Best World Championship Wrestling (WCW/JCP) Matches of All Time

Criteria: Simple match had to take place in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions or World Championship Wrestling. Could happen anytime or anywhere just has to be promoted just has to follow the Crockett-Turner lineage.

Categorized by star rating. In chronological order within a star rating.

****** - Maryse



Watched within the past five years. (So if you don't see something obvious like Flair/Steamboat or Flair/Funk it is because I have not watched it recently enough to accurately judge it.)

***** - Wife Material (Greatest Match of All Time Contenders)

1. NWA US Champion Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA - NWA Starrcade 1985

2.  NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton - GAB 7/11/86 Steel Cage

3. NWA US Tag Team Champions Midnight Express vs Fantastics - Clash of the Champions I

4. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Lex Luger – NWA Starrcade 1988

5. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat - NWA Chi-Town Rumble '89

6. WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting vs Vader - Great American Bash 1992

7. WCW Cruiserweight Champion Eddy Guerrero vs Rey Misterio Jr. - Halloween Havoc 1997

****3/4 - Perpetual Bridesmaids Make For Great Lays (Almost Perfect)

1. NWA US Champion Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "Rowdy" Roddy Piper - NWA Starrcade 1983 Dog Collar

2. NWA World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs Lex Luger & Barry Windham - NWA Clash of the Champions I

3. Sting vs Vader - Starrcade 1992

4. WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader vs Sting - SuperBrawl III

5. Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat - WCW Saturday Night 5/14/94 Vacant World Championship

6.  Ric Flair vs Randy Savage - WCW Great American Bash 1995


****1/2 - Best Friend Zoned (Match of the Year Contenders)

1. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat - NWA Boogie Jam 3/17/84

2. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ronnie Garvin - WCW 12/28/85

3. Western States Heritage Champion Barry Windham vs Tully Blanchard - NWA World Championship Wrestling 1/23/88

4. NWA US Tag Team Champions Midnight Express vs Fantastics - NWA Worldwide 5/14/88

5. WCW US Tag Team Champions Steiner Brothers vs Nasty Boys - NWA Halloween Havoc '90

6. Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Larry Zbyszko, Sid Vicious) vs Sting's Squadron (Sting, Brian Pillman & Steiner Brothers) - Wrestlewar 1991 WARGAMES

6. WCW World Tag Team Champions The Enforcers vs Dustin Rhodes & Ricky Steamboat - Clash XVII

7.  WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs Brian Pillman - WCW SuperBrawl II

8. WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader vs Ric Flair - WCW Starrcade 1993

9. WCW World Tag Champions Nasty Boys vs Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne - Spring Stampede 94

10. Dustin Rhodes vs Bunkhouse Buck - WCW Spring Stampede 1994 Bunkhouse Match

11.  Dusty & Dustin Rhodes & Nasty Boys vs Stud Stable (Terry Funk, Arn Anderson, Bunkhouse Buck & Col. Robert Parker) - WCW Fall Brawl 1994 WARGAMES

12. WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr. - Great American BASH 1996

13. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Psychosis - WCW Bash At The Beach 1996

14. WCW US Champion Diamond Dallas Page vs Chris Benoit - WCW SuperBrawl VIII

15. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho - Brian Hiildebrand Tribute
(So technically not promoted by WCW, but featured all-WCW talent).

16. WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page vs Sting - WCW Nitro 4/26/99

17. Bret Hart vs Chris Benoit - WCW Nitro 10/99 Owen Hart Tribute Match

Best WWF (WWE) Matches of All Time

Criteria: Simple match had to take place in World Wide Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Federation or World Wrestling Entertainment. Could happen anytime or anywhere just has to be promoted by a McMahon.

Categorized by star rating. In chronological order within a star rating.

Watched within the past five years. (So if you don't see something obvious like Bret/Austin or Bret/Owen it is because I have not watched it recently enough to accurately judge it.)

