Moty--1990-2001

[Guest wolverine]

These are my picks and ratings for Match of the Year from 1990-2001.  I'd HIGHLY recommend getting all of these matches if you haven't seen them.  They're all great.

 

1990--Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa 9/1/90 (AJPW) *****

1991--Tsuruta/Taue/Fuchi vs. Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi 4/20/91 (AJPW) ****3/4

1992--Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki 11/26/92 (AJW--WWWA Tag Titles) *****

1993--Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue 12/3/93 (AJPW--RWTL '93) *****

1994--Misawa vs. Kawada 6/3/94 (AJPW--Triple Crown) *****

1995--Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue 6/9/95 (AJPW--Double Tag Titles) *****

1996--Misawa/Akiyama vs. Kawada/Taue 12/6/96 (AJPW--RWTL '96 Finals) *****

1997--Kobashi vs. Misawa 1/20/97 (AJPW--Triple Crown) *****

1998--Kawada vs. Kobashi 6/12/98 (AJPW--Triple Crown) ****3/4

1999--Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura 9/15/99 (GAEA--AAAW Title) ****1/2

2000--Ito/Nakanishi/Takahashi vs. Mita/Shimoda/Maekawa 11/23/00 (AJW--Cage Match) ****1/2

2001--Kaoru Ito vs. Momoe Nakanishi 9/16/01 (AJW--WWWA Title) ****1/2

[Guest godthedog]

it's pretty comforting to know that i only have 2 all-japan tapes, & between the 2 i have five of those MOTYs.

[Guest Jubuki]

Ah, what the Hell, why not.  Mine go back a bit further (though not too far), and there are a few quirky contrasts.  But I figured this may drum up some discussion, maybe.

 

The # sign next to a match means I haven't watched it in about a year, or I haven't reviewed it.  So, you could probably take the match below it and count it as my choice.  Everything falls within 1/2* of the top match selected, with nothing below ****1/4; some years that means good stuff is left off, unlike the last few years.

 

1988

 

1 Jumbo vs. Tenryu 10/28/88 # -- 4.5-4.75

2 Takada vs. Maeda 11/10/88

3 Takada vs. Backlund 12/22/88

4 Jumbo vs. Misawa 3/9/88 #

5 Hase vs. Takada 3/11/88

6 Tenryu/Kawada vs. Hansen/Gordy 12/15/88

 

 

1989

 

1 Jumbo vs. Tenryu 6/5/89 # -- 4.75

2 Flair vs. Steamboat 4/2/89 Note: I allegedly HATEHATEHATE this match but it's my #2 for the year...

3 Flair vs. Steamboat 2/20/89 Note: Hey, 2 Flair/Steamboats in a row?  Wow, lookit all the hate!

4 Liger vs. Sano 8/13/89

 

 

1990

 

1 Jumbo vs. Misawa 6/8/90 # -- 4.75-5

2 Jumbo vs. Misawa 9/1/90 #

3 Liger vs. Sano 1/31/90

 

 

1991

 

1 Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi vs. Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi 4/20/91 # -- 4.5 (based on TV version)

2 Mutoh vs. Chono 8/11/91

3 Jumbo vs. Kawada 10/24/91

4 Nakano vs. Hokuto 1/4/91

 

 

1992

 

1 Toyota/Yamada vs. Kansai/Ozaki 11/26/92 -- 5

2 Samurai vs. Liger, 4/30/92 #

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

4 Toyota vs. Yamada, 8/15/92

5 Hokuto vs. Inoue, 11/26/92

6 Misawa vs. Kawada, 10/21/92 #

7 Liger vs. Pillman, 2/29/92

8 Koloff/Rhodes/Sting/Steamboat/Windham vs. Rude/Anderson/Eaton/Zybyszko/Austin, 5/17/92

 

 

1993

 

1  Hokuto vs. Kandori, 4/2/93 -- 5

t2 Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue 12/3/93

t2 Hansen vs. Kobashi, 7/29/93

4  Misawa/Kobashi/Akiyama vs. Kawada/Taue/Ogawa, 7/2/93

5  Hansen vs. Kawada, 2/28/93 #

6  Inoue/Inoue/Kong/Hasegawa vs. Suzuki/Ozaki/Kansai/Fukuoka, 7/31/93

7  Misawa vs. Kawada, 7/29/93

8  Toyota/Yamada vs. Kansai/Ozaki 4/11/93

9  Hansen vs. Kobashi, 4/16/93

10 Hokuto vs. Toyota 8/21/93

 

