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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1989 Match of the Year List
Let’s cut right to the chase. There were many sexist, sexual abusers, racists, and bigots of many varieties in 1989, and I don’t want to promote or watch them. If you are going to say my list sucks because it doesn’t have the typical 1989 matches in it, ask why I would hype up a match that includes such an abuser?
Honourable Mentions
- The Brain Busters vs The Hart Foundation, WWF, August 28
- Lex Luger vs Tommy Rich, NWA, September 12
The List
The 1989 year was loaded with so much top-end wrestling that this is a very deep top 10!
#10
Genichiro Tenryu (c) vs Yoshiaki Yatsu
“AJPW Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW Summer Action Series
July 18
Shiga Prefectural Gymnasium
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.
#9
Greg Valentine vs Ron Garvin
WWF
September 30
Madison Square Garden
A beautiful slugfest between two of the hardest hitters in wrestling history.
#8
Ricky Steamboat vs Terry Funk
NWA Clash of The Champions VII “Guts And Glory”
June 14
Fort Bragg Gym
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.
#7
Akira Hokuto vs Chigusa Nagayo
AJW
March 19
The young Hokuto tries to take out the legend Nagayo and takes it to her with urgency. The selling is tremendous in this, and Hokuto looks like the future star she is, but of course, Nagayoholds everything together as the goat she is.
#6
Lioness Asuka (c) vs Bull Nakano
“WWWA World Championship”
AJW
May 14
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.
#5
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
Ryogoku Kokugikan
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!
#4
The Ultimate Warriors vs The Heenan Family
“Elimination Match”
WWF Survivor Series
November 23
Rosemont Horizon
This is one of my favourite matches in wrestling history and one of the best stories the WWF ever did in the ring. Heenan is forced to dawn the tights as Tully is gone and steals the show. Hiding, taunting, and even getting a pin when Arn and Haku had the advantage. Arn and Haku look like the all-time lost great tag team in this. Of course, it leads to a perfect end of Warrior getting revenge. Perfect pro-wrestling.
#3
Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs Genichiro Tenryu
“Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW Super Power Series
June 5
Nippon Budokan
From “The Best Matches I’ve Watched in June 2023” post:
“I hadn’t watched this match in many years, and with the focus on 1989 and the Greatest Match Ever, I figured I needed to. The nearfalls steal the show in this one, but consistent intensity and excitement make this a classic. Some really cool spots on the outside, too, that I loved.”
#2
Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura
“AJPW Real World Tag League”
AJPW Real World Tag League
November 29
Nakajima Sports Center
This is all about the story! Tenryu wipes out Baba in the first moments, leading to Kimura having to try to fend off both Tenryu and Hansen on his own until Baba can make a comeback. This match is pure joy!
#1 “Match of the Year”
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
Nippon Budokan
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!
Upcoming!
The top 25 wrestlers of 1989 will be coming soon!
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The Greatest Wrestlers of 1983
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. 1993, 2004, 2010, & 2015 are on the blog.
1983
Going back to the 1980s was something I needed to do to balance out my overall list. 1983 was before I was watching, I was two years old. but it’s the year supercards really took off in the USA. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed in this year. I knew the finishes would be bad, but that was still difficult to deal with. What really bugged me was the amount of time killing I felt was happening in matches. I doubt that was the purpose of it, but a lot of matches felt like they had a cool start, rested a bunch, then had a great ending. Luckily enough workers and matches overcame that and I have put together a list of 25 great wrestlers!
Process
I have a master list of everyone I have considered for each of these top 25 lists and how many matches they worked on each year. I see who worked in 1983 and start watching the footage. I take suggestions and look at other lists to see who needs to be explored.
After watching a ton of footage I start to make a list and cut anyone who either I can’t find 3 matches of their worth recommending or I don’t care to find that many. From there it’s a matter of finding an order that I feel comfortable with based on the quality of output, versatility, and whatever qualities make a great wrestler.
The List
All of the below stats are from cagematch. Yes, they are not perfect. I have excluded AJW’s number of matches, because cagematch has next to nothing on them.
