Superstar Sleeze

In general contention for the Top 8 is Misawa vs Akiyama from 2000, 3/1/03, Tenryu vs Mutoh 2001, Kobashi vs Takayama 2000, Kobash/Takayama 2004, Nagata & Izuka vs Kawada & Fuchi, BatBat Tag from 2008 and Kobashi/Ogawa. I think Misawa vs Akiyama will be my number one. Childs, I did not see a comment for Kobashi vs Takayama from 2000. I really liked that one a lot and will probably make my top 5. Did you watch it?

Except Russia's relationship with Europe has been strange throughout it's his history whether European facing with Peter The Great or separate under the USSR and to this day not in the EU. Russia is nominally in Europe, but seems too separate. I rather go with the Russian Heavyweight Champion.

I think that is the way to go or Reigns/Rock vs HHH/Batista or HHH/Rollins for Reigns at Wrestlemania.

This match epitomizes pro wrestling and is by far my favorite Japanese match of the 2000s. To me this illustrates how pro wrestling can transcend time and cultures and it can be when done correctly the greatest form of entertainment in existence. It probably won't be my top match for the decade, but top 6 no doubt. *****

GHC Heavyweight Champion Jun Akiyama vs GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA - NOAH 5/17/09 This is not Hashimoto vs Liger, but it is still a pretty good match with Akiyama looking his sharpest since the 2006 Taue match. Funny how he started the decade with an excellent match working on Misawa's neck and he will end the decade with another solid effort working over the neck of KENTA. KENTA's logical progression to the top of the NOAH mountain as he gets a big Heavyweight title match against one of the Five Pillars. Challenging Marufuji at the Budokan was a big deal and could have been a watershed moment for Pro Wrestling NOAH, but Misawa decided to reset with himself on top for a year. Here in 2009, KENTA gets another crack and will eventually become the champion in 2013 for approximately a year. For as much grief as I do give KENTA, credit where credit is due when he is game for a great match, the dude can flat out deliver. I am not blaming him for the match losing fizz at the end, but that's more of a layout problem than an individual performance issue. The beginning was really well done with KENTA only be able to gain the advantage through big head shots. The strike exchanges early on make more sense to me than strike exchanges in the middle because you are still jockeying for position, It makes more sense to me, KENTA is undersized and needs to go for these home runs to just maintain control. My big problem becomes very apparent early and often. KENTA never presses his advantage. KENTA, this is the time to go a million miles per hour and you don't, for shame. There was just no urgency in the match. They were building drama by taking their sweet time and just was not doing much for me. KENTA gets nailed with a brainbuster and that's the end of his dominance. Akiyama tortures KENTA's neck and this maybe KENTA's all-time greatest selling performance. The way he screamed and contorted his face during every Akiyama head yank was amazing. Akiyama is the God King of neck work and this was by far the best of the match and if they went home earlier this would be MOTYC for 2009. You know what bothers me and it is not just KENTA so I don't mean to single him out, but it is when you are perched on top and you just wait for the guy to get up to hit your flying clothesline. It is just makes Akiyama look stupid and it is pretty business-exposing. Why would you want your opponent to get in a more advantageous position than prone lying on the mat. Also KENTA should have been making covers on the those early head kicks. Wrestlers trying to win matches is what will get over. I loved Akiyama's back elbow to cutoff KENTA and then nearly takes his head off with a lariat. The sequence after this has to be seen as Akiyama absolutely murders KENTA with just about every way you could think to drop him on his neck and then applies his Guillotine Choke. That should have been the finish. Then upcoming KENTA finish run should have been slotted before that amazing stretch of offense by Akiyama. KENTA's first big comeback was fine, but really felt superfluous again I loved the Akiyama cutoff of a quick knee during the G2S hoist. Akiyama looked awesome here. Akiyama still has more cool neck related offense, super Back Drop Driver and a lifted Double Arm DDT. He is just the gift that keeps on giving. The moment of the match is that KENTA is trying to pick himself up using the ropes after being destroyed and he is almost standing and Akiyama comes over and nails him with a knee to the chin. Awesome! KENTA hits Go 2 Sleep out of a Akiyama choke attempt, which is his big false finish. KENTA's kicks to the head were awful and he whiffed on two. Akiyama hits the jumping knee as KENTA went for his knee and Akiyama polishes him off with his Exploders. They just ran out of steam. I love Akiyama destroying someone's neck as much as the next person, but this just went on too long. There was not that urgency that would have created more drama. Trimming back 10 minutes and moving shit around could have been this an all-time great match, but I still think is an amazing KENTA selling performance and Akiyama showcases how vast his offensive arsenal is. ****

