If you could show one match to a non fan...

[Guest HopeSpot]

That would show them wrestling as an art form and keep them entertained through out. Keep in mind the fact that this person has never seen wrestling and more than likely looks down on it as Hollywoods bastard step child.

 

Discuss.

[Guest wolverine]

For various reasons:

 

Men:

 

Kobashi/Kikuchi vs. Kroffat/Furnas 5/25/92

 

Women:

 

Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong 11/20/94

[Guest HBK16]

Well, I wouldn't show them any AJ stiff style becasue I think it will bore them.  I would show them These Days.  I might consider some garbage too. I showed my brother and his friend some BJ and they are all fans now. So it might work either way depending on their liking.  The garbage style interest some because it is something they thought they never seen but after you see it like a few times like us, it gets boring.

[Guest wolverine]

"Well, I wouldn't show them any AJ stiff style becasue I think it will bore them."

 

I hope you're not referring to the AJ match I mentioned, because it's there for a very specific reason, and what you just said isn't one of them.  Those who have seen the match will know what I'm talking about.

[Guest Jubuki]

I think I'd rather keep them as non-fans.  Can't encapsulate it in one sitting.

[Guest]

when I showed my friend hansen vs kobashi from 93 when hansen gave kobashi 2 black eyes from his evil lariets, he automatically became a fan.

 

--Rob

[Guest Black Tiger]

Jubuki's right, When I first got into Puro it was because of the New Japan guys I'd seen in WCW, so I bought mostly New Japan stuff.

 

I decided to give All Japan a shot and got a TV block from September of 1998, and I hated it. It was mostly interviews, and the intro to the show had a ninja or something walking through a field. The only wrestlers I knew of when the matches started were Johnny Ace and Johnny Smith.

 

I wouldn't try All Japan again for over a year and now I like it almost as much as New Japan.

[Guest wolverine]

"I decided to give All Japan a shot and got a TV block from September of 1998"

 

Boy, if that's not the absolute last thing I'd get from All Japan '90s, I don't know what is.

 

Go Lakers!

[Guest Black Tiger]

I learned that one the hard way Wolverine. Now after I'd seen some PROPER All Japan I love it.

 

I would have to say I'd show them either

 

Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyata 5/5/96. The electrified barbed wire would get a HOLY SHIT out of them and wake them up.

 

Kobashi vs Akiyama from Great Voyage. The head drops they do to each other would keep them interested.

 

Michinoku Pro six, eight or ten man tags involving Sasuke's group vs Kaientai. The speed and spots would really get a great reaction

 

Shinjiro Ohtani vs Kazushi Sakuraba from Sky Diving J. Its more or less a psudo shoot.

[Guest Ace309]

My brother and my 12-year-old cousin both got a big kick out of Ohtani/Takaiwa vs. Kanemoto/Tanaka, 10/11/99. Ohtani's just great throughout, doing the boot scrapes and golf-clapping for himself and whatnot, and there's enough spottiness throughout to keep them entertained despite not quite getting the psychology of the match.

[Guest thefrenchargel]

if i could show a non fan one and only one match, it would probably be the King of the Deathmatch Final between Foley and Funk, chances are they'd at least have heard the names before, it's bloody as hell, and the barbed wire and explosion stuff would definitely hold their interest, especially since deep psychology would be pretty much lost on them. Something as great as a Misawa/Kawada match would probably bore them to sleep.

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

Lyger vs. Sasuke JCUP 94

 

Not only does it have great storytelling.  The match is fast paced, and theres always something going on.  The matwork is brief, and ends in one of the most painful looking submission holds ever(Mexican Surfboard w/Dragon Sleeper) Sasuke's selling keeps the armwork interesting.  Theres tons of big ass high impact moves(Tombstones, Fisherman Buster, Lyger Bomb, Thunderfire Bomb), and lots of high flying at the end.  

 

But that's puro.  If I were showing something to somebody who never watched wrestling before, I'd go with:

 

Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka 11/7/99

 

My little cousin is bored by any match, that doesn't have Stone Cold, The Rock, or Billy Gunn(shudders).  Of all the matches I showed him, this is the only one that had him glued to his seat.  Two big guys, operating at light speed, perfectly executing big spot after big spot.

[Guest wolverine]

The matwork is brief, and ends in one of the most painful looking submission holds ever

 

I like matwork and painful looking submission holds...

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

I like matwork and painful looking submission holds...

