Northern Lights Bomb Wrestling Review #2
I was able to fit in a lot of good stuff this week, both from 2007 and 2024! So, let’s not dilly-dally!
*****
Continuing with my 2007 watch to prep my Wrestler of the Year list this week. There were a few candidates I needed to spend some more time with. Starting with Mistico.
I watched Mistico vs Averno from CMLL on January 5, 2007. Mistico had Scott Steiner’s chainmail on during his entrance! To add to the great visuals, the sneak attack and Snake Eyes into the steps looked great, as did Averna going to the ring with the camera catching Mistico rising in the back. This first fall is really nuts! Mistico tries an Asai to Moonsault to the floor and hits double feet to his head, and then Averna hits his weird reverse Michinoku Driver like three times for an easy win. Averno takes it to the outside to start the second fall and does another Snake Eyes, this time going into the guardrail. He then sends in Mistico and Tires to unmask him to huge heat. It ends up being a short fall with a quick and fun comeback by Mistico, as is so common in lucha. There is this weird beeping, like a truck backing up or a battery dying, which is so distracting for a while, but thankfully, it’s only a minute. For the third fall, Averna is afraid to take on Mitsico and only enters the ring to sneak attack him. Mistico’s dives are so spectacular! There are some good nearfalls between the two and some great little moments. Like Misico getting hit by an enzuigiri on the apron and collapsing to the floor. I just put it together that the beeping happens when it’s the referee cam view. Not a great i,dea. At times, it starts to drag, but luckily, someone soon hits a big move to pick things up again. They actually have Averno reach the ropes to break up La Mistica! This leads to Mistico ripping up Averno’s mask to pay him back for earlier. Some more nearfalls until Mistico puts him away. It got a little long in the last fall, but a damn good match. [7/10]
Mistico against Mr. Aguila from June 8, 2007 was the final of the Leyenda de Plata. I still have trouble in my head trying to think that this later Aguila is the same as the Aguila that appeared in the WWF in 1998. They just don’t fit together, you know? Unlike the previous match, this one was not about hate but about wanting to win. No mask ripping, but lots of great wrestling. Mistico repeats the Asai Moonsault into double feet spot, and it’s still spectacular here. It’s great action throughout, and the final fall is full of some great drama and nearfalls, especially the late Magistral by Aguila. I really love crowds during Mistico matches, they LOVE him. A damn good lucha match here! [7.25/10]
I watched Emi Sakura take on Aya Yuuki from a NEO show on April 7, 2007. Sakura looked great in this sub ten minute basic match.
That Sakura match did not hit the spot, so I found a match against Yoshiko Tamura from NEO on May 3, 2007, that looked promising. Now, this ruled! Tamura started as her usual dominant self until Sakura’s energy and speed blitzed her and put her on the defensive and almost took her out. Tamura had to fight back hard before finally putting her down. A real classic match story type. [8.5/10]
I watched my first ever Pro-Wrestling SUN match from January 14, 2007, as Amazing Kong faced Nanae Takahashi in a title for the title match in the main event. Steve Coron is on the outside in a referee shirt. I think in Kong’s corner. He does nothing, even though the match was heated, and went to the floor. Nanae did Spike Dudley’s Acid Drop in this and was able to follow the clothesline over the top with a tope, which was a great section of offense by Takahashi. She really brought it toward Kong and tried to work the arm, which Kong sold really well. Kong was able to counter and go back into crushing mode, giving Takahashi a few hope spots, but in the end, she got hit by a huge senton from the second rope. It was sub ten minutes, but a real blast. [7/10]
I had another Pro-Wrestling SUN (renamed CHICK FIGHTS SUN) show that I skimmed through from October 7, 2007. The opener was Kana vs. Natsuki Taiyo; both were seemingly young in their careers and did some rookie stuff. There was some clipping, but it was nice to see Kana already had the hip attack in her arsenal. Taiyo finished her with a huge power bomb. Fun enough for what it was. I skipped forward to the main event of Azumi Hyuga vs Nanae Takahashi. The graphic on the screen says, “Decide the icon of Chicks!” which is a weird way to describe this dream match. This went 28 minutes, and it felt like it for the first half, but the second half was filled with greatness with the mix of Hyuga’s speed and underdog style vs Nanae’s passion and force. Some true highlights here are Takahashi hitting a verticle suplex off the apron to the floor, where they both go down, and Hyuga hitting a top rope spinning DDT while they were both standing on the top. It had some really good nearfalls, and the finish felt like an end, with Takahashi hitting a muscle buster and turning into a Falcon Arrow for the win. [7.25/10]
I also checked out Rey Mysterio vs. Finlay from the November 9, 2007, WWE SmackDown. The crowd was super hot, which matched how great this match was in the ring. Finlay being larger made him such a great bully, and few are a better babyface than Rey. One spot that really stood out was Mysterio springboarding going for the Rana, but Finlay caught him and turned into a buckle bomb. Fucking fantastic match with Finlay’s work on Mysterio’s back was so great and unique, and the selling was great. The hope spots, comebacks, and nearfalls were all great. I can’t believe they got 18 minutes to put on this awesome match on TV! [8.25/10]
*****
Sheamus vs. Gunther from Raw on May 6, 2024, appeared on YouTube, so I had to check that out.
I’m glad somebody picked up the Fit Finlay vs Steven Regal mantle from 1996. These two beat the living fuck out of each other on free TV. If you like that style, it’s pretty perfect stuff here. It’s also one of those matches where the two have a long history, so there are counters and using each other’s moves. Something else that really helped this match was Gunther’s second taking out Sheamus’ knee behind the referee’s back to add extra heat and an extra pop when he is ejected from ringside. Gunther’s attacks to the knee were good, and the selling by Sheamus was excellent, especially how it affected his offense. His later firey comeback leading to a slow nearfall off the Brogue Kick was really great! It led to a tapout to a single leg crab right after, and it was even better. Great match. [8/10]
This match motivated me to try to catch up with some of my 2024 backlog!
Starting with the Dog Collar Match between Alex Windsor and Dani Luna from RevPro on March 31. This was not the best dog dollar match this year, but it’s fucking awesome, and it’s also bloody and violent! The spot where Dani Luna is near the post, and Windsor goes around her to tie her up with the chain was genius. They did a few more smart uses of the chain. Like using it to hook around the ropes and then wiping Windsor into it to get clotheslined. There is more of that kind of cool stuff throughout that made me think the spirit of Bret Hart still exists today, which is funny because I wrote that, and a second later, Windsor hit a chain-assisted Russian Legsweep! Windsor pulls out a dog metal crate from under the ring, which is something I have never seen before in wrestling. She gets her inside, slams the door into her side, and then dropkicks her while her head is inside the crate. Luna just misses putting Windsor through the create with a DVD for two and then suplexes her onto it. Windsor does a Sharpshooter, too, and wraps the chain around Luna’s neck while in the hold. Yeah, this is a modern day Bret Hart brawl!!!! The finish is fucking great, with a kind of push-off-the-ropes German Suplex followed by a slam by Luna. This ruled! [9/10]
I finally got around to the last two matches on Stardom’s All-Star Grand Queendom from April 27, 2024. Saori Anou vs Hanan for the White Belt felt like Hanan’s coming out party. She belonged in this big title match, which was a pretty good, dramatic, big action match. Anou is great working as an ace heavy favourite, and Hanan is amazing working underneath, so they gelled really well. I would say it goes a bit too long and falls for the many nearfalls trope of a lot of modern wrestling, but it’s definitely worth a watch. [7/10] The Red Belt main event with Maika and Momo Watanabe in Three Stages of Hell is another story. The first fall was a regular affair and had some pretty decent action, but the second fall was some kind of fall count anywhere thing that was kind of off. For me, there is something always odd about gimmick matches in Japan that aren’t deathmatches, like they never really click. Not sure why? By the end, I completely lost focus on this one, sorry Momo and Maika, I still enjoy you both.
