Your Star Ratings (or Other Metrics) for Top Tier Matches

1960s
Gilbert Cesca vs Billy Catanzarro (1960s)
1970s
Adrian Street vs Jim Breaks (2/12/1973)
Steve Grey vs Clive Myers (11/20/1975, [air11/22/1975])
Terry Funk vs Jumbo Tsuruta (NWA Title – 6/11/1976)
Billy Robinson vs Giant Baba (PWF Title – 7/24/1976)
Billy Robinson vs Jumbo Tsuruta (NWA United National Title – 3/5/1977)
Terry Funk vs Harley Race (NWA Title – 7/1/1977)
1980s
Steve Grey vs Johnny Saint (1/28/1980 [air: 2/2/1980])
Pat Patterson vs Sgt. Slaughter (Alley Fight – 5/4/1981)
Stan Hansen vs Andre The Giant (9/23/1981)
Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee (Loser Leaves Town – Southern Heavyweight Title – 6/6/1983)
Greg Valentine vs Roddy Piper (7/9/1983)
Sangre Chicana vs MS-1 (Hair vs Hair – 9/23/1983)
Greg Valentine vs Roddy Piper (Dog Collar Match – U.S. Title – 11/24/1983)
Sgt. Slaughter vs Iron Sheik (Bootcamp Match – 6/16/1984)
El Satanico vs Gran Cochise (NWA Middleweight Title – 9/14/1984)
Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger (Real Death Match – 12/5/1984)
Jaguar Yokota vs La Galactical (UWA Women’s Championship – 2/27/1985)
Ted Dibiase vs Jim Duggan (Loser Leaves Town – Coal Miners Glove – Tuxedo – Cage Match – 3/30/1985)
Devil Masami vs Chigusa Nagayo (WWWA All Pacific Title – 8/22/1985)
Atrocious Alliance vs The Crush Gals (Best Tag League Final – 10/10/1985)
Jim Duggan vs Buzz Sawyer (No DQ – 11/11/1985)
Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA (Cage Match – US Title – 11/28/1985)
Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee (Loser Leaves Town - Southern Heavyweight Title – 12/30/1985)
Jumbo Tsaruta and Genichiro Tenryu vs Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu (NWA International Tag Titltes – 1/28/1986)
Sangre Chicana vs Perro Aguayo (Hair vs Hair – 2/28/1986)
Akira Maeda vs Tatsumi Fujinami (6/12/1986)
Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton (Cage Match – NWA Title – 7/5/1986)
El Hijo Del Santo vs Espanto Jr (Mask vs Mask – 8/31/1986)
Nick Bockwinkel vs Curt Hennig (AWA Title – 11/21/1986)
Stan Hansen vs Carlos Colon (Texas Bullrope Match – 1/6/1987)
Bull Nakano and Condor Saito vs The Crush Gals (Best Tag League Final – 10/11/1987)
Shinobu Kandori vs Devil Masami (7/14/1988)
Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda (11/10/1988)
Stan Hansen/Terry Gordy vs Genichiro Tenryu/Toshiaki Kawada (AJ Tag Titles – Real World Tag Finals – 12/16/1988)
Nobuhiko Takada vs Bob Backlund (12/22/1988)
Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (2/3 Falls – NWA Title – 4/2/1989)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu (Triple Crown Title – 6/5/1989)
1990s
El Dandy vs Angel Azteca (NWA Middleweight Title – 6/1/1990)
Mitsuhara Misawa vs Jumbo Tsuruta (9/1/1990)
Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Nobuhiko Takada (10/25/1990)
El Satanico vs El Dandy (Hair vs Hair – 12/14/1990)
Randy Savage vs Ultimate Warrior (Retirement Match – 3/24/1991)
Naoki Sano vs Wayne Shamrock (5/16/1991)
Naoki Sano vs Minoru Suzuki (7/26/1991)
Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen (9/4/1991)
Jushin Thunder Liger vs El Samurai (Super Juniors Final – 4/30/1992)
Can-Am Express vs Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (All Asia Tag Title – 5/25/1992)
Ricky Steamboat vs Rick Rude (Iron Man Match – 6/20/1992)
Negro Casas vs El Dandy (CMLL Middleweight Title – 7/3/1992)
Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki (WWWA Tag Titles – 11/26/1992)
Stan Hansen vs Toshiaki Kawada (2/28/1993)
Shinobu Kandori vs Akira Hokuto (4/2/1993)
Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki (WWWA Tag Titles – 4/11/1993)
Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi (4/16/1993)
Devil Masami vs Bull Nakano (4/18/1993
Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi (7/29/1993)
Kenta Kobashi vs Steve Williams (8/31/1993)
Aja Kong vs Yumika Hotta (WWWA World Championship - 1/24/1994)
Shinobu Kandori/Akira Hokuto vs Bull Nakano/Aja Kong (3/27/1994)
Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen (4/10/1994)
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (Triple Crown Title – 6/3/1994)
Shinobu Kanori vs Bull Nakano (Chain Match – 7/14/1994)
Mayumi Ozaki vs Dyanamite Kansai (Street Fight – 3/17/1995)
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (Champions Carnival Final – 4/15/1995)
Holy Demon Army vs Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa (Tag League Final – 6/9/1995)
Akira Hokuto vs Manami Toyota (9/2/1995)
Shinjiro Otani vs El Samurai (UWA World Jr LHW Title – 1/21/1996)
Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyoda (No Ropes Exploding Barb Wired Death Match – FMW Ind. Women’s Title and WWA Women’s Title – 5/5/1996)
Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura (9/25/1996)
El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas vs El Dandy (Hair vs Hair vs Mask – 12/6/1996)
Holy Demon Army vs Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akyama (Tag League Final – 12/6/1996)
Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa (Triple Crown Title – 1/20/1997)
Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura (Mega Battle Final – 1/22/1997)
Bret Hart vs Steve Austin (I Quit Match – 3/23/1997)
Negro Casas vs El Hijo del Santo (Hair vs Mask – 9/19/1997)
Shinobu Kandori vs Yumiko Hotta (LLPW Title vs WWWA Title – 3/21/1998)
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (6/27/1998)
Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa (Triple Crown Title – 10/31/1998)
Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa (Triple Crown Title – 6/11/1999)
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (6/24/1999)
2000s
Aja Kong vs KAORU (AAAW Title – 2/13/2000)
Atlantis vs Vilano III (Mask vs Mask – 3/17/2000)
Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama (Triple Crown Title – 5/26/2000)
Akira Hokuto vs Meiko Satomura (4/29/2001)
Bryan Danielson vs Low Ki (3/30/2002)
Bryan Danielson vs Low Ki (Tap Out Match – 6/7/2002)
Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa (GHC Title – 3/1/2003)
Eddie Guerrero vs John Bradshaw Layfield (WWE Title – 5/16/2004)
Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama (GHC Title – 4/25/2004)
Kenta Kobashi vs Samoa Joe (10/2/2005)
Necro Butcher vs Super Dragon (No DQ – 2/9/2006)
Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness (ROH Title vs ROH Pure Title – 8/12/2006)
John Cena vs Umaga (Last Man Standing – WWE Title – 1/28/2007)
Bryan Danielson vs Takeshi Morishima (ROH Title – 8/25/2007)
2010s
LA Park vs el Mesias (12/5/2010)
El Hijo Del Santo and Villano IV vs Angel Blanco and El Hijo Del Solitario (2/25/2012)
Daniel Bryan vs John Cena (WWE World Title – 8/18/2013)
Daniel Bryan vs HHH (4/6/2014)
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kota Ibushi (IWGP IC Title – 1/4/2015)
Black Terry vs Wotan (8/21/2016)
Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazuchika Okada (IWGP HW Title – 4/9/2017)
Andrade Almas vs Johnny Gargano (NXT Title – 1/18/2018)
Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada (2/3 Falls – IWGP Title – 6/9/2018)
Walter s Ilja Dragunov (UXT UK Title – 10/29/2020)

