The Greatest Wrestlers of 1993
In route to putting together my top 100 list of the Greatest Wrestlers Ever, I am going through each year and putting together a list for each. Previously on the podcast “Maybe Not Taue” I put together a list for 1985, 1990, and 1997. You can listen to those here. Starting with 2010 I moved to putting these lists onto this blog, which you can read here.
Process
Step One is to go to my match ratings spreadsheet and enter in all the ratings each candidate had for that year and get an average.
Step two is to start watching matches. I make sure I watch at least 3 matches per person and if I feel I haven’t watched enough to judge the wrestler in that year, I watch more.
Finally, I order them by who I think was the greatest. This is based on the matches they had, how they worked, the versatile, how active they were, etc…
The following is the results of this process.
Onto The List
All of the below stats are from cagematch. Yes, they are not perfect.
They are some wrestlers with less recommended matches, but are higher than others on the list. That is because I know them well enough, so I didn’t need to watch more. The recommended matches is not a definitive list, it’s a list of matches I have watched for this process, plus matches on my spreadsheet.
Matches listed are all 7/10 or higher and if they are bolded they are 8/10 or higher.
For 1993, I had just watched all of joshi for that year, so the match recommendations are going to be high for all of those workers. My normal top 25 list has been expanded to a top 40 for 1993, because it is so stacked.
Honourable Mentions
- Bam Bam Bigelow
- Cutie Suzuki
- Espectrito
- Harley Saito
- Mascarita Sagrada
- Mr. Perfect
- Negro Casas
- Pirata Morgan
- Sakie Hasegawa
- Scott Norton
#40
Hikari Fukuoka
Matches: 65
Places Worked: JWP & AJW
Top 3 Matches:
- with Cuty Suzuki, Dynamite Kansai, & Mayumi OzakiAja Kong, Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasegawa, & Takako Inoue, “Thunder Queen Battle”, JWP Thunder Queen Battle in Yokohama, July 31 (#2 MOTY)
- vs Devil Masami, JWP, August 15
- with Plum Mariko vs Kaoru Ito & Sakie Hasegawa, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2
#39
Yumiko Hotta
Matches: 172
Places Worked: AJW, LLPW, & JWP
Top 3 Matches:
- with Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue vs Bolshoi Kid, Cutie Suzuki, & Plum Mariko, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#15 MOTY)
- vs Akira Hokuto, AJW Japan Grand Prix, August 21
- vs Dynamite Kansai, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2
#38
Mitsuharu Misawa
Previous Ranking: 1990 (#7)
Matches: 155
Place Worked: AJPW
Top 3 Matches:
- with Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue & Mitsuharu Misawa, AJPW Real World Tag League, December 3
- with Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue & Mitsuharu Misawa, AJPW Super Power Series, June 1
- with Kenta Kobashi vs Big Bubba & Stan Hansen, AJPW Summer Action Series, July 9
#37
Steven Regal
Matches: 119
Place Worked: WCW
Top 3 Matches:
- vs Ricky Steamboat, WCW Fall Brawl, September 19
- vs 2 Cold Scorpio, WCW Main Event, August 29
- wtih Steve Austin vs Arn Anderson & Paul Roma, WCW Clash of the Champions, August 18
#36
Eddie Guerrero/Black Tiger
Previous Ranking: 1997 (#13)
Matches: 66
Places Worked: AAA & NJPW
My original thoughts for Eddie in 1993 was that it was too early to list him. Upon watching the footage though, he makes it here. The year started teaming with El Hijo del Santo before turning on him and going full rudo, which is all great. Plus some cool NJPW stuff. Guerrero was already quite awesome back in 1993!
Top 3 Matches:
- vs Lightning Kid, NJPW Explosion Tour, June 6
- with El Hijo del Santo vs Espanto Jr. & Jerry Estrada, AAA Sin Limite, January 22
- vs Jushin Thunder Liger, NJPW Explosion Tour, September 26
#35
Toshiyo Yamada
Matches: 177
Places Worked: AJW, LLPW, & FMW
Top 3 Matches:
- with Manami Toyota vs Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#5 MOTY)
- vs Akira Hokuto, AJW, May 3 (#24 MOTY)
- with Manami Toyota vs Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo, FMW Anniversary Show, May 5
#34
Sting
Matches: 154
Places Worked: WCW & NJPW
Top 3 Matches:
- vs Vader, “Strap Match”, WCW SuperBrawl III, February 21 (#20 MOTY)
- vs Scott Norton, NJPW Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoaka, May 3
- with Davey Boy Smith vs Sid Vicious & Vader, WCW Beach Blast, July 18
#33
Dustin Rhodes
Matches: 162
Places Worked: WCW & NJPW
Watching Dustin Rhodes as a babyface is always a treat and parts of his 1993 were really excellent. The only thing holding him back in 1993 was the feuds he was in, which resulted in a lot of boring matches, especially with Rick Rude.
