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Post by superstarsleeze on Jan 2, 2019 10:29:57 GMT -5
Happy New Year! I hope everyone is looking forward to 2019. I know I am, but there is some bittersweetness to it. This should be the year I have seen it all from America and Japan with the Greatest Match Ever deadline fast approaching I will be watching pro wrestling fast & furious. While I look forward to that, it will be sad because it means that there is an end. Of course, Lucha Libre, Joshi and World of Sport await me. The good news is the WWE seems to be finding new matches from the 80s all the time. They found the Holy Grail of the Last Battle of Atlanta, they found an amazing Piper vs Valentine match from 7/9/83 and they have uncovered many AWA gems! This list could be invalidated as I am publishing it. If there is something better than the top two matches on this list, then we are in for a treat because one of those matches is my pick for the best American tag team match of all time and the other is potentially my selection for the Greatest Match of All Time! So come enjoy the greatness of the AWA, Nick Bockwinkel, the Rockers vs Rose & Somers and of course some Sheik Ayatollah Crusher Blackwell! Have a great 2019 everyone! Best of AWA Pt. 2 ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/01/pro-wrestling-love-vol-28-best-of-awa.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Jan 6, 2019 18:03:54 GMT -5
Happy Epiphany Sunday! Pro Wrestling Love is back looking at Mid-South & Houston Wrestling between 1983-1987. This list is already invalid as I post it thanks to the great work of NWA Classics which revealed to us die-hard pro wrestling fans many great Houston Wrestling matches that I have not yet seen. We can consider this the Best of Mid-South/Houston Wrestling pre-2015. You will find plenty of Ric Flair gems including perhaps the greatest pro wrestling TV angle of all time featuring Flair, Ted DiBiase and Cap'n Redneck Dicky Murdoch along with classics from Butch Reed, Terry Taylor and Chavo Guerrero! All this and much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 29! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/01/pro-wrestling-love-vol-29-best-of-mid.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Jan 9, 2019 20:22:03 GMT -5
If I only knew in March 2017, what I know now, might have been able to salvage my project. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that jazz. What's truly beautiful is when you look back in time and it still looks as good today as it did then. Thats what Pro Wrestling Love vol. 30 looks at the six best matches from Mid-South Wrestling 1983-1987. Fun fact all six matches come from 1985. Mid-South in 1985 maybe the single best year an American wrestling promotion ever experienced. Jim Duggan, Butch Reed and Terry Taylor leading the babyface side while Ted DiBiase, Dick Murdoch, Dick Slater and Buzz Sawyer opposed them on the villainous side with frequent pop-ins by the World Champion Ric Flair make for one of the most stacked pro wrestling rosters of all time. Update on my previous claim that the recently unearthed NWA Classics footage would invalidate my list, it turns out most of those gems are pre-1983. I watched four additional matches from 1984 that could have affected my list, while they were great, they were not top 12 material. So the list remains intact! Who wins #1? The bloody Loser Leaves Town Cage match pitting DiBiase vs Duggan or the classic championship bout with Ric Flair defending his title in the Superdome against Terry Taylor. It depends if you read this as the best Mid-South Wrestling Match or the Best Match in Mid-South Wrestling. Prepositions make all the difference, folks! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/01/pro-wrestling-vol-30-best-of-mid-south.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Jan 14, 2019 20:06:47 GMT -5
