Views From The Turnbuckle: 5 Favorite Matches

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There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of great matches out there, so picking out a favorite is pretty difficult. Not only are there so many matches that are great, but also the perception of what makes a match great changes over time. A match that you might have thought was fantastic five years ago might not appear to be so superb when you watch it again today. Because of that, choosing a decisive list of favorite matches would be prudent and potentially inaccurate. Instead, I have chosen several matches that have always managed to entertain me through countless re-watches and close examinations.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Eddie Guerrero- Halloween Havoc 1997

Eddie Guerrero's reputation has been pretty much solidified at this point. Everyone agrees that as a worker, he was one of the best of his generation and put together a career filled with countless classic bouts. Rey Mysterio on the other hand, has a legacy that has become quite complex. The last several years have not been kind to Rey, and even since 2006, when WWE tried to turn him into something he wasn't, Rey's career has sort of vaulted away from it's intended path.

Because of all that, it is sometimes hard to remember just how awesome Rey Mysterio was in his prime. Before he had 200 knee surgeries, Rey really was the best high-flyer in the world, a tremendously gifted luchador who was constantly creating new offense and pinning combinations. Even amongst the gifted assortment of talent that was WCW's Cruiserweight division, Mysterio stood out as the most talented athlete.

WCW's Crusierweight division was responsible for a lot of really good matches, but this one stands out as the best of the bunch. Two phenomenal workers in their athletic primes trading holds and technically perfect high-spots. Guerrero and Rey would meet many, many more times after this match, and while most of those encounters were very good, they still fell short of their masterpiece at Halloween Havoc.

Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle- WrestleMania 21

This took place in 2005, when Kurt Angle was in his absolute prime as a worker. Angle had completely mastered not only the technical side of pro-wrestling, but the entertainment and psychological side of the art. There are plenty of workers who could technically match holds with Angle, but only a select few could combine that with his level of showmanship and pacing. The trademark intensity, the ability to spring back up from the mat like a cat, his bald head covered in sweat, beet red and pulsing with veins courtesy of his superhuman effort.

Unlike Angle, Shawn Michaels was not in his prime. Injuries and a hard-hitting lifestyle had long taken their effect on Shawn's once enviable athleticism. By this point, Michaels was relying on his fantastic timing, charisma and selling in order to have great matches. Consequently, most of Shawn's great matches came on the back 9 of his career, against guys like The Undertaker, Triple H, Chris Jericho and of course, Kurt Angle.

I have written about this match before, where I called it the greatest WrestleMania match in the event's venerable history. Between Michales' flair for the dramatic and Angle's intensity, the match completely fit together like a glorious jigsaw puzzle. Unlike the two bigger matches on the card (Cena vs JBL and Batista vs Triple H) it was an unpredictable affair, and few would doubt that they didn't come up with the right finish, a tired and beaten Michael's finally submitting to Angle's submission hold.

Sabu vs Too Cold Scorpio- Cyberslam 1996

Sabu vs. 2 Cold Scorpio-Pt.1 by Stinger1981

A match that maybe historically slips through the cracks, but I always come back to it when I think of great matches that I have seen. Scorpio is one of the most underrated talents to ever lace them up in my opinion, and if you need any convincing, just watch this match.

This is the perfect epitome of what ECW was all about. In one corner you have Scorpio, a smooth technician who also doubled as one of the most spectacular high-flyers in the world at the time. In the other corner, you have Sabu. Sabu wasn't nearly the athlete or the worker that Scorpio was, but he was over-exuberant in maiming his own body for the delight of the fans. The match shakes out exactly how you expect it would, with Sabu taking several massive bumbs and suicidal dives out of the ring, through tables and into the ECW audience. Scorpio countered by out-maneuvering Sabu in the ring and dazzling the crowd with a wide array of dives from the top turnbuckle.

What stands out the most about this match is that it ended in a 30:00 draw. Not only did it last that long, but it also wasn't the final match on the card. Shane Douglas vs Cactus Jack and Raven vs The Sandman went on after it. Would either the WWF or WCW be willing to dedicate 30 minutes of in-ring time to a match on the undercard and have it end in a draw? No way, and that was what made ECW so great. It didn't adhere to the traditional booking methods and it wasn't greatly affected by the politics of individual talents. If two talents were willing to go all out for 30 minutes, then they were allowed to do so, no matter what spot of the card they were on.

Desmond Wolfe vs Kurt Angle- Final Resolution 2009

This was their 3 Degrees of Pain match that was the culmination of their feud. It was essentially a cage match, where the first fall was by pinfall, the second by submission, and the third by escaping the cage. Desmond Wolfe (better known under his indy name Nigel McGuinness) received maybe the greatest debut push in TNA history. His first appearance on the show and he went right after the top dog in the company, Kurt Angle. Unfortunately, Nigel was never able to pick up a victory on PPV over Angle, and after this initial feud, he never regained his momentum, despite being one of TNA's most popular new wrestlers. Eventually he only was diagnosed with Hepatitis B and his in-ring career came to an end shortly after.

The match is as technically perfect of a bout as you will ever see, thanks to a great effort by both performers. Angle was just a little bit past his prime, which still made him better than 99% of the rest of the world. Nigel was at the peak of his powers both as a technical performer and as a psychologist.

Angle was in this match, and he was very good in it, but it was made great by Nigel. Angle is one of the best technical wrestlers around, but Nigel wrestled circles around him that tonight, completely outclassing him in the ring. In addition, Nigel was getting great heat from the crowd and really sold the performance. My favorite part of the match is when Angle locks Nigel in a submission hold after some juice starts flowing, and Nigel, at this point covered in blood, writhes in agony and screams his bloody head off trying to reach the rope. At this point in his career, I would have taken Nigel over anybody else in the world, but unfortunately for everyone, his ride at the top wouldn't last much longer.

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa- AJPW Super Power Series Tag 19

First some history: By 1990, Jumbo Tsuruta's career on top of All-Japan Pro Wrestling was starting to come to an end. The longtime stalwart had recently turned 40, and he looked to put over a new generation of wrestler. He ended up working a long feud with Mitsuharu Misawa in a sort of student vs master series. This was Misawa's first major main event match, and his victory marked the turning point in All-Japan, with the fazing out of older stars like Tsuruta and Stan Hansen and the rise of a new generation with stars like Misawa, Kenta Kobashi and Toshiaki Kawada.

Jumbo Tsuruta never really went on to the same global acclaim as other Japanese legends. He never toured captured the people like Giant Baba or Rikidozan did, didn't dominate the culture like Antonio Inoki, and he peaked right before fans in American really began to pay attention to the domestic wrestlers of Japan. However, as a worker Tsuruta has a completely legitimate claim to being the greatest of all time. He revolutionized wrestling in Japan, mixing the traditional strong style of heavy strikes with a more American, mat-based attack (he was trained by Lou Thesz and Dory Funk Jr.) My best comparison for him would be like a Japanese Undertaker. Billed at 6'6" and weighing 290lbs, Tsuruta combined great strength with remarkable agility and technical prowess for a man his size. If you are unfamiliar with his work, I highly recommend watching some of his classic matches.

Misawa, thanks to the proficiency of tape trading in the 1990s, became a cult favorite in America. While he is work in the latter half of the decade against Kawada and his matches in his own promotion, Pro Wrestling NOAH are better known, this match against the veteran Tsuruta was arguably his greatest work. Misawa played the match perfectly, using his cat-like agility and youthful energy to counteract Tsuruta's size and veteran experience. It is a classic match every step of the way, and one of the most important matches in wrestling history.