Posted January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781889 FIgured this would be timely. Omega vs Okada is getting greatest match of all time praise from some. Others didn't like it at all. Whether folks agree on Omega vs Okada or not, we can all agree there have been some fucking awesome matches at the Tokyo Dome over the years. What was the best match you've seen at the dome. If its different from the best match, whats your favorite Dome match ever?
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781897 Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa, 10/11/99 Either that or something else with Hash.
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781900 Choshu vs. Hashimoto from 1997 is my idea of how a big Tokyo Dome Main Event should be wrestled. In a way, it's the philosophical opposite of this year's epic Main Event, in that not so much happens but every single thing that happens is a real struggle and has meaning. If we're not limiting ourselves to NJPW Tokyo Dome matches, then Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai from Big Egg Wrestling Universe is a serious contender for my top spot.
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781947 Tanahashi vs. Okada from 1/4/2016. Finishing my MOTY rankings this weekend in connection with WON awards, but this one is a lock. Among the greatest matches I've ever seen both for what was done on that night and how it paid & played off of their feud over the years leading up to it.
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781951 Maybe not my favorite, but the two Kobashi matches (vs. Akiyama, vs. Sasaki) should be in the running. I don't think I like either of those more than the last two Okada vs. Tanahashi matches, Nakamura vs. Ibushi, or Okada vs. Omega, but they should be in the discussion.
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781954 Nog vs CroCop (11/9/03) Sakuraba/Silvia 2 (11/3/01) Nog vs Herring (11/03/01) Yoshida/Silva (11/09/03) Hashimoto vs Takada (4/96)
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781955 My top 5: 1. Hashimoto/Iizuka vs. Ogawa & Murakami : Ratings are ratings and Big Dave is one man but it just feels so weird to me to see a match this heated and perfect at conveying the invading faction storyline only get **** at the time. 2. Kobashi vs. Akiyama : Was my #2 match of 2004 in Japan doing Ditch's list six years ago (time flies). 3. Nakamura vs. Ibushi: My first live WK and the most emotional I have been watching WK live. 4. Tanahashi vs. Naito 2017: Recency bias but I did think the match was super 5. Tanhashi vs. Okada 2016: Excessive???? Sure, but this was a capper to an iconic feud so I can excuse a lot of that. I also had not really liked their previous Dome output very much (especially 2013) so this was a great bounce back for them in my eyes.
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781964 Here are some others I really liked that haven't been mentioned: Hash-Takada 4/29/96 Kawada-Sasaki 10/9/00 Nagata-Takayama 5/2/02 My favorites from recent years were Nak-Ibushi and Nak-Sakuraba. Edit: Just saw Tim mentioned Hash-Takada.
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781970 Choshu vs. Hashimoto from 1997 is my idea of how a big Tokyo Dome Main Event should be wrestled. In a way, it's the philosophical opposite of this year's epic Main Event, in that not so much happens but every single thing that happens is a real struggle and has meaning. My issue with that match is that it's pretty much the least of the Hashimoto-Choshu matches. It's either that one or their Z-1 match. Both are good but disappointing for the insane standards of their all time rivalry. It's funny, going through the Hashimoto-Choshu matches that one seemed kinda formulaic, it was kinda depressing seeing the same spots they've done before done not as good, it seemed like the magic was gone, then they had that badass brawl in 2001 that was up there with all of their great stuff.
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781975 Hashimoto vs Takada is just insanely good. A molten crowd for even smaller stuff like Takada feeling the effects of an early kick by Hash, or Hash escaping a Boston Crab sure help elevate the greatness and the sense of a big fucking match.
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781991 My top 5: 1. Hashimoto/Iizuka vs. Ogawa & Murakami : Ratings are ratings and Big Dave is one man but it just feels so weird to me to see a match this heated and perfect at conveying the invading faction storyline only get **** at the time. This is my personal favorite as well. I was lucky enough to be at the Tokyo Dome to see this match live and I can tell you the crowd heat was insane. It felt like they were on the verge of rioting.
