ALL JAPAN

 

Triple Crown

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (Triple Crown ­ 4/90)

This has no business drawing a vote. The weakest of their matches, a sad end to a great rivalry. It's their matches in the *80s* that made the feud famous. This is like Flair vs. Steamboat from 1994 - time to move on.

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuahru Misawa (Triple Crown ­ 4/18/91)

Voters - don't get confused. Their two matches from 1990 are the great ones. They aren't for the TC. They're elsewhere on this list.

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Triple Crown ­ 10/24/91)

One of my all-time favorite matches. Super simple, but super smart. Probably won't make my Top 20 list because I don't let my fandom of Kawada get in the way of proper selecting.

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Triple Crown ­ 1/21/92)

NOTE - This isn't a Triple Crown match. It also has no business drawing votes. "Excellent" match, but not great like their match the prior October.

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (Triple Crown ­ 1/28/92)

This match isn't even ****.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen (Triple Crown ­ 8/22/92)

Nifty that Misawa won the title. Nothing very special, though. Their "great" match was the next May. Don't get fooled.

 

NOTE: Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (Triple Crown ­ 8/22/92) - this isn't a TC match as said before.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada­ 20th Anniversary Show (Triple Crown - 10/21/92)

Great match. I doubt Bret Hart has ever been in a match that can stack up against this when you analyze it move for move. Still... this is Misawa vs. Kawada and they've had a host of better matches.

 

Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (Triple Crown ­ 2/28/93)

Excellent performance by Misawa. It doesn't deserve any votes at their 4/95 and 9/95 matches are true MOTYC, while their 5/96 and 7/97 matches are miles better than this one. This one isn't even as good as the match the two had earlier this year. Don't get fooled here.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen (Triple Crown ­ 5/21/93)

Classic. If you have the urge to vote for a Misawa vs. Hansen, this is it. Still, for 1993 I wouldn't rate it above the Carny and TC Misawa vs. Kawada matches in the year, the 2/93 Kawada vs. Hansen, the 7/93 Hansen vs. Kobashi, or the Carny Misawa vs. Kobashi and Kawada vs. Kobashi matches. 1993 is a tough year to standout in All Japan. This stands out as a classic smartly worked match, but there were a host of other great ones in 1993.

NOTE - the 7/29/93 Misawa vs. Kawada TC match is worthy of being on this list. Great match. I wouldn't vote for it simply because they have had better matches. But it's vastly better than the Taue vs. Misawa from 2/28/93.

NOTE - I'm one of the few people who likes the 9/3/93 Misawa vs. Doc TC match better than the 8/93 Doc vs. Kobashi matches. Smarter worked match. I won't vote for it, and I wouldn't put it as one of the ten best AJPW matches of 1993... but then again, I wouldn't put the Doc vs. Kobashi in a 10 best list for 1993 AJPW either.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Triple Crown - 6/3/94)

El Super Classico. So great that even though the Wrong Man Wins, it detracts nothing from the match and only adds to its richness. A Top 5 pick for my Ballot. Where in the Top 5, I don't know yet.

 

Steve Williams vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (Triple Crown - 7/28/94)

Nifty great match. It won't make my Top 20 Ballot, but a really nifty match.

 

Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (Triple Crown - 9/3/94)

I think this match is another overrated Doc vs. Kobashi matches. I get the feeling watching those two match that Kobashi is stroking his wrestling cock and we're suppose to get off on it. I prefer his Hansen match quite a bit better as he is more under control. No Top 20 vote from me.

 

Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada ­ 22nd Anniversary Show (Triple Crown - 10/22/94)

Won't get a vote in my Top 20. They Carny Final is much better and will. This thing should have been a good 10 minutes shorter.

 

Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Triple Crown - 1/19/95)

I'd vote for it if it had a finish. There is not good reason for Kawada not to pin him shortly past the 55:00 mark - it's Kawada's one "successful" defense in that reign. Add to the fact Kobashi crawling around the ring in the last few minutes as Kawada kills him dead. Fuck you Baba... fuck you Kobashi... you're not getting my vote. Kawada's work, though, is exceptional.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Triple Crown - 7/24/95)

Underrated classic. Super fast paced heavyweight match where they throw bombs from the get go, and trade one true resthold as best as I can recall. If Michaels and Hart wrestled a match against each other that was move for move exactly like this, people would have called it the best match of the 90s... by a landslide. Since it's Misawa vs. Kawada, and they already had the decade's best singles match the year before, this was somehow "disappointing". Fuck the people who were disappointing and didn't know they were watching a MOTYC.

 

NOTE: 9/10/95 Misawa vs. Taue (Triple Crown)

This match needs to be added. This is just as good as their Carny Final from earlier in the year. Taue made the big jump forward in the Carny, and then kept getting better as the year went along. Taue was more confident and better here. Probably not quite as great of a performance from Misawa as he had more confidence in letting Taue do his thing. A true forgotten classic.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi ­ 23rd Anniversary Show (Triple Crown ­ 10/25/95)

This was so "not great" that it isn't even funny. Look - when a semfinal with Gary Albrihgt in it upstages a match, then that match has no business being on this list. People... don't confuse this with the matches Misawa and Kobashi had against each other from 1996 on forward.

 

Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (Triple Crown ­ 5/24/96)

Nifty match. Not a MOTYC, and not worthy of a Top 20 choice. Their match

 

Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Triple Crown -10/18/96 TV)

The commercial version is great... but they've had better, and lack of a finish really hurts. I couldn't put it in the Top 20.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (Triple Crown ­ 1/20/97)

A Top 5 pick. Next...

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Triple Crown ­ 6/6/97)

Overrated. Far too much head dropping... as if Kawada was throwing in the towel to the AJPW audience that was being conditioned by Misawa and Kobashi to pop for little else. "Aw fuck it... if you want head dropping, I'll drop him on his head a whole bunch you fucking bastards." The "work the neck by dropping Misawa on his head" psych pimping of this match has been overplayed over time, as getting dropped on his head isn't deep Misawa psych - it's his typical "I don't know how else to pop this crowd" spots much like Flair taking the bump into the corner. He was doing it before this match, and would do it after this match. On principal I wouldn't put this in the Top 20 on the Ballot, and since there are other Misawa vs. Kawada matches I prefer, I can leave it off on merits as well..

 

Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (Triple Crown ­ 7/25/97)

Excellent match, but not as good as their 4/95 and 9/95 matches. Too many great AJPW matches in the 90s for this to get a vote.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi ­ 25th Anniversary Show (Triple Crown - 10/21/97)

Great, great, great match. I've been bored by their matches since, but this struck me as the climax to their rivalry. Not as good as their 1/97 match... but not a bad a Top 10 match.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (Triple Crown ­ 1/24/98)

I'd rather get gang raped than vote for this match. The nadir of Misawa-By-Numbers. Since Misawa couldn't be bothered to try to figure out how to work with a younger wrestler, like Jumbo did with Kawada in 10/91, he basically lets Jun kill him seven ways to Sunday before going, "Well... that's enough of that... let's take it home."

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada - Tokyo Dome (Triple Crown - 5/1/98)

Not one of their better matches. Lacking drama, lacking the emotion of Kawada finishing his five and a half year quest. Misawa was a cripple in the match. All in all, pretty sad to watch. Amazing that it was an excellent match, through.

 

Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Triple Crown - 6/12/98)

I think this was the last of the AJPW TC matches that was at the level of the once from 1993-97. Exceptional performance by Kawada, and I'll toss plenty of credit to Kobashi for being able to participate in a MOTY with freshly blown out knees that would put most humans on the DL. Easy Top 20 pick. Not sure where, though...

 

Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (Triple Crown ­ 7/24/98)

Excellent match. Not Top 20. Too much Kobashi goofiness, and the whole psych of Jun going after the knees leads to no serious threat to Kobashi losing the title. God would I have prefered to see Jun challenge Kawada at the 6/98 Budokan to see what Tosh could have down with Jun at that time.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi ­ 26th Anniversary Show (Triple Crown - 10/31/98)

Great match. But little things like half nelson suplexes on the floor that lead to nothing are auto deductions in my book. Not at the level of the 6/98 Kawada vs. Kobashi... and far behind the Misawa vs. Kobashi from 1997. Off my Top 20.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Triple Crown - 1/22/99)

Overrated. That's from the biggest Kawada fan on the net. If I have to pick one of their spot-a-thons to go with the 6/94 match, than I'd go with the 7/95 match. Hmm... I note that their 7/99 match isn't on the list, nor Misawa's Dome win over Vader.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (Triple Crown - 6/11/99)

I've said it once, I'll say it again - this technically great match bored the shit out of me. Nothing fresh to this match beyond what we've seen in the past from them. I'd rate this well below the 1/97, 10/97 and 3/96 matches... all of which broke new ground in their rivalry in different ways.

 

Vader vs. Mitsuharu Misawa ­ 27th Anniversary Show (Triple Crown ­ 10/30/99)

I have no idea why this is even here. There may have been 100+ MOTYC in AJPW in the 90s. This wasn't one of them.

 

REAL WORLD TAG LEAGUE

NOTE: 12/07/90 Misawa & Kawada vs. Tsuruta & Taue (Tag League)

This was a MOTYC on the Final Night of the 1990 Tag League. Great match. Should be on the list.

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (RWTL 91 ­ 11/21/91)

Was this even a MOTYC? Yeesh... this shouldn't be on this list.

NOTE: 11/29/91 Misawa & Kawada vs. Jumbo & Taue (RWTL 91)

General rule of thumb - when these two teams meet, it's a MOTYC. Better than the Misawa & Kawada vs. Gordy & Doc from the following week.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Terry Gordy/Steve Williams (RWTL 91 Finals - 12/6/91)

This wasn't the RWTL 91 Finals - there was NO Final. This was simply the last round robin match for each team. Heck... if it was the Final, it's pretty hard to explain how Misawa & Kawada finished 5th in the tourny. Anyway... great match, but not was good as the tag match between the top two native teams the week before.

 

Kenta Kobashi/Giant Baba vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada (RWTL 92)

I always thought this was a bit overrated. Great match, but this was right in the middle of Meltzer's "Give Every Kobashi Match An Extra 1/2*" period. The Misawa & Kobashi vs. Hansen & Baba from the following year is a much niftier match.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue/Jun Akiyama (RWTL 92 Finals ­ 12/4/92)

This has no business even being on the ballot - it's not even a MOTYC. These for have been in a whole lotta MOTYCs over the years... this ain't one of them. Also - this isn't a FINAL. There were no FINALS until 1995. This is like Joey Styles using "Tiger Bomb" - TINTB (This Is No Tiger Bomb).

 

NOTE: The following two matches should be on the list:

* 11/30/93 Misawa & Kobashi vs. Hansen & Baba (RWTL 93)

* 12/01/93 Kawada & Taue vs. Williams & Big Bubba (RWTL 93)

The first is about as much fun as any AJPW match got in the 90s. From the 12/27/93 WON:

"I know that Shohei Baba can't possibly wrestle a 30:00 long match of the year candidate. But my eyes told me that the 11/30 match with Baba & Stan Hansen vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada was tremendous. While the match wasn't quite at the level of All Japan's best singles matches of the year (Hansen vs. Kawada on 2/28 and Hansen vs. Kobashi on 7/29) or All Japan's definative six-man taf of the year (Misawa & Kobashi & Akiyama vs. Taue & Kawada & Ogawa on 7/2), I popped more for this match than any other tag match All Japan present during the year. Great spots, good pacing, solid psycology and an up crowd gave this match a special aura. All four deserve all the credit in the world for putting a match like this together in the midst of a clearly disappointing tag team tournament. Baba is not a good worker, but that is due more to his physical limitations rather than any lack of effort on his part. The credibility and respect he maintains with Japanese fans added far more to this match than his physical limitations took away. Frankly he seemed as fired up in this match as I can recall in years. Enough is said about Kobashi and there is no need to repeat it. But I must say that there are probably no two great workers in the business that are more consistently underrated than Hansen and Misawa. Each has pushed their work and psycholocy up this year and I would place both solidly among the ten best male workers in the world this year." -Some Asshole Letter Writer

I may end up voting for that match in the Top 20 because it was so damn fun.

The second match was a terrific match as well. If people want to ponder what could have been for Big Bubba/Bossman, they should get that one. He was plenty good in it, and quite a bit better worker than Johnny Ace was at the time. Bossman deciding to sign with WCW is the reason Ace became Doc's partner... who know what would have happened if Bossman stayed with AJPW.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue/Toshiaki Kawada (RWTL 93 Finals - 12/3/93)

Not the FINALS. But this is a Top 5 match. The Asshole Letter Writer above had not seen this in 12/93 when he wrote the letter. When he saw this a couple of weeks later, his comment was - "This is the greatest mens match I've ever seen." A performance for the ages by Kawada, and a intricate multi-layered psychological finish. One of my handful of desert island matches that I couldn't do without.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams/Johnny Ace (RWTL 94 ­ 12/10/94)

A really great forgotten match. I seem to recall either Kobashi or Misawa taking the match off for the most part because he was injured, with the other putting in a great performance to cover. Doc & Ace put on a excellent performance and showed they were truly ready to hang as a team with the Big Four in tag matches.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (RWTL 95 Finals ­ 12/9/95)

Technically great. Poor laying out of the match, bad thinking... lack of heat. Shouldn't be on the list because of that.

NOTE: There are one other match from the 1996 RWTL that are worthy of the list:

11/24/96 (air date) Misawa & Akiyama vs. Kobashi & Patriot (Tag League)

Great match.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (RWTL 96 - 11/29/96)

Nifty match. Won't make my Top 20 because the had better...

 

Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama (RWTL 96 Finals - 12/6/96)

Top 5 match. Best mens tag match of all-time. Next...

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Kenta Kobashi/Johnny Ace (RWTL 97 ­ 11/23/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Hayabusa/Jinsei Shinzaki (RWTL 97 ­ 11/27/97)

Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue vs. Hayabusa/Jinsei Shinzaki (RWTL 97 ­ 11/23/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (RWTL 97 Finals ­ 12/5/97)

Collectively, not of these will make my Top 20. All are nifty matches, though. The Final was a bit disappointing as those two teams didn't have a tag match against each other all year prior to tag leauge. This after having *five* tag matches from 5/23/96 to 12/6/96. You got the feeling they were saving the match for the tag league... but this didn't have that extra kick in the nads that one would have expected. "Great"... but just mising that extra something that makes for a memorable super classico. Given the talent invovled, I can't vote for it if it wasn't memorable.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama (RWTL 99)

Well... at least this is here rather than the 1998 and 1999 Finals that I've seen being pawned off as potential "Best of Budokan" cadidates. These guys had better matches elsewhere in the year... and since I won't be voting for them, I won't be voting for this.