 

1994

 

1 Misawa vs. Kawada, 6/3/94 -- 5

2 Kong vs. Toyota, 11/20/94 #

3 Guerrero/Barr vs. Santito/Octagon, 11/6/94

4 Hokuto/Kandori vs. Nakano/Kong, 3/27/94

5 Vader vs. Takada, 8/18/94 #

6 Benoit vs. Sasuke, 4/16/94 #

7 Hart vs. Hart, 3/20/94

8 Williams vs. Kawada, 4/16/94

9 Kong vs. Kansai, 11/20/94 #

10 Inoue vs. Kansai, 11/20/94 #

 

 

1995

 

1 Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue, 6/9/95 -- 5

2 Inoue/Inoue vs. Toyota/Hasegawa, 8/30/95

3 Kong vs. Toyota, 6/27/95

4 Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue, 10/15/95

5 Kawada vs. Albright, 10/25/95

6 Misawa vs. Taue, 4/15/95

7 Misawa vs. Kawada, 7/24/95

8 Michaels vs. Hall, 8/27/95 #

9 Misawa vs. Taue, 9/10/95 #

10 Misawa vs. Taue, 4/12/95

 

 

1996

 

1 Misawa/Akiyama vs. Kawada/Taue, 12/6/96 -- 5

2 Naniwa/Hamada/Sasuke/Yakushiji/Delfin vs. TOGO/Teioh/TAKA/Funaki/Shiryu, 12/16/96

3 Hamada/Sasuke/Delfin vs. TOGO/Shiryu/Funaki, 11/12/96

4 Hart vs. Austin, 11/17/96

5 Michaels vs. Foley, 9/22/96

6 Dragon vs. Ohtani, 8/4/96

7 Liger vs. Ohtani, 3/17/96

8 Dragon vs. Rey, 11/24/96

9 Naniwa/Hamada/Mask/Yakushiji/Delfin vs. TOGO/Teioh/TAKA/Funaki/Shiryu, 10/10/96

10 Misawa vs. Kobashi, 3/31/96

 

 

1997

 

1 Santo vs. Casas, 9/19/97 -- 4.75-5

2 Misawa vs. Kobashi, 1/20/97

3 Tamura vs. Han, 1/22/97

4 Rey vs. Guerrero, 10/25/97

5 Ito/Watanabe vs. Shimoda/Mita, 9/21/97

6 Hart vs. Austin, 3/23/97

7 Misawa vs. Kobashi, 10/21/97 #

8 Misawa vs. Kobashi, 4/19/97

 

 

1998

 

1 Tamura vs. Kohsaka, 6/27/98 -- 5

2 Ikeda vs. Ishikawa, 5/27/98

3 Kawada vs. Kobashi, 6/12/98 #

 

 

1999

 

1 Aja vs. Meiko, 9/17/99 -- 4.5

2 Kawada/Taue vs. Kobashi/Akiyama, 1/7/99

3 Yoshida vs. Akino, 1/17/99

4 Yoshida vs. Yagi, 2/18/99

5 Yoshida vs. Futagami, 4/14/99

6 Benoit/Malenko vs. Raven/Saturn, 4/11/99

7 TAKA vs. Tanaka, 10/17/99 #

 

 

2000

 

1 Ito/Nakanishi/Takahashi vs. Maekawa/Shimoda/Mita, 11/23/00 -- 4.25

2 Misawa vs. Akiyama, 2/27/00

3 Kawada/Fuchi vs. Nagata/Iizuka, 12/14/00

4 Tanaka vs. Sano, 1/30/00

 

 

2001

 

1 Hokuto vs. Satomura, 4/29/01 -- 4.25-4.5

2 Ito vs. Toyota, 8/17/01

3 Ito vs. Nakanishi, 9/16/01

[Guest wolverine]

To take this a bit further, I'll put my picks in order and some opinions:

 

1.  11/26/92

 

Note:  Without question, the greatest match of all-time.

 

2.  12/6/96

 

Note:  Best men's match I've ever seen.

 

3.  6/3/94

 

Note:  The greatest singles match ever.

 

4.  1/20/97

 

Note:  Kobashi's best match ever.

 

5.  12/3/93

 

Note:  Single greatest performance of Kawada's career.

 

6.  6/9/95

 

Note:  Kawada's shining moment.

 

7.  9/1/90

 

Note:  Best Jumbo match I've seen.

