The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (April 2024)
With WrestleMania weekend, I won’t have too much new to say here, but here is my list. Note every match, even the honourable mentions, are 8/10 rated or higher. It’s been a great month of watching for me!
Honourable Mentions
- Aja Kong vs Kyoko Inoue, AJW, August 10, 1997
- Aja Kong vs Manami Toyota, AJW, August 20, 1997
- Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Kumiko Maekawa & Tomoko Watanabe, AJW, August 20, 1997
- Meiko Satomura vs Shinobu Kandori, LLPW, February 12, 2007
- Chris Hero vs Eddie Kingston, CZW, April 7, 2007
- Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness, ROH, June 9, 2007
- Cheerleader Melissa vs Wesna, ChickFight, June 17, 2007
- Chris Hero vs Equinox, Chikara, November 7, 2007
- Daniel Makabe vs Timothy Thatcher, ACTION DEAN~!!!, April 4, 2024
- Masha Slamovich vs Syuri, GCW/JCW, April 4
- Lyra Valkyrie vs Roxanne Perez, NXT, April 6, 2024
- Mayu Iwatani vs Sareee, Stardom, April 27, 2024
#11
Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Mistico
“Best 2/3 Falls”
CMLL Super Viernes
July 27, 2007
Wagner comes out as the most bad ass rudo in the first fall, just beating down Mistico and then pinning him with a vicious power bomb and ripping off his mask! The second fall, Mistico returns with a new mask and jumps from the balcony onto Wagner, but soon Wagner has ripped his mask and blooded him until a great comeback to even it off. In the final fall, Mistico fights back and rips Wagner’s mask. The crowd is really hot for this, and they work a really dramatic ending with Mitsico so great as the underdog! The speed at which Mistico hits dives is impressive. The real flaw of the match is that after Wagner power bombs Mistico on the floor and the doctors make sure he’s not dead, someone attacks Wagner, laying him out for Mistico to jump back in and win. Regardless, a great match,
#10
John Cena (c) vs Randy Orton
“WWE Heavyweight Championship”
WWE SummerSlam
August 26, 2007
This match is shockingly great, as they go with a simpler structure and work in a more traditional format. Orton goes full work on the neck with headlocks and stomps, while Cena fights completely from underneath with great hope spots. The teases of the big moves were great, especially since this match wasn’t overloaded with those spots like most WWE main event matches of the time. Orton was so focused on the neck it was well paid off. The finish was a shocking surprise FU by Cena for the win; it was kind of a play on Orton’s RKO that was out of nowhere. A great match I had completely forgotten about.
#9
Roman Reigns (c) vs Cody Rhodes
“WWE Undisputed Universal Championship”
WWE WrestleMania XL: Sunday
April 7, 2024
Thoughts here, on my review of the full WrestleMania show.
#8
Chris Hero vs Eddie Kingston
“Last Man Standing”
IWA Mid South Petty Invitational: Night 2
September 29, 2007
You know this is going to be a fight when it starts with them already brawling, appearing through the curtains. It didn’t let up, and the first half of the match is brawling all over the arena. Chris Hero is the best, so logical and smart. Things like being disadvantaged and shoving the table into Kingston to get distance are perfect. Hero’s selling even makes Kingston’s Kawada chops look good. The stuff in the ring is even better, with Hero mostly in control and Kingston fighting from underneath. A lot of the work is on Kingston’s hand, which is great, but sadly, Kingston essentially abandons it later. A real stand-out spot was Hero hooking a Boston Crab and then putting a chair under him so he sat down, and the chair drove into the back of Kingston’s neck. He was so great in this. Kingston bled from under the eye, which added to the gritty feeling of the fight. The back-and-forth shoot head butts were disgusting. After using mostly chairs in the match, Hero got frustrated by Kingston just breaking the ten-count, so he grabbed the guardrail. This led to an amazing finishing sequence that ended with Hero taking a Saito Suplex on the guardrail. Absolute beast of a fight here!
#7
Rhea Ripley (c) vs Becky Lynch
“WWE Women’s World Championship”
WWE WrestleMania XL: Saturday
April 6, 2024
Thoughts here, on my review of the full WrestleMania show.
#6
Claudio Castagnoli vs El Generic
“Race to the Top Tournament Final”
ROH Race to the Top
July 28, 2007
Another amazing underdog performance from Generico, as he tries to play Cinderella in the tournament and upset the bigger, stronger favourite, Claudio. I love that it took its time to build the match up because, by the time we got to the nearfalls, in the end, they all felt very special. Generico had amazing selling and hope spots, and Claudio has a great power offense. A perfect marriage in styles.
#5
Ayako Hamada vs Meiko Satomura
“Battlefield WAR Tournament Final”
Sendai Girls Live Vol. 10
July 22, 2007
Apparently, 2007 was the year of the classic tournament finale matches. These two battled, mostly with some of the most brutal strikes ever. The kicks of both of them were unreal! The real contrast is that Satomura would go for submissions, especially working over Hamada’s shoulder, while Hamada would use flying to try to get the advantage. Everything they did was incredible and vicious, and the hot crowd lost their mind for the great finishing sequence!
#4
The Briscoes vs Kevin Steen & El Generico
“Boston Street Fight”
ROH Death Before Dishonor V
August 10, 2007
This was one of the damnest fights. They were in street clothes and fought all over the arena, beating each other into bloody messes. What I really love is how organic the weapons were, how things were set up, and how they were used because they just happened to be there. Having it as teams meant it was constantly a war flipping between the two pairs. It did get a little too many big moves near the end, keeping it from a GME potential, but it’s pretty damn close and a must-watch.
#3
Gunther (c) vs Sami Zayn
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
WWE WrestleMania XL: Saturday
April 6, 2024
Thoughts here, on my review of the full WrestleMania show.
#2
Demus vs Mad Dog Connelly
“Dog Collar”
ACTION DEAN~!!!
April 4, 2024
Thoughts here, on my review for the full DEAN show!
#1
IYO SKY (c) vs Bayley
“WWE Women’s Championship”
WWE WrestleMania XL: Sunday
April 7, 2024
Thoughts here, on my review of the full WrestleMania show.
You can discuss this on Twitter!
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The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (March 2024)
I am going to do more shorter posts, so I’m shortening my monthly post down to the top 10 with honourable mentions. In March I had my live report from AEW Dynamite/Rampage, and in April I will have my WrestleMania weekend report. Hopefully lots more to come, because if I don’t write it down I’ll probably forget it!
#10
Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Toshiaki Kawada
“Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW 20th Anniversary Giant Series
October 21, 1992
This was their typical really good, but doesn’t do a lot for me matches. The highlights were the hot start and great finishing sequence, but the middle portion really brought this down for me.
Rating: 7.75/10
#9
Hanan vs MIRAI
“Cinderella Tournament Second Round Match”
Stardom Cinderella Tournament
Match 10, 2024
Hanan worked as the underdog and was able to survive MIRAI’s initial onslaught. Her judo throws continue to impress. As the match built the crowd was solidly behind Hanan as they both hit their amazing offense and had changes to win. The finish was amazing! Maybe the best Hanan has ever looked.
Rating: 7.75/10
#8
Giulia vs Tam Nakano
Stardom Cinderella Tournament
March 20, 2024
This has been my favourite feud in forever and with Giulia leaving in the Stardom split, this is their final match. I’m thankful we are alteast getting it, even if it’s a 15 minute time limit match in the middle of the show.
They seemed more focused on hating each other instead of working a match. Stiff slaps, stiff kicks, stiff headbutts, and using each other’s moves to show each other up. It’s violent and emotional, but it does not giving the focus or time to make a true classic like most of the rest of the matches in the feud.
Rating: 8/10
#7
Shark Tsuchiya (c) vs Megumi Kudo
“FMW Independent Women’s & WWA Women’s Championship No Ropes Barbed-Wire Current Explosion Barricade Double Hell Death Match”
FMW Fighting Creation: 8th Anniversary Show
April 29, 1997
This was filled with some insane spots like Shark being thrown from the ring to the floor onto the barbed wire, which exploded and may have been the most nuts! They did a good job of building to the spots and setting up Kudo has overcoming the champion. I could live without the sickle as a weapon, though. Another really wild spot was Kudo getting power bombed onto the barbed-wire explosion! They even had fire, too. This was a pretty damn good death match, and I’m not usually into those.
Rating: 8/10
#6
Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Muto (c) vs Brad Armstrong & Scott Norton
“IWGP Tag Team Championships”
NJPW Fighting Spirit
February 10, 1992
Scott Norton is unreal in this match. He does like 10 presses of Hase above his head, nails a vicious lariat to Hase after his giant swing, and has a perfect big man offense throughout the match. Hase and Muto are pretty good double teaming and take out Armstrong most of the match, and Armstrong sells it well. The match really excels with Norton there, though. The finish is hot!
Rating: 8/10
#5
Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes vs Larry Zbyszko & Steve Austin
WCW SuperBrawl II
February 29, 1992
Dustin Rhodes is the best babyface tag wrestler of all time, and he was amazing in this, playing face-in-peril with great hope spots. Austin and especially Zbyszko were just the best dick tag team cheating at every moment. Before Dustin was the face-in-peril, Windham was, and I loved how they would constantly toss him outside and attack him while distracting the referee. The finish was very satisfying with Windham getting his revenge for Larry breaking his hand!
Rating: 8/10
#4
Mayumi Ozaki & Reiko Amano vs Megumi Kudo & RIE
“Dress Up Wild Tag Team Match”
JWP A Life in the Battle
April 8, 1997
Dress Up Wild means wearing regular clothes, and you can use weapons. RIE is Bad Nurse Nakamura, and Reiko is Carlos Amano.
This is a nasty, bloody brawl with stiff shots and lots of weapons, including a chain, an unbreakable table, and a baseball bat. There are some really great moments here, like coming off the top rope with the bat, but the opponent is walking away, so you barely hit them. Makes it feel more real. Another great moment is when they chain Kudo up into the corner, so she can barely reach them for a save. This sets up the barbed-wire match with Ozaki-Kudo perfectly. It would be higher, but it’s JWP, so there was a big of drag as they went to long before the finishing sequence.
Rating: 8/10
#3
Christian Cage vs Adam Copeland
“AEW TNT Championship I Quit Match”
AEW Dynamite
March 20, 2024
Thoughts posted on my live report of that show here.
Rating: 8.5/10
#2
El Dandy vs Negro Casas
“CMLL World Middleweight Title Tournament Final 2/3 Falls”
CMLL on Televisa
July 3, 1992, Aired July 5, 1992
The first two falls were filled with amazing submissions and matwork that built into an incredible final fall with great nearfalls. If you like the technical wrestling this is a must watch match.
Rating: 8.75/10
#1 “The Best Match I Watched in March 2024”
Genichiro Tenryu & Koki Kitahara vs Kengo Kimura & Shiro Koshinaka
WAR on October 23, 1992
Kimura & Koshinaka are billed as the “Anti-Players Association” and this is near the beginning of the NJPW vs WAR feud and the crowd is INTO IT!
The NJPW folks cheat like moffos, taking every shortcut they can. They make Tenryu & Kitahara bleed and are constantly in advantage with double teams and heel work. This all makes the crowd wilder. The whole match feels chaotic and is exactly what you want from a promotional war. The visuals of Tenryu giving the NJPW team looks when they would cheat were pure art. The comeback and build to the finish by Tenryu with some of the kickouts was lovely madness! A great must watch brawl!
Rating: 9/10
You can discuss this on Twitter!
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We also have a lovely discord community to discuss the greatest wrestler ever project and anything else under the sun. It’s an open and welcoming group, and I am very proud of it. Everyone is welcome:
Join:
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How Can You Help?
Callen-Lorde is the global leader in LGBTQ healthcare. Since the days of Stonewall, we have been transforming lives in LGBTQ communities through excellent comprehensive care, provided free of judgment and regardless of ability to pay. In addition, we are continuously pioneering research, advocacy, and education to drive positive change around the world because we believe healthcare is a human right.
Please donate to Callen Lorde!
The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (February 2024)
A fun month of watching as I transitioned from 1996 to 1992. The current stuff is weird. Stardom is dying. CMLL brought in Tessa. WWE is hot, but maybe with Mania closer, I’ll watch more. AEW is hinting at pushing women more, so maybe. I don’t know. 1992 has been a lot of fun, though!
#25
Miyuki Takase (c) vs Nagisa Nozaki
“AWG Championship”
AWG Beginning Pro
March 15, 2020
From the 2020 Joshi Yearbook Volume 3 post:
I loved the early brawling in this. After the brawling segment, it became a fun go for the win type title match that was very enjoyable and high energy!
Rating: 7/10
#24
Mr. Hughes & Vader vs Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner
WCW Clash of the Champions XVIII
January 21, 1992
Steiners throwing around huge dudes is always a fun match. This is before the big Vader push, so it feels kind of weird seeing him losing in the opener, although they did keep him looking strong.