******

Sorry, Dave, Maryse is only thing worthy of *****



***** - Wife Material (Greatest Match of All Time Contenders)

1. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Greg Valentine - WWF MSG 2/19/79

2. Sgt Slaughter vs Iron Sheik - WWF, MSG 6/16/84

3. Bret Hart vs Owen Hart - WrestleMania X

4. Bret Hart vs Steve Austin - WrestleMania XIII Submission Match

5. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Triple H vs Cactus Jack - Royal Rumble 2000

6. WWF World Heavyweight Champion The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - Wrestlemania X-7

7. WWE Champion John Cena vs Umaga - WWE Royal Rumble 2007 Last Man Standing

8. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar - Extreme Rules 2012

8. The Shield vs. Ryback & Team Hell No - WWE TLC 2012 TLC Match

9. Daniel Bryan vs Triple H w/Stephanie McMahon - Wrestlemania XXX

10. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles - WWE Payback 2016

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****3/4 - Perpetual Bridesmaids Make For Great Lays (Almost Perfect)

1. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Pat Patterson - WWF MSG 7/30/79

2. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Ken Patera - WWF, MSG 5/19/80

3. Sgt. Slaughter vs Pat Patterson - WWF, MSG 5/4/81, Alley Fight

4. Bob Backlund vs Greg Valentine -  MSG 4/23/84

5. WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana vs Greg "The Hammer" Valentine - MSG 6/16/84

6. WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - WWF, Toronto 2/15/87

7. WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Wrestlemania III

8. WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon - Summerslam 1995 Ladder Match

9. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels vs Mankind - Mind Games 1996

10. Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker - Badd Blood 1997 Hell In A Cell

9. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Chris Benoit - Smackdown! 5/31/01

10. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle - WWF Summerslam 2001

11. World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit vs Shawn Michaels - RAW 5/3/04

12. Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker - Wrestlemania XXVI

13. The Shield vs Wyatt Family - WWE Elimination Chamber 2014

14. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles - WWE Extreme Rules 2016

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****1/2 - Best Friend Zoned (Match of the Year Contenders)

1. WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Ivan Koloff - MSG 8/28/78

2. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Ken Patera - WWF, MSG 1/21/80

3. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Hulk Hogan - WWF Philly 4/12/80

4. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Sgt. Slaughter - WWF, Philly 1/10/81

5. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Sgt. Slaughter - WWF, Philly 3/21/81,   
Steel Cage Match

6. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Greg Valentine - MSG 10/19/81

7. Bob Backlund vs Greg Valentine -  MSG 11/23/81 WWF Heavyweight Championship Held Up

8. Sgt. Slaughter vs Iron Sheik - WWF, MSG 5/21/84

9. The Dream Team w/Jimmy Hart vs Tito Santana & Ricky Steamboat - MLG 4/21/85

10. WWF Intercontinental Champion Greg Valentine  vs. Tito Santana  - WWF, Baltimore 7/6/85
Steel Cage Match

11. Randy Savage & Adrian Adonis vs Tito Santana & Bruno Sammartino - WWF, MSG 7/12/86

12. WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat - Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens 7/27/8

13. Ricky Steamboat vs Jake Roberts - WWF Boston 8/9/86

14. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs. Harley Race - MSG 6/14/87 Texas Death

15. The Rockers vs Rougeaus - 10/89 London, England

16. WWF World Tag Team Champions Diesel & Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon & 1-2-3 Kid -
WWF Action Zone 10/30/94

17. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart vs Diesel - Survivor Series 1995

18. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart vs Undertaker - WWF One Night Only 1997

19. WWF European Champion British Bulldog vs Shawn Michaels - WWF One Night Only 1997

20. Steve Austin vs Dude Love (WWF Over The Edge 05/31/98)

21. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs Triple H - WWF No Way Out '01

22. WWF World Tag Champs Stone Cold & HHH vs Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho - WWF RAW
5/21/01

23. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs Undertaker - No Mercy 2002 Hell In A Cell

24. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs Big Show - Judgment Day 2003 Stretcher Match

25. World Heavyweight Champion Triple H vs Shawn Michaels - RAW 12/29/03

26. Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio - WWE Judgement Day 2005