 

8.  6/12/98

 

Note:  Kawada turns in his second greatest performance, carrying an injured Kobashi to a MOTY.

 

9.  4/20/91

 

Note:  Definitive Jumbo vs. Misawa six-man tag.

 

10.  9/16/01

 

Note:  New age Veteran vs. Youngster match-up.

 

11.  9/15/99

 

Note:  The last great title match of the 90's.

 

12.  11/23/00

 

Note:  Best cage match I've seen.

[Guest Tim Cooke]

A few comments, questions, etc.

 

For Chris, after reading the reviews and knowing a little about personal tastes, 1996 and 1997 were quite surprising to me.

 

1996

 

1 Misawa/Akiyama vs. Kawada/Taue, 12/6/96 -- 5

- no surprise.

2 Naniwa/Hamada/Sasuke/Yakushiji/Delfin vs. TOGO/Teioh/TAKA/Funaki/Shiryu, 12/16/96

- First slight surprise, as I think the 10/10 match is better structured, though this one has much better crowd heat due to the smaller building.  Also, I would take the 8/4/96, 1/21/96, and 3/17/96 NJ Juniors matches over this one as a personal liking.

3 Hamada/Sasuke/Delfin vs. TOGO/Shiryu/Funaki, 11/12/96

- Maybe the best 6 man they produced, excluding 1/14/97, but this one had much better heat.

4 Hart vs. Austin, 11/17/96

- Good match, but def not the fourth best match of 1996.

5 Michaels vs. Foley, 9/22/96

- Michaels best match, though I haven't seen the Vader match yet.  I hate Michaels and Foley bugs me a lot, but 5th isn't a bad placement...still shouldn't be higher than 8/4/96.

6 Dragon vs. Ohtani, 8/4/96

- Beautiful.  My vote for the best "non southern" (i.e. Liger v Sano, Liger v Sammy '92) as they start off with big pysch then hit solid matwork for a period and then hit it off with a final 7 minutes that I haven't seen done better in any other Juniors match.

7 Liger vs. Ohtani, 3/17/96

- Excellent.  Better than Austin/Hart and Foley/Michaels as well as the 12/16 Mpro 10 man.

8 Dragon vs. Rey, 11/24/96

- Hidden gem that a lot of people today would pass up for a Lo Ki shit kicking or something like that.  Better than Hart/Austin.

9 Naniwa/Hamada/Mask/Yakushiji/Delfin vs. TOGO/Teioh/TAKA/Funaki/Shiryu, 10/10/96

10 Misawa vs. Kobashi, 3/31/96

 

 

1997

 

1 Santo vs. Casas, 9/19/97 -- 4.75-5

- I like this match but I would like to know why so high?  I haven't seen the whole feud yet, but it is a pretty basic one.  Santo, legend and technico vs Casas, legend and rudo, with roles reversed for a breif period.  This match felt so much like non lucha that is kind of bothered me.

2 Misawa vs. Kobashi, 1/20/97

- Just rewatched this.  For those who praise Kobashi's performance, I think Misawa makes this match.  Kobashi's brutal offense on his "friend" alsmot makes him very much heel like, though he doesn't react that way with his character.  Great match, but give me the 94-94 super classicos or teh 1990-1993 smartly worked, great crowd heat matches over this.    

3 Tamura vs. Han, 1/22/97

- need to see.

4 Rey vs. Guerrero, 10/25/97

- excellent.  Wish it was a tad longer.

5 Ito/Watanabe vs. Shimoda/Mita, 9/21/97

6 Hart vs. Austin, 3/23/97

 

Tim

[Guest wolverine]

As if you couldn't tell, my personal tastes are All Japan and All Japan Women, hence the vast majority of my picks.

 

BTW, I am a bit surprised that there isn't any New Japan juniors match up there, but every year I found a better match.  Though, Liger vs. Sano 1/31/90 would probably have the best shot.

[Guest Black Tiger]

I don't have enough of the years 1992.1995, or 1999 so I'm just skipping them.

 

1990: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jumbo Tsuruta (6/8/90)

 

1991: Steiners vs Hase/Sasaki (Starcade 1991)

 

1993: Chris Benoit vs El Samauri (TOSJ Final)

 

1994: Great Sasuke vs Jyushin Lyger (J-Cup, haven't seen the complete 6/3/94 yet)

 

1996: Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyota (5/5/96)

 

1997: Mutoh/Steiners vs Chono/Hall/Nash (5/3/97)

 

1998: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (5/1/98)

 

2000: Toshiaki Kawada/Masanobu Fuchi vs Yugi Nagata/Takashi Izuka (NJPW 2nd Judgement)

[Guest wolverine]

"I don't have enough of the years 1992.1995, or 1999 so I'm just skipping them."

