1. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin
No real objections here. It's got the promos, the angles, the matches, the historical significance, basically everything you want.
Yeah this seemed like a foregone conclusion the whole time. I had it 26th but no complaints. A worthy #1 for in ring, out of ring, impact all that shit. Its a no brainer #1. 2. Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori
I'm not the biggest fan of Dream Slam but the December match might make my top 15 for the next GME. They were also pretty good in tags, in case you were wondering. No issue with this at #2.
I had this 4th. Awesome to see it finish so high. 3. Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dump Matsumoto
I will watch this one day.
The real #1. 4. El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas
My favourite lucha rivalry. The '87 match, the '97 match, basically any time they match up in tags and trios.
Yep, no complaints here. Love our top 4 here. I put this 10th, but another worthy #1 option.
5. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat
Might've been my #1 back in the day. I should re-watch that match that lasts ages. I guess.
I love Boogie Jam.
6. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
My #2. Some of my favourite matches ever, with some of my favourite performances within those matches (Eddie in the 6/05 Smackdown! match is probably my pick for best in-match performance ever).
I didn't vote for this but yeah another great one.
7. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta
Not my favourite Tenryu rivalry, but not far off it. I like 6/5/89 better than any singles match involving the Pillars and whenever they matched up it ranged from good to nuclear.
I had this 18th. Love it. 6/5/89 is a classic but their other singles matches feel slept on at this point. All of their matches from 1987-1990 are awesome. So many great tags. Yeah, this rules. 8. Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee
My own #1. Angles, promos, matches, the whole shebang. Still the only rivalry that you could base an entire episode of TV around, consisting of them literally sitting talking to each other across a table the whole time, and I'd want to watch it. Or watch it for like the fourth time, as it were.
16th for me for all of the reasons mentioned above.
9. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk
Probably my second favourite Flair feud. Great American Bash is amazing, the I Quit ruled on last watch, Funk trying to suffocate Flair with a plastic bag was ridiculous, all of it. An epic six months of Terry Funk lunacy.
I had this 39th. Its Flair vs Funk. It rules9. Aja Kong vs. Bull Nakano
Not really for me. I liked one of their matches a lot, but the cage match didn't really grab me and I've never loved the tags, even that one from 1990 everyone loves where Nakano stands in the ring like a human piñata while Aja and Bison take turns wellying her with kendo sticks. Joshi isn't my favourite style of wrestling so I was probably always going to be a low voter on these. I am very sorry.
Boooo. I had this 8th. 2 1/2 years of classic matches with a definitive exclamation point. 11. Sting vs. Vader
One of the best big man v not LITTLE man but little in comparison feuds. With one of the best matches ever where two wrestlers are attached by a strap or bull rope or chain or whatever.
Yeah this is awesome. I know some people are down on this, but its still amazing. Honestly underrated. People just talk about the 3 PPV matches from 6/92-2/93 12. CM Punk vs. John Cena
I watched the MitB match this year and didn't really like it. Haven't watched Summerslam since it happened. The RAW match from 2013 where Punk hits a piledriver was good. Still, this isn't my jam.
That piledriver was cool!
13. Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk
This is my jam. About everything I could want in a brawl. Once upon a time I would've called this the perfect representation TEXAN brawling but then elliot informed me Funk was actually born in Iowa or some nonsense but eve if it no longer holds that title I can't drop them as a pairing out the top 10.
Indiana. It's devastating. I had this 14th. A rivalry so great they managed to get great matches that included both Dory Funk Jr AND Bruiser Brody. A true accomplishment.
13. Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen
I honestly don't LOVE love this but it's still an amazing dynamic and they have lots of good matches so it's hard to complain.
21st for me. Love it. Best AJPW feud of the 90s.
15. Daisuke Ikeda vs. Yuki Ishikawa
My #3. The eternal rivalry from the two best wrestlers to ever work what might be my favourite style of wrestling. Not a monkey show in the slightest.
I didn't vote for this. It's awesome but I've always found it on the overrated side.
16. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi
I was shocked that I thought their 1/97 match held up as incredible when I last watched it. Easily my favourite of the big Pillars singles matches I've watched in the last 15 years. I really don't remember any of their other matches and I'd be lying if I said I'd watch them again any time soon. But it's these two so this landing top 20 is not at all surprising.
The 1/97 match is still great. Its gonna be a no on any of the rest of their matches.
17. Freebirds vs. Von Erichs
Pretty much perfect for a minute there. Unbridled chaos, singles matches, tags, trios, just awesome
I had this 12th. I'm glad that it finished so high. I was afraid I was gonna be a lone voter or something. Good work team!
18. Carlos Colon vs. Stan Hansen
My favourite Hansen feud. I could take three of their matches and have them top 50 on my GME ballot and one of them will be top 20.
22nd for me. Amazing start to finish. They've got like 4 absolute classics. The February 1987 one is so underrated.
19. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart
These fellas did some good wrestling together. Wrestling that many people like a lot and I am very happy for those people.
I didn't vote for this. But pretty undeniable.
20. LA Park vs. Rush
Untethered maniacs throwing mini fridges at each other and bleeding all over buildings they were explicitly told not to bleed over is the best of the pro wrestling. Obviously this is amazing.
This rules. I gotta dive more into it. Didn't expect it to finish this high.