Rating: 7/10
#23
Konami & Unagi Sayaka vs Masato Tanaka & Minoru Suzuki
Unagi Sayaka Produce Tono Wa Goranshin: 1-Ban Venus
January 7, 2024
A fun match where Konami and Sayaka work from underneath and do a great job of inserting hope spots throughout. Sayaka is one of my favourite underdog working around, and she shone here. I really want to see a Minoru Suzuki vs Unagai Sayaka singles match now!
Rating: 7.25/10
#22
Devil Masami & Hikari Fukuoka (c) vs Mayumi Ozaki & Reiko Amano
“JWP Tag Team Championship”
JWP on February 9, 1997
The future Carlos Amano stepped it up big time in this match. A really cool moment had Devil on so match of a rampage that she had to be held back. She’s really the master of getting the most out of these JWP tag matches! The finishing segment was absolutely great!
Rating: 7.25/10
#21
Mankind vs The Undertaker
“Buried Alive Match”
In Your House: Buried Alive
October 20, 1996
The WWF was so sanitized at this time, but this had a real fight feel. Maybe the dirt and shovels tricked my brain. The weapons and vicious moves around ringside looked really gritty though. There was even a nice nearfall in this, which was surprising. The finish was a little abrupt, and the post-match stuff was super silly, but this is pretty damn good.
Rating: 7.25/10
#20
Chihiro Hashimoto (c) vs Syuri
“Sendai Girls World Championship”
Sendai Girls Don’t Forget That Day
March 8, 2020
From the 2020 Joshi Yearbook Volume 3 post:
These two are always awesome against each other: the kickboxer vs the wrestler. They didn’t hit the high levels they had in other matches, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good match.
Rating: 7.25/10
#19
Jushin Liger vs Rey Misterio Jr.
WCW Starrcade
December 29, 1996
A real dream match at the time that was both disappointing but really good. The expectations for the two greatest juniors of all time squaring off for the first time were probably too high. Liger plays bully heel, which is fun, and Rey was amazing working underneath. There was a little disconnect between them and definatelwy the crowd that drags this down.
Rating: 7.25/10
#18
Kenta Kobashi (c) vs Stan Hansen
“Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW Summer Action Series II
September 5, 1996
These two have had absolute classics before, but this does not hit that level. There are a lot of fun elements, and it’s absolutely hilarious to see Kobashi win with a lariat.
Rating: 7.5/10
#17
Cactus Jack vs W*ING Kanemura
“Barbed Wire Barricade Spider Net Glass Crash Death Match”
FMW Fighting Creation: 7th Anniversary
May 5, 1996
I am always very hit or miss on deathmatches, and I am still not sure what the key ingredient is to make one great or good or bad. It’s one of those undefinable things. This was violent and brutal and looked like it was a bad time for everyone involved. It did build well, but it’s not a match for someone who dislikes deathmatches.
Rating: 7.75/10
#16
Chigusa Nagayo vs Mayumi Ozaki
GAEA Victory Road
February 23, 1997
The Oz Academy and GAEA feud wages on, this time with the two head bosses having a vicious brawl. They use a pipe, table, a chain and have blood. Both pull out all the stops and work towards their strengths, speed and flying, with Ozaki and Chigusa being more grounded and power-based. It goes a little long, and at some point, Ozaki has problems with her bottoms and throws on some random pants to finish the match. Ozaki going for a top rope splash and Nagayo catching her with a kick to the head was one of the best versions of that I have ever seen. The finish was cool, too. Post-match, the feud continues!
Rating: 7.75/10
#15
Big Van Vader & Crusher Bigelow vs Masa Saito & Scott Norton
NJPW Masters of Wrestling: DRAGON THE REVIVAL
July 8, 1992
This ruled. Both Norton and Saito did the beat up one guy and call in the other because they proved the dude they were facing was nothing! When Vader came in to face Norton, they did a pose off. The first five minutes ruled of just big stiffs beating the shit out of each other with nobody backing down. It remained cool the rest of the way, although the finish was a tad flat. I think Vader-Norton is magic every time they are against each other.
Rating: 7.75/10
#14
Akira Hokuto & Chigusa Nagayo vs KAORU & Maiko Matsumoto
GAEA Winning Road
February 16, 1997
Hokuto and Nagayo vs a youngster and a rookie is the most OP match ever, but that doesn’t matter as it rules! The first half is Matsumoto getting destroyed by the heelish legends until she can finally make a hot tag to KAORU, who does her awesome flying. The rest is hope spots and the young team trying to battle back, but not having enough to overcome.
Rating: 7.75/10
#13
Arn Anderson, Beautiful Bobby, & Larry Zbyszko vs Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, & Ron Simmons
WCW Clash of the Champions XVIII
January 21, 1992
This is Windham’s return and revenge match against Zbyszko for injuring his hand. It’s fast-paced, with a lot of heat done in a traditional tag format. Dustin plays face in peril, and he’s one of the best at this ever. The heels bump so well for all the babyface hope spots and comebacks, and the finish is perfect revenge, where Windham uses the cast for the win.
Rating: 7.75/10
#12
Akira Taue & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
AJPW New Year Giant Series
January 26, 1992
The young underdogs fight like dogs from underneath against the badass team of Taue and Tsuruta. The fire shown by Kobashi & Kikuchi was great but not matched by the badassness of Taue & Tsuruta. Great, more southern style tag, and the only flaw was Kikuchi getting a little too many kickouts at the end. Great match, though!
Rating: 8/10
#11
Black Tiger vs Shinjiro Otani
“Best of the Super Junior III: Block B”
NJPW Best of the Super Junior III
June 5, 1996
Eddie Guerrero starts off with fire and destroys Ohtani’s leg so well with amazing selling by Ohtani. The match progressed very well! Ohtani is just on fire during this period, with his mannerisms setting him above everyone else, and the crowd is so into him, making this feel even more special.
Rating: 8/10
#10
Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Akira Taue
“Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW Super Power Series
May 24, 1996
It was fun to watch as Taue relentlessly tried to put Misawa down, and it felt like time to end Misawa’s year-long reign. Misawa fights for his life basically just fending off Taue, but never really having control. It’s short and has an absolutely great finish, with Taue catching Misawa, who came off the top into a choke slam. The pop is great for Taue’s win!
Rating: 8/10
#9
Devil Masami vs Sakura Hirota
GAEA War Cry
January 19, 1997
This is the best sub five minute match ever! Hirota throws EVERYTHING at Masami and actually catches her off guard until Masami regains herself and crushes her! Chigusa Nagayo, Hirota’s second, jumps into the ring and hypes her up! Hirota is ready to run through walls and charges, which lasts a few seconds before Masami power bombs her to death!
Rating: 8.5/10
#
Bestia Salvaje vs Negro Casas
“Hair vs Hair 2/3 Falls”
CMLL on Televisa
October 18, 1996
From the opening moments of Salvaje attacking before the bell, this was a whirlwind of a match. A tremendously great selling performance by Casas. He was a great underdog fighting back for his life and to save his hair. Salvaje was relentless, and they kept this shorter and nonstop!
Rating: 8.5/10
#8
Mei Sera (c) vs Hazuki
“High Speed Championship”
Stardom 13th Anniversary Supreme Fight: Osaka Minami Rebellion
February 4, 2024
This was a classic High Speed match, and they work with such intensity and speed it’s a thing of beauty. Hazuki was so great controlling the match, but Sera not only held her own but was amazing in this, too. I loved the segment outside the ring with Hazuki just tossing her like garbage outside before diving on her and the strike exchange, but the submission win nearfalls building to the finish was my favourite.
Rating: 8.5/10
#7
Ilja Dragunov (c) vs Trick Williams
“NXT Championship”
NXT Vengeance Day
February 4, 2024
This was about as good as WWE storytelling can get. Carmelo Hayes at ringside was perfect, supporting his friend but looks shot of envy throughout. Him picking him up to hype him up for the comeback was great too. Dragunov was a beast and Williams is a tremendous babyface who fought so well from underneath.
Rating: 8.75/10
#6
Jushin Liger (c) vs Shinjiro Otani
“IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship”
NJPW Hyper Battle
March 17, 1996
The first segment was Otani working the arm and Liger the leg, which was fine, but the match really picked up after the mat stuff. The nearfalls here were amazing. Liger and Otani were the most Liger and Otani I may have ever seen, as Liger was such a jerk and Otani such a goofball. Any match with a springboard dropkick to the arm is a massive plus for me, too. The selling by Otani of the big moves was unmatched here, especially on the palm strike finish.
Rating: 8.75/10
#5
Sting (c) vs Van Vader
“WCW World Heavyweight Championship”
WCW The Great American Bash
July 12, 1992
Sting starts off hot and takes it to Vader. It’s kind of nice to see Sting as the smaller guy. It allows him to do more of his fun flying. The real bulk and great part of the match is Vader destroying Sting, which was littered with hope spots. All of that is great. The finishing run had one spot I’m not sure I love or hate. Vader is on the top, and Sting puts him on his shoulders and walks him to the middle of the ring, and then just stands there. Forever. Just holds him up, struggling, before finally doing a Samoan drop. It was odd. Anyways, Vader ducked a Stinger Splash, where Sting gets busted open on the post and Vader power bombs him to death. After the post, they did a few moments of Sting having a concussion, which, in retrospect, is not fun to watch. Nitpicks aside, it’s a great star-making title change match!
Rating: 8.75/10
#4
Big Van Vader & Crusher Bigelow (c) vs Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Muto
“IWGP Tag Team Championship”
NJPW Explosion Tour
May 1, 1992
It featured Has had one of the best face-in-peril segments ever, where he bled so much while the monsters destroyed him. A hilarious moment is after Hase makes a comeback; Muto comes in and says, lets so move together and tells Hase to do a bridging suplex on Vader. It’s a few minutes before Muto is actually tagged in! It led to some fun moments, but was funny. It built well from there with nearfalls from both sides. Vader and Hase were the stars here and the finishing choke slam by Vader ruled.
Rating: 8.75/10
#3
Atsushi Onita, El Hijo del Santo, & Tarzan Goto vs Horace Boulder, Negro Casas, & Tim Patterson
“Best 2/3 Falls”
FMW in Los Angeles w/ WWA
May 16, 1992
A famous and insane match. It’s 2/3 Falls with two referees like a lucha match, but this is no lucha match. Well, it kind of is, as Santo and Casas put on a lucha clinic. However, the others do wild and crazy brawling all around them and the arena. It really needs to be seen to be believed.
Rating: 9/10
#2
Big Van Vader vs Sting
“King of Cable Tournament Final”
WCW Starrcade
December 28, 1992
This one takes the blueprint from GAB and ups it! They added a Vader beatdown segment to start the match before Sting unloads! The way Vader gets back on offense, with Sting missing a Stinger splash into the guardrail, is great! Vader’s control segment is even better here, and Sting fights back so well. Although the rope and dope moment was not paid off, the finish of Sting caching Vader off the top into a slam ruled.
Rating: 9/10
“The Best Match I Watched in February 2024”
#1
Masahiro Chono vs Rick Rude
“NWA World Heavyweight Championship G1 Climax Final”
NJPW G1 Climax
August 12, 1992
To me, Rick Rude feels like the most American style wrestler ever. Chono is one of the most NJPW style wrestlers ever. They’ve had a match in WCW that was dogshit, but I knew this was good because I saw it like two decades ago. Watching it now, I was blown away. Rude adjusts to NJPW so well, but doesn’t give up his essence, he just adds more fighting spirit spots and more stiffness. He even still does some of his overselling silliness and his prematch promo! The knack on this match is the middle gets a little routine, before they start hitting their huge moves to bring this home. The crowd was so into Chono which made all the nearfalls hit even harder. Really a tremendous match and an amazing Rude performance.
Rating: 9/10
You can discuss this on Twitter!
Discord
We also have a lovely discord community to discuss the greatest wrestler ever project and anything else under the sun. It’s an open and welcoming group, and I am very proud of it. Everyone is welcome:
Join:
We also do weekly watch-along parties with chat!
How Can You Help?
Callen-Lorde is the global leader in LGBTQ healthcare. Since the days of Stonewall, we have been transforming lives in LGBTQ communities through excellent comprehensive care, provided free of judgment and regardless of ability to pay. In addition, we are continuously pioneering research, advocacy, and education to drive positive change around the world because we believe healthcare is a human right.
Please donate to Callen Lorde!
The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (January 2024)
We are into 2024, and boy, does current news make me not want to watch current wrestling. There is very little of that here as I focussed on 1996 and the GWE project instead.
#25
Hayabusa vs TAKA Michinoku
FMW Scramble Survivor
November 16, 1996
About two thirds through this was a fine junior match, with Michinoku looking amazing, but the last third was spectacular, with Hayabusa coming to the moment. I also enjoyed TAKA being in FMW, so he added using a chair to his legwork section. It reminded me of Rey Jr. working ECW. The dives were spectacular throughout this.