It would have been the perfect Misawa retirement match. It is too bad he kept going.

I am surprised you have the Taue match so low other than that it seems pretty close to mine (well I need to rewatch the Honda match because I don't think I got Honda at the time). I am about to rewatch a good chunk of his reign so I will have my finalized list soon.

How is this a feather in Kanemoto's cap? It is the Wataru show through and through. Kanemoto is a weird wrestler for me. He just does nothing for me. I can think of some great matches like Fujita 09, NOAH vs NJ match and the 2000 junior tags, but too often he leaves me cold. He is not very good at sustaining his selling. He will blow it off rather readily. Even someone like KENTA who blows off selling constantly is better at the actual selling portion of the match. I would actually prefer to watch KENTA to Kanemoto more often than not. Minoru Tanaka should have been the junior of the year, but it is all moot because he never built on his greatness at the early part of the decade. I would probably argue for Nakajima or Fujita Hayato even if they came on at the latter part of the decade.

Hogan & Hart definitely should have happened. Hogan vs Nash in 1998 would have been huge (watch the April 20th Nitro when Nash powerbombs Hogan people lose their shit) and would have been a direction for the very aimless WCW. A well-executed NWO Civil War would have allowed WCW to compete with WWF through 1998.

Craziest thing was I could not remember a single thing from this match. I knew I loved it, but couldn't remember anything. I don't know why because this was awesome. It was different than your Kikuchi vs Liger tags, but I would not say a step down. It was about Liger trying to beat some respect into the new kids and I thought this was very heated in the beginning and settled into a more typical tag formula. I loved Liger throwing KENTA to Fuji and saying come get me big boy. Very rarely do we get CLash of the Titans in the Juniors, but that's how it felt. You could tell how amped Liger was to be in there. Dives were great. KENTA FIP rocked it, Camel Clutch with those Murahama kicks, HOT DAMN! Liger saves us from a shitty Marufuji hot tag by palm striking him to Hell and then actually catching him with a cool powerbomb. Usually that spot looks like shit, but looked like a million bucks there. KENTA/Murahama/Minoru Tanaka Round Robin should have been booked circa 2003 to blow everyone's minds. KENTA exploding knee Doomsday Device should have been the finish because there is no way that finish ever looks that good, but Marufuji's Shooting Star Press looked pretty. Don't let KENTAFuji scare you, this is a damn fine match. There could ahve been better transitions and some more sustained selling. ****1/4

Still love this match. Holy fuck, were they hitting each other hard for the first 15 minutes, damn. This match is not much in the way of selling, but I loved the ferocity and intensity of the fighting. I thought the finish stretch was tons of fun and made Minoru Tanaka into a big star in his new promotion. I loved him using Ohtani's moves against. Holy hell, those Ohtani powerbombs. I love Kanemoto saving Tanaka and hitting an overhead belly to belly on Ohtani. One of the best high-octane thrill rides of the decade, I liked this better than all of the NOAH vs New Japan tags. I know I am in the minority, but I found this more entertaining. They are definitely close, but I thought this was more fun. ****1/2

Thank you for saving me trouble of whether or not I should rewatch this.