Top 3 Matches:
- vs Rick Rude, WCW Worldwide, May 8
- vs Steve Austin, “2/3 Falls”, WCW Starrcade, December 27
- with Sting vs Barry Windham & Vader, WCW Saturday Night, January 30
#32
Jushin Thunder Liger
Previous Rankings: 1990 (#12) & 1997 (#19)
Matches: 132
Places Worked: NJPW, Austrailia, WAR, & CWA
Top 3 Matches:
- with Tatsumi Fujinami vs Genichiro Tenryu & Koki Kitahara, NJPW, August 3
- vs Shinjiro Ohtani, NJPW Explosion Tour, May 28
- vs Eddie Guerrero, NJPW Explosion Tour, September 26
#31
Toshiaki Kawada
Matches: 147
Place Worked: AJPW
Top 3 Matches:
- vs Stan Hansen, AJPW Excite Series, February 28 (#11 MOTY)
- with Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa, AJPW Real World Tag League, December 3
- with Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa, AJPW Super Power Series, June 1
#30
Big Bubba/Big Boss Man/The Boss
Previous Ranking: 1990 (#24)
Matches: 94
Places Worked: AJPW, WWF, USWA, SMW, Australia, & WCW
Top 3 Matches:
- vs Akira Taue, AJPW Summer Action Series, July 9
- vs Bam Bam Bigelow, WWF Royal Rumble, January 24
- with Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuarhu Misawa, AJPW Summer Action Series, July 29
#29
2 Cold Scorpio/Flying Scorpio
Matches: 175
Places Worked: WCW & NJPW
Top 3 Matches:
- vs Barry Windham, WCW Clash of the Champions, June 16 (#22 MOTY)
- with Marcus Bagwell vs Brian Pillman & Steve Austin, WCW Worldwide, May 1
- vs Steven Regal, WCW Main Event, August 29
#28
Doink (Matt Borne)
Matches: 191
Places Worked: WWF, USWA, & WWC
This may be the only time I rank Matt Borne, but I am very happy to do so in 1993. Heel Doink the Clown is a gimmick that shouldn’t work on paper, a wrestling clown, but really does. His full year was filled with awesome TV matches, a lot of times with great mat work, but always with tremendous heel work.
Top 3 Matches:
- vs Bret Hart, WWF SummerSlam, August 30
- vs Marty Jannetty, “2/3 Falls”, WWF Raw, June 21
- vs Mr. Perfect, WWF Raw, May 24
#27
Mimi Shimoda
Previous Ranking: 1997 (#9)
Matches: 146
Places Worked: AJW, LLPW, & JWP
Top 3 Matches:
- with Akira Hokuto & Etsuko Mita vs Eagle Sawai, Harley Saito, & Miki Handa, AJW, January 24 (#21 MOTY)
- with Etsuko Mita vs Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11
- with Manami Toyota, Etsuko Mita, & Toshiyo Yamada vs Aja Kong, Kaoru Ito, Kyoko Inoue, & Sakie Hasegawa, “Captain’s Fall Elimination”, AJW Zenjo Super Whirlwind, September 5
#26
Etsuko Mita
Previous Ranking: 1997 (#12)
Matches: 152
Places Worked: AJW & LLPW
Top 3 Matches:
- with Akira Hokuto & Mima Shimoda vs Eagle Sawai, Harley Saito, & Miki Handa, AJW, January 24 (#21 MOTY)
- with Mima Shimoda vs Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11
- with Manami Toyota, Mima Shimoda, & Toshiyo Yamada vs Aja Kong, Kaoru Ito, Kyoko Inoue, & Sakie Hasegawa, “Captain’s Fall Elimination”, AJW Zenjo Super Whirlwind, September 5
Now onto the top 25, where the stats will be expanded.
#25
1-2-3 Kid/Kid/Cannonball Kid/Kamikaze Kid/Lightning Kid
Previous Ranking: 1990 (#19)
Matches: 125
Places Worked: WWF, NJPW, USWA, MEWF, NWA, & PWA
Titles Held: MEWF Light Heavyweight Title & PWA Tag Team Titles with Jerry Lynn
Tournament: NJPW Top of the Super Junior IV
Waltman started the year as a indie superstar doing dream matches with the likes of Sabu, before doing some Japanese tours and finally joining the WWF as The 1-2-3 Kid. This allowed him to show off a huge range in 1993. It’s so cool to see one of the best heels in wrestling instantly become one of the best babyfaces.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Sabu, NWA Grandslam, April 17
- vs Eddie Guerrero, NJPW Explosion Tour, June 5
- vs Marty Jannetty, WWF All-American Wrestling, September 12
#24
Akira Taue
Previous Ranking: 1990 (#15)
Matches: 156
Places Worked: AJPW
Title Held: AJPW World Tag Team Titles with Toshiaki Kawada
Tournaments: AJPW Champion Carnival and AJPW Real World Tag League with Toshiaki Kawada (finals)
Akira Taue is my favourite of the four pillars, so I admit I have a bias. The endless pillars booking may be a bit boring, but Taue is a joy in each of those. I rather enjoyed the big vs big match with Bossman too.