27. World Heavyweight Champion Batista vs Triple H - WWE Vengeance 2005 Hell In A Cell

28. Edge vs Matt Hardy WWE Unforgiven 2005 Steel Cage Match

29. Chris Benoit vs Finlay - WWE Judgement Day 2006

30. WWE Champion John Cena vs Edge - WWE Unforgiven TLC Match 2006

31. WWE Champion John Cena vs Shawn Michaels - Wrestlemania XXIII

32. WWE Champion Randy Orton vs Shawn Michaels - Survivor Series 2007

33. Shawn Michaels vs Batista - Backlash 2008 SGR: Chris Jericho

34. Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels - GAB 2008

35. John Cena vs Batista - Summerslam 2008

36. WWE Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio - The Bash 2009 Title Vs Mask

37. WWE Champion Randy Orton vs John Cena - Breaking Point I Quit Match

38. CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio - Over The Limit 2010 Hair vs SXE Pledge

39. King Sheamus vs John Morrison - TLC 2010 Ladder Match

40. World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Mark Henry - Night of Champions 2011

41. WWE World Tag Champions The Shield vs The Brothers Rhodes - WWE Battleground 2013

42. Cesaro vs Sami Zayn - NXT Arrival 2/14

43. WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs Brock Lesnar -Summerslam 2014

44. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar vs John Cena - Night of Champions 2014

45. WWE IC Champion Luke Harper vs Dolph Ziggler WWE TLC 2014 Ladder Match

Space Tornado: #11 Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa - Zero-1 12/14/03

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

In my line of work, a disturbance is either expunged or mitigated. It prevents a process from reaching the desired end state, set point or from operating efficiently. However in art, a disturbance can create unique, interesting dynamic. It jars the viewer. It does not belong. It ruins order in doing so generates chaos. Inherent to disorder is desperation. One of my favorite unstable dynamics in pro wrestling is a contest pitting a traditional pro wrestler against a badass shooter. For those unfamiliar with pro wrestling jargon, a "shooter" is a pro wrestler versed in a martial art, boxing or amateur/catch wrestling. One of my all-time favorite versions of this matchup is pro wrestling great, Toshiaki Kawada  against Olympic Silver Medalist in Judo and multiple time World Judo Champion, Naoya Ogawa. Ogawa feels so raw and unpredictable and just has this aura of an invincible, cocky bully. Kawada, who often finds himself as the "kick your head off, drop you on your head" badass in a match, is outgunned and a heavy underdog. The resultant match is raucous mayhem. Every single feels like a gargantuan struggle between two forces of nature. Kawada has a sense of desperation to survive the world-class judoka. The story is simple, Ogawa just needs to hit the Space Torando Ogawa (a modified oo-soto-gari, a classic Judo takedown) and Kawada must avoid. Kawada creates an opening for himself by decimating the knee of Ogawa. Ogawa like a wounded bear just starts throwing wild bear paws at the aggressive pitbull, Kawada. Ogawa is left with no recourse, but to try to hit his STO. It is only appropriate that match that was chaotic from the opening bell would end in chaos with no winner.  The desperation comes from the chaos of the match and the chaos comes from the disturbance, the thing that does not belong, Naoya Ogawa.

All Japan Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa

Zero-One 12/14/03 Non-Title

Ogawa is 2 for 2 in terms of badass matches in my book. It has been a limited sample size, but I don't think he is a particularly adept worker, but he is incredibly effective in portraying his character (legitimate judoka/shooter badass) and fostering a big match atmosphere. Just like the Dome tag match, the chaotic flow of the match and the awesome heat made this stand out as something special. Of course, why Kawada is an all-timer is that he did not force Ogawa into the King's Road style, but wrestled the match in a way where Kawada responded to Ogawa in a characteristic manner. It was an interesting clash of King's Road and shoot-style without sacrificing each other's strong suits in a heated bout.

