So I was thinking, as I often do, about people's tastes and how they come to acquire them. It occurred to me that regardless of what one likes, there are certain matches that pretty much anyone who discusses wrestling on the Internet is exposed to at some point. I thought it would be interesting to compile a list of matches that have reached the Citizen Kane/Godfather tier where having seen them is a de facto requirement to be regarded as a serious fan. To make this list, a match has to have both popularity and (consensus) greatness. Various Fujiwara matches would fail on the former front, while something like Hogan/Andre would fail on the latter front. After a bit of brainstorming, I decided that the following matches would be on the list for sure:

 

TM/DK, 4/21/83

Savage/Steamboat, WM3

Flair/Steamboat, COTC 6

HBK/Ramon ladder match, WM10

Pegasus/Sasuke, BOSJ 94

6/3/94

6/9/95

12/6/96

Hart/Austin, WM13

HBK/Taker HIAC

Misawa/Kobashi, 3/1/03

 

What else?

The first Taker vs Shawn Mania match and Kandori/Hokuto are two that popped into my head.

Curious to see who would agree with me here, but Rude vs. Steamboat from Beachblast 92?

 

Dylan suggested on the last Wrestling Culture that it would have a shot of making best ever WCW match if there was a poll.

 

I also think the other two Flair-Steamboat 89 matches plus Flair-Funk GAB89 and "I Quit" should be considered "canon". In any other year those 4 matches would have been locks for MOTY. And they tick all your boxes.

 

On the WWF side of things? Bret-Owen WM10?

I like Nintendo Logic's list, save one. I'd drop the 3/1/03 NOAH match for the 1/20/97 Triple Crown match. I'd also toss on either Midnights/Fantastics from the first Clash or Midnights/Southern Boys from the 1990 GAB.

A lot of this depends on when you became a fan/hardcore fan. To me I look at something like the Misawa/Kobashi match from 03 and think "why the fuck is that on the list?," but maybe it means a ton more to people who came along a little bit after I did.

See, I'd imagine that Magnum/ Tully would be on the list. along with Hogan/ Andre at Mania 3. I mean, if you're saying "matches a serious fan would know" then the most famous ones would be ones a serious fan would know.

I'm pretty sure you could find a few people who despise that particular TM/DK match. There's always someone who doesn't care about the bits that some people love. Or people who just don't care about japanese wrestling, slow paced wrestling, "psychology!!!" etc. I find it more interesting that there's always people longing for some kind of consensus. That kind of defeats the purpose of argueing on the internet.

I'd add the Canadian Stampede 10 man and the first TLC

Does anyone actually not like Magnum vs Tully?

I'd suggest the Greg Gagne vs. Bobby Heenan Weasel Suit match from Summer 1980 in the AWA, including the angles leading up to it. I offer this one because someone that begins exploring the AWA will have several questions about the promotion answered in ways that they have probably heard would be answered otherwise. As those questions usually revolve around whether or not Greg Gagne could ever have been over (and how shitty he always was), or if Heenan was any good before he went to the WWF, or how AWA TV never ran any good angles, this match goes a long way towards dispelling those pre-conceptions:

 

a) It's Heenan at his best, and illustrates how hated he was in a non-comical vein in the area. It is also a very good representation of Heenan's abilities as an actual wrestler.

b ) It shows Greg Gagne was, at one point of his career, exceptionally over with the fans and fit in fine in the pre-muscleman era of wrestling. It helps dispel the myth that Greg Gagne was at the level of other sons in wrestling like Mike Von Erich or George Gulas, as opposed to being a solid worker in his own right that could also work on the mic pretty well.

c) The build and match are a microcosm of how the AWA, in it's heyday, could build matches and then execute them to perfection.

 

My thought is that once you get your feet wet with this angle and match, you will move forward in an examination of other AWA matches and angles in the 80's with more than a passing curiosity. Plus, as it's one of the earliest things available from the 1980's out there on tape, anyone wanting to watch AWA matches and angles progressively has probably the best starting point currently available.