I am just not seeing it guys. Gave it a second go around and I definitely underrated it, but I do not think this matches the level of heat of the first two matches, which I think are the classics of the series. The NJPW crowd was not as hot throughout and I think that has to do with the fact they basically switched babyfaces and heels mid-way through the match. I would have liked to see Tanaka and Liger get a chance to play the babyfaces in the match and from the beginning portion you think that will get to happen. Liger was by far the best wrestler in this match and he is a great heel, but it would be nice to see him play face one more time. Liger has been the best wrestler in each of these matches, but this was probably his best performance as he knew he could not rely on an inherently hostile crowd so he really ratcheted it up. I liked how the Tanaka heat segment played into that. Kikuchi and Kanemaru were dicks to him and Tanaka. So he gets outright violent to Kikuchi and actually heels himself. That's dedication! I loved the crazy stomps while he was down. The problem I had was that the rest of them were just wrestling this as a really good match not as a violent brawl. Tanaka is a great championship wrestler, but would have liked so more violence out of him. Kikuchi is a great hard working rough around the edges babyfaces. I loved his palm strike catch. The finish run was the longest of the series and finally gives us Liger/Kikuchi, but I just did not think it had the same energy as the other finish runs. It is a great match, no doubt, but not on the level of the first two matches even though this is the best individual Liger performance. ****

On first watch, this was favorite of the series and on rewatch this trumps the February match because how much stronger the story is and how each segment has more memorable spots. The February match has a more brutal Wataru Inoue performance but Minoru Tanaka was so on fire at this point that his cocky character added plenty to this match. I loved the beginning with Kikuchi getting the deep double wristlock on Minoru Tanaka and then Liger using the ref to apply a cross armbreaker to him. I thought the arm attack being much more focused in this match gave this more direction. I liked how when Kikuchi started to rev up Minoru calmly kicked him in the head. Once Kanemaru got in, the TESTICULAR PSYCHOLOGY~! was off the charts awesome. Kikuchi brought the heat back with some great spears. Not to be outdone Kanemaru goes for Liger's mask and shit gets red-hot. I loved the finish run with Minoru exhibiting his awesome submission skills and Kikuchi's resiliency. Lets see if August can top this. I have this at #2 for 2002 right now. ****1/2

Definitely one of the matches I knew I underrated and on rewatch this was one of the most heated matches of the decade. Wataru looked way, way better here than he did in 2005 playing the spunky rookie that gets his ass kicked by Gedo & Jado. Dont get me wrong, he did a fantastic job in the role, but he showed it here he was way, way above the role. You would never even know how young he was here. He was presented totally on the level with Kikuchi and Kanemaru. On the outside in the beginning when Kikuchi is forearming him, his look was total "You better starting throw those harder" before he crushed him with forearms of his own. He was just rocking the rest of the match with stiff shots and oozing confidence. Minoru Tanaka vs Wataru Inoue should have rejuvenated the NJPW junior heavyweight division. Kanemaru added a bit of fun with his Rat Boy-lite gimmick I loved him coming in off the first hot tag with a school boy roll up and feet on his rope with everyone cheering. Of course, Kanemaru low blowing Liger and then accidentally low blowing Kikuchi was fucking awesome. After the absolute ass kicking the NOAH boys take for the first 3/4s, you knew they were going to take this one and that Wataru was going to take the fall. I liked Kanemaru's finish run just fine good splashes and suplexes get the win. Kikuchi was badass at selling the pain, but also firing up at the same time. He had such a great facial expression while Wataru had him in the camel clutch and Liger put his foot in his face. It just exuded "When I get out of here, I am going to kick both your fucking asses". I loved how he stepped through his forearms and almost tripped over himself sometimes landing them. How about the heat on that cross armbreaker on Liger, that was some great shit. Liger was the Man in this. He was the greatest junior of all time and this showed why. He owned this match and never let it get out of his command. Kanemaru gets on a roll, Kappo Kick and a wicked powerbomb. Kikuchi thinks he has him beat with the cross armbreaker and it is a palm strike to the face with his other hand. Liger was such a great heel in riling the crowd up from the jumping the NOAH guys at the bell, to the foot in the face and the one foot cover. The New Japan guys kicked some serious ass, but the NOAH boys did well in front of their home crowd to mount the comeback. One of the better comebacks in wrestling history because Liger & Wataru had put them in such a hole, but you could feel them fighting through it. The post-match crowd brawl sets up Minoru Tanaka's involvement for the sequel. I got this #3 in 2002 so far, but lets see how the rematches do. ****1/2

Most bitchin!

