Straight Shooting

DREAM CARD

 

The Concept

 

It is my intention in this "Dream Card" is reach my goal of offering the best overall card in order ensures that I can attract all the niche markets I can in order to assure myself a maximum draw.

 

I believe this idea is put yourself in the role of a promoter who has the once in a lifetime opportunity to give the greatest card in history.

 

If I wanted to, I could easily slap 8 ROH/Puroseu matches on here in an attempt to simply justify it as a "wrestling purist" dream card. However I refuse to do such.

 

I'm a promoter in this concept; keep that in mind because I will sacrifice "quality" in order to maximize profit.

 

This will be a North America exclusive card. As a promoter, I should know why such a match would be needed for this card and since Im using myself as the “promoter”, my knowledge of Japan is limited and I never wish to risk making a mistake by using a match for the wrong purposes.

 

The Card

 

Opening Match

Halloween Havoc 1997

Cruiserweight Title

Eddy Guerrero Vs Rey Mysterio

Time: 13:51

 

 

+The perfect North American cruiser/junior style match that includes two of the top names in the division going at it in a legendary encounter that is still revered to this day. My intention was to offer something different as much as I could and this style was crucially needed to be used to exploit that intention.

 

There are only a handful of matches that fit the bill and ultimately, it had come down to a choice between this match and Pillman/Liger. I salivated at the possibility of using Jushin Liger for this card to finally give the show some international flavor but ultimately, I had to settle for Eddy/Rey because it was in my opinion, the perfect cruiserweight match.

 

It gets the opening spot for the obvious reasons, it's a fast paced match that would surely get the crowd excited. It's not an epic match, thus is why it's perfectly suited for the opening slot.

 

Match Two

WCW US Tag Team Titles

Great American Bash 1990

Time of Match: 18:14

Southern Boys Vs Midnight Express

+This might be an rather unconventional pick because it’s not as famous as some other matches and some would’ve expected to see a match involving the Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, MVC, Steiners or Warriors or even the latter day era of E&C, Dudleyz and Hardyz but if you remember, my intention with the HIAC was to make sure it was the lone gimmick match. This match isn’t even for the WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE’s but its moot point. This was just an excellent textbook formula of a wonderful tag team match and because it doesn’t overload itself on star power, it doesn’t damage the other matches as it could have done, if I used the TLC matches.

 

I wanted this match because it’s not big on star-power, doesn’t take anything away from the big matches but still adheres to the quality wrestling proclamation.

 

No specific reason for it's placement other then I didn't want to blow my load on a bigger match this early.

 

Match Three

Low Ki Vs Christopher Daniels Vs Bryan Danielson

ERA OF HONOR BEGINS

 

+The emphasis of what the Triple Threat should be and the best execution of a flawed concept that is brilliant worked here by three world class superstars at their very best. It doesn’t fit the bill for “BIG DRAW” but I assured myself the rest of the card is strong enough that it’d warrant the inclusion of this match.

 

It's place on the card is early because they are virtually unknowns in the big picture.

 

Match Four

Hell in a Cell

Bad Blood 1997

Shawn Michaels Vs The Undertaker

Time of Match: 29:59

 

+This is a case of me wanting to put two big names into one match and it’s my opportunity to offer a bloody war. The match isn’t pretty and it’s far from the “norm” and it was my objective to assure that it was the LONE gimmick match of the card to maximize its impact.

 

The match was a carnal beating and that’s something that fans crave and this offered it on a big level. There are numerous battles across the world and in a small pond in Philadelphia that offered bloody brawls just as similar to this match or even, sickeningly beyond it. However this match offered a good story with the beating. It was one of the very few times that Shawn Michael’s over the top bumping didn’t degrade a match and almost accepted with open arms. It’s not the perfect match and some believe, such as me, the impact of the match doesn’t survive but that’s irrelevant in this situation because we are building a card based upon the match and its immediate impact, not it’s historical impact or its re-watchability.

 

It's a big epic war that secures a mid-show spot where it can stand out more because thus far it's been pure wrestling and fast paced action

 

Match Five

ROH World Title

Samoa Joe Vs CM Punk

10.16.04

Time of Match: 60:00

 

+Wrestling has a long and deep history of legendary World Title matches, so it might seem suspect to include a very recent match in a lesser known promotion (on the grand scheme of things), like I said in my introduction. I will have to sacrifice quality for maximum profit…It also works the other way. There are a lot of matches that fit the bill of the world title match that would be absolute draws alone. However I feel confident that the rest of the card will shore up on drawing power that I can justify using a WORLD TITLE match between two lesser known names from a lesser known promotion

 

The absolute bottom line is this; this is the only RING OF HONOR WORLD TITLE match that could possibly take the very lofty spot of world title match from a long list of matches. Why? Because the match was pure brilliance. It wasn’t your textbook match and the fact it’ll stand out from the other matches on the list, only cements its value and quality furthermore.