As much as I love to think about Pro Wrestling, the best Pro Wrestling makes you feel. I dissect and critically analyze Pro Wrestling to death. Pro Wrestling is not supposed to live in your mind; it should tug on the heartstrings and punch you in the gut. There is no better moment at this than WrestleMania VII. I have seen it a million times, but this past Saturday when Miss Elizabeth hopped the railing to save the Macho Man from a beating from Sherri, I was done and somehow the room became mighty dusty. When Savage held the ropes open for her, they had me crying like a baby. I think no moment better illustrates the power of pro wrestling than the tearful reunion of Macho Man & Miss Elizabeth. It is the pinnacle of Vince McMahon's creative vision for pro wrestling and Randy Savage's cinematic approach to pro wrestling. Say what you will about Vince, but he thought of pro wrestling as so much more than just two burly, half-naked men fighting in a fixed sport. He saw as a versatile entertainment genre that could provoke intense human emotion. In this Pro Wrestling Love volume, we explore the genius of Vince McMahon and Randy Savage in what could be argued as the most influential WrestleMania Main Event on main event style wrestling when Randy Savage meets Ultimate Warrior in a Career Match. This time period also features the Rockers, Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty, having a litany of amazing matches in the tag team scene with a diverse crop of teams and hell the miracles continue as Rick Rude also gets a great match out of Ultimate Warrior. All this & much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 31! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/01/pro-wrestling-love-vol-31-best-of-wwf.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Feb 2, 2019 20:07:17 GMT -5
Best of New Japan Heavyweights 1990-1999 Part 1 Sorry to all my fellow dudes out there, but at 31 days into the new year I have already locked up "Son of the Year". I totally knocked it out of the park for my Mom's birthday with a "Travel Guide To Port Charles"! Port Charles is the fictitious upstate New York city (near Buffalo) where General Hospital takes place and to say she loved this 200-odd page book is an understatement. Hell, why I am limiting myself to "Son of the Year", I am "Progeny of the Year", BABY! Just like I dont overlook my Mom and how amazing she is, I have scoured the internet for the best of New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1990s, but specifically from the Heavyweights. You see here in the States, the New Japan Heavyweights from the 1990s get the shaft in favor of their vibrant junior heavyweight counterparts and the epic performances from All Japan in 1990s. This is where I love to tread because this where you find the hidden gems that have been covered by the sands of time. I uncovered some real hum-dingers! I will say Shinya Hashimoto, Defender of the New Japan realm against outside invaders has seen his popularity boosted over the years by re-watches but still great classics like his '94 match against Fujiwara remain mysteriously underappreciated. While Hashimoto The Destroyer also has great classics against Jushin Liger (a dream match come to life in 1994) and Yamazaki in 1998, it was Keiji Mutoh as the Great Muta that came through as a star. Mutoh has become so underrated due to many lazy performances, but when he is on, he is truly great. The Great Muta as a horror movie monster come to life stalking his opponents with bloodlust and a giant spike makes for compelling view. Matches against Hashimoto and Fujianami are hidden gems that display Great Muta in all his violent glory. The infamous match against Hiroshi Hase which created the Muta Scale and maybe the most famous match Stateside of this time period from New Japan holds up to this day. All Bow Before The Great Muta in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 32! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/02/pro-wrestling-love-vol-32-best-of-90s.html
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Post by peachchaos on Feb 2, 2019 21:15:01 GMT -5
Five star thread right here.
And not just because I find myself agree with your rankings more often than not!
