To start, I'm a first time user so it should be interesting to see how long it takes before someone calls me ignorant for not knowing all there is to know about All Japan.
I agree with just about everyone's pick so far (aside from Razor / HBK from Summer Slam which was just a drawn out version of their previous battle with no "backstory" and thrown together at the last minute to increase the buyrate). I do, however, have a few honorable mentions that have yet to be featured.
The Rockers vs. the Orient Express (Royal Rumble 91)
Very overlooked but one of the best WWF tag team battles back when tag team wrestling was at its peak in the U.S.
The Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage (WrestleMania VII)
No one is going to regard Warrior as anything resembling a sound wrestler - and I would agree with that description. However, the match is full of emotion, had about 9 months of buildup, and finished with a very memorable confrontation btw. Savage and Liz.
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (Survivor Series 92)
I found this to be much more enjoyable than their WrestleMania XII meeting. This was at a time when these two "mid-carders" were given the opportunity to headline a pay-per-view in an era dominated by Hogan, Savage, Flair, and Warrior - and the two not only held their own but pulled off a very overlooked classic.
Cactus Jack vs. Big Van Vader (Halloween Havoc 93)
Yes, wrestling gets a lot more hardcore than this but I regard this match as being an introduction to U.S. fans as to what hardcore wrestling is all about. This was at a time when the WWF and WCW were being as cartoonish as ever - but Cactus and Vader took the gimmick that was "Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal" and pulled off a brutal and bloody match that neither promotion would come close to meeting for years to come.
And the winner is...
Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair (1/9/93; Boston Garden)
The WWF's first attempt at the 60-minute marathon match, this bout included everything from Bobby Heenan's interference, to Hart submitting multiple times to the figure-4, to the favorite foreign object blow behind the referee's back (a favorite to mine), to enjoyable scientific wrestling put on by two of the best of all time. If you haven't seen it, give it a try. As far as falls go, it's closer to Rock/Triple H than Hart/HBK - but the psychology is there.
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