For some reason, I had AEW Rampage from May 1, 2024, in my queue, so I popped it on. It starts with Kenny Omega dead in the ring from The Elite. Time to start skipping around. Up first were Jay White and Dante Martin. This was a fine little match with White leading things and Martin bringing the flying space. Deonna Purrazzo’s backstage promo had her leaning into her heel character, which is much better. Looking forward to her vs Thunder Rosa. The Rush hype video was fine work, too. Hopefully, they will use him better going forward. I skipped the Jericho and Cass thing, but that was followed by a really cool Swerve promo! Next were Rocky Romero and Kyle O’Reilly, two folks I have liked who had various points in their career. It’s a fine TV match with some good technical stuff and a few bigger moves. This is everything you want in this situation. Nothing to recommend, but it’s a good time. Saraya and Harley Cameron trash talked Mariah May, so fuck them. The main event is Willow Nightingale defending her TBS Title in a Manitoba Massacre match against Skye Blue is probably why it’s on my watchlist. This is basically a falls count anywhere match, and they start off on the floor. I’m going to take off marks as they have the annoying searching under the ring spot for weapons. I really wish people could just use organic weapons and not waste time searching them out. That’s a tiny nitpick, though, as the action here is great. Willow took a freaking flip off the apron, trying to hit Blue, but she moved, so she just crashed through a chair. Skye Blue did get bloody in this, which added to the chaotic nature. Blue brought out the thumbtacks but, of course, failed to use them the first time. Some nice fighting leads to Nightingale hitting a Fisherman Suplex off the top onto Blue through the tacks. The table is then set up and not used right away, so that’s the second time they went to that well this one. Blue is able to move out of the way of a moonsault, and then she goes outside to put a barbed-wire board on the table. They fight over who will kill the other until Nightingale hits the big sit down power bomb through the table. This is damn good fun. [7/10]
I finally got my first glimpse of the new Dream Star Fighting Marigold promotion as Giulia, Utami Hayashishita, Mai Sakurai, & MIRAI appeared on NOAH’s Wrestle magic show on May 4, 2024, against Great Sukuya, Nagisa Nozaki, Takumi Iroha, & Miyuki Takase. The Marigold roster and Rossy Ogawa accompany the Margiold team in their new tracksuits. It’s kind of cool to see the whole roster together like this, and damn, did I miss these wrestlers. A showcase was all but fun enough. I want a Utami vs Iroha match, please. Giulia gets the win with the Northern Lights Bomb!
*****
Joshi Night, 4 PM EST on the Discord, continued our trek through 1997. Join us on Sundays for a fun text chat and some great matches watched in contact. Also prep yourself for after we finish 1997, we start the 1980s Joshi Yearbook put together by the amazing Kadaveri.
We start off with three matches AJW from September 21, 1997. The first match saw the GAEA team of KAORU & Toshiyo Yamada against the AJW team of Kumiko Maekawa & Momoe Nakanishi. Momoe is just 17 but definitely shows off her potential. It’s a fine opener with a lot of energy. Up next was Manami Toyota vs Yumiko Hotta. This was pretty meandering and nothing special, although it did pick up near the end. Not Toyota’s best. The final match we watched from this show was a cage match billed as “Violence War” between Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Kaoru Ito & Tomoko Watanabe. Now, this was good enough to make the whole Sunday worth it. Ito was wearing hockey pads, and LCO brought pink and blue chairs in to just destroy them. They also had chains and used them to just murder the first half of the match. After the hot start, it cooled down but definitely picked up with the seconds using fire extinguishers, and then LCO pulled a guardrail into the ring via the chain. Violence War indeed! It was chaotic and one of the better escape the rules cage matches I’ve seen. Ito hit a fucking top rope double foot stomp before escaping! [8.75/10]
We ended the night with two matches from GAEA. First was Meiko Satomura vs Sonoko Kato from October 13, 1997. This was a match I could see people really loving. It was a struggle and a fight over kicks and submissions. Although it was a little too shooty for me. There were some big moves and nearfalls toward the end to bring this up for me. If more shoot fights had DVDs, I would like it better. [7/10] We ended the afternoon with Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato vs Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato from October 18, 1997, for the AAW Tag Team Championship. This was more to my liking, and Nagashima & Sugar have become a favourite team for me. It was full of energy, great double teams, and great drama. A perfect tag match. [7.25/10]
Sundays are the best days thanks to Joshi Night!
*****
A great week of action! I hope to finally finish my 2007 MOTY list next week, so look for some great matches to discuss here!
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Discord
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Northern Lights Bomb Wrestling Review #1
Hey folks!
Welcome to the Northern Lights Bomb Wrestling Review #1!
The DEAN~!!! show I reviewed here was such a great tribute to Dean Rasmussen. Dean was such a huge part of my early getting to know wrestling outside the WWF period that I want to pay homage to him, as well. So, here we are, this new format. In the past, I updated you on what I was watching right now with weekly or monthly posts ranking the matches, and this will be taking its place. Yes, it will update you on what I’m watching, but it will not just cover the great matches in a list form. I feel like that method was getting rather limiting.
The first one is a little slim. It was a rough week watching the Maple Leafs try everything to give me home, only to tear it apart in game 7 overtime. That said, I did get in some good stuff!
*****
My Greatest Wrestler Ever (GWE) Project list for 2026 will not be like my list from 2016. I am trying to go through as many years as possible, put together Wrestler of the Year lists, and then use that to build my overall GWE list. That means I’m watching random 2007 matches at the moment!
Arisa Nakajima & Azumi Hyuga
vs
Meiko Satomura & Tyrannosaurus Okuda
(Sendai Girls Live Vol. 13: Dignity, 2007-10-05)
The great Kadaveri sent this to me as an obscure 2007 match that covers many of the WOTY contenders, and, oh boy, was it a blast! Of course, Nakajima and Satomura are all-time greats, but every time I see Hyuga, I start to think she’s one of the most untalked about greats around. She’s such a great Joshi face! Okuda is someone I forgot existed, but she had the best name and turns out to be a pretty cool Satomura trainee in her mold.
Satomura is a complete beast here, and every time she’s in the match, it gets better and better. That’s not to discount the others who were all good, and the match picked up for the last third. The finishing sequence with Satomura going for it was great, only for her to be taken out with a death knee! Definitely a match to watch! [7.25/10]
Azumi Hyuga vs Kaori Yoneyama
(JWP Climax, 2007-12-09)
Continuing with Hyuga, we have her in a big title defense against the future Fukigen Death, another of the all-time underrated great wrestlers.
It started off as a pretty traditional big title match, with Hyuga getting the chance to play the ace favourite and Yoneyama working completely from underneath. The match started to feel really special about 2/3 of the way when Yoneyama made a great comeback run. Her offense is unreal with the locomotion Germans and senton bombs! From here, all of the counters from both were so quick and unique. She does get cut off, though, on the floor. A superplex is countered, and Yoneyama hits an insane Psicosis senton to the floor! As they continued the struggle was real between them, especially them fighting over a top rope move. The counters continued to be unique and great with such speed and execution. Yoneyama has such amazing babyface fire near the end here. However, there were a few too many kick outs, and the finish felt a little anti-climatic, keeping it from a Greatest Match Ever type match. Great, though, and should be watched. [8.5/10]
*****
Moving on to current wrestling! I skimmed through WWE Backlash France from May 4th. This is the first taped event I can remember seeing from France since 1989. That show had that amazing Rockers vs Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, which you need to watch. The crowd was great then, and it was absolutely electric on this show.