 

I realize the risk of including a 60 minute draw because as a promoter, you never can gauge how a crowd reacts to a draw. In this instance, it was tremendously well received and the draw wasn’t done for political reasons or ego reasons but rather for the context of the story and that’s why it’s my opinion that it’s the best WORLD TITLE match possible to use because there’s other big matches and big names to allocate this match’s location on the card.

 

Why is it right in the middle of the show? The finish of the match, while great isn't the appros way to conclude a "DREAM CARD" and because the two workers aren't at the same level with other names here to secure that spot

 

Match Six

Bret Hart Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin

Survivor Series 1996

Time of Match: 28:36

 

+Arguably the last great North American mainstream match.

 

That alone should justify it but I won’t stop there. The match is pure quality with such a tremendously told story and it naturally involves two legendary names of the business in what could easily be their best work.

 

It was a difficult choice for me to figure out where to include Bret Hart. He has had such a rich collection of matches that it was initially difficult to decide where to place him. The biggest challenger to this match, was as you would imagine was his WrestleMania X bout with Owen Hart. I decided it was best to select this match because Owen wasn’t @ Austin’s level and Austin never could touch this level again and you would struggle to find a more suitable option for either man. WMX might be more historical because of the location and the external story but the work is where I was focusing here. I feel this match edged out the WMX bout.

 

What about the infamous submission match involving the same two men @ WM13? You might ask; what about it? Legendary match, no argument there and a fantastic brawl for WWE’s standards but it pales in comparison to their first encounter. I want the best wrestling I can get and offer a big draw at the same time, this gives me that edge.

 

I almost considered giving this match the main event treatment but I remember the main event is just to irreistable to NOT be the main event. I wish it didn't follow the previous match but i felt without choice.

 

Match Seven

IC Title Match

WrestleMania III

Randy Savage Vs Ricky Steamboat

Time: 14:35

 

+15 minutes of quality wrestling for a title that was, believe it or not prestigious at one point in time is enough to certify it’s worthiness to make this list. The match damn near stole the show from Andre/Hogan and that’s really amazing if you honestly think about that. Savage wasn’t yet at that major mainstream level that he would enjoy 2 years later and Steamboat was your conventional humble baby face, completely different from Hulk Hogan.

 

It’s used to get a mid-level title bout on the card and because of the quality that came with it. It’s subtle enough that it doesn’t take away from the other matches but still holds its own.

 

It got the spot before the main event because while it's still a great match, it's not nearly as tremendous and epic as the previous two matches and it's essentially a cool down (a negative to the 7-9 match only rule, is that i can't pad the card to space out the matches).

 

Match Eight

Hulk Hogan Vs the Rock

WrestleMania X8

Time of Match: 16:23

 

+The essential “money-draw” match that didn’t compromise any titles and still was a legitimate enough match to qualify under the specification of “Money Draw”.

 

If it’s a dream card, two of the biggest names in the sport are essential to the show and this match allowed me to kill two birds with one stone. The match itself wasn’t embarrassing enough that it would drag down the quality of the show and the heat alone, almost justifies its place. I would rather use Hulk Hogan in his 1980’s prime as my draw but the problem is you can’t really use him without giving up the lone World Title spot. The Rock is another worker with an exceptionally ignored string of quality work but similarly to Hogan; a title usually was involved.

 

The heat for this match was astronomical and it’s still regarded as a legendary match-up today, if the title rule wasn’t in effect, Hogan/Andre or Austin/Rock would easily transition into this spot but the rule is stated as such.

 

Why was it the main event? Simple because the WORLD TITLE match was a draw and because The Rock and Hogan are such astronomical names they certainly justify their inclusion as the main event. No match would have been able to follow the heat of this match and it's not worth risking it. I wasn't going to let Samoa Joe/Punk fall into the same hole that Jericho/HHH did in WMX8.