Rating: 7.5/10
#24
TAKA Michinoku (c) vs Minoru Tanaka
“Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship”
Battlarts Let’s enjoy BATTLARTS
October 30, 1996
I am not a big fan of shoot style, but they did a good job of mixing that up with junior style to keep me interested during the first half, which was a bit dull. The finishing and last stretch were really great and exciting, though! I bet most people would be higher on this than me.
Rating: 7.5/10
#23
Savio Vega vs Steve Austin
“Caribbean Strap Match”
WWF In Your House: Beware of Dog 2
May 28, 1996
It’s limited due to the touch the four corners rules of WWF strap matches, but this was vicious and violent with good psychology. It thankfully put the end to Austin with DiBiase as well.
Rating: 7.5/10
#22
Manami Toyota (c) vs Kyoko Inoue
“WWWA World Championship”
AJW Kokugikan Chojoden The Real Earnest
December 8, 1996
The first and final thirds of this match were really great, but the middle third was boring. However, this was the big Inoue title win, so it’s memorable.
Rating: 7.75/10
#21
Billie Starkz vs Maki Itoh
GCW Now and Forever
July 14, 2023
The cute-off that clearly cemented Starkz as a heel and Itoh as the babyface was a great use of fun and comedy; it added to the story. From there, both were great and had the crowd in the palm of their hands.
Rating: 7.75/10
#20
Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoji Anjo
WAR Revolution Anniversary
July 21, 1996
Anjo brings the shoot fight UWF style to Tenryu, who seems unimpressed, and weathers all the kicks, submissions, and comebacks with stiff lariats, straight punches, and power bombs. This low key rules.
Rating: 7.75/10
#19
Chris Jericho (c) vs Pitbull II vs Shane Douglas vs Too Cold Scorpio
“ECW World Television Championship”
ECW Heat Wave
July 13, 1996
Mostly built around the Douglas-Pitbull feud, and that part was wonderful, especially Douglas. However, a significant part of this was Scorpio out wrestling everyone and putting on a great performance.
Rating: 7.75/10
#18
Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka vs Mr. Pogo & Terry Funk
“No Ropes Barbed Wire Current Mine Explosion Double Hell Time Bomb Tornado Death Match”
FMW Fighting Creation: 7th Anniversary
May 5, 1996
Completely chaotic with barbed wire, explosion, fire, and Mr. Pogo. I’m not sure if I like watching Pogo or hate it, but his sickle weapon, which he uses to dig into people’s backs, is something else. I loved all the evasions of the weapons. That is how you work a deathmatch!
Rating: 8/10
#17
Megumi Kudo vs Shinobu Kandori
“Street Fight”
LLPW on January 5, 1997
A really good ECW-like street fight. Kandori wore a suit, so that’s a huge win. She was a badass in this, and Kudo did everything she could to survive as they fought all over the arena. The finish was brutal in the best way possible. I can’t wait for the finale of this trilogy now!
Rating: 8/10
#16
Kazushi Sakuraba vs Shinjiro Ohtani
“UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship”
NJPW Skydiving J
June 17, 1996
This is a hoot. Sakuraba tries to MMA Ohtani, who fights back with some vicious suplexes and kicks. It’s intense and nonstop action for eight minutes.
Rating: 8/10
#15
Super Delfin (c) vs TAKA Michinoku
“CMLL World Welterweight Championship”
NJPW Skydiving J
June 17, 1996
Young Taka is so fun to watch. He had this unbelievable balance and flying ability, but was so cocky and arrogant, every moment of watching him is a blast. The first third of this match is really good with TAKA hitting some incredible dives, the middle third is solid stuff, and the final third had a great finishing sequence. Although the final move was a little anticlimactic.
Rating: 8/10
#14
Aja Kong vs Kaoru Ito
Zenjo Perfection: Ota Ward Champion Legend
January 20, 1997
At one point, Kong beat up Ito and threw her into the concourse, then grabbed the barricade and stood waiting for her with it over her head to beat her down more with it. One of the best shot things in the history of wrestling. Ito did revenge and beat her up all over the arena, too. For a 30 minute draw, this felt like a wild and quick brawl, so I give this the highest recomendations.
Rating: 8.25/10
#13
The Gladiator & Terry Funk vs Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka
“Street Fight”
FMW Flashover
September 24, 1996
This is exactly what you want from this match. Hayabusa did flying. Tanaka and Awesome did their stuff, but not just against each other. Funk was wild. They brawled all over and used chairs and tables and it was a real blast.
Rating: 8.25/10
#12
Mizuki (c) vs Miya Yamashita
“Princess of Princess Championship”
TJPW Wrestle Princess 4
October 9, 2023
Yamashita is such a badass boss in these big title matches, and Mizuki plays her role of fighting champion really well. It was a great, intense title fight, though, that really shows Yamashita is the best ace wrestler around today.
Rating: 8.5/10
#11
Mistico vs Soberano Jr.
“2/3 Falls”
CMLL Super Viernes
September 1, 2023
A great main event all-tecnico match that saw Soberano Jr. play subtle heel, teasing the greatness that was later to come in the year. Mistico’s comebacks and babyface fire are unmatched in 2023, and the amazing spots the both of them pull off are unmatched as well. I’ve seen few matches with this many amazing spots that didn’t feel like a spotfest.
Rating: 8.75/10
#10
Atlantis y El Dandy y Lizmark y El Hijo del Santo vs Blue Panther y Dr. Wagner Jr. y El Felino y Negro Casas
“Torneo de Alto Rendimiento Torneo Cibernetico Match”
CMLL Homenaje A Salvador Lutteroth
March 22, 1996
All these absolute legends go in there and have a fast paced Survivor Series like match. Great matwork, great flying, great storytellingb and action. It’s like comfort food.
Rating: 8.75/10
#9
Shinjiro Ohtani (c) vs Ultimo Dragon (c)
“UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight & NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship vs IWGP Junior Heavyweight & WWF Light Heavyweight Championship, J-Crown Tournament Semi-Final Match”
NJPW G1 Climax
August 4, 1996
Ohtani is such a beast here, but luckily, Dragon is along for the ride as this hit some high levels. The start was really exciting, the middle was some fun matwork, but the real joy was the finishing stretches. All the hot moves were expertly timed, and the crowd was great. I could watch 1996 Ohtani all day long.
Rating: 9/10
#8
The Great Muta vs Jushin Liger
NJPW Super Grade Tag League VI
October 20, 1996
Another crazy brawl for Muta in 1996 and this one includes Liger missing Muta and stabbing a table with a lead pipe or something! Wild stuff. Bloody and chaotic with a fun Liger facepaint gimmick reveal. It was definitely memorable.
Rating: 9/10
#7
Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa, Masato Yakushiji, Super Delfin, & The Great Sasuke vs Dick Togo, MEN’S Teioh, Shiryu, Shoichi Funaki, & TAKA Michinoku
Michinoku Pro From Lucha no Kuni: Heartbreak
December 16, 1996
These Days is so ingrained in my head as the greatest Lucharesu match of all time that I was surprised when I saw this match listed as better on Cagematch. Upon watching it, I don’t know if it’s better, but if it’s not, it’s damn close. I’m not sure what words to say about a match like this. 23 minutes of both teams throwing everything at each other to try to win, with no spots that bugged me. The high spots were tremendous, and the Kainetain DX team ups were all great. I’d say maybe it’s below the These Days match just because Kainetain DX didn’t do as much posing and team-up jerk moves. Regardless, a ridiculously great match.
Rating: 9.25/10
#6
Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa
“Real World Tag League Final”
AJPW Real World Tag League
December 6, 1996
I have been down on prime AJPW for a few years now, so I was curious to rewatch this match since I rated it so highly the first time I saw it. Watching it, I think my AJPW issue is that the style that is so popular today that I don’t like is a continuation of this wrestling. That said, the last ten minutes were unreal, and there is nothing in wrestling like Taue unleashed, dropping people with choke slams everywhere! Akiyama did good in the Kobashi role of trying to save Misawa’s ass too. A great match, but still, it felt like a lot of too much for me.
Rating: 9.25/10
#5
El Samurai (c) vs Shinjiro Ohtani
“UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship”
NJPW New Year Special
January 21, 1996
The majority of this match is matwork and limp attacks, which normally would be a match that would kind of bore me, but this match blew me away. Ohtani’s attack on Samurai’s leg was amazing, including the vicious springboard dropkick into it. Near the end, when they hit their bigger moves and the near falls were tremendous, and the armwork by Samurai to get to the finish was perhaps the best moment of the match. A real classic.
Rating: 9.25/10
#4
Mayu Iwatani (c) vs Syuri
“IWGP Women’s Championship”
Stardome Gate
January 4, 2024
This was one of the most violent non-weapons matches I have ever seen and an instant classic. Fast-paced and incredibly hard-hitting from the beginning, and it only built better throughout toward an incredible finish of Iwatani coming off the top like she was doing a standing moonsault, only to hit a reverse hurracanrana for the win. It was filled with insane moves and some of the most vicious headbutts you’ll ever see, but it never felt like too much, and kick outs for kick outs state. In fact, the big near fall came when Syuri’s leg was on the rope. A must watch match!
Rating: 9.25/10
#3
Dick Togo (c) vs Jushin Liger
“MPW British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship”
NJPW Skydiving J
June 17, 1996
This was a match I hadn’t seen in well over a decade, and boy, did it live up to my memories. Togo came in as a total asshole trying to destroy Liger. However, Liger wasn’t up for that shit and was a giant asshole back. It’s vicious, and everything hits so violently. You have the famous catching Togo off a dive and power bombing on the floor spot which was followed by another power bomb! Immediately, Liger enters the ring to strut! More great violent action continues on until we get some great stuff down the finishing stretch, including a flying dropkick into the arm, which Togo was using to pull himself up, and a top rope brainbuster. Great match!
Rating: 9.25/10
#2
El Dandy vs Negro Casas vs El Hijo del Santo
“Triangle Cabellera contra Mascara”
CMLL Super Viernes
December 6, 1996
I had no recollection of this match, but it’s listed as a classic and, for some reason, an 8/10 on my spreadsheet. I am glad to admit I was really wrong, as this is the classic people say it is.
The first segment, where Casas and Dandy team up to pin Santo, so he has to put up his mask, was really great storytelling. Casas and Dandy then had a mighty fun singles match, leading to Casas winning and taunting everyone. That brings us to the bulk of the match, the Santo vs Dandy match, with everything on the line. It becomes a bloody, violent death match with great dives and huge drama from there, and it becomes the perfect hair vs mask match. The last few moments are as good as wrestling gets. Even if you don’t like the lucha style, this is one you will certainly love.
Rating: 9.5/10
#1
Genichiro Tenryu vs The Great Muta
WAR Osaka Crush Night!
October 11, 1996
I had never seen this before, and I feel really stupid because this match is unbelievable. From the beginning, Muta shoots two different mist colours! He gains his advantage by breaking a glass bottle and digging that into Tenryu’s head for a while! Outside the ring, he piledrivers him on a table and then hits him with some kind of tripod or something. That wasn’t even enough, inside the ring he pulls out something and digs that more into the cut! Tenryu’s hope spots after that were great, and the cut-offs by Muta were on that level, too. Also, I’m not much of a chop person, but they looked great here, probably due to the other violence making it fit in. To get back to the outside, Tenryu switches to straight punches that look sick as fuck! Tenryu throws some chairs and a table into the ring to up the madness! However, more mist from Muta stops the attack before Tenryu can get too far ahead and uses chairs and the table to continue the assault, including moonsaulting Tenryu through it! Instead of going for the win, Muta attacks Tenryu’s second to steal his white shirt to use Tenryu’s blood to write on it and then choke him out. Muta thinks he’s all that, so he goes for the moonsault, which Tenryu counters with a massive top rope powerbomb and an enzuigiri, and one more powerbomb, which is countered with Muta misting him! Muta weirdly goes under the ring and emerges to use the mist again, but Tenryu covers his mouth with an unreal counter! That leads to the ultimate finish, and this is up there with Dr. Wagner Jr vs LA Par-K as one of the most amazing, crazy brawls ever! I am blown away!
Rating: 9.75/10
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The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (December 2023)
2023 comes to a close and I could have a top 50 list for this month, because I watched so match backlog for the year. Enough so that my MOTY list is up, the post before this one in fact. My WOTY still needs some watching, so that will stretch into 2024!
#25
Akira Hokuto vs Meiko Satomura
GAEA Big Target
November 16, 1996
Obviously, this is not their 2001 classic, but it’s quite the gem. Satomura is still a rookie, but she gets in some great hope spots and fights so well from underneath. Hokuto resorted to a lot of cheap tactics but makes Satomura look great throughout.