The opener was Kevin Owens and Randy Orton against The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga. It starts with a brawl that security fails to break up, which causes Nick Aldiss, the GM, to come out and make it a Street Fight. This was a fun all over the arena brawl. Owens doing a splash off the barricade, followed by Orton teasing one only to step down and then ram Tonga into the steps was a pretty great moment. This match wasn’t incredibly violent, but the super hot crowd and out of control plunder nature of the match really made it a blast. It’s still jarring to hear Michael Cole mention IWGP Titles and wrestlers like EVIL at WWE events. Another jarring moment was when a heel (Tonga) realized a babyface made a comeback behind him because the crowd went nuts. After Owens Falcon Arrow’s Tonga through four chairs, it looks over, but Tanga Loa debuts breaks up the pin and gives The Bloodline the win. (7.25/10)
Next had Bayley defending her title against Naomi and Tiffany Stratton. It was fun, but a three-way. As others have said, Stratton is going to be a star; she has so much talent. I skipped over Damian Priest defending his title against Jey Uso. Asuka and Kairi Sane defended the tag titles against Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill was next and good! KAIRI, as a stooging heel getting killed by Belair and Cargill, is pretty great pro-wrestling. There was a weird referee moment where he claimed Kairi wasn’t legal and didn’t count a pin but then just let it continue with her in the ring. What kept this match off the spreadsheet was the stretch after the hot tag until the finish, which felt useless. The finish was great, though, with Jade doing an insane power move, followed by Belair doing her move onto Asukla onto Kairi for the win. I skipped over the main of Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles. People seemed to love it, but I can’t bring myself around to watch AJ Styles anymore.
Probably worth a watch, as everything was decent, and the crowd was amazing!
*****
Joshi Night is a great tradition on Discord. Every Sunday at 4 PM EST, we gather to watch Joshi chronologically and text chat here. It’s always a great way to end the week, and this one was no exception. If you miss us live, everything is achieved on that link, so check it out!
We started with two matches from AJW’s August 22, 1997 show. It was entitled “Osaka Queen Holy Night,” which is fun. I love show titles for some reason. We started with LCO (Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda) vs Kyoko Inoue & Manami Toyota, and it was a great start. Literally, with LCO bringing in chairs and causing a crowd brawl. It settled into a pretty fun tag match with some big moves and the fun of LCO breaking up pins with chairs. This wasn’t quite the level of the last few LCO matches we watched, but it’s worth watching. [7/10] That was followed up by this weird LLPW vs AJW tag match showcasing Kumiko Maekawada & Yumiko Hotta vs Mizuki Endo & Shinobu Kandori. If you like kicks, submissions, and shitty stuff, this was your jam. The highlight here was Kandori and Hotta both removing their shoes and socks and then doing an old school UFC grappling contest in the later stages of the match. If you like this stuff, it might be worth a watch.
Onto an LLPW show from September 11, 1997, with a trios team of Carol Midori, Mikiko Futagami, & Yasha Kurenai vs Harley Saito, Mizuko Endo, & Noriyo Tateno, and it was a match. Fun stuff mixed in, but too long and too much happening with no purpose.
Next we get three matches from GAEA Double Destiny from September 20, 1997. We start with a fun tag match with KAORU & Sakura Hirota vs Sonoko Kato & Toshiyo Yamada. It’s wild how much better Yamada has been since joining GAEA after years of middling time in AJW. Hirota is a joy to watch with her enthusiasm, and this was just a good old bag of fun tag match! We follow that up with the biggest disappointment of the night. Kyoko Inoue vs Meiko Satomura is joined in progress about halfway through, and it looked freaking great, but there is no full version out there. Satomura worked the arm like a boss, and Inoue’s selling was unreal. This was the first time I can remember Satomura looking like such a big star. The nearfalls were great, and you have to see the back suplex Inoue throws while leaning to the finish!
We then get Aja Kong vs Chigusa Nagayo! I know!!! Weirdly this legendary battle is not the main event, but there is a second title match with Devil Masami facing the winner, so I guess that makes sense. Nagayo had a ridiculously cool mask and cape prematch!
This had one of my new favourite starts to a match ever, as Kong immediately hit an Uraken and then kicked about six of her soy canisters into the crowd. She then grabbed the remaining two and bonked them off Nagayo’s head into the crowd as well! So great! We settled into a dream match between two badass legends that went as well as possible without it being a violent war. Nagayo worked the arm of Kong well here and then hit Hokuto’s top rope flipping dive, which she learned on our last week of watching from teaming with her. Another great nearfall was the top rope Running Three! That starts a great finishing sequence with Nagayo trying her own Uraken, but Kong ducks and hits hers. Kong then goes for the win with a final Uraken, which gets countered into an armbar for a quick tapout! Amazing finish and an amazing match. Go watch it! [8.5/10]
The final match of Joshi Night was Hikari Fukuoka defending her JWP Openweight Title against my favourite Command Bolshoi, also from September 20, 1997. This is a match I had seen before, and I love it. It’s all about Bolshoi trying to prove she is more than just a clown and be a serious title contender. She sneak attacks from the beginning and fights so hard to keep up with the larger Fukuoka. So much so that she unmasks herself to try to hype herself up and prove she is an equal. Some of the dives by Fukuoka were unreal, and the avoidance of each other’s big strikes was great. During the match, Fukuoka worked over Bolshoi’s legs a lot, trying to ground her, too. After some killer nearfalls, it all ends with Fukuoka hitting one of her best moonsault double stomps ever for the win. She CRUSHES her. A great must watch match as well! [8.5/10]
*****
That’s all I could get to this week, but next week, there will be more!
You can discuss this on Twitter!
Discord
We also have a lovely Discord community where we can 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 Greatest Wrestlers of 2001
In route to putting together my top 100 list of the Greatest Wrestlers Ever, I am going through each year and putting together a list for that particular year. Previously, on the podcast “Maybe Not Taue”, I put together a list for 1985, 1990, 1997, & 2021. You can listen to those here. 1983, 1993, 1994, 2004, 2010, 2015, & 2022 are on the blog.
2001
This year took a very long time because it was a time before my spreadsheet and while I was in University and wasn’t following very closely. I watched a lot of footage for this one, so my apologies for the lateness. Next time I am moving to 2019, where I have a very throughout spreadsheet filled out already.
The List
All of the below stats are from cagematch. Yes, they are not perfect.
The recommended matches are not a definitive list, it’s a list of matches I have watched for this process, plus matches on my spreadsheet from before. I will not go beyound 5 matches.
The matches listed are all 7/10 or higher; if they are bolded, they are 8/10 or higher.
Honourable Mentions
- Akira Taue
- Dynamite Kansai
- Etsuko Mita
- Jun Akiyama
- Mima Shimoda
- Rob Van Dam
- X-Pac
#25
Yuji Nagata
Previous Ranking: 2004 (24th)
Years Unranked: 1993, 1994, 1997, 2010, 2015, 2021, & 2022
Matches: 121
Places Worked: NJPW, AJPW, & ZERO-ONE
Tournaments: IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament, NJPW Naeba Cup Tag Tournament w/ Jushin Liger (winner), NJPW G1 Climax (winner), NJPW SKY PerfectTV! Cup (finals), NJPW G1 Tag League w/ Manabu Nakanishi
Yuji Nagata sneaks onto a second top 25 list for me by being the stand-out NJPW star who fights like hell as an underdog who is outmatched by badasses and shoot guys. He has a great flare for the dramatic in selling and makes every match feel like they have a big fight feel.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Shinya Hashimoto vs Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa, ZERO-ONE, March 2
- vs Kazayuki Fujita, NJPW, June 6
- vs Scott Norton, NJPW, September 23
#24
Kyoko Inoue
Previous Rankings: 1993 (3rd), 1994 (15th), 1997 (7th), & 2004 (20th)
Years Unranked: 2010, 2015, 2021, & 2022
Matches: 101
Places Worked: FMW, NEO, JWP, GAEA, & Oz Academy
Title Held: NWA Women’s Pacific & NEO Championship
Tournaments: NEO Stage (finals), NEO Japan Cup, & NEO Mid Summer Tag Tournament w/ Lioness Asuka (winner)
I admit I am a mark for Kyoko Inoue, but watching her in 2001 she still delivered plenty of great performances. I loved Inoue as a grizzled veteran as the wild underdog energy is replaced with viciousness mixed with fun.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Ran Yu Yu, JWP, April 28
- vs Mima Shimoda, NEO, May 3
- w/ Azumi Hyuga vs Command Bolshoi & Ran Yu Yu, JWP, November 13
- w/ Lioness Asuka vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda, FMW, November 23
#23
Rey Mysterio, Jr.