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Post by superstarsleeze on Feb 4, 2019 20:04:55 GMT -5
Thank you very much, brutha! Great minds think alike I am glad you decided to join the project...we need as many people with a great breadth of knowledge of pro wrestling. There was no upset in the Super Bowl, but much like Riki Choshu's booking of New Japan in the 1990s there are plenty of upsets in the rankings for the Top Six New Japan Heavyweight Matches of the 90s found in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 33. I will not spoil anything, but was not an upset was the man who is featured in five of the top six bouts and that is Shinya Hashimoto! Shinya Hashimoto garnered a cult following in the 1990s. While many American fans were being wow'ed by Jushin Liger and the aerial tactics of the juniors and others were wrapped up in the incredible drama of All Japan in the 1990s, there were a select few that touted the hard-nosed, no-nonsense style of Hashimoto the Destroyer. He did not have the flash of Liger or the moveset of Four Corners of Heaven, but what he brought to the table was an asskicker's mentality, silent, but deadly. With the Right Hand of Hashimoto, he struck down invaders like Genichiro Tenryu from WAR and Nobuhiko Takada from UWFI and kept his fellow Musketeers, Chono & Mutoh at bay. Is there any scene in pro wrestling more epic than when Hashimoto bellows "CHOSHUUUUUUUUUUU" in his epic confrontation with 1980s New Japan star, Riki Choshu in 1996? Since his tragic death in 2004, the cult of Hashimoto has grown to include more and more fans, myself included who had overlooked him for the All Japan boys and Liger & Co. Time has validated Hashimoto and his American fans showing that his work is truly timeless and something every pro wrestling fan should see. But this is only in regards to his American popularity, his popularity in Japan was always evident as he main evented many, many 50,000+ Tokyo Dome shows. Us Americans can sometimes take a little while to catch up is all. This is my Pro Wrestling Love letter to Shinya Hashimoto The Destroyer, Defender of the New Japan Realm! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/02/pro-wrestling-love-vol-33-best-of-90s.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Feb 7, 2019 20:14:29 GMT -5
Best of Other Heavyweight Puroresu (RINGS, UWFi, PWFG, WAR, SWS, FMW) 1989-1995 Some people find God, I found Volk Han. The Wolf Khan is an absolute master at every facet of pro wrestling. He is a magnificent seller (when he scrambles for the ropes it is a big deal or when he crumples in a heap after a liver shot). His character work is sublime (I love his fist pump celebrations or how pissed he gets when he rarely loses). His greatest trait is his offense. He is the Russian Mat Wizard; he makes every submission move look like the coolest thing ever. Nobody has ever made ankle crossing look so badass. His double wristlock rip takedown are so forceful and compelling. Then if that's not good enough he will just randomly throw an axe kick during stand up. The Man is a God. If you have not watched this Soviet Maestro perform his craft change that pronto and let his saving grace wash you anew. Discovering Volk Han is just one reason why my Pro Wrestling Love burns as bright as it did over twenty years because it just how versatile a form of entertainment it is. In addition to Volk Han, there is a match where the referee is dressed as beekeeper because the ring surrounded in exploding barbed wire and did I mention the ring explodes at the end of the match? Genichiro Tenryu has badass matches with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Shinya Hashimoto in the early 90s (now thats a trio!). Of course, the Nobuhiko Takada vs Super Vader trilogy. I would argue as would many that PRIDE FC and the UWFi invasion of New Japan would not be as big of deals or straight up dont happen if Vader does not MAKE Nobuhiko Takada a superstar with his terrific selling during their trilogy together. Vader made Japanese Mixed Martial Arts possible now theres your hot take for the day! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/02/pro-wrestling-love-vol-34-best-of-other.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Feb 24, 2019 21:39:23 GMT -5
I first watched AJ Styles in 2003 when my Dad got a de-scrambler so I could watch TNA on PPV and I was immediately hooked on AJ. At the time it was the death-defying moves and bumps. Now as I have matured as a fan, I see AJ as an all-time great because his great psychology and selling and that overhand right is one of the best in the business. AJ Styles is in my eyes a serious contender for the greatest American wrestler of all time because he really is the total package. My very, very first pro wrestling match reviews happened in 2013 and were dedicated to going back and watching all TNA AJ Styles PPV matches I had missed. This was a full year before the rest of the wrestling world became AJ Styles marks in 2014. Yep, I am pulling that fact that I am AJ Styles hipster mark. These reviews have since been updated since 2013 as re-watched a lot of his matches in the past month to make sure they held and they got even better with these more mature eyes. AJ Styles is the real deal and I know that TNA stench is hard for a lot of people to get over, but if you sit down with an open mind you will find that AJ Styles truly is Phenomenal! He did not do this alone and of course Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels played a big part in putting on these classics and also you will find that America's Most Wanted did pretty well for themselves in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 35: Best TNA Wrestling Matches of 2002-2009! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/02/pro-wrestling-love-vol-35-greatest-tna.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Mar 11, 2019 17:16:58 GMT -5
Pro Wrestling Vol. 36: Best of Bob Backlund Era WWF 1978-1983 Dedicated to the Titans of Wrestling, Kelly, Pete, Parv and Johnny! So I wanted to write here a little about linking Roller Derby's popularity in the 1970s-80s to this article on pro wrestling from 1978-83, but holy shit is the history of Roller Derby confusing as all get out. I think the only thing more confusing is the game itself! If you have a chance to go see a Roller Derby match live. DO IT! I did this past Saturday and it was awesome! It is raucous mayhem! Very physical and energetic. You wont know what the hell is going on, but you will love it. The peak of Roller Derby's popularity aligned with the Bob Backlund era of the WWF. Overshadowed by his incredibly famous predecessor (Bruno Sammartino) and his even more famous successor (Hulk Hogan), Bob Backlund's reign as champion is usually forgotten and overlooked. This is a crying shame because Bob was an incredible champion and very versatile in the ring. He was able to have classic championship style matches, bloody brawls, energetic workrate style matches and stiff standup fights. Backlund was a renowned amateur wrestler and just plain freaky strong. I think he has one of the more innovative takes on pro wrestling. He was the babyface hero that truly believed "Anything you can do I can do better". This made for very different matches and he would tailor his matches to his opponent. Eleven out of the top twelve matches are Bob Backlund matches and this first set features matches against Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Sgt. Slaughter, Olympic Strongman Ken Patera, Adrian Adonis and Ivan Koloff all inside Pro Wrestling Love vol. 36! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-36-best-of-wwf.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Mar 12, 2019 19:28:15 GMT -5
Well lets keep the party going! With the Top Six Matches of the Bob Backlund Era! Again, dedicated to the Titans of Wrestling: Parv, Pete, Kelly and Johnny! I met Bob Backlund at Survivor Series 2013 (November). My brother came back from getting concessions and told me he was just in the concourse. I had just started watching classic Backlund matches earlier in the year. I was pretty excited but also had no clue what to say to him. It was a total trainwreck of a conversation. He was hollering at me how he wanted to make a comeback and that the McMahons were stopping him. I was trying to ask him about how it was working Greg Valentine and Ken Patera. It was a total oil & water conversation. I got to say thank you and I got to shake his hand. His grip was just as crazy strong as you would believe. In the picture in the blog, that is Bob Backlund deadlifting Hulk Fucking Hogan from a crazy, awkward position. Backlund was just one of those freaky strong people. This is the top six WWF matches of the era and it features Bob Backlund against the biggest names of the era: Hulk Hogan, Sgt Slaughter and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, but there is one match that does not feature Bob Backlund that makes the list...click the link and find out what it is! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-37-best-of-wwf.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Mar 14, 2019 19:59:16 GMT -5
Best of the NWA 1983-1987 Part One When I was 8 years old, my Dad bought me the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Almanac 1997. I literally ripped that book cover to cover. Seriously, I still have it and the book spine is held together by blue electrical tape. I have always been fascinated by history and the rich history of pro wrestling was no exception to my childhood hunger for historical knowledge. One thing, I always remember was the passage on The Last Battle of Atlanta. How EPIC does that sound! Now imagine being 8 and you come to find out there is no footage of this bloody cage match that pits Tommy "Wildfire" Rich and "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer. That made the match was THE Holy Grail. All the conspiracy theories surrounding how the footage of the match went missing. It was something that captured my imagination as a child. Then it happened, the tape of the match was found in 2016. It was something truly special that basically unified hardcore wrestling fans from the 80s and 90s together. The Holy Grail had been found. Now it was put up or shut up time, would it live up to the massive hype? Well dont just sit there, click and find out! Also inside so much amazing Crockett goodness, Nature Boy Ric Flair engaging in stiff, manly fights against the Hands of Stone Ronnie Garvin Let me tell you about the ROCK N ROLL! All this and much more inside, it is the Best of the National Wrestling Alliance 1983-1987, thank you Dad for indulging my love of history! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-38-best-of-nwa.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Mar 17, 2019 19:34:04 GMT -5
