My Top 100 Rough Draft
Sept 29, 2018 23:17:45 GMT -5
Post by bossrock on Sept 29, 2018 23:17:45 GMT -5
Here is my first "official" rough draft after watching each of these matches again. It seems like a cliche that All Japan dominates my top 20, but King's Road has just always been the style that resonates with me the most. While I've never had a real rubric for how I grade matches and have always just gone with my gut, there are a few things that have always sort of driven how much I might like a match: action, drama, escalation, and ambition. One of the things I've learned during this project is how much I admire ambition in a match. Basically, making the most out of a unique match concept that would have utterly failed in less capable hands. Something like the ROH vs. CZW Cage of Death match, where you have 10 guys just absolutely killing each other and yet you never feel lost or unable to keep up with the action, is a one-of-a-kind match. The same goes for the JWP 1-count match, where you take the concept of 1-count falls and put together perhaps the most urgent match ever. Golden Lovers vs. Young Bucks is a near-40 minute epic that manages to curb the amount of cheese with unbelievable high spots and action. Then you have crazy spotfests like the Michinoku Pro tag and Do Fixer vs. Blood Generation where they leave me completely satisfied yet still wanting more. Those are the kinds of matches that are just absolutely undeniable.
So without further ado, here's my list as it stands so far. I'm probably going to take a break from watching these matches again for a while then give them each one more view to finalize the order. In the meantime, I'm going to rewatch some other contenders and see where I stand on them. Stuff like the top 15 I've always been pretty consistent with how I feel about them, but everything else I've almost always come away feeling a little bit different after each view.
100. Daisuke Ikeda vs. Takeshi Ono (Futen 9/26/2010)
99. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Kazunari Murakami (BattlArts 11/26/2000)
98. Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue and Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 9/4/1991)
97. Kaientai DX vs. Masato Yakushiji, Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Super Delfin, and Gran Naniwa (Michinoku Pro 12/16/1996)
96. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Genichiro Tenryu (NJPW 8/1/1998)
95. Dangerous Alliance vs. Sting's Squadron (WCW WrestleWar 5/17/1992)
94. Mayumi Ozaki and Dynamite Kansai vs. Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 12/6/1993)
93. Mayumi Ozaki and Dynamite Kansai vs. Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 4/11/1993)
92. Triple X vs. America's Most Wanted (TNA Turning Point 12/5/2004)
91. Daisuke Ikeda and Takahiro Oba vs. Kengo Mashimo and Makoto Hashi (Futen 10/24/2010)
90. Team New Japan vs. Team UWF (NJPW Elimination Tag, 3/26/1986)
89. Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Naoki Sano (NJPW 1/31/1990)
88. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (Futen 4/24/2005)
87. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE Summerslam 8/18/2013)
86. Rey Mysterio vs. Juventud Guerrera (ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash 3/9/1996)
85. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Riki Choshu (NJPW 8/2/1996)
84. Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW 9/11/1982)
83. Kenta Kobashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (Pro Wrestling Noah 4/25/2004)
82. Terry Funk vs. Jerry Lawler (CWA No DQ 3/23/1981)
81. Terry Funk vs. Jerry Lawler (CWA Empty Arena 4/6/1981)
80. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 10/21/1992)
79. Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colon (WWC 10/12/1986)
78. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW WrestleWar 5/7/1989)
77. Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 8/31/1993)
76. Atlantis vs. Villano 3 (CMLL 3/17/2000)
75. Daisuke Ikeda and Takeshi Ono vs. Yuki Ishikawa and Alexander Otsuka (BattlArts 10/30/1996)
74. Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW 12/3/1993)
73. Pirata Morgan vs. El Satanico (AAA 12/12/1993)
72. Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Great Sasuke (NJPW 4/16/1994)
71. L.A. Park vs. El Hijo del Santo (Super Libre 12/23/2001)
70. Mayumi Ozaki, Cutie Suzuki, Candy Okutsu, and Sumiyo Toyama vs. Dynamite Kansai, Devil Masami, Hikari Fukuoka, and Hiromi Yagi (JWP 1-Count Match 3/21/1995)
69. Bryan Danielson vs. Low Ki (R0H 3/30/2002)
68. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Invasion Attack 4/7/2013)
67. Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase (MSW 3/22/1985)
66. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH Manhattan Mayhem 8/25/2007)
65. Carlos Colon vs. Hercules Ayala (WWC Texas Death Match 7/18/1987)
64. Carlos Colon vs. Stan Hansen (WWC Steel Cage Match 3/14/1987)
63. El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto (NJPW 6/5/1997)
62. John Cena vs. Umaga (WWE Royal Rumble 1/28/2007)
61. Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (Pro Wrestling Noah Departure 7/10/2004)
60. Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW 7/24/1998)
59. Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: Chicago II 6/16/2018)
58. Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: New Orleans 4/7/2018)
57. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (Wrestle Kingdom 11 1/4/2017)
56. #DIY vs. the Revival (NXT Takeover: Toronto 11/19/2016)
55. Aja Kong vs. Yumiko Hotta (AJW 1/24/1994)
54. Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW 8/13/2016)
53. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW 8/12/2017)
52. Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13 3/23/1997)
51. Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW 8/13/2017)
50. Mayumi Ozaki and Dynamite Kansai vs. Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 11/25/1992)
49. Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade "Cien" Almas (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia 1/27/2018)
48. Golden Lovers vs. the Young Bucks (NJPW Strong Style Evolved 3/25/2018)
47. Blood Generation (Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, & CIMA) vs. Do Fixer (Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi, & Ryo Saito) (ROH - 3/13/2006)