 

I don't mean this to sound rude or anything, but it doesn't look like you have enough of any year, judging from your picks....

[Guest Matt]

Ill play along, but, seeing as how I have Iittle 1991 I'll leave it out.

 

Also, I still have yet to get any Joshi as All Japan fever hit me hard last summer and robbed me of any substantial funds (the time will come, however, the time will come)

 

1990:

 

Jumbo v. Misawa (6-8-1990 or 9-1-1990)

 

I dunno, I guess I dont really choose to deliberation which is better. I think maybe (and I go kicking and screaming into drawing a conclusion) MAAYBEEEE I was a tad more satisfied with 6-8's payoff.

 

1992:

 

Liger v. Samurai (Top of the Super Juniors Finals)

Davey Boy Smith v. Bret Hart (Summerslam 1992)

 

Its a mood thing for the decision here. Sometimes I feel a little guilty giving Liger and Sammy the nod as it really is a one man show on Liger's behalf. On that same token, Summerslam was Bret's best carry job IMO. Either way its one man's best individual performance getting the honors here.

 

For those who would argue Bret/Davey's inclusion, I present to you my other possibilities:

 

Liger v. Pillman (Superbrawl II)

War Games (wrestle war 1992)

Kawada v. Misawa (10-21)

 

All of these lack a little something for me. Be it the inconsistent pacing of Liger/Pillman. The subpar payoff of War Games. Or simply the fact that Ive see much better betwixt the two (Misawa/Kawada)

 

1993:

 

Kobashi v. Hansen (7-29-93)

 

Its the Kobashi mark in me shining through with this choice. First Kobashi match I saw that wowed me (though I think, on same tape, there was one against Taue in february that I also enjoyed). Plus, having never read a review of the match its the only finish that caught me off guard and yet remained perfectly satisfying.

 

I would heed the argument that the RWTL match was better though I find them equals in their respective dynamics.

 

Other picks:

Benoit v. Samurai (Top of the super juniors 1993)

Misawa/Kobashi/Akiyama v. Kawada/Taue/Ogawa

And, how sad is this, the North American offering of the year is probably Vader v. Flair at Starrcade (unless lucha threw something out there of greater magnitude)

 

1994:

 

No contest-Kawada v. Misawa (6-3-94)

 

Moreso a Testament to this match, more than anything I could say, id the fact that this is a cut above the rest of the great matches in 1994 which, outside of the top spot, is probably one of the closest rank and file years in wrestlign history. Take for example the other top picks:

 

Bret v. Owen (WM X-Top North American Match of the 90's)

Benoit v. Sasuke (J-cup 94-In the running for top junior heavyweight match of the 90's, maybe ever)

Michaels v. Ramon (WM X)

Los Gringos Locos v. Octagon&El Hijo Del Santo (When Worlds Collide)

Kawada v. Williams (4-16-94)

and, bringing up the rear Ohtani & Benoit v. Sasuke & Guerrero (Jr. Tag League 94)

 

all-in-all, methinks, not a bad year to be a wrestling fan (unless, for some SICK reason, you were a WCW elitist at this time)

 

1995:

 

Kawada/Taue v. Kobashi/Misawa (6-9-95)

 

Nothing really to say about why, it just was.

 

Over in the states the MOTY was Michaels v. Ramon at Summerslam

 

Also Misawa v. Taue in the Champions Carnival Finals or (9-10-95)

Juniors offered up a whole lotta good at the J-Cup and Eddy, Dean, & Benoit gave ECW the most credibility it ever had betwixt eachother and with lesser opponents

 

1996:

 

TIE: Ohtani v. Dragon and Misawa/Akiyama v. Kawada/Taue

 

Best Juniors match and best men's tag respectively. I wont deliberate on which I like more since they are ranked on two different scales.

 

Other choices:

Foley v. Michaels (Mind Games)

Bret v. Austin (Survivor Series)

10-Man Tag (These Days)

Ulitmo v. Rey (World War 3)

Rey v. Psicosis (BATB 96-- its a personal preference thing)

 

1997:

 

Kobashi v. Misawa (1-20-97)

 

Once again, the Kobashi mark in me refuses to let me stir the pot with this one. I know its a cliche choice, as are most of my number ones, but most great matches get their reputations for a reason and I choose not to defer from said reputations merely for the sake of being original.

