My big stupid ****+ matches thread

[Hellowhosthat]

I know you said you are sort of getting back into wrestling. Have you checked out the Black and Gold version of NXT? Truly some of the best wrestling I have seen in my decades of watching. It is a product of its time but it was also the best product on at its time.

It's for sure on the list. What's a good date to start with it when it kinda transitions into the black and gold era?

 

[Prime LeVan]

It's for sure on the list. What's a good date to start with it when it kinda transitions into the black and golFrom t

It's for sure on the list. What's a good date to start with it when it kinda transitions into the black and gold era?

From the NXT Inception to the point they went to the Rainbow version of it. 2015-2020ish

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Ring of Honor - The era of honor begins - 23rd February 2002

Bryan Danielson Vs Low-Ki Vs Christopher Daniels - ****1/2

Three ways are very hard matches to get right just because there's usually got to be someone waiting around for ages waiting for their cue to get involved but this one avoids any of those issues with great pacing. Very inventive three way spots (particularly for the time) and the offensive that's used to get a guy out of there for a little while looks just the right amount of devastating to keep them out of the way to go through some shit but not so much so that it seems ridiculous that they make the save. Absolutely flies by with almost no dead spots and really set the stall out for what ROH wanted to achieve.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

WWF In Your House Season's Beatings - 17th December 1995

Bret Hart Vs British Bulldog - ****3/4

I actually prefer this one to the more famous Summerslam classic. It's a very different type of match to that one, but it just hits me in the right spots. While they do have some technical moments in this one, it's more of a bloody war of attrition as Bret tries to beat a guy he's never quite been able to get it done against.

The work isn't quite as crisp but it's got more of a feel of a struggle to it with both guys being prepared to do more to each other with a bigger prize on the line. When it's getting towards the end of the match and both guys are looking knackered and covered in Bret's blood it has that real feeling of a proper fight and until I see something better probably the best performance of Davey Boy's career.

I think my only minor quibble is I would probably have enjoyed it even more if half the screen wasn't taken up by Diana Hart half the time but I can't blame the guys for that.



Can't seem to find this on Youtube for some reason but obviously the show is on Netflix.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

NXT arrival - 27th February 2014

Cesaro Vs Sami Zayn - ****

Time go start giving NXT a go and I found this match from their debut PLE really impressive. A good hard hitting match overall where Zayn is taking an arse kicking but keeps on scrapping back to try and get the more physical guy out of there and comes close on a few occasions.

I loved the section where he's eating the uppercuts and being told to stay down, but keeps pulling himself back up even if I think his stiff body standing up against the ropes afterwards was a tiny bit over the top. I can't really criticise his selling too much overall though as his selling of the leg is generally good and he comes across well as a guy who's getting the shit kicked out of him but being determined to make the other guy at least have to go through hell to beat him.

Good stuff and looking forward to seeing more NXT if it's as good as this. This version of Sami looks a lot more mobile and athletic than the guy I've seen a few times in 2025.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

WWF In Your House - Good Friends, Better Enemies - 28th April 1996

Shawn Michaels Vs Diesel - No Holds Barred - WWF title - ****

Shawn gets his chance to work with a heel Diesel and pulls it off in an absolutely brutal by mid 90s WWF standards war. Because it wasn't a trope at the time you can tell the level of shock from the crowd when Shawn takes the table bump. Diesel is great as a big heel with a good worker as a face who can bump and sell for him well and it just feels more raw than a lot of no holds barred matches today.

They're using stuff that's naturally there rather than things under the ring which would never be under the ring unless they'd been planted there earlier. Fire extinguishers, chairs that people were actually sitting on even Mad dog Vachon's leg makes sense in the context. Got to say a quick fuck you to the director for almost missing the sweet chin music and nearly ruining the finish but great stuff.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

WWF King of the Ring - 23rd June 1996

Mankind Vs The Undertaker - ****1/4

I think what I love the most about this match is that after years of terrible Undertaker vs monster matches, it's pretty immediately apparent that Mankind is a different kind of monster.

This isn't Kamala, Yokozuma or Giant Gonzalez, Foley's portrayal of Mankind at this point comes across as a genuinely deranged lunatic which is a very hard gimmick to pull off without coming off as like a B movie villain. Every movement and noise Foley makes gives off the the aura of an escaped serial killer type of threat who seems to enjoy going through pain as long as he's causing more pain to the Undertaker.