What I love about this video is there is a 7 minute recap of the angles at the beginning to clarify why there is an interpromotional match. There was apparently an AJPW vs. Zero-One feud which featured a tag match between Hashimoto/Ogawa vs Mutoh/Kojima. The Z-1 boys were roughing up the AJ boys after the bell was ringing only for Kawada to rush the ring and send the Z-1 crew packing to awesome heat. After that, there were white masked ninjas in service of Ogawa attacking Kawada and tag matches leading up to the big one on one showdown. I read another review that said Kawada played the a great heel in this match. Well, I thought he was a badass babyface even if this was at a Z1 show. He got a shit ton of streamers and there was definitely a Kawada chant at the beginning. Ogawa is such a natural heel. He is a giant especially compared to Kawada and his cocky shooter swagger makes him nearly impossible to like. At the outset, Kawada was selling his apprehension of getting entangled with this badass while Ogawa was egging him on with sarcastic cheers. Kawada was the first one to take it to him even though Ogawa got a nice punch combo out of the corner that sent Kawada reeling in classic Dangerous K fashion. What I really loved about this match was how much struggle there was. If Kawada had a chance to stomp of Ogawa's head on a break he took it. Ogawa seemed like he took Kawada over on a monkey flip whether he wanted to or not. The hook of the match was when Ogawa went to put Kawada away with the STO and Kawada relentlessly kneed his inner leg so that even when he hit it he could not capitalize. When he went for the STO again, he buckled and Kawada pounced. This led to the great exchange where Kawada chases Ogawa around kicking his bad leg and Ogawa is throwing wild double back fists to keep him away. At one point, the back fist catches Kawada in the head so he starts to kick Ogawa's leg from the mat that's dedication. Kawada eventually got the half crab, but not before he stomped on Ogawa's head. Ogawa is so long that it is hard to keep him from the ropes. Kawada gets tired of the double back fists so he cleans his clock with a sweet closed fist. In an effort to survive, Ogawa just tries for the STO and Kawada hits him with a back drop driver. Kawada looks to knock Ogawa out with enziguiris, but Ogawa hits the STO OUTTA NOWHERE! Kawada staggers and falls ass first through the bottom rope onto the floor. Ogawa's leg is fucked, but is able to STO Kawada on the floor. However, neither man can make it back to the ring by the ten count. Hot damn! Wait there is more! They restart the match. Kawada slides right into Ogawa's leg and does not let up. Kawada goes for the leg lace and double stomps on the bad knee. However, Kawada leaves himself open for the STO again. Everyone is out again. Kawada tries to go for the enziguiri for the knockout, but STO AGAIN! Neither man can answer the ten count and it is ruled a double knock out.

Kawada had the strategy: find a weakness and exploit. Ogawa had the puncher's chance: STO. At the beginning, it seemed like Kawada was going to be outgunned by the bigger Ogawa, but he is able to block the STO and inflict serious damage to the leg. However, once he got on offense, he was so focused on pressing his advantage he would leave himself opened to the STO. Kawada just did not have a bomb on the same level as the STO to put Ogawa away. I loved a lot of the exchanges in this match especially the leg kicks versus double back fists. Ogawa delivers another great big match and Kawada gives his best performance since the 2001 Champion's Carnival with Mutoh. ****1/2

P.S.  I loved the energy of this match so much. Ogawa is just so much bigger than Kawada. He looks so imposing. Kawada feels like the underdog Cinderella story of March Madness taking on Duke in the National Championship. That speaks volumes to both men's charisma. Clearly Kawada is the more decorated pro wrestler, but you would never tell that from this match. Ogawa had the arrogance and presence you want in a shoot style bully. Kawada was cautious, but never hesitant, he was going to fight fire with fire. He knew he was going to get hit in the mouth he was just going to have hit harder. He was out to prove pro wrestling was the true king of sports. Everything about this was chaotic. With that came some awkward moments, but that just fed into the mayhem. The two flaws of the match that keeps it from the Top 10 is Kawada whiffed on a couple kicks to head and Ogawa is really bad at registering moves. He kinda just hops when he takes a kick. It is weird and jarring at times.It is kinda cool because he does not feel like a pro wrestler, but it seems like he is trying to be one. I am picking nits. This is should end up between #15-25. I loved the crazy energy with Kawada going to town on the leg to press his advantage with the STO looming ever-present to knock him out. Awesome brawl! ****1/2