Previous Rankings: 1997 (6th), 2004 (21st), & 2010 (15th)
Years Unranked: 1993, 1994, 2015, 2021, & 2022
Matches: 32
Places Worked: WCW, CMLL, & Mexico
Title Held: WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship w/ Billy Kidman
Tournament: WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Title Tournament w/ Billy Kidman (finals)
Mysterio was having a great run in WCW before it closed, and upon further research that great run continued in Mexican indies. The Tijuana run was a lot more gritty than in WCW, so he showed some great range.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Chavo Guerrero, Jr., WCW, February 18
- w/ Billy Kidman vs Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo, WCW, March 18
- vs Juventud Guerrera, Tijuana, April 6
- w/ Damian 666 & Vampiro vs Halloween, LA Par-K, & Rey Mysterio, Sr., Tijuana, October 26
#22
Blue Panther
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2021, & 2022
Matches: 95
Places Worked: CMLL, IWRG, Toryumon Mexico, AJPW, & Mexico
Titles Held: Mexican National Trios Championship w/ Fuerza Guerrera & El Signo and CMLL World Trios Champioship w/ Black Warrior & Dr. Wagner, Jr.
Tournaments: IWRG Copa Ovaciones (finals), CMLL Torneo de Parejas w/ Fuerza Guerrera (finals), CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa w/ Virus
I had been trying to rank Blue Panther so many times in the past, but I hadn’t found the right amount or quality of matches until this year. He is a tremendous technical wrestler, but also a great brawler. He has that legit presence that makes each match he is in feel bigger.
Recommended Matches:
- vs El Hijo del Santo, CMLL Japan, January 28
- vs El Felino, IWRG, February 15
- vs Blue Demon, Jr., “2/3 Falls”, IWRG, July 26
#21
Kumiko Maekawa
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1993, 1994, 1997, & 2004
Matches: 124
Place Worked: AJW
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix (finals) & AJW Tag League The Best w/ Misae Genki
Her year hangs on the Nakanishi series of matches and those are tremendous. She’s got a great kick badass style that aligns well with the history of Joshi. Her kicking the crap out of Nakanishi is always awesome.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Momoe Nakanishi AJW, May 4
- vs Momoe Nakanishi, AJW, August 17
- vs Momoe Nakanishi, AJW, October 24
- vs Nanae Takahashi, AJW, November 11
#20
Chikayo Nagashima
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1997, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2021, & 2022
Matches: 54
Places Worked: GAEA & Oz Academy
Title Held: AAAW Tag Team Championship w/ Sugar Sato
Tournaments: GAEA One Day Tag Team Tournament w/ Toshie Uematsu, GAEA GAORA Cup (finals), AAAW Title #1 Contendership Tournament, & GAEA High Spurt 600 Tournament
Nagashima is a perfect complement to a tag match on the babyface side. She has great fire and some breathtaking moves.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Carlos Amano vs Meiko Satomura & Sumie Sakai, Oz Academy, February 18
- w/ Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs Aja Kong, Chigusa Nagayo, & The Bloody, Oz Academy, February 18
- w/ Sugar Sato vs Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki, GAEA, April 22
#19
Último Guerrero
Previous Ranking: 2004 (#22)
Years Unranked: 1997, 2010, 2015, 2021, & 2022
Matches: 100
Places Worked: CMLL & Mexico
Title Held: CMLL World Tag Team Championship w/ Rey Bucanero
Tournaments: CMLL Torneo de Parejas w/ Rey Bucanero (finals) & CMLL Torneo de Parejas w/ Violencia
The team with Bucanero is tremendous and the feud with Stanico is an all-time great and that carries his year.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Rey Bucanero & Tarzan Boy vs Black Warrior, El Satanico & Shocker, “2/3 Falls”, CMLL, March 30
- vs El Satanico, “2/3 Falls”, CMLL, May 11
- vs Averno vs Mascara Magica vs Mephisto vs Rey Bucanero vs El Satanico vs Tarzan Boy, “Mask vs Hair Cage”, CMLL, September 28
- w/ Rey Bucanero vs El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas, “2/3 Falls”, CMLL, November 2
- w/ Dr. Wagner, Jr. vs Antifaz & LA Par-K, “2/3 Falls”, Wrestling Monterrey, December 30
#18
Dr. Cerebro
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1993, 1994, & 1997
Matches: 60
Places Worked: IWRG & X-LAW
Title Held: IWRG Intercontinental Welterweight Championship
Tournament: IWRG Copa Ovaciones (semi-finals)
Lucha de Apuestas: lost mask to El Hijo del Santo (March 1)
A tremendous technical wrestler, Dr. Cerebro spent the year schooling everyone on the mat in IWRG.
Recommended Matches:
- vs El Felino, “2/3 Falls”, IWRG, January 18
- vs El Hijo del Santo, “2/3 Falls”, IWRG, February 22
- vs El Hijo del Santo, “Mask vs Mask 2/3 Falls”, IWRG, March 1
#17
Azumi Hyuga
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1997 & 2004
Matches: 74
Places Worked: ARSION, JWP, Osaka Pro, FMW, & NEO
Titles Held: JWP Openweight Championship & JWP Tag Team Championship w/ Kayoko Haruyama
Tournaments: ARSION ZION (finals) & Twin Stars Of ARSION League w/ Fabi Apache (semi-finals)
Hyuga can really go as an underdog flying babyface and is great at getting sympathy and having exciting offence.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Ayako Hamada, ARSION, February 12
- vs Command Bolshoi, JWP, February 18 (#10 MOTY)
- w/ Kyoko Inoue vs Command Bolshoi & Ran Yu Yu, JWP, November 13
- vs Command Bolshoi, JWP, November 21
#16
Scott Norton
Previous Ranking: 1997 (25th)
Years Unranked: 1990, 1993, 1994, & 2004
Matches: 63
Place Worked: NJPW
Title Held: IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Tournaments: NJPW G1 World (finals) & G1 Tag League w/ Super J
I just love watching Scott Norton destroy fools and thankfully he had an IWGP Title reign this year so there were lots of opportunities to watch that. He’s big, he sells great, and his offence is incredible.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kensuke Sasaki, NJPW, March 17
- vs Kazayuki Fujita, NJPW, April 9
- vs Don Frye, NJPW, May 5
- vs Don Frye, NJPW, September 16
- vs Yuji Nagata, NJPW, September 23
#15
Chigusa Nagayo
Previous Ranking: 1983 (16th), 1985 (1st), & 1994 (22nd)
Years Unranked: 1997 & 2004
Matches: 31
Places Worked: GAEA & Oz Academy
Nagayo was such a great complimentary piece in tag matches in 2001. She is amazing coming in with her unique presence and aura.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Lioness Asuka vs Akira Hokuto Mayumi Ozaki, GAEA, January 27
- w/ Aja Kong & The Bloody vs Chigusa Nagashima, Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki, Oz Academy, February 18
- w/ Meiko Satomura vs Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki, GAEA, March 11 (#5 MOTY)
- w/ Lioness Asuka vs Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki, GAEA April 8
#14
Negro Casas
Previous Ranking: 1990 (23rd), 1994 (21st), & 1997 (18th)
Years Unranked: 1983, 1993, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2021, & 2022
Matches: 107
Places Worked: CMLL, NJPW, & Mexico
Title Held: CMLL World Tag Team Championship w/ Negro Casas
Tournaments: CMLL Torneo de Parejas w/ Felino, CMLL Torneo de Parejas w/ Olimpico (winners), CMLL Leyenda de Plata (finals), & CMLL Copa Arena Mexic w/ Felino & La Fiera
Lucha de Apuestas: won Halcon de Oro’s hair (June 10)
Negro Casas will be making my list any year he has enough opportunities and thankfully he worked a bunch of indies in 2001. It was nice to see him as a grizzled técnicos throughout the year.
