Great/matches match from something you do not lIke

Interesting.... There aren't a lot of styles I actively dislike. I think deathmatches is the only thing that might count and I don't really hate them. The just don't resonate with me much. i actually like when people bring deathmatch tropes into more traditional settings though.

I am not usually a fan of overly gimmick-ed matches, especially if those gimmicks change the way you win (ie something other than pinfall or submission). I can enjoy them of course, but it is rare that they hit the highest levels for me. I tend to like matches that extend traditional finishes into different places (i-quit, iron man, 2/3 falls) or add some element of violence without changing the finish (HIAC, chain/rope or cage matches that are still pinfall). That said, there are a few exceptions...

Stan Hansen vs Carlos Colon (Bullrope Match) - 1/6/87
This will be very high on my list and is probably my favorite match with a gimmick that changed the way you win (at least pondering it while writing this).

Ted DiBiase vs Jim Duggan (1000 Gimmicks Match - 3/30/85
This match has a bunch of crazy gimmicks and in almost any other context I would find it fun and no more. This - on the other hand - is an all timer.


I am sure there are others. There is probably a proper death match or two that will make my list once i dig into some of the higher end stuff for this project. I am sure there are also examples of wrestlers I really don't like in matches that I find great, which may count given your question.

Yeah, I like Memphis pretty well so it wouldn't count for me, but that Lawler/Mantell barbed wire match is fucking fun. The psychology of the barbed wired is great there.

I generally don't like shoot style.

However, I really like these two matches:

1989-07-24 Fujiwara vs. Yamazaki (UWF)
1984-12-05 Fujiwara vs. Super Tiger (UWF)

Minimalist brawls aren't usually my thing but Satanico vs. Chicana 89 and Lawler vs. Dundee LLT 85 will do really well on my list.

Personally, I wouldn't classify BattlARTS/Futen as shoot style. It's much more of a hybrid style with a lot of shoot aspects for sure but also classic pro wrestling elements and build.

You might like the original UWF from 84-85 as well then before it evolved into pure shoot style with the second UWF. Recommended matches: Fujiwara vs. Super Tiger from 9/7/84 and 12/5/84.

Been thinking about this because a lot of my picks would generally be boring. "I don't like modern WWE but I love Brock vs Cena Extreme Rules" isn't really an interesting opinion to the point that its like "why bother." But I have a good one.

Raven vs Dreamer/Sabu vs Taz/Shane Douglas vs Taz ECW WrestlePalooza 6/7/97

I should hate this. Of the 5 guys involved, I only really like Sabu and I would say I "like Sabu" not "I really like Sabu" or "Sabu is a personal favorite." Sabu's fine. Raven, Taz and Douglas I don't like or care about at all. Tommy Dreamer is one of my least favorite wrestlers of all time. I think ECW is super overrated in general. I think Joey Styles is incredibly annoying. For all the talk about how ECW was brilliant at playing to their fans and Raven was a "brilliant psychologist," Raven vs Dreamer was the blow-off of one of the biggest (if not the biggest) feud in the company's history and the longest sustained chant during the actual match was "CAN'T SEE SHIT" when these guys were brawling in a corner of the arena completely out of sight for 90% of the building.

Joey styles on commentary saying shit like "A lot of history happening right now" and "His DREAM HAS COME TRUE" should make me want to roll over and die.

I have no personal connection to any of this shit. Fuck Raven vs Dreamer

But somehow. Someway. Magically. Every bit of the Raven vs Dreamer match works for me. I fucking love it. It is like ECW at its most ECW and it works. Somehow these two dudes I couldn't give a fuck about walking around doing okish crowd brawling before coming back to take turns DDTing each other to death inbetween various people running in just works for me this one time. All the overwrought Joey Styles commentary makes sense and I'm like "Fuck yeah, it IS his dream and there IS a lot of history happening here."

And then.

Lawler.

And fuck. A shocking fun match becomes the best segment ECW every did. The trouble with the microphone early on adds to this because its such a bush-league/indy promotion thing to have happen. The mic not being on for your most important segment.

Then finally it starts working and we get "SO this is it?" And I die from joy. Lawler proceeds to repeatedly call everybody crap, swears and laughs gleefully. "Kill the crap!" By the time the Gangstas' music hits I'm beyond invested.