Recommended Matches:
- with Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa, AJPW Super Power Series, June 1
- vs Big Bubba, AJPW Summer Action Series, July 29
- with Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa, AJPW Real World Tag League, December 3
#23
Steve Austin
Previous Ranking: 1997 (#11)
Matches: 153
Places Worked: WCW
Titles Held: NWA/WCW Unified World Tag Team Titles with Brian Pillman & WCW United States Title
“Stunning” Steve Austin was the wrestler I was most impressed with through out the year of 1993. A lot of the TV matches were rather pointless, but he was a stand out in all of them. He carried Pillman and a bunch of inferior opponents to good matches through out the year. He would had been higher if the Pillman singles or the Dustin matches were better.
Recommended Matches:
- with Brian Pillman vs Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas, WCW Worldwide, March 27
- with Brian Pillman vs Marcus Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio, WCW Worldwide, May 1
- with Brian Pillman vs Ricky Steamboat & Tom Zenk, “Cage”, WCW Slamboree, May 23
- with Steven Regal vs Arn Anderson & Paul Roma, WCW Clash of the Champions, August 18
- vs Brian Pillman, WCW Clash of the Champions, November 10
- vs Dustin Rhodes, “2/3 Falls”, WCW Starrcade, December 27
#22
Sabu
Matches: 100
Places Worked: FMW, NWA, ECW, WWF, M-Pro, MEWF, & WCW
Titles Held: ECW Heavyweight Title & ECW Television Title
I always loved the Lighting Kid NWA match, but I was completely blown away that the Jerry Lynn match was better. Sabu in 1993 was on another level. 1993 saw him debut in ECW and feud with Terry Funk, plus the FMW death match stuff. A very strong year, maybe his strongest.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Lightning Kid, NWA Grandlsam, April 17
- vs Jerry Lynn, NWA Grandslam II, July 10
- vs Terry Funk, ECW Holiday Hell, December 26
#21
Eagle Sawai
Matches: 43
Places Worked: LLPW, AJW, & FMW
Tournaments: LLPW Title Tournament (finals) & AJW Tag League The Best with Yasha Kurenai (semi-finals)
Eagle Sawai was my biggest shock of 1993 viewing. Through out the year she mixed it up with Aja Kong in a variety of great matches and they have tremendous chemistry. I love a big strong brute crushing fools, but Sawai shows vulnerability well too.
Recommended Matches:
- with Harley Saito & Miki Handa vs Akira Hokuto, Etsuko Mita, & Mima Shimoda, AJW, January 24
- with Harley Saito vs Aja Kong & Bull Nakano, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2
- with Shinobu Kandori vs Aja Kong & Akira Hokuto, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#3 MOTY)
- with Leo Kitamura vs Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue, LLWP, June 15 (#10 MOTY)
- with Harley Saito, Leo Kitamura, Miki Handa, & Yukari Osawa vs Bat Yoshinaga, Bull Nakano, Etsuko Mita, Mima Shimoda, & Suzuka Minami, “Elimination”, AJW Legacy of Queens”, August 25
- vs Shinobu Kandori, LLPW, August 29
- with Yukari Osawa vs Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue, AJW/LLPW Super Whirlwind, September 29
- with Yasha Kurenai vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda, AJW, October 10
- with Harley Saito, Mizuki Endo, Noriyo Tateno, & Yasha Kurenai vs Etsuko Mita, Mima Shimoda, Numacchi, Suzuka Minami, & Yumiko Hotta, “Elimination”, LLPW, November 9
- vs Aja Kong, AJW Wrestling Queendom, November 28
- with Harley Saito & Rumi Kazama vs Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue, & Yumiko Hotta, AJW St. Battle Final, December 6
- with Yasha Kurenai vs Aja Kong & Sakie Hasegawa, AJW, December 10
#20
Devil Masami
Previous Ranking: 1985 (#6)
Matches: 55
Places Worked: JWP & AJW
Title Held: JWP Tag Team Titles with Dynamite Kansai
The legend returns to the list thanks to some true stand out performances. Her largest flaw in 1993 was working for JWP’s booking and their house style.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Cutie Suzuki, JWP, January 15
- vs Chigusa Nagayo, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2
- vs Bull Nakano, JWP, April 18 (#4 MOTY)
- vs Mayumi Ozaki, JWP, July 11
- with Candy Okutsu vs Kaoru Ito & Suzuka Minami, JWP Thunder Queen Battle in Yokohama, July 31
- vs Hikaru Fukuoka, JWP, August 15
- vs Kyoko Inoue, AJW WrestleMarinepiad, October 9 (#23 MOTY)
#19
Takako Inoue
Matches: 165
Places Worked: AJW, JWP, LLPW, & FMW
Title Held: UWA World Women’s Tag Team Titles with Yumiko Hotta
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix & AJW Tag League The Best with Yumiko Hotta (semi-finals)
A bunch of wrestlers had big break out years thanks to the inter promotional joshi wars. Inoue is big on that list. The intensity she added to her game really ramped up those wars.