KENTA Speeds At Night: #12 KENTA vs Bryan Danielson - Pro Wrestling NOAH 12/02/06

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Commitment is the key to a successful, happy life. Trying to be everywhere will result in you being nowhere. Trying to do everything will result in nothing getting done. You have to commit to your goals, develop a strategy and execute on that strategy in all aspects of your life. I think a perfect representation of commitment in a wrestling match pits KENTA against Bryan Danielson in a match from Pro Wrestling NOAH that took place on December 2, 2006. In the match, Danielson is committed to the strategy of grounding the ultra-quick KENTA by working the arm, which has the added benefit of setting up his preferred submission hold focused on the arm. However, at a key point in time he has an opportunity to take a big risk by diving over the top rope into the crowd, if he lands he will assuredly win the match, but a bad fall could be his demise. Danielson, a daredevil, abandons his strategy, in doing so jams his knee on the dive giving KENTA an opening. Danielson quickly tries to return to his strategy but the aforementioned submission hold requires bridging which he can no longer do because of his bad knee. As you will see in my post-script, a lot of people would assume KENTA would target the injured leg of Danielson, which he attempted. However, that is not KENTA's forte and actually got KENTA in trouble. KENTA excels at fast-paced, bomb throw, kick your head off style. KENTA stayed true to himself and committed to his strategy. Used the injured leg, to set up his big kicks to the head and won the match. You see from this match one wrestler did not stay committed to his strategy causing himself an injury while the other wrestler took a licking, but kept on ticking and through commitment to what brought him to the dance took the victory home. Stay committed to your goals and strategy (re-evaluation based on new information is of course necessary also) and success will be yours.

 



KENTA vs Bryan Danielson - NOAH 12/02/06

This may shock a lot of people but the amount of matches I have seen Bryan Danielson wrestle as Bryan Danielson is probably only a handful and the vast majority are live. I was just never one to really ask my parents for money to buy wrestling or any item for me. Of course, my Dad would take me to the matches when they came to town and usually one 1-2 PPVs a year, but other than that not much. This mentality would continue into college. I always saw live events as special exceptions and would go to ROH whenever they were in town, but never felt that my limited college money should be spent on indy wrestling. I am hoping to change this in the near future and really hunker down and watch some golden age ROH. This match gives me hope that really is all that it is cracked up to be because Danielson was amazing in this match.

As I said in the SUWA review, the one constant in great KENTA matches is make KENTA work for it. Don't let him work his million mile an hour match, but make him sell and build up to that frenzy. What is interesting is I really feel like 2013 Daniel Bryan and mid-00s KENTA are really similar in working style. Bryan is better at building a match and slowing it down on his own accord. However, he has been prone to blowing off selling to get his shit in and his real selling point in the ring is his million miles an hour pace. Having not seen a lot of Daniel Bryan as Bryan Danielson, I was interested if they were going to try break the moves/minute record or something. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well this turned out.

The one odd thing to get out of the way is that the crowd is dead throughout the majority of the match. Was this one of Danielson's first tours in Japan? Were they just unfamiliar with him? The feeling out process is slower than I expected and very mat based where Danielson seems to have the advantage. KENTA looks to pick up the pace, but Danielson gets a hiptoss and converts that into a cross armbreaker. Excellent wrestling as KENTA is more as home with an uptempo pace so Danielson wisely slows it down and at the same time damages the arm. KENTA freaked out that Danielson almost got a submission victory actually slows down the match with a chinlock in a way to reset the match because he has been outclassed thus far. Once Danielson get back on top he is just working that arm relentlessly with all sorts of crazy submission moves. KENTA hits a snap powerslam and is still selling. Danielson's answer to KENTA is a Robinson backbreaker and a diving headbutt. I get a little worried here because they move quickly into a roll-up barrage when the diving headbutt was such a big spot. Danielson continues to go for home runs as he hits a huge splash to the outside over the guardrail on KENTA, but in the process hurts his knee. 

