|
Post by elliott on Dec 22, 2023 13:45:35 GMT -5
Timm saying 2023 was the weakest year for the MOTY got me wondering what folks think is the weakest year for the MOTY and for MOTYCs?
2020 feels like a cheat so let's say excluding 2020?
|
|
|
Post by timm on Dec 22, 2023 13:50:49 GMT -5
2009, 2010, and 2011 seem particularly weak. ROH falling off, WWE having a subpar run, New Japan hadn't geared up yet.
In my mind I sort of always thought of 1991 as one of the weaker years, but the other day I looked at the 1991 forum on this board and was like, fuck, what a year.
|
|
|
Post by tetsujin on Dec 22, 2023 14:04:01 GMT -5
Maybe 1982 belongs here. In my last rewatch of what I had as the best for that year, only Flair/Kerry from August was a legit MOTY level match, with only two of the three Lawler/Mantell matches coming close, and those are brutally cut.
|
|
|
Post by jetlag on Dec 22, 2023 15:12:26 GMT -5
2023 had GENTARO vs Arai so it can't be the weakest.
2020 was pretty bad for obvious reasons. 1982 may indeed be the weakest. Lucha footage hadn't quite yet arrived, World of Sport was on the way down, not much complete stuff from the territories. There was the great Andre/Killer Khan match from New Japan but nothing else that really stays in the memory.
|
|
|
Post by [Darren] on Dec 22, 2023 16:04:07 GMT -5
2023 is not a weak year by any means in my opinion.
For me it’s 2009 and 2010
|
|
|
Post by elliott on Dec 22, 2023 16:28:01 GMT -5
Just going to defend 1982 with a non-comprehensive list. There's still a ton more for me to watch from 1982 but even with the gaps it's a good year: Bob Backlund vs Adrian Adonis (WWF - 1/18/82) Mimi Hagiwara & Yukari Ohmori vs Sherry Martel & Judy Martin (AJW - 1/26/82) Abdullah the Butcher vs Antonio Inoki (NJPW – 1/28/82) Giant Baba vs Stan Hansen (AJPW - 2/4/82) Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami vs Abdullah the Butcher & Perro Aguayo (UWA - 2/14/82) Jaguar Yokota & Jumbo Hori vs Sherri Martel & Judy Martin (AJW - 2/26/82) Jerry Lawler vs Dutch Mantell (CWA - 3/22/82) Jerry Lawler vs Dutch Mantell (Barbed Wire Match - CWA - 3/29/82) Andre the Giant vs Killer Khan (NJPW – 4/1/82) Jerry Lawler vs Andy Kaufman (CWA – 4/5/82) Bobby Heenan & Nick Bockwinkel vs Hulk Hogan (AWA – 5/2/82) Hulk Hogan vs Abdullah the Butcher (NJPW – 5/26/82) Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant (NJPW - 6/18/82) Jerry Lawler vs Bob Sweetan (SWCW - 8/15/82) Terry Funk vs Stan Hansen (AJPW – 9/11/82) El Santo & El Solitario & Gory Guerrero & Huracan Ramirez vs Negro Navarro & El Signo & Texano & Perro Aguayo (UWA - 9/12/82) Buck Robley vs One Man Gang (Lumberjack Match - Mid-South - 9/25/82) Jerry Lawler vs Nick Bockwinkel (CWA - 10/18/82) Jerry Lawler vs Nick Bockwinkel (CWA - 10/25/82) Hulk Hogan & Andre the Giant vs Bobby Heenan & Nick Bockwinkel & Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum (AWA – 11/7/82) Jerry Lawler vs Nick Bockwinkel (CWA - 11/8/82) Lanny Poffo vs Rip Rogers (Eye of the Tiger Hair vs Hair Steel Cage Match - ICW - 11/16/82) The Grapplers vs Ricky Morton & Tiger Conway Jr (Houston - 11/26/82) Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (AJPW – 12/13/82)
|
|
|
Post by kas on Dec 22, 2023 17:01:38 GMT -5
1982 also has Jaguar vs Devil and Jaguar vs Ripper. For me, I'd go 2002 quite easily. HBK/HHH at Summerslam is my MOTY and that wouldn't be the case in any other year
|
|
|
Post by [Darren] on Dec 22, 2023 17:54:52 GMT -5
Lawler/kaufman is my 1982 MOTY & I don’t have anything else really close with it. Theres good stuff but not much great.