Rating: 7.75/10
#24
Chie Koishikawa & Kaho Kobayashi vs Mei Suruga & Ryo Mizunami
DPW x Gatoh Move Tokyo Crossover
April 25, 2023
One of the most fun times and the most joy I have had watching wrestling all year, mostly thanks to Chie and Mei, but the others played their parts. Outside of the fun, this was an exciting tag match where everyone played up their characters to perfection.
Rating: 7.75/10
#23
Bryan Danielson vs Swerve Strickland
“AEW TNT Championship #1 Contendership Match”
AEW Dynamite “Title Tuesday”
October 10, 2023
After some fun technical exchanges early on, we moved into the match’s heat segment, where Swerve is the best. Danielson played his role perfectly, too. It was intense, and they both worked really hard, although the finish came off flat. The whole interference stops the heel winning, but then the heel almost wins anyways, only for the face to win thing never sits well with me. Regardless of that, it was a great match.
Rating: 8/10
#22
Aja Kong & Sareee vs Mika Iwata & Mio Momono
Hana Kimura Memorial Produce Pinx!
May 23, 2023
A fitting main event for the tribute to Hana Kimura. Kong was used so well, but the others all came to play. I could watch Sareee vs Momno forever! A great tag match.
Rating: 8/10
#21
Diamante & Mercedes Martinez vs Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale
“Texas Street Fight”
AEW Collision “Winter is Coming”
December 16, 2023
The annual women’s tag brawl always delivers, and I really enjoyed this one. It didn’t go for the giant spots of previous matches but had a more underlining intensity. The violent spots were great, and I enjoyed the ride I was on.
Rating: 8/10
#20
Hikaru Shida (c) vs VENY
“Regina Di WAVE Championship”
WAVE PHASE2 Reboot 4th ~ NAMI 1
October 1, 2023
It was the ideal current big title match. It had an amazing ending that was built up, the action was fast with great athletic moves, the hitting was hard, and the nearfalls were great and logical. I say current style, because it was not built on the babyface overcoming the heel or anything, but more the sporting type contest.
Rating: 8/10
#19
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (c) vs Damian Priest & Finn Balor
“WWE Unified Tag Team Championship Steel City Street Fight”
WWE Payback
September 2, 2023
This match makes me want to watch more WWE. On paper, in the past, this would be an unwatchable mess of sanitized pre-setup cartoony weapon spots where people were just going for a pop.
Instead, we got a bloody, wild, chaotic brawl where the weapons made sense, and the heels were real heels. Cheating and interference were so well placed, and the violence actually felt like violence. Add in a Pittsburgh Penguins tribute spot, and it’s a big recommendation from me.
Rating: 8.25/10
#18
Soberano Jr. vs Volador Jr.
“Best 2/3 Falls”
CMLL Super Viernes
November 10, 2023
The first match after Soberano’s rudo turn, and it was awesome. He made this cool entrance with a cool car arriving on the street, and then he excited in a bomber fur coat, woman, on the street and made his way inside. To make it even better, he came in the back and sneak attacked.
He kept all of his awesome flying but added a lot of really badass rudo antics. It was a great brawl all over, mixed in with the flying, and the finish of the low blow by Soberano to cement himself was awesome. Spectacular stuff!
Rating: 8.25/10
#17
Athena (c) vs Mercedes Martinez
“ROH Women’s World Championship”
ROH on HonorClub
October 28, 2023, aired November 2, 2023
It should be a crime that we have only had 21 Mercedes Martinez matches in 2023. One of the greatest ever is not getting to show it. That said, here is a 13-minute main event for a title that absolutely rules. These two blend so well together, as they are kind of similar in their stiffness and smarts.
Rating: 8.25/10
#16
Maika vs Suzu Suzuki
“World of Stardom Championship”
Stardom Dream Queendom
December 29, 2023
To crown the vacant champion, these two did their best to have a great match and delivered, although not to the highs of the last two year-end title matches by Stardom.
Rating: 8.25/10
#15
Chikayo Nagashima (c) vs Mio Momono
“AAAW Championship”
Marvelous 7th Anniversary
May 3, 2023
An absolutely tremendous title match with amazing drama and nearfalls whose main issue is its length. That said, the veteran Nagashima took it to Momono, and her fight back was amazing. The brawling throughout Kourakuen always makes me happy, too. The nearfalls were really some of the best of the year.
Rating: 8.25/10
#14
Athena (c) vs Billie Starkz
“ROH Women’s World Championship”
ROH Final Battle
December 15, 2023
I loved the storyline between these two, and the first 2/3 of the match were perfect and played into it so well. The bloody babyface work by Starkz was great, as well as Athena being such a badass jerk. After the referee bump, title belt moment, and big kickout, it started to go on too long for me, and a lot of that was unnecessary. Based on this, I would assume these two will have a huge grudge match blow-off in 2024, where Starkz wins. I’m all in on that, and hopefully, it can be closer to 20 minutes than the 28 minutes this one went.
Rating: 8.25/10
#13
Mizuki (c) vs Maki Ito
“Princess of Princess Championship”
TJPW Summer Sun Princess
July 8, 2023
This was a great main event with a tremendous story built in. Ito came in with confidence and the crowd on her side, but her manic attitude caused her to make mistakes. Her head was damaged, but she kept trying to use it as her main offense, which led to her demise. Mizuki, however, worked smart and kept to her calculated offense, and made no mistakes, allowing her to overcome.
Rating: 8.5/10
#12
MIRAI (c) vs Momo Watanabe
“Wonder of Stardom Championship”
Stardom Nagoya Golden Fight “Kinshachi Miracle”
October 9, 2023
They had a match earlier this year, which I wrote about here, but this one was a little better not being confined by the tournament format. Watanabe was as vicious as ever, and MIRAI’s selling makes it look so good. The attacks on the arm were well sold by MIRAI, who is becoming an excellent White Belt champion.
Rating: 8.5/10
#11
Athena (c) vs Willow Nightingale
“ROH Women’s World Championship”
ROH on HonorClub
February 25, 2023, aired March 9, 2023
Athena destroyed Willow’s arm throughout the match, which was sold superbly. Willow is a natural great babyface, and working underneath with the injury made this match. Her comeback was awesome, and her big chance near fall was well done. Athena was a beast taking her out.
Rating: 8.5/10
#10
AZM vs Mayu Iwatani
“AZM 10th Anniversary Match”
Stardom on October 1, 2023
The young AZM is already having her 10th anniversary match and that is wild. There could be no better opponent than Mayu Iwatani.
I love the earlier portions where AZM was so thirsty for a win she destroyed Mayu on the outside, which led to a double countdown. Thankfully, it restarted, and that worked here. It was a nice old-school Kouraken Hall feel as they brawled all over and even did the dive over the steps like vintage Stardom. The match was dramatic and intense and built to a great emotional finish. The post-match speeches put it over the top!
Rating: 8.5/10
#9
Giulia (c) vs Megan Bayne
“NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship”
Stardom Dream Queendom
December 29, 2023
An absolutely perfect David vs Goliath match with Bayne adding to her arsenal in this one with some great power moves. Giulia worked so great from an underdog rolling, giving it her all to overcome Goliath!
Rating: 8.5/10
#8
Mio Momono (c) vs Mayumi Ozaki
“AAAW Championship”
Marvelous on August 7, 2023
An amazing match with the veteran using her destructive, violent skills to bloody and beat the underdog champion. Momono fought so hard to overcome Ozaki, but Oz Acadmey has too much tactics and violence and she could not. Great and dramatic match!
Rating: 8.5/10
#7
Rocky Romero (c) vs Mascara Dorada 2.0
“World Historic Welterweight Championship”
CMLL Super Viernes
December 15, 2023
Romero was such a great rudo in this, ripping at the mask and just being a general dick. On the other hand, Dorada was a great babyface hitting crowd pleasing hope spots and great sympathy getting selling. The finishing stretch was one of the best of the year with unreal nearfalls.
Rating: 8.75/10
#6
Arisa Endo, Miu Watanabe, Moka Miyamoto, Suzume, & Yuki Arai vs Miya Yamashita, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, Shoko Nakajima, & Yuka Sakazaki
“Best 2/3 Falls”
TJPW 10th Anniversary Show “We are TJPW”
December 1, 2023
This is similar to the Stardom cage match from earlier this year, where it’s a great match on its own, but if you follow the company it’s even greater. The issue for me is I don’t follow TJPW, so I see that it’s filled with huge moments, but without the proper context, it doesn’t hit as hard. That said, it’s a great match filled with amazing moments, great action, and story and character elements.
Rating: 8.75/10
#5
Gunther (c) vs The Miz
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
WWE Monday Night Raw
December 18, 2023
I thought their Survivor Series match was good, but this one is great. Early Miz was a good babyface, but the match really picked up when Gunther missed a chop and hit his hand on the ringpost. The rest of the match was Gunther trying to overcome that limitation, while Miz was amazing working underneath. They played off the previous match really well. The finish was one of my favourites of the year. Miz hits his finisher off the second rope, but as he goes for the cover, Gunther rolls to the floor. Miz blindly follows, gets caught, and then Gunther kills him for the win!
Rating: 9/10
#4
Takako Inoue (c) vs Mariko Yoshida
“IWA World Championship”
AJW Zenjo Brightest
October 6, 1996
Talk about a hidden gem?
A 23-minute match with 0 drag that flew by. It had some incredible brawling all over the arena, with Inoue being a beast using weapons and making Yoshida bleed. They even took the brawling into the ring as a guardrail was brought in, and Inoue suplexed Yoshida onto it. There was a tremendous comeback by Yoshida that led to a very dramatic finishing sequence. Some of the near falls, especially from Inoue’s flying knee to the back of Yoshida’s head, were nuts. Watch this!
Rating: 9/10
#3
Swerve Strickland (c) vs Nick Wayne
“DEFY World Championship”
DEFY The Realest
April 8, 2023
Read about it on my 2023 Match of the Year list.
Rating: 9/10
#2
Arisa Nakajima (c) vs Sareee
“SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship”
SEAdLINNNG 8th Anniversary
August 25, 2023
Read about it on my 2023 Match of the Year list.
Rating: 9/10
#1
Adam Page vs Swerve Strickland
“Texas Death Match”
AEW Full Gear
November 18, 2023
Read about it on my 2023 Match of the Year list.
Rating: 9.25/10
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The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (November 2023)
It was a very light month in November, probably because I spent too much time watching The Traitors. I did get a top-25 match, though!
#25
Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato vs Sonoko Kato & Toshie Uematsu
GAEA Break Out!
September 16, 1996
Intense, quick tags, lots of brawling, and a high-paced tag match. A lot of fun!
Rating: 7/10
#24
Gunther (c) vs The Miz
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
WWE Survivor Series
November 25, 2023
The story of Miz trying to work the leg to take down the unstoppable Gunther was good and it was sold well by Gunther. The big near-fall off the Eddie Guerrero hijinks was really fun. The knee almost took Gunther out, but he was too good and put The Miz down!
Rating: 7/10
#23
Tito Santana (c) vs Paul Orndorff
“WWF Intercontinental Championship”
WWF at Kiel Auditorium
September 1, 1984
From my review of The Best of The WWF Volume II:
It feels like they wanted to show the St. Louis crowd a more NWA-style match, as WWF just took over the territory. The structure was not typical for a WWF match from the time, and it had lots of cool nearfalls, a non-WWF structure, and a lot of action. Tito is one of the best babyface workers ever, and seeing him work from underneath is great. His hope spots are tremendous. The comeback was intense by Tito, as usual. They fought back and forth down the stretch, leading to a time-limit draw.
Rating: 7/10
#22
Rhea Ripley (c) vs Zoey Stark
“WWE Women’s World Championship”
WWE Survivor Series
November 23, 2023
I kind of loved this. It was intense, hard-hitting, and dramatic. Zoey stepped up and used her power but was overcome as it wasn’t enough. Perfect title defense.
Rating: 7/10
#21
Hiromi Yagi vs Jaguar Yokota
JWP on September 8, 1996
Jaguar continues to look great, no matter what year it is. This has a lot of fun stuff, and I loved the sudden submission finish out of nowhere!
Rating: 7/10
#20
Strike Force, The British Bulldogs, The Killer Bees, The Rougeau Brothers, & The Young Stallions vs The Hart Foundation, Demolition, The Bolsheviks, The New Dream Team, & The Islanders
“Elimination Match”
WWF Survivor Series
November 26, 1987
A match filled with a lot of action, quick tags, and a logical format, and I loved the story of the underdog Stallions surviving with the Bees.
Rating: 7/10
#19
Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja, & Templario vs Atlantis Jr., Mascara Dorada 2.0, & Mistico
“Best 2/3 Falls”
CMLL Grand Prix De Amazonas
October 27, 2023
This had exactly what you wanted, with spectacular moves, a hot crowd, and a good story about the feud between Templario and Mistico. Dorada continues to impress!
