Favorite Wrestling Matches

[Bolt]

I was just trying the impossible task of ranking some of my favorite matches for a puroresu forum and I'm wondering what matches you guys consider your favorites? Really, I have too many, since wrestling is so diverse and there are just SO many matches, but here are just seven of my alltime favorites:

(In no real order):

1. Hayabusa vs. Mr. Gannosuke (April 30th, 1998 ZEN match)- Tons of tension between the two and the way Hayabusa wouldnt let himself get pinned was very admirable. PERFECT Phoenix Splash for the win, too.

2. Hayabusa vs. Sabu- Great match, Hayabusa really showing all of his attributes (highflying moves, groundwork, martial arts, and some tablework too :eplus2: ) and the two really have a good chemistry. Sabu takes everything like a man, including one of Hayabusa's then-infant Shootingstar Presses which put him away.

3. Ultimo Dragon vs. Jushin Liger- One of the best matches I've ever seen, one of my definitive favorites. Two of the greatest puroresu fighters in the world going at it on the mat and in the air. Though I sort of wish Asai had one since I like him better overall, the way Liger reversed that La Majistral Cradle was brilliance and I nearly cried when I saw just how brilliant it was. A++

4. Ultimo Dragon vs. The Great Sasuke (J-Crown, not Dragon Gate)- WHAT?! Dragon DID kick out before the 3. I dont mind though, I love both of these guys.

5. Hayabusa vs. Jushin Liger (J-Crown '94)- This match might have been riddled with mistakes here and there, but it was Eiji's first match under the Falcon mantle, and Liger put on an excellent show, as always. I didn't expect Hayabusa to last as long as he did, honestly; he was still green, and you can tell by his smaller stature, short hair, and lesser ability of highflying skill. Honestly though, Hayabusa was one of the first people to ever kick out of the Liger bomb (something that happens too much nowadays) and he really gave the much more experienced Liger a run for his money. I get tired of Liger winning with the Fisherman's Neckbreaker but I loved the way he turned Hayabusa's Slinging Hurricanrana into a crippling powerbomb.

6. Hayabusa vs. Masato Tanaka (Brass Knuckles/World Champion Double Threat Match)- The two had always had impressive matches together, but this one was just incredible. Both were in top condition, and the tension was extremely high; one of those matches where as soon as the count of 3 is reached, you breathe a sigh, be it of exaltation or disappointment, almost as an exclamation mark. Wonderful, wonderful!

7. Ultimo Dragon vs. "Darkness Dragon" (Luchadore takeoff version) Gimmick Match- One of Asai's best matches EVER. I'd always wondered why he'd trained lucha in Mexico for like a bazillion years and never used those skills as much as he could, but he pulled out all the stops here. Amazing lucha-style match; Asai hitting top-rope Hurricanranas and Darkness Dragon actually doing a very nice Shootingstar, even though it missed. Asai wasted no time though after the painful fall and went for his signature La Majistral Cradle and Darkness Dragon kicked out! Amazing! But Asai did get the inevitable victory with a beautiful German Suplex Rollup. As an odd note, I love the noise the ring makes when the referee slaps it as he counts in this match. Strange, I know, but you'd just have to hear it...

 

[MechaBionicRanger]

I like the Great Muta Matches, even though he lost a lot of them on WCW.

 

[Misfits923]

Ok. Here is a list of some of my favorite matches. I do love all of Bolt's matches....but here's a list of my own..forgive me for it not being really descriptive:

1. Paul London vs. AJ Styles vs. Low Ki (Winner gets crack at ROH Heavyweight title) This, IMO, is one of the greatest 3 way dances I've ever seen. I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time.

2. The Public Enemy vs. The Gangstas (ECW Heat Wave '95) This was the match that got me into hardcore wrestling. This was at the first ECW event I ever went to. The match was called "Rage in the Cage", and they filled the entire cage w/ weapons and ****. I remember "Flyboy" Rocco Rock doing a moonsault from the top of the cage putting New Jack through 2 tables.

3. Super Delphin, Tiger Mask IV, Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa and Masato Yakushiji vs. Kaientai DX (Michinoku Pro: These Days) All I remember about this match was that it was a candidate for 'Match of the Year'.

4. Great Muta vs. Hirose Hase/Great Muta vs. Jinsei Shinzaki - I decided to group these 2 together because they're the 2 matches of the Great Muta career that are the biggest bloodbatch. At "Battle Formation '96", Shinzaki got cut so bad, his entire face was covered in blood, and his white pants were soaked as well.

5. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angel (Royal Rumble 2003) I knew that going into this event that this match was going to be great. It was great seeing 2 guys who can actually work their asses off, and not just give punches and **** like.

6. Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada from the Triple Crown - 60 Minutes Draw. Need I say more???

7. Christopher Daniels vs. American Dragon vs. Low Ki - Match of the Year

8. The Eliminators vs. Sabu and Rob Van Dam - Tables and Ladders - During this match, one of the ladders actually gave up. This is one of my favorite matches featuring the Eliminators, cause they were just simply amazing.