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5781994 Ibushi vs Nakamura by a lot. That's the greatest match of the past probably 25 years.
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5782035 Ibushi vs Nakamura by a lot. That's the greatest match of the past probably 25 years. Agreed, this blows away: 5/92 Wargames 11/26 Toyota/Yamada vs Kansai/Ozaki 7/29/93 Hansen vs Kobashi 6/3/94 Misawa vs Kawada 10/26/97 Rey Jr vs Eddy Guerrero and those are only five matches it blows away
January 6, 20178 yr comment_5782038 Maybe not my favorite, but the two Kobashi matches (vs. Akiyama, vs. Sasaki) should be in the running. I don't think I like either of those more than the last two Okada vs. Tanahashi matches, Nakamura vs. Ibushi, or Okada vs. Omega, but they should be in the discussion. Definitely should. I love the Akiyama match in particular. I've always favoured the All Japan / NOAH styles over New Japan though.
January 7, 20178 yr comment_5782116 Randy Savage vs. Rick Steiner from the 2000 Dome Show. It's one of my favorite matches to pull out for random people to get a laugh from.
January 7, 20178 yr comment_5782127 Choshu vs. Hashimoto from 1997 is my idea of how a big Tokyo Dome Main Event should be wrestled. In a way, it's the philosophical opposite of this year's epic Main Event, in that not so much happens but every single thing that happens is a real struggle and has meaning. My issue with that match is that it's pretty much the least of the Hashimoto-Choshu matches. It's either that one or their Z-1 match. Both are good but disappointing for the insane standards of their all time rivalry. It's funny, going through the Hashimoto-Choshu matches that one seemed kinda formulaic, it was kinda depressing seeing the same spots they've done before done not as good, it seemed like the magic was gone, then they had that badass brawl in 2001 that was up there with all of their great stuff. I think that saying "the magic was gone" is wildly overstating things, but I do agree that this is not the best Choshu vs. Hash match of all time. It is, however, still my favourite epic NJPW Dome match and a great example of the kind of big epic battle that I enjoy. It's a matter of personal taste, of course, but in my book a lesser Choshu vs. Hash match is still more enjoyable and more suited to what I want from a big card main event than, say, the best-ever Tanahashi vs. Okada match or even the best-ever Shinsuke vs. Ibushi match. I like "everything is a real struggle" and I like "doing more with less" and I really like "taking your time with the basics and letting the crowd come to you" and I think this match is great in all of those categories. I'm kind of surprised I'm the only one who has picked it, to be honest.
January 7, 20178 yr comment_5782151 I second Soup's motion for Hashimoto/Iizuka vs. Ogawa/Murakami from 1/4/00.
January 7, 20178 yr comment_5782171 Choshu vs. Hashimoto from 1997 is my idea of how a big Tokyo Dome Main Event should be wrestled. In a way, it's the philosophical opposite of this year's epic Main Event, in that not so much happens but every single thing that happens is a real struggle and has meaning. My issue with that match is that it's pretty much the least of the Hashimoto-Choshu matches. It's either that one or their Z-1 match. Both are good but disappointing for the insane standards of their all time rivalry. It's funny, going through the Hashimoto-Choshu matches that one seemed kinda formulaic, it was kinda depressing seeing the same spots they've done before done not as good, it seemed like the magic was gone, then they had that badass brawl in 2001 that was up there with all of their great stuff. I think that saying "the magic was gone" is wildly overstating things, but I do agree that this is not the best Choshu vs. Hash match of all time. It is, however, still my favourite epic NJPW Dome match and a great example of the kind of big epic battle that I enjoy. It's a matter of personal taste, of course, but in my book a lesser Choshu vs. Hash match is still more enjoyable and more suited to what I want from a big card main event than, say, the best-ever Tanahashi vs. Okada match or even the best-ever Shinsuke vs. Ibushi match. I like "everything is a real struggle" and I like "doing more with less" and I really like "taking your time with the basics and letting the crowd come to you" and I think this match is great in all of those categories. I'm kind of surprised I'm the only one who has picked it, to be honest. Oh you're not gonna get much disagreement with me about it being better than most recently hyped big Dome matches but for best Dome match ever I'd say Hashimoto-Takada and Hashimoto-Ogawa from 10/11/99 display that minimalistic philosophy even better.
