) 10. Genichiro Tenryu vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 8/1/1998) 11. Yuki Ishikawa &a…