Recommended Matches:
- with Yumiko Hotta vs Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki, JWP, January 15
- vs Kyoko Inoue, AJW, January 24
- with Yumiko Hotta vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, February 28
- vs Manami Toyota, AJW, March 20
- with Kyoko Inoue vs Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki, AJW All-Star Dram Slam, April 2 (#8 MOTY)
- with Kyoko Inoue & Yumiko Hotta vs Bolshoi Kid, Cutie Suzuki, & Plum Mariko, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#15 MOTY)
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Akira Hokuto & Bull Nakano, AJW, April 24
- vs Harley Saito, AJW, May 8
- vs Mayumi Ozaki, JWP, June 20
- with Aja Kong, Kyoko Inoue, & Sakie Hasegawa vs Cuty Suzuki, Dynamite Kansai, Hikari Fukuoka, & Mayumi Ozaki, “Thunder Queen Battle”, JWP Thunder Queen Battle in Yokohama, July 31 (#2 MOTY)
- with Yumiko Hotta vs Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami, AJW Zenjo Super Whirlwind, September 5
- vs Yasha Kurenai, AJW/LLPW Nagoya Super Whirlwind, September 29
- with Sakie Hasegawa vs Shinobu Kandori & Yasha Kurenai, AJW WrestleMarinepiad, October 9
- with Bull Nakano vs Shinobu Kandori & Utako Hozumi, LLPW, November 9 (#25 MOTY)
- with Yumiko Hotta vs Kyoko Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, November 12
- with Kyoko Inoue & Yumiko Hotta vs Eagle Sawai, Harley Saito, & Rumi Kazama, AJW St. Battle Final, December 6
#18
Megumi Kudo
Previous Ranking: 1997 (#10)
Matches: 129
Places Worked: FMW, AJW, M-Pro, & LLPW
Title Held: WWA Women’s Title
Although she was mostly teaming with her fellow FMW stars against AJW stars, she did stand out in all of those matches. The real treat was her title match against Aja Kong, which showed she was a legit great wrestler and not a joke FMW death match wrestler.
Recommended Matches:
- with Combat Toyoda vs Manami Toyota & Yoshiyo Yamada, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2
- with Combat Toyoda vs Etsuko Mita & Mimi Shimoda, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11
- with Combat Toyoada vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, FMW Anniversary Show, May 5
- with Miwa Sato vs Aja Kong & Kaoru Ito, FMW Summer Spectacular, August 22
- with Yuki Nabeno vs Kaoru Ito & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW Legacy of Queens, August 25
- vs Aja Kong, AJW St. Battle Final, December 6 (#14 MOTY)
#17
Terry Funk
Previous Rankings: 1985 (#12) & 1997 (#22)
Matches: 25
Places Worked: NWA, ECW, FMW, CWA, SMW, & WWC
Title Held: ECW Television Title
Terry Funk is hurt on this list due to lack of matches. The variety, the highs, and the fun were all there. If he wrestled more, he would had been higher on the list.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Hawk, NWA Grandslam, April 17
- vs Atsushi Onita, “No Rope Exploding Barbed-Wire Time Bomb Death Match”, FMW Anniversary Show, May 5 (#7 MOTY)
- with Stan Hansen vs Abdullah the Butcher & Kevin Sullivan, ECW Ultra Clash, September 18
- vs Sabu, ECW Holiday Hell, December 26
#16
Atsushi Onita
Matches: 112
Places Worked: FMW, M-Pro, & NOW
Title Held: FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Title (twice)
The king of dramatic babyface death matches Atsushi Onita had a tremendous year being the focal point of their promotion FMW.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Terry Funk, “No Rope Exploding Barbed-Wire Time Bomb Death Match”, FMW Anniversary Show, May 5 (#7 MOTY)
- vs Mr. Pogo, “No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Exploding Cage Death”, FMW Summer Spectacular, August 22
- vs Mitsuhiro Matsunaga, “No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Explosive Corners Death Match”, FMW Year End Spectacular, December 8
#15
El Hijo del Santo
Previous Rankings: 1990 (#21) & 1997 (#2)
Matches: 45
Place Worked: AAA
Title Helds: WWA World Welterweight (twice) & AAA World Tag Team Titles with Octagon
Tournament: AAA Torneo de Parejas with Octagon (winner)
Another great year for El Hijo del Santo, high lighted by the Heavy Metal feud. Santo was personally hurt because so many matches were against Love Machine, who I refuse to watch. Santo is so great as a tecnico, being so graceful and fun to root for.
Recommended Matches:
- with Eddy Guerrero vs Espanto Jr. & Jerry Estrada, AAA Sin Limite, January 22
- vs Heavy Metal, AAA, May 28
- vs Heavy Metal, AAA Sin Limite, October 29
#14
Mayumi Ozaki
Matches: 61
Places Worked: JWP & AJW
Titles Held: JWP Tag Team Titles with Cutie Suzuki (twice) & WWA Tag Team Titles with Dynamite Kansai
Another huge break out year for a joshi star in the inter promotional wars. She was the perfect opportunist villain hiding behind Dynamite Kansai. The best part of her year was she really stepped up her game when it came to big moments.
