Favorite matches by promotion

[Michael_3165]

Simple question... What are your favorite match from the following: wwe/wwf, ecw, wcw/nwa, Tna , ROH and NOAH...

 

Mine are:

WWE - Bret Hart vs Steve Austin WM13

ECW - RVD vs Lynn Living Dangerously 99

WCW/NWA - Mysterio vs Eddie Havoc 97?

TNA - Angle v Jarrett Genesis 09

NOAH - Kenta vs Marufuji Autumn Navigation 06

ROH - String n Aries vs Briscoes Unified 06

 

Bare in mind I haven't seen a lot from the last four so want to get ideas of matches to watch

[air_raid]

WWE - Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit, Royal Rumble 2003

 

I love this match because it restored my suspension of disbelief at a time when it was really taking a hammering. I was just fed up of everything, and the whole Rumble PPV seemed completely lacking excitement for me going in. We all knew going in that Angle would retain and Lesnar would win the Rumble, as Angle VS Lesnar for Mania had been discussed for about six months and been brutally obvious since the build to Armageddon started. However through what Angle and Benoit did in the ring, they completely shattered my disbelief and had me on the edge of my seat cheering Benoit on, utterly convinced in the dying moments that Kurt would submit and Benoit was going to defy the odds.

 

ECW - Mike Awesome VS Masato Tanaka, Heat Wave 1998

 

Just a completely fun train wreck. No story or psychology, just two hard bastards going out to do damage to each other with whoever was tougher on the night prevailing.

 

WCW - Sting VS Diamond Dallas Page, Nitro March 29th 1998

 

This was just such a big time match at the time. Sting the incumbent, Page the up and coming "people's choice." This match I remember more than any other as the test of "is Page ready for main event title matches" and there is an incredible atmosphere. In story, this is obviously the match of DDPs life and he portrays it excellently. So many wrestlers just go out to be intense or get in the other guys face, but some of Page's facial expressions here are amazing at portraying the nervousness you would have in such a match. It's a touch of realism. The match itself is exciting, the finish stellar, and I rate it higher than the much-bummed rematch 13 months later, mostly because I enjoy the split crowd face vs face dynamic, and to be honest I think the 1999 version is a bit overblown.

 

NWA - Ricky Steamboat VS Ric Flair, WrestleWar 1989

 

I don't have anything to add to this than what has already been said a hundred times by a hundred other guys, all more eloquently than I could. The Richards VS Black of their generation, I believe.

 

TNA - AJ Styles VS Samoa Joe VS Chris Daniels, Unbreakable

 

Again, no real storytelling other than its balls to the wall. I genuinely believe there is a difference between a spotfest and a sprint, and that this is clearly the latter. Not that it's an especially short match, the three just pull out everything they possibly can. The "third man missing" spells are rather inobtrusive and the action rolls along at such a pace. I hate three-way matches usually but this is a non stop adrenaline ride.

 

Noah - Mitsuharu Misawa VS Kenta Kobashi, Navigate For Evolution 2003

 

It probably helps to know the context and the history between the two men, because honestly without knowing that, I dont know if I'd be as emotionally into the match as I was and still am when watching. The ending especially is my favourite ending to a match ever as there is a steady build through near falls through to "surely he wont kick out of that...? Bugger me!" until eventually reaching a climax with a rather conclusive "THAT'S IT." Perfect building to a peak and going home.

 

ROH - Samoa Joe VS Austin Aries, Final Battle 2004

 

This might be my favourite match ever. Throughout the match Aries' role transforms and the crowd are inticed perfectly. In the beginning Aries is another midcarder for Joe to steamroll, and merely keeps the fight alive by kicking out. There are one or two moments where you start to believe he will put up a fight and there are some great moments such as the rana completed after an initial block, Aries completing a Joe style transition to a half crab, a sharp kick blocking an attempt at a tope suicida. At some point halfway through - maybe the first 450, maybe kicking out of the Island Driver - you start to believe that Aries actually might win, and the crowd start to buy it, and even begin wanting him to win. The brainbuster attempts are so well timed and executed throughout the body of the match that after the final flurry from Aries, when he actually executes, the place goes insane. Seriously, listen to the noise when he gets Joe overhead. You can actually see people jumping up and down with excitement as Aries scales the ropes ; the actual 450 is academic, we know he's won. In my eyes, an absolute masterpiece. My favourite storytelling match of all time. I couldnt believe it when I first heard Joe had lost, but when I watched it, I believed it completely.

[NEWM]

WWE - Bret Hart vs Steve Austin - WM13

ECW - Taz vs Masato Tanaka vs Mike Awesome - Anarchy Rulz 99

WCW/NWA - Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat - Clash of the Champions VI(?), the draw from 1989

TNA - Kurt Angle v Jeff Jarrett Genesis 09 - I know I've nicked this from the OP, but this was the exact match I was thinking of, I think, and I couldn't be arsed to check when it was. Jarrett was the face and it was a street fight, whichever one it was.

ROH - Never enjoyed anything I've seen from them to call it a favourite

Something off of Japan - Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask, the one that used to run on the Best of the Dynamite Kid TWC show. That was fucking mint.