Rating: 7/10
#18
Bayley vs Bianca Belair
WWE SmackDown
October 27, 2023
A tremendous match, with Bayley working over the back and Belair selling it well. The highlight was a great segment that started on the apron and continued outside, and the finish was really good as well.
Rating: 7/10
#17
La Catalina vs Zeuxis
“CMLL Universal De Amazones Title Tournament Final Match”
CMLL Blue Panther 45. Aniversario
October 20, 2023
They both fought hard to win this tournament, and it was an exciting match.
Rating: 7/10
#16
The Powers of Pain, The British Bulldogs, The Hart Foundation, The Rockers, & The Young Stallions vs Demolition, The Bolsheviks, The Brain Busters, Los Conquistadores, & The Fabulous Rougeaus
“Elimination Match”
WWF Survivor Series
November 24, 1988
It is similar to the previous year but with more action, more stories, and the really fun Conquistadores surviving against all odds. Plus, a double turn!
Rating: 7/10
#15
Chigusa Nagayo, Sakura Hirota, Sonoko Kato, & Toshie Uematsu vs Chikayo Nagashima, Mayumi Ozaki, Reiko Amano, & Sugar Sato
GAEA Endless Summer
August 18, 1996
Nagayo and Ozaki were awesome in this, controlling everything, but the rookies really came out to shine, and this was a blast!
Rating: 7/10
#14
Bryan Danielson vs Rush
AEW Dynamite
February 8, 2023
The first 2/3 of the match was great, with Rush just destroying an injured and bloody Danielson and being a cocky asshole about it. Danielson’s selling was great, and he was such a massive underdog. The comeback was good, too, but once we got to the longer finishing sequence, it fell apart a bit for me.
Rating: 7/10
#13
Chaparita ASARI vs Kyoko Inoue
“Japan Grand Prix”
AJW Japan Grand Prix
July 28, 1996
This was a blast. To start, they did the I’m taller than you exchange, with each standing on different things to get an advantage in a test of strength until it ended with ASARI hitting a top rope dropkick onto Inoue, who was standing on a steal chair. Immediately, ASARI sat in the chair while Inoue rolled to the floor and sat in a chair at ringside. A perfect start to the match. The rest was fun, too, with Inoue hitting one of the fastest giant swings ever and ASARI having tremendous spots throughout. It ended with Inoue’s death offense for the win.
Rating: 7/10
#12
Dynamite Kansai (c) vs Mayumi Ozaki
“JWP Openweight Championship”
JWP on August 10, 1996
This was dramatic and had a lot of great struggle between the two. The crowd brawling was awesome here, too.
Rating: 7.25/10
#11
The Usos (c) vs Drew McIntyre & Sheamus
“WWE Raw & SmackDown Tag Team Championship”
WWE SmackDown
January 6, 2023
This told a great story of McIntyre and Sheamus outmatching the Usos regarding power and being one-on-one, but the Usos are the superior team. Usos are also the masters of tag nearfalls, and the crowd was insane for them in this one. I love the classic cheating tag finish and Sami and Roman’s reactions while watching in the back while eating popcorn.
Rating: 7.25/10
#10
Rie Tamada & Yumi Fukawa (c) vs Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato
“Japanese Tag Team Championship”
AJW The Rising Generation Queens Carnival
September 1, 1996
Oz Academy (Nagashima and Sato) do some wild Sabu shit, and it’s so much fun as they are the highlight of this really good tag match that comes down to a very exciting finishing sequence.
Rating: 7.5/10
#9
CM Punk vs Ricky Starks
“Owen Hart Foundation 2023 Men’s Tournament Final Match”
AEW Collision
July 15, 2023
Punk is a master of playing the crowd and Starks is very charismatic and has the crowd with him, and the crowd was amazing here in Calgary! Punk really went out of his way to make Starks a superstar in this, and the finish was a perfect payoff.
Rating: 7.5/10
#8
Aja Kong & Dynamite Kansai vs Devil Masami & Kyoko Inoue
JWP The Ryogoku Big Project
October 13, 1996
These two amazing teams have an amazing match, to nobody’s surprise. It started intense, with everyone hitting vicious lariats, but only kept it up all match. It built really well with a lot of great action and the main takeaway is this match looked like it hurt a lot.
Rating: 7.75/10
#7
Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair & Shotzi vs Asuka, Bayley, IYO SKY & Kairi Sane
“War Games”
WWE Survivor Series
November 25, 2023
I was a little apprehensive about the babyfaces winning the advantage as it goes against everything I know about War Games. When each person entering brought a new weapon, my skepticism was super high, but luckily, they salvaged things and turned it into a great match.
Bayley held everything together and worked her ass off. It was so nice to see KAIRI having so much fun upon returning to WWE too! Of course Io Shirai took some nutty bumps, including the jump off the top of the cage in a garbage can. The finish was very satisfying!
Rating: 7.75/10
#6
Gunther (c) vs Chad Gable
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
WWE Raw
August 21, 2023
I had completely forgotten that Chad Gable existed, but it turns out he is the perfect Gunther opponent. Gunther, in the middle of the best IC Title run ever, faced an unrelenting technical wrestler who had the power to match up with him. He pushed and pushed Gunther and finally got the shock count-out win, setting up a rematch. It’s a perfect way to give Gunther his first loss in the WWE.
Rating: 8/10
#5
Orange Cassidy (c) vs Swerve Strickland
“AEW International Championship”
AEW Dynamite
June 7, 2023
Although Cassidy can do amazing moves, amazing comedy, and garner amazing amounts of sympathy, the real key to his amazingness is the little things. The ability to stay in character in almost any situation. Like sitting on the apron trying to avoid getting hit by slowly scooting out of the way. That said, this match hits on all of his levels of amazing, and Swerve is no slouch and a really good opponent for him as he can keep up on those levels and is a great counterpoint to him. It was an awesome match that got a lot of time and built from a great character-driven match into a match filled with amazing spots and such an awesome finishing sequence where each looked like the winner, and it had a perfect finish.
Rating: 8/10
#4
Bison Kimura vs Li Fua
Jd’ Star on July 30, 1996
I had no idea that Li Fua was Jaguar Yokota until days after I watched this, so that adds to the awesomeness here.
Li Fua is a deranged Chinese masked woman who spent most of the match cheating and stabbing Bison, making her bleed everywhere. It’s a violent brawl that goes all over the ringside area and involved many weapons. It even involved Fua doing a moonsault from the stage to the floor onto Bison. This match is insane.
Afterward, Fua cuts her own head and pours the blood into Bison in some kind of ritual. A must-watch match!
Rating: 8/10
#3
Pedro Morales (c) vs Don Muraco
“WWF Intercontinental Championship”
WWF on MSG Network
January 22, 1983
From my review of The Best of The WWF Volume II:
Muraco attacks before the bell, and Morales fights right back. The really cool being thrown into the corner and turning it into a sunset flip by Morales is awesome. The early goings are just Morales destroying Muraco and Muraco selling his ass off. He’s such a chicken shit that when Morales looks to jump off the top to the floor on him, Muraco hides under the ring. A massive low blow by Muraco brings things even, and that’s when Muraco can finally remove his shirt. Of course, Muraco uses it to choke Pedro, only for Pedro to low-blow him back!
Muraco ducked, and Morales hit the turnbuckle with his knee, which finally evens the tides and led to some good knee work by Muraco. After a pushoff of the figure-four, Morales has a comeback and does a backbreaker onto his hurt knee like an idiot. The Boston Crab he does is too close to the ropes, and his leg is too hurt to keep it on. Muraco still can’t control it, though. Morales keeps fighting, but the cross body by Muraco is caught, only for Morales’s leg to give up, and Muraco wins the belt.
It is a great, short, and intense brawl with amazing transitions that tell a wonderful story. I love these two against each other.
Rating: 8.25/10
#2
Aja Kong vs Kyoko Inoue
“Japan Grand Prix Final”
AJW Japan Grand Prix
August 30, 1996
Kong is out for death in this match, and Inoue is a perfect underdog with tremendous selling throughout. It’s intense from the start to the tremendous run of nearfalls down the stretch. Every lariat and every throw and hit just look like they hurt; it’s on another level. A great match that seems to be forgotten if you listen to Cagematch.
Rating: 9.25/10
#1
Gunther (c) vs Chad Gable
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
WWE Raw
September 4, 2023
You know a match is special when the WWE uploads it to YouTube immediately.
This played off the previous match and built upon it. Gable knew he could win, and Gunther had doubts for almost the first time in his reign. Gable again fought from underneath, but here, his hope spots meant more. The comeback and the Gable’s attempts to win were electric. This had the best ankle lock submission nearfalls I have ever seen. When Gunther finally survived and got back on offense, there was no back-and-forth bullshit. He delivered a bunch of vicious offense and just pinned him clean. The camera immediately moved to Gable’s daughter crying in the first row. This might be my match of the year.
With this win, Gunther has become the longest-reigning IC Champion ever!
Rating: 9.25/10
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The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (October 2023)
I was really all over the place in October, but one thing kept me excited, and that was going through WCW’s 1996. We are in 1996 for our Joshi weekly watches, and I thought I’d get a head start on the rest of the world. Other GWE years I want to tackle are just not clicking with me right now.
Also, 2023 is turning out to be pretty damn cool, eh?
#25
John Morrison (c) vs CM Punk
“ECW Heavyweight Championship”
ECW on SciFi
September 1, 2007, aired September 4, 2007
These two had a long series, so they knew each other well and did a lot of counters. The crowd is really hot, and it’s a very exciting match with a great finishing stretch.
Rating: 7.25/10
#24
La Catalina vs Stephanie Vaquer
“CMLL World Women’s Championship”
CMLL Noche de Campeones
September 29, 2023
Vaquer’s offense outside the ring was so vicious. They both worked stiff and had a very intense match that was a great counterpoint to a lot of the more high-flying of the rest of the card.
Rating: 7.25/10
#23
Bruno Sammartino (c) vs Stan Hansen
“WWWF Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match”
WWWF on August 7, 1976
A famous match with Bruno getting revenge after Hasnen broke his neck. The crowd is so into Bruno’s revenge, and he gets it here with lots of blood and violence.
Rating: 7.25/10
#22
Becky Lynch (c) vs Lyra Valkyria
“NXT Women’s Championship”
NXT Halloween Havoc
October 24, 2023
A tremendous main event, with Valkyria playing the big underdog against the legendary Lynch. It was filled with hope spots and nearfalls for Valyria, and Lynch did a great job of controlling the action and trying to find ways to put away the underdog. Some of my favourite types of wrestling matches, and this was a good version of that.
Rating: 7.75/10
#21
Mistico (c) vs Virus
“World Historic Middleweight Championship”
CMLL Noche de Campeones
September 29, 2023
Mistico is so spectacular, and Virus is so well grounded they make a perfect counterpoint for each other and a beautiful match to watch.
Rating: 7.75/10
#20
Rey Mysterio Jr. (c) vs Super Calo
WCW Fall Brawl: War Games
September 15, 1996
Calo works over Rey’s arm so well and also hits some great dives and throws for the first large portion of this match. Rey sells his arm all the way through his comeback. A great stretch of nerfalls and Rey hits a double springboard hurrcanrana for the win utilizing the double ring. It was one of the better Cruiserweight matches in WCW history.
Rating: 7.75/10
#19
Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum (c) vs The High Flyers
“AWA World Tag Team Championships”
AWA on July 7, 1977
It’s a really hot crowd in a very classic tag team format match. Lazna and Duncum bumped huge when The High Flyers were on offense, and The Flyers sold great on defense. It got more exciting as it went along to a great finish.
Rating: 7.75/10
#18
Dean Malenko (c) vs Rey Mysterio Jr.
“WCW World Cruiserweight Championship”
WCW The Great American Bash
June 16, 1996
I’ve felt this match was odd because it’s Rey’s WCW debut, and Malenko grounds him for 3/4 of it by working his arm. The comeback is tremendous, though, and the arm work is really good. Truly the start of the new WCW cruiserweight era.
Rating: 7.75/10
#17
Natsupoi vs Tam Nakano
“5STAR Grand Prix: Red Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
September 30, 2023
Former enemies and current teammates can be really cool in a match against each other, and this one was that. It started with the know each other so well spots, but then they started to dig back into their former hatred. There were great nearfalls before a finish that was a little bit of a surprise, with Natsupoi pinning the Champion.
Rating: 8/10
#16
Suzu Suzuki vs Tam Nakano
“5STAR Grand Prix: Red Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
September 9, 2023
It was an excellent GP match, with Suzuki going for death and Nakano’s amazing selling leading the way. The last third was a tremendous run to the finish.
Rating: 8/10
#15
Umaga (c) vs Jeff Hardy
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
WWE The Great American Bash
July 22, 2007
It was an amazing David vs Goliath match, with Hardy having awesome hope spots while Umaga killed him throughout. When it got to Jeff’s comeback, it was electric, and when Umaga did the run for the finish, it was death. Perfect wrestling.