 

I like matwork as long as it goes somewhere. It seems alot of wrestlers just use mat work to kill time(Sasuke did that alot.)  And who doesn't love painful looking submission holds.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

I would have to agree with the choice of Sasuke/Lyger from Jcup 94.  From the fighting spirit of Sasuke, to the dickishness of Lyger, to the deadly moves and strikes to the jaw dropping high flying, to the story in general, this offers everything that is great about professional wrestling, and the flashy costumes are enough to keep their attention.

 

OR, KDX vs. Sasuke/Yakushiji/Hamada/Delphin/Naniwa, which was non-stop action from the git go.  All of which creates a visual that would leave anyone in awe and wanting more.

[Guest PlatypusFool]

Aaah Lyger / Sasuke, it might not be the best match ever, but it might well be my favourite. I don't know if everyone has picked up on this yet but I LOVE LYGER

[Guest wolverine]

I love Liger too, but that's not one of my favorites of his.  I like his 96-97 matches a lot more.  The 3/17/96 Ohtani match is a real gem (****1/2), better than the Sasuke match.

[Guest J*ingus]

If you were showing it to a fan who'd never seen wrestling before, I'd say get something that looks as least fake as possible, with a bare minimum of "wrestling physics" (i.e. Irish whips).  Lots of first-time watchers comment on nothing but just how damn fake the whole thing looks, and can't see past that.  Ergo, something from All Japan's stiffer years or (god help us) New Japan's semi-shoot style might actually work better for that purpose than a Liger/Sasuke flipflopfest.

[Guest wolverine]

I'll agree with that.  Perhaps Kawada vs. Hansen 2/28/93, since it's so damn stiff.

 

For me, I've found that the Michinoku stuff is great to watch the first time, but repeated viewings make it seem less great, since you know the spots in advance.  For example, I thought that 10/10/96 was ***** the first time, but the last time I saw it, I found it to be no better than ****1/2.  Still great, just not the classic that people pimp it to be.

[Guest]

I know I say it all the time but the Foley/Funk IWA Barbed Wire match from 1/95 can suck 'em in. Lots of'em have seen Foley on talk shows or robot wars or what have you, so there's name recognition, and the match is pure evil.

 

"You mean that's real barbed wire? Oh."

 

And no-one's mentioned it yet, but why not AAA When Worlds Collide? It's got a great mix of (lucha) styles, some name recognition among the workers, and if there's one thing I know, it's that even if people don't like wrestling, you can always get them to watch a minis match.

[Guest red_file]

For me, I've found that the Michinoku stuff is great to watch the first time, but repeated viewings make it seem less great, since you know the spots in advance.  For example, I thought that 10/10/96 was ***** the first time, but the last time I saw it, I found it to be no better than ****1/2.  Still great, just not the classic that people pimp it to be.

Just out of idle curiosity, do you feel that that's a failing of the match specifically or the style in general?  It's the phrase "since you know the spots in advance" that jumps out at me; seems to imply that the primary value of the style is as a novelty.  I suppose what I'm asking is: do you feel that that particular style inhibits matches from reached (and I suppose retaining) an evaluation of *****?

[Guest wolverine]

Just out of idle curiosity, do you feel that that's a failing of the match specifically or the style in general?  It's the phrase "since you know the spots in advance" that jumps out at me; seems to imply that the primary value of the style is as a novelty.  I suppose what I'm asking is: do you feel that that particular style inhibits matches from reached (and I suppose retaining) an evaluation of *****?

 

Good question.  The thing about that match is that it's difficult for me to get emotionally involved with the characters, since the pace is so fast that it's really difficult to tell any kind of story in the ring.  When I first saw it, I was in awe of the great highspots, and it was certainly one of the more spectacular matches I've seen.  But when you rewatch it, that "awe" isn't there anymore.  And it doesn't have the substance behind it to keep me enthralled beyond the spots.

 

As an example, let's take one of my personal favorite matches, Toyota vs. Kong 11/20/94.  This match is spot intensive as well, but what separates "great" from "classic" is how these wrestlers let you FEEL their emotions in the ring.  After Kong squashes Toyota with a Banzai, and hits her with a uraken, Toyota's facial expressions were something that I'll always remember because it was so dramatic and heartwrenching.  

 

But to each his own, and what one person may feel is a classic, somebody else might not.  It just depends on how you look at it.

[Guest goodhelmet]

personally, i have shown non-fans matches from Japan and the first one i always stick in is misawa-kawada from 1/99. it has the 'ganso bomb', kawada wrestles with a broken arm and the strikes are stiff as shit. while not the best match All Japan has ever produced it certainly catches the attention of someone who has never experienced it before.