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. Starting with this list 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
- Bad News Allen
- Big John Studd
- Junkyard Dog
- MS-1
- Pedro Morales
- Rick Martel
#25
Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2004, & 2015
Matches: 204
Places Worked: Mid-Atlantic, GCW, Florida, Maple Leaf, WCCW, & Mid-South
Title Held: NWA World Television Championship
Tournament: NWA World Tag Team Title #1 Contendership Tournament with Dory Funk, Jr. (final)
Previously I never considered Roberts as a real candidate, but I stumbled across a performance of his that blew me away. The more I dug into his 1983, the more impressed I was. When Jake is an evil wrestler tearing people apart with great psychology, he is fantastic and makes it onto this list.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Brett Sawyer, GCW The Last Battle of Atlanta, October 23
- vs Jim Duggan, Mid-South, December 16
- vs Ron Garvin, GCW, December 17
#24
Itsuki Yamazaki
Previous Ranking: 1985 (#13)
Years Unranked: none
Places Worked: AJW
Tournament: Fuji Television League Cup with Devil Masami
The future Jumping Bomb Angel was already an exciting wrestler in 1983. She was essentially a cruiserweight worker in AJW and gave a different element to her matches.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Noriyo Tateno, AJW, July 9
- vs Mimi Harigawa, AJW, November
- with Jumbo Hori vs Devil Masami & Itsuki Yamazaki, “2/3 Falls”, AJW, November 29 (#5 MOTY)
#23
Mad Dog Vachon
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985
Matches: 97
Places Worked: AWA & International Wrestling
Vachon was in his mid-50s in 1983, but when you are that great of a wrestler it doesn’t stop you from being awesome. He brought a great chaotic brawling energy to all of his matches. The old veteran badass legend as a babyface really fits in great with AWA.
Recommended Matches:
- with Baron Von Raschke vs Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan Kaissey, “Taped Fist”, AWA, March 13
- vs Jerry Blackwell, “Algerian Death Match”, AWA, May 22 (#10 MOTY)
- vs Nick Bockwinkel, AWA, December 25
#22
Dynamite Kid
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985 & 1990
Matches: 178
Places Worked: Pacific Northwest, Stampede, & NJPW
Titles Held: Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Championship, NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship, & NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship with The Assassin
Dynamite Kid is a precursor of a wrestling style I rather dislike and I’m not so keen on it in 1983, however, he was having great matches in three different countries and that’s hard to deny.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kuniaki Kobayashi, NJPW, April 3
- vs Tiger Mask, NJPW, April 21
- vs Buddy Rose, Portland, September 17
#21
Jumbo Hori
Previous Ranking: 1985 (#25)
Years Unranked: none
Place Worked: AJW
Title Held: WWWA Tag Team Championship with Yukari Omori
Tournament: Fuji Television League Cup with Yukari Omori
As you can tell from the name Jumbo Hori is a big kind of power wrestler in joshi. Watching her power bomb the roster always gets a pop out of me. What really got her onto the list was her team with Yukari Omori, The Dynamite Girls were a perfect foil for the roster and a great tag team.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Devil Masami, AJW, May
- with Yukari Omori vs Devil Masami & Taranutla, AJW, June 14
- with Yukari Omori vs Devil Masami & Itsuki Yamazaki, “2/3 Falls”, AJW, November 29 (#5 MOTY)
#20
Killer Khan
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985
Matches: 175
Place Worked: NJPW
Tournament: IWGP League
The wild “Mongolian” Killer Khan is a joy to watch. He’s so expressive it makes every match just fun! Of course, he’s a violent brawler which helps too. A perfect foil
Recommended Matches:
- vs Seiji Sakaguchi, NJPW, January 14
- vs Andre the Giant, NJPW, June 1
- vs Bad News Allen, NJPW, September 22
#19
Jerry Blackwell
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985
Matches: 159
Places Worked: AWA, St. Louis, Central States, & Memphis
Titles Held: NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship & AWA World Tag Team Championship with Ken Patera
Tournament: NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title Tournament
There isn’t a lot of footage of Blackwell in 1983, but what we do have is awesome. He’s full-on heel-wrecking ball mode this year, spending most of his time as a Sheik meaning with Adnan Kaissey and Ken Patera. The team is a tremendous heel unit that can show dominance, but also bump to really put the faces over.