 

But I also like:

 

Bret v. Austin (WM 13)

Eddy v. Rey (Havoc 97)

10-Man Tag (Canadian Stampede)

Liger v. Ohtani (2-9-97)

Michaels v. Taker (Badd Blood)

Kanemoto v. Samurai (TOSJ 97--REASON: Have you ever popped like crazy for a victory cause you knew the victor really deserved it?)

Misawa v. Kobashi (10-21-97)

 

If any year saw the big 2 stay on par with Japan, it was here... and maybe 2000.

 

1998:

 

Kobashi v. Kawada (6-12-98)

 

I really dont pimp this match much but matchwise 1998 didnt have many stand-outs. I mean, this is a great match, and personally my favorite Kawada performance, but I dunno...

 

North Americam MOTY--Foley v. Austin (Over the Edge 1998)

 

1999:

 

Kobashi v. Misawa (6-99)

 

Yeah yeah yeah I know it DOES get kinda old after a while. But this was a pretty good match (though the fact that Kobashi is the only one who is severely affected by the Emerald Frosion is somewhat confusing, I mean, this is the guy who kicks out of the Tiger Driver 91 like it was a snap mare)  and can bear the crown of MOTY. This might ultimately be to the sorry state of wrestling in both conutries that year.

 

North American MOTY is probably Benoit v. Hart in the Owen Hart Tribute and only because, on repeated viewings, it is the only one that retains that Big Match aura (and for all the wrong reasons)

 

Anyway in the next 2 years the WWF would start to win out over Japan with the 2000 MOTY going to Cactus v. HHH from the Royal Rumble and the 2001 MOTY going to Angle v. Austin from Summerslam. I was colored unimpressed by Muto both years (as I have been pretty much with Muto(a) of any era) and think 2000's best Japanese offering, to me, was Kawada v. Tenryu from October , whereas I choose not to comment on Japan in 2001.

 

I realize that post 1997, wrestling apparently belongs to Joshi and will see for myself in due time, just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

 

For those of you with far more vast video libraries, simply laugh at me and spare me your pity.

[Guest wolverine]

1992:

 

Liger v. Samurai (Top of the Super Juniors Finals)

Davey Boy Smith v. Bret Hart (Summerslam 1992)

 

Get the Dream Rush main event (11/26/92).  It may change the way you look at this thing we call pro wrestling, because it's FAR more than just that.

 

1994:

 

No contest-Kawada v. Misawa (6-3-94)

 

Nah, it's a contest.  Even though I think Misawa-Kawada is the greatest singles match ever, my "favorite" match from 1994 is Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong 11/20/94.  It doesn't have the storyline of 6/3/94, but the work and drama is just off the fucking page.  I pretty much guarantee it'll make you a joshi addict.

 

I realize that post 1997, wrestling apparently belongs to Joshi and will see for myself in due time, just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

 

Yeah, I think you'll enjoy it.  Being a Kobashi mark myself, I think you'll love Manami Toyota, because she has a lot of the fire that Kobashi had.  Currently, my favorite is Momoe Nakanishi, who is just incredible.

[Guest Jubuki]

Nah - US had better matches than Flair/Vader in '93 -- like Sting/Vader from 2/93, Benoit/Scorpio from 2/93, Windham/Scorpio from 6/93, etc.  WWF had Hogan and Yokozuna on top, so you know it was full of suck.

[Guest shlidgn90]

in 93, there was also hollywood blondes vs. steamboat/douglass series was good.

[Guest J*ingus]

'93 WWF did have those HBK vs. Marty Jannetty and Curt Hennig vs. Everyone matches, so it wasn't a complete waste.  Also they had the Vader-Cactus series in '93.

[Guest wolverine]

Getting back on topic, I'd suggest that everyone take a really good look at Chris' list.  This is all subjective, but from a reliability standpoint, I've found his ratings to be the absolute best.  (That's probably because I agree with most them).  His ratings/reviews are a nice change of pace from everyone who seems to overrate stuff these days.  Go read his site.

[Guest Black Tiger]

If North American gets thorwn into the equation, my picks make a little more sense. I was only using Puro since this is the foreign board.