9. Eddie Guererro vs. Dean Malenko - This was their last match in ECW, and it was one of their best.

 

[Bolt]

1. Paul London vs. AJ Styles vs. Low Ki (Winner gets crack at ROH Heavyweight title) This, IMO, is one of the greatest 3 way dances I've ever seen. I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Right on! Actually one I liked only slightly more than this one was Paul London vs. AJ Styles in a singles match after London pinned Styles in the match you were talking about. I think I've only seen two wrestling matches in my entire life where the energy level never decreased whatsoever from minute one to the final second of the pin; one was Dragon vs. Sasuke at J-Crown*, the other was this match. Amazing competitors, both of them.

6. Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada from the Triple Crown - 60 Minutes Draw. Need I say more???

Toshiaki Kawada is awesome. One of my favorite matches involving him was Kawada and Akira Taue vs. Hayabusa and Shinzaki, mainly to watch Hayabusa kick him in the face repeatedly.

Another match I'd like to add from my Hayabusa archives is Hayabusa and Shinzaki vs. Gannosuke and Kanemura in December 1997 (it was either the 17th or the 19th). Even though they lost, this match is a good example of some of the best teamwork Jinsei and Eiji ever pulled off together. One of my favorite spots is when Jinsei is going for the Praying Powerbomb on Kanemura, and Gannosuke runs up to him to knock him away, but as Shinzaki bends for the powerbomb, Hayabusa leaps off the top rope behind him, over Shinzaki and Kanemura, and smashes Gannosuke with a crossbody. Brilliant! It was also one of the first matches that I saw Shinzaki hit a jumping Hurricanrana; pretty impressive for a guy his size. Another highlight was Hayabusa's huge-ass flying elbow to Kanemura, where you can actually hear the impact and see his head snap back...

*That reminds me, they both could've been ruined in this match. At different times, the two of them both hit humongoid Asai moonsaults off the second rope. Dragon completely CLEARED the steel gate holding the crowd back and landed on some poor guy. Sasuke ended up belly-straddling the gate and I thought he wasn't going to make it back into the ring. Also, one of Sasuke's huge Suicide Flips off the top turnbuckle to the outside of the ring was turned into a Dropping Powerbomb by Dragon... Brilliant! :dance:

 

[Bolt]

I like the Great Muta Matches, even though he lost a lot of them on WCW.

Sorry for the double post, but this reminds me of how bad Liger was wasted on Nitro and Thunder whenever he was used as one of their many cruiserweight filler matches. He was always having to job to dorks like Silver King and La Parka... ugh! :shakefist

 

[Misfits923]

Oh yeah. I remember when WCW made him drop the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title to Psychosis after Juventud broke a bottle of Tequila over his head. I really hated WCW for doing that. Another match I forgot to add was the Eliminators vs Gangstas vs Bruise Brothers vs Samoans...I really like this match because it showed that the Eliminators could pull off "Total Elimination" out of any position. Case in point, one of the Bruise Bros. whipped New Jack against the ropes, and gave him the big boot. Out of nowhere, Saturn and Kronus hit "Total Elimination"

 

[Bolt]

Hey Jordan, just wondering, did you ever see the H vs. Gannosuke Anus Explosion Match?

 

[scikaiju]

Hey Jordan, just wondering, did you ever see the H vs. Gannosuke Anus Explosion Match?

whaaa? :redface2:

 

[Bolt]

Haha, I'm sure that sounded weird to those not previously in the "know."

Let me explain:


When Eiji Ezaki and Masashi Honda first entered the FMW, the were put through rigorous training that included wrestling and martial arts training, cleaning, and just humiliation in beatings and whatever. Not the best method, but they definitely got tougher for it. After Honda and Ezaki's first successful matches at an FMW show, they had to "celebrate" (more like a painful induction ceremony) by having small firecrackers taped to their asses and lit. After that, Honda became "Mr. Gannosuke," a dirty player, but a face nonetheless, and Ezaki eventually donned the Ninja/Phoenix motif, the "Flying Assassin", Hayabusa. They wrestled against each other peacefully and together on occasion, and remained friends. Gannosuke went heel though and made Hayabusa his object of brutality and humiliation a lot though after forming/joining "Team No Respect," made up basically of bullies that ran the FMW. The new president, Fuyuki, decided that Hayabusa had to drop the "masked bullshit" and wrestle under his real name, maskless, or risk being fired, so he did. Anyways, after months of pent up angst between Eiji and Gannosuke, Eiji decided that he wasn't taking TNR's **** anymore and reminded Honda of the time they showed up on FMW's doorstep with nothing and the stuff they had to go through (AKA anus explosion) and challenged him to "reclaim his memories" in an Anus Explosion Bakkkkkkkkuhatssssssu!!! match. So.... yeah. A little long-winded, but you get the gist of it.

 

[scikaiju]

Ouch. Thanks for the info Bolt