Recommended Matches:
- with Sheik Adnan Kaissey vs Baron Von Raschke & Mad Dog Vachon, “Taped Fist”, AWA, March 13
- vs Mad Dog Vachon, “Algerian Death Match”, AWA, May 22 (#10 MOTY)
- with Ken Patera vs Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell, AWA, November 24
#18
“Wildfire” Tommy Rich
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985, 1990, 1993, & 1997
Matches: 170
Places Worked: GCW, Mid-Altlantic, AJPW, Mid-South, SWCW, St. Louis, & Central States
Title Held: NWA National Heavyweight Championship
Tournament: NWA National Heavyweight Title Tournament
The babyface component of the Buzz Sawyer feud, Rich was a great-selling babyface. He fought with great fire and could mix it up with a bloody brawl as well as anyone.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Buzz Sawyer, “No DQ”, SWCW, July 4
- vs Kamala, Mid-South, July 29
- vs Buzz Sawyer, “Cage”, GCW The Last Battle of Atlanta, October 23 (#7 MOTY)
#17
Tiger Mask
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985, 1997, & 2010
Matches: 102
Places Worked: NJPW & UWA
Title Held: WWF Junior Heavyweight Champion (twice)
I can see why people were so enamoured by Tiger Mask in 1983. The mask and colours made him stand out. The quickness of the kicks and flying was breathtaking. Not to mention some of the moves you never saw in Japan were all of a sudden front and centre in NJPW.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Gran Hamada, NJPW, February 3
- vs Black Tiger, NJPW, February 7
- vs Dynamite Kid, NJPW, April 21
#16
Chigusa Nagayo
Previous Ranking: 1985 (#1)
Years Unranked: 1997 & 2004
Place Worked: AJW
The Crush Gals didn’t fully take off yet in 1983, but you got glimpses of the greatness of Chigusa already.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Lioness Asuka, AJW, January 4
- with Lioness Asuka vs Jaguar Yokota & Noriyo Tateno, AJW, August 21
- with Lioness Asuka vs Jaguar Yokota & Kanako Nagatomo, AJW, November
- vs Jaguar Yokota, AJW, December
#15
Andre the Giant
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985 & 1990
Matches: 223
Places Worked: WWF, NJPW, Mid-South, AWA, Florida, Mid-Atlantic, International Wrestling, WCCW, Pacific Northwest, UWA, St. Louis, Central States, Maple Leaf, EMLL, WWC, Stampede, & Memphis
Tournament: IWGP League (semi-final)
Andre the Giant is one of the most rewarding wrestlers to work with in the early 1980s. In NJPW he’s a monster force of nature and in America, he is going from territory to territory doing all sorts of fun matchups, of course, centred in the WWF. He’s such a smart worker and gives the fans exactly what they want!
Recommended Matches:
- vs Akia Maeda, NJPW, May 13
- vs Killer Khan, NJPW, June 1
- vs Abdullah the Butcher, WWC Aniversario 10, September 17
#14
Butch Reed
Previous Rankings: 1985 (#15) & 1990 (#20)
Years Unranked: none
Matches: 158
Places Worked: Mid-South, GCW, St. Louis, & Central States
Title Held: Mid-South North American Championship (twice) & Mid-South Tag Team Championship with Jim Neidhart
Tournaments: Mid-South North American Title Tournament (semi-final), NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title Tournament (semi-final), & GCW Thanksgiving Day Tag Team Tournament with Pez Whatley (winner)
Butch Reed is one of those wrestlers that just clicks with him. His charisma is great, he works great as an underdog babyface or a beast rough heel, and he looks great. All of that was on display in 1983.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Iron Sheik, Mid-South, April 8
- vs Junkyard Dog, Mid-South, July 29
- vs Junkyard Dog, “Dog-Collar”, Mid-South, November 3
#13
“Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985 & 1990
Matches: 173
Places Worked: GCW, Mid-South, SWCW, & Florida
Title Held: NWA National Tag Team Championship with Brett Sawyer
Tournament: NWA National Heavyweight Title Tournament
Buzz Sawyer was the catalyst for one of the most famous feuds of 1983, the Tommy Rich feud. He was the perfect violent enemy to torment Rich. What’s impressive about his 1983, was his ability to work babyface as well later in the year. If you are looking for a good brawl, you don’t have to look further than Sawyer in 1983.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Tommy Rich, “No DQ”, SWCW, July 4
- vs Tommy Rich, “Cage”, GCW The Last Battle of Atlanta, October 23 (#7 MOTY)
- vs Abdullah the Butcher, GCW, November 6
- vs Ted DiBiase, GCW, November 4
#12
“The Magnificent One” Don Muraco
Previous Ranking: 1985 (#24)
Years Unranked: 1993
Matches: 218
Places Worked: WWF & Maple Leaf
Title Held: WWF Intercontinental Championship