Recommended Matches:
- vs El Hijo del Santo, “2/3 Falls”, Tijuana, June 9
- vs Antifaz, “2/3 Falls”, Monterrey, June 10
- vs Bllack Warrior, CMLL, October 19
- w/ El Hijo del Santo vs Rey Bucanero & Último Guerrero, “2/3 Falls”, CMLL, November 2
#13
El Satanico
Previous Ranking: 1990 (5th) & 1993 (12th)
Years Unranked: 1983, 1985, 1994, 1997, 2004, 2015, 2021, & 2022
Matches: 76
Places Worked: CMLL & Mexico
Tournaments: CMLL Torneo de Parejas w/ Mano Negra, CMLL Tornedo de Parejas w/ Black Warrior, & CMLL Copa Arena Mexico w/ Averno & Memphisto
Lucha de Apuestas: won Mascara Magica’s mask (September 28)
The evil Satanico had a great year feuding with Último Guerrero and turning from the evil leader of an evil group to using his evil to try to destroy that very same group he created. A great brawler who weirdly works very well as a técnico.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Black Warrior & Shocker vs Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero, & Tarzan Boy, “2/3 Falls”, CMLL, March 30
- vs Último Guerrero, “2/3 Falls”, CMLL, May 11
- vs Averno vs Mascara Magica vs Mephisto vs Rey Bucanero vs Tarzan Boy vs Último Guerrero, “Mask vs Hair Cage”, CMLL, September 28
#12
Genichiro Tenryu
Previous Ranking: 1993 (10th), 1994 (4th), & 2004 (3rd)
Years Unranked: 1983, 1985, 1990, 1997, 2010, & 2015
Matches: 83
Places Worked: AJPW & FMW
Titles Held: AJPW Triple Crown Championship & AJPW World Tag Team Championship w/ Yoji Anjo
Tournaments: AJPW Championship Carnival (winner) & AJPW Real World Tag Team League w/ Kodo Fuyuki
Old man Tenryu continues to deliver year after year. Few joys in wrestling compare to Tenryu using his old man strength to beat the crap out of others! The match he had with Mutoh is the most impressive performance of 2001.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Taiyo Kea, AJPW, March 3
- vs Kodo Fuyuki, FMW, May 5
- vs Keiji Mutoh, AJPW, June 8 (#4 MOTY)
#11
The Bloody
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1997 & 2004
Places Worked: Jd’, Oz Academy, GAEA, JWP, & NEO
Titles Held: AWF World Women’s Championship (twice), BS Japan Queen of the Ring (twice), & TWF World Women’s Tag Team Championship w/ Fang Suzuki
If more footage existed The Bloody would have been on the 2004 rankings and thankfully in 2001 there is lots of footage! An insane bumper with murderous intent. The Bloody was involved in the feud of the year with Sumie Sakai and had plenty of good performances outside of that feud. She worked well in brawls or clean matches and as a heel or face. A tremendous year.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Megumi Yabashita vs Fang Suzuki & Sumie Sakai, Jd’, February 11
- w/ Aja Kong & Chigusa Nagayo vs Chigusa Nagashima, Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki, Oz Academy, February 18
- vs Aja Kong, Jd’, March 18
- vs Sumie Sakai, Jd’, April 29 (#6 MOTY)
- w/ Fang Suzuki vs Sumie Sakai & Hiroyo Muto, “LSD 2001 Match: No Rules Falls Count Anywhere Weapons Death Match”, Jd’, July 22 (#3 MOTY)
#10
Aja Kong
Previous Ranking: 1990 (6th), 1993 (8th), 1994 (3rd), & 1997 (5th)
Years Unranked: 2004, 2010, & 2015
Matches: 54
Places Worked: GAEA, ARSION, & Oz Academy
Titles Held: AAAW Championship (twice)
Tournaments: GAEA GAORA Cup, AAAW Title #1 Contendership Tournament (semi-finals), & GAEA High Spurt 600 Tournament
A down year for Aja Kong still gets her into the top 10! She was kind of downplayed throughout the year, but when she was called upon to deliver she did.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Mayumi Ozaki, GAEA, January 14
- w/ Chigusa Nagayo & The Bloody vs Chigusa Nagashima, Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki, Oz Academy, February 18
- vs The Bloody, Jd’, March 18
- vs Mayumi Ozaki, GAEA, October 28
- vs Meiko Satomura, GAEA, December 15
#9
Akira Hokuto
Previous Ranking: 1990 (4th), 1993 (1st), 1994 (9th), & 1997 (24th)
Years Unranked: none
Matches: 22
Places Worked: GAEA & Oz Academy
Title Held: AAAW Tag Team Championship w/ Mayumi Ozaki
Okay, I know, only 22 matches worked, but… it’s Akira Hokuto! In her limited work, she was able to get into a top 10 match of all time, another match in the top 10 of the year, plus be a part of one of the greatest short-term tag teams of all time with Mayumi Ozaki. Her year was littered with amazing insane brawls, but also regular matches too. She still had it, although she had to manage her workload.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Toshiyo Yamada vs Meiko Satomura & Saika Takeuchi, GAEA, February 25
- w/ Mayumi Ozaki vs Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura, GAEA, March 11 (#5 MOTY)
- w/ Mayumi Ozaki vs Crush Gals, GAEA April 8
- w/ Mayumi Ozaki vs Chigusa Nagashima & Sugar Sato, GAEA, April 22
- vs Meiko Satomura, GAEA, April 29 (#1 MOTY)
- plus more
#8
Command Bolshoi
aka PIKO
Previous Ranking: 2004 (19th), 2010 (14th), & 2015 (9th)
Years Unranked: 1993, 1994, & 1997
Matches: 60
Places Worked: ARSION, JWP, FMW, & Osaka Pro
Titles Held: JWP Openweight Championship & JWP Tag Team Championship w/ GAMI
I have a whole blog post looking at Bolshoi in 2001, but to summarize she had a great year being the glue that held JWP together. She can really do it all, with great brawls, great flying, great technical wrestling, and great strikes. There is not a bad performance by her in 2001 and many great ones.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Azumi Hyuga, JWP, February 18 (#10 MOTY)
- w/ Ran Yu Yu vs Azumi Hyuga & Kyoko Inoue, JWP, November 13
- vs Ayumi Hyuga, JWP, November 21
- vs Kayoko Haruyama, JWP, December 9 (#7 MOTY)
#7
Meiko Satomura
Previous Ranking: 2004 (10th), 2010 (6th), & 2015 (3rd)
Years Unranked: 1997 & 2021
Matches: 51
Places Worked: GAEA & Oz Academy
Title Held: AAAW Championship
Tournaments: GAEA One Day Tag Team Tournament w/ Saika Takeuchi, GAEA GAORA Cup, AAAW Title #1 Contendership Tournament (finals), & GAEA High Spurt 600 Tournament (winner)
2001 was the year that Satomura raised to the top of GAEA from her tremendous feud with Akira Hokuto to her winning the title in mid-December from Aja Kong.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Dynamite Kansai, GAEA, January 27
- w/ Sumie Sakai vs Carlos Amano & Chigusa Nagashima, Oz Academy, February 18
- w/ Chigusa Nagayo vs Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki, GAEA, March 11 (#5 MOTY)
- vs Akira Hokuto, GAEA, April 29 (#1 MOTY)
- vs Aja Kong, GAEA, December 15
- plus more
#6
Mayumi Ozaki
Previous Ranking: 1993 (12th) & 1994 (25th)
Years Unranked: 1997, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2021, & 2022
Matches: 46
Places Worked: GAEA & Oz Academy
Titles Held: AAAW Tag Team Championship w/ Akira Hokuto & AAAW Championship
Tournaments: GAEA One Day Tag Team Tournament w/ KAORU (winners), GAEA GAORU Cup (winner), & GAEA High Spurt 600 Tournament
Ozaki was hard to place in 2001, as I had her everywhere from #1 to #10 before placing her here. The tag team with Hokuto has become one of my favourites of all time. Add in a title run with the main belt in GAEA and the tremendous title matches with Aja Kong, and you get a great year.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Aja Kong GAEA, January 14
- w/ Dynamite Kansai & Chigusa Nagashima vs Aja Kong, Chigusa Nagayo, & The Bloody, Oz Academy, February 18
