The project: To gather on this page links to (i) the likely contenders for a top 100 matches of all-time; (ii) the major matches of the likely contenders for a top 20 workers of all-time; (iii) any other matches of special historical importance or interest. "Key workers" of each era are not necessarily the best performers, just ones with a variety of fun matches.
* = top ten matches of the era IMO
The early Eighties
Key workers: Tiger Mask, Ric Flair, Jumbo Tsuruta, Dynamite Kid, Bob Backlund.
New Japan juniors
This is where the modern style of junior wrestling started. Everyone's sick of that style now but at the time it was revelatory.
02/15/80 Dynamite Kid-Tatsumi Fujinami (ending)
04/23/81 Tiger Mask-Dynamite Kid 1 2
05/26/82 Tiger Mask-Black Tiger (Mark Rocco)
*08/05/82 Tiger Mask-Dynamite Kid
*04/21/83 Tiger Mask-Dynamite Kid 1 2 3
Haven't seen: 01/06/83 Tiger Mask-Kuniaki Kobayashi.
Dynamite elsewhere:
01/16/82 Dynamite Kid-Mark Rocco (World of Sport) 1 2 : kind of neat to compare Dynamite's and Rocco's work in the idiosyncratic British style to what they did in Japan.
05/26/83? Dynamite Kid/Rip Oliver/The Assassin-Buddy Rose/Curt Hennig/Billy Jack Haynes (Portland) 1 2 3
Haven't seen: 01/19/83 Dynamite Kid-Marty Jones (World of Sport).
WWF and New Japan heavies
05/27/80 Bob Backlund-Dusty Rhodes: WWF title: NJPW 1 2 3
09/30/80 Bob Backlund-Stan Hansen: WWF title: NJPW
*03/21/81 Bob Backlund-Sgt. Slaughter: WWF title: Spectrum, cage 1 2 3 4 5 6
04/21/81 Sgt. Slaughter-Pat Patterson: MSG, alley fight 1 2
*09/23/81 Andre the Giant-Stan Hansen: NJPW
08/05/82 Bob Backlund-Tatsumi Fujinami: WWF title: NJPW
08/30/82 Bob Backlund-Buddy Rose: WWF title: MSG (clipped)
04/03/83 Tatsumi Fujinami-Riki Choshu: NJPW 1 2 3
12/26/83 Bob Backlund-Iron Sheik: WWF title
Haven't seen: 05/19/80 Bob Backlund-Ken Patera: MSG; 09/21/81 Bob Backlund-Don Muraco: MSG; 12/08/83 Akira Maeda/Tatsumi Fujinami/Kengo Kimura-Riki Choshu/Animal Hamaguchi/Yoshiaki Yatsu.
All Japan and the NWA territories
12/11/80 Giant Baba/Jumbo Tsuruta-Dory & Terry Funk
09/17/81 Dusty Rhodes-Ric Flair: NWA title (ending)
10/09/81 Jumbo Tsuruta-Ric Flair: NWA title
02/24/82 Stan Hansen-Giant Baba
*06/08/82 Jumbo Tsuruta-Ric Flair: NWA title
*08/15/82 Ric Flair-Kerry Von Erich: NWA title 1 2 3 4
12/13/82 Stan Hansen/Bruiser Brody-Dory & Terry Funk 1 2
*03/12/83 Ricky Steamboat/Jay Youngblood-Sgt. Slaughter/Don Kernodle 1 2 3 4 5
05/16/83 Freebirds-Iceman Parsons/David & Kevin Von Erich 1 2
*06/08/83 Jumbo Tsuruta-Ric Flair: NWA title 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
07/04/83 Harley Race-Barry Windham: non-title 1 2 3
11/24/83 Ric Flair-Harley Race: NWA title: Starrcade, cage 1 2 3 4 5
12/25/83 Butch Reed/Jim Neidhart-Magnum T.A./Mr. Wrestling II: cage (ending)
Have watched but can't find a link to the whole thing: 12/25/82 Ric Flair-Kerry Von Erich: NWA title: cage.
Memphis
*02/14/81 Rick Morton/Eddie Gilbert-Masa Fuchi/Atsushi Onita: Memphis concession stand brawl
03/23/81 Jerry Lawler-Terry Funk: no DQ
06/06/83 Jerry Lawler-Bill Dundee: no DQ loser leaves town (start) (ending)
Haven't seen: 03/07/81 Bill Dundee-Wayne Farris/Tojo Yamamoto; 03/22/82, 03/22/82 Jerry Lawler-Dutch Mantell; 06/21/82 Bill Dundee-Sweet Brown Sugar.
Other worthwhile viewing
01/04/80 Jaguar Yokota-Chino Sato 1 2 3
01/04/80 Jackie Sato-Tomi Aoyama: WWWA title 1 2 3
05/07/83 Jaguar Yokota-La Galactica: hair vs mask 1 2 3 4
*09/23/83 Sangre Chicana-MS1 1 2 3
Mid-Eighties
Key workers: Ric Flair, Chigusa Nagayo, Antonio Inoki, Kerry Von Erich, Tatsumi Fujinami.
The NWA and the territories' last hurrah
05/06/84 Ric Flair-Kerry Von Erich: NWA title
05/22/84 Ric Flair-Harley Race
*05/22/84 Kerry Von Erich-Jumbo Tsuruta: NWA title 1 2 3 4 5
05/24/84 Kerry Von Erich-Ric Flair: NWA title (clip of the ending)
05/29/84 Ric Flair-Ricky Steamboat: NWA title (ending)
07/04/84 Von Erichs-Freebirds: Badstreet match
11/22/84 Rick Steamboat-Tully Blanchard
07/14/85 Dick Murdoch-The Nightmare
09/22/85 Dick Murdoch-Butch Reed (MV)
10/12/85 Ric Flair-Kerry Von Erich
10/19/85 Jerry Lawler-Bill Dundee
10/21/85 Ric Flair-Rick Martel
11/06/85 Ric Flair-Ted DiBiase
11/28/85 Tully Blanchard-Magnum T.A.