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 the match and attacked DDP with a chair targetting his knee. This is the rematch with Hart looking to regain the US Title and DDP looking to exact some revenge. DDP starts it off hot with a plancha onto the outside and then whipping Bret Hart into the railing. Bret Hart is in reverse throughout the entire match, but finally mounts some offense in the form of pulling DDP's throat across the top rope. Bret Hart's offense in WCW reminds me a lot of his work as a tag wrestler. It can come off as cold, mechanical and perfunctory. It is technically amazing, but lacks the zeal behind it. DDP is great at disturbing Bret Hart's flow with hope spots like an inside cradle and teasing the Diamond Cutter. I love how the Diamond Cutter had been built up. DDP even busts out the tombstone reversal spot and his own very ugly Sharpshooter. This all helps make the match feel unique compared to the usual Bret Hart broomstick match. I liked that Bret Hart was nominally in control the whole time, but DDP was peppering his offense, but when it comes time to get heat both get on their A-game. Bret Hart low blows DDP. Hart goes after DDP's leg with zeal. DDP's leg selling and Bret's offense execution are a match made in heaven and this elevates the match to another level of drama. Bret's cheating has gained him the advantage, can DDP's grit take him to victory? DDP sends him over the top rope, but his knee is really bothering him. He is only moving forward I love this compared to Bret's backpeddling early, exactly how a face and heel should be. DDP gets the ring-post figure-4 and now wants a chair. I wish the match had more of a brawl feel to it, before DDP just sort of grabs the chair. I guess he was low blowed and Bret Hart did mess up his knee with a chair, but maybe have Bret introduce first, seems a little out of left field. Hart sends DDP into the ref. NWO ref calls the match in favor of Bret once he gets DDP into the Sharpshooter. However, Mickey Jay actually has some stones and tells this numbnuts to fuck off. BANG~! DIAMOND CUTTER! Lil Naitch counts the pinfall victory for DDP! Wow a screwy finish benefitting the babyfaces, a little overbooked, but hey at least my main man, DDP goes over! Bret Hart has had a lot of good matches that he has sort of slept walked through, but DDP forces him to change his game up. The drama really builds during the leg psychology, but the finish drags this down a bit as you wish DDP just got his revenge outright. It also lacks some of the emotional heat as their sweet Nitro match. Still one of the better WCW main events of the year and worth watching. ***1/2

Ric Flair vs Eric Bischoff - WCW Nitro 12/28/98 Battle for WCW Presidency NOW WE GO TO SCHOOL!!! This is awesome badass fundamental wrestling that makes you smile. From the crowd going crazy for Flair to the Horsemen carrying Bischoff to the ring, just plain fun wrestling. Flair kicks Bischoff's ass from pillar to post and the crowd is rocking with a "Bischoff Sucks!" chant. The NWO comes out, but the Horsemen head them off at the pass. The Giant is here. He makes it to the ring, but it is RANDY SAVAGE~! WHAT THE FUCK! I don't remember this. He is in an NWO shirt, but low blows the Giant! AWESOME! How cool would a Savage/Flair team been after all the years of animosity. Hot damn! Flair applies the figure-4. Bischoff screams like a girl and Flair wins the Presidency! Tony tells the guys he is going to the ring to celebrate with Da Man, Flair. Fuck the haters, Tony was the voice of my childhood and he is the best! Great segment to end the year and the first feel good moment in WCW since July when Goldberg won the title. Fun, fun, fun.