|
|
|
Post by fxnj on Dec 22, 2023 19:02:40 GMT -5
1982 was my kneejerk pick, but looking at these replies it does seem like a silly pick. NJPW was in the middle of its golden era with gems like the Abby/Tiger 6-man, Andre/Khan 4/1, Tiger Mask/Dynamite Kid 8/5 and Fujinami/Backlund 8/5 (just realized these were on the same card). AJPW and AJW had some great stuff with the Funks and Jaguar. Lawler/Mantell is my pick for best series of 80s territories. Backlund’s defenses vs Snuka, Adonis, and Rose were among his best. The Santo retirement is also a tremendous representation of the Mexico region in a year of limited footage.
2017 and 2018 seem a lot worse to me. Maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places, but most of the pimped stuff outside of the big Lesnar matches have left me pretty cold.
|
|
|
Post by Kadaveri on Dec 23, 2023 1:39:18 GMT -5
2010. Just a whole load of nothing that year. My MOTY is Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, I rarely rank modern WWE epic style matches that highly but there just wasn't anything better than that for me. Nothing of any real note was coming out of Japan, the Kana vs. Meiko Satomura match comes to mind but that's bit below MOTY territory (or would be in most years), and ROH goes into a real rut this year with one of my least favourite wrestlers ever Tyler Black having a long title reign.
Urgh.
|
|
|
Post by timm on Dec 23, 2023 9:13:01 GMT -5
For 2010, LA Park vs. Mesias is a top-tier match of the decade candidate for me. I don't think it has a deep slate of MOTYCs but for me that #1 stacks up well against any year. 2011 has the awesome Finlay vs. Sami Callihan match, plus the Virus vs. Guerrero Maya match. 2009 might be worse than 2023 for me, but I think those two years are at the bottom of the pile.
|
|
|
Post by kas on Dec 23, 2023 9:59:21 GMT -5
I was considering 2010 but that Park/Mesias match is exceptional, plus Dragon Gate have a very strong year
|
|
|
Post by lemming on Dec 23, 2023 11:06:18 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure that 1982 was the only year from the 80s + 90s which didn't feature in my GME ballot, but there must have been weaker years since.
2009 & 2010 had some good FUTEN stuff (plus Michaels/Taker for those so inclined). And I'd agree that the La Park/el Mesias match rules out 2010 for sure.
How about '06? Peak RoH but I struggle with long RoH matches these days, not sure what my MotY would be now.
|
|
|
Post by nintendologic on Dec 23, 2023 12:07:16 GMT -5
Flair vs. Brett Sawyer in Portland on 10/2 is another feather in 1982's cap. I'd rate that easily above most of 2023's so-called MOTYCs. 1982 is actually a dark horse candidate for Flair's best year. The Flair formula wasn't quite set in stone at that point and he was more willing to work as a vicious and dominant champion.
2009 would be my pick for weakest year in terms of high-end matches. HBK/Undertaker probably holds up the best out of all the modern WWE epics, but it's not a match I have any real desire to revisit. The matches from that year that stick with me the most are Minoru Suzuki/Taiyo Kea vs. Suwama/Shuji Kondo (trust me, it's good) and Christian vs. Jack Swagger (the TV match, not the PPV ones). The only time any incarnation of ECW was watchable was when Christian was involved.
|
|
|
Post by mrjmml on Dec 23, 2023 12:59:43 GMT -5
2009 for me. FUTEN was great but everything else wasn't nearly as good.
|
|