46. Yoshiaki Yatsu and Riki Choshu vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 1/28/1986)
45. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW Dominion 6/11/2017)
44. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun 2/3 Falls Match 4/2/1989)
43. Team ROH vs. Team CZW (ROH Death Before Dishonor IV 7/15/2006)
42. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/14/2013)
41. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW 6/11/1999)
40. Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. El Samurai (NJPW 4/30/1992)
39. Super Dragon vs. Necro Butcher (PWG Battle of Los Angeles 9/2/2006)
38. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/8/2012)
37. Stan Hansen vs. Andre the Giant (NJPW 9/23/1981)
36. Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe (IWA Mid-South 6/11/2005)
35. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (Pro Wrestling Noah 3/1/2003)
34. Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchki vs. Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat (AJPW 5/25/1992)
33. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 6/5/1989)
32. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW 8/4/2013)
31. El Dandy vs. El Satanico (EMLL 12/14/1990)
30. Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 2/28/1993)
29. Shinobu Kandori vs. Akira Hokuto (AJW 4/2/1993)
28. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Sixth Anniversary Show 2/23/2008)
27. Carlos Colon vs. Stan Hansen (WWC Bull Rope Match 1/6/1987)
26. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (AJPW 4/15/1995)
25. Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (WWF In Your House: Mind Games 9/22/1996)
24. Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto vs. Kendo Nagasaki and Masanobu Kurisu (FMW Texas Death Match 4/1/1990)
23. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Unified 8/12/2006)
22. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW Chi-Town Rumble 2/20/1989)
21. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (WCW Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knockout I Quit Match 11/15/1989)
20. Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW 5/21/1994)
19. Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW 5/23/1996)
18. Stan Hansen and Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 12/16/1988)
17. Stan Hansen and Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsurtua and Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW 12/6/1989)
16. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW Dominion 6/9/2018)
15. Mima Shimoda and Etsuka Mita vs. Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe (AJW Rage in a Cage 9/21/1997)
14. Aja Kong and Bull Nakano vs. Akira Hokuto and Shinobu Kandori (AJW 3/27/1994)
13. Shawn Michaels vs. the Undertaker (WWF In Your House: Badd Blood 10/5/1997)
12. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 1/4/2015)
11. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 10/25/1995)
10. Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 7/29/1993)
9. Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Sakura Genesis 4/9/2017)
8. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, and Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW 10/19/1990)
7. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (WCW Great American Bash 7/23/1989)
6. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 6/3/1994)
5. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, and Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW 4/20/1991)
4. Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW 12/6/1996)
3. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 10/31/1998)
2. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 1/20/1997)
1. Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW 6/9/1995)
So without further ado, here's my list as it stands so far. I'm probably going to take a break from watching these matches again for a while then give them each one more view to finalize the order. In the meantime, I'm going to rewatch some other contenders and see where I stand on them. Stuff like the top 15 I've always been pretty consistent with how I feel about them, but everything else I've almost always come away feeling a little bit different after each view.
100. Daisuke Ikeda vs. Takeshi Ono (Futen 9/26/2010)
99. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Kazunari Murakami (BattlArts 11/26/2000)
98. Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue and Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 9/4/1991)
97. Kaientai DX vs. Masato Yakushiji, Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Super Delfin, and Gran Naniwa (Michinoku Pro 12/16/1996)
96. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Genichiro Tenryu (NJPW 8/1/1998)
95. Dangerous Alliance vs. Sting's Squadron (WCW WrestleWar 5/17/1992)
94. Mayumi Ozaki and Dynamite Kansai vs. Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 12/6/1993)
93. Mayumi Ozaki and Dynamite Kansai vs. Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 4/11/1993)
92. Triple X vs. America's Most Wanted (TNA Turning Point 12/5/2004)
91. Daisuke Ikeda and Takahiro Oba vs. Kengo Mashimo and Makoto Hashi (Futen 10/24/2010)
90. Team New Japan vs. Team UWF (NJPW Elimination Tag, 3/26/1986)
89. Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Naoki Sano (NJPW 1/31/1990)
88. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (Futen 4/24/2005)
87. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE Summerslam 8/18/2013)
86. Rey Mysterio vs. Juventud Guerrera (ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash 3/9/1996)
85. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Riki Choshu (NJPW 8/2/1996)
84. Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW 9/11/1982)
83. Kenta Kobashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (Pro Wrestling Noah 4/25/2004)
82. Terry Funk vs. Jerry Lawler (CWA No DQ 3/23/1981)
81. Terry Funk vs. Jerry Lawler (CWA Empty Arena 4/6/1981)
80. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 10/21/1992)
79. Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colon (WWC 10/12/1986)
78. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW WrestleWar 5/7/1989)
77. Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 8/31/1993)
76. Atlantis vs. Villano 3 (CMLL 3/17/2000)
75. Daisuke Ikeda and Takeshi Ono vs. Yuki Ishikawa and Alexander Otsuka (BattlArts 10/30/1996)
74. Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW 12/3/1993)
73. Pirata Morgan vs. El Satanico (AAA 12/12/1993)
72. Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Great Sasuke (NJPW 4/16/1994)
71. L.A. Park vs. El Hijo del Santo (Super Libre 12/23/2001)
70. Mayumi Ozaki, Cutie Suzuki, Candy Okutsu, and Sumiyo Toyama vs. Dynamite Kansai, Devil Masami, Hikari Fukuoka, and Hiromi Yagi (JWP 1-Count Match 3/21/1995)
69. Bryan Danielson vs. Low Ki (R0H 3/30/2002)
68. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Invasion Attack 4/7/2013)
67. Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase (MSW 3/22/1985)
66. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH Manhattan Mayhem 8/25/2007)
65. Carlos Colon vs. Hercules Ayala (WWC Texas Death Match 7/18/1987)
64. Carlos Colon vs. Stan Hansen (WWC Steel Cage Match 3/14/1987)
63. El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto (NJPW 6/5/1997)
62. John Cena vs. Umaga (WWE Royal Rumble 1/28/2007)
61. Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (Pro Wrestling Noah Departure 7/10/2004)
60. Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW 7/24/1998)
59. Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: Chicago II 6/16/2018)
58. Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: New Orleans 4/7/2018)
57. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (Wrestle Kingdom 11 1/4/2017)
56. #DIY vs. the Revival (NXT Takeover: Toronto 11/19/2016)
55. Aja Kong vs. Yumiko Hotta (AJW 1/24/1994)
54. Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW 8/13/2016)
53. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW 8/12/2017)
52. Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13 3/23/1997)
51. Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW 8/13/2017)
50. Mayumi Ozaki and Dynamite Kansai vs. Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 11/25/1992)
49. Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade "Cien" Almas (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia 1/27/2018)
48. Golden Lovers vs. the Young Bucks (NJPW Strong Style Evolved 3/25/2018)
47. Blood Generation (Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, & CIMA) vs. Do Fixer (Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi, & Ryo Saito) (ROH - 3/13/2006)
46. Yoshiaki Yatsu and Riki Choshu vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 1/28/1986)
45. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW Dominion 6/11/2017)
44. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun 2/3 Falls Match 4/2/1989)
43. Team ROH vs. Team CZW (ROH Death Before Dishonor IV 7/15/2006)
42. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/14/2013)
41. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW 6/11/1999)
40. Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. El Samurai (NJPW 4/30/1992)
39. Super Dragon vs. Necro Butcher (PWG Battle of Los Angeles 9/2/2006)
38. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/8/2012)
37. Stan Hansen vs. Andre the Giant (NJPW 9/23/1981)
36. Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe (IWA Mid-South 6/11/2005)
35. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (Pro Wrestling Noah 3/1/2003)
34. Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchki vs. Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat (AJPW 5/25/1992)
33. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 6/5/1989)
32. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW 8/4/2013)
31. El Dandy vs. El Satanico (EMLL 12/14/1990)
30. Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 2/28/1993)
29. Shinobu Kandori vs. Akira Hokuto (AJW 4/2/1993)
28. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Sixth Anniversary Show 2/23/2008)
27. Carlos Colon vs. Stan Hansen (WWC Bull Rope Match 1/6/1987)
26. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (AJPW 4/15/1995)
25. Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (WWF In Your House: Mind Games 9/22/1996)
24. Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto vs. Kendo Nagasaki and Masanobu Kurisu (FMW Texas Death Match 4/1/1990)
23. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Unified 8/12/2006)
22. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW Chi-Town Rumble 2/20/1989)
21. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (WCW Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knockout I Quit Match 11/15/1989)
20. Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW 5/21/1994)
19. Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW 5/23/1996)
18. Stan Hansen and Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 12/16/1988)
17. Stan Hansen and Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsurtua and Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW 12/6/1989)
16. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW Dominion 6/9/2018)
15. Mima Shimoda and Etsuka Mita vs. Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe (AJW Rage in a Cage 9/21/1997)
14. Aja Kong and Bull Nakano vs. Akira Hokuto and Shinobu Kandori (AJW 3/27/1994)
13. Shawn Michaels vs. the Undertaker (WWF In Your House: Badd Blood 10/5/1997)
12. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 1/4/2015)
11. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 10/25/1995)
10. Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 7/29/1993)
9. Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Sakura Genesis 4/9/2017)
8. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, and Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW 10/19/1990)
7. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (WCW Great American Bash 7/23/1989)
6. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 6/3/1994)
5. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, and Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW 4/20/1991)
4. Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW 12/6/1996)
3. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 10/31/1998)
2. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 1/20/1997)
1. Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue (AJPW 6/9/1995)