 

CARNIVAL

NOTE: Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Carnival 93) - The date for this is 04/14/93.

Great match... loads of fun... Kobashi is kind enough to do the job for Kawada. I'd vote for this above some of those TC matches I said had no business being on the list. But won't make my top 20.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Carnival 93 ­ 3/27/93)

Great match. They've had a number of matches better... so this will get left off. Flair hasn't had a better match than this in the 90s, though.

 

Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue (Carnival 93 ­ 4/12/93)

Shouldn't be on here. Excellent... not great.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (Carnival 93 ­ 4/12/93)

Great match. I've always thought it was their best prior to 3/96. Kobashi knew his role better here than he did in their 1995 matches. Not good enough to get a top 20, though.

 

Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (Carnival 93 ­ 4/12/93)

Another great match... but they had a better Carny match two years later...

 

NOTE: This should be added - 04/16/93 Hansen vs. Kobashi (hand held)

This match was on par with their 7/28/93 match... almost a test run for it. Rather than being at Budokan, this was infront of the Korakuen Hall hardcores... and Stan and Kenta were all fired up. I think Stan is sorta pissed off over having to do his first job to Kawada in the tourny, so he decided to take it out on Kenta. Also, there's an even better lariat at the finish of this than their 7/93 match - probably the Greatest Western Lariat Ever. And better yet, this is one of the better quality handhelds around - good clean shot at the ring, not annoying to watch. It's buried somewhere on Lynch's list. If you consider yourself a serious AJPW, this is one match that must be tracked down.

 

Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Carnival 94 Finals ­ 4/16/94)

An easy Top 20 pick. I get an uneasy feeling when seeing the Doc vs. Kobashi matches getting pimped over this. This is pure hardcore wrestling, focused, well laid out, built smartly from start to finish, with the right guy winning.

 

NOTE: Other Carny '95 matches to add:

* 03/21/95 Taue vs. Kobashi (Carny 95)

* 03/26/95 Misawa vs. Kobashi (Carny 95)

* 04/06/95 Misawa vs. Kawada (Carny 95)

* 04/08/95 Kawada vs. Taue (Carny 95)

* 04/13/95 Kawada vs. Kobashi (Carny 95)

These all have been rated at one time or another by people as ****1/2 matches.

I'd cite two worthy of consideration for votes:

The 04/06/95 Misawa vs. Kawada is the match where Misawa had his orbital bones crashed by sole of Kawada's right boot. Note that this was 30 seconds into the match. He had another 29:30 to work in the match... and did. This is his equiv of the 1/99 Kawada vs. Misawa where Kawada busted his forearm. Far more methodical than their later head-drop-a-thons... but I kinda like them that way. Misawa blows a few spots due to the injury... but it's a pretty amazing performance, and a great one by Kawada in carrying him through it.

The 04/08/95 Kawada vs. Taue is the best singles match the two have ever had. People who are fans of Taue... this is the match for you. Basic premise:

*backstage before the show*

Baba: "Tosh... you're going to be putting over Akira tonight."

Kawada: *nod*

*backstage a little while later*

Taue: "Baba-san said I'm going over."

Kawada: *nod*

Taue: "So... you're going to kick my ass all over the ring."

Kawada: *nod*

Taue: "Alright... I'm ready for it. Don't hold anything back."

Kawada: *stares at him* "You sure?"

Taue: *nods*

Just a joy to watch these two partners work hardcore and intense, with it always bordering on getting out of control and the old rivalry being renewed... if I can borrow how the Japanese Wrestling Journal would have written it up. I'll probably toss it in the Top 20.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (Carnival 95 Final ­ 4/15/95)

A true classic. Clear Top 20 candidate.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (Carnival 96 - 3/31/96)

A true classic. Clear Top 20 candidate. But I'm repeating myself.

 

NOTE: You probably should add the 4/96 Doc vs. Taue Carny Final was a pretty fun and nifty match. As I said elsewhere recently, this was a better match than the highly rated Michaels vs. Nash 4/96 PPV match. I think Taue fans would enjoy this match quite a bit. It's Doc's last "great" All Japan singles match, and who would have thought it would be against Taue.

 

NOTE: You should add the 1997 Kawada vs. Misawa Carny League match. Yet another one of their 30:00 draws... but this might have been their best 30:00 draw. It was better than the rest of these 1997 Carny matches getting nominated.

 

Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (Carnival 97)

Excellent match. But not in the league of the the best Carny matches.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Carnival 97 Finals ­ 4/2/97)

NOTE: These *are not* a "triangle match" and should not be rated together. They are three 30:00 matches exactly like the Carny League matches - it's nothing more than a mini-round robin. These are three matches:

* Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi

* Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada

* Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi

Clean this up, and anyone who's voted for them collectively should be told to re-vote. It's not one match.

Comments on the matches - the Misawa vs. Kobashi is a great match... but just a bit too much head dropping, as a sign of things to come. The Misawa vs. Kawada is an abortion. I like the Kawada vs. Kobashi as a change of pace from the dominant AJPW style of the late 90s. Most seemed to be disappointed by it.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Carnival 98 ­ 3/29/98)

Excellent match. Lack of finish is a downgrade... and they've had better.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (Carnival 98 Finals ­ 4/18/98)

Shouldn't be on the ballot. Probably not one of AJPW Top 100 matches of the 90s... wait... maybe not one of the Top 150 or Top 200.

 

Vader vs. Kenta Kobashi (Carnival 99 Final ­ 4/16/99)

This is a joke?

 

WORLD TAG TITLE

NOTE: These matches should be on the list:

04/19/90 Gordy & Williams vs. Hansen & Spivey (World Tag Title)

04/18/91 Hansen & Spivey v Gordy & Williams (World Tag Title)

The first was the better of the two, but they were both rated in the ****1/4 - ****1/2. Both were super heated, and probably the best of the Gaijin vs. Gaijin tag matches in Japan in the 90s.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Terry Gordy/Steve Williams (7/24/91 ­ World Tag Titles)

Huh? This was like a ** match. Did someone get confused on this? Not a good match at all.

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue (9/4/91 ­ World Tag Titles)

A great match... but wouldn't rate this ahead of their 1990 and 1991 Tag League matches, let alone their 09/30/90 match. The finish was great... but I try not to add full stars to a match simply for a great finish. A broken down Misawa having to be carried by his partner Kawada. Not worthy of a Top 20 spot.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsurata/Akira Taue (6/4/92 ­ World Tag Titles)

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue (6/5/92 ­ World Tag Titles)

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue (7/92 - World Tag Titles)

NOTE: These are all the same match. It was 06/05/92.

Super great match that seemed to be forgotten for more than half the decade. It's nice to see it's gotten some pub online over the last year and a half. Not quite on the Top 20... but a good example of wrestling in that period.

 

NOTE: These World Tag Title matches should be on the Ballot:

* 10/07/92 Jumbo & Taue vs. Gordy & Williams (World Tag Titles)

* 01/30/93 Misawa & Kawada vs. Gordy & Williams (World Tag Titles)

* 06/01/93 Kawada & Taue vs. Misawa & Kobashi (World Tag Titles)

The first is Jumbo's last "competitive" big match. It's great. He's great. Meltzer's comments in the Jumbo Obit:

Then, just as suddenly, his career, at least as a serious performer, was over. He became ill in the summer of 1992. It was said to have been an ankle injury, but when he came back to the ring six weeks later, he had lost a lot of weight, mainly muscle mass, and clearly was not the same. His stamina was no longer there and tag team partner Akira Taue had to carry the action in his matches, which were still headlining the shows."

I have no idea how this notion got planted in his head, but Dave was in Japan when Jumbo returned after missing the July 1992 series. He saw his first *three* matches back live:

08/20/92 - Jumbo & Taue & Ogawa vs. Misawa & Kawada & Kobashi

08/21/92 - Jumbo & Taue vs. Kobashi & Patriot

08/22/92 - Jumbo & Taue vs. Gordy & Williams

His ratings of those matches? ****1/2, ****1/4 and ****1/4. Comments on Jumbo being carried? None. Rating of the 10/92 tag title match? ****1/2. Comments on Jumbo being carried by Taue? None.

Er... something doesn't add up here.

The second matches is a great tag title change, with Kawada carrying a gimpy Misawa.

The third is the first Kawada & Taue vs. Misawa & Kobashi matches. It's at Budokan, and the crowd heat is molten as this is a match the fans had been waiting for all year since Baba started talking about Kawada teaming up with Taue. Old AJPW style, with lots of methodical work and exchanging of spots early, before kicking it up a notch for the last 10:00. Grat match.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (5/21/94 ­ World Tag Titles)

Absolutely exceptional match. The psych of the 12/93 match (along with the sureal performance of Kawada) are better, and the 6/95 match has a far better Taue to work in it... but this was landmark at the time. They killed about the first 17:00+ smartly like they did in almost all the big match in the day. Then they picked it up and started building to the finish... and kept going... and kept going... and kept going... for over 20:00 of highspots. The 6/95 would do it as well, as would the 1/95, 3/95 and 10/95 tag title matches... but this was pretty much the first time heavies would work highspots for that kind of length. Mind bending match at the time. A Top 20 candidate for that. Probably won't make my list because I like a trio of their other matches better (12/93, 6/95 and 10/95)... but there would be no shame in voting for this.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (1/24/95 ­ World Tag Titles)

One of the more overrated matches of the decade. Taue just wasn't any good. Of their 9 matches against each other from 6/93 to 12/95, this rates with the 12/95 Tag League Final as the least likely to hit my VCR at any point soon. I felt just like the crowd did every time Taue tagged in - "NO!?!? TOSH.... NO!!! STAY IN!!! AW FUCK!!!"

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams/Johnny Ace (3/4/95 ­ World Tag Titles)

A really great match. Not a bad pick for the Top 20. A safe pick for the best Gaijin vs. Native tag match in the decade. Better than any of the Steiners matches in Japan against native... easily. Somewhere in my 15-30... so I don't know if it will make my list. But a very good candidate.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (6/9/95 ­ World Tag Titles)

El Super Classico '95

Top 5 pick.

 

NOTE: The following match should be on the list - 10/15/95 Kawada & Taue vs. Misawa & Kobashi (World Tag Title)

This is the 60:00 draw that is vastly better than the 1/95 60:00 draw between the two teams. Why? Taue sucked in 1/95. Taue was excellent by 10/95. This will probably make my Top 20... simply because I seem to be the only person who's seen it and is willing to pimp it. Someone needs to carry the flag for it against the heathens who think the 1/95 match is any good.

 

Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama (3/2/96 ­ World Tag Titles)

NOTE: This isn't a World Tag Title match.

Excellent match... but I don't think I would put it among the Top 100 of AJPW, let along the Top 20.

 

Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama (5/23/96 ­ World Tag Titles)

I've always thought this was a bit overrated. Excellent match... but not quite the masterpiece people pimp it up to be. Very smartly worked, but toned down a bit (most Misawa) so that they can tell Jun's story. Matches like this use to get ****1/4 to ****1/2 back in the days before everything considered a MOTYC was automatically given *****. I'd say ****1/4 or ****1/2 is reasonable. It's not close to their Tag League Final, and I like the more confident work displayed in their 7/96 rematch... not even getting to the Tag League "league" matches they had in 1996.

 

Steve Williams/Johnny Ace vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama (6/7/96 ­ World Tag Titles)

Pretty choice match. Wouldn't be embarassing to be in the Top 20 at all.

I noted the 7/96 Tag Title rematch between Misawa & Jun vs. Tosh & Taue. It wouldn't make my Top 20 or Top 50... but it's better than some matches mentioned.

 

Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue vs. Johnny Ace/Kenta Kobashi (6/5/98 ­ World Tag Titles)

Pretty nifty match. Or is someone thinking about their 6/97 World Tag Title match? Or their 1/98 World Tag Title match? They're all pretty choice matches... wouldn't make my Top 20.

 

Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama (10/11/98 ­ World Tag Titles)

I liked the commecial tape version of this a good deal. Mostly as more proof that Kawada was the best worker in the world in 1998. Wouldn't make my Top 20.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama (3/6/99 ­ World Tag Titles)

Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama (10/23/99 ­ World Tag Titles)

I like these less than most people. Ogawa in a World Tag Title match doesn't work for me.

 

ALL-ASIA TAG TITLE

Doug Furnas/Dan Kroffat vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (2/22/92 ­ All Asia Tag Titles)

NOTE: This wasn't a All Asia Tag Title match.

Great match, though. Not quite Top 20, though.

 

Doug Furnas/Dan Kroffat vs. Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (5/25/92 ­ All Asia Tag Titles)

One of the Usual Suspects for the Top 20. I don't get too bent out of shape that not all of it aired on TV.

 

Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Masa Fuchi/Yoshinari Ogawa (7/5/92 ­ All Asia Tag Titles)

All of this did air on TV. Really great match... but I think rated a bit high at the time. Not in my Top 20.

 

Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jun Akiyama/Yoshinari Ogawa (1/93 ­ All Asia Tag Titles)

NOTE: the date of the match is 01/24/93

This was loads of fun. Not a Top 20 match, but anyone who would like their mind blown should check out this match and keep in the back of their mind that Jun debuted in 9/92. Pretty damn amazing to play a central role in your first MOTYC four months after debuting.

 

Six Men

There are many six-man tags that got ****1/2+ from the famous 05/26/90 Misawa & Taue & Kobashi vs. Tsuruta & Kabuki & Fuchi match (which "started" the Jumbo & Co. vs. Misawa & Co. feud) on through 1993. I'll only add ones that are "musts" that might be missing as it's not likely any of the six-mans are going to get much by way of votes as I don't think many people have seen the run-of-the-mill six-man MOTYCs, and have only seen some of the more noted ones.

 

J. Tsuruta/A. Taue/M. Fuchi vs. M. Misawa/T. Kawada/T. Kikuchi (10/20/91 TV)

NOTE: I think this is mistaken. There's a 10/21/91 TV match that had Inoue and Kobashi in it in the place of Fuchi and Kikuchi respectively. ****1/4 star match by Meltzer rating. I don't recall it, as it was too close to the more memorable match the following week:

 

J. Tsuruta/A. Taue/M. Fuchi vs. M. Misawa/T. Kawada/K. Kobashi (10/28/90 TV)

NOTE: the match date was 10/19/90

Great match with Kobashi breaking his nose and bleeds all over the place as Jumbo & Fuchi work over the nose like the Evil Bastards that they are. Not as cringeville as the Tenryu vs. Fujinami is to watch... but not easy to sit through. Great example of the Jumbo & Co. vs. Misawa & Co. six-man main events. Probably just off the Top 20 for me... close.

 

J. Tsuruta/A. Taue/M. Fuchi vs. M. Misawa/T. Kawada/K. Kobashi (4/20/91)

Famous for the length of it... super nifty... but not on my Top 20.