Ric Flair vs "Easy E" Eric Bischoff - WCW Starrcade 1998 I thought this was oddly heatless given the participants and their history. I have never had a good feel on DC crowds. Being in the middle of traditional hotbeds like the Northeast and Southeast mean they sort of lack an identity and is not a place I associate with wrestling. Flair was red hot coming back in September in one of the most amazing Nitro segments of all time. Watch the Four Horsemen Reunion if you never have. Flair was out for Bischoff's blood. Bischoff is the perfect cowardly sleazebag. These types of matches are among my favorites. It is just such a crowd please to watch the babyface kick the ass of the chump, who has been tormenting him for months. I had forgotten Bischoff had stolen a kiss from Flair's wife. That is awesome sleaze shit! Flair kick Sleazy E's ass right now! Flair mauls Bischoff to start and I am loving, but the crowd seems less than enthused. Bischoff blows off all of Flair's offense to hit a head kick and then jog around Flair. I get that Bischoff is a karate expert and his kicks are perfectly fine, but you got to sell Flair's incensed attack, brutha. You are killing it. Flair draws color off the railing. The crowd sort of comes alive for Bischoff's antics, but I hate that Bischoff no-sold all of Flair's offense. Flair hits two low blows and Tony is losing his shit over this. Tony is really good calling this and is a good cheerleader without coming off as hokey. I don't think Cole could pull something like this off. Flair rips the shirt off for chops and hits Shattered Dreams. Figure-4 time and that means here comes Hennig in the Perfect Purple Suit to hand Bisch the foreign object to win the match. All the Flair offense was fine and I liked Bischoff as a heel, but the context necessitated he couldn't be pulling that bullshit, he needed to do that before he got his ass kicked if he wanted to do it, but that would have killed the mood so save that shit for the Nitro buildup. Let's see how the Nitro match the following night goes.

Was Chris Benoit injured in the summer of 1998 (July-October) or taking a break?

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg vs Kevin Nash - WCW Starrcade 1998 Goldberg is such a unique force in wrestling at this time that I think it was nearly impossible to have a match that was any less than good. He had that big match aura and everything he did seemed like it could knock you out. The key was never to treat him like a normal wrestler. The closest approximation is modern day Brock Lesnar. All his matches have instantaneous cache and everybody has to change their working style to meet Lesnar. I love wrestlers that force other wrestlers out of their comfort zone. Goldberg is definitely that type of wrestler. He is also the perfect babyface vs. babyface champion. WCW was absolutely loaded with babyfaces at this point so it worked out well for WCW and Goldberg. I think the result has been unfairly criticized. I think the Fingerpoke of Doom was a far, far more egregious blunder. If they built to a proper Nash vs Hogan money match at SuperBrawl or what have you, then this result would have been worth it. Goldberg had to lose and I am of the opinion the earlier the better. You can't prop him up with the streak forever. His value is in the silent badass super athlete and that aura. He was not killed by this loss, but killed by the fact he became just another wrestler on the roster who took heat segments and made comebacks. His matches should have been jarring with constant hope spots and cutoffs. The matches should have fucked with the standard wrestling formula. In fact, I thought the reason this match ended up being worse than DDP match was that towards the end Nash started to make Goldberg into a normal wrestler. Yes, he needed the low blow to set it up, but then it was standard Nash offense: the side slam, the stradle onto the the ropes, the forearms to the back. It felt like he was wrestling anybody else. Compare that to earlier when they started the match perfectly with Nash raising the Wolfpac signal and Goldberg raising his arms. You knew the crowd was 50/50 and red hot. I loved the locked up and headlock. There was so much intensity and struggle in that headlock. I loved Goldberg turning Nash's leg choke into a single leg takedown. Fucking Nash busting out a cross armbreaker was neat. Nash taking a seat off a Goldberg punch was up there with a Kawada sell of a punch as cool. BOOM! SPEAR! I thought the beginning was better than the stretch with Nash on offense, but that may have been Nash married to traditional wrestling formula rather than thinking outside the box. Goldberg begins to start unload the big slams and gets nearfalls? That is too normal. That is not Goldberg. Hall tazering Goldberg is not awful. They needed to protect Goldberg and it is not the worst way. Plus Goldberg really milked it with his spasms. Goldberg is an underrated seller in general. It is a good match, but too normal of a match if you know what I mean. ***