Although these two would obviously go on to do bigger and more shocking spots, the stuff they do here is still pretty brutal for the time and for me is the right balance of brutality to get into a match so that it seems really physical but not overly ridiculous. The chair shots are stiff, the dives look painful and the running knee into the steps looks fucking grim. Great PPV debut for Foley in the WWF.

Shawn Michaels Vs British Bulldog - ****1/4

More than makes up for their first PPV match being a bit of a let down, this one is the powerful Davey Boy vs faster Michaels that they should always have done in the first place.

Both guys willing to take some big bumps in this one with Shawn being thrown to the floor, also taking an awesome release superplex and a massive looking sit out powerbomb which all looked devastating. Davey feeds the comebacks nicely and works as well with Shawn as with anyone he has done aside from Bret imo.

A fitting end to a great PPV that had two excellent matches and one of the best promos of all time on it.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

AEW Dynamite - 7th October 2020

Brodie Lee Vs Cody Rhodes - Dog Collar Match - TNT Championship - ****1/4

More Cody Vs big man brutal goodness. I like these kind of matches where they only really needed to use the dog collar chain that was the match stipulation and one table rather than a bunch of random junk and it was much more raw, real and felt more brutal as a result.

Both guys bleed pretty heavily, the chain is used really well and although I'd maybe have liked to see a couple more attempts to touch the corners seeing as that was part of the stip and they seemed to forget about it I can't complain otherwise.

I do find it amusing that the massive package piledriver through a table seemed to be during the commercial break in the US though, that was an interesting choice. Overall though, plenty of blood, the real feeling of a proper physical struggle between guys genuinely trying to hurt each other and Cody again having to pull out all the stops to put the big man away.

I've since learned this was Brodie's last match before he passed away too so at least he went out on a real high note.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

All Japan - 26th May 1990

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi/Akira Taue Vs Jumbo Tsuruta/Masanobu Fuchi/Great Kabuki - ****1/4

Jumbo leading the grumpy old man's club against Misawa's young upstarts in a fiery affair. There's so much tension whenever Jumbo and Misawa are near each other even though they barely interact legally here, but the stuff they do illegally where the ref is struggling to stop them trying to get at each other is great.

Kobashi is the youngster taking the beating for his team and the vets are more than happy to dish it out for him but at this point he's really starting to prove himself so he can hang in there and keep asking for more.

Misawa is starting to show he's on the same level as the vets team and probably even surpassing all of them aside from Jumbo. This aint Tiger Mask II anymore.

The vets start out confident but gradually start realising they've got a lot more than they bargained for as the match progresses into some exciting near falls with bits of chaos mixed in between.

 

[HHJ]

God, as a teenager me and my friends would watch ALL JAPAN tapes whenever we could get them.

Watching Funk and Hansen just brawl it out. Watching the genius of a guy like the Sheik who was probably in his 50s then, be able to terrify the crowd for 10 minutes straight before the bell rings, and then not really having to do too much wrestling! amazing. Him and Abby would just brawl all over the arena and the crowd loved every minute of it.

Vader and Hansen was like a absolute fight.

Of course the crowning jewels were Misawa and Kawada's series of matches.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

God, as a teenager me and my friends would watch ALL JAPAN tapes whenever we could get them.

Watching Funk and Hansen just brawl it out. Watching the genius of a guy like the Sheik who was probably in his 50s then, be able to terrify the crowd for 10 minutes straight before the bell rings, and then not really having to do too much wrestling! amazing. Him and Abby would just brawl all over the arena and the crowd loved every minute of it.

Vader and Hansen was like a absolute fight.

Of course the crowning jewels were Misawa and Kawada's series of matches.

Yeah man, those and the Misawa/Kobashi Vs Kawada/Taue tags. We'll be getting to those for sure.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

New Japan Super J Cup '94 - 16th April 1994

Jushin Thunder Liger Vs Great Sasuke - Tournament semi final - ****1/2


The first Japanese juniors match I saw that really wowed me back in the day. Liger is just brilliant in this. He starts off thinking Sasuke is beneath him and is wrestling with an arrogance, not going for pins really and letting go of subs.

I think working the arm is smart if you're going to do some limb work on Sasuke as he doesn't have to blow that off to do all his moves later in the match. Sasuke then makes a bit of a comeback with some fast boy shit and then when Liger manages to turn it back around he's wanting the pin now.