 

J. Tsuruta/A. Taue/M. Fuchi vs. M. Misawa/T. Kawada/K. Kobashi (1/24/92)

Great... not Top 20. They had a great one earlier in the same series as well, with Ogawa in trather than Taue.

 

J. Tsuruta/A. Taue/M. Fuchi vs. M. Misawa/T. Kawada/K. Kobashi (5/22/92)

I always thought Meltzer overrated it by giving it *****. Nifty match... but didn't really stand out above other six-mans of 1992 as being the clear "best", which his rating would suggest.

 

NOTE: you might want to add this one:

08/20/92 Tsuruta & Taue & Ogawa vs. Misawa & Kawada & Kikuchi ****1/2

This will allow people to see the "needs to be carried" Jumbo.

 

G. Baba/J. Tsuruta/M. Fuchi vs. M. Misawa/T. Kawada/T. Kikuchi (9/17/92)

Same card as Jun's debut... I don't remember it kicking enough ass to be on the list.

 

T. Kawada/A. Taue/Ogawa vs. M. Misawa/K. Kobashi/T. Kikuchi (6/13/93)

I thought Kikuchi was pretty washed up by that point, which took this down a bit.

 

T. Kawada/A. Taue/Ogawa vs. M. Misawa/K. Kobashi/J. Akiyama (7/2/93)

Easy top 20 for me.... probably Top 10. This has ever since stuck in my mind as the best AJPW six-man main event I've seen. Terrific match, perfect use of the six-man tag concept to get across sotrylines.

There was an exceptional 08/20/93 Kawada & Taue & Fuchi vs. Misawa & Akiyama & Kikuchi match... but not at the same level as the 7/2/93.

 

G. Baba/M. Misawa/T. Kobashi vs. T. Kawada/A. Taue/M. Fuchi (2/13/94 TV)

NOTE: The match date was 1/29/94.

Great match. Not a top 20... but loads of fun.

 

NOTE: I'd add the following: 06/30/95 Misawa & Kobashi & Asako vs. Kawada & Taue & Honda

It's probably the last great AJPW Korakuen Hall TV six-man tag main event. I dug it a ton. Not Top 20... but worth tracking down for AJPW fans, and a good example of how the lower ranked workers are mixed in well in the six-man tag format.

 

M. Misawa/K. Kobashi/J. Akiyama vs. T. Kawada/G. Albright/J. Ace (4/20/96)

A great performance by Kawada to carry the whole thing. Misawa couldn't be bothered to do much of anything that night... Gary was only good throwing his suplexes... Ace was sloppy as hell. Not anywhere close to a Top 20 match.

 

OTHER

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (6/8/90)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (9/1/90)

A pair of great matches. I like the second one better... but both are reasonable picks for the Top 20 and higher.

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kenta Kobashi (8/31/90)

I'm thinking someone was confused here. This wasn't even a **** match... let alone a MOTDecade candidate.

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kenta Kobashi (5/24/91)

Terrific match. This wouldn't be a bad pick for the Top 20. Probably not one of mine, as I prefer the 10/91 Jumbo vs. Kawada TC match... but not a bad pick at all.

 

Kenta Kobashi vs. Dan Kroffat (4/18/91)

Great match... but not a MOTYC, let alone something for this list.

 

Fantastics vs. Joe Malenko/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (9/1/90)

Terrific match. The Fans were such a great team... and promoters in the US just never seemed to get it after some point. Tommy Rogers was such a great worker... and promoters never seemed to get it after some point.

 

M. Misawa/T. Kawada vs. J. Tsuruta/A. Taue (Baba 30th Anniversary Show ­ 9/30/90)

Super terrific 45:00 draw.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Terry Gordy (6/1/91)

They had a far better match in the 1993 Carny. I don't think this has any business being here.

 

Dan Kroffat vs. Masa Fuchi (10/24/91 ­ PWF Jr. Title)

Nifty match. The 1-2 punch on the 11/03/91 AJPW TV show of this and the Tsuruta vs. Kawada is one of the best ever. Not Top 20, or even close to it... but a really nifty match. Kroffat was such a great worker as well...

 

Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue (1/26/92)

I've never seen this. I see in the JWJ that it was taped for a commercial tape, and he called it a match of the year candidate. Bad me for never going out and getting it.

 

Jumbo Tsuruta/Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (3/20/92)

Not in the Top 100.

 

Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada (2/28/93)

Terrific match. Top 20 easy.

 

Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (7/31/93)

See above. Top 5 candidate... but more likely to slip in at #6.

 

NOTE: I would add - 08/20/93 Kroffat & Furnas vs. Kobashi & "Bad Mouth" Asako

This is where Asako's mouth gets busted up. A terrific match. Sans the head dropping, this is the type of match people would go ga-ga these days. Kroffat and Furnas rudo it up... Asako plays Kikuchi-style face, and Kobashi plays his big brother. AJPW undercards were still capable of regular good to great matches in those days.

 

Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (8/31/93)

Not in my Top 20... I liked the Doc vs. Kawada from 05/21/93 a ton more.

 

Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada ­ 21st Anniversary Show (10/23/93)

Great match. Damn 1993 was great. Probably won't make my Top 20... but just a great match worked in the early 90s style.

 

Kenta Kobashi/Satoru Asako vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Takai Omori (Asunaro Cup 94)

NOTE: The match date is 02/19/94. I also don't think is was a Asunaro Cup match.

That said... I dig this match a friggin ton. This wasn't even a top of the card match, but it rocked.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams/Johnny Ace (7/22/94)

NOTE: This is a World Tag Title match.

Excellent match... but Ace wasn't quite into his "good" stage. I'd rate this well behind the 12/94, 3/95 and 6/96 Budokan matches of Doc & Ace.

 

Toshiaki Kawada vs. Gary Albright ­ 23rd Anniversary Show (10/25/95)

Great match. I think there probably are 50 AJPW matches that were of better quality than this match... but Kawada's performance is so top flight that may force me to put it in the Top 20. Probably not... but it's a tough one not to recognize in some fashion.

 

Kenta Kobashi vs. Hiroshi Hase (8/26/97)

Ugh. Another match where there are a good 100 or more AJPW matches that are miles better than this.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa/Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi/Toshiaki Kawada (6/4/99)

Good match... but I don't think it's good enough to draw a vote from anyone who's seen a ton of AJPW.

I'm somewhat amazed that no one suggested the 06/09/95 Kroffat vs. Rob Van Dam match. I wouldn't put it in my Top 100 of AJPW matches in the 90s... but I thought there might be some RVD marks around here.

I'm probably forgetting to add some matches... and I've avoided nominating matches that I dig a ton but won't put on my Top 20 such as the 05/21/93 Kawada vs. Williams and 07/09/93 Kawada vs. Akiyama matches. Hell... they're not Top 100, but I'd rather take that Kawada vs. Jun match to the desert island than watch Doc vs. Kobashi.

Anyway... enough pimping. Opening comments to the contrary, this was several hours of writing and researching... it's 1:30 AM... and sleep is a good thing.

 

jdw

NEW JAPAN

 

(( Tokyo Dome – January 4 Shows Ultimo Dragon vs. Jushin Liger – "Fantastic Story" (1/4/93 – IWGP Jr. Title) ))

Ugh... this is such a "not good" match. This was back in Dragon's "badly screw up a move in every big match" phase. He was really off his game here. Their match at the 12/95 Super J-Cup was their best, and their match on the 1/97 Dome show was their second best. This was their worst "full match" and shouldn't get a vote.

 

 

(( Kenji Mutoh vs. Masahiro Chono – "Fantastic Story" (1/4/93 – NWA Title) ))

NOTE: This was a IWGP vs. NWA Title match.

 

I liked this match a lot. The same match in Sumo Hall or Budokan would have had much better heat and came across as a better match because of it. As it was, this is one of the more enjoyable NJ Heavy matches of the decade, typical NJ Heavy killing the time early, picked up for lots of nice spots, both Chono and Mutoh working very hard. This is probably Chono's best all around match after his injury. A worthy major Title vs. Title match. I'll have to pop it in the VCR to watch again and refresh myself, but this is a strong candidate to make my list to keep it from being insanely junior slanted.

 

 

(( Sting vs. Hiroshi Hase – "Fantastic Story" (1/4/93) ))

This has no business getting a vote. "Good match" at best. Hase many better matches in the decade... as has Sting.

 

NOTE: The 1/4/93 Dome show had two other matches worthy of consideration:

 

01/04/93 Tenryu vs. Choshu

01/04/93 Steiners vs. Hawk & Power

The first is an old style "aging heavies" match with them beating the crap out of each other. Intense, heated, like to aging heavyweight boxers throwing bombs at each other. I liked it a lot, as both were all fired up for this key match of the NJ vs. WAR feud. This is the type of match that plays _better_ in a Dome - it's a epic spectacle.

 

The second is another one where they were throwing bombs. Crap finish takes it down a notch, but what they did before that was fine. Easily the best Hellraisers match, and one of the better Steiner matches when they didn't have Hase or Mutoh carrying things.

 

(( Hiroshi Hase/Kensuke Sasaki vs. Steiners Brothers – "Battlefield" (1/4/94) ))

Typical Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki. I've always liked the 3/91 match for freshness, but this was fine as well.

 

(( Shinya Hashimoto vs. Masahiro Chono – "Battlefield" (1/4/94 – IWGP Title) ))

Decent "long Hashimoto title defense", but not one I could vote for. The Dome never was a great setting for those type of Hash matches.

 

(( Hiroshi Hase/Kenji Mutoh vs. Steiner Brothers – "Battle Seven" (1/4/95 - IWGP Tag titles) ))

Another excellent match... but I was tired of the Steiners by this point. It's a good pick for a Best of Steiners tape... but I don't think I'd vote for it here.

 

(( Norio Honaga vs. Great Sasuke – "Battle Seven" (1/4/95 - IWGP Jr. Title) ))

This has no business being on the list... and I like both of these guys.

 

(( Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kensuke Sasaki – "Battle Seven" (1/4/95 - IWGP Title) ))

Not one of my favorite Hashimoto matches...

 

(( Koji Kanemoto vs. Yuji Nagata – "Battle Seven" (1/4/95) ))

Hmmm... this wasn't even a good match. Koji almost kills himself at the finish as well.

 

(( Nobuhiko Takada vs. Kenji Mutoh (1/4/96 – IWGP Title) ))

It was nice to see Takada win the title. Other than that, this is one of Mutoh's worst performances of his career. I'd just as soon never watch wrestling again than vote for this thing.

 

(( Kojo Kanemoto vs. Jushin Liger (1/4/96 - IWGP Jr. Title) ))

"Good" match... but not up to the level of great juniors matches.

 

(( Vader vs. Antonio Inoki (1/4/96) ))

I love the HELL out of this match. This is New Japan's equiv of the 10/95 Kawada vs. Albright. Far and away the greatest performance of Vader's career... and all the credit in the world to Inoki for taking a man sized ass kicking.

 

(( Shinya Hashimoto vs. Ricki Choshu (1/4/97) ))

So-so match. Their 8/96 G1 match was worlds better.

 

(( Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Yosihiro Tajiri (1/4/97) ))

"Very good" match. It's should get a vote as dozens of juniors matches were better.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (1/4/97 – J Crown) ))

NOTE: This was Liger beating Dragon to win the J Crown

The Liger vs. Dragon match was damn good. It would have been better in a non-Dome setting.

 

(( Ultimo Dragon vs. Shinjiro Ohtani – (1/4/98 – IWGP Jr. Title) ))

Great match. They had a better one, though... but this was damn good.

 

(( Nagoya Ogawa vs. Shinya Hashimoto (1/4/99) ))

Ugh. No votes from me...

 

(( Tokyo Dome – April Shows - Great Sasuke vs. Jushin Liger (4/20/96- IWGP Jr. Title) ))

Excellent match. This again would be better in a smaller setting... but it was damn good.

 

(( Genricho Tenryu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (4/20/96) ))

This was an intense match with Fujinami having the second "hardest to watch" juice job in wrestling history as his nose was smashed to bits. But this is just a "good" match. Anyone voting this one of the 20 best NJ matches of the decade obviously either (i) has not watched enough NJ, or (ii) is a loon.

 

(( Great Muta vs. Hakushi (4/20/96) ))

Oh christ... this match was HORRIBLE! I liked the 4/96 Dome show, but this match sucked it hard. Oh boy... someone was hitting the weed here...

 

(( Shinya Hashimoto vs. Nobhiko Takada (4/20/96 - IWGP Title) ))

Excellent match. Not as good of a match as they could have had if they really put their mind to it... but an excellent match. Might make my list...

 

(( Nagoya Ogawa vs. Shinya Hashimoto (4/12/97) ))

This match wasn't even "good". Their rematch in 5/97 was the "good" one... and even it has no business being on this list.

 

(( Shinjiro Ohtani vs. El Samurai (4/12/97 – UWA Title) ))

"Good" match. These two had better... far better. No votes for this in my book.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (4/12/97- IWGP Jr. Title) ))

Not as good as their prior three matches. No votes...

 

(( Osamu Nishmura/Shinya Hashimoto vs. Masahiro Chono/Kenji Mutoh (4/4/98)

Keiji Muto vs. Don Frye (4/10/99 - IWGP Title) ))

I don't think either of these are NJ MOTYCs...

 

 

(( Tokyo Dome – October Shows - Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano – "NJ vs. UWFi" (10/9/95 - IWGP Jr. Title) ))

"Good" match. Way too overrated to be on this list... but a "good" match.

 

(( Kenji Mutoh vs. Nobohiko Takada – "NJ vs. UWFi" (10/9/95 - IWGP Title) ))

Shouldn't be on the list.

 

(( Naoya Ogawa vs. Shinya Hashimoto (10/11/99) ))

Ugh...

 

(( Koji Kanemoto/Minoru Tanaka vs. Shinjiro Ohtani/Tetsuhito Takiawa (10/11/99 - IWGP Jr. Tag Titles) ))

Pretty choice, but Domes just aren't good setting for juniors matches.

 

(( Tokyo Dome – Other Shows - Big Van Vader vs. Stan Hansen – "Super Fight" (2/10/90 - IWGP Title) ))

This wasn't even a "good" match.

 

(( Hiroshi Hase/Kensuke Sasaki vs. Steiners Brothers – "Starcade '91" (3/21/91 – IWGP Tag Titles) ))

Excellent match. The Steiners may have had better matches later, but this one always stands out at the first and the most eye popping. The Steiners finally had a team that "could go" against them, and Hase & Sasaki were just a great, great, great team at the time. At the time just a terrific match.

 

(( Akira Nogami vs. Jushin Liger – "Starcade '91" (3/21/91 – IWGP Jr. Title) ))

Not exactly one of Liger's best 20 or 30 matches, let only one of the promotion's best 20.