Don Muraco was at his height as an arrogant heel in 1983. He won the belt in January in a great brawl with Pedro Morales and spent the rest of the year defending the belt and getting massive heat. He had an all-time classic feud to end the year out that had very special moments. The real negative was his feud with Backlund over the World Title. In 1983 those two decided to spend most of the matches in headlocks instead of having a good match.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Pedro Morales, WWF, January 22
- vs Rocky Johnson, WWF, May 23
- plus more
#11
Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985, 1990, & 1993
Matches: 131
Places Worked: WCCW, Mid-South, AJPW, & SWCW
Titles Held: NWA American Heavyweight Championship, NWA American Tag Team Championship with Michael Hayes, WCCW World Six Man Tag Team Championship with Buddy Roberts and Michael Hayes (twice), & NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship
I have never thought too much about Terry Gordy in the past, but this year was a real eye-opener for me. He’s a whirlwind of destructive beefy energy. He really excels in tags as a complement to others either teaming with Hansen or The Fabulous Freebirds.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kerry Von Erich, WCCW, June 10
- with Buddy Roberts & Michael Hayes vs David Von Erich, Kerry Von Erich, & Kevin Von Erich, “2/3 Falls”, WCCW, July 4 (#8 MOTY)
- with Stan Hansen vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta, AJPW, August 26 (#6 MOTY)
- with Stan Hansen vs Dory Funk, Jr. & Terry Funk, AJPW, August 31
#10
Sgt. Slaughter
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985 & 1990
Matches: 219
Places Worked: WWF, Mid-Atlantic, Maple Leaf, & CWA
Titles Held: NWA World Tag Team Championship with Don Kernodle & NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship
Sgt. Slaughter was a tremendous heel in 1983. He took a nothing guy in Don Kernodle and they headlined the first huge supercard in America because the program with Youngblood and Steamboat was so hot. He then moved on to the WWF and again was a tremendous heel, albeit with fewer opportunites to have stellar matches.
Recommended Matches:
- with Don Kerndodle vs Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat, Mid-Atlantic, January 30
- with Don Kernodle vs Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat, “Cage”, NWA Starrcade, March 12 (#4 MOTY)
- vs Bob Backlund, WWF, May 23
#9
Devil Masami
Previous Rankings: 1985 (#6) & 1993 (#20)
Years Unranked: 1997 & 2004
Place Worked: AJW
Title Held: WWWA Tag Team Championship with Tarantula
Tournament: Fuji Television League Cup with Itsuki Yamazaki
Devil Masami was a stand-out in AJW with her huge presence. She had a great run in multiple tag teams, making both feels like natural teams. Her facial expressions were elite, of course, as well as her dominant heel abilities.
Recommended Matches:
- with Tarantula vs Jaguar Yokota & Mimi Hagiwara, AJW, January 4
- vs Jumbo Hori, AJW, May
- with Tarantula vs Jumbo Hori & Yukari Omori, AJW, June 14
- vs Monster Ripper, “Chain”, AJW, November
- with Itsuki Yamazaki vs Jumbo Hori & Yukari Omori, “2/3 Falls”, AJW, November 29 (#5 MOTY)
#8
Kerry Von Erich
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985 & 1990
Matches: 150
Places Worked: WCCW, Mid-South, AJPW, St. Louis, & Central States
Titles Held: NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship, WCCW World Six Man Tag Team Championship with David Von Erich and Kevin Von Erich (twice), & NWA American Tag Team Championship with Bruiser Brody
Kerry Von Erich is a unique watch. He looks extremely athletic with a great body but seems kind of uncoordinated. He often looks like he is legit fighting for his life and is not in a worked match. He is charismatic though and can build a lot of sympathy and his wild punch comebacks are fun to watch.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Greg Valentine, St. Louis, February 11
- vs Genichiro Tenryu, AJPW, April 7
- vs Terry Gordy, WCCW, June 10
- with David Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich vs Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes, & Terry Gordy, “2/3 Falls”, WCCW, July 4 (#8 MOTY)
#7
Sangre Chicana
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1985, 1990, 1993, 1997, & 2004
Places Worked: EMLL & UWA
Titles Held: UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (twice)
Sangre Chicana in 1983 was one of the great lucha-brawling tecnicos in wrestling history, which was highlighted by the MS-1 main event match at the 50th Anivesario. He was a special underdog who never backed down and luckily one of the few luchadores with enough footage remaining.