Rating: 8/10
#14
Hazuki vs Suzu Suzuki
“5STAR Grand Prix: Red Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
September 23, 2023
It’s all killer, no filler heated GP match.
Rating: 8/10
#13
Rey Mysterio Jr. (c) vs Dean Malenko
“WCW World Cruiserweight Championship”
WCW Halloween Havoc
October 27, 1996
After an amazing shine segment by Rey where he got his stolen mask back, Dean grounds him. The leg attacks are great, as well as Rey’s selling. In 1996, few had better comebacks than Rey. The finishing stretch is so great, ending with a vicious super bomb by Dean!
Rating: 8/10
#12
Mei Seira vs Nanae Takahashi
“Passion Injection”
Stardom New Blood 11
September 29, 2023
One of the highlights of 2023 is Nanae vs younger wrestlers, injecting them with passion. Mei was amazing, fighting to take it to Nanae and pushing her to the limits. Nanae was also great pushing back against it.
Rating: 8/10
#11
Maika vs MIRAI
“5STAR Grand Prix: Blue Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
September 30, 2023
The winner wins the Blue Stars block, so there is extra drama here in this awesome hoss battle.
Rating: 8/10
#10
Aja Kong vs Yumiko Hotta
“Japan Grand Prix”
AJW Japan Grand Prix
July 14, 1996
Kong completely brutalizes Hotta’s leg in the most violent way possible, and Hotta sells it so well. Hotta worked from underneath and had some good hope spots. For some reason, Hotta always really steps up against Kong!
Rating: 8.5/10
#9
Mistico vs Templario
“Best 2/3 Falls”
CMLL Super Viernes
October 13, 2023
Mistico might be the best babyface in the world right now. Being so over really helps, but the great selling and hope spots, added with the spectacular moves, make him so loveable. I love that Mistico dominated for a large early portion of this match until Templario got a lucky comeback in the second fall, leading to him destroying Mistsco. The finishing sequence and the comeback by Mistico ruled! I don’t want to discount Templario here; he’s a great rudo, too.
Rating: 8.5/10
#8
Antonio Inoki (c) vs Andre the Giant
“Real World Martial Arts Championship”
NJPW Toukon Series
October 7, 1976
It was a tremendous David vs Goliath contest that was really focused on the strategy of both. Inoki was amazing at finding his spots where Andre would leave an opening.
Rating: 8.5/10
#7
Maika vs Suzu Suzuki
“5STAR Grand Prix: Final”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
September 30, 2023
A surprising final, which had to be changed due to the injuries. However, it added an extra level of excitement because the winner could have been anyone. It was an intense, stiff, and exciting match, with both stepping up their game to win the 5STAR! It was really a perfect tournament final match, as either could have won throughout, and they played it as two equally matched competitors.
I’m very excited to see how far Suzuki can go at such a young age!
Rating: 8.5/10
#6
Ultimate Dragon (c) vs Rey Misterio Jr.
“J-Crown Championship”
WCW World War 3
November 24, 1996
Most of the match is a squash, with Dragon unleashing amazing offense, including one of the best and most brutal running power bombs ever. Rey is amazing at selling, and when he gets a comeback near the end, it’s electric with spectacular moves. The finish is otherworldly, with Rey attempting to complete the comeback with a springboard rana, only for Dragon to catch him and slingshot Rey off the top rope into a vicious sit-down power bomb for the win. It is a classic and very cool, for it does not follow the usual formula.
Rating: 8.75/10
#5
Becky Lynch (c) vs Tiffany Stratton
“NXT Women’s Championship Extreme Rules Match”
NXT No Mercy
September 30, 2023
Stratton is very impressive, with amazing physical skills and tremendous presence. She wasn’t just carried along by Lynch but added a lot. This was one of the better all-over-the-arena weapons matches I can recall from the WWE in a long time. The spots were violent and vicious, and the nearfalls were unbelievable. Great finish, too.
Rating: 8.75/10
#4
Manami Toyota vs Meiko Satomura
“Battlefield WAR Tournament Second Round”
Sendai Girls Live Vol. 8
May 6, 2007
It was really cool to see generational legends go at it, and they delivered. The early portions of Toyota using her veteran status to keep control of Meiko was really great. As they build up to the match, they had a great bomb-throwing segment and finishing rush.
Rating: 8.75/10
#3
Antonio Inoki vs Big Van Vader
NJPW Wrestling World In Tokyo Dome
January 4, 1996
Two legendary though guys stand up and fight each other on the biggest stage with a red-hot crowd. This is amazing. Both really go for the kill throughout, and the Vader German Suplex spot is incredibly memorable.
Rating: 9/10
#2
Titan (c) vs Mascara Dorada
“CMLL World Middleweight Championship”
CMLL Noche de Campeones
September 29, 2023
I haven’t seen too much of the new Mascara Dorada, but for a wrestler who debuted in 2021, he is insanely good. He reminds me of Rey Mysterio Jr., who came around and blew everyone away with his flying, but it never looked like he was showing off, but always competing in a match. Dorada is the same way.
Titan is no slouch, as he’s been great for a long time. With all the great flying, the spot that really hit me was Titan doing a double stomp from the top rope to Dorada on the apron. As it built towards the finish, all the submission nearfalls were amazing. It was a great match and probably in my top ten matches of the year.
Rating: 9/10
#1
Combat Toyoda (c) vs Megumi Kudo
“FMW Independent Women’s & WWA Women’s Title No Ropes Barbed Wire Current Blast Death Match”
FMW Fighting Creation: 7th Anniversary Show
May 5, 1996
Not much to say. It’s the best deathmatch and the best FMW match in history. It’s dramatic, it’s emotional, and it’s great.
Rating: 9.66/10
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Callen-Lorde is the global leader in LGBTQ healthcare. Since the days of Stonewall, we have been transforming lives in LGBTQ communities through excellent comprehensive care, provided free of judgment and regardless of ability to pay. In addition, we are continuously pioneering research, advocacy, and education to drive positive change around the world because we believe healthcare is a human right.
Please donate to Callen Lorde!
The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (September 2023)
I took a little break from GWE watching; I only had two 76/77 matches on the list this month. I was off-wrestling this month, but I got in a lot of the Stardom 5STAR and started to get back into CMLL.
#25
Superstar Billy Graham (c) vs Dusty Rhodes
“WWWF Heavyweight Championship Texas Death Match”
WWWF
October 24, 1977
This was bloody, with a superheated crowd in an intense brawl. It doesn’t really hit high gear, though, and the finish stunk, but a damn good match worth watching.
Rating: 7/10
#24
Hazuki, Shinobu Kandori, & Takako Inoue vs Natsupoi, Saori Anou, & Tam Nakano
Stardom MidSummer Fes
August 19, 2023
It’s a fun match, putting legends with current starts. All the legends hit their stuff and looked awesome, but the current stars carried the bulk of the work. It’s a textbook and is well worth watching stuff here.
Rating: 7/10
#23
Chigusa Nagayo vs Megumi Kudo
FMW New Year Generation
January 10, 1996
An amazing-paced 7-minute match where they fought with a great struggle like warriors! The power bomb finish was brutal!
Rating: 7/10
#22
Kaoru Ito & Manami Toyota vs Double Inoue
AJW Zenjo Strongest
January 3, 1996
This was just a super fun tag with a really hot finishing sequence and an insanely fast giant swing by Kyoko.
Rating: 7.25/10
#21
Akira Hokuto & Mima Shimoda (c) vs Double Inoue
“WWWA Tag Team Championship Best 2/3 Falls”
AJW Ota Ward Champion Legend
January 22, 1996
LCO work as psychotic heels against the sympathetic Double Inoue team, and it helps this tag for the first couple of falls. The third fall is tremendous action.
Rating: 7.25/10
#20
MIRAI (c) vs Konami
“Wonder of Stardom Championship”
Stardom 5STAR Special In Hiroshima
September 3, 2023
I really dug this title defense. Konami’s arm offense and kicks were on point, and MIRAI’s selling was tremendous. I loved her comeback and the finishing sequence, too. MIRAI’s lariats are so brutal.
Rating: 7.25/10
#19
La Jarochita & Lluvia vs Stephanie Vaquer & Zeuxis
“CMLL World Women’s Tag Team Title Match”
CMLL 90 Aniversario
September 16, 2023
A great opener to the Aniversario and a really fun tag match with some amazing dives and great double-team moves. There was a viciousness to this that made it extra appealing.
Rating: 7.25
#18
Momo Watanabe vs Saori Anou
“5STAR Grand Prix: Blue Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
August 15, 2023
It was a real blast where Momo was trying to knock out Anou all match, from an opening sneak attack to using her baseball bat and vicious heavy offense. Anou is pretty good from fighting underneath, so it’s worth watching.
Rating: 7.25/10
#17
Mariah May vs Mina Shirakawa
“5STAR Grand Prix: Blue Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
August 15, 2023
These two have been the most improved wrestlers on earth in the last two years, and they went out and had a good match between teammates. Mina’s leg work was on point as ever, and Mariah has developed some killer offense.
Rating: 7.25/10
#16
Mayu Iwatani vs Syuri
“5STAR Grand Prix: Red Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Special In Hiroshima
September 3, 2023
These two are just great, and even in an undercard match, they will deliver something awesome. It was intense and stiff and led to a great finish.
Rating: 7.5/10
#15
Aja Kong vs Combat Toyoda
FMW New Year Generation
January 10, 1996
A wild brawl all over the arena with Combat bleeding and weapons. It’s a real fun hoss battle well worth your time.
Rating: 7.5/10
#14
Hazuki vs Syrui
“5STAR Grand Prix: Red Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
August 15, 2023
A full-throttle intense 10-minute sprint that I loved. Two of my favourites doing everything to win their tournament match, but not in an epic way, but in a that put the other away as soon as possible way.
Rating: 7.5/10
#13
Manami Toyota (c) vs Kyoko Inoue
“WWWA World Championship”
AJW Wrestling Queendom
March 31, 1996
Putting aside the horrible design to not have Kyoko win and to have her lose to her own finish, this match was pretty damn good. The crowd really wanted Kyoko to win, which made every nerafall hot. The nerafalls all felt big, and it got better and better as it went.
Rating: 8/10
#12
Bomber Hikari, Chigusa Nagayo, & Sonoko Kato vs Eagle Sawai, Jenn Yukari, & Michiko Nagashima
LLPW
March 12, 1996
This is a rematch from a GAEA match higher on the list, and although it’s still pretty wild and a great match, it doesn’t hit the high levels the other match hit. The clipping makes it harder to rank, too.
Rating: 8/10
#11
Mayu Iwatani vs Tam Nakano
“5STAR Grand Prix: Red Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
August 15, 2023
Two legends of Stardom go at it for 15 minutes straight, trying to knock the other out. It’s as good as a 15-minute tournament match draw could be, really. These two need a big title match one day.
Rating: 8/10
#10
KAIRI & Saori Anou vs Unagi Sayaka & Sareee
AJPW Giant Series
September 8, 2023
Outside of the novelty of seeing these four, some of my favourites, in an AJPW ring, the match delivered. It was a great tag match where everyone was stepping up their game. Each team had really good team chemistry and double-team moves, too. The last few minutes were absolutely tremendous stuff.
Rating: 8/10
#9
CM Punk (c) vs Samoa Joe
“Real World Championship”
AEW All In London
August 27, 2023
This was a great opener and the only match I wanted to watch from this show. There were some nice nods to their previous matches with the headlock before Joe killed Punk into the table and blooded him up. Punk worked amazingly from underneath, and his comeback was fun, especially the Wrestlemania III tribute. A fun finishing stretch ended it. Punk then posed with a trans flag to push the match up even higher!
Rating: 8/10
#8
AZM vs Utami Hayashishita
“5STAR Grand Prix: Blue Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
August 15, 2023
The main event in Korakuen Hall delivered in a big way as teammates fought in the 5STAR. AZM used her high speed skills to try to sneak in a victory, while Utami used her power to pick her apart. It was a perfect power vs speed match.
Rating: 8.25/10
#7
Lince Dorado & Samuray del Sol vs. Soberano Jr. & Titan
“Best 2/3 Falls”
CMLL 90 Aniversario
September 16, 2023
The Lucha House Party makes a surprisingly good gringo rudo tag team here, and this was a dynamic, exciting tag. The first two falls were perfect, with great spots and good build-up. The third fall got a little extra, but this was filled with spectacular spots and some good playing character work.
Rating: 8.25/10
#6
Dragon Rojo Jr. vs Templario
“Mask vs Mask”
CMLL 90 Aniversario
September 16, 2023
There’s nothing like a mask vs mask match to end a CMLL Anniversary show, and this was a good one. I loved Dragon Rojo Jr. on offense for the first half; he kind of reminded me of Kikuchiyo in his movement. Templario’s comeback had a lot of spectacular dives, but the finishing stretch seemed like a letdown from what they were building.
