Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Match of the Year.

[Nr1Humanoid]

I am currently watching these matches in chronological order and I thought we might discuss them as I go along.

I started yesterday with Bob Backlund vs. Ken Patera (with the Grand Wizard) Texas Death Match from 1980.

Very exiting and fun match, they sure could go in their day. Vince McMahon handles solo commentary on this.

The match is available on youtube.



I just finished Pat Patterson vs Sgt Slaughter (with the Grand Wizard) Alley fight from 1981.

This was a no holds barred match with no referee. A brutal fight with massive amounts of kicks and punches and choking, and with use of belts and boots. Slaughter does one hell of a blade job, gushing all over. Vince once again handles comentary.

And what a joy it is to hear Finkel again.

Available on the WWE Hall Of Fame 2004 DVD and on youtube.

Sorry, I'm not much of a reviewer, but I'll throw my two cents in when I can think of something clever to say. I'll try to watch one match a day.

[Steveweiser]

To watch them all, you'd have to go through nefarious means. Especially when it comes to the 2006 MOTY.

[Steveweiser]

1980: Bob Backlund vs. Ken Patera - Texas Death Match (5/19)
1981: Pat Patterson vs. Sgt. Slaughter - Alley Fight (4/21)
1982: Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (8/5)
1983: Ric Flair vs. Harley Race - Steel Cage Match (Starrcade)
1984: The Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs - Anything Goes Match (7/4)
1985: Tiger Mask II vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (6/21)
1986: Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (Battle of the Belts II)
1987: Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage (WrestleMania III)
1988: Sting vs. Ric Flair (Clash of the Champions I)
1989: Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair - 2 out of 3 Falls Match (Clash of the Champions VI)
1990: Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (1/31)
1991: Hiroshi Hase/Kensuke Sasaki vs. Steiner Brothers (WCW/NJPW Supershow)
1992: Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Doug Furnas/Dan Kroffat (5/25)
1993: Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki (4/21)
1994: Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels - Ladder Match (WrestleMania X)
1995: Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue (5/7)
1996: Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams/Johnny Ace (6/7)
1997: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin - Submission Match (WrestleMania 13)
1998: Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (10/31)
1999: Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (6/11)
2000: Atlantis vs. Villano III (3/17)
2001: Keiji Mutoh vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/8)
2002: Kurt Angle/Chris Benoit vs. Edge/Rey Mysterio (No Mercy)
2003: Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (3/1)
2004: Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (7/10)
2005: Kenta Kobashi vs. Samoa Joe (Joe vs. Kobashi)
2006: Dragon Kid/Ryo Saito/Genki Horiguchi vs. CIMA/Masato Yoshino/Naruki Doi (Supercard of Honor)
2007: Takeshi Morishima vs. Bryan Danielson (Manhattan Mayhem II)
2008: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels - Ladder Match (No Mercy)
2009: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XXV)
2010: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XXVI)

[Nr1Humanoid]

Nov 30, 2011 17:06:00 GMT -5 Steveweiser said:

To watch them all, you'd have to go through nefarious means. Especially when it comes to the 2006 MOTY.

I am missing some, but someone is bound to have seen them or there will be an online recap somewhere we can go by.

[jadison]

This year's will probably be CM Punk vs. John Cena from MITB, no?

[mcmahonfan85]

Nov 30, 2011 18:50:52 GMT -5 @jadison said:

This year's will probably be CM Punk vs. John Cena from MITB, no?

Probably. Think the only match from ROH in real contention would be Davey vs. Edwards from Best in the World

[Steveweiser]

Nov 30, 2011 18:50:52 GMT -5 @jadison said:

This year's will probably be CM Punk vs. John Cena from MITB, no?

I think Suwama vs. Akiyama may take it, or Ibushi vs. Taguchi.

[pat9010]

Just watched Ibushi vs Taguchi yesterday. Blew me away

[metylerca]

If this years isn't Punk vs Cena, then I can see it being Richards/Edwards, Steen vs Generico from Steen Wolf maybe, Eddie Edwards vs Kotaru Suzuki from January, ot dare I say HHH vs Undertaker.

[Nr1Humanoid]

Nov 30, 2011 17:16:37 GMT -5 Steveweiser said:

1982: Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (8/5)

Fabulous suff, high flying moves, poer moves, lots of submission, a perfect mix of it all. Was really refreshing to see highflying stuff have an impact, rather than have them bounce along to the next one. No woner Dynamite's body gave out with the kind of nasty over the top moves he was subjected to here. A five star mat classic if there ever was one.

Youtube has it, if it can be purchased legally, I'd love to buy it.

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

How do they choose the WON's MOTY?

'Cos I'm confused that the '97 MOTY was Bret vs. Austin yet that didn't get ***** but Taker/Michaels from the same year did.

Either way I think Punk/Cena is MOTY for this year but I haven't had the benefit of seeing Steen/Generico from Steen Wolf yet.

[andrew8798]

Subscribers vote for them

[mcmahonfan85]

Which is why you have matches on there that are from indy promotions and Japan instead of just Shawn Michaels vs. _______________ from WrestleMania _____

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

Dec 1, 2011 17:01:31 GMT -5 mcmahonfan85 said:

Which is why you have matches on there that are from indy promotions and Japan instead of just Shawn Michaels vs. _______________ from WrestleMania _____

Because Meltzer doesn't choose them? The guy who idolises Japanese wrestling beyond anything? Really?

[Steveweiser]

Best example of Dave not picking the winners - #2 and #3 last year for Wrestler of the Year were Takashi Sugiura and Masato Yoshino. Dragon Gate came 2nd last year for Promotion of the Year, New Japan 3rd.

For the longest time, Japan didn't do well in the awards, but in the last few years, it's come storming back. It's being blamed on "Western Europeans" (i.e. Alan4L) who make up a large chunk of the subscriber base, and who largely decide to watch puro and the indies.