12/30/85 Jerry Lawler-Bill Dundee
03/10/86 Jerry Lawler/Dutch Mantel-Bill Dundee/Buddy Landel
04/19/86 Fantastics-Sheepherders
07/26/86 Ric Flair-Dusty Rhodes
08/09/86 Dusty Rhodes-Ric Flair
07/05/86 Ric Flair-Ricky Morton
Haven't seen: 05/11/84, 01/25/85 Ric Flair-Kerry Von Erich; 03/22/85 Ted DiBiase-Jim Duggan; 10/14/85 Dick Murdoch-Butch Reed; 02/14/86 Ric Flair-Barry Windham; 07/14/86 Jerry Lawler-Bill Dundee.
New Japan wars
02/07/84 Dynamite Kid-The Cobra
04/18/85 Antonio Inoki-Bruiser Brody
12/05/84 Antonio Inoki/Tatsumi Fujinami-Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch
09/19/85 Antonio Inoki-Tatsumi Fujinami
02/06/86 Antonio Inoki-Yoshiaki Fujiwara
03/26/86 Inoki/Fujinami/Kimura/Ueda/Hoshino-Maeda/Fujiwara/Kido/Takada/Yamazaki
05/01/86 Sakaguchi/Fujinami/Yamada/Kimura/Koshinaka-Maeda/Fujiwara/Kido/Takada/Yamazaki
06/12/86 Tatsumi Fujinami-Akira Maeda
06/17/86 The Cobra-Nobuhiko Takada
08/05/86 Nobuhiko Takada-Shiro Koshinaka
11/24/86 Antonio Inoki/Yoshiaki Fujiwara-Dick Murdoch/Masked Superstar
Haven't seen: 06/11/84 Antonio Inoki-Tatsumi Fujinami; 09/16/86 Antonio Inoki-Bruiser Brody.
All Japan Women
06/28/84 Crush Gals-Jaguar Yokota/Devil Masami
01/05/85 Jaguar Yokota-La Galactica
02/27/85 Jaguar Yokota-La Galactica
*08/22/85 Chigusa Nagayo-Devil Masami
08/22/85 Jaguar Yokota-Lioness Asuka
08/28/85 Chigusa Nagayo-Dump Matsumoto
03/20/86 Crush Gals-Jumping Bomb Angels
Other worthwhile viewing
01/23/84 Iron Sheik-Hulk Hogan: WWF title
05/13/84 Jumbo Tsuruta-Rick Martel
*06/16/84 Sgt. Slaughter-Iron Sheik
07/23/84 Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch-Sgt. Slaughter/Terry Daniels
07/30/84 El Satanico-Shiro Koshinaka
09/14/84 El Satanico-Gran Cochisse
12/08/84 Stan Hansen/Bruiser Brody-Dory & Terry Funk
12/28/84 Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch-Jack & Jerry Brisco
06/12/85 Tiger Mask II-Kuniaki Kobayashi
12/12/85 Stan Hansen/Ted DiBiase-Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu
12/25/85 Rick Martel-Stan Hansen
*01/28/86 Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu-Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu
04/07/86 British Bulldogs-Greg Valentine/Brutus Beefcake
09/02/86 Buddy Rose/Soug Somers-Midnight Rockers
*12/31/86 Nick Bockwinkel-Curt Hennig
Haven't seen: 01/25/84 Ringo Mendoza/Hombre Bala/Gran Cochisse-El Supremo/Enfermo Jr./Talisman; 01/27/84 Mocho Cota-Americo Rocca; 12/05/84 Nobuhiko Takada-Kazuo Yamazaki; 09/07/84, 06/24/85, 09/11/85 Yoshiaki Fujiwara-Super Tiger; 03/20/85 Atlantis-El Faraon.
Outdated list of favourites
My tastes have changed quite a bit since I compiled this list.
- Misawa-Kawada 6/3/94
- CIMA/Doi/Yoshino-Horiguchi/Saito/Dragon 3/31/06
- Flair-Steamboat 5/7/89
- Misterio-Guerrero 10/26/97
- Bret Hart-Owen Hart 3/20/94
- Kandori-Hokuto 4/2/93
- Dynamite-Tiger 4/23/82
- Kobashi-Joe 10/1/05
- Misawa/Kobashi-Kawada/Taue 6/9/95
- Yokota-Asuka 8/22/85
- Daniels-Joe-Styles 9/11/05
- Flair-Steamboat 2/20/89
- Atlantis-Villano III 3/17/00
- Michaels-Ramon 3/20/94
- Flair-Von Erich 12/25/82
- Kong/Inoue/Inoue/Hasegawa-Kansai/Ozaki/Suzuki/Fukuoka 7/31/93
- Austin-Bret Hart 3/23/97
- Marufuji-KENTA 10/29/06
- Destroyer-Mascaras 7/25/74
- Liger-Pillman 2/29/92
- Toyota/Yamada-Kansai/Ozaki 4/11/93
- Tsuruta-Misawa 6/8/90
- Michaels-Angle 4/3/05
- Dynamite-Tiger 8/5/82
- Hansen-Kobashi 7/29/93
- Kobashi-Sasaki 7/18/05
- Williams-Kawada 4/16/94
- Misawa/Kobashi-Taue/Kawada 12/3/93
- Austin-Bret Hart 11/17/96
- Danielson-Morishima 8/25/07
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