Recommended Matches:
- vs MS-1, “Cabellera vs Cabellera”, EMLL 50. Aniversario – C, September 23 (#1 MOTY)
- vs El Satanico, EMLL, September 24
- with La Fiera & Mocho Cota vs Espectro, Jr., MS1, & El Satanico, EMLL, September 30
- vs Ringo Mendoza, EMLL, October 28
- vs Villano III, EMLL, November 18
#6
“Playboy” Buddy Rose
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1990
Matches: 188
Places Worked: Pacific Northwest, WWF, NJPW, & Maple Leaf
Title Held: NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship with Brian Adidas & NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship with Curt Hennig
Buddy Rose has always been an amazing ace heel in Portland and in 1983 he showed even more with a great babyface run. The real joy of Buddy is watching him a week to week in the same venue and not having it get old.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Pedro Morales, WWF, February 18
- vs Chris Adams, Portland, February 28
- vs Curt Hennig, Portland, March 26
- vs Dynamite Kid, Portland, September 17
#5
Jaguar Yokota
Previous Ranking: 1985 (#2)
Years Unranked: 1997, 2004, 2010, 2015, & 2021
Place Worked: AJW
Title Held: WWWA World Championship
Jaguar Yokota feels like a wrestler working at another level in 1983. The speed, the innovative moves that men won’t be doing for decades, the intensity, and power. Watching Jaguar in 1983 feels like you are watching Rey Mysterio in 1995, it is special and the future.
Recommended Matches:
- with Mimi Hagiwara vs Devil Masami & Tarantula, AJW, January 4
- vs La Galactica, “Hair vs Mask”, AJW, May 7
- with Noriyo Tateno vs Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka, August 21
- with Kanako Nagatomo vs Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka, AJW, November
- vs Chigusa Nagayo, AJW, December
#4
Nick Bockwinkel
PreviousRanking: 1985 (#19)
Years Unranked: none
Matches: 107
Places Worked: AWA, Memphis, Mid-South, AJPW, International Wrestling, & Stampede
Title Held: AWA World Heavyweight
Bockwinkel is one of the smartest wrestlers of all-time and spending the year as the AWA World Champion really allowed him to show that off against a variety of opponents in a variety of different promotions.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Rick Martel, AWA, March 13
- vs Jumbo Tsuruta, AJPW, July 13
- vs Wahoo McDaniel, AWA, August 28
- vs Junkyard Dog, Mid-South, September 23
- vs Mad Dog Vachon, AWA, December 25
- plus more
#3
Stan Hansen
Previous Rankings: 1985 (#9), 1990 (#22), & 1993 (#2)
Years Unranked: 1997
Matches: 124
Places Worked: AJPW, GCW, Memphis, SWCW, & Florida
Titles Held: NWA International Tag Team Championship with Ron Bass, CWA Television Championship, AWA International Heavyweight Championship, & PWF Heavyweight Championship
Tournaments: AJPW World Tag Team League with Bruiser Brody (winner), NWA National Heavyweight Title Tournament (semi-final), & AJPW Real World Tag League with Bruiser Brody (winner)
Hansen is as rough and badass in 1983 as I’ve seen him in any other year. Every Hansen match is chaotic and wild, no matter what promotion he’s working in. Starting an instant classic team with Terry Gordy really helps his case as well. Heck, he even made a team with Bruiser Brody enjoyable.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Giant Baba, AJPW, April 11
- vs Terry Funk, AJPW, April 14 (#2 MOTY)
- with Terry Gordy vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta, AJPW, August 26 (#6 MOTY)
- with Terry Gordy vs Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk, AJPW, August 31
- vs Giant Baba, AJPW, September 8
#2
Greg “The Hammer” Valentine
Previous Ranking: 1985 (#5)
Years Unranked: 1990, 1993, & 1997
Matches: 255
Places Worked: Mid-Atlantic, St. Louis, Central States, Maple Leaf, GCW, & Florida
Title Held: NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (twice)
Tournaments: NWA World Tag Team Title #1 Contendership Tournament with Gene Anderson & NWA Florida Heavyweight Title Tournament