He's then breaking out the big moves and getting increasingly visibly frustrated when Sasuke keeps kicking out of them (amazing how he's able to better convey his emotions through a mask than 99% of wrestlers without one can) and decides fuck it I'll just kill the fucker and get him counted out instead.

Sasuke slips on the ropes coming back in and botches the finish but Liger quickly starts mockingly applauding him for it and then Sasuke doesn't wait and jump rolls him up for the win. Somehow Liger made the botched finish work better than I think the actual planned finish would have.


Wild Pegasus (Chris Benoit) Vs Great Sasuke - Tournament final - ****1/2

After getting past Liger in the semi-finals Sasuke has the dubious reward of having to fight Chris Benoit in the final.

Benoit does not like the fast flippy man. Unlike the Liger semi final, Sasuke gets off to a good start here with Benoit taking a while to figure out his speed and getting countered by speed with seemingly everything Sasuke tries. When he manages to time something more physical to turn it around Sasuke is bumping like fuck which gives a proper change of momentum.

Sasuke nails all his dives which he's sometimes prone to not doing and generally makes a great underdog who managed to get the big underdog win in the semi final and is posing a proper threat to doing the same against Benoit in the final.

Doesn't quite manage to get it done this time, but he certainly earns Benoit's respect in the process of trying.


I can't find the J-Cup matches on youtube but you can watch them on the internet archive here.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

AEW Dynamite - 30th December 2020

Adam Page/Alex Reynolds/John Silver Vs MJF/Santana/Ortiz – AEW – 30th December 2020 - ****

This is from the celebration of life show AEW did for Brodie Lee/Luke Harper just after he passed so obviously most of the matches on this show are emotional.

This one is by far the best I think, where they basically let John Silver work like a super babyface and he steps up to the plate and puts on an awesome performance in tribute to his friend.

MJF is great in that even though it's a tribute match he's still being a heel and a dick which I like because it allows you to really feel good about Brodie's old stablemates getting one over on the heel and it makes for a really nice moment where after he rips the mask off of Brody Lee's son who's sitting at ringside, the kid gets to smack him in the head with a kendo stick and then they go into the finish. Kid looked like he was having the time of his life.

So yeah, certainly one of the ultimate feel good matches.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

NWA TNA - 26th June 2002

AJ Styles Vs Jerry Lynn Vs Low Ki Vs Psicosis – TNA – 26th June 2002 – ****

Great match to determine the first ever X division champion from the very early days of TNA.

They work off a stipulation where there's two guys in the ring at any one time and you have to be pinned twice to be eliminated which I really like as it means you've got a fresh guy in all the time and a match can be ridiculously high paced but still make a degree of sense. Kind of wish this stip was more common.

Great action and spots from all four guys, they can all work at a fast pace while keeping things crisp and not fucking up their spots. Low-Ki's kicks looked stiff as fuck. When it comes down to Lynn and Styles it goes up another notch as they hit big move after big move on each other until one of them finally stays down.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

WWF In Your House - International Incident - 21st July 1997

Owen Hart/Davey Boy Smith/Vader Vs Shawn Michaels/Sycho Sid/Ahmed Johnson - ****1/4

I can't believe I'm listing an Ahmed Johnson or even a Sid match but here we go. This is an underrated six man. Probably the most 80s WCW style match I think I've seen in the WWF. Shawn does most of the work and selling for his team so Sid and Ahmed can come in and do the big power comebacks that they're good at. Vader is actually being treated like a monster at this point of his WWF career which is kind of a sad reminder of what could have been with him.

Davey Boy and Owen are in what are probably their primes for me and are great heels. Davey is strong as fuck at this point. Really good extended beatdown of Shawn while cutting off the hot tag several times, having a tag the ref doesn't see and finally letting Sid in to chokeslam everyone. Great false finish when Shawn got hold of Cornette's racket and cracks Vader with it before Cornette grabs his leg to foil sweet chin music and cost him the win.

No video of this outside of Netflix. Would be a good one for them to put on the WWE vault channel one day as it's a great match and it seems pretty forgotten.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

NWA Starrcade '88 - 26th December 1988

Lex Luger Vs Ric Flair - ****1/2

This is probably the best performance I've ever seen from Lex Luger. It's easy to assume that a match this good would be all Flair but without Luger selling his leg so well and so consistently I don't think this match works as well as it does. I do kind of wish the Flair chair shot that gave Luger the leg injury had a little bit more authority to it though.