 

(( Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ric Flair – "Starcade '91" (3/21/91 – NWA Title) ))

This wasn't exactly "good". Compare this with the Chono vs. Hash and Chono vs. Mutoh from G1 later in the year to get a clue on how so-so this was. It shouldn't get a vote.

 

(( Other Dome Shows - Wild Pegasus vs. Too Cold Scorpio – Fukoka Dome (5/3/95) ))

I don't recall this is being worthy of a vote. Pegasus had to have had a dozen better matches in NJ...

 

(( Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kenji Mutoh – Fukoka Dome (5/3/95 – IWGP Title) ))

Sorta "good"... but their G1 Final later in the year blew this away.

 

(( Kanemoto/Ohtani/Togo/Teioh/Nakajima vs. Sasuke/Samurai/Hamada/Honaga/Delfin – "Strong Style Evolution" at Ogawa Dome (5/3/97) ))

Kinda "nifty"... but only a hint of what this feud could have been. Not quite at the level of the great MPro 10-man tags, though if Yamada had been given enough months to work the feud he had planned, I'd hazzard to guess that they would have cranked out a 10-man tag at some point that blew away the MPro ones.

 

(( El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani – "Four Heaven" at Nagowa Dome (9/10/97)

Koji Kanemoto vs. Jushin Liger – "Four Heaven" at Nagowa Dome (9/10/97) ))

These were close to "average" NJ Junior matches than "great" ones.

 

(( Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Pegasus Kid – "Final Battle Hall" at Fukoka Dome (11/2/97 – J Crown) ))

"Okay", as opposed to "great". Benoit got to show he could still go... but it seemed like a very abriged match with them taking it home quickly at the end and seeming to leave a ton of moves in the holster. They had a far better match for the WCW CW Title.

 

(( Great Sasuke vs. Jushin Liger – "Rising Next Generation" at Osaka Dome (8/8/98) ))

Er... not one of their better matches.

 

(( Genricho Tenryu vs. Shinya Hashimoto – "Rising Next Generation" at Osaka Dome (8/8/98) ))

This may just be the _worst_ Tenryu vs. Hash match. Ugh... it wasn't even "good".

 

(( Kanemoto/Wagner vs. Ohtani/Takaiwa – "Rising Next Generation at Osaka Dome (8/8/98 – Finals of IWGP Jr. Tag Tourney) ))

A hell of a match. A worthy candidate.

 

(( Super J 1994

Great Sasuke vs. El Samurai – Super J '94 (4/16/94)

Chris Benoit vs. Black Tiger – Super J '94 (4/16/94)

Great Sasuke vs. Jushin Liger – Super J '94 (4/16/94 – Semis)

Great Sasuke vs. Pegasus Kid – Super J '94 (4/16/94 – Finals) ))

 

The last two are worthy candidates. I think the Sammy vs. Sasuke match has aged so-so the last time I looked at it. "Excellent" match, but not a MOTYC. The Benoit vs. BT never struck me as a "great" match at the time.

 

(( J Crown Tournament

Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Negro Casas - Quarters (8/3/96) ))

Calling this "good" would be generous. I like Negro a lot, and liked him for years prior to this match. This was wildly disappointing live, and didn't get any better on TV. It shouldn't be on the list.

 

(( Ultimo Dragon vs. Shinjiro Ohtani - Semis (8/4/96) ))

Great match. Easy Top 20 pick.

 

(( Great Sasuke vs. El Samurai - Semis (8/4/96) ))

Excellent match. I don't think it's a MOTYC or even close.

 

(( Great Sasuke vs. Ultimo Dragon - Finals (8/5/96) ))

This could have been close to the level of Dragon vs. Ohtani... but Sasuke crashed landed on the floor. Seeing that live always colors what I think of this match. What they did was very excellent, but not a MOTYC level. Too bad... they had more stuff to run through if they didn't have to take it home too soon.

 

(( Skydiving J

Super Delfin vs. Taka Michinoku - Skydiving J (6/17/96 – CMLL Welterweight Title)

Dick Togo vs. Jushin Liger - Skydiving J (6/17/96 – British Jr. Title)

Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Kazushi Sakuraba – Skydriving J (6/17/96 - UWA Light Heavyweight Title) ))

 

I "like" the Ohtani vs. Sakuraba and the Liger vs. Big Dick... but I don't think either were MOTYC level. Fun card... but no blow away matches.

 

(( Top of the Super Juniors

Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart - TOSJ '91 (4/27/91) ))

Great match... worthy of Top 20 consideration.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga – TOSJ '91 (4/30/91 – Finals, IWGP Jr. Title) ))

Eh... "good" to "very good" match, with a nifty "upset" at the time. But a light year away from a MOTYC.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai – TOSJ '92 (4/30/92 - Finals) ))

One of Liger's great one man shows. Sammy became a much better worker _later_... but this is probably the high point of Liger's high spot work in the first phase of his "Liger" career.

 

(( Pegasus Kid vs. El Samurai – TOSJ '93 (6/15/93 - Finals) ))

Excellent... but I've never been quite as blown away by it as others. Better than come of the Pegasus matches listed earlier...

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Super Delfin – TOSJ '94 (6/13/94 – Finals) ))

**** tops. Not a MOTYC, and not really worthy of being on the list...

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa – TOSJ '95 (5/26/97) ))

Er... ugh.

 

NOTE - the year is off for the TOSJ designation.

 

(( Shinjiro Ohtani vs. El Samurai - TOSJ '95 (6/23/95)

Pegasus Kid vs. Black Tiger - TOSJ '95 (7/4/95)

Pegasus Kid vs. El Samurai - TOSJ '95 (7/7/95)

Pegasus Kid vs. Black Tiger – TOSJ '95 (7/13/95 - Semis)

Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Koji Kanemoto - TOSJ '95 (7/13/95 - Semis)

Chris Benoit vs. Shinjiro Ohtani – TOSJ '95 (7/13/95 - Finals) ))

 

I didn't think this edition had any blow away matches. Pegasus vs. Sammy was really choice, but it was also a 30:00 draw that was cut down for TV and tape. The Ohtani vs. Koji might have been the best... but I don't know if any of this is what I would call strong MOTYC level stuff.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai – TOSJ '96 (6/11/96 - Semis)

Black Tiger vs. Pegasus Kid – TOSJ '96 (6/11/96 - Semis)

Black Tiger vs. Jushin Liger – TOSJ '96 (6/12/96 - Finals) ))

 

I liked all three of these a whole hell of a lot better than the prior year's stuff. That's my favorite Benoit vs. Eddy match, as the reverse chinlock is worked and sold to simple perfection. The Liger vs. Sammy always struck me as one time when they were on the same wavelength, working move for move as opposed to Liger putting on a show. And I loved the final. The Final and the BT vs. Pegasus are pretty strong candidates to make my list.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto TOSJ '97 (6/1/97) ))

I just don't like Liger vs. Koji match. Never have, back to the days of Tigermoto screwing up spots.

 

(( El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani TOSJ '97 (6/3/97) ))

I like the way these two work together, but their best match was by far the 1/96 UWA Title match. That makes it, this doesn't.

 

(( El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto – TOSJ '97 (6/5/97 - Finals) ))

I think this was the high point of junior jerking off. Great spots. Really crappy psych. Dean explains the psych in this far better and more entertaining than it actually was. And the move that made the match famous is treated in a fashion that makes it easy for me to leave it off my ballot. If they don't respect the move enough, that I won't respect the match.

 

(( Shinjiro Ohtani vs. El Samurai – TOSJ '98 (5/19/98)

Koji Kanemoto vs. Kendo Ka Shin – TOSJ '98 (5/23/98)

Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Jushin Liger – TOSJ '98 (5/28/98)

Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa – TOSJ '98 (5/31/98)

Koji Kanemoto vs. Dr. Wagner, Jr. – TOSJ'98 (6/3/98 – Finals) ))

 

Ohtani vs. Liger was great. The Final was great. I was bored in general by the tourny.

 

(( Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Minoru Tanaka – TOSJ '99 (5/31/99)

Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto – TOSJ '99 (5/31/99) ))

See above.

 

(( G-1

Kenji Mutoh vs. Masa Chono - G-1 '91 (8/11/91 – Finals) ))

Terrific match. Worthy Top 20 candidate given it's quality in the context of it's time.

 

Someone pointed out the Hash vs. Chono match. They had two, actually. A 30:00 draw and then a "rematch" to break the tie in the Block which Chono won. The draw was probably better, though it took it's time in developing.

 

(( Masahiro Chono vs. Rick Rude – G-1 '92 (8/12/92 – Finals, NWA title) ))

A bit too long for my taste, and I wasn't a fan of Rude's offense at the time. A excellent old school match, and this was when Rude could be a damn good worker when inspired. It won't make my list, but it's better than many of the matches listed here. Given that, it is a worthy candidate.

 

(( Masa Chono vs. Tony Halme G-1 '93 (NWA Tournament, 1993 G1 Final) ))

Fujinami met Hase in the Final of the 1993 tourny. It was in the "good" range.

 

The 1994 G1 had a pair of excellent Koshinaka matches:

08/94 Koshinaka vs. Hashimoto

08/94 Koshinaka vs. Hase

I'd have to look up the dates. Not MOTYC, but pretty nifty excellent matches.

 

(( Keiji Mutoh vs. Shinya Hashimoto – G-1 '95 (8/15/95 – Finals) ))

Great match. An easy Top 20 pick for me. Probably the NJ Heavy singles match that stands out most in my mind for the decade.

This was a terrific G1 with lots of ***1/2 to **** matches. The Final was the only one that struck me as being on the edge of MOTYC level, but there a ton of other very watchable and entertaining matches in the series. Even Notron had good matches. I'd recommend the 8/19/95 to 9/16/95 NJPW TV shows to anyone as one of the best stretches of TV they had in the decade for heavies.

 

NOTE: The 1996 G1 had the following matches worthy of consideration:

08/96 Hashimoto vs. Choshu

08/96 Mutoh vs. Yamazaki

08/96 Yamazaki vs. Koshinaka

08/96 Koshinaka vs. Chono

08/96 Koshinaka vs. Mutoh

 

The first one if the only one I would strongly consider for the list. Epic spectacle live, super heated and dramatic. The other were just excellent matches, with the three Koshinaka matches being testements to one of the most underrated workers of the past 20 years as he worked his way through a difficult Murderers Row of opponents main eventing Sumo Hall three straight nights... and pulling out matches of high quality.

 

(( Shinya Hashimoto vs. Genichiro Tenryu – G-1 '98 (8/1/98 - Quarters) ))

Wildly overrated.

 

(( Shinya Hashimoto vs. Satoshi Kojima - G-1'98 (8/2/98 – Semis) ))

I like both of these guys. This wasn't a great match. Very good... but not excellent.

 

(( Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki – G-1 '98 (8/2/98 - Finals) ))

I liked their match the prior year for the IWGP. I think Idol wrote a thesis on the flaws of this match.

 

(( Other Heavyweight Title Matches

IWGP Title

Riki Choshu vs. Vader (8/19/90 – IWGP Title) ))

Er... this really wasn't all that great.

 

NOTE: The 11/01/90 Choshu vs. Hashimoto is probably the best example of Established Star vs. Young Lion pysch and drama that NJ kicked out as the Three Musketeers were rising. Not really a MOTYC, but an intense "world title" level match similar to the type of matches Hash would have when he took over Choshu's spot as the top guy in the promotion. I liked it a lot, and that even having to follow to MOTYC on the same card and TV show.

 

(( Vader vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (1/17/91 - IWGP Title) ))

Fun match. Not a MOTYC... not really worthy of a match. Vader got better later.

 

There have got to be some non-Dome IWGP matches between 1991 and 1994 worthy of being on the list. Hmm... I'm drawing a blank. Muta's first reign sucked other than the Chono unification match cited. The 12/93 Hash vs. Power and Hash vs. Mutoh were excellent matches, but not at MOTYC level. The 1994 Hash vs. Fujinami and Choshu vs. Hash matches were simple and entertaining... but not really great. Hmm... crap...

 

(( Hiroshi Hase vs. Shinya Hashimoto (12/11/94 – IWGP Title) ))

Terrific match. Hase's last great singles match.

 

NOTE: Add the following matches:

12/95 Mutoh vs. Koshinaka

02/97 Hash vs. Yamazaki

06/97 Hash vs. Mutoh

The first is probably the best. But the other two have gotten high praise in some circles, including some of the DVDVR folks.

 

(( Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kenji Mutoh (5/3/99 – IWGP Title) ))

Ugh.

 

(( Kenji Muto vs. Satoshi Kojima – (7/20/99 - IWGP Title) ))

More ugh.

Okay matches. Just not that great.

 

(( IWGP Tag Titles

Kenji Mutoh/Masa Chono vs. Hiroshi Hase/Kensuke Sasaki (11/1/90 – IWGP Tag Titles) ))

Top 20 lock. Terrific match. In the context of it's time, an amazing match.

 

NOTE: There are other 1990-91 IWGP Tag Title matches to add. I'll have to look them up to refresh my memory, but Hase & Sasaki churned out a few if quick order between here and the 3/91 Steiner match.

 

NOTE: Add the following:

11/05/91 Mutoh & Hase vs. Rick Steiner & Scott Norton

Simply a terrific match for the vacant IWGP titles. Super heated, tons of spots... just a terrific match.

 

(( Bam Bam Bigelow/Vader vs. Hiroshi Hase/Kenji Mutoh – "20th Anniversary Show" (3/1/92 – IWGP Tag Titles) ))

This was the title change, and it wasn't even a good match. Their great match was later in the year with Vader and Bigelow defending.

 

NOTE: Add:

04/92 Vader & Bigelow vs. Mutoh & Hase

This is the one where Hase bleds all over the place. Great match... worthy candidate for the Top 20 as one of the best "smaller guys vs. Monsters" match you'll see.

 

Well... the titles do seem to go to suck for a long period as the Hellraisers and JP hold them. But, it came out of the dark long before 1998.

 

NOTE: Add the following matches:

06/10/95 Chono & Tenzan vs. Hash & Hirata

06/12/96 Hash & Hirata vs. Yamazaki & Iizuka

 

These are a pair of excellent IWGP Tag Title matches. Super heated, very much like the Chono & Tanzan vs. Kosh & Tenryu cited below. Hash & Hirata were fine Tag Champs, even if they didn't always have good opponents to work with. Then Chono & Tenzan had a good feud with Yamazaki & Iizuka over the second half of 1996 with a number of ***1/2+ tag title and tag league matches. Not AJPW level of great matches, but entertaining. The two above were the best of the era. Setting aside the standard of tag matches in AJPW, they were damn fine.