 

 

///

 

There's my card. I know it's not the best card and I wasn't intending for it to be a purist's dream card. I wanted an equal balance and I hope I accomplished that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Gran Hamada/Super Delfin/Tiger Mask IV/Gran Naniwa/Masato Yakushiji vs. Mens Teio/Dick Togo/Sho Funaki/TAKA Michinoku/Shiryu (10/10/96)

 

Why not open with something that will grab everyone's attention? This was the ultimate spotfest, but it was executed so well that it's more than just another "spotty match". Plus even though it's a 10 man tag, I'm not burning through too many important guys for other matches later in the card.

 

2. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (3/20/94) - Probably the best match in WWE history. This actually opened WMX, so having it down here isn't a big problem. This match was also done in such a way that it wouldn't upstage anything else, as it wasn't a spectacle. But this is a fine choice to showcase fundamentally sound, beautifully executed wrestling.

 

3. Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani (3/30/96, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title) - This would be my pick for best junior match ever, and one that I forgot to list as ***** in that other thread. This is a perfect match to show a few things that the other matches might not have, like incredibly great selling and facials. Plus, Otani at this point was probably the 2nd most talented wrestler I'd ever seen, only 2nd to one of the fellows in the main event.

 

4. Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen (7/29/93) - Now it's time for a great brawl, with utterly perfect role playing. This one isn't as pretty as the previous matches, but it's probably better than all three. I like having it in this spot to somewhat pace the show, so as to not have a bunch of fast paced matches in a row, followed by slower paced matches.

 

5. Tomoaki Honma vs. Ryuji Yamakawa (6/20/05, Big Japan Deathmatch Title) - This is another brawl. But it's hardly anything like the previous match. This match is about blood and gimmicks. This match is the best deathmatch wrestling has ever seen. The most unique match on the show seems to be a good way to seperate the first and second halves of the show.

 

5. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki (11/26/92, WWWA Tag Titles, 2/3 Falls) - Here's my tag title match. This match was indredibly epic and dramatic, and that's why it's put here. Mainly so that the crowd isn't totally spent right before the main event starts.

 

6. Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA vs. Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita (5/8/05) - Both of these team's are incredibly over, which is why this match is here. If there's one thing that would get the crowd going after the previous match, it would be these guys. Just a brilliantly built and paced match, with sound fundmentals all the way through.

 

7. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6/3/94, All Japan Triple Crown) - There's only one match that would be fit to main event such a show, and that's quite simply the best wrestling match ever. This is about the only match that could get the crowd going crazy after all the matches earlier in the show. The build to the powerbomb would slowly move the crowd into a frenzy, eventually resulting in everyone in the building believing that once the move is hit, the match and the show will finally be at an end. But no. The powerbomb doesn't end the match, and instead the crowd is treated to another 15 minutes of 2 heavyweights slugging it out back and forth, until one finally resorts to desperate measures and abruptly knocks his opponent the hell out.

 

I tried to pace the show well, meaning keeping the styles and pacing mixed up. Don't want people to see similar matches right after another or else they might not be as interested as they should be. In the end, I decided to use all high quality matches. I also passed up on a few matches (Kandori-Hokuto for example) because they just wouldn't fit into the card unless they were main events. So it's not a true dream card, but rather a semi-dream card where the matches chosen are logical and logically placed.

I wonder if that card is almost too good. I think that fans may be too exhausted by that card and may not be able to get into it. You almost need some low-end good stuff (***-***1/2) to give them a chance to breathe, and maybe a few short comedy matches as well.

Opening match: Jushin Liger v Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 02/94)

Not a "great" match, not a particularly long match, but a very, very good match and one that contains some great work to pop the crowd early on without burning them out. Really strong big man, little man story going here - perhaps the best I've seen in that formula.

 

Midnight Express v Fantastics (NWA Clash I 03/27/88)

10-minute brawl for US tag team titles that would have the crowd absolutely electric.

 

Kurt Angle v Big Show (WWF Backlash 04/30/00)

After two really fun, but really serious matches, I feel the show needs some comedy and this is probably the best place to put the first part of it. More later.

 

Brian Pillman v Johnny B Badd (WCW Fall Brawl 09/17/95)

Gives the IC/US title match later in the show a sense of importance and also gives us our first extended match of the night.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama v Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa (AJPW 07/02/93)

Great six-man tag, and there won't be another match like this on the show anywhere.

 

Shawn Michaels v Razor Ramon (WWF Summerslam 08/27/95)

Ladder match for IC title that sees the babyface go home victorious. So far, we've had a "heel" (if you want to call him that) going over in Hash, another heel team in the MX, a babyface win in a comedy match followed by another babyface win ... and a really heated six man tag. The babyface is going over here as well, so I think it's time to throw a really good "heel wins" match in the mix.