Best of NWA 1983-1987 Part 2 However, what is free is of course Pro Wrestling Love! This time we discuss a match that is on the short list for the absolute Greatest Pro Wrestling Match Ever in History. It pits the World Champion Ric Flair vs teen idol Ricky Morton in a battle of what it means to be a man. There is a lot about Ric Flair the character that is cool: the jewelry, the bravado and the ladies it attracts. It reminds me a lot of Wolf of Wall Street. Leo DiCaprio's character has that same cockswagger that can be very appealing and intoxicating. What the movie does so well is it obliterates that fantasy. The fun & games are over. You are left seeing a small, insecure, and abusive man. In reality, that is who Ric Flair the character is. It is all Woos and struts, until someone threatens him and his sense of self. He lashes out. He tries to permanently disfigure Ricky Morton by rubbing his face into concrete. Why? Because Ric Flair is a small, petty, sorry excuse for what a man should be. That's a great fucking heel! Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton is the pinnacle of wrestling storytelling and its climax inside a steel cage on July 6, 1986 is perhaps the Greatest Match Ever. Also, inside you will find two of Ric Flair's classics against Barry Windham, a hidden gem against Kerry Von Erich in Hawaii and two very famous bloody brawls: Greg Valentine vs Roddy Piper in a Dog Collar match and then many other's pick for the greatest match of all time Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA in an I Quit Steel Cage match. It is a loaded edition of Pro Wrestling Love because it is the Best of the NWA 1983-87! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-39-best-of-nwa.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Mar 23, 2019 19:43:30 GMT -5
Best of US Wrestling 1977-1982 Part 1 Is it just me or has March Madness been quite tame this year? I guess it cant be every year that a #16 seed upends an #1 seed. However, Pro Wrestling Love is about to experience it is own form of March Madness as this will be the first of NINE blogs over the course of the next ten days! That's right, nine blogs! The deadline for the Greatest Match Ever Project is fast approach and I am disappointed to say I will not be making my goal of watching every important match to take place in Japan and America between 1980-2009. The good news is better luck next year because it will be an annual tradition. The first of this flurry deals with a period of time in US wrestling that is mostly shrouded in mystery due to a lack of footage. It looks at the best of US Wrestling from 1977 through 1982 and as you would expect the three central figures of American wrestling in the 1980s dominate this era too and that is the Nature Boy Ric Flair, Jerry "The King" Lawler and Nick Bockwinkel. Even though it does not make my top 12 matches, everyone should seek out the Lawler/Flair angle from 1982 that is run on TV and as it is Top 5 TV angle of all time. The Lawler vs Bockwinkel matches from the 1980s are some of the best ever and Flair going down to Texas to face the Von Erich boys always produces great matches! All this and much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love Vol. 40! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-40-best-of-us.html
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Post by superstarsleeze on Mar 24, 2019 21:48:34 GMT -5
Best of US Wrestling 1977-1982 Duke vs Central Florida had a thrilling finish! One of the best endings to a basketball game, I have seen in forever. I have Duke winning in one of my pools so I was pulling for them and glad that dude didnt pull a JR Smith when he grabbed the bound off the missed free throw. You know what else is thrilling? A King-Sized comeback from Jerry "The King" Lawler! We have that in spades as he takes three out of the top six spots for the Best that United States Pro Wrestling had to offer between 1977-1982. However, can he topple the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair topple the "Modern Day Warrior" Kerry Von Erich in one of their many classics this time from Dallas? Also inside is the best hidden gem uncovered by the Houston footage revolution of 2016 and a hidden gem from Kentucky featuring a very Macho Man OOOOOOOHHHH YEEEAHHHHHH! Check out Pro Wrestling Love vol. 41! ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-41-best-of-us.html
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