There is something about Greg Valentine’s style that really hits home for me. He picks apart his opponent in a brutal but well-planned-out style. The Piper feud is an all-time classic feud that is a must-watch, but I would say you get something out of every one of his matches, even the television squashes.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kerry Von Erich, St. Louis, February 11
- vs Roddy Piper, Mid-Atlantic, July 9
- vs Roddy Piper, “Dog Collar”, NWA Starrcade, November 24 (#3 MOTY)
- plus more
#1
Terry Funk
Previous Rankings: 1985 (#12), 1993 (#17), & 1997 (#22)
Years Unranked: 1990
Matches: 76
Places Worked: AJPW, Mid-Atlantic, SWCW, Maple Leaf, WCCW, & Memphis
Tournaments: AJPW World Tag Team League with Dory Funk Jr. & SWCW World Heavyweight Title Tournament
What a versatile year by Funk. Not only was he an elite heel working almost everywhere, but he also proved he was an all-time great babyface while working in AJPW. This is very evident in the Hansen feud and leading up to his “retirement” at the end of August. To add to the versatility, he had amazing brawls like the Singh match and amazing technical displays like the Orton match. There was a little bit of everything by Funk in 1983 that puts him #1.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Stan Hansen, AJPW, April 14 (#2 MOTY)
- vs Bob Orton, Jr., SWCW, May 21
- vs Tiger Jeet Singh, AJPW, July 19 (#9 MOTY)
- with Dory Funk, Jr. vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy, AJPW, August 31
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Next time we tackle 2022!
1983 Match of the Year
1983 was a year when we were fully in the territorial days, but we started to get our first supercards in America (Final Conflict and Starrcade.) A start of a transition towards where we are today. There is also a footage issue, so putting together this list was an interesting exercise.
Honourable Mentions
- Don Muraco vs Pedro Morales, WWF, January 22
- Bob Orton, Jr. vs Terry Funk, South West, May 21
- Buddy Rose vs Curt Hennig, Portland, May 26
- Greg Valentine vs Roddy Piper, Mid-Atlantic, July 9
- Brett Sawyer vs Jake Roberts, GCW The Last Battle of Atlanta, October 23
#10
Jerry Blackwell vs Mad DogVachon
“Algerian Death Match”
American Wrestling Association
May 22
Bloomington, Minnesota
A grizzled old veteran battling a monster of a man in a Death Match? Yes, please. This match is a joy to watch and it felt like a special fight!
#9
Terry Funk vs Tiger Jeet Singh
AJPW Grand Championship Carnival III
July 19
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
The old-of-control wild Terry Funk brawl. This match felt like 1993, not 1983. Weapons and violence and a major surprise.
#8
Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes, & Terry Gordy
vs
David Von Erich, Kerry Von Erich, & Kevin Von Erich
“WCCW Six Man Tag Team Championship 2/3 Falls”
WCCW Independence Day Star Wars
July 4
Tarrant County Convention Center
American Day with a super hot crowd with the beloved hometown boys vs the evil Fabulous Freebirds. The drama was high and this was the height of the American tag team wrestling style. Kerry was tremendous!
#7
Buzz Sawyer vs Tommy Rich
“Cage”
GCW The Last Battle of Atlanta
October 23
Omni Coliseum
The former “holy grail” match surfaced on the WWE Network a few years ago and it DELIVERED. A violent and bloody feud comes to a violent and bloody end in a cage. This was a classic!
#6
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta
vs
Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy
AJPW Super Power Series
August 26
Kourakuen Hall
There is another tag match in AJPW a few days later that everyone raves about, but this is the one that really connected with me. Gordy’s second night in Japan and he forms a team with Hansen that instantly clicks! The perfect AJPW tag with two rough gaijins taking on the local heroes in a classic tag match. Great teamwork all around and the Gordy Power Bomb was just vicious!