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg vs Kevin Nash vs Bam Bam Bigelow - WCW Nitro 12/07/98 Bigelow's debut in November was some of the best TV they had produced in a long time and took Bigelow who had been flirting with the main event his whole career a bonafide main eventer upon debut. However, the plan was for Nash vs Goldberg at the PPV so they had to work that in there somewhere so we get this clusterfuck. I am with Stone Cold, triple threats fucking suck. Bigelow/Goldberg already feels like some heat has dissipated because the nature of the Triple Threat means Bigelow needs to take a break at times to let Big Sexy in. Nash lets them fight first, but at the first sign of a pin he cuts it off. I am really interested in Nash and Goldberg at Starrcade because I think it will be a pretty big styles clash, but I think Nash has a pretty solid grasp on wrestling psychology and it might turn out fine. Pretty much the match was really exciting whenever Goldberg was doing explosive offense. The Nash and Bigelow covering Goldberg and the other saving was lame. Hall attacks Bigelow. That would actually be a good match for Starrcade to put Bigelow over and then do Bigelow versus the winner of the main event at Souled Out. Jesus, WCW it was right there! The match did not make want to see the Starrcade match. I think back to back weeks of Goldberg vs Bigelow and Nash vs Bigelow ending in a No Contest and then a third week of Goldberg beating Hall would have been a better build, hindsight is 20/20. Nothing happening match.

On the flip side of shitty Nitro experiences, my very first live event was WCW Boston Brawl featuring Hogan vs Sting in a cage, Hart vs Flair, Eddie vs Benoit and Savage and Larry Z in a six man. It was hyped as the first internet live show. It was super fun if memory serves me correctly. Does Boston Brawl exist on tape?

Definitely agree with Charles on this one and thought this was Bret's second best match of the year behind the Flair match and it was thanks to DDP. Chad, saying DDP did not have the same desperation as Sting and Luger still like an odd claim to me. Luger is a good verbal seller, but he is not a hope spot guy. He just does his big comeback. Sting was fine at selling, but nothing special. DDP is the king of the desperation sell at this point. At first he pulling himself up by the ring ropes and unloading and then he is trying roll ups and then he is clawing towards Bret Hart. DDP was in the zone at this point! WCW US Champion Bret Hart vs Diamond Dallas Page - WCW Nitro 10/26/98 One night after he took Goldberg to the limit, DDP gets a title shot against Bret Hart. I love that booking. DDP is red-hot at this point, but he is coming off a loss.How do you capitalize on that heat? Have him beat Bret Hart and take the US title! Excellent booking! Bret Hart has a rep of taking people out like Booker T at Bash At The Beach and Sting at Halloween Havoc so how do you capitalize on that well, have him look to take out DDP. Only problem is DDP Dies Hard. Bret Hart gets put in a match against DDP and has his best match of the year since the Flair match, coincidence, I think not. DDP was the best American main event wrestler at this point. The early part of the match with DDP just taking it to Bret Hart at his own game everything just drips with effort. You know Bret Hart is the more polished of the two, but DDP has the heart and the passion to close the gap between him and Hart. Bret Hart is getting countered at every turn and this already hotter than the Sting and Luger matches, which were good. Hart uses the hotshot to take control. What takes this match to the next level for Hart is DDP's selling. At first, DDP still has enough energy to pull himself up by the ropes and unload with punches. I love that spot! Hart keeps cutting him off, but you get the feeling you just cant keep Page down. Like when Bret drops an elbow on a DDP that is trying to get up on all fours. I loved that visual along with DDP clawing towards Bret as he only know one direction. DDP should be ranked higher as one of the all-time great babyfaces because his desperation selling and never say die attitude is what being a babyface is all about. Hart is on his heel A-game using his feet on the ropes and a foreign object. Hell he even busts out a superplex. Bret Hart has to resort to a low blow that wipes out DDP and the ref. Hart goes to swing with the foreign object, but DDP ducks and BANG! DIAMOND CUTTER! 1-2-3! DDP wins the US Title, but Bret Hart attacks him after the match pinpointing his knee with the chair and then applying the Sharpshooter as the fans chant for Goldberg who comes as we go off the air. DDP was just the ultimate blue collar, hard working, never say die babyface and he delivered a great performance. Finally Bret has a babyface that can really generate that sympathy and make his heel character stand out. DDP added a lot to the standard Bret Hart match based on his character and is a very entertaining match, probably the best Nitro main event of the year. ***3/4