 

(( Masa Chono/Tenzan vs. Shiro Koshinaka/Geniricho Tenryu (6/5/98 – IWGP Tag Title Tourney Finals) ))

I always felt this was a bit overrated. But it was a excellent match, similar to the 6/95 and 6/96 matches I listed. They all are of the same general level - quite a step below the AJPW high end tag level, but above most any other heavy tags you'd find in the world.

 

(( Other Juniors Title Matches

IWGP Jr.

Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (8/19/90 – IWGP Jr. Title)

Jushin Liger vs. Peagsus Kid (11/1/90 – IWGP Jr. Title) ))

The second is exceptional. I thought the first was a bit of a drop from the Liger vs. Sano level. The second would be a strong candidate for my Top 20 list.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Negro Casas – "Legends Show" (12/16/90 – IWGP Jr. Title) ))

"Very good match", but not worthy of being on the list.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (2/10/92 – IWGP Jr. & WCW Light Hvy. Titles) ))

Super forgotten match. I'm pleased it's on the list. Not as high spotty as your typical junior match, but the selling of the injury by Liger is great. Really great change of pace for a juniors match.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (5/17/92 – IWGP Jr. Title) ))

I don't think this is close to the Super Jr. Final the prior month... so it wouldn't get a vote.

 

(( Ultimo Dragon vs. El Samurai (11/22/92 – IWGP Jr. Title) ))

I don't recall this as being all that great...

 

(( Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Koji Kanemoto (4/16/95 - IWGP Jr. vs. UWA Title) ))

 

Terrific match. Koji and Ohtani worked together very well in 1995.

 

NOTE: Add the 1/29/96 El Samurai vs. Ohtani UWA Title match. One of the decaded very best juniors matches, and because of the psych and mat work, one that will age better than most of the highspotfest. A Top 5 candidate for me the further removed we get from it and see how the division developed. The world would be a better place if they followed the path this match hinted at.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (2/9/97 – J-Crown)

Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (2/16/97 - J-Crown) ))

The first is a Top 5 candidate for me as well. Liger and Ohtani pay tribute to the 1/97 Misawa vs. Kobashi classic. Awesome match.

The second is a spotfest, and perhaps the best of the Liger vs. Koji. But I really don't enjoy how Koji works with Liger... probably won't make my list.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (7/6/97 – J-Crown) ))

I didn't think this was all that great.

 

(( El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani – (8/10/97 – J-Crown) ))

 

NOTE: This is already up above on the Other Dome Show list.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (2/7/98 – IWGP Jr. Title)

Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (7/15/98 – IWGP Jr. Title)

Jushin Liger vs. Dr. Wagner, Jr. (2/6/99 - IWGP Jr. Title)

Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (3/17/99 – IWGP Jr. Title) ))

 

I didn't think there were all that great...

 

(( J-Crown ))

Er... some are missing here.

 

(( Other

Jushin Liger/Great Sasuke vs. Shinjiro Ohtani/Tatsuhito Takaiwa (7/13/99 – IWGP Jr. Tag Titles) ))

I haven't been a huge fan of the IWGP Jr. Tag Title matches. The matches are all excellent, but they seem to lack that certain extra kick that makes a AJPW tag match memorable.

 

(( Random Matches

1990

Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (1/31/90) ))

 

NOTE: This is a IWGP Jr. Title match. Liger wins the title back.

Obviously a super classico.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart (1/31/90) ))

NOTE: This is part of the 1990 IWGP Contenders Tourny. It's not officially part of the Top/Best of the Super Juniors line... but is along the same lines.

 

This never struck me as being at quite the same level as their match the following year. Really good, though.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (3/19/90) ))

NOTE: This was a IWGP Jr. Title match.

 

A excellent match... but I don't recall it being at the level of their matches later in the year.

 

(( Kenji Mutoh vs. Owen Hart (7/5/90) ))

I draw a massive blank on this one...

 

(( Hiroshi Hase vs. Great Muta (9/14/90) ))

Hase bled a lot. Other than that, this really wasn't all that good. Their classic was in 1992...

 

(( 1991

Hiroshi Hase vs. Jushin Liger (5/6/91) ))

A excellent long old style match with newer offensive moves mixed in. People were calling this a ***** match in 1991 off of the hand held copy. I never thought it was at that level... but do think it's a excellent match.

 

(( Steiner Brothers vs. Hiroshi Hase/Kensuke Sasaki (5/26/91) ))

NOTE: This was a IWGP Tag Title match.

NOTE: The date was 05/31/91.

Typical great match... but I still like the 3/91 better.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (7/4/91 - Mask vs. Mask) ))

I don't recall this match. Hmm...

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (10/18/91) ))

This may be the match that aired on WCW Saturday Night. Terrific match...

 

(( 1992 ))

NOTE: Add:

05/92 Koshinaka vs. Aoyagi

This was the climax of the Dojo Sign Feud, which was one of the very best under card jaborni feuds of the entire decade in any promotion. Koshinaka was a GOD in carrying a host of limited or simply poor workers to an extremely heated feud that was actually damn entertaining. Classic NJPW "worked shoot" crap that the crowds ate up. Boat loads of fun, dramatic, intense, and Kosh being the glue holding it together. No... this isn't pretty. But it's classic NJPW "making something out of nothing".

 

(( Hiroshi Hase vs. Masa Chono (12/11/92) ))

A excellent old school match. I like the 1/93 Mutoh vs. Chono better, and the Hase vs. Muta from this same month... but this trio did kick out three excellent match in less than a month.

 

(( Hiroshi Hase vs. Great Muta (12/14/92) ))

I liked this match a lot, far more than just going ga-ga over the buckets of juice. The actually _wrestled_ in between all the bloodletting, with both throwing out the suplexes left and right. Loads of drama with Hase coming off of the win over Chono and looking like he could dump Muta here. This will make my Top 20.

 

NOTE: Add:

12/14/92 Tenryu vs. Koshinaka

A forgotten excellent match, with Koshinaka making Tenryu look strong going into the Dome showdown with Choshu.

 

(( Jushin Liger/Koji Kanemoto vs. Ultimo Dragon/Masahiro Orihara (12/19/92) ))

NOTE: I think this a year end WAR show, hence it should be off the ballot. The New Japan series ended with the two big shows with Hase vs. Chono and Hase vs. Muta.

 

(( 1993

Jushin Liger/El Samurai vs. Noriho Honaga/Ultimo Dragon (4/2/93) ))

This was pretty damn choice as I recall. Probably the best junior match in the NJ vs. WAR feud... as Dragon was banged up and off his game during it.

 

NOTE: Two matches should be added:

6/93 Tenryu vs. Hashimoto

8/93 Tenryu vs. Hashimoto

 

Both are vastly better than the 8/98 Dome one cited. They aren't at the level of the 8/98 G1 Climax match or their 2/94 forgotten gem.

 

(( Hiroshi Hase vs. Genichiro Tenryu (9/23/93) ))

I like this a lot... but I wouldn't go anywhere past **** on it. Not a Top 20 candidate.

 

(( Jushin Liger/Pegasus Kid vs. Shinya Hashimoto/Masa Chono – SG Tag League '97 (10/25/93) ))

NOTE: This is Wild Pegasus.

 

I thought this was in the range of a ***1/2 match. Nifty to see the juniors win... but not all that great.

 

(( 1994 ))

NOTE: Add:

2/94 Tenryu vs. Hash

This was a mother of a match as Hash got his first win over Tenryu. I like this better than the 8/98 G1 climax match.

 

NOTE: Add:

2/94 Hashimoto vs. Liger

It's not a classic, but these two do bust their asses to try to make a believable match of Junior Champ facing The Man. And it does "work", which is a tribute to the two. An excellent match.

 

(( Jushin Liger/Pegasus Kid vs. Steiners Brothers (4/4/94) ))

NOTE: This is Wild Pegasus.

Fun match. It won't make my list... but this was a load of fun at the time.

 

(( Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (7/8/94)

Hiro Hase/Kenji Mutoh vs. Steiners Brothers (7/8/94) ))

I like these matches quite a bit. I don't rate them as highly as Meltzer did (***** and ****1/2 respectively), but I did enjoy them. I think I like the Liger vs. Sasuke here better than their J-Cup match, in fact. Good candidate...

 

(( Great Sasuke/Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus/Shinjiro Ohtani – SG Jr. Tag League '94 (10/16/94 - Finals) ))

Exceptional match. Craploads of fun. This is an easy Top 20 match.

 

(( 1995

Pegasus Kid vs. Koji Kanemoto (3/13/95) ))

NOTE: This is a IWGP Jr. Title match.

NOTE: This is Wild Pegasus.

It's pretty choice. Koji was improving at the time... and Benoit did a hell of a job with him. Not Top 20 for me, but 1995 was a lot of fun to watch Koji and Ohtani "grow up" while Liger was on the shelf.

 

(( 1996

Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (3/17/96) ))

NOTE: This is a IWGP Jr. Title match.

I frigging LOVE this match. Awesome finish as Liger puts the Shootay on the map. Not as good as their match the following February which plays off this, but a strong Top 20 candidate.

 

(( Pegasus Kid vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (3/20/96) ))

NOTE: This is the WCW Cruiserweight Title Final

NOTE: This is Wild Pegasus.

Great match, with Pegasus using the Ohtani Killer Powerbomb and Ohtani answering with the Swan Dive DDT that were both all hurty and stuff. Boatloads of fun.

 

(( 1997 ))

NOTE: Add:

01/97 Liger & Samurai & Honaga vs. Kanemoto & Ohtani & Takaiwa

This did a great job of defining the Liger & Sammy & Co. vs. Kanemoto & Ohtani & Co. feud.

 

NOTE: Add:

03/97 Liger & Samurai & Pegasus vs. Kanemoto & Otani & Takaiwa

A rare appearance of 3/4 of the Jr. Horsemen and a joy to watch.

 

(( Jushin Liger/Pegasus Kid vs. Shinjiro Ohtani/Tatsuhito Takawia (3/18/97) ))

NOTE: This is Wild Pegasus.

Terrific match.

 

(( Liger/Naniwa/Jericho/Wagner vs. Ohtani/Takaiwa/Tajiri/Hanzo (6/28/97) ))

Er... not especially great.

 

(( Jushin Liger/Kendo Ka Shin vs. Shinjiro Ohtani/Koji Kanemoto (9/17/97) ))

I don't recall this as being anything above "normal" for the teams. Excellent... but...

 

(( Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Jushin Liger (10/19/97)

Koji Kanemoto vs. El Samurai (10/22/97) ))

There were a number of excellent singles matches in this series... which was a very oddly booked series by Liger to be tossing them all out. But I don't recall any of them quite reaching MOTYC level.

 

(( Ka Shin/Liger/Samurai vs. Kanemoto/Takaiwa/Ohtani (10/31/97 – Elimination Match) ))

Terrific match. It won't make my Top 20, but it was a terrific match.

 

(( Liger/Samurai/Ka Shin vs. Ohtani/Kanemoto/Takaiwa (11/22/97) ))

Another of the "excellent but not MOTYC" level matches. The rivalry had a ton of excellent tag matches, like the Jumbo & Co. vs. Misawa & Co. series. To vote for these, you really need them to be memorable... and the tags while high on great matches were low on memorable one.

 

(( 1998

Jushin Liger/Dr. Wagner, Jr. vs. Koji Kanemoto/Shinjiro Ohtani (3/14/98) ))

See above...

 

(( Kojima/Fujinami vs. Tenryu/Koshinaka (4/14/98) ))

Eh...

 

(( Jushin Liger/Kendo Ka Shin vs. Shinjiro Ohtani/Tatsuhito Takaiwa (4/14/98)

Liger/Kashin/Samurai vs. Takawia/Kanemoto/Ohtani (4/21/98) ))

More of the same. Great matches... but none of these stick out like the 7/2/93 AJPW six-man tag main event.

 

(( 1999

Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (1/27/99) ))

Yikes... I didn't even think this was especially "good".

 

(( Koji Kanemoto vs. Minoru Tanaka (6/27/99)

Pegasus Kid vs. Jushin Liger (10/17/99) ))

I think these were victim of my late-90s boredom with the juniors. Too bad on my part...

 

I'll look up the dates for the matches I recommended to be added...

 

John

WCW BALLOT

 

20. Doom vs. Arn Anderson & Barry Windham ( 12/16/90 - Starrcade '90)

This didn't even get nominated. This was a 7:00 quad-juice streetfight brawl. A bit short... but this was intense as hell and had the aura of a "fight". This was to be Flair & Arn vs. Doom, but Ric went AWOL that show so that he could end up under the Black Scorpion mask and job to Sting in the main event. It actually was just as fine that Flair wasn't in it, as this type of brawl was more Barry's style given his old Florida roots and having to carry people like Ron Bass. The Horsemen were in one of their short stretchs of being tweeners in this feud, but they were very much in Kick Ass mode rather than kissing teenie bopper mode. I don't think the Horsemen ever captured the true level of ass kicking before or after this match - their prior ass kicking modes, like "making it good" on Dusty and rubbing Ricky Morton's face in the concrete were more the good campy rudo-dom that played to Rudo fans like myself while getting the Face Rubes all up at arms. *This* was true ass stomping, going toe-to-toe with a pair of bad asses like Simmons and Reed. Barry & Arn vs. Doom *should* have been a great violent feud, but WCW had their head up their ass. Hmmm... story of most of their decade.

 

19. Barry Windham vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (6/16/93 - Clash XXIII - NWA World Title)

Hey... more Barry Windham. There may be more before this is over.

This was Barry's last great match as he would blow out his knee later in the month, then screwed off when he should have been rehabbing, and never again was the God of Work that he once was.

Here's the basic premise of the match. Barry is Jumbo Tsuruta, circa May 1991, just younger, and not The Man like Jumbo was. Scorp was Kenta Kobashi circa May 1991, just not quite as good. This is Vet Star vs. Young Hot Shot, just like the May 1991 Jumbo vs. Kobashi. It's _not_ as good as the AJPW classic, but it is one of the very best Vet vs. Young Gun matches that the US produced in the decade.

Why? Because they both played their roles to perfection. Scorp brought the flashy offense. Barry brought the ability to layout a match, let Scorp up for his highspots, and cut him off and reel him back in. Oh yeah... Barry also brought excellent US heavy offense for the era. And Barry got to win in the end. When watching this match at the time, one could visualize NWA World Champ Barry touring the territories back in the early 80s, working against the local top face, and putting on a damn fine match.

I see Deano rated this fairly high. It's *not* as good as he rated it. But it is worthy of consideration, and is the type of smartly worked match that ages well. Seeing it on Dean's list does give me comfort that my quirkiness here is on the mark.