Rob Van Dam is big name in ECW and has credibility with the fans, but it is weird seeing him work basically as "body guard" helping take out the entire ECW babyface locker room one at a time. He could never strike me as a "tough guy" under any circumstances. BUT EVEN HE WORKS. He's just out there violently kicking chairs into people's faces as they try and get in the ring instead of throwing his incredibly awful strikes. Sabu is obviously fucking awesome in this segment as the wildman just being a violent maniac. He's the perfect sort of guy to have in this environment playing this sort of "protect Lawler at all costs while killing everything that moves" role.

The low-key best part of this segment that is actually very important for how well all of this comes off is that there's no Joey Styles machine gun commentary happening. Its just the sound from the arena. Styles yammering away could have really hurt this.

At one point as Lawler is berating Dreamer, we get a brief glimpse of "Hat Guy" who looks like he is either about to cry or has just finished crying and good for him.

The fans chanting for Taz the whole time but still going nuts when the Gangstas music hit and then when Sandman showed up drinking a beer is great. It shows the depth of super duper over characters when guys show up but also helps show Taz is still THE tough guy and if only he'd show up this madness will end. Then Taz's music hits and again everything is perfect. Fonzie and Lawler get real nervous. RVD tries to pull Sabu out of there. And by the time Taz gets to the ring everyone is bailing out. But they're having to drag Sabu away. He wants to fight.

So Taz is out and we get the Taz calling everyone out while swearing non-stop. "I"m sick of this shit. Fuck this. Fuck that. Suck my cock. You're a pussy. Come get me motherfucker." etc etc. Taz knew this was gonna be the best segment in company history so he is extra tan and shiny. Its not a really great promo. BUT IT IS AWESOME.

"Fonzie, when you step into this ring you have 15 seconds...To Live."

Perfect.

So Fonzie tries to talk to Taz but 15 seconds and Taz goes to murder him. So Sabu comes out and now we have Taz vs Sabu

For all the shit Taz talks, he's down and selling for Sabu 10 seconds into the match.

Taz is someone I've never really liked and see as an incredibly limited wrestler who needs a game opponent to get something worth watching. Luckily Sabu is really good here working around Taz's limitations and putting himself and Taz in position to look good.

The match doesn't really make sense honestly. The crowd's chanting for Taz, the reaction to his music by the heels, and then he just gets his fucking ass kicked by Sabu and Sabu alone before slipping on the tazmission and even taking the pinfall. Then Taz shows how tough he is by leaving the submission on Sabu after he's already lost and then beating up the small refs and Fonzie.

Overall in spite of the match not really making sense, I enjoyed it as a good Sabu performance and match and much better than the average Taz match. If you're not a fan of Taz (like me) it is kinda fun to watch him get his ass kicked and lose in front of a bunch of people who treat him like the toughest guy around.

Taz is going to start talking after the match, but Douglas interrupts him before he can. "Get the fuck out of the ring and let the next match go. I'm sick of watching you." HA! Amen, Franchise.

Taz says he could make Douglas tap within 5 minutes. I laugh because Taz is out of breath and just got his ass beat by Sabu for like 10 minutes. Sooooo, why wouldn't Shane be able to last 5 minutes.

They curse their way to an agreement on terms which are Douglas' title vs Taz leaving town for 60 days in a THREE minute time limit match where Taz must choke out Shane to win.

Taz tries to Irish Whip Douglas right away and Douglas reverses into an eye poke and Taz is on the ground getting his ass kicked in the first 5 seconds. HAHAHAHA. That's to great. Taz attempts another Irish whip but gets reversed again. Literally everything he's attempted in the first minute has been reversed.

Taz eventually does get the tazmission on and fulfills his promise of beating Douglas in under 3 minutes.

Taken altogether this is by far the best segment ECW ever did. The Raven vs Dreamer match is a legit great "ECW Match" and the post match is one of the great angles of the 90s. All the Taz stuff is hilarious but work honestly. I enjoy the Sabu match and the Douglas "match" is what it is.

I've honestly thought about cheating and ranking this whole segment and the 3 matches together as my #100 match. Its all one segment on the 1997 Yearbook damnit! I won't do that, but this is easily the best example of something I absolutely adore that comes from a promotion and a bunch of folks I don't like at all.

It all holds up surprisingly well in a way that 99% of ECW doesn't.