Was way higher than Charles & Chad on this bad boy, I got this hands down as the WCW main event match of the year and in a weak year for America a Match of the Year Contender. WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page - WCW Halloween Havoc 1998 I saw this originally when WCW was compelled to repeat the entire main event on Nitro because they went over on the PPV, which is part of the reason the match is so famous. I honestly had forgotten everything about the match so besides knowing who won this was totally fresh. The other reason this match is famous because it is really good in time period where WCW main event were usually dogshit. Guess what this match is not just really good, it is excellent. I actually think this match is underrated given the ratings I have seen around the net. It is a testament to both Goldberg's aura and DDP's ring generalship at this time. With a doubt, DDP is the WCW MVP of 1998 and his entire 1998 is proof at his amazing grasp on pro wrestling psychology. The World Heavyweight Champion versus the People's Champion, the Unstoppable Force versus the Blue Collar Hero, the Rookie Phenomenon versus the Hard Working Late Bloomer, just the characters naturally make for a great story going into the match. DDP is wrestling manifestation of John McClane and he is taking on the fucking Terminator in Goldberg. Who does not want to see that? This is the type of match that shows why pro wrestling is the greatest form of entertainment to ever exist in human history. Page is JAAAAACCCCKKKKKED TO THE MOON for this one and he comes at Goldberg repeatedly who shrugs him off with powerful shoves. DDP will not be detered and they spill out in a heated moment. Goldberg is treated like a super athlete here: unstoppable power, impervious to pain and cat-like quickness. When DDP tries a single leg pick up, Goldberg does a backflip and DDP does it again to get a one count. That is the story of DDP the dude just does not know when to quit. He is going to try and try and try. I love it! Goldberg's stunned selling, but always moving to get up and moving forward is so perfect for his character. I love the urgency of every DDP movement knowing he is in there with a monster. He has his one big weapon, the Diamond Cutter, he tries it early and gets send flying to the outside. DDP tries to contain Goldberg with a front facelock, but Goldberg explodes out of it. Goldberg with a huge thrust kick sends DDP into the corner. Goldberg goes for the spear and eats the ringpost. OH SHIT! It only makes sense the person who can do the most damage to Goldberg is Goldberg. DDP signals for the Diamond Cutter and BOOM! SPEAR! THE PLACE COMES UNGLUED! I LOST MY SHIT! Goldberg's shoulder is fucked. Can he get him up for the Jackhammer? DIAMOND CUTTER! PIN HIM, DALLAS! PIN THAT MAN! GET UP! GET UP! PIN HIM! 1-2-NOOOOOO!!!!!! DDP tries to stay on him, but Goldberg reverses a suplex attempt into a Jackhammer. Holy shit, that was electric. I have become the biggest retroactive DDP fan. His Die Hard, blue collar attitude is just so badass. You can't help but cheer for the dude. Honestly, lost myself in that Diamond Cutter. I really thought to myself can DDP pull this out before I came back to reality. Pitch perfect layout that accentuated both men's characters. Pro wrestling matches should be driven by wins and losses, but how it gets done should be unique to the participants involved. These two men are the only people who could have this match because it uniquely fit them. That is the hallmark of excellent pro wrestling psychology. ****1/4