- w/ Akira Hokuto vs Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura, GAEA, March 11 (#5 MOTY)
- w/ Akira Hokuto vs Crush Gals, GAEA April 8
- w/ Akira Hokuto vs Chigusa Nagashima & Sugar Sato, GAEA, April 22
- plus more
#5
Momoe Nakanishi
Previous Ranking: 2004 (7th)
Years Unranked: 1997
Matches: 146
Places Worked: AJW, WING, & FMW
Title Held: WWWA Tag Team Championship w/ Nanae Takahashi
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix (winner) & AJW Tag League The Best w/ Kaoru Ito
A tremendous babyface who sells from underneath like few others. The year is known for her series with Maekawa, but if you dig deeper there is more there. She was a glimmer of hope in late-era AJW.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Nanae Takahashi vs LCO, “2/3 Falls”, AJW, January 4
- vs Kumiko Maekawa AJW, May 4
- vs Kumiko Maekawa, AJW, August 17
- vs Mima Shimoda, AJW, August 17
- vs Kaoru Ito, AJW, September 16
- plus more
#4
LA Par-K
aka La Parka
Previous Ranking: 2004 (9th), 2010 (5th), & 2015 (18th)
Years Unranked: 1993, 1994, 1997, 2021, & 2022
Matches: 35
Places Worked: CMLL, X-LAW, IWRG, & Mexico
Title Held: WWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
Lucha de Apuestas: won El Dandy’s hair (June 4), won Huracan Ramirez Jr’s mask (June 25), won Damian 666’s hair (December 21), and won Shiryu Dragon’s mask.
One of the luchadors who benefited the most from being in WCW and its closing. He was the king of the Indies in 2001 and filled his year working amazing brawls.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Halloween & Rey Mysterio, Sr. vs Damian 666, Rey Mysterio, Jr., & Vampiro, Tijuana, October 26
- vs El Hijo del Santo, “Cage”, Tijuana, November 16
- vs El Hijo del Santo, Wrestling In Monterrey, December 23 (#2 MOTY)
- w/ Antifaz vs Dr. Wagner, Jr. & Último Guerrero, “2/3 Falls”, Wrestling Monterrey, December 30
#3
Sumie Sakai
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1997, 2004, 2010, 2015, & 2022
Places Worked: Jd’, JWP, & Oz Academy
Titles Held: BS Japan Queen of the Ring, AWF World Women’s Championship, & TWF World Women’s Tag Team Championship w/ Hiroyo Muto
I hadn’t even considered Sumie Sakai for GWE before and my experience with her is all current veteran stuff. However, after watching the footage, she was elite in 2001. She bumps harder than almost anyone in history and can put in a great babyface high spot match, but you can also add her being in so many insane brawls to her resume.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Fang Suzuki vs The Bloody & Megumi Yabashita, Jd’, February 11
- w/ Meiko Satomura vs Carlos Amano & Chigusa Nagashima, Oz Academy, February 18
- vs Megumi Yabashita, Jd’, March 18 (#9 MOTY)
- vs The Bloody, Jd’, April 29 (#6 MOTY)
- w/ Hiroyo Muto vs The Bloody & Fang Suzuki, “LSD 2001 Match: No Rules Falls Count Anywhere Weapons Death Match”, Jd’, July 22 (#3 MOTY)
#2
El Hijo del Santo
Previous Rankings: 1990 (21st), 1993 (15th), 1994 (7th), 1997 (2nd), & 2004 (4th)
Years Unranked: 1983, 1985, & 2010
Matches: 44
Places Worked: CMLL, IWRG, X-LAW, AJPW, & Mexico
Title Held: CMLL World Tag Team Championship w/ Negro Casas
Tournament: CMLL Leyenda de Plata
Lucha de Apuestas: won Dr. Cerebro’s mask (March 1) & won Nicho el Millionario’s hair (April 6)
Santo keeps rolling out great year by great year. 2001 was highlighted by some ridiculous brawls with LA Park and with Santo upping his dive game. For some reason in 2001, Santo decided that his dives should be extra fast and extra violent looking. Santo working a variety of promotions gave him a nice varied resume for 2001.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Blue Panther, CMLL Japan, January 28
- vs Dr. Cerebro, “Mask vs Mask 2/3 Falls”, IWRG, March 1
- vs Negro Casas, “2/3 Falls”, Tijuana, June 9
- w/ Negro Casas vs Rey Bucanero & Último Guerrero, “2/3 Falls”, CMLL, November 2
- vs LA Par-K, Wrestling In Monterrey, December 23 (#2 MOTY)
- plus more
#1
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin
Previous Rankings: 1993 (23rd) & 1997 (11th)
Years Unranked: 1990 & 1994
Matches: 108
Place Worked: WWF
Titles Held: WWF World Heavyweight Championship, WWF World Tag Team Championship w/ Triple H, & WWF Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship
Tournament: WWF Royal Rumble (winner)
In late 2000 Austin returned from neck surgery and after working through ring rust he was a man on a mission. In 2001 he was out to prove many things. He proved he was more than a brawler. He proved he was still the top guy in the WWF. He tried to prove he could still be a great heel, but he was so loved that was a little ambitious. He had tremendous matches with a variety of opponents in different styles while remaining the ace of the biggest company on earth.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Triple H, “3 Stages of Hell”, WWF, February 25
- vs The Rock, “No DQ”, WWF, April 1
- vs The Rock, “Cage”, WWF, April 2
- vs Kurt Angle, WWF, August 19 (#5 MOTY)
- plus more
Thoughts on the list? Use the methods below to let me know.
You can discuss this on Twitter!
Discord
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Join:
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2001 Match of The Year List
2001 is a weird year for me because it was my first year of University so I missed so much. It was also 12 years before I started my spreadsheet, so I had almost no starting point. It’s taken a long time to finish this year off.
It was a fascinating year though, with the Invasion, the death of WCW/ECW, the start of Indies, Joshi still having great stuff, lucha libre being great, NOAH’s rise, and AJPW with a bit of a resurgence.
How does that play out for the top 10 matches of the year? Before the top ten, here are some honourable mentions.
Honourable Mentions
- AKINO vs Ayako Hamada (ARSION, January 27)
- Carlos Amano & Chiyako Nagashima vs Meiko Satomura & Sumie Sakai (Oz Academy, February 18)
- Command Bolshoi
- Dr. Cerebro vs El Hijo del Santo (IWRG, March 3)
- Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki vs Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka (GAEA, April 8)
- Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki vs Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato (GAEA, April 22)
- Kumiko Maekawa vs Momoe Nakanishi (AJW, May 4)
- Kumiko Maekawa vs Momoe Nakanishi (AJW, August 17)
- Damian 666, Rey Mysterio Jr., & Vamprio vs Halloween, LA Park, & Rey Misterio Sr. (Tijuana, October 26)
- El Hijo del Santo vs LA Par-K (Tijuana, November 16)
#10
Command Bolshoi vs Azumi Hyuga
“JWP Openweight Championship”
JWP
February 18
Differ Ariake
#9
Megumi Yabashita vs Sumie Sakai
“AWF Women’s & Queen of the Ring Championship”
Jd’
March 18, 2001
#8
Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada
“IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament Final”
NJPW Wrestling World
January 4
Tokyo Dome
At the Tokyo Dome in the finals of the tournament for NJPW’s main title, it’s the NJPW star vs the former AJPW star in a true dream match that lived up to the hype. To add to the drama, Kawada had one less match in the tournament that night making the hometown NJPW star the underdog. It was a glorious sprint with a tremendous comeback finish by Sasaki.
