NintendoLogic

I'd go with Rey/Eddy from Halloween Havoc. It has basically everything you want a match to have-good psychology, great athleticism, and strong character work. And it's short enough that a newbie won't be intimidated by the length.

Did Sgt. Slaughter ever do any tours of Japan in the early 80s? You would think that a big ugly brawling American hoss would be tailor-made for Japan. And he was a million times the worker Sheik and Abdullah were.

6/3/94 so I can dance in the stands with that one guy.

I'm not sure WCW was much better than the WWF in 1993, if at all. WCW was a trainwreck that year. But yeah, if I had to pick a single year, I'd go with 1993 with 1989 a close second.

I recall reading that Stu liked Whalen because Stampede's business ups and downs largely coincided with whether he was doing the announcing.

I actually thought that Taue was the star of this match. He was practically a one-man wrecking crew for his team, to the point where Hansen seemed like a weak link. Excellent match overall, especially with how it managed to confound expectations. When you've watched enough All Japan, you become so used to matches ending with one guy being buried under an avalanche of offense that when someone does manage to turn the tide at the last second, it stands out.

Joe/Nakamura at Takeover was a MOTYC.

Then why is Jimmy Lennon in?

Jimmy Lennon was one of the guys Dave put in by fiat, so I doubt that's it.

When did Meltzer say he thought Finkel should be in? I recall him being fairly dismissive of the idea, saying that a HOF-level ring announcer wouldn't have been replaced by Lilian Garcia.

http://www.wwe.com/article/frenchy-martin-passes-away Bonne nuit, doux prince.

Ultimo Dragon belongs on this list before Jericho and Punk.

It all makes sense now. If you don't like big All Japan matches post-6/3/94, that would explain how you could think that All Japan was falling apart in 1998 and 1999. On the other hand, rich man's KENTA is the perfect encapsulation of Danielson's WWE career.

I've noticed that it's a lot easier for me to make it through long (say, >30) matches when I watch them in fullscreen mode. Being able to see the progress bar and know how much time is remaining completely drains my attention span. Also, I really liked the Okada/Marufuji IWGP match. I've never cared much for Marufuji, but I dig his current Chopbashi tribute act. However, I was confused when Okada jumped over the guardrail and hit Marufuji with a flying crossbody. I thought going over the guardrail was an automatic DQ in New Japan. At least, it was in the 80s. When did that fall by the wayside?

http://fightnetwork.com/news/6576040:anthem-statement-on-investment-in-tna-impact-wrestling/ Unbelievable.

It sucks if that's the version on the set because it cuts out the best part of the match: Hansen cackling manically after ramming Kobashi into the ringpost. Anyway, it turns out that Hansen's last Triple Crown match was by far his best. As great as Hansen was, I've generally found his TC matches to be disappointing. Part of that was because the title was held so often by Jumbo and MIsawa, who he had no chemistry with, but even against guys like Kawada, he seemed to be holding back somewhat. He wasn't a pure technician by any means, but he did more working of holds and less brawling on the outside than usual. I suspect he had the idea that title matches were supposed to be clean technical affairs and tried to work accordingly, which neutralized his greatest strengths. I guess he figured that this was probably going to be his last shot, so he might as well go out on his own terms. And like everyone other than OJ said, this match is awesome. It's hard to believe that a promotion as thoroughly scoured as 90s All Japan could have some hidden gems (and a Kobashi Triple Crown match is pretty much the definition of hiding in plain sight), but here we are.

The Internet's got the scoops, brother.

It seemed to me that Orton was more "I respect his right to protest, I just disagree with the way he chose to do it." At least, that's how he put it on Booker T's radio show. And I don't see how that stance would hurt him. WWE loves to wrap itself in the flag almost as much as the NFL does.

I watched this match for the first time in several years, and it's actually a lot less bloated than I remembered it being. In fact, it probably has the best slow build of any match I've ever seen. The first big nearfall doesn't come until more than 30 minutes in, which is nothing short of astonishing. And I didn't have a problem with Misawa not selling the arm at the end because Kobashi had long since stopped targeting it. I do agree that the finishing run was excessive-specifically, the TD91 should have ended the match. The Emerald Flowsion being above the TD91 in Misawa's finisher hierarchy has never sat well with me. But the good in this match far outweighs the bad. I'd rate this the second-best Misawa/Kobashi match by a comfortable margin.

Holy cow, this was great. And not just great by 2000 Vader standards, either. I thought this was legitimately on par with his WCW classics. Vader is just as brutal as you want him to be (the chokeslam onto the table and the powerbomb onto the floor is quite the 1-2 punch), but he also bumps and sells huge to make Akiyama look like a legitimate threat. And there's no sluggish moments, unlike most post-WCW Vader matches. Some spotty selling takes it down a bit, but this is still well worth going out of your way to see.

I'd go Starrcade/GAB/Superbrawl (and if this poll is any indication, I'm literally the only person who feels that way). I've never been a fan of the strap match gimmick.

I'd say the main thing that separates NWA-style matwork from other styles is the lack of urgency. Working a single hold for minutes at a time isn't uncommon, and even established submission finishers rarely cause an instant tap-out. That doesn't make it inferior, though. In fact, I voted for NWA style because I prefer matwork to be methodical enough that you can see the gears turning. When it's done right, it feels like a chess match. Unfortunately, most wrestlers are too unskilled or lazy to work at that level, so it usually feels like they're just killing time.

Updated my US/Japan/Mexico MOTY list.

I've seen this done before in a couple of places, and I think it's a cool concept. Mitsuharu Misawa of the Year Bret Hart of the Year Stan Hansen of the Year Steve Austin of the Year Vader of the Year Kenta Kobashi of the Year

They're wear-down holds. They're not going to win matches on their own, but they make opponents more susceptible to high-impact moves. It's like running the ball up the middle in football.