 

After the big dive, Danielson sells the knee kipping up on one knee after a missile dropkick, but KENTA had taken more punishment up until that point. So Danielson started back on offense with the missile dropkick. The knee messes him up a bit and KENTA hits a guillotine DDT, which he usually does not expect his opponent to sell (ala the Harley Race piledriver) so he looks to follow that up with a springboard move, but Danielson catches him with a German and then goes to lock on the Chickenwing Crossface (having had worked on the arm). There is a great struggle over this hold and here at his first real chance to pick the knee KENTA does. He applies the Texas Cloverleaf, but Danielson makes the ropes and when Danielson does put on Cattle Mutilation he cant hold it because his bad knee. There is an excellent headbutt vs kick war and Danielson was throwing some Garvin like nasty headbutts. Danielson goes for the Crossface Chickenwing again, which would avoid bridging on the bad knee and almost assuredly secure the victory, but KENTA fights like mad to get out of it. The next time KENTA gets on offense he goes back to Texas Cloverleaf, but gets countered into a pinning predicament. After that Danielson is relentless with a barrage of Cattle Mutilation. He attempts to hit a Tiger Suplex/Cattle Mutilation combination, but KENTA is able to bridge one into a pinfall. Awesome spot! At this point, KENTA has solidly got his ass whipped. He gets an Ace Crusher and quite naturally starts bust out his big guns: Exploding Knee and Kicks. Danielson's last stand is a roll-up barrage, but KENTA is stringing together too many kicks at this point. He hits the Go 2 Sleep to secure the victory.

I love this match as a game of strategies. Looking at this from a kayfabe perspective, Danielson is a better all-around wrestler. KENTA thrives in the uptempo game and with his kicks. Danielson stymies him early and never really lets him get going. Danielson is working the arm effectively, but does not have the knock out blows like KENTA so he goes for big gambles like the diving headbutt and the big splash, but this costs him his knee, which messes with one of his best submissions: Cattle Mutilation, which requires bridging. KENTA goes after the knee, but he is not very adept at working over body parts and nearly gets burnt with a cradle counter to a Cloverleaf. So KENTA has a fucked arm, has been getting his ass beaten and cant really take advantage of the knee, but has an opening with an Ace Crusher. So he goes to what brought him to the dance, big fuckin home run swings right at Danielson's head. KENTA always has the puncher's chance and he landed some big ones late. Danielson should have stuck to the arm game plan, but got lured away with big gambles then ended up ruining his chances to apply Cattle Mutilation. If only he was able to get that Crossface Chickenwing. Larry Z would have been proud at this exhibition of the human game of chess. My match of 2006 so far! ****1/2

 

P.S.

 

Discussion between me and a poster at PWO:

 

Poster: Early and mid-match were really good.  Both worked smart and kept it simple.  Then it falls apart for me.  Danielson does a big dive and hurts his knee.  He makes it exceedingly obvious that his knee was hurt during that dive.  KENTA...decides we're going into a suplex nearfall sequence.  Danielson is still selling the knee, and KENTA's one move that targets it is the Texas cloverleaf.  Then we move on to more nearfalls.  Actual finish and the few moves leading directly up to it was pretty god, but once again the need for big suplex nearfalls when the match had another perfectly logical way to go kills me.

 