 

Lex Luger & Barry Windham v Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (NWA Main Event 04/23/88)

Nice 14-minute match that features a huge angle at the end with career babyface Barry Windham turning heel and joining the Four Horsemen.

 

Show should be about 2:20 at this point.

 

Hacksaw Duggan v Ted DiBiase (Mid South 03/30/85)

Duggan wins the blowoff his fans have been awaiting for a long, long time in another great match.

 

Main event ...

 

Ric Flair v Ricky Steamboat (NWA Chi-Town Rumble 02/20/89)

Steamboat wins to send the fans home happy. This would be the only match on the show where the entrances would have a lot of pomp and circumstance.

 

Nine matches, runs about three hours, and you have seven matches clocking in at **** or better without taking anything away from each other. For the rest, you have a hilarious comedy match making fun of a guy who is nowhere to be found on the show and an awesome opener. Overall, four title matches and two championships change hands.

 

Match 1: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hirooki Goto – New Japan, Osaka Dream Night, August 28th 2003

 

This match is the perfect opener. It’s good enough that it gets the fans warmed up, but not so good as to wear them out too early. It’s well worked, has a clean finish, and opens the card up with a look at two future superstars.

 

Match 2: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psychosis – WAR, Super J Cup: 2nd Stage, December 13th 1995

 

I went with this match because, as the second match in the card, it should be better than good, but as with the first match, not so good as to burn the crowd out. I picked this match because it’s the best match between the two for showcasing their very best moves. It might not be their best match, but this one sees both guys hit their biggest moves and hit them perfectly, with not one blown spot all match.

 

Match 3: Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka – RINGS, July 1998

 

What better way to put on a contrasting match than to have Tamura and Kohsaka have the one match that is, in terms of style, the complete opposite of Mysterio vs. Psychosis, and yet is just as exciting. Here you had two guys putting on what, on first glance, could feasibly pass for a shoot, but is in actually a very well worked worked-shoot, and is one of the best of its kind.

 

Match 4: Ian Rotten vs. Axl Rotten – ECW, Return of the Funker 1995 – Barbed Wire Bat

 

In many ways, this was the best of the garbage style of wrestling in ECW. You had lots of blood that got over huge, but you had absolutely no high-risk moves. Sure, both guys came away with some bad looking scars, but neither guy risked their bodies with stupid stunts. This match is here for a change of pace, and it’s the only garbage/brawling match on the card, which ensures it gets over a lot bigger, because it stands out. I know a lot of people won’t like this match being here, or like this match at all, but I felt it was the best match in this style that ECW ever did, and I wanted as many different styles on show as I could put on.

 

Match 5: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin – WWF, Survivor Series 1996

 

I wanted one great singles match from North America, and this was it. I chose this match over their famous I Quit match because I think this was the better match; it was certainly the better wrestling match. This was a great wrestling match, and the one table spot in the match was worked into it smartly enough that it added to the match rather than made it seem like a crutch spot.

 

Match 6: The Midnight Express vs. The Southern Boys – NWA, Great American Bash 1990

 

Now this is the pinnacle of North American tag team wrestling. You’ve got a babyface team in the Southern Boys that have a gimmick that, for the area they are in, Baltimore, ensures that the crowd aren’t going to behind them one bit. Not only that, but their opponents, even though they are heels, are so great that they’ve got the crowd behind them before the match has even begun. However, The Midnight Express are so good that by the end of the match the crowd are going nuts for the Southern Boys, and even give them a standing ovation after the match.

 

Match 7: Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue – All Japan, May 23rd 1996

 

For my World tag title match, I didn’t just want a great match; I wanted a great match that told a story, and this is it. Not only is this a hell of a match, but it also tells the story of Akiyama hanging in with the big names, Kawada and Taue, and scoring his first major pinfall over Kawada, to herald Akiyama’s entrance into the top level of All Japan. It would be a few months before Akiyama was given a room of his own at Hotel Main Event, but this is the match that saw him open the door and put his bags down.

 

Main Event: Kenta Kobashi vs. Yuji Nagata – NOAH, September 12th 2003

 

For a major world championship match, for my money, they don’t come much better than this. The atmosphere was electric, the crowd were going crazy, both men brought their A-Game, and you had a tremendous match that saw everything from big moves, great selling, ‘adrenaline bursts’ executed the right way, and all the subtleties you could ask for.