Undertaker vs. Foley HIAC should be on this list for sure.

You'd think the HBK-Bret Montreal Screw Job would be on the list.

A lot of this depends on when you became a fan/hardcore fan. To me I look at something like the Misawa/Kobashi match from 03 and think "why the fuck is that on the list?," but maybe it means a ton more to people who came along a little bit after I did.

It makes enough sense to me, it's the one Misawa-Kobashi match you can figure the most people on the west have seen. Didn't it even air on The Wrestling Channel and/or The Fight Network?

Flair/Sting from the first Clash is a pretty obvious one. Eddy/Rey Halloween Havoc on a lower level. I don't remember dates, but there's one Jumbo/Misawa match that I think belongs too.

A lot of this depends on when you became a fan/hardcore fan. To me I look at something like the Misawa/Kobashi match from 03 and think "why the fuck is that on the list?," but maybe it means a ton more to people who came along a little bit after I did.

It makes enough sense to me, it's the one Misawa-Kobashi match you can figure the most people on the west have seen. Didn't it even air on The Wrestling Channel and/or The Fight Network?

 

I have no clue, did it?

 

I saw it once about three years ago. Had never seen it before, never heard all THAT much about it and will probably never watch it again.

The first War Games on 7/4/87 at The Omni

I am lumping two into into one shot because of the story, but the 1992 Royal Rumble match and Savage/Flair at Wm8

I think what this thread needs to turn into is a discussion on the Mt. Rushmore of matches. Instead of giant faces, this Mt. Rushmore would be epic moments from matches that were historically important and generally loved by the masses and the hardcores.

 

This Mt. Rushmore of matches might look a little gay to the non-wrestling fan (imagine the image of Steamboat having Flair in the chicken wing chiseled into the side of a mountain), but who cares.

In my era the ECW Michinoku Pro sixman tag was a must-see match as were the Rey-Psicosis matches from ECW and the 1995 Super J Cup.

 

There was a time Lyger-Sano and Lyger-Sasuke were also considered mandatory viewing.

Chigusa-Dump Hair vs. Hair 8/28/85

HBK-Mankind Mind Games

Austin-Rock WM17

Cena-Punk MITB 2011

 

Is there a definitive Backlund match to consider? He had many great ones, but is there a "most famous" one that also showcases his work near its strongest?

I am lumping two into into one shot because of the story, but the 1992 Royal Rumble match and Savage/Flair at Wm8

If it's just "great moments", I'd also have the Flair promos associated with these matches.

 

post-match WM8 might be my favourite promo by anyone ever.

Is there a definitive Backlund match to consider? He had many great ones, but is there a "most famous" one that also showcases his work near its strongest?

Backlund vs Patera from 05.19.80, probably. Excellent match though for whatever reason I prefer their January MSG match.

 

Backlund vs Valentine 60 minute match from Feb '79 kicks all kinds of ass.

I don't think Backlund is an important part of the hardcore wrestling fan's lexicon. Discussion of him as a great is limited to very small subset of a subset of wrestling fans.

I'm pretty sure you could find a few people who despise that particular TM/DK match. There's always someone who doesn't care about the bits that some people love. Or people who just don't care about japanese wrestling, slow paced wrestling, "psychology!!!" etc. I find it more interesting that there's always people longing for some kind of consensus. That kind of defeats the purpose of argueing on the internet.

But even if quite a few people hate TM/DK, just about every serious fan has seen it and has an opinion. By contrast, if you ask most Internet fans what they think of Backlund/Patera, you'll most likely get a blank stare in response.

But even if quite a few people hate TM/DK, just about every serious fan has seen it and has an opinion. By contrast, if you ask most Internet fans what they think of Backlund/Patera, you'll most likely get a blank stare in response.

So what you're saying is that a clearer definition of where the bar of "serious" fan has to be set, in order to make the canon.