Early part of the match is mainly Flair begging off and pulling experienced tricks to get the edge on the young athletic guy and there's plenty of good back and forth with the usual Flair repertoire then once we get to the leg work it's Lex's leg almost failing him during his power moves and then crucially giving out on him during the torture rack and giving Flair the win.

Got a Dailymotion of this one but no Youtube

 

[Hellowhosthat]

WWF In Your House - Mind Games - 22nd September 1996

Shawn Michaels Vs Mankind - ****3/4

Oh how I wish this match had a different finish. With a definitive ending I think this would be a five star match for me.

Michaels puts in one of the best performances of his career as he adapts to the wild brawling style of Foley which is a departure from the way he'd tended to work at this point. He's still fast and still uses the same moveset but it's all done with more urgency here and he's taking some wild fucking bumps.

Early WWF Foley is the best Foley I think. His body isn't fucked yet and he's determined to prove himself and getting the chance to work with top talent in long matches so he's taking nuts bumps.

Love the leg work and selling from Foley early, love the way Michaels adjusts to the desroying the hand to stop the mandible claw after Mankind gets it on him and he realises that he was lucky to be in the ropes.

That table bump is absolutely insane for the time (I think before they started clearing the table and just bumped through whatever was on it they just looked more brutal anyway even if that was obviously more dangerous) and any weapons they use are out of sight of the ref and the interference is well done. It's all going so well until the end which is the only time I can think of that I've ever been really upset to see Vader.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

WWF Survivor Series '96 - 17th November 1996

Bret Hart Vs Steve Austin - ****1/4

This gets overshadowed by their Mania match a few months afterwards but this is still a great match in it's own right. The start is a little slower and more technical than the encounters with each other they'd have with each other over the next few months but you can start to see Bret being willing to fight Austin rather than just wrestle him which kinda sows the seeds for how they'd fight each other in future.

This was Bret's first match back after a reasonable layoff, I think coming straight back into something as good as this is just further evidence of how good a wrestler that guy was.

I also continue to think pre-neck injury Austin is super underrated and one of the best in ring guys of all time in his own right.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

WWF In Your House - Final Four - 16th February 1997

Bret Hart Vs Steve Austin Vs The Undertaker Vs Vader - ****

The only downside to this match is that they hadn't really got with the idea of split boxes yet so it's a little hard to follow what's going on at times, but for the times you can follow it's great.

Slightly weird rules as it's an elimination half battle royal half normal match where you can lose by pinfall, sub or being thrown over the top rope, but that doesn't stop them from going through the middle ropes and brawling on the outside.

I think this is the most real Vader ever got to be in the WWF. When you watch most of his run there it's pretty disappointing but this version of him bleeding profusely from a cut near his eye while laying waste to everything around him is pure WCW/Japan Vader.

Plenty of Bret and Austin interaction here too. Bret is really starting to get closer to heel mode by this point and although he's still I guess what I'd term as a respectful heel, he's fighting more pissed off than he used to when he was good guy Bret and it's great.

Austin is unhinged trying to get at Bret even when he's been eliminated. I think that's what I like most about their dynamic, half the time Austin was clearly the guy in the wrong but the crowd loved him for it anyway.

Taker holds up his end of the bargain. He's not on the same level as the other guys in the match at this point of his career but he's a constant threat to everyone.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

WWF Wrestlemania 13 - 23rd March 1997

Bret Hart Vs Steve Austin - Submission only - *****

When I stopped watching I'm pretty sure that I had this down as the greatest match in WWF history and I'll be impressed as fuck if anything can beat it.

Everything about this match is iconic. From the blood streaming down Austin's face to the brawl in the crowd to Shamrock's ridiculously tight refs shirt it's all great shit.

Bret is coming unhinged at this point, having been feuding for Austin for a while and starting to accept that the fans like Austin more and starting to play more of a heel. He's also willing to match Austin in physicality and show he's not just a technician.

Bret's all out assault on Austin's leg is brutal and Austin sells it great. The battle over the sharpshooter and some of the shots they got of Austin firing himself up trying to get out of it while blood streams down his face are some of the most visceral in WWF history. I don't know if anyone has ever got more over with the crowd in defeat than Austin did here.