#7
Command Bolshoi vs Kayoko Haruyama
JWP
December 9
Differ Ariake
#6
Sumie Sakai vs The Bloody
“AWF Women’s & Queen of the Ring Championship”
Jd’ Nameless Endless “5th Anniversary Show“
April 29
Korakeun Hall
The Bloody sets out to kill Sakai early in this match with some insane offence and blood. Bloody even throws her down a flight of stairs. The bumps Suaki takes are unreal, like missing a huge moonsault onto a pile of chairs! Sakai’s relentless fighting-back comeback was such a great performance and this feud is an all-time great feud that needs to be experienced.
#5
Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle
“WWF Championship”
WWF SummerSlam
August 19
Compaq Center
This is peak Kurt Angle and peak Steve Austin heel turn. Angle is the brave WWF loyalist trying to take the title back from the turncoat, giving all of his blood and energy to do so. Austin is a lunatic who is trying to kill Angle and take out anyone who stands in his way including multiple referees. The jealousy Austin has for Angle even shines through in how Austin works, as he is resorting to throwing Angle-like German Suplexes to show that he can do anything Angle do can better! Such a great story and a great match!
#5
Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki vs Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura
GAEA Edge of the Heart
March 11
Korakeun Hall
This is another violent awesome match with Hokuto and Ozaki being the best heel tag team ever! They literally put dog collars on Chigusa and Meiko to connect them, so they can destroy them with weapons. As you can imagine, Chigusa and Meiko are the valiant babyfaces who try to overcome. It’s a perfect brawling GAEA tag match!
#4
Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh
“AJPW Triple Crown”
AJPW Super Power Series 2001 “Super Power In Budokan”
June 8
Nippon Budokan
A well-known classic that really cemented the resurgence of Keiji Mutoh. The story here is tremendous with Mutoh hitting the Shining Wizard early and Tenryu having to throw everything he has to fight back. The legwork is really good and the finishing sequence is amazing. Not your typical AJPW match of the time, which really makes it stand out.
#3
The Bloody & Fang Suzuki
vs
Sumie Sakai & Hiroyo Muto
“LSD 2001 Match: No Rules Falls Count Anywhere Weapons Death Match for the TWF World Women’s Tag Team Championship”
“Jd’ … and Justice for All!”
July 22
Korakeun Hall
This is one of the most insane matches I have ever seen. They used every weapon imaginable and every part of the arena imaginable to try to kill each other. Heck, they even hung someone. This match has to be seen to be believed and will be making my top 100 matches of all-time list the next time I make one.
#2
El Hijo del Santo vs LA Par-K
“2/3 Falls”
Wrestling In Monterrey
December 23
Arena Coliseo de Monterrey
#1
Akira Hokuto
vs
Meiko Satomura
GAEA Limit Break
April 29
City Gymnasium
This is a top ten all-time match for me and one I keep watching over and over again since I was introduced to it a few years back.
The legendary badass Dangerous Queen tries to put down the new badass Satomura and it feels like a Rocky film, right up to the Rocky II finish. The crowd is amazing. The strikes are beyound vicious and the drama is HIGH! Seeing Hokuto’s second jump into the ring because they felt Hokuto was going to submit is a scene etched into my wrestling mind.
A must-watch all-time classic, watch the link above!
Coming Soon
The 2001 Wrestler of the Year list!
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:
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Command Bolshoi: Send in the Clown, Volume 2 “2001 A Clown Odyssey”
One of my new favourite wrestlers over the last year is Command Bolshoi. She’s one of the all-time great technical wrestlers, a great flyer, a great brawler, and an ace of comedy matches.
On her YouTube channel, she is uploaded most of her JWP career! I thought it would be a great idea to review many of these, which I started on pro wrestling only. Volume 1 is on this very blog.
For the Greatest Wrestler Ever project I am focussed on ranking each year and currently, I am focussing on 2001, so here are all the 2001 Bolshoi matches I can find!
Command Bolshoi vs Azumi Hyuga
“JWP Openweight Championship”
JWP
February 18, 2001
Differ Ariake
Bolshoi came in as the champion and this was a great main event big title change! Bolshoi had the advantage in strikes and submissions, while Hyuga has the speed and flying advantage, so both tried to play to their strengths throughout the match. It was a great dynamic.
It’s amazing how often I find a new cool counter by Bolshoi in a match, this time coming off the ropes and looking to be hit by a powerbomb, but turned it into a triangle choke. Hyuga wasn’t to be out down in counters as later on Bolshoi went for a moonsualt, but ate two boots to the face for her trouble!
The last few minutes of Bolshoi trying to keep Hyuga down with the palm strike only for Hyuga to be in the ropes or to drop from exhaustion causing a miss was tremendous. When Bolshoi finally hit it, you thought it was over! Hyuga just had enough to barely kick out. After some tremendous nearfalls, Hyuga hit the Michonoku Driver to win the title.
Rating: 8.5/10
Command Bolshoi, Azumi Hyuga, Kayoko Haruyama, & Tsubasa Kuragaki
vs
Acute Sae, Kana Mizaki, Kaori Yoneyama, & Ran YuYu
JWP
April 20, 2001
There was a giant swing train and later on an airplane spin, so this match is a win. Lots of awesome spots, but this was pretty much a fun house show match.
Rating: Fun
Command Bolshoi vs Tsubasa Kuragaki
JWP Beauty
August 31, 2001
Itabashi Green Hall
This is an early version of this matchup that a few years later becomes magic. There are glimpses of that magic here, but this isn’t hitting their usual standard yet.
Rating: 6.75/10
Command Bolshoi & GAMI vs Azumi Hyuga & Kayoko Haruyama
“JWP Tag Team Champiosnhip”
JWP Flappers
September 10, 2001
Cinema Club
Weird note, this is shot from above the ring looking down. It’s an interesting perspective to watch a match on TV. Makes you feel like you are live.
Bolshoi and GAMI are a really good team. GAMI clearly makes Bolshoi work more like a heel and she’s great when she’s mean. Hyuga and Haruyama are a great face team to go against and take the titles from. The intensity of Bolshoi and GAMI really make this match.
Rating: 7/10
Command Bolshoi & Ran YuYu vs Azumi Hyuga & Kyoko Inoue
JWP Cannavaro
November 13, 2001
Cinema Club
This was an awesome high-action tag match. Everyone contributed great moments to this. Hyuga had the most time in the match and really shined through as a great talent. I did love Bolshoi’s interactions as she did something she always does, where she fits into the match and doesn’t try to overshadow others.
Rating: 8/10
Command Bolshoi vs Azumi Hyuga
JWP Cannavaro
November 21, 2001
Itabashi Green Hall
A great match that was mostly built around respect and trying to outwork the opponent on the mat and with submissions. That was all good, because both are awesome at that, especially Bolshoi. The match really picked up when then went to the floor and Bolshoi hit a vicious palm strike knocking Hyuga into chairs. Hyuga answered in kind relying on vicious knee strikes leading to a very exciting finish.
Rating: 8/10
Command Bolshoi vs Kayoko Haruyama
JWP
December 9, 2001
Differ Ariake
This was great! Haruyama attacks Bolshoi before the introductions and destroys her on the floor. The bulk of the match is Haruyama trying to put Bolshoi away, but Bolshoi was a tremendous babyface here. Her selling was tremendous and the kick outs were dramatic including bridging out of pins. She would also use kip-ups as hope spots.