 

18. Too Cold Scorpio vs. Chris Benoit (2/21/93 - Superbrawl '93)

This is one of those great "what if" matches. WCW could have put together a great junior division in 1991- 7/92 when they were pushing Pillman as the LHW champ. They blew that of course. Here in early 1993, they could have again put together a great junior division. This match gave a hint of what it could have been like like. Scorp was still green, but Benoit was terrific in carrying him. This wasn't short, they had plenty of time to build a match, and by the end of it they were doing things that people just weren't regularly seeing in the Big 2 at the time. One almost get melancholy watching it now, knowing it would be three and a half years before the junior division got over here, and even worse realize how over it final got and was still ruined by the people running the business.

 

17. Brian Pillman vs. Johnny B. Badd (9/17/95- Fall Brawl '95)

This ranks behind only the 6/12/98 Kawada vs. Misawa match as the finest example in the decade of a wrestler giving a big "fuck you" to a booker screwing him.

This was Pillman before he lost his mind to hanging out with the Horsemen, with the work-shoot-fabe crap, and the loose cannon nonsense. This was Pillman who could work like a mother, and had a truly global perspective on how to work. He was deeply into puroresu and Lucha at the time, and was incorporating a move here and a spot there into his matches. At a time when most of the workers in the Big Two were still L7, Pillman was open minded in 1994 through the fall of 1995, and took pride in his work.

So the jackass bookers sent him out to work a "20:00" broadway (actually 20:14), then go to "sudden death overtime" and work another 9:00 before doing a finish. This back when Mero was a damn limited worker, and was just as likely to botch a move badly as hit something graceful. 30:00 with Mero was the way for the boys in the back to show up Pillman - he and Mero couldn't possibly fill the time and would completely lose the crowd by spending a ton of time laying around. Everyone in the back would have a good laugh at Brian, and all his talk about different types of great work would be blown out of the water.

Instead Pillman put on the performance of his lifetime. The 20:00 "draw" part was a good slow build, but Pillman smartly picked things up for a highspot regularly enough to keep the crowd engaged. The 9:00 of sudden death were terrific, with loads of highspots, and Pillman used the extra time the bookers tagged on in hopes to screw him to create a somewhat unique match - the "restarts" almost always end quickly, and are anticlimactic. Going longer in the resart gave this drama that built and got more intense.

If I had to point to one Pillman match for people to track down to get a feel of just how good Brian was, this is the one. This is his Kawada vs. Albright and Vader vs. Inoki. Knowing at the time just how badly the powers were trying to fuck him made it only sweeter to watch.

Of course Brian would shortly go into the Horsemen, and learn the "right" way to work. That was hard to watch, as Brian already knew how to work... in just a way that was perfect for _him_.

There are two Brian's I'll always remember, even if I have to force myself to.

One is Brian in the last year who was spiraling out of control. You have to remember that one, or you can't possibly learn anything from his decline and death.

The other Brian I remember was the one on this night, when the boys in the back sent him out there with Marc Mero set up to step on his own dick. Instead, Brian flipped them the bird, went out there, and _wrestled_. Damn was it good, and everyone watching knew it.

 

16. Sting vs. Cactus Jack (6/20/92 - Beach Blast '92 - Falls Count Anywhere)

Cactus' break through match in WCW, and to me his best match of his WCW years. Thrown in a "main event" of a show that Watts pretty much wrote off, with little expectations, Cactus led a very game Sting through a hell of a match. Naturally WCW fails to build off of it at all, having no clue in what they had in Mick.

 

15. Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (2/25/90 - Wrestlewar '90 - NWA World Title)

This strikes me as the definitive "Ric Flair Match" that Ric had in the 90s - Flair carrying a lesser opponent, repetative as all hell, lots of "energy", pedestrian offense, lots of heat and drama, nutty psych, long slow build that never felt like it was dragging too much, the Horsemen helping Ric, the best main events you'd find in the US, and a crap finish. Well... maybe the finish wasn't too crappy to me at the time, since Ric got to keep the title... and that was better than having Luger win it.

I'm fearful of rewatching this match and actually trying to chart it out. The number of Luger gorilla presses and lariats would probably drive me nuts. As would Flair begging off. As would Flair's regressive offense. As would the way inwhich the pysch wouldn't add up to a strong bottom line. As I say, definitive Ric Flair.

But at the time, this did seem like an epic match and a terrific main event, especially to this Flair fan. I was already watching puroresu at that time, and the TC *wasn't* kicking out matches better than this with regularity at that point, as only the 6/89 TC was truly a classic by that point. The IWGP was pretty so-so for the most part. WWF mains blew by-and-large. In some ways, this was the last of Flair's great NWA/WCW singles match that was up there on the top tier of what heavies were doing.

 

14. Steiner Brothers vs. Sting & Lex Luger (5/19/91 - Superbrawl '91 - WCW Tag Titles)

A shockingly great match, with all four busting their ass in a spot-a-thon. Nothing but signature spots left-and-right. This had mega heat, and was one of the few "dream matches" (to regular fans) that exceeded expectations (to hardcore fans). The finish sucked, but it was going to be tricky having someone do the job here. I think if I were the booker, I would have had Scott pin Luger, setting up a Luger vs. Scott US Title match on the 6/12/91 Clash where Luger could get the pin back... instead of that embarassing Luger vs. Muta match. *sigh*

Anyway, I think this would be the one WCW match of the Steiners to track down. It seemed to hit on all cylinders better than any of their matches on this continent.

 

13. Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson & Larry Zbysko (11/19/91 - Clash XVII - WCW Tag Titles)

Ricky being Dustin's "big surprise" . This was a terrific moment in Clash history. Arn and Ricky worked together like they were born to work together. A title change at the end that even die-hard rudo fans like myself could pop for. Another WCW match that probably doesn't hold up given how many great AJPW tag matches we've seen since, but at the time this was both excellent and instantly memorable.

 

12. Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (2/29/92 - Superbrawl '92 - WCW Light Heavyweight Title)

I may rate this low... but at the time I didn't think it was quite deserving of the rating it got - Liger was regularly every bit as good in Japan. Excellent... a US MOTYC... but ****3/4 was pretty nutty. But...

In hindsight it was a US MOTYC, and the highpoint of the aborted WCW LHW division. They had plenty of time to work _their_ match. This wasn't at all like the standard rushed cruiser match of the last half of the decade where they had to go-go-go and throw as much "stuff" into 10:00 or less. Good smart work here, and worthy of making the list.

11. Dean Malenko vs. Ultimo Dragon (12/29/96 - Starrcade '96 - WCW Cruiserweight vs. J-Crown)

Dean and Dragon were at their peaks here and the crowd was actually into cruiser *wrestling* at the time. You didn't have to put on a spot-o-rama as a cruiser to get heat. You could simply work the signature spots that the fans were familar with. The finish drags this down from being higher on the list, but all things told I think it remains one of the upper tier of WCW's cruiser matches.

 

10. Shane Douglas & Ricky Steamboat vs. Barry Windham & Brian Pillman (12/28/92 - Starrcade '92 - NWA/WCW Tag Titles)

God... these were the days of nice long tag matches when they could take your time, build a match, keep the crowd into it, and slowly at home you realize you're watching something special rather than being hit over the head with it. Barry, Ricky and Pillman were so damn good back here that they could carry vanilla window dressing like Shane to a classic. Barry & Pillman would have made a exceptional rudo team, but the promotion had Barry pointed in the dirction of the NWA Title and Pillman was a short time away from the Blonds... neither of which were bad moves. People who are putting matches like Benoit & Malenko vs. Raven & Saturn or the Windhams on their list don't know what they missed - this was real NWA tag team wrestling, where "face-in-peril" was a life and death experience in great matches.

 

9. Sting vs. Vader (7/12/92 - GAB '92 - WCW World Title)

8. Sting vs. Vader (12/28/92 - Starrcade '92 - King of Cable Finals)

Sting vs. Vader was the Feud of the Decade in WCW. Of course it was a feud botched up by the bookers, but Leon didn't let that get in his way and this was back when Sting was truly a game wrestler when in with someone who wanted to go.

Watts had JYD and Butch Reed 1980-85 on his mind at the time, which meant Vader was transitional between Sting and the new Great Black Hope, Ron Simmons. What Watts didn't realize was that Vader was Terry Gordy circa 1986 - the best fucking big man in the US. In 1986 Watts had over faces by the boatload to chase Gordy - Duggan, DiBiase, Doc and Taylor. In 1992 he had over faces by the boatload to chase Vader - Sting, Steamboat, Windham, the Steiners, and the up-and-coming Dustin and Simmons.

Ron badly needed to be "tested" in a semifinal feud over the US Title with Rick Rude (who had just finished a feud with Steamboat and had developed into a fine heel worker) while Steamboat and Barry slipped into the challenger role opposite Vader. If Simmons showed he could hang with Rude, and carry himself as a semifinal face, *then* it might be worthwhile to put the belt on him. Instead, Watts threw Simmons to the lions and he got eaten right up. And Vader's quicky transition reign here didn't do him any wonders once he was given the title in 1993 for a long reign. His crop of face opponents just didn't seem quite as attractive then, as Windham had gone heel, Steamboat was no longer red-hot like he was in the first half of 1992, the Steiners were gone, and Simmons had been eaten up. 1992 was the right time, and the WWF in the post-scandal era where the business was falling out the bottom was ripe for inroads *if* the company had their shit together. Instead, Simmons got the push, and Jake Roberts got brought in for Spin the Wheel with Sting. *rolls eyes*

But I digress and back to the two Vader vs. Sting matches.

The first match was the title change, which was shocking at the time not only in its quality, but also in the realtively clean win for a heel against the top face in the company. The second was Sting's revenge later in the year. *In the context of their time*, these were not only more satisfying than Vader's matches with Misawa and Kobashi in All Japan, but they were also _better_. Both were among the better heavyweight singles matches of 1992, which while devoid of a runaway choice for best heavy singles match, had a decent depth of MOTYC - 8/92 Chono vs. Rude, 8/92 Hart vs. Smith, 10/92 Misawa vs. Kawada, 11/92 Hart vs. Michaels, 12/92 Chono vs. Hase and 12/92 Muta vs. Hase. I'd tab the Misawa vs. Kawada as the best, but the Vader vs. Sting matches were in the same class as the rest and work very well as examples of a Big Man vs. Strong Baby Face match in contrast to the "old school" virtures of most of the rest and the bloodbath appeal of the Hase-Muta.

 

7. Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes vs. Larry Zbysko & Steve Austin (2/29/92- Superbrawl '92)

I have a big soft spot for this match. It was 18:30 of non-stop action. The pacing was more like an All Japan six-man tag main event than a US match. Rather than coming across as a spot-a-thon, the pacing created an intense "grudge feud" feeling making this seem like a "war". They didn't have the state of the art heavy moves that their AJPW peers had, or quite the stiffness. But they had the intensity, and as some would say, they brought the HATE here.

Dustin and Austin were young up-and-comers at the time, with a long feud under their belts over the TV title. Their singles matches at the time were "good" though a bit overrated at the time and in hindsight. In a tag setting, they could eliminate a good amount of the "time killing", which they weren't masters of at that time, and rely more on their signature spots and work from a comfort zone. Barry was a God of Work at this time and he brought the total package here - the offense, the selling, the brawling, the intensity, the glue, the guiding the youngins through the match, the pacing, the kicking Larry swiftly in the ass to keep him from stalling. There wasn't even time for Larry to stall and work with the crowd - the other three were off to the races and _froced_ him to keep up.

The Steiners worked against Arn & Eaton on the same card, and that match just meandered around. It was "solid", but didn't really build like the Dream Match that it looked to be on paper. Windham & Rhodes vs. Larry & Austin brought the goods. This is a match I wish Dean would watch and review. It's almost a southern wrestling tag "fight" match rather than a southern wrestling tag "face-in-peril" match. This wasn't like the Anderson's breaking down a body part. It was more like bunch of Dick Murdoch's and Barry Windham's beating each other up, which works for me.

 

6. Ric Flair & Barry Windham & Sid Vicious & Larry Zbysko vs. Sting & The Steiners & Brian Pillman (2/24/91 - Wrestlewar '91 - Wargames)

5. Sting & Ricky Steamboat & Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes & Nikita Koloff vs. Rick Rude & Steve Austin & Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbysko (5/17/92 - Wrestlewar '92 - Wargames)

It's a toss up to me which of these are better.

The 1991 match has the single best stretch of Wargames in history - the opening 5:00 period between Kick Ass Heel Horseman Barry Windham and the Injured Brian Pillman. The beat the snot out of each other, but because they had 5:00, they aren't rushed about it. There's a frenzy of violence, but they have the time to develope the story of Brian's bad shoulder and also his fighting spirit. Awesome stuff. The 1991 also has a (then) rare heel win at the end, and also is psychologically logical as it's Pillman who goes down at the end after being in there from the begining. But inbetween it's a bit so-so. The Steiners really weren't made for Wargames or a cage - it seemed to detract from their strong points. Larry wasn't very good at this point, and didn't have any Wargames experience. Arn was hurt. Had he, one of the master workers of the Wargames setting, been in there this would have been a lock to ranked the high of the two.

The 1992 had a super opening with Barry and Austin, but they went just 2:00 and didn't have the psychological impact and depth of the Barry vs. Pillman opening the year before. It did have good pysch, though, as the two were feuding over the TV title at the time. The ending in 1992 also was weaker - it tried to do a bit too much, and came across as unnecessairly sloppy. But in between... jesus christ was it a awesome match. Barry and Arn were absolute masters of the Wargames setting. They had schtick and spots galore that they could roll out, right down to Arn's classic "Upside Down With My Head Between The Rings" spot. Sting had been in enough of them to know how to play his Top Baby Face role very well. Steamboat and Rude... they were so good workers at the point (yes, Rude) that they slipped into the match like it was an old shoe. Even Larry was much better than the prior year, and Nikita had been in enough to know how to play "last man in" and had a storyline with Sting that was dramatically effective. Only Bobby was subpar, and that was largely due to a bad shoulder coming in. There was a good spot of Madusa climbing on top of the cage to try something nasty and Sting going up after her to send her back down. The heat was right through the roof for the match - absolutely molten, and WCW never was known for doing a great job of mic'ing their crowds. Buckets of blood. And the last gasp of the Dangerous Alliance before Watts screwed up by breaking them up.

I put the 1992 one slightly ahead. The body of the match was just a bit better. Plus, I've watch it more often and it was the last "great" Wargames WCW ever ran. Whenever I watch it again, I'm reminded how easy of a match it is to have be "great" if you just (i) have a couple of great workers in it, and (ii) lay it out smartly in advance. The 1991 and 1992 ones are among the smarter worked matches of the decade. Simple but smart. Later Wargames tried to get more complicated, but they didn't really think them through when it came to the work.

It's too bad. Wargames *should* be WCW's Royal Rumble - a unique event that's a draw once a year. You've got to deliver the juice, and you've can't shy away from it by pulling back the camera or cutting away from the bad shots of heavy juice. But you've also got to make it a great match. Which truly isn't all that hard to do.