My Response: I disagree with the finish ruining the match. After the big dive, Danielson sells the knee, but KENTA had taken more punishment up until that point. So Danielson started back on offense with the missile dropkick. The knee messes him up a bit and KENTA hits a guillotine DDT, which he usually does not expect his opponent to sell (ala the Harley Race piledriver) so he looks to follow that up with a springboard move, but Danielson catches him with a German and then goes to lock on the Chickenwing Crossface (having had worked on the arm). There is a great struggle and here at his first real chance to pick the knee KENTA does. He applies the Texas Cloverleaf and when Danielson does put on Cattle Mutilation he cant hold it because his bad knee. The next time KENTA gets on offense he goes back to Texas Cloverleaf, but gets countered into a pinning predicament. After that Danielson is relentless with Cattle Mutilation. KENTA is able to bridge one into a pinfall. At this point, KENTA has solidly got his ass whipped. He gets an Ace Crusher and quite naturally starts bust out his big guns which are the his knee, kicks and G2S. I don't take meticulous notes, but I don't think he ever hit a suplex in the post-dive portion of the match. He was working the Cloverleaf, but almost got bit. If I am KENTA and I got my arm fucked and I don't really work the leg and I am getting my ass kicked, if I have an opening I am hitting my home run shots. My cross-court forehand in tennis is a lot better than my down the line. If I want to access to a righty's backhand, I need to hit a cross-court backhand or create a inside out forehand. There is a lot of time I want to work over someone's backhand, but it is a limitation in my game to work it over. When I start to get down, you best believe, I am hitting the big cross court forehand even if their forehand is pretty decent. I don't fault KENTA for relying on what brought him to dance. He gave it a try to work over the knee, but it almost bit him when Danielson got a two count on a small package.

Ablaze Once More: #13 Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Pro Wrestling NOAH 12/02/2007

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

One of my many New Years Resolutions is to publish more content on pro wrestling. I write numerous reviews almost daily on prowrestlingonly.com (celebrating its tenth birthday! Congratulations Charles!) as Superstar Sleeze, which is also my twitter handle (@superstarsleeze). I want to take those reviews and start organizing them and really spotlighting the matches that really showcase the intricacy, depth and beauty of professional wrestling.

All Hail Kenta Kobashi!

The easiest way to organize is through lists. I want to compile lists of the greatest matches for a given time period and promotion/geography. I am not as much a completest and perfectionist as some wrestling fans. I live by Voltaire's words "Search for perfection is the enemy of good.". That being said, I still want to make sure I watch all important matches before I release lists. My one problem is I am the opposite of  obsessive compulsive and have a hard time watching one era continuously before I want to switch gears. Thus I am starting with the Best of Japan something I have published before, but I never really gave it the time it deserved on this blog.

I will explain the year system at a later date, but this first series will look at the Best of Japan has to offer between 2003-2007. I am going to highlight the top 13 matches from this time period in Japan. Here are the other 9 matches that were given at least ****1/2 as honorable mentions.

22. AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion Shuji Kondo vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - AJPW 2/17/07

21. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04

20.  IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 12/10/06

19. Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata - NOAH 6/6/03

18. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13/03

17. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 11/5/05

16. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu - Budokan 4/24/2005

15. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuyuki Fujita vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 7/19/04

14. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Togi Makabe - NJPW 07/06/07


New Years Day is a day of hope. No match in my mind represents hope like Kenta Kobashi's return match to Pro Wrestling NOAH in the hallowed Budokan Hall on December 2, 2007. Kobashi, who played the hero his whole career, had vanquished his toughest opponent, cancer and now was returning to the place he truly loved, the squared circle. Kobashi is one of those wrestlers that when you watch him you wrestle you can see the love and passion he has for the craft. We have the opportunity to watch Kobashi mature and develop not just as a wrestler but as a man. From the boy that was manhandled by Stan Hansen through the early 90s to finally overcome the loudmouth Texan bully. From being the junior partner of Mitsuharu Misawa in the mid-90s, constantly in peril to finally ascending to his place in the Sun seizing the torch from Misawa in 2003. He became Kobashi The Destroyer a world beater that went on an amazing two year title reign in mid-2000s. Cancer cripples even the mightiest of heros. But in true Kobashi's fashion he made his fiery, burning comeback and defeated his greatest adversary. With that victory, he earned the opportunity after twenty months to return to his home inside the ring and join his rivals, peers and friends.  He was no longer Kobashi The Destroyer of the mid-2000s and he had come full circle back to the vulnerable hero in peril beaten down, but never out because that fire inside him always burns. His story is one of hard work, dedication, passion and most importantly hope. The hope that no obstacle is insurmountable, no goal out of reach and nothing that cannot be destroyed by A BURNING LARIAOTOOOOOOOOOOO!

Down but never out!



13. Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama -

Pro Wrestling NOAH Budokan 12/02/07

"Do not be afraid for I am with you."