Rating: 8.5/10
#5
Angel de Oro vs Volador, Jr.
“Hair vs Hair”
CMLL 90 Aniversario
September 16, 2023
A dramatic and great hair vs hair match made even better with Volador’s shoulder injury, making all his moves look more spectacular. I love these high-stakes matches. It makes everything feel way more important. This wasn’t just a spot fest. There was some great hate and submissions mixed in there.
Rating: 8.75/10
#4
Bomber Hikari, Chigusa Nagayo, & Sonoko Kato vs Eagle Sawai, Jenn Yukari, & Michiko Nagashima
GAEA War Is A Friday Night
February 16, 1996
This is as fun as a wild all over the arena crazy brawl can be. Chigusa and Eagle just killing each other in the audience is a blast, but the story of Kato losing her shit was amazing. Blood and brawling, GAEA is such a great promotion.
Rating: 8.75/10
#3
Jaguar Yokota, Momoe Nakanishi, & Nanae Takahashi vs Momo Watanabe, Starlight Kid, & Yuu
Stardom MidSummer Fes
August 19, 2023
This was an exciting trios match main event. There was so much great action with everyone, especially the legends, getting their chance to shine. The action was really classic Joshi. I’m so blown away by how great Nakanishi was after 18 years of not wrestling a real match. She looked like she could main event today on a consistent basis. Unbelievable.
Rating: 9/10
#2
Terry Funk (c) vs Jumbo Tsuruta
“NWA World Heavyweight Championship Best 2/3 Falls”
AJPW NWA Champion Series”
June 11, 1976
One thing I immediately loved about this match was each fall was built like a regular match, albeit the later ones got shorter and went quicker toward finishing sequences. It has that great feel-out segment that leads to them figuring out what to do. Funk doing Jumbo’s finisher to him was fascinating, as I had no idea people were doing that before the 2000s. It is just tremendously well-built, and once it going going, it is an exciting match.
Rating: 9/10
#1
“Match of the Month”
Becky Lynch vs Trish Stratus
“Cage Match”
WWE Payback
September 2, 2023
This was a perfect WWE cage match. It was not built around trying to do cool moves; it was built around the feud and legacy. For once, no blood, after being rammed into the cage, was perfectly covered, as Trish had a giant welt on her forehead. The tributes to the first-ever WWE women’s cage match and other cage matches in WWE history were perfectly done. They were even somewhat subtle, like the Bret-Owen superplex and the outside interference door slamming into the face. I loved the finishing sequence so much, where Becky had enough of Trish’s lackey, so she locked her in the cage too and took her out, leading to catching Trish on the top of the cage and hitting a super Manhandle slam. It was a brilliant match and will be near the top matches of 2023 for me!
Rating: 9/10
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The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (August 2023)
August started with a blast as I blew through 1995 and caught up with the Stardom GP and then fell off as I had to study for a test, still I had to cut so much to get this list down to 25 matches. So many matches I rated from 7 to 7.75 that I could recommend, but didn’t make this cut!
#25
AZM vs MIRAI
“5STAR Grand Prix: Blue Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
August 5, 2023
AZM taking the high speed go for pinfalls style to the 5STAR is fun and MIRAI hitting back with that, but also using vicious lariats that kept hurting her injured arm even more was a good story.
Rating: 7.75/10
#24
Cactus Jack vs Terry Funk
ECW Hostile City Showdown
April 15, 1995
I loved the majority of this match. It was a weapons filled brawl throughout the arena, but the most natural and organic one ever. Every table, every weapon used had no set up, they were just there. The climax came when Cactus grabbed the arena garbage can and hit Terry with it, which had beer bottles in it. Terry picked up the bottles and broke one over Cactus’ head, and then used the other to carve him up. It fell apart after that as interference against both happened and then a lame botched DDT ends in, but up to that point it was perfect!
Rating: 7.75/10
#23
Giulia vs Saori Anou
“5STAR Grand Prix: Blue Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
July 23, 2023
These two tried to kill each other and had a vicious bloody brawl. A good change up for a tournament show and put over how important this tournament is.
Rating: 8/10
#22
Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera & Psicosis vs. El Hijo del Santo, Octagon & Rey Misterio Jr.
“2/3 Falls”
AAA Sin Limite
March 17, 1995, aired, April 23, 1995
A tremendous trios match all around in front of a hot crowd with each member pulling their weight. The rudos, especially Psicosis, were so great at being scummy and really elevated the tecnicos. Some of the spots in the final fall were so well executed and so breath taking. Tremendous match.
Rating: 8/10
#21
Giulia vs Mariah May
“5STAR Grand Prix: Blue Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
August 8, 2023
Mariah continues to break out in this tournament and here is the best match of her young career so far. The desire to win was huge from the start with lots of violent slaps and both using biting to get out of submission holds. Mariah threw everything at Giulia to win and it turns out Mariah has some of the best offense around. Her apron power bomb was already great, but this short-armed slap was so cool. Of course Giulia overcame to win, but awesome showing here.
Rating: 8/10
#20
Juventud Guerrera (c) vs Rey Misterio, Jr.
“WWA World Lightweight Championship 2/3 Falls”
AAA Sin Limite
April 21, 1995, aired May 21, 1995
This was an interesting lucha title match, as they forego the matwork and went straight to throwing bombs and dives. It had more of a puroresu influence, and these two delivered. Juventud has an impressive arsenol of throws and suplexes and both were tremendous flyers. It’s held back by a lame double count out finish off a dive that was not the most impressive dive in the match, but still a damn good match.
Rating: 8/10
#19
Cactus Jack & The Headhunters vs Leatherface, Shoji Nakamaki, & Terry Funk
“Barbed Wire Board & Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Bunkhouse Death Match”
Bridge Of Dreams ~ Dome Spring Full Bloom
April 2, 1995
One of the craziest matches in the history of the Tokyo Dome. Everyone is brawling around the whole ring area, bleeding, and using barbed wire boards and baseball bats. Funk and Cactus really go all out, and The Headhunters are damn impressive crushing fools. Dives all look sick, and at one point Leatherface hits all his opponents with the chainsaw making the bleed while sparks fly everywhere. They do fail at setting a board on fire, but it kind of adds to the mayhem.
Rating: 8/10
#18
Hazuki vs Mayu Iwatani
“5STAR Grand Prix: Red Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
July 23, 2023
Two teammates went out there to prove who was better in the tournament and threw all caution to the wind to do so. This was a blast and so well paced, while mixing in the story of them as friends as well as the story of Mayu never being able to win on night 1 of the Grand Prix.
Rating: 8/10
#17
Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Kenta Kobashi
“Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW October Giant Series
October 25, 1995
The first big stage match for Kobashi and he started off like he was there to prove he belonged. The story was Kobashi was out to prove himself and Misawa, as the ace, just wanted to grind Kobashi down. Kobashi’s selling was tremendous in this and he had the crowd in the balm of his hand, but this match gets long in the tooth and Misawa’s comeback doesn’t seem to fit too well. Great first huge match in their series.
Rating: 8.25/10
#16
MIRAI vs Momo Watanabe
“5STAR Grand Prix: Blue Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
July 23, 2023
These two match up so well, as they are both hard-hitting with great impact moves, and MIRAI is a great underdog, and Watanabe is a tremendous heel. Momo really tries to pound MIRAI down in this one, and MIRAI was great at hope spots and comebacks. The finishing sequence was intense.
Rating: 8.25/10
#15
Mayu Iwatani (c) vs Utami Hayashishita
“IWGP Women’s Championship”
Stardom X Stardom
August 13, 2023
I loved the contrast of power and speed/technic that these two use against each other. The first part was good, with Utami trying to put her down, but the match really excels near the end with them going for the kill. The finisher was one of the best, if not the best of the year!
Rating: 8.5/10
#14
El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas
“NWA World Welterweight Title Tournament Final”
CMLL Super Viernes
December 1, 1995
A wrestling focussed match with dives, cheating, and everything taken out leaving two great athletes trying to the other pin or submit. I loved it for it’s grittnyess and focus.
Rating: 8.5/10
#13
Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs Ultimo Dragon
“Super J Cup Semi-Final”
WAR Super J Cup: 2nd Stage
December 13, 1995
This was a tremendous match that built from some feeling out technical work and ended with great nearfalls and some fo the most creative and cool counters I’ve seen. These two worked like everything was on the line, which it was to get into the final of the tournament.
Rating: 8.5/10
#12
Alex Wright vs Brian Pillman
WCW The Great American Bash
June 18, 1995
This started as a typical technical cruiserweight match, but built into something very special and shockingly great. The little things from Pillman were out of this world, especially the subtle heel moves. While Wright brought really crisp and unique European offense. It never stops being awesome and the finish even tops that. I’m still in awe it’s this good.
Rating: 8.5/10
#11
Headhunter A vs Headhunter B
“Barbed Wire Board Glass Window Death Match”
IWA Japan All I Need “A Chance For Me”
May 1, 1995
It’s two nearly four hundred pound twins hitting each other with glass, barbed-wire, and high flying moves. What else do you want from pro-wrestling? At one point a twin was sandwich between two barbed-irwe boards while the other moonsaulted on top of him. Wrestling is awesome!
Rating: 8.5/10
#10
Aja Kong vs Kyoko Inoue
AJW Monday Night Sensation
December 4, 1995
These two continue to have amazing chemistry and they both tried to take the other out! The near falls were some of the best ever down the stretch. Tremendous match!
Rating: 8.75/10
#9
Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Akira Taue
“Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW Summer Action Series II
September 10, 1995
After the initial onslaught from Misawa to begin, I loved Taue taking control and the middle third or so is of him destroying Misawa with amazing offense and determination. The match started to falter on the comeback and the bits of back and forth, but still a great showing again from these two.
Rating: 8.75/10
#8
Diesel (c) vs Bret Hart
“WWF World Championship”
WWF Royal Rumble
January 22, 1995
I haven’t watched this since my Bret Hart project, but it is as great as I remember. It’s shocking how great Diesel looks everytime he’s in the ring with Bret. He sells his leg getting destroyed so well and fights back shows his exhaustion so well. Bret is miraclous all match. It’s only really negatives are the interferences, re-starts, and the finish. The foreshadowing of the Survivor Series finish is so clever.
Rating: 8.75/10
#7
Suzu Suzuki vs Syuri
“5STAR Grand Prix: Red Stars”
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix
July 23, 2023
From the opening bell these two tried to destroy each other with all the vicious moves they could think of. Everything hit and hit hard. It was a beautiful 11 minute sprint showing these two have magical chemistry and just fits so perfectly into a tournament.
Rating: 9/10
#6
Megumi Kudo vs Shark Tsuchiya
“No Ropes Barbed Wire Death Match”
FMW Yamato-Nadeshiko II
December 22, 1995
This was a great version of a barbed wire match with two very memorable moments. One was the lengths Shark went through to get Kudo through the table that wouldn’t break. It was partially funny but got more violent the longer it lasted. The other was Shark using a legit sickle to attack Kudo, including swinging it at her and Kudo blocking it with a piece of a table like a shiled. The sickle got stuck in the table, like it was a movie. Unreal stuff. The dram, outside of that, was high through out and Kudo makes such a great babyface!
Rating: 9/10
#5
Dynamite Kansai (c) vs Manami Toyota
“WWWA World Championship”
AJW Monday Night Sensation
December 4, 1995
A really great start to the match which set the stage for the whole contest. These two contrast very well and they played up the unrelenting risk taking style of Toyota vs the unrelenting badass style of Kansai. A spot that I loved was Toyota getting whipped into the ropes and jumping up and springboarding back into sunset flip for a nearfall. Near the end the nearfalls got every more impressive leading to the crowd being super hot. Although the finish was kind of botched, still a great match!
Rating: 9/10
#4
Psicosis (c) vs El Hijo del Santo
“Mexican National Welterweight Championship 2/3 Falls”
AAA Sin Limite
May 3, 1995, aired May 28, 1995
A tremendous lucha title match with great technical wrestling to start and building to a dramatic match filled with breathtaking but dangerous moves. Especially one hit by Santo.
Rating: 9/10
#3
Raven & Stevie Richards (c) vs The Pit Bulls
“ECW World Tag Team Championship 2/3 Falls Double Dog Collar Match”
ECW Gangstas Paradise
September 16, 1995
This match is absolutely bonkers, but in the best way possible. It’s over booked more than almost any match ever, but it all works as a bunch of stories are all interwined. The spots are nuts and everyone is bloody, it may not make too much sense without context, but damn it’s awesome with it! Plus it ends in a Super Duper Bomb!
Rating: 9/10
#2
Keiji Muto vs Scott Norton
“IWGP Heavyweight Championship #1 Contendership”
NJPW Fighting Spirit
February 3, 1995
Although this started off a little slow, with Muto trying to keep grounded, it sure ended up delivering. After Norton got control, the match was a classic. The offense by Norton was just vicious! The hope spots were so well planned out, and the cut-offs by Norton were perfect. The crowd was rabid for Muto. He got in some nice nearfalls as the match built to the finish, with some that had me bite. The finish was so well done, with Norton just having enough of Muto, who wouldn’t go away, so he goes to the top. Must watch match.