 

4. Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Eddy Guerrero (10/26/97 - Havoc '97 - Cruiserweight Title)

This was the match that was booked to have Rey lose his mask to Eddy. Since we all knew Rey was going to lose his mask, Eric tried to "out smart the smarts" and have Rey win. For once Eric didn't fuck up when playing that game. Of course he kept the thought of unmasking Rey right in his mind for future use, and Rey has sucked since he lost the mask. This was more of a spot-a-thon than a NJ juniors-style match, but they hit their marks in this one and actually "built" a match out of the spots. It was dramatic as hell, as it did seem like Rey was dropping the match. Major heat, and Eddy pretty much at the height of his powers. They could have had a *better* match with perhaps 3:00 more and Eddy doing more gringos locos rudo spots, like he would flash in the "Cheat To Win" phase that would open the following year. But I'm not complaining. Near perfect is good enough for.

 

3. Big Van Vader vs. Sting (2/21/93 - Superbrawl '93 - WCW World Title - Strap Match)

Prior to the Michaels vs. Razor Ladder matches, this was my top Gimmick Singles match. It's possible that if I watched it again back-to-back with the Ladder Matches that this might take the top spot back. Why? It's not easy to explain. Gimmick matches tend to limit what the wrestlers can do. It's hard to do great flying or super theatrical bumping in a strap match. If you're Flair, you can't use your patented brawling outside the ring in a cage match. Gimmick matches also force the wrestlers into using certain signatures spots that of common to the gimmick match. Throw a guy into a cage. Rake the guy in the cage. Heel tries to climb out of the cage. Face goes up and gets the heel. Wash, rinse, repeat. Not only do gimmick matches take away certain spots from wrestlers, but they also have a way of forcing the wrestler to comply with the Standard Gimmick Match Handbook method of working that match.

Razor and Michaels were, on some level, freed up when it came to that. While Ladder Matches weren't brand new in the US, they were new enough that Michaels and Hall could create their own Handbook for working ladder matches, and test their own limits of what they wanted to do. Vader and Sting, on the other hand, were working an old gimmick that had a very set way of being worked - beat each other with the strap a bunch, do the crotch spot, do some choking, tease the Touch All The Corners spot a bunch, someone finally touches the fourth after a struggle. Vader and Sting had established they could work great with each other, but here's a friggin strap to get in the way of their normal great match. But wait, there's the rub to why this is such a great match. Vader decided, "fuck this... I'm going to have my normal great match with Steve despite this fucking strap." He doesn't let the strap limit him from doing lots of spots out of the Sting & Vader Greatest Hits Songbook. The strap is there for _accent_, not to dominate what he's trying to do. The strap is for moments when they snap off and strap the fuck out of each other, before going back to wrestling a Vader vs. Sting match. As Hobbie and I sat there watching that great match cap a great PPV, it felt like Vader broke through the wall of limitations the enclosed the strap back, walked through to the other side, reached back to pull Sting through and said, "Come on... let's wrestle." I don't know how to easily explain it. It's a bit like if Misawa and Kawada worked a match with a strap, and still used the TD, the TS, the jumping high kick, the dangerous backdrop, the stretch plum, etc. And the strap was they for a spot here, a spot there. That's the difference between this gimmick classic and the Razor vs. Michaels gimmick classics. Those were classics because it was "The Ladder, Starring Shawn Michaels & Razor Ramon". This was a classic because it was "Vader vs. Sting, with Special Guest Star The Strap". Sting and Vader already had their own "match" that could get to MOTYC *together*. Michaels and Razor didn't, at least not together. That's not a knock on those ladder matches, as I as of right now think they're #1 and #2 on the singles gimmick list. But this Vader vs. Sting not only was great, it was also a bit unique among gimmicks matches. In that way, it's memorable as all hell, even just being one of three great MOTYC between the two in just over half a year, and even being on one of WCW's best PPVs ever.

 

2. Midnight Express vs. Southern Boys (7/7/90 - GAB '90 - US Tag Titles)

The last MOTYC by the Midnight Express. This is more the classical NWA style tag team match, with the faces bringing their hot faces spots and comebcks, and the heels knowing how to put them into face-in-peril to the T. The Southern Boys are a forgotten "good" tag team that got fucked up in WCW with their name change to The Young Pistols. They were hardly the MX's best opponent, as no one was quite the peers of the underrated Fantastics in being 100% insync with the MX. But they were just they type of faces Eaton & Lane, like Condrey & Eaton before them, could carry to good-to-exceptional matches. This was hands down the best match in the US in 1990. The MX would be gone for good within four months. WCW management had a poor understanding of the value such a mid-card team (including Corny) had to a promotion. Our loss, as it was the first shot in the decline of tag team wrestling in the US. This was their best match of what was a hell of a run to the finish line before the broke up.

 

1. Ultimo Dragon vs. Rey Misterio, Jr. (11/24/96 - WWIII '96 - J-Crown)

To me this is the closest WCW's cruiser division ever got to the best of the NJ Juniors division. Dragon was Liger here, and Rey Jr. was a young Ohtani. This wasn't a spot-a-thon at all, but it also wasn't a Malenko vs. Rey match where Malenko would dominate on the mat for 11:00 before letting Rey up for 2:00 of highspots beforen hitting the finish. Dragon dominated, but unlike Malenko, knew how to let Rey up _regularly_ during the match to run off a few high spots before perfectly hitting a transition spot to go back into dominating. The best was countering the springboard huracanrana with one of the most picture perfectly exectued Liger Bombs I've ever seen hit. This had splendid back-and-forth action, but never was rushed in allowing itself to build into a *match*. This was at a time when WCW would push a star to death, and since Rey was the star of the junior division, there was some doubt that he'd follow his title job to Malenko with another clean job to Dragon. The expectation was something screwy. Instead we got a clean win that made Dragon look strong going into the Starcade match with Malenko.

 

The WCW cruiser division was downhill from the 11/96 Dragon vs. Rey and 12/96 Dragon vs. Malenko matches. They had other matches that I liked quite a bit, such as the Eddy vs. Rey from Havoc '97. But for every flash like that, or the good house show matches of Eddy vs. Chavo and Dragon vs. Psic, they have crap. Load of crap that kept the division from reaching the heights that it had every reason to reach. Syxx, Alex Wright and "face" Chris Jericho as champ. Rudo Eddy getting cut off so the company could go back to heel Jericho as champ... a role where Jericho never produced a classic WCW match, no matter how much people turned into Jerichoholics. Rey's injuries, and the promotion never getting hard enough on him about how he should rehab. Face Juve being pushed by his "friends" of be a high flying J. Misterio Jr rather than what he had been in Mexico in his prime - the best young rudo in the business with an offense loaded to the giles that flying was only a small part of. Then later Rudo Juve being a pale ghost of Rudo Juve in Mexico in 1995 and early 1996. The push to the moon of Kidman that did wonders for getting Kidman over, but seriously hurt the depth of the rest of the division in getting over. Then pulling the plug on Kidman and fucking up his career. And generally the entire division being pushed into working spot-spot-spot Nitro style matches rather than the artistry of Dragon vs. Rey and Dragon vs. Dean which was _super over_ in 1996. This isn't even touching on the shit like Madusa and Oakie. This division was terminally ill long before that, with WCW Cruiser Rubes being like crack whores - give them a little hit of high spots and they'll "open for business" to believe the division still had hope.

 

What's sad is that the company had many opportunites to turn back the clock. Especially with Rudo Eddy, who had the package to make a more complete style of match get over with the crowd in the place of meaningless and disposable spot-a-thons.

Aw well...

 

 

 

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Here are some quick hits on matches that I didn't think had any business being on the ballot:

* Ric Flair vs. Sting ­ GAB '90 (7/7/90 ­ World Title)

* Ric Flair vs. Scott Steiner - Clash XIV (1/20/91 - World Title)

* Ric Flair vs. Bobby Eaton - Clash XV (6/14/91 - World Title, 2/3 Falls)

On the first, Flair and Sting had some excellent matches. That wasn't one of them. "Good" at best... but not really that good.

The other two were among the more disappointing WCW matches of the early 90s. The Steiner match just wasn't any good at all. We all thought Scott had Future Single Franchise written all over him at the time. They didn't work well together, and Scott was disappointing to the point that he wouldn't get a singles push unitl late in the decade (setting aside the TV title reign Watts gave him for negotiation reasons, *not* because he thought Scott would be good in the spot).

* Arn Anderson vs. Bobby Eaton - Superbrawl '91 (5/19/91 - TV Title)

This was like a ***1/2 match. Neither Eaton or Arn were great singles workers. "Solid"... but they never had a MOTYC in singles matches

 

* Ric Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - Superbrawl '91 (5/19/91 - NWA/WCW Unification Match)

This sucked.

Seriously.

 

* Gigante/Sting/Steiners vs. Abdullah/Stud/Jack/Vader ­ Havoc '91 (10/27/91 ­ Chamber of Horrors)

This was a bad clusterfuck. Abby getting electrocuted... yeah... that's a "great" match. *rolls eyes*

 

* Arn Anderson/Bobby Eaton vs. Steiner Brothers - Superbrawl '92 (2/29/92 - Tag Titles)

This was a dream match that we all thought at the time was a lock for a MOTYC. It wasn't close. Maybe ***... but very disappointing. They just didn't work well together, mostly because the Steiners couldn't work face-in-peril matches that Arn and Bobby were the consumate heels in working. The Steiners were better off when *their opponents* were combined being the underdog face-in-peril team with high end offense like Hase & Sasaki or Hase & Mutoh. The Steiners would have worked great with Misawa & Kobashi was well, and 1991-92 Steiners would have worked well with 1996 Misawa & Akiyama.

 

* Scotty Flamingo vs. Brian Pillman ­ Beach Blast '92 (6/20/92 ­ Light Heavyweight Title)

This match was the death of the WCW Light Heavyweight division. It's insulting to see it here.

 

* Ricky Steamboat/Nikita Koloff vs. Joe & Dean Malenko - Clash XIX (6/16/92 ­ NWA Tag Title Tourney)

* Rick Rude/Steve Austin vs. Marcus Bagwell/Tom Zenk - Clash XIX (6/16/92 ­ NWA Tag Title Tourney)

* Barry Windham/Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson/Bobby Eaton - Clash XIX (6/16/92 ­ NWA Tag Title Tourney)

* The Freebirds vs. El Texano/Silver King - Clash XIX (6/16/92 ­ NWA Tag Title Tourney)

* Nikita Koloff/Ricky Steamboat vs. Brian Pillman/Jushin Liger - GAB '92 (7/12/92 ­ NWA Tag Title Tourney)

* Dustin Rhodes/Barry Windham vs. Steve Austin/Rick Rude ­ GAB '92 (7/12/92 ­ NWA Tag Title Tourney)

* Steve Williams/Terry Gordy vs. Dustin Rhodes/Barry Windham ­ GAB '92 (7/12/92 ­ NWA Tag Title Tourney Finals)

I'm a bit stunned these matches are here. The tournament blew, with the exception of the juniors match and the Steiners vs. Gordy & Williams. The Birds vs. Texano & Sliver King was a _horrible_ match as the Birds had no clue of how to work with Texano & Sliver King. Just a fucking mess... and probably one of the worst match the luchdors ever had. I'm assuming whoever nominated them hasn't actually seen the match and thought it looked cool on paper.

The tourney _should_ have been great, with a little fine tuning. That Barry & Dustin vs. Arn & Bobby should have been great... but it wasn't even good. Dittos the Rude & Austin match against the same team. This was Watts trying to take wrestling back to "real wrestling", which meant killing a godawful amount of time on the mat doing not a fucking thing. Watts didn't have a clue that Dustin & Barry had been doing "real wrestling" earlier in the year with Larry & Austin... just of the Kick Ass variety rather than the Lay On The Mat kind. Damn... that tourney had the chance to produce a ton of MOTYC, but instead Watts was out of touch.

"Coming off the top rope is bad... because... uh... it's bad." -Bill Watts, echoing in his ass where his head was buried.

 

* Sting vs. Rick Rude ­ Clash XXI (11/18/92 ­ King of Cable Tourney)

This wasn't even a good match.

They had a decent short match they year before when Rude won the US Title. But this wasn't even decent.

 

* Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas vs. Hollywood Blondes - Clash XXII (1/13/93 - Tag Titles)

Disappointing. Not even close to the Starcade match with Barry instead of Austin.

 

* Dustin Rhodes/Sting/Cactus Jack vs. Vader/Paul Orndorff/Barry Windham - Clash XXII (1/13/93 ­ Cage Match)

This was a terrible match. The booking through the show about who would be in it was all messed up. It was a 4-4, a 3-4, a 3-2, a... just go away.

 

* Cactus Jack vs. Vader ("The Potato Match" 4/17/93)

* Cactus Jack vs. Vader ("The Powerbomb Match" 4/24/93)

I always thought these were overrated. I tend to prefer actual wrestling matches.

 

* Ric Flair/Arn Anderson vs. Hollywood Blondes - Clash XXIII (6/16/93 - Tag Titles, 2/3 Falls)

This was a super disappointing match, with completely screwy booking and Flair looking old.

 

* Vader vs. Cactus Jack ­ Havoc '93 (10/24/93 ­ Texas Death Match)

I always thought these were overrated. I tend to prefer actual wrestling matches. I liked Vader's match with Davey Boy Smith better than this mess.

 

* Steve Austin vs. Brian Pillman - Clash XXV (11/10/93)

At the time I was hoping to something that would give some meaning to the Blonds broke up.

Instead I got a pedestrian match, and the Col.

 

* Ric Flair vs. Vader - Starrcade '93 (12/27/93 - World Title)

Probably the most overrated match of the decade. Strip away all of the out of the ring nonsense and focus on the match. Ric's offense looks worse than Inoki's in the 1/04/96 Inoki vs. Vader match. Ric looked as old as Inoki. Ric took a nice beating... but did he take anywhere near the beating Inoki took?

No. Crap finish. No believeability of Flair against Vader.

This was all from a Flair fan who was thanking jesus that night *prior to the match* that it was Flair in the ring rather than Sid (who was going to win the belt), and who enjoyed all the pre-match nonsense. But once it started, it was so clear that Vader was working on such a different level that Leon couldn't cover up for the fact that Flair's style *couldn't* work well with his. Just painful to watch.

Yohe and I watched the new tape of the 12/93 Vader vs. Takada after the PPV was over. Neither of us that that the 12/93 Vader vs. Takada was a MOTYC (we watched the 12/03/93 Misawa & Kobashi vs. Kawada & Taue that same night... and it was clear which match was the MOTYC). But the 12/93 Vader vs. Takada was so clearly a better match than Flair vs. Vader that it wasn't even funny.

Ric should have hung it up after that night.