[MichaelScarn]

Changes all the time, depending on mood, but as of right now:

 

WWE - Taker vs HBK WM25

ECW - Sabu vs 2 Cold Scorpio TV title match Cyberslam 96 (I think)

TNA - Kurt Angle v Mr Anderson Cage Match Lockdown 2010

ROH - Joe vs Kobashi

UK - Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs. Jun Akiyama & Doug Williams

[The Hitman]

Mine also change a lot of the time, but these are what I'm feeling at the moment:

 

WWE- Bret Hart vs Steve Austin WM13. I know this is the obvious choice but so much drama, insane action, Austin's brutal juice job that totally served the story and the best-executed double-turn going. Class

 

ECW- I loved everything that Tanaka and Awesome did. So as not to risk copying others, and because it's a little out of the box I'll got with their One Night Stand match. It was a special watch for me at the time because seeing that they still had that sort of match in them five years removed was something else.

 

WCW- Goldberg vs DDP Halloween Havoc 98. I'm a cheating git and wanted to include this match as well as the next one so I'm having NWA and WCW as separate.

 

NWA- Steamboat vs Flair Wrestlewar 89. To be honest you could have almost anything these guys did for this, but this would be my favourite of their awesome series. Only just though, cause I loved them all.

 

TNA- Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle Genesis 06. There've been so many great matches in TNA but the anticipation for this was something special, and at under fifteen minutes there isn't any chaff in there, it's all wheat baby!

 

NOAH- I'm going to go decidedly leftfield here and choose Sugiura vs Mastiff from the 2011 Broxbourne show. There have been plenty of better matches but being up-close and personal for a GHC title match, and it being as dramatic as this makes it my favourite NOAH bout. Mastiff pulled out some unbelievable stuff here that a man of his size just shouldn't be able to do.

 

ROH-Tough one this as I'm a bit of a ROHbot, but I'm very partial to Kobashi vs Joe. The merits, or lack thereof, of this match will be debated for the rest of time. Was it a wrestling masterclass? Was it two blokes chopping each other, only made watchable by the crowd going ballistic? I must say the crowd helps push this one into the stratosphere, but if you put this match on in a barn in front of three people and a cow it would still be brilliant to watch.

[PunkStep]

WWE - Changes all the time for me too, and many classics I haven't re-watched in years. Mania XX triple threat or CM Punk/Cena MITB are the first two that come to mind for me. And Bret/Owen at Mania X.

ECW - Probably one of the Mike Awesome/Tanaka ones. November 2 Remember 1999 for some reason comes to mind

WCW/NWA - Mysterio vs Eddie Havoc 97 as well for me

TNA - Kurt Angle VS Desmond Wolfe, the first PPV one (No I haven't seen that much TNA)

NOAH - Kobashi VS Misawa where Kobashi won the GHC title

ROH - Christ, I can't remember- haven't watched it in years. Possibly the inagural three-way- Daniels/Danielson/Low-Ki.

[Dr.PeterVenkman]

Not bothering with ROH or NOAH as I've not seen much of ROH's stuff and absolutely none of NOAH's

 

WWE - Austin/Rock Wrestlemania 17

WCW - Hogan/Goldberg Nitro July '98

ECW - RVD/Jerry Lynn Hardcore Heaven 2000

TNA - Daniels/Joe/Styles Unbreakable 2005

[Dirty Eddie]

WWF/E - Savage V Flair - Wrestlemania 8

WCW - War Games '92

ECW - Douglas v 2 Cold Scorpio v Jericho v Pitbull #2 - Heatwave '96

TNA - Angle V Joe - Lockdown 2008

RoH - no idea?

NOAH - no idea?

[hitman89762000]

Was that angle v joe lockdown match the one where they went all mma on us in the build up to it?

[Dirty Eddie]

Yep, and I think it did one of TNA's best buyrates ever. I thought the build-up and execution was all great stuff.

[PowerButchi]

List threads suck. Why are they your favourite matches, everyone?

[The Cum Doctor]

WWE - Triple H vs. The Rock, Iron Man Match - WWE Judgment Day 2000: The fact that these two guys went out for an hour and didn't manage to be boring even once was good enough, but then the match turned out to be incredibly exciting into the bargain with loads of twists and turns with an ending which sent it over the edge. It was like their Backlash match turned up a few notches.

 

ECW - Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn - ECW Living Dangerously 1999: Their early matches in ECW have all aged fairly well, but this one really was the best. At the time, it must have been an incredible watch and it's still pretty spectacular now. The spot with the Leg Drop on the chair is still amazing. Belter.

 

WCW/NWA - Wargames 1992 - WCW Wrestlewar 1992: The show was already a cracker, but then they pulled this one out of the bag. Hate, blood, a MOLTEN hot crowd and a terrific payoff to an angle. What more do you want?

 

TNA - Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin vs. AJ Styles, Ultimate X Match - TNA Final Resolution 2005: This match pretty much set the bar for this type of match and hasn't been matched since. As you can tell, I love a spotfest, and this one was just stupidly mental. So much so that a couple of spots can still draw a grimace.