 

1990: Misawa vs Tsuruta (6/8/90), I've only seen clips of 91/90

 

1991: Steiners vs Hase/Sasaki (3/21/91)

 

1992: Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper (Wrestlemania 8) or WAR GAMES

 

1993: Chirs Benoit vs El Samauri (TOSJ Final)

 

1994: Jyushin Lyger vs Great Sasuke (J-Cup Final)

 

1995: Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels (SummerSlam)

 

1996: Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyota (5/5/96)

 

1997: Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr (10/25/97)

 

1998: Misawa vs Kawada (5/1/98)

 

1999: Hardy Boyz vs Edge/Christian (No Mercy)

 

2000: Jun Akiyama vs Kenta Kobashi (NOAH: Great Voyage)

 

2001: Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada

[Guest wolverine]

1990: Misawa vs Tsuruta (6/8/90)

 

*****

 

1991: Steiners vs Hase/Sasaki (3/21/91)

 

Haven't seen

 

1992: Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper (Wrestlemania 8) or WAR GAMES

 

Saw Hart-Piper in '92, but didn't rate matches back then.  Never saw War Games.

 

1993: Chirs Benoit vs El Samauri (TOSJ Final)

 

****

 

1994: Jyushin Lyger vs Great Sasuke (J-Cup Final)

 

****1/2

 

1995: Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels (SummerSlam)

 

****3/4

 

1996: Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyota (5/5/96)

 

Haven't seen.

 

1997: Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr (10/25/97)

 

****3/4

 

1998: Misawa vs Kawada (5/1/98)

 

****

 

1999: Hardy Boyz vs Edge/Christian (No Mercy)

 

***1/2

 

2000: Jun Akiyama vs Kenta Kobashi (NOAH: Great Voyage)

 

***1/2

 

2001: Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada

 

**3/4

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

Personally I think Kobashi/Misawa 1/20/97 is one of the most overrated matches ever.  Sure it was influential, and had guys copying it left and right.  But I really don't think it is a ***** or the best match of that year.  

 

Kobashi was awesome in it.  But Misawa's no selling of the arm and body killed it for me.  What the hell was the point of Kobashi pounding Misawa's body for 5 mins, if Misawa is gonna hit the Frog Splash with no trouble.  Whats the point of working the arm for 10 mins, if Misawa is gonna shake it off, and start elbowing away again.  IMO the match is ****1/2.  And there were better Junior Matches that year with Eddy/Rey, Liger/Ohtani, you could also make an argument for the Bret/Austin matches.

[Guest wolverine]

Have you seen the rest of the Misawa-Kobashi series?  Because 1/97 is clearly the best, and if you think it's ****1/2, well, then that's their peak rating, which I don't believe to be the case.

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

Have you seen the rest of the Misawa-Kobashi series?  Because 1/97 is clearly the best, and if you think it's ****1/2, well, then that's their peak rating, which I don't believe to be the case.

Well if you put it that way, maybe it's ****3/4, its around there anyways. But I refuse to give it a perfect rating, it has too many flaws.  I've seen quite a few of their matches(though, I admit I haven't seen them all), and the better ones I've seen, seem to drift around ****1/4-****1/2.

[Guest wolverine]

Fair enough.  At least you didn't say that 10/98 or 6/99 are better, because I've seen a lot of people say that.  I believe that those are the ones that are truly overrated, as opposed to 1/97.

 

Anyways, if you're a Misawa-Kobashi fan, you can't go wrong with 3/96, 1/97 and 10/97.  I think they are all super matches.

[Guest wolverine]

What the hell, here's my Misawa-Kobashi ratings:

 

1/20/97 (5)

10/21/97 (4.75)

3/31/96 (4.5)

4/19/97 (4.25)

3/24/95 (4.25)

6/11/99 (4.25)

10/31/98 (4)

4/12/93 (4)

10/25/95 (3.75)

4/11/00 (3.5)

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

/20/97 (5)                  seen it ****3/4

10/21/97 (4.75)           seen it ****1/2

3/31/96 (4.5)              seen it ****1/2

4/19/97 (4.25)            seen it ****1/4

3/24/95 (4.25)

6/11/99 (4.25)             seen it ****1/4

10/31/98 (4)               seen it ***3/4

4/12/93 (4)

10/25/95 (3.75)

4/11/00 (3.5)

 

Judging from your ratings,I guess I really didn't miss anything that important with the other matches.

[Guest wolverine]

The Champion Carnival '95 is a great, great tournament, so I'd get that.

 

Also, the 3/24/95 is actually supposed to be 3/26/95.  I got a bit confused on those dates there.  Anyways, make no mistake that the Misawa-Kobashi match was indeed the best match on that night, no matter what anyone else would think.