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Rob Van Dam vs. William Regal (Wrestlemania 18) I’m not sure how many wrestling fans can trace their fandom back to match one, but that’s something I’m fortunate enough to be able to do. I’ve told the story before, but I started watching wrestling after buying a Smackdown videogame in Woolworths, and getting this for free. This was the first match on the card. It wasn’t my favourite match at that event (Undertaker vs. Ric Flair blew my mind) – but if my first experience of watching wrestling hadn’t been good, I might have switched off and given up on it. The match was a clash of styles, but it was good – and it immediately hooked me in. RVD’s athleticism blew my mind, and Regal played his part extremely well. I’ve never actually rewatched it, as I don’t want to ruin the perception I have of this match – but this is where it all started. Kurt Angle vs. Brian Kendrick (5-minute challenge, Smackdown 2003) I started watching wrestling television when I realised Smackdown aired on Sky One on a Saturday morning. The show had loads of great matches in that era, and it was a very easy watch. For whatever reason, the most memorable for me is this match – the premise being that Kendrick had to survive 5-minutes with WWE Champion Kurt Angle in order to earn a WWE contract. He fails, but this still one of the best short matches I’ve seen; and packs in a lot of action and story into its short running time, as Angle toys with his prey, before Kendrick mounts a surprising comeback – coming close to pinning Angle. With seconds to spare, Angle finishes the job. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster, and had me believing that the impossible was indeed possible – and that Kendrick might actually win. This is first wrestling match that gave me goosebumps, and the moment I went from casually enjoying to truly loving the sport. Brock Lesnar vs. Eddie Guerrero (No Way Out 2004) This was the first time ‘my guy’ became WWE Champion. When I started watching wrestling, I very quickly gravitated towards Eddie Guerrero. He’d been the person I loved to play as in the Smackdown videogames, and I was really curious as to what he was actually like as a character. Turned out that he was great in ring, charismatic and genuinely funny. I willed him on, cheering as he won the US title; feeling desperate to see him break the main event scene. I didn’t expect that to happen – and when it did, wow. I hoped that he’d win this match, but never expected it – even now, the match has aged incredibly well – and that end sequence is just masterfully booked. Michael Cole and Tazz really lift the match with some tremendous calls, that just make the whole thing even better. John Cena vs. CM Punk (Money in the Bank 2011) This was a difficult one for me – I’d started to fall out of love with wrestling at this point, and I needed something to hook me back in. The rise of Daniel Bryan was what kept me, but the starting point was undeniably Cena vs. Punk. I wasn’t – for want of a better term – ‘an internet fan’ at this point; not outside of recaps, at least; and I didn’t fully understand everything Punk said in the infamous Pipe Bomb promo. But I knew it was a big deal, and it really did con me into thinking he’d gone off script. I was totally compelled by the whole storyline, and had no idea what would happen when the bell rang on the match. The atmosphere was electric, the match was exciting – and the finishing sequence was incredible. I remember finishing the match, desperate to see what would happen next…and it was a little underwhelming, but I kept watching; only for Daniel Bryan to become my next ‘guy’. Had this match and storyline not happened, I think I’d have – at the very least – taken a break from watching, perhaps given up entirely. Hangman Page/Kenny Omega vs. The Young Bucks (AEW Revolution 2020) Once again, in the late 2010s, I’d fallen out of love with wrestling. WWE was dealing with the worst of Vince McMahon’s booking, and it just didn’t make me feel the way it once did. Then AEW came along. I wanted to love AEW – but the first few shows (pre-Dynamite) were a mixed bag; with standout moments and abysmal pre-shows. Even the first few Dynamites were mixed, before it found its groove. For me, 2020 and 2021 AEW is one of the best runs of any promotions ever, with great wrestling and compelling long-term storytelling, the best of which was the rise of Hangman Page – someone who had initially been written off as boring on these very forums. But once he discovered who he was as a character, he became one of the most complicated and interesting characters in wrestling. This match blew my mind – it told a brilliant story, enhancing what was going on behind the scenes – and it was a tremendous match on top of that, easily the best tag match I’ve ever seen. The dynamic between all four wrestlers was brilliant, and Hangman became a new kind of babyface – a flawed human being, who you willed on to overcome his demons and do the right thing. He remains, in my opinion, the most well-thought out wrestling character around. An honorable mention goes to Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania this year. I very nearly included it – at the moment it feels like my favourite ‘Mania main event ever, but I think a bit of time needs to pass before I consider it for a list of this nature – if I still feel the way I do about it right now, it’ll almost certainly bump one of the matches from here. I’m a big fan of Triple H’s booking, and the way that match integrates story probably makes it a good representation of my current tastes.

Lots of noise about Paul Hughes recently and who was going to sign with post-Cage Warriors. He's gone and signed with the PFL:

What did you think of Dynasty @Arch Stanton?

Fucking hell, he looks like one of the Italians in Allo Allo!

Bit of a childish response to a man having an opinion, isn't it?

I hope the next fued Brian Danielson is in sees this exchange... "So if you wanna say your the best... then I need you to beat me to prove it. Cos I'm the best!" "Mate you've lost the last 20 fueds you were in. Fuck off."

I’ve got it down to 9. It’s pretty difficult choosing 5 and trying to choose between which were pivotal in terms of shaping my tastes vs telling a chronological story in terms of how my relationship with pro wrestling changed. To be fair, the shifts in what made a pro wrestling match appeal to me or not would probably take 10 matches to cover alone. It’s been more than 30 years man and boy, after all…

Is that an excellent piece of Wikipedia vandalism? Yes. I like that it’s got a reference as well, which is close enough to the text that it could pass moderation.