#5
Devil Masami & Itsuki Yamazaki
vs
Jumbo Hori & Yukari Omori
“Fuji Television League Cup Semi-Final 2/3 Falls”
November 29
Oto Ward General Gymnasium
A recently released unearthed match that nobody has talked about. A real precursor to the AJW tag-team style that produced so many classics in the future. Dramatic and exciting. Both teams work really well with one being a great dynamic and the other being a great badass mix.
#4
Don Kernodle & Sgt. Slaughter
vs
Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat
“NWA World Tag Team Championship Cage Match”
NWA The Final Conflict
March 12
The feud that created the very first supercard, this cage match was the finale of a tremendous feud. Slaughter was outstanding in this match, directing and carrying everything and doing a wild dive off the top of the cage. Steamboat and Youngblood were good underdog babyfaces. A true classic.
#3
Greg Valentine vs Roddy Piper
“Dog Collar”
NWA Starrcade
November 24
Greensboro Coliseum
The greatest dog collar match of all time. The Hammer focuses his offence on Piper’s ear, taking out his equilibrium making for a fun dynamic. Bloody and violent with a super hot crowd on the very first Starrcade.
#2
Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk
AJPW Grand Championship Carnival
April 14
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
A wild brawl with lots of blood. A true masterclass of a brawl with great psychology. Funk tries to dismantle Hansen’s leg, which leads to the ending of this. Funk shows he can be a perfect babyface here!
#1
MS-1 vs Sangre Chicana
“Cabellera vs Cabellera 2/3 Falls”
EMLL 50. Aniversario – C
September 23
Arena Mexico
The greatest lucha bloody brawl in history at one of the biggest shows in lucha libre history. These two fought for their life in this all-time classic and a must-see 10/10 classic.
If you want to discuss this you can do it on Twitter:
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Coming soon my top 25 wrestlers of 1983.
Hulkamania (WF002)
Let’s start off with a correction from last week. I started reading the “The Complete WWF Video Gudie, Volume 1” and although “Wrestling’s Bloopers, Bleeps and Bodyslams” was the first numbered Coliseum Home Video the WWF actually released the first three Coliseum Home Videos on the same day (Last week’s Bloopers tape, this week’s Hulkamania, and next week’s Best of the WWF, Volume 1). Hulkamania makes way more sense as a debut tape, so I take back that criticism. Actually having a Hulk featured tape, a best of tape and a blooper tape is not a bad idea.
Vince McMahon is the host and welcomes us to the tape. The gimmick on this one is that Hulk Hogan gives us his thoughts on facing each opponent, during the entrances.
Hulk Hogan vs Greg Valentine
(8/4/1984, Philadelphia Spectrum)
Hulk’s Thoughts: All he was thinking was to avoid the figure-four leglock.
Announcer: Gorilla Monsoon
This was a fascinating match in terms of structure. After a nice shine sequence by Hogan, you get Valentine going after the leg in a pretty good heat segment. He even uses a chair on the outside to the knee. Hogan “Hulk’s Up” and starts to destroy Valentine, before a second heat segment occurs. During the heat segments Hogan sells the leg great, but during the first comeback he ignores it.
After all the good work on the leg, Valentine’s figure-four leglock gets shoved off. Axe Bomber. Big Leg Drop. It’s over! The finishing comeback was two moves, but very dynamic.
Although the first comeback was weirdly long and I don’t really understand what the purpose is of that part of the match, overall it was well worked. Hogan was so over, super charismatic, and such a huge seller that the crowd was nuts for this. Valentine was looking pretty good dropping elbows and working the leg.
Post match involves teasing a rematch and then includes Hogan gorilla pressing the referee, all the while selling the leg.
Rating: ***
Can Hogan bodyslam the true giant of wrestling?
Hulk Hogan vs Big John Studd
(12/10/1984, Meadowlands)
Hulk’s Thought: He didn’t think he could slam Studd, but once he got the eye of the Hulkster and the crowd was going nuts it felt like Studd weighted as much as a feather.
Announcers: Gorilla Monsoon & Howard Finkel
What a truely bizarre team in the booth. The first thing they do is make sure that the $15,000 is on the line. At this time Bobby Heenan said he would pay out that money if anybody could bodyslam Studd, the true giant of wrestling. Bobby Heenan confirms that it is always on the line.