Recommended Matches:
- with Dynamite Kansai vs Takako Inoue & Yumiko Hotta, JWP, January 15
- with Cutie Suzuki vs Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2 (#8 MOTY)
- with Dynamite Kansai vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#5 MOTY)
- vs Cutie Suzuki, JWP, May 4
- vs Takako Inoue, JWP, June 20
- vs Devil Masami, JWP, July 11
- with Cuty Suzuki, Dynamite Kansai, & Hikari Fukuoka vs Aja Kong, Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasegawa, & Takako Inoue, “Thunder Queen Battle”, JWP Thunder Queen Battle in Yokohama, July 31 (#2 MOTY)
- with Hikari Fukuoka & Plum Mariko vs Manami Toyota, Sakie Hasegawa, & Yumiko Hotta, AJW Legacy of Queens, August 25
- Manami Toyota vs Mayumi Ozaki, AJW WreslteMarinepiad, October 9
- Akira Hokuto vs Mayumi Ozaki, Thunder Queen Battle in Yokohama II, November 18
- with Dynamite Kansai vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW St. Battle Final, December 6
#13
Manami Toyota
Previous Rankings: 1990 (#8) & 1997 (#3)
Matches: 179
Places Worked: AJPW, LLPW, JWP, & FMW
Titles Held: WWWA Tag Team Titles with Toshiyo Yamada (twice) & UWA World Women’s Tag Team Titles with Toshiyo Yamada
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix (semi-finals) & AJW Tag League The Best with Akira Hokuto (winner)
When I started going through joshi chronologically Toyota was a real disappointment. Her flaws were huge to me, however, those flaws are a lot less glaring in 1993. A lot of tag matches really hides her no selling and the singles matches she had, nobody worked her leg. Too many classics in the year to discount.
Recommended Matches:
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Aja Kong & Bull Nakano, AJW, January 24
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Takako Inoue & Yumiko Hotta, AJW, February 28
- vs Takako Inoue, AJW, March 20
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo, AJW All-Star Dram Slam, April 2
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#5 MOTY)
- with Yumiko Hotta vs Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue, AJW, April 24
- with Kyoko Inoue vs Aja Kong & Bull Nakano, AJW, May 3
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo, FMW Anniversary Show, May 5
- with Yumiko Hotta vs Akira Hokuto & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, May 8
- vs Hikari Fukuoka, AJW, June 3
- vs Akira Hokuto, AJW Japan Grand Prix, August 21 (#13 MOTY)
- with Sakie Hasegawa & Yumiko Hotta vs Hikari Fukuoka, Mayumi Ozaki, & Plum Mariko, AJW Legacy of Queens, August 25
- with Etsuko Mita, Mima Shimoda, & Toshiyo Yamada vs Aja Kong, Kaoru Ito, Kyoko Inoue, & Sakie Hasegawa, “Captain’s Fall Elimination”, AJW Zenjo Super Whirlwind, September 5
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Harley Saito & Miki Handa, AJW/LLPW Nagayo Super Whirlwind, September 29
- vs Mayumi Ozaki, AJW WrestleMarinepiad, October 9
- vs Hikari Fukuoka, JWP Thunder Queen Battle in Yokohama, November 18
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki, AJW St. Battle Final, December 6
- with Akira Hokuto vs Kyoko Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, December 10
#12
El Satanico
Previous Ranking: 1990 (#5)
Matches: 46
Places Worked: AAA, CMLL, & UWA
Title Held: CMLL World Trios Titles with Pirata Morgan & MS-1
Tournament: CMLL World Tag Team Titles Tournament with Pirata Morgan
El Satanico was a great evil villain throughout the year of 1993. He probably would had been higher, but he had very few singles matches and was mostly working in trios.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Lizmark, AAA Sin Limite, September 17
- vs Jerry Estrada vs Pirata Morgan, AAA, November 19
- vs Pirata Morgan, “Hair vs Hair”, AAA Sin Limite, November 26 (#17 MOTY)
#11
Kenta Kobashi
Previous Ranking: 1997 (#15)
Matches: 157
Places Worked: AJPW
Titles Held: AJPW All-Asia Tag Team Titles with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & AJPW World Tag Team Titles with Mitsuharu Misawa
Tournaments: AJPW Champion Carnival & AJPW Real World Tag League with Mitsuharu Misawa (winner)
The top of the four pillars for 1993 for me, Kenta Kobashi had an amazing year. What puts Kobashi ahead is the great babyface selling, without it getting too much like I have felt about Kobashi in other years. Having an all-time classic with Hansen with one of the best finish sells ever really helps him too.
Recommended Matches:
- with Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW Super Power Series, June 1
- with Mitsuharu Misawa vs Big Bubba & Stan Hansen, AJPW Summer Action Series, July 9
- vs Stan Hansen, AJPW Summer Action Series, July 29 (#9 MOTY)
- vs Steve Williams, AJPW Summer Action Series II, August 31
- vs Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW October Giant Series, October 23
- with Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW Real World Tag League, December 3
#10
Genichiro Tenryu
Matches: 70
Places Worked: WAR, NJPW, & WWF
Although I am not the largest puro fan, Genichiro Tenryu rises above that for me. An older tough man throwing stiff chops trying to hang in there and doing it. He even made me love a Shinya Hashimoto match!