Emotionally, there is no more moving 00s puroresu match than this. It was a conquering hero's welcome for Kenta Kobashi. The fans chanting "Ko-Bash-I" before the match. Tamon Honda crying on commentary. Kobashi teaming with one of his great rivals against two of the fellow All Japan Five Pillars in his return match from cancer. Regardless of how I felt about Kobashi from 2005 and 2006, I had an ear-to-ear smile seeing Kobashi again. I mean it is not like Kobashi was going to job to cancer.

I would argue you cannot separate the emotion and content of the match. The match is so fueled by Kobashi's return that intangible propels this match into a 2007 Match of the Year Candidate. Takayama was so surprisingly good at being a cheerleader and playing to the crowd to get Kobashi involved. I don't know if Kobashi was selling the after effects of cancer or if he was actually severely weakened because I found his shine sequence a bit tepid and even sluggish. At first, I was exclaiming "Poor Akiyama!" because it seemed like he was made to be the jabroni of the match. I was beginning to think that emotion would not be able to sustain the heat of the match.

Misawa catching Kobashi with an elbow as he comes off the top is when the match goes from good to excellent in really quick order. Kobashi is no longer Superman and all of sudden we get 1993 Kobashi playing face in peril against two of the greatest offensive wrestlers in history. Save for the Kawada/Fuchi heat segment on Iizuka, I can't think of a better face in peril segment in the 2000s in Japan. Kobashi as a face in peril is just so timeless. Even though it is 2007, we have not seen vulnerable Kobashi in so long and it is so refreshing.  When you add that Kobashi was coming back from cancer, the sympathy levels are just off the charts. I loved that when Kobashi seems to be turning the tide on Akiyama, Misawa comes in and elbows Kobashi to a chorus of boos!!! Takayama has to hold Misawa on the top rope to allow Kobashi to hit a superplex and tag out to Takayama.

Takayama as a hot tag is so awesome to finally see. It is so short-lived because Misawa blows him out of the water with an elbow. I really loved the Takayama/Akiyama sequence and would have loved to seen them mix it up in a high-profiled singles match. Takayama could have gone for a cover on Akiyama, but he knows that the crowd wants Kobashi and he tags him in. Kobashi runs through his spots to great crowd reaction and I was beaming right with them. Misawa saves Akiyama again, but Takayama tackles Misawa so that Kobashi can hit the moonsault on Akiyama. Kick out! Honda crying! From there, Kobashi gets another nearfall on Misawa with the Burning Lariat, but eventually AKiyama and Misawa were able to overwhelm the weakened Kobashi. Misawa could not score the win with the Emerald Flowsion, but he secured the victory with a Super Emerald Flowsion.

So the time honored tradition continued with the returning wrestling doing the job with the rationale being ring rust and having to earn his return. Kobashi is at his absolute best as the underdog and for the first time since the 90s he is in the role he was meant to play. Takayama was great at being a badass, but always showcasing Kobashi. Akiyama was thankfully not a total jabroni in the match even though he was the one that Kobashi could get over on. As good as Akiyama was as a dick, but my God, Misawa was excellent. It is not his best match in the 00s, but I thought it was his best performance since February of 2000 against Akiyama. He was so cold and calculating, He did  not care that his ex-partner and his friend was returning from cancer. He was here to win. He was not going to take it easy on Kobashi. All the factors came together to produce an amazing tour de force. ****1/2

Post-Script from Second Viewing: It was the feel good match of the 2000s in Japan and I know it is a time-honored tradition that "he who returns" jobs, but fuck Kobashi should have won. They chanted Kobashi during Misawa's theme during the exit. If there was ever time to break with tradition, it was now. The crowd was just on fire for Kobashi. I was going crazy for a second time for the moonsault. What a reaction! Takayama was destroying everything, Akiyama was kneeing everything and Misawa elbowing everything. I never thought I hear Misawa get booed AND Takayama cheered for suplexing Misawa. Crazy! I loved Kobashi showing vulnerability and being that never say die Kobashi of the 90s.