What follows is a surprisingly great match. It’s built around Hogan gaining control, then going for the bodyslam only for Studd to block it and then take control. The big moment occurs when Hogan goes for a bodyslam near the ropes and Studd is able block it and drag Hogan to the floor. He uses the table, ring post and guardrail to bust Hogan open! This leads to the longest heat segment of the match. Studd is so in control he even hits a flying ax handle off the top! During this segment we see the first bodyslam of the match and it’s by Studd. Hogan starts to “Hulk Up”, but he gets booted to the floor. After a little of bit of the King of the Mountain spots, Hogan drags him to the floor. We get some brawling and a comeback which leads to a bodyslam on the concrete floor and a countout win for Hogan.
I really can’t believe how great this match was.
Rating: ****
Remember on the “Wrestling’s Bloopers, Bleeps, and Bodyslams” tape how they had a short cut of Hogan giving a protein shake to Vince and Lord Alfred Hayes? Well we get the full segment here. Although the powder on Alfred’s nose joke is gone. We do get Hulk making the whole protein shake, using the protein powder. He is actually doing the whole shake well, except adding full eggs is not right. Folks you should not drink raw eggs.
Hulk Hogan vs David Schultz
(6/17/1984, Met Center)
Hulk’s Thoughts: Super redneck! Hulk was worried about Shultz cheating and doing anything to win. “Good wins over evil”, he says. It’s weird they have been giving spoilers during the entrances.
Announcers: Gorilla Monsoon & Gene Okerlund
This is the debut of the WWF in Minneapolis (home of the AWA), so of course you have a big Hulk Hogan title match in his old grounds.
What Hogan was afraid of came to pass early here as Shultz is choking and once he gets him outside nails him with a steel chair and busts him wide open.
A neat touch is for Shultz to play King of the Mountain for a while, which is a traditional AWA troupe.
We go on an interesting journey from there. Shutlz hits his finisher (flying elbow off the second rope) and we get the traditional “Hulk Up”. However, Hogan pulls Schultz up at two. He does this a few more times and even takes Schultz to the floor and rams him into the steel post to bust him open.
Schultz survives to get a lariat in to gain the advantage back. He decides to try his elbow off the top, instead of the second rope, Hogan moves. Axe Bomber by Hogan for the win.
We got double juice. We got Hogan being super pissed and his arrogance almost costing him. We had an insane crowd. This was damn fine pro-wrestling.
Rating: *** 3/4
Hulk Hogan vs Big John Studd
(Cage Match, 4/6/1984, Kiel Auditorium)
Hulk’s Thoughts: This one is personal and can only be settled in a cage. “Once you see the match you’ll know that I came out on top”.
Announcer: Gorilla Monsoon
From what we saw of this match it seemed pretty decent, but there was a lot of cuts. The previous matches had stuff edited out, but this one starts with Studd in control and the first half of the contest is cut after cut.
The finish is pretty good though, as they are brawling on the mat as Studd accidenty kicks him out of the ring. They brawl some on the floor.
Exclusive interview time by Vince McMahon made for this tape. We don’t get much here, but the list of people that Hogan idolized in wrestling was: Bruno Sammartino, Johnny Valiant, The Grahams and Andre the Giant. Johnny Valiant?
The night Hulkamania was born!
Hulk Hogan vs Iron Sheik
(1/23/1984, Madison Square Gardens)
Announcers: Gorilla Monsoon & Pat Patterson
The famous title change that started Hulkamania in the WWF. The crowd is insane in this match and was so ready for Hogan to become the top star.
This match is the format on how you make a new star. It’s actually very similar to the Golberg-Hogan title match. Hogan gets in a shine, Sheik takes control. Gets some nice nearfalls with some cool suplexes. He puts on the Camel Clutch, Hogan powers out of it and then pins him with a Big Leg Drop. 5:40 is all you need to get this over. Not a great match, but a really great moment.
Rating: ** 1/2
In Conclusion:
This tape was a lot of fun with two legit awesome matches and everything else being a lot of fun. Maybe skip the interview segment.
Next Tuesday I will review “Best of the WWF, Volume 1” so be on the look out for that. Remember to send in your suggestions for matches for the “Fan Favourites” segment on Thursday. I will review anything that the fans want me to.
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