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kengo Kumura, NJPW Fighting Spirit, February 6
- vs Shinya Hashimoto, WAR Revolution Yojo, June 17
- with Koki Kitahara vs Jushin Liger & Tatsumi Fujinami, NJPW, August 3
- vs Hiroshi Hase, NJPW G1 Climax, September 23
#9
Bret Hart
Previous Rankings: 1985 (#23), 1990 (#18), & 1997 (#1)
Matches: 172
Places Worked: WWF & USWA
Title Held: WWF World Heavyweight Title
Tournaments: WWF King of the Ring (winner)
I have wrote so much about Bret Hart in the past, so what else is there to say? It’s a weird year for Bret as he moved on from the title picture to feuding with Lawler in the mid card. The one night performance at the King of the Ring, pulling out 3 awesome matches that were very different is quite the achievement.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Ric Flair, “Iron Man”, WWF, January 9
- vs Razor Ramond, WWF Royal Rumble, January 24
- vs Bam Bam Bigelow, WWF, April 25
- vs Mr. Perfect, WWF King of the Ring, June 13 (#12 MOTY)
- vs Bam Bam Bigelow, WWF King of the Ring, June 13
- vs Doink & vs Jerry Lawler, WWF SummerSlam, August 30
- vs Jerry Lawler, WWF, September 29
- vs Yokozuna, “Cage”, WWF, December 15
#8
Aja Kong
Previous Rankings: 1990 (#6) & 1997 (#5)
Matches: 182
Places Worked: AJW, LLPW, FMW, & JWP
Title Held: WWWA World Title
Tournaments: AJW Tag League The Best with Sakie Hasegawa (semi-finals)
Aja Kong spent her first year as WWWA Champion being the best tag wrestler in the world and having some amazing title defenses. She hasn’t sucked me into her reign like Bull Nakano did, but her year is full of giant highlights.
Recommended Matches:
- with Bull Nakano vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, January 24
- with Kaoru Ito vs Bat Yoshinaga & Kyoko Inoue, AJW, February 28
- vs Kyoko Inoue, AJW, March 20
- with Bull Nakano vs Eagle Sawai & Harley Saito, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2
- with Akira Hokuto vs Eagle Sawai & Shinobu Kandori, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#3 MOTY)
- with Bull Nakano vs Akira Hokuto & Yumiko Hotta, AJW, April 16
- with Kyoko Inoue vs Manami Toyota & Yumiko Hotta, AJW, April 24
- with Bull Nakano vs Kyoko Inoue & Manami Toyota, AJW, May 3
- with Bull Nakano vs Akira Hokuto & Kyoko Inoue, AJW, June 3
- with Kyoko Inoue vs Eagle Sawai & Leo Kitamura, LLPW, June 15 (#10 MOTY)
- with Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasegawa, & Takako Inoue vs Cutie Suzuki, Dynamite Kansai, Hikari Fukuoka, & Mayumi Ozaki, “Thunder Queen Battle”, JWP Thunder Queen Battle in Yokohama, July 31 (#2 MOTY)
- with Kyoko Inoue vs Eagle Sawai & Yukari Osawa, AJW/LLPW Nagoya Super Whirlwind
- vs Akira Hokuto, AJW WreslteMarinepiad, October 9 (#16 MOTY)
- with Sakie Hasegawa vs Kyoko Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, October 10
- vs Eagle Sawai, AJW Wrestling Queendom, November 28
- vs Megumi Kudo, AJW St. Battle Final, December 6 (#14 MOTY)
- with Sakie Hasegawa vs Eagle Sawai & Yasha Kurenai, AJW, December 10
#7
Bull Nakano
Previous Rankings: 1985 (#14) & 1990 (#1)
Matches: 102
Places Worked: AJW, CMLL, LLPW, FMW, JWP, & Mexico
Title Held: CMLL World Women’s Title
Tournaments: AJW Tag League The Best with Suzuka Minami (semi-finals)
Bull Nakano pre 1993 was the ace of AJW defending the main title in classic after classic, so 1993 was an interesting year seeing her transition down the card. It’s a great story to watch play out. She moves more into tags and is way more vulnerable. The performances are all still great though, just with less opportunities.