 

Pro Wrestling NOAH - KENTA and Taiji Ishimori vs. Naomichi Marufuji and Kota Ibushi: This was my first introduction to Ibushi which probably helped me when I first seen the match. I think the NOAH Jr. tag style is just incredible to watch and this is the best example. There's also a Briscoes vs. Marvin/Suzuki match from this same show that's well worth looking out.

 

ROH - Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness - ROH Unified: I love the drama of this one and the molten hot crowd and the action is on a par with their Driven match for me, which is my #2 match in ROH history, but this one is just a wee bit better thanks to the heat.

 

Add a couple...

 

Other Puro - The Great Muta vs. Jushin Liger - NJPW 1996: One of them matches which just has to be seen. It's more of a "wtf?!" match than a truly great match, but more than worth it all the same.

 

UK - Wolfgang vs. Lionheart, Ladder Match - BCW Kilmarnock: It was tough this one, but I'll go with this thanks to the gradual progression to a fucking batshit mental final spot which sent me leaping about 10 feet in the air. Nice.

[spotlightmagnet1]

Cool idea:

 

WWE: Shawn Michaels vs. HHH, Summerslam 2002. It changes daily but this match is one of my favourites because 1. Michaels was the name when I got into wrestling and was really upset at the thought of him retiring and 2. I wasn't expecting much. HHH hadn't blown people away like he did before the quad injury and Michaels had retired due to a knackered back. But everything looked and felt amazing. When Michaels pinned him I jumped up and down with joy. (my other matches include Angle vs. Michaels, Hart vs. Hart, Undertaker vs. Mankind (KOTR not Hell one), Angle vs. Lesnar and Bulldog vs. Owen)

 

WCW: Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk, Great American Bash 1989. Simply put, I loved the technical masterpieces that Steamboat and Flair were but I loved the unpredictable and wild nature of Funk. This brawl just captivated my interest slightly more than Steamboat and Flair. (other matches: Luger vs. Flair 1988, Vader vs. Sting 92, Vader vs. Cactus Jack 93, War Games 92)

 

ECW: Lance Storm vs. Jerry Lynn, Anarchy Rulz 1999. One of the greatest opening matches I've ever seen. Both men walked in and put on a real clinic. Not as memorable as RVD Lynn, but I remember watching it and simply being blown away. I guess it's my fav as whenever I think of ECW above all else that match springs to mind.

 

TNA: Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe, Turning Point 2009. I loved Nigel/Desmond character and this debut was gripping and brilliant. Both men looked first class in the ring and outside it. It's a shame about Nigel as I would've loved him to come back and make it huge. But this match proved he could've done it.

 

ROH: Nigel McGuinness vs. KENTA, 2008? I love this match as it was towards the end of an epic title run and he had torn both triceps, but he still went out there and incorporated it into this fantastic match. It was gripping, hard hitting and had phenomenal psychology, something ROH lacks usually. Just an excellent match, can't remember the event but it might've been Glory by Honor or another big show name like that.

 

Sorry, it was not Marufuji but in fact KENTA, my bad.

[Professor Paul's Bin]

WWE - Triple H Vs Cactus Jack from the Rumble 2000.

Absolute corker of a match and the best Hardcore/No Holds Barred match which a major title has been contested for. Foley's greatest match plus it was in the wonderful MSG.

 

ECW - Mike Awesome Vs Masata Tanaka from Anarchy Rules 99.

Really loved this match with the brutality and entire way. Plus I'm a massive Awesome mark RIP.

 

WCW - Raven Vs Chris Jericho from Halloween Havoc 98

Really loved this match and the Las Vegas crowd loved it. Great way to open the show. Cracking PPV aswell I might add.

 

TNA - Sting Vs Jarrett BFG 2006

Incredible PPV I might add and the buzz with Angle joining the company was electric around the time. Great match and Sting looked fucking incredible.

 

ROH - Go Shiozaki Vs Naomichi Marufuji from DBD VI (2008).

I'm not really a fan of Japenese wrestling but this changed my outlook on it. Really good match between the two. I really enjoyed the partnership ROH had with NOAH around this time aswell.

[MoistVaj]

WWF- Royal Rumble 92 match, probably the finest hour for the WWF in my book, everything from the booking to the performance of the wrestlers was top notch. A career performance from Heenan and Monsoon sealed it though, they made you believe they genuinely cared who won. In Monsoons case, anyone but Flair and in Heenan's Flair or nobody. As a kid I remember wishing Flair was eliminated by anyone too, I don't think I've been that emotionally invested in a match since and will again.

 

 

WCW/NWA - Really hard to choose just one match, but if I was forced I'd probably go with Stings first title win over Flair at Great American Bash. The small package finish was brilliant and the crowd reaction was pretty sweet too. The fact it had been in the making for so long probably adds to my enjoyment of the match.

 

 

ECW - Probably one of the RVD-Lynn matches, but failing that anytime Sid came out and Powerbombed the shit out of some poor sod was as good as ECW got for me.