 

* Sting/Pillman/Rhodes vs. Austin/Rude/Orndorff - Superbrawl '94 (2/20/94 - Thundercage Match)

Er... ugh... blah. Looked good on paper, but sucked in reality. They would have been better off just having a 15:00 all-action six-man tag with those six. *That* would have had a shot at being a great match.

 

* Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat - Spring Stampede '94 (4/17/94 - World Title)

* Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (5/14/94)

The first was the most boring Flair vs. Steamboat that I've ever seen. It's was a bit like watching Ginger Lynn's comeback to porn - the time had passed. I like old school wrestling. But I like it smartly worked, well built, and engaging the crowd (most importantly me). They would have been better off corking a faster paced 20:00 match that chopped off half the laying around on the mat with their thumbs up their asses. Christ, after we watched that PPV we watched the 30:00 1994 Carny draw between Doc and Kawada that _no one_ talks about... and Kawada and Doc worked circles around them working the same amount of time. I'm not even going to bring up the 4/16/94 Doc vs. Kawada Carny Final... since I've beaten that horse deader than dead.

These weren't good.

 

* Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson - Fall Brawl '95 (9/17/95)

I thought this was wildly disappointing. The Flair vs. Arn feud, after all those year of being best of friends, really was mediocre. They were like brothers. Has anyone here seen two brothers in a real fight? It's the most violent fighting I've ever seen, as all that sibbling animosity bubbles up into a irrational hate that's as deep as any hate that there is. Violence... that boils over into an almost murderous violence.

Flair vs. Arn _should_ have been that. We never got even close to that in this sissy feud between the two. The should have had something that combined the bloodbath of the Flair vs. Funk from Bash '89 with the "violence" and "hate" of the Flair vs. Funk I Quit match or the whirlwind of violence of the MX vs. Fans from Clash I. Fuck... who would have thought the top two Horsemen would have a sissy feud. The Midnight Rockers and Sommers & Rose had more violence in their feud.

 

* Pillman vs Lyger at the first Nitro 1995

This was a horrible Liger match. This wasn't even a good Pillman match.

 

* Chris Benoit vs. Jushin Liger - Starrcade '95 (12/27/95 - World Cup of Wrestling)

This wasn't very good either. Liger was hit and miss at that time coming back from the leg injury. The finish alone was minus a star... and what they did before then wasn't all that hot. Very disappointing from what I expected to be the best match on the card.

 

* Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair - Superbrawl '96 (2/11/96 - Cage Match, World Title)

None of the Savage vs. Flair matches in WCW were any good.

 

* Dean Malenko vs. Rey Misterio Jr. ­ GAB '96 (6/16/96 - Cruiserweight Tile)

* Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko - Clash XXXIII (8/15/96 - Cruiserweight Title)

* Dean Malenko vs. Rey Misterio, Jr. ­ Havoc '96 (10/27/96 ­ Cruiserweight Title)

Dean and Rey didn't really work all that greatly together. As I said above, Dean often liked to control the match for 11:00, then give Rey 2:00 of high spots before hitting the finish. Perhaps people liked this. I liked Rey working back and forth matches with Psic and Juve in TJ and Mexico quite a bit better.

 

* Dean Malenko vs. Psychosis ­ WWIII '96 (11/24/96 ­ Cruiserweight Title)

This was a horrible match. Dean had no clue how to work with Psic. This was even worse than him grounding Rey for so much of the match - he let Psic have almost nothing... not realizing that he was in with one of the best spot machines in the business who actually had both a power offense and a flying offense. Painful to watch. Psic had better matches with Ultraman...

 

* Eddy Guerrero vs. Diamond Dallas Page - Starrcade '96 (12/29/96 - US Title)

I thought this was pretty pedestrian. This card had a lot of great wrestling on it... this wasn't one of them.

 

* Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon ­ Spring Stampede '97 (4/6/97)

Disappointing. A mile behind their match in 10/96.

 

* Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Misterio, Jr. - WWIII '97 (11/23/97 - Cruiserweight Title)

Extremely disappointing. A mile behind their match in 10/97. They just didn't seem to be on this night.

 

* Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko - Starrcade '97 (12/28/97 - Cruiserweight Title)

Extremely disappointing. Dean's mind wasn't into the match at all - he was pissed at having to work while his wife was going through giving birth to one of the children. Even the biggest Dean and EDDY~! fans, who were in attendence that night, thought it was disappointing.

 

* Diamond Dallas Page vs. Chris Benoit - Superbrawl '98 (2/22/98 - US Title)

I was alway embarassed when Benoit worked with Page. He had to dumb down his whole style because Page could go with him. Then he had to make Page look good for a good chunk of the match, since Page is Page. Then he had to put Page over, since Page is Page. It's a bit like watching Michael Jordan play pick-up with some YMCA beer leaguers. A waste of talent, and a pretty unwatchable game.

 

* Chris Beniot vs. Bret Hart (Nitro - 10/4/99)

A ***1/2 match. It's going to end up winning the poll... but it ain't close to Top 20 to me.

 

 

 

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Here are some comments on some matches I can recommend in a positive light:

* Flair & Anderson vs. R'n'R Express (2/7/90)

Meltzer had this rated in the ****1/4 range. I seem to recall it being on the Sunday show. I also seem to recall Flair having a messed up ear... cut or eardrum injured that seemed to bother him. A good lengthed old style match, very good. I was so tired of watching the R'n'R at that point... but damn if they didn't have some watchable matches that year. They had their spots, Morton knew how to work face like few others, and heels knew what to do with them.

* Ric Flair vs. Brian Pillman (2/17/90) - 2/13/90

The date is 2/13/90. A damn fine match as I recall.

 

* Rock & Roll Express vs. Midnight Express - Wrestlewar '90 (2/25/90)

This was like the 2000th MX vs. R'n'R... yet they could still work a damn good match against each other. No one knew the value of having a team like the MX who could chew up 20:00 of a card while coughing up a **** match damn near every time out.

 

* Midnight Express vs. Tom Zenk/Brian Pillman ­ Capital Combat (5/19/90 ­ US Tag Titles)

See above. The MX went out with a damn good year. There was no "Willie Mays Misjudging Flyballs" stretch for that team. They were the best in the US right up to the day they split. Too bad we never saw them with the Rockers.

 

* Steiners vs. Nasty Boys ­ Havoc '90 (10/27/90 ­ US Tag Titles)

This didn't get nominated. A terrific brawl in the pre-ECW era.

 

* Barry Windham vs. Brian Pillman - Superbrawl '91 (5/19/91)

I love this match, but I can't vote for it. It was just a bit too short. But a super intense double juice tape fist match. Yet another match to show to people who don't think Barry was ever good after the Widow Maker gimmick.

 

* Sting/Ricky Steamboat vs. Steve Austin/Rick Rude - Clash XVIII (1/21/92)

I liked this Clash quite a bit. The Steiners had a "fun" match with Vader & Hughes. Pillman & Bagwell had a super nifty match with the very good rudo team of Taylor & Smothers. Cactus carried Hammer to a very watchable "Cactus Jack Show". Barry & Dustin & Simmons have a very good match against Arn & Eaton & Larry Z. And this main was the best of the card. Five very good to excellent matches on a free show. That's tough to beat.

As was typical of the era, the show was overbooked and the other four matches were pretty bad. This is one where they should have gone to just six or seven matches, dropped some of the dumb skits, and given more time to the top two tag matches where they could have been great at 15:00 apiece.

 

* Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat - Superbrawl '92 (2/29/92 - US Title)

* Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude ­ Beach Blast '92 (6/20/92 ­ Ironman Match)

The first was considered a bit disappointing at the time. I was one of the few who liked it. The second was more well received, and I was one of the few who thought it wasn't as good as the first one. The arrangement of the pins was just a bit to forced - seven falls in 30 minutes is a bit much, and too many were strung too closely together. Rude and Steamboat did work very well together... I wish they were able to have that one match where everything clicked perfectly. They had the ability to get to ****1/2 level... they just didn't quite get there. It was a really neat feud, with good angles on TV and lots decent matches like these, the Clash tag above, the Wargames, and other TV tags. They just needed that one signature match.

I'd recommend both, however. I didn't like Rude at all in WCCW or his first tour with Crockett. He was a bit like bad young Taue - awakward as hell, and pretty pedestrian offense other than the DDT. Somehow he was one of the few people who got better as a worker in the WWF in the 80s. He became "okay" there... and then blossomed into being a very good US heel when he came to WCW in 1991. They really should have put Simmons in to feud with him after this Steamboat feud was over. Rude had held the US Title since 11/91, so he would have been ripe to drop the title to Simmons in the middle of the feud and then win it back when the feud ended. If Simmons passed through a 4-6 month feud with Rude looking strong and getting more over... well... I'm repeating myself.

 

* Brian Pillman vs. Tom Zenk - Wrestlewar '92 (5/17/92 - Light Heavyweight Title)

Another excellent Pillman match. I hated seeing Zenk work as a junior, since he really wasn't. But they worked very smartly here. This is a better match than the Steiner match on the same PPV, but combine those two matches with the Wargames main event and you have almost enough good stuff to make you forget about how awful the undercard was.

 

* Jushin Liger & Brian Pillman vs. Chris Benoit & Beef Wellington - Clash XIX (6/16/92 ­ NWA Tag Title Tourney)

* The Steiner Brothers vs. Terry Gordy/Steve Williams - Clash XIX (6/16/92 ­ NWA Tag Title Tourney)

These are the only two salvagable matches from the NWA Tourny... along with the Vader vs. Sting title change from the PPV. I like this Steiners vs. Gordy & Doc better than the one from the PPV since they weren't stretch things to fill 30:00. Neither teams were really good enough to work a 30:00 broadway _against each other_. This one was more out of control, which is what we wanted out of these two teams at the time - we wanted it to be a war in this dream match-up.

The juniors match was a lot of fun. Not quite on my Top 20 since I preferred NWA/WCW tag matches at the time that felt more like "matches" than spot exhibitions. It's my old MX fandom... and Tully & Arn fandom.

 

* Cactus Jack vs. Paul Orndorff - Superbrawl '93 (2/21/93 - Falls Count Anywhere)

* The Rock-n-Roll Express vs. The Heavenly Bodies - Superbrawl '93 (2/21/93 - SMW Tag Titles)

This was a damn good PPV. Two matches from it made my top 20. Four ****+ matches is a rare treat. There was some other crap on the show, which means it's best to get the matches on a "Best Of" tape.

The Cactus match was a surprsingly good garbage match. I'd recommend it simply for people to see Orndorff working a good garbage match with that "How'd I get myself into this..." look on his face. The second was pretty much your standard MX vs. R'n'R match. SMW fans could probably point to any number of matches the teams had with each other in Smokey that were better. But this is a good one to see to watch how the 1993 WCW fan base responds to those two outsider teams coming in and working a very 80s-style, MX-style tag match. Hint - it got damn good heat.

 

* Nasty Boys vs. Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne - Spring Stampede '94 (4/17/94 - FCA Match, Tag Titles)

ECW was working this type of match right at about the same time - PE had already won the ECW Tag titles from Sully & Taz. But on a national level (since ECW wasn't even close to a national company at the time), this was a pretty major step forward in garbage matches. _At the time_, this and the 5/94 rematch with Sully in Payne's place, were "Holy Shit" matches for Big 2 wrestling.

 

* Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Double KO finish, Late '95)

I barely remember this match. It was weekend TV if I recall correctly, and got us all excited for about 10 minutes on how the juniors would be used. Everytime out expectation got raised, they dash them within a week or two.

 

* Alex Wright vs. Koji Kanemoto - Starrcade '95 (12/27/95 - World Cup of Wrestling)

* Eddy Guerrero vs. Shinjiro Ohtani - Starrcade '95 (12/27/95 - World Cup of Wrestling)

I liked both of these quite a bit. As I said above, I thought the Liger vs. Benoit was subpar for those two. But these two matches were as good as expected (Eddy vs. Ohtani) and far better (Koji vs. Wright). Well worth tracking down.

That World Cup had some really deep evil booking that buried both the Japanese and the cruiser subtely. I don't know if anyone ever picked up on it.

 

* Psychosis vs. Rey Mysterio, Jr. ­ BATB '96 (7/7/96)

This was a excellent spot-a-thon. I couldn't quite put it on my top 20 as I've seen them in better spot-a-thons (the Super J-Cup match), lucha-style (the Mexico City match), US (ECW), and live (Tijuana) matches. 0-4 is a one where I can't really reward it. I know they were better than what they showed in that match, and I would have liked to have seen them be just a bit less spotty and wrestled more. Damn fine match, though.

 

* Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko - Hog Wild '96 (8/10/96)

Really good... but lack of heat maybe keeps it from making the list. Or weak finish. Or lengthy. I don't know... it just didn't kick me in the 'nads enough to make my list.

 

* Chris Benoit vs. Jeff Jarrett - Starrcade '96 (12/29/96)

I love this match. I've always thought this as better than the famous Michaels vs. Jarrett match that people cream over. Jeff very much put himself in Benoit's hands for this match, and Benoit didn't hold back. This was a stark contrast to the Benoit vs. Page matches.

 

* Ultimo Dragon vs. Yuji Nagata - Havoc '97 (10/26/97)

This was a super nifty match that combined to be the 1-2 opener with Rey vs. Eddy. Dragon and Nagata got damn good heat in Vegas of all places. Dragon had a string of disappointing PPV matches in 1997 after the great finish to 1996. I thought this was the best of the year for him on PPV, though his match with Psic in the LA house show was every bit as good and his J-Crown match with Liger was on another planet.

 

* Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page ­ Havoc '98 (10/25/98 ­ World Title)

This wasn't Top 20, or even close to it. But is was a very smartly worked match. This was one of those rare matches where Page was almost as good as he thinks he is. It's not the ****1/2 match Rasmussen once claimed it was... but this is the type of smart work that your average "good" PPV main event should strive for. You can't always get Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham or Kawada vs. Misawa in your main. But if it's a good drawing match that helps put money in all the worker's pockets, and allows the undercard and mid card to put on those ****+ matches, then I'm more than happy to have smartly worked ***1/2 main events that are at the high end of the abilities of the workers involved. It would be hard to be pissed off at that is you've got an undercard made up with the likes of the 12/96 Benoit vs. Jarrett, Malenko vs. Dragon and Liger vs. Rey matches. Give me the workrate stroking matches on the undercard and the "good" to "very good" or even "works for what it was" money making main event, and I'm a happy camper.

Sadly, WCW seemed to lose site of that after Starcade '96. The undercards started losing that depth of **** range matches. It's not like they didn't have the talent, or even book the matches. But stuff like Eddy vs. Malenko, and every Jericho match, never seemed to consistantly get to the **** range. Lot's of disappoint *** range stuff as I recall.

Oh well... I've rambled enough. I need to dig around for my WrestleWar '92 tape... and skip right to the last three matches...

John