Recommended Matches:
- with Aja Kong vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, January 24
- with Aja Kong vs Eagle Sawai & Harley Saito, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2
- vs Chigusa Nagayo, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11
- with Aja Kong vs Akira Hokuto & Yumiko Hotta, AJW, April 16
- vs Devil Masami, JWP, April 18 (#4 MOTY)
- with Akira Hokuto vs Takako Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, April 24
- with Aja Kong vs Kyoko Inoue & Manami Toyota, AJW, May 3
- with Aja Kong vs Akira Hokuto & Kyoko Inoue, AJW, June 3
- with Bat Yoshinaga, Etsuko Mita, Mima Shimoda, & Suzuka Minami vs Eagle Sawai, Harley Saito, Leo Kitamura, Miki Handa, & Yukari Osawa, “Elimination Tag”, AJW Legacy of Queens, August 25
- with Mima Shimoda vs Yasha Kurenai & Rumi Kazama, LLPW, August 29
- vs Noriyo Tateno, AJW/LLPW Nagoya Super Whirlwind, September 29
- vs Yasha Kurenai, LLPW, October 25
- with Takako Inoue vs Shinobu Kandori & Utako Hozumi, LLPW, November 9 (#25 MOTY)
- vs Hikari Fukuoka, AJW Wrestling Queendom, November 28
- vs Miki Handa, LLPW, November 29
#6
Shinobu Kandori
Matches: 36
Places Worked: LLPW, AJW, PWFG, & FMW
Title Held: LLPW Title
Tournament: LLPW Title Tournament (winner)
I am not a fan of shoot style wrestling, so Shinobu Kandori will suffer with me. She’s the best at that style though and was involved in the greatest match in wrestling history in 1993, as well as many all time classics. I did feel, without the right opponent, I was bored.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Akira Hokuto, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2 (#1 MOTY)
- with Eagle Sawai vs Aja Kong & Akira Hokuto, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#3 MOTY)
- with Mike Handa & Rumi Kazama vs Etsuko Mita, Mima Shimoda, & Suzuka Minami, LLPW June 15
- vs Kyoko Inoue, AJW Legacy of Queens, August 25
- vs Eagle Sawai, LLPW, August 29
- vs Utako Hozumi, LLPW, September 9
- vs Yumiko Hotta, AJW/LLPW Nagoya Super Whirlwind, September 29
- with Yasha Kurenai vs Sakie Hasegawa & Takako Inoue, AJW WrestleMarinepiad, October 9
- with Harley Saito vs Miki Handa & Mizuki Endo, LLPW, October 25
- with Utako Hozumi vs Bull Nakano & Takako Inoue, LLPW, November 9 (#25 MOTY)
- vs Akira Hokuto, AJW St. Battle Final, December 6 (#6 MOTY)
#5
Dynamite Kansai
Matches: 57
Places Worked: JWP & AJW
Titles Held: JWP Openweight Title, JWP Tag Team Titles with Devil Masami, & WWWA Tag Team Titles with Mayumi Ozaki
Outside of Hokuto, Dynamite Kansai had the highest average of great matches. She’s only so low due to less matches and being in JWP. Her work in inter promotional matches is all-time GWE stuff though. Her highs were really really high.
Recommended Matches:
- with Mayumi Ozaki vs Takako Inoue & Yumiko Hotta, JWP, January 15
- vs Yumiko Hotta, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2
- with Mayumi Ozaki vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#5 MOTY)
- with Cutie Suzuki, Hikari Fukuoaka, & Mayumi Ozaki vs Aja Kong, Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasegawa, & Takako Inoue, “Thunder Queen Battle”, JWP Thunder Queen Battle in Yokohama, July 31 (#2 MOTY)
- vs Aja Kong, AJW Legacy of Queens, August 25
- vs Toshiyo Yamada, AJW WrestleMarinepiad, August 25
- with Mayumi Ozaki vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW St. Battle Final, December 6
#4
Vader
Matches: 125
Places Worked: WCW & UWFi
Titles Held: WCW World Heavyweight (twice)
Vader was awesome in 1993, but he drops outside of the top 3 due to some disappointing performances. Some of the Cactus Jack matches sucked, and there was a a few big main events against Davey Boy Smith that were boring and that wasn’t Davey Boy’s fault.