 

When I booked the card, I decided on my main event first. My other two candidates were Steamboat vs. Flair from New Orleans and Punk vs. Joe II. I went with Kobashi vs. Nagata because, not only did I enjoy it the most of the three matches, but it was the only one with a clean-as-a-sheet finish, which is the only acceptable way the main event of this card should end.

I wonder if that card is almost too good. I think that fans may be too exhausted by that card and may not be able to get into it. You almost need some low-end good stuff (***-***1/2) to give them a chance to breathe, and maybe a few short comedy matches as well.

 

I got greedy, I admit it!@ I should have just used ***** matches, what a hoot that would have been. Except ~7 of the 10 ***** matches involve the same guys, so it kind of doesn't work

 

I might put together another card, this time one that progressively builds in quality from match to match.

Another twist on this concept would be to make the card promotions specific, ie: only WWE or WCW matches.

MisawaGQ's sensible, perfectly building card of doom.

 

1. Makoto Hashi vs. Go Shiosaki (12/24/04, ***) - This was actually the opening match on the show it occured. This was obviously a veteran vs. youngster match, but it was quite a role reversal for Hashi, who is usually playing the poor shmoe who gets his ass kicked. Hashi was great here and he played his role to perfection, and led Shiosaki to probably his best singles match. This certainly isn't going to upstage anything, but the match still looks like gold considering its position on the card.

 

2. Milano Collection A.T./Steve Tsujimoto/Masato Yoshino vs. Ryo Saito/Takayuki Yagi/Anthony W. Mori (1/23/02, ***1/4) - I actually had a lot of matches come to mind for this quality scale, mostly WWE main events from the past few years. While those matches fit the quality scale, they don't really belong in a 2nd match position. This match was a good fit, because it certainly wasn't going to steal the show. This wasn't full of spots, but it was full of submissions and some nifty, subtle story-telling as well.

 

3. Osamu Namiguchi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (5/8/05, ***1/2) - This is the match I'm most proud of. What an absolutely perfect fit for this spot on the card. Two young guys, one of whom is only 17, pulling out all the stops, having the match of their lives. And due to the nature of the match (who was involved, how they achieved such a great match), it has no chance of upstaging anything else. This match, along with the opener goes to show that the future of Japanes pro-wrestling looks to be in good hands.

 

4. Spanky vs. Bryan Danielson (4/2/05, ***3/4) - This match opened the card it was on, but both guys clearly weren't holding back. A fairly long match for this early (around 25 minutes), but nothing that was done in this match was ever going to upstage anything else. Plus it gives a nice chance of pace from a couple of the previous matches.

 

5. Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage (3/29/87, ****) - Things are starting to pick up a bit now, as all of the matches have slowly built in quality, and this is the first match that gives people some idea that what they're seeing is a special show. Neither of these guys were main eventing at the time, but they were certainly important players, so I like the placement of this.

 

6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (8/15/04, ****1/4) - This is the first match that's really going to get the crowd going nuts, but not too nuts. Great performance by both guys, as Tanahashi really breaks through for certain here. Neither guy is really a huge name at this point either, so I still have the big guns left in the bank.

 

7. Wild Pegasus vs. Great Sasuke (4/30/94, ****1/2) - Another tournament finals match. Hurray. This being a juniors match, isn't going to steal the spotlight for anyone else (since heavyweights have always been the big show in wrestling). Still, this match was worked differently than probably every other match on the card, which is good for variety. Plus, it was important enough at the time to warrant a high placement on the card.

 

8. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada (5/21/94. AJPW Double Tag Titles, ****3/4) - I decided to use this match here, burning through most of my choices for the main event in the process, just to change things up a bit. Normally one would think a match like this couldn't be topped, given who was involved along with how great it was. But it is certainly possible.

 

9. Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori (4/2/93, *****) - Interestingly enough, this card ends up having no world title match. But thats ok, because this match was about something more important. This was about utter hatred. And these two never let the crowd forget that. The emotion and drama of this match will probably never be touched, which makes it the perfect choice for ending a card such as this. Also, this match was a big enough deal at the time, that it really does belong in this spot. Conidentally enough, the real card that this match main evented might almost be as good as the one I just concocted, and that's saying something.

 

I like this card. I think the Pegasus-Sasuke was great for breaking up the heavy drama of my 6th and 8/9 matches. Even though it was still a great match, it didn't have the emotion or drama that a few of the other high end matches had. I also think the placement of most of the matches was perfect, with only 1 or 2 that were slightly out of place, just for the sake of the quality scale.