I haven't written up much about these shoot matches yet, other than my own little summaries and free writing thoughts. I will eventually. Tamura vs Kohsaka is a serious contender for my top shoot match. Right now it is sort of between that and Tamura/Han '96 (which I adore!). I want to give myself some space from this binge I am on before get too far into discussing them.

The Fujiwara/Super Tiger match is one of my "favorites" in a lot of ways. I think you mentioned this when we talked about it, but seeing someone with a mask in this setting is kind of fun. It also might be a top 5 finish in all of wrestling. Just amazing. Its a match that could wind up getting bumped up and move up my list when I watch it later. I don't have a lot of bad to say about it (its 4.75 after all) but each time I watched it (like 3 times I think) I just felt like it was a notch below the matches I have at the absolute top tier. That Fujiwara/Takada match is another one that is in the running for top shoot match from me. Its an incredible Fujiwara performance with the facial expressions to the selling to snug strikes and grappling. I loved it from start to finish.


As for Aja/Bull, its probably been about 2-3 years since I watched it. I went on a big Joshi binge around that time. I may do a "cage match" round of reviews and throw that in with Tully/Magnum and Hansen/Colon.

I actually did watch the Mikhail match. When I first started I had to watch shoot matches at least twice before I could really register them. With things just not as spread out as in a pro style match if I got distracted for a second or two I felt lost. It was one I didn't watch twice so I have held off on rating it. My impression is that it is in the 4.5 to 4.75 range. I loved it but my guess is that it won't make my final 100 list.

Totally agree. Its very much its own thing in a way. I probably watched 5-7 matches and watched them 2-3 times each (on top of a few rough matches randomly) before I really felt comfortable rating things. I tend to think that way whenever i get into a type of wrestling for the first time, but I especially needed it for shoot. For a lot of the reasons you mentioned, even though they don't "build on the arm work" or something like that, every move matters in the overall construction of the match in a way that I don't know is always true for other styles. Maybe its a topic for another thread honestly.

I would agree with all of that, but (and maybe this is for another thread), but I actually think thee is some pretty elaborate storytelling going on in most of the really good "shoot style" matches, it is just a very different kind of storytelling, relying on different ebbs and flows and tropes.

Have you seen the matches between Dick Murdoch and Butch Reed from Mid South ? If yes, why don't you rank them at least ****3/4 ? As far as I'm concerned, those motches, as well as Flair vs Reed and Flair vs Taylor are all better than Duggan vs Dibiase. I find the wrestling itself in thoses matches much more compelling.

Yes, you and Elliott both seem to really enjoy blood. I saw a lot of bloody matches nominated by Elliott. I used to be like you. Now, blood itself doesn't reach me. I still like the bloody matches between Abby/Sheik and the Funks because of the use of the fork. But I don't care if two wrestlers bleed because they throw lots of punches.