Didn’t know where else to put this, but a clip of Lenny McClean being all hard and that showed upon my Instagram feed this morning. Apart from Lock Stock, I knew nothing about him so headed to Wiki and so found this gem of an edit.

He’s the prowrestling.net guy.

I played drums in a garage band circa 1999. We were called Albino Al Pacino. I couldn’t tell you why.

Running WCW as a separate show, completely plausible. It was odd that initially they tried to babyface the whole of the incoming roster by them going after Vince, and even stranger they didn’t foresee a hostile reaction to Booker T lamping the boss and scoring one for the Monday Night Wars great losers in Madison Square Garden which was something akin to Napoleon performing a victory parade through Trafalgar Square after the dust had settled at Waterloo. The WCW roster ran house shows on their own for a few weeks, which you can read about at many worthwhile online resources. Give them a show, yes. Give them Raw? Fuck off was that ever happening. To further the analogy, that’s Napoleon losing and being captured but then given Wellington’s army to command. No fucking chance. Speaking of WCW, brand splits and breaking my own rules completely, it always amuses me when Bischoff talks about the idea behind Thunder being to better utilise more talent and bangs on about thinking Bret Hart would have been a great focal point. Like he could have the nWo storylines on Nitro and a bit more wrestling on Thunder, headed up by Bret. Considering he had final say on virtually everything, it baffles me that he floats this as the plan but when it came time to execute, Bret gets introduced on Nitro as the ref for Hollywood Hogan vs Sting, and the first Thunder is built around the Hogan vs Sting fallout from the rematch and subsequent title vacancy. Doesn’t seem like the roster split was a plan Eric considered for very long at all, whatever he says. Unless it was TBS saying “We wanted another Nitro, you can’t make us the B show.” Which is funny, because it didn’t take long for it to become so.

I don't know who that is but he's wrong and can fuck off. As great as Ospreay/Danielson was I think it's actually Jack Perry's incredible shit-eating grin that's stayed with me the most. Think we might be on to something special here. A new Champion. The Elite firing on all cylinders. Willow on the rise. Ospreay. Hangman waiting in the aisles...things are looking very tasty at the moment, lads.

Spot on. "BAD-ASS-ATRON" Megatron, a man destined to become a ruthless dictator and crime lord, who will happily enslave or eradicate an entire race to satisfy his people's need for energy "We'll call you B!"

Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker - Hell In a Cell After hitting that age when I had to concede that wrestling wasn't actually real and losing interest, this was the match that brought me back into it. There was none of the hokiness of the early 90s, and it was (at that time) the most brutal match I'd ever seen. This was closer to a live action movie than Bret Hart vs Mr Perfect - Summerslam '91 In my first period of fandom, I thought Bret was one of the greatest, and I thought that Hennig was a mouthy cunt that needed his head kicking in, so this was the match I was wanting see, and it didn't disappoint. Matches like this are why the IC Championship held more prestige than the World Championship for me. Owen Hart vs 123 Kid - KOTR '93 I probably consider this one of the top ten matches of all time. The chemistry between Owen and Waltman is as good as anybody's, and they're just hitting everything perfectly. It's probably the greatest case study of how you can all your shit in, and more, but not have it descend into a meandering spotfest. Everything just follows on in a believable way, and the winner could have been either of them. Kurt Angle vs Shane McMahon - KOTR '01 I can still remember the edge-of-the-seat excitement we had watching this for the first time. I genuinely thought Shane was going to get crippled or actually die. Kurt was brilliant by this point, and Shane was probably at his athletic best, throwing some nice looking armdrags and suplexes throughout the match.

Yes, august 10th we have our first import in Shlak!

Home Counties and Lip Filler. Just fuck off.

Toni Storm not being champ would mean no Toni Storm post show pressers and that, quite frankly, can go get fucked. Ospreay had another good showing at the presser as well. He's been an unbelievable get for AEW.

Busted out these when I was watching AEW Dynamite. Gave up on them after four crisps because they were absolutely foul. Two hours later and they've still left an aftertaste. Even worse than the Jericho vs Hook match. 2/10.

The argument against her has generally come from critics/journalists; and it’s not so much against the character - it’s her as the champion. Jason Powell is particularly vocal about that, he likes the character, but not the character as champion. I totally disagree, I think she’s tremendous and she’s probably the best heel champion AEW has had to date, with any title.

In 2001. The original plan was for WCW to be its own thing. With the belief there was a Saturday night slot on TNN. There's ads for cancelled shows that were going to be TV tapings. By the time the brand split became an idea in 2002 there was the talk of Nitro/Smackdown. Which is something i've never really put much faith in beyond the people that talked to Meltzer were floating it as an idea in meetings.

I knew of and saw a pic of IRS’s cack brown tights from when he debuted but I’d never seen them in motion until now. Horrific.

Part of me hopes that they are testing out how a shit Apex style card does in front of a live audience. If it's a success, it might encourage them to leave the Apex knowing that they don't have to load the cards with top guys when they go on the road. That's probably wishful thinking though. I will watch this show purely because it's in front of a live audience, if it was in the Apex, I would skip it. I haven't skipped a show for over a decade, but all of the Apex cards in 2024 I haven't bothered watching. They have been too weak.

WHY IS HE JUST SITTING THERE WHEN THE BAT SIGNAL HAS GONE UP???

Such a shit song from a shit band. I hate how it’s associated with Cov City.