When Bolshoi makes her comeback it’s awesome, including great moments on the ramp and brawling on the floor. When it gets back in the ring it’s intense and looks like it could go either way. The finish may have been a little anti-climactic, but I loved this.
Rating: 8.75/10
Command Bolshoi vs Kaori Yoneyama
JWP Beleza
December 18, 2001
Itabashi Green Hall
Yoneyama is less than two years into her career at this point and this is an opener that goes ten minutes, so your expectations can’t be too high. It’s really solid though and Bolshoi makes Yoneyama look like she can hang. The last couple of minutes really heats up.
Rating: solid
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Best Matches I’ve Watched This Week (2023-03-03)
Here is the best matches I watched the last week! With a focus on 2001, current stuff, and our weekly Joshi chronological watch. I’m in my favourite stage of watching a year, where if a wrestler has less than 3 recommended matches I decide if I can find more or care enough to find more.
Honourable Mentions
- Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs Lioness Asuka & Meiko Satomura (GAEA, 2001-01-21)
- Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama (NOAH, 2001-02-25)
- Genichiro Tenryu vs Taiyo Kea (AJPW, 2001-03-03)
- Matt Hardy vs X-Pac (WWF, 2001-05-21)
- Billy Kidman vs X-Pac (WWF, 2001-07-22)
- Kumiko Maekawa vs Momoe Nakanishi (AJW, 2001-10-24)
- Donna del Mondo vs Prominence (Stardom, 2023-02-17)
- Masha Slamovich vs Mickie James (Impact, 2023-02-24)
#10
Hawk, Animal, & Kensuke Sasaki vs Scott Norton & The Steiner Brothers
NJPW Battle Formation
April 29, 1996
Six big brutes out there just bruting each other at a big Dome Show is always going to be enjoyable. The highlights were Scott Norton, who was the king of the brutes. There was a moment when The Road Warriors took out both Steiners with lariats, but that failed miserably when tried on Norton! Also, Norton gave a devilish power bomb to Sasaki. It lead to a fine finish with a Steiner being isolated and The Road Warriors double-teaming them to victory.
Rating: 7/10
#9
Ayako Hamada vs Azumi Hyuga
“Queen of ARSION Championship”
ARSION 3rd Anniversary
February 12, 2001
Why does every match in 2001 need a five-minute mat segment that goes nowhere?
After that section, the match really took off and was excellent. Hyuga is such a great flying babyface and I did wish Hamada was more of a bully in this. Hamada can also dish out spectacular spots, so this got a little much. That being said, it was a very exciting match.
Rating: 7.5/10
#8
Akira Taue vs Vader
“GHC Heavyweight Title Tournament: First Round”
NOAH Navigation for The Victory
March 25, 2001
Taue had amazing coffee this day as he was feeling it here. He unleashed vicious offence and choke slams even outside the ring and through a table. After some complete destruction by Taue, Vader makes a very well-earned comeback with tremendous selling. Vader does a LOT to keep Taue down in an awesome 10-minute war.
Rating: 7.75/10
#7
Chihiro Hashimoto vs Unagi Sayaka
Sendai Girls Never Winter
December 23, 2022
I loved this match! Unagi is a perfect underdog to the overpowering Hashimoto. Unagi had amazing selling, tremendous nearfalls, perfectly timed kick-outs, and some counters into submissions that were surprising but awesome. Her unorthodox style is a great counter to Hashimoto’s no-bones about it crushing style. I loved Unagi trying to get a win by count-out by wearing Hashimoto down with an Octopus on the floor.
The finish by Hashimoto was tremendously vicious and a perfect capper to this awesome match.
Rating: 8/10
#6
Kazayuki Fujita vs Yuji Nagata
“IWGP Heavyweight Championship”
NJPW Super-Force Group Declaration
June 6, 2001
I usually dislike shoot style, but this is my new favourite shoot style match ever! This felt like an early UFC battle between a wrestler and a ground and pounder. It makes sense because Fujita is basically a mixed martial artist, not a wrestler, but Nagata really works well in this role. Fujita was a hoss and Nagata battled. It’s only ten minutes, and there are a few minutes in the middle that if they cut this would have been even higher.
Rating: 8/10
#5
Genichiro Tenryu vs Kodo Fuyuki
w/ special referee Ashura Hara
FMW Kawasaki Legend
May 5, 2001
This was two tough older men pounding the crap out of each other with an intense crowd and a great special referee apperance. They hit each other hard and Fuyuki beat Tenryu down to a bloody pulp until Tenryu could hit enough lariats to put him down! I had no idea FMW was still good this late.
Rating: 8/10
#4
El Hijo del Santo vs LA Par-K
“Cage”
Tijuana
November 16, 2001
I’m not entirely sure what to say about this, but it was insane. The bulk of the match was a pretty fine brawl between two great brawlers inside a cage with a hot crowd. After that, Santo tried to escape but Park’s rudo buddies came and beat him down. They eventually handcuffed him to the ropes, while Park took exposed wires and shocked him! Santo’s técnico buddies saved him though, and they reversed the shock onto Park and then carried Santo out of the cage. The crowd was amazing.
Rating: 8.25/10
#3
Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki vs Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato
“AAAW Tag Team Championship”
GAEA Limit Break
April 22, 2001
Every new Akira Hokuto and Mayumi Ozaki tag match I find to watch brings me great joy, and from this match, a different type of joy. This match was two badass veterans taking on two high-flying youngster underdogs and both teams played their roles to perfection. Lots of really cool flying spots by Nagashima and Sato, but just as many more badass spots by Hokuto and Ozaki. Just a tremendous tag team match!
Rating: 8.25/10
#2
Candy Okutsu, Cutie Suzuki, Mayumi Ozaki, & Sumio Toyama
vs
Devil Masami, Dynamite Kansai, Hikari Fukuoka & Hiromi Yagi
“1 Fall Dead Heat Match”
JWP
March 21, 1995
The rules are a bit odd, where falls are a 1 count, not 3. It starts off with a singles match, where if you win in under 5 minutes you continue on against the next person until your 5 minutes are up. The team with the most falls wins, if it’s a tie it’s sudden death tag match.
The first few singles contests were perfectly booked with Kansai hitting a fall in 7 seconds, followed by a massive upset and someone surviving Devil Masami taking her out with a double count-out. The rest of the battle leads to a shocking cover to tie things up going into sudden death.
The tag portion was chaos, in the best way. Think of the desperation to break up pins in a Dragon Gate match, but with only a 1 count fall instead. The finish was great. A beautiful match.
Rating: 8.5/10
Fan Favourite
Ayako Sato vs Ayame Sasamura
Diana
October 1, 2022
Thanks to Kadaveri from discord for giving me this match to watch knowing my love for Ayako Sato, even though I’ve only seen a handful of her matches!
This started off as a solid veteran working with a hard-smashing wrestler, but by the end, it really won me over. All of the offence was really solid, I mean you felt it. It built very well and gradually got more and more intense and exciting as it went along. By the end, all of the nearfalls were awesome. Sato continues to impress me and Sasamura was someone I’d never seen before, but really enjoyed.
Rating: 7.25/10
Match of the Week
El Hijo del Santo vs LA Park-K
“2/3 Falls”
Monterrey
December 23, 2001
This match was the absolute perfect hate-filled violent gritty bloody brawls. You know it’s going to be something special when both wrestler’s costumes are white. By the end, both were wearing pink.
I loved how this naturally felt like a fight. They threw each other into chairs, stomped really hard, punched, etc… This wasn’t about hitting spectacular moves, it was about trying to hurt the other while you are pissed off. That being said, there were plenty of dramatic nearfalls and a few big spots that were spectacular.
Even the rudo and técnico disagreeing referees were done well here, especially in how that came to the finish. A true must-watch classic if you like blood and brawls.
Rating: 9.5/10
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Discord
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