January 7, 20178 yr comment_5782173 Ibushi vs Nakamura by a lot. That's the greatest match of the past probably 25 years. Agreed, this blows away: 5/92 Wargames 11/26 Toyota/Yamada vs Kansai/Ozaki 7/29/93 Hansen vs Kobashi 6/3/94 Misawa vs Kawada 10/26/97 Rey Jr vs Eddy Guerrero and those are only five matches it blows away Agreed
January 9, 20178 yr comment_5782559 In no particular order- Misawa vs Kawada AJPW 25th Anniversary, probably the pinnacle of over the top late 90s AJPW excess Misawa vs Vader Baba Memorial Vader vs Inoki Hashimoto vs Takada Hashimoto and Iizuka vs Ogawa and Murakami Hashimoto vs Ogawa 1/4/99, 10/11/99, and 4/7/00. I think of these as the ultimate less is more type matches, such a hot crowd. Unfortunately the feud almost killed the territory. Kobashi vs Akiyama Kobashi vs Sasaki Nakamura vs Sakuraba Nakamura vs Ibushi
January 10, 20178 yr comment_5782842 Choshu vs. Hashimoto from 1997 is my idea of how a big Tokyo Dome Main Event should be wrestled. In a way, it's the philosophical opposite of this year's epic Main Event, in that not so much happens but every single thing that happens is a real struggle and has meaning. My issue with that match is that it's pretty much the least of the Hashimoto-Choshu matches. It's either that one or their Z-1 match. Both are good but disappointing for the insane standards of their all time rivalry. It's funny, going through the Hashimoto-Choshu matches that one seemed kinda formulaic, it was kinda depressing seeing the same spots they've done before done not as good, it seemed like the magic was gone, then they had that badass brawl in 2001 that was up there with all of their great stuff. I think that saying "the magic was gone" is wildly overstating things, but I do agree that this is not the best Choshu vs. Hash match of all time. It is, however, still my favourite epic NJPW Dome match and a great example of the kind of big epic battle that I enjoy. It's a matter of personal taste, of course, but in my book a lesser Choshu vs. Hash match is still more enjoyable and more suited to what I want from a big card main event than, say, the best-ever Tanahashi vs. Okada match or even the best-ever Shinsuke vs. Ibushi match. I like "everything is a real struggle" and I like "doing more with less" and I really like "taking your time with the basics and letting the crowd come to you" and I think this match is great in all of those categories. I'm kind of surprised I'm the only one who has picked it, to be honest. Oh you're not gonna get much disagreement with me about it being better than most recently hyped big Dome matches but for best Dome match ever I'd say Hashimoto-Takada and Hashimoto-Ogawa from 10/11/99 display that minimalistic philosophy even better. I'd add Hashimoto vs.Ogawa 4/7/2000 to the list of truly great Hashimoto Dome matches. In fact I think it's the best match of the Hashimoto-Ogawa feud. The booking wasn't exactly wise but the match built off 10/99 and the rest of the matches perfectly and delivered on every other level.
January 10, 20178 yr comment_5782867 In no particular order- Misawa vs Kawada AJPW 25th Anniversary, probably the pinnacle of over the top late 90s AJPW excess Misawa vs Vader Baba Memorial Vader vs Inoki Hashimoto vs Takada Hashimoto and Iizuka vs Ogawa and Murakami Hashimoto vs Ogawa 1/4/99, 10/11/99, and 4/7/00. I think of these as the ultimate less is more type matches, such a hot crowd. Unfortunately the feud almost killed the territory. Kobashi vs Akiyama Kobashi vs Sasaki Nakamura vs Sakuraba Nakamura vs Ibushi I'm glad you brought up that Misawa vs. Kawada match. I thought it about putting it on my initial list. Although it's far from being their best match (and I like it more than most), there's something romantic about seeing them end their saga in the Dome.
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