Recommended Matches:
- with Barry Windham vs Dustin Rhodes & Sting, WCW Saturday Night, January 30
- vs Vader, “Strap”, WCW SuperBrawl III, February 21 (#20 MOTY)
- vs Cactus Jack, WCW Main Event, March 7
- with Sid Vicious vs Davey Boy Smith & Sting, WCW Beach Blast, July 18
- vs Cactus Jack, “Texas Death”, WCW Halloween Havoc, October 24
#3
Kyoko Inoue
Previous Ranking: 1997 (#7)
Matches: 178
Places Worked: AJW, LLPW, JWP, & FMW
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix & AJW Tag League The Best with Toshiyo Yamada (finals)
I may be one of the largest Kyoko Inoue marks, as no other wrestler brings me more joy. The colours, the offense, the smile, it’s beautiful. Putting that aside, 1993 was another evolution of her game as she now felt to be on the level of the best wrestlers in AJW. Her ability to stand out in those big multi tag matches is impressive.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Takako Inoue, AJW, January 24
- with Bat Yoshinaga vs Aja Kong & Kaoru Ito, AJW, February 28
- vs Aja Kong, AJW, March 20
- with Takako Inoue vs Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2 (#8 MOTY)
- with Takako Inoue & Yumiko Hotta vs Bolshoi Kid, Cutie Suzuki, & Plum Mariko, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#15 MOTY)
- with Aja Kong vs Manami Toyota & Yumiko Hotta, AJW, April 24
- with Manami Toyota vs Aja Kong & Bull Nakano, AJW, May 3
- with Akira Hokuto vs Aj Kong & Bull Nakano, AJW, June 3
- with Aja Kong vs Eagle Sawai & Leo Kitamura, LLPW, June 15 (#10 MOTY)
- with Aja Kong, Sakie Hasegawa, & Takako Inoue vs Cutie Suzuki, Dynamite Kansai, Hikari Fukuoka, & Mayumi Ozaki, “Thunder Queen Battle”, JWP Thunder Queen Battle in Yokohama, July 31 (#2 MOTY)
- vs Shinobu Kandori, AJW Legacy of Queens, August 25
- with Aja Kong, Kaori Ito, & Sakie Hasegawa vs Etsuko Mita, Manami Toyota, Mima Shimoda, & Toshiyo Yamada, “Captain’s Fall Elimination Tag”, AJW Zenjo Super Whirlwind, September 5
- with Aja Kong vs Eagle Sawai & Yukari Osawa, AJW/LLPW Nagoya Super Whirlwind, September 29
- vs Devil Masami, AJW WrestleMarinepiad, October 9 (#23 MOTY)
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Aja Kong & Sakie Hasegawa, AJW, October 10
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Takako Inoue & Yumiko Hotta, AJW, November 12
- with Takako Inoue & Yumiko Hotta vs Eagle Sawai, Harley Saito, & Rumi Kazama, AJW St. Battle Final, December 6
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Akira Hokuto & Manami Toyota, AJW, December 10
#2
Stan Hansen
Previous Rankings: 1985 (#9) & 1990 (#22)
Matches: 147
Places Worked: AJPW, ECW, NWA, & CWA
Title Held: AJPW World Tag Team Titles with Ted DiBiase
Tournaments: AJPW Champion Carnival (winner) & AJPW Real World Tag League with Giant Baba
1993 is the height of the unstoppable old man force of Stan Hansen. The Kawada and Kobashi singles matches are classics. Every performance I’ve seen of Hansen in 1993 feels special, it’s like he took his game to another level of destruction.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW Excite Series, February 28 (#11 MOTY)
- with Big Boss Man vs Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa, AJPW Summer Action Series, July 9
- vs Kenta Kobashi, AJPW Summer Action Series, July 29 (#9 MOTY)
- with Terry Funk vs Abdullah the Butcher & Kevin Sullivan, ECW Ultra Clash, September 18
#1
Akira Hokuto
Previous Rankings: 1990 (#4) & 1997 (#24)
Matches: 116
Places Worked: AJW, JWP, & Mexico
Title Held: AJW All-Pacific Title
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix (winner) & AJW Tag League The Best with Manami Toyota (winners)
I could just say look below and see 21 recommended matches with 9 of them being in the top 25 matches of the year and rest my cast.
The Dangerous Queen in 1993 had the greatest year by any wrestler ever. She had the greatest match ever. She was the unstoppable bad ass until she got injured, than was the most sympathetic injured bad ass ever. Her year is a journey that needs to be seen to be believed, littered with matches that make all time lists.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Debbie Malenko, AJW, January 4
- with Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Eagle Sawai, Harley Saito, & Miki Handa, AJW, January 24 (#21 MOTY)
- vs Shinobu Kandori, AJW All-Star Dream Slam, April 2 (#1 MOTY)
- with Aja Kong vs Eagle Sawai & Shinobu Kandori, AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2, April 11 (#3 MOTY)
- with Yumiko Hotta vs Aja Kong & Bull Nakano, AJW, April 16
- with Bull Nakano vs Takako Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, April 24
- vs Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, May 3 (#24 MOTY)
- with Toshiyo Yamada vs Manami Toyota & Yumiko Hotta, AJW, May 8
- with Kyoko Inoue vs Aja Kong & Bull Nakano, AJW, June 3
- vs Yasha Kurenai, AJW, June 11 (#18 MOTY)
- vs Suzuka Minami, AJW, July 4
- vs Harley Saito, AJW, August 5
- vs Manami Toyota, AJW, August 21 (#13 MOTY)
- vs Yumiko Hotta, AJW, August 21
- vs Rumi Kazama, AJW Legacy of Queens, August 25
- with Suzuka Minami vs Takako Inoue & Yumiko Hotta, AJW Zenjo Super Whirlwind, September 5
- vs Aja Kong, AJW WrestleMarinepiad, October 9 (#16 MOTY)
- vs Rumi Kazama, “Hair vs Hair”, LLPW, November 9 (#19 MOTY)
- vs Mayumi Ozaki, JWP Thunder Queen Battle in Yokohama, November 18
- vs Shinobu Kandori, AJW St. Battle Final, December 6 (#6 MOTY)
- with Manami Toyota vs Kyoko Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, December 10
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I am now moving on to 2004, so except a 2004 match of the year list and greatest wrestler of the year list soon.
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