Rating: 9.25/10
#1
“The Best Match I Watched in August 2023”
Goldberg (c) vs Diamond Dallas Page
“WCW World Championship”
WCW Halloween Havoc
October 25, 1998
I watched this again for the first time in a couple of years and it really hit home how special it is. It felt like a legit sporting contest that didn’t completely rely on wrestling troupes to create drama, but there was drama. The huge spots all hit so well and the Diamond Cutter false finish was amazing. This should had been on my Greatest Match Ever list.
Rating: 9.25/10
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The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (July 2023)
July has been a great month of watching. I finished my 1989 watching, and I had so many more matches than 25 I had to cut a couple dozen matches.
#25
Natsupoi vs. Saori Anou
“Indian Strap Match”
Stardom MidSummer Champions
July 2, 2023
I love the creativity here, but the stips hurt this from hitting real highs. The first part was worked around the strap, but they used it very violently later. The stip of getting a pin and then having to touch each corner is something that will hurt every match, though.
Rating: 7.75/10
#24
Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (c) vs Joe Malenko & Kenta Kobashi
“All Asia Tag Team Championships”
AJPW October Giant Series
October 11, 1989
I love the double teamwork of Kroffat & Furnas. It’s really on an all-time great level. Joe and Kenta were pretty damn good in their babyface roles here, getting in great hope spots and fire. Awesome tag work.
Rating: 7.75/10
#23
The Brain Busters vs The Rockers
WWF
January 23, 1989
It’s a really good Southern tag match where the face-in-peril, hot tag, and finish were all really good. I didn’t like the opening third of The Rockers embarrassing The Brain Busters for so long. The shine went on sooo long. After that, though, it was all excellent.
Rating: 7.75/10
#22
Dynamite Kansai (c) vs Takako Inoue
“WWWA World Championship”
JWP
October 31, 1995
Inoue tried her hardest to bring the AJW Title back home, but she couldn’t put Kansai down no matter how much she threw at Kansai or how close the nearfalls were. Lovely wrestling.
Rating: 7.75/10
#21
Giulia, Mayu Iwatani, Syuri, & Tam Nakano vs Maika, MIRAI, Saya Kamitani, & Suzu Suzuki
“Generational Struggle Elimination Match”
Stardom
July 9, 2023
This was a lot of fun with a hot crowd. Pitting the current top talent vs the future top talent is a great concept that allows delivers. It took its time before eliminations, and all the eliminations were creative. A lot of fun moments with different talents interacting that may not always face each other too. A really good tag match!
Rating: 7.75/10
#20
Andre the Giant & Haku (c) vs Demoltiion
“WWF World Tag Team Championship”
WWF
December 28, 1989
I love how Andre and Haku work because it’s unlike any other tag team. Haku is a badass and does most of the work, and Andre is tagged in when it’s time to drop the big bomb to end things. This match has a great deviation from that formula, as Andre’s first bomb misses causing him to be attacked for a while. The match builds from there with awesome heat and a cool finish of Andre just destroying Smash for the win.
Rating: 7.75/10
#19
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (c) vs Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada
“AJPW World Tag Team Championships”
AJPW Excite Series
February 23, 1989
Another great match in the Tsuruta-Tenryu series. Yatsu needs a lot of credit in this series as well, as he more than holds his own on his quest to kill Tenryu. Kawada is the plucky underdog brought around in this match and does a good job after Tenryu keeps him calm. A very exciting tag match that is a real harbinger of things to come for AJPW.
Rating: 8/10
#18
Demolition (c) vs The Brain Busters
“WWF World Tag Team Championship Best 2/3 Falls”
WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event
July 18, 1989, aired July 29, 1989
I have a lot of nostalgia for this match, as it’s one of the very first Saturday Night’s Main Event I remember my dad taping for me, and I couldn’t wait to watch it on Sunday morning.
Outside of that, it’s a tremendous match with great structure. Demolition is clearly the more dominant team, but The Busters are sneaky and frustrating. Demolition dominates to start until some double teaming gets a Smash face-in-peril, but Ax breaks everything up and gets an easy first-fall win. In the second fall, Demolition is dominant again, but now The Busters cheat like crazy until a super hot tag to Ax, and it looks like an easy match, but they double team too much and are disqualified and frustrated. The final fall is more Demolition dominance, but Andre slips a chair to Tully, who kills them, and they steal the titles. Perfect wrestling!!
Rating: 8/10
#17
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (c) vs Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen
“AJPW World Tag Team Championship”
AJPW Championship Carnival
April 4, 1989
Tenryu is so over, and this really helped this match, but what put it over the top was how locked in everyone was to destroying each other. Lariats were killing fools left and right, and they were devastating. The finish, although a countdown, was great as Jumbo saw his partner was in trouble, so he suplexed Tenryu through a table to get the count-out win!
Rating: 8/10
#16
Willow Nightingale (c) vs Giulia
“NJPW Strong Women’s Championship”
NJPW STRONG Independence Day
July 5, 2023
This was an awesome match focused on big power vs underdog fire, and I loved it. They worked to all the big moves well, and both played their rules tremendously well. The finishing sequence was amazing, and it finished the story perfectly!
Rating: 8.25/10
#15
Jushin Liger (c) vs Black Tiger
“IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship European Rounds”
NJPW Summer Fight Series
July 12, 1989
The European Rounds rules break the Junior Heavyweight style and make this feel more unique. Add in Mark Rocco playing a legit heel, and it just feels great watching it. It’s intense and dirty and has some outstanding spots. A real delight.
Rating: 8.25/10
#14
Chigusa Nagayo vs Shark Tsuchiya
GAEA Never Ending Bump
November 3, 1995
The feud between Chigusa and FMW wages on, as Shark kills her from the very start. Puts her through a table and brawls throughout the crowd. She uses every weapon she can, but every time Chigusa comes back. However, every Chigusa comeback has a Shark underling run-in and cut it off. Barbed wire, sticks, boards, etc… This was a great brawl that kept this feud going and made it even better.
Rating: 8.25/10
#13
Nanae Takahashi vs Starlight Kid
Stardom MidSummer Champions
July 2, 2023
Takahashi injects some passion into Starlight Kid, who stepped up and fought a Takashiashi match that was full of vicious strikes and, well, passion. I loved Kid having Momoe Nakanishi in her corner too.
Rating: 8.5/10
#12
Bob Backlund & Owen Hart vs Bret Hart & The British Bulldog
WWF Action Zone
January 25, 1995, aired February 26, 1995
A great traditional tag team matches with Bret playing the perfect face in peril, Owen and Backlund being an amazing asshole tag team, and Bulldog having a great hot tag. Bret keeping the Sharpshooter on the floor while Budllog won in the ring was a tremendous and memorable finish.
Rating: 8.75/10
#11
Genichiro Tenryu (c) vs Yoshiaki Yatsu
“AJPW Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW Summer Action Series
July 18, 1989
I’m not sure why these two are so competitive against each other, but their chemistry is unreal. I saw so many cool bulldogs in this match, which was a highlight. Yatsu fought tooth and nail to overcome Tenryu, but it wasn’t enough. A great story and a great match.
Rating: 8.75/10
#10
Ricky Steamboat vs Terry Funk
NWA Clash of The Champions VII “Guts And Glory”
June 14, 1989
This is great fun. It was a short, heated main event where they worked stiffly and held nothing back. Heck, Funk even did a running piledriver on the floor! Scoff at the finish if you want, but it works well with Funk’s character and his frustration for being unable to put down The Dragon.
Rating: 8.75/10
#9
Atsushi Onita (c) vs Hayabusa
“FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship No Ropes Barbed Wire Current Mine Explosion Time Bomb Death Match”
FMW Atsushi Onita Memorial Retirement Tour Last Fight ~Final Chapter~ April Series – Tag 20: 6th Anniversary Show
May 5, 1995
From the opening entrances, I was all in on this match. The stipulation makes the work all so meaningly, and all of the explosion spots were great. The countdown to the ring blowing up worked so well, and the match was on pace to be an easy Greatest Match Ever lock until the conclusion. Onita was retiring, and Hayabusa was going to be the new ace and the whole match was built around the dethroning, but instead, it ended with an Onita win. Wrestling polictics suck.
Rating: 8.75/10
#8
Akira Hokuto vs Manami Toyota
AJW Destiny
September 2, 1995
This match felt dangerous, and the table spots were brutal, but it didn’t hit the high levels I’d expect from a big Hokuto match. The finish was weird, with Toyota just hitting Hokuto’s finisher out of nowhere for the win.
Rating: 9/10
#7
Bull Nakano vs Kyoko Inoue
AJW Destiny
September 2, 1995
This match was built around a huge struggle between the two. Every Inoue power bomb took so much effort. Every attempt by Inoue to win was a huge challenge. When Bull did a series of leg drops from the apron to the floor, wrestling may have peaked. Inoue finally getting her win on her fourth try was a great conclusion.
Rating: 9/10
#6
Lioness Asuka (c) vs Bull Nakano
“WWWA World Championship”
AJW
May 14, 1989
This was chaotic madness, and I loved it. After Lioness got off a really fast giant swing, the match broke into a Chigusa-Dump match, with Bull using every weapon she could find to pick her apart, including breaking the ring to use it as a weapon with the ring post hook and digging into her bloody forehead. Sadly, the referee threw it out after Bull chucked a heavy briefcase at his head because of a finish here, and it could have been an all-time classic.
Rating: 9/10
#5
Psicosis (c) vs Rey Misterio Jr.
“WWA World Welterweight Championship 2/3 Falls”
AAA
September 22, 1995
After two great falls built around trying to one-up each other with matwork, submissions, and rolls, we get to one of the most insane third falls ever. Unreal dives left and right by both and huge moves everywhere, all set up in a logical fashion. This is the best lucha and felt really ahead of its time. No wonder this match was exported all over the world.
Rating: 9.25/10
#4
Jushin Liger (c) vs Naoki Sano
“IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship”
NJPW Fighting Satellite 1989 Japan vs USA vs Soviet Union Battle Series Part II
August 10, 1989
I thought I watched the right Sano-Liger match a month ago, but I was wrong because this ruled. Sano destroys the arm, and Liger sells it so well for the rest of the match. After that destruction, Liger is able to counter a move into a superplex onto the apron and then the floor, which makes the rest of the match pure desperation by both. They do their best to put the other away, but both are severely hurt, and the drama is amazing. A beautiful, gritty fight that could make my top 100 matches ever!
Rating: 9.25/10
#3
Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa vs The Usos
“Bloodline Civil War”
WWE Money in the Bank
July 1, 2023
One of the best tag team matches in WWE history and great WWE wrestling. It worked so well playing off storylines and building drama setting up the finish of what the fans wanted, which sets up a huge match down the line.
It started pretty traditionally with a great shine by The Usos, followed by a face in peril by Jey, including an amazing hot tag tease where Jimmy was pulled off the apron by Solo at the last second. After a fun hot tag, the match started building towards the finish with no silly kick-outs, as partner’s made the saves. There was a great near fall where Roman stacked both The Usos, only for them to kick out. I loved Roman not sure what to do, and in shock, Solo just starts kicking ass and is like Roman, what the fuck? After some more great action, we got the big shocking finish. Awesome.
Rating: 9.25/10
#2
Manami Toyota vs Yumiko Hotta
“Japan Grand Prix Final Match”
AJW Japan Grand Prix
September 3, 1995
Hotta was really feeling it tonight and was just plain mean! Early she stopped Toyota every time she got momentum with brutal kicks. When Toyota finally makes a comeback, she is brutal as well. The rest of the match was just insane, with some of the most killer suplexes of all time. Straight Jacket German Suplex from the top rope? Another unbelievable spot was Toyota diving off the top to try to put Hotta through a table, but Hotta got her feet up into her face. There was a Ganso Bomb as well. It all ends with a Super Ocean Cyclone Suplex Bomb with the largest bridge ever. What a brutal classic!
Rating: 9.5/10
#1 “My Match of the Month”
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (c) vs Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen
“AJPW World Tag Team Championship Real World Tag League Finale”
AJPW Real World Tag League
December 6, 1989
This is one of the biggest tag war matches I have ever seen in a non-gimmick match. It was violent and bloody and so dramatic. Although the story would seem, on the surface, to be focused on Tenryu vs Tsuruta, it turns out the real main character was Yoshiaki Yatsu! The dude comes in with padded headgear, which gets ripped off, and later replaced with wraps. He was hurt and was out to prove himself against the other aces. There were so many great neat touches, great nearfalls, and drama. I loved this; it is my favourite Real World Tag League final ever!
Rating: 9.75/10
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