Looking to do some critiquing, anybody have a list of their 500 greatest American matches of all time? American meaning WWE/F, ROH, TNA, NWA, WCW, ECW, WCCW, AWA, GCW, FCW, USWA basically any American promotion in the last 40 years.
There are plenty of crazy ass wrestling fans like myself out there. I figured there might be a few of them here that might have compiled such a list, lol.
I'll start off with these and work my way up to 500! - Mike
PAT O'CONNOR vs NATURE BOY BUDDY ROGERS
June 30, 1961, Comiskey Park, 38,622 (record attendance stood for 25 years), Rogers becomes first heel to win the NWA World Championshp.
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NATURE BOY BUDDY ROGERS vs COWBOY BOB ELLIS
May 25, 1962, Madison Square Garden, I was one of 18,000+ fans who saw Ellis almost make good on his vow to break out of Rogers' Figure Four Leg Lock in an NWA World Championship match. DRAW
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NATURE BOY BUDDY ROGERS vs WLADEK KILLER KOWALSKI
March 22, 1963, Chicago Coliseum, one of Rogers' first WWWF title defenses. WIN for Rogers.
LOU THESZ vs NATURE BOY BUDDY ROGERS
1951, Chicago International Amphitheater, Rogers demonstrates his "flying neck tangle in the ropes" manuever that he invented in this WIN for Thesz in a NWA World Championship match.
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LOU THESZ vs LUTHER LINDSEY
April 9, 1954, Yakima, Washington. This is one of the first shots that Lindsey had at the NWA World Championship. Earlier that month Thesz defeated him in the Seattle "Ice Arena." He met Thesz on a number of other occasions-holding him to a draw once or twice. WIN for Thesz.
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NATURE BOY BUDDY ROGERS vs ART SAILOR THOMAS
July 29, 1961, Comiskey Park, Rogers' first title defense in Comiskey Park after defeating O'Connor there was against Art Sailor Thomas. WIN for Rogers.
I could come up with my 500 favorite American matches but I gotta go to work first. Later tonight I can do it, should be fun. Might be tomorrow but I'll get it done. Great thread idea.
Luckily, I have been a Listmaniac for years, so I have at least 150 right off the bat. I just need to find them....
Aha! Here is what I am looking for.
These are 150 matches I enjoyed roughly ordered by promotion. Some of the ECW matches get brief write-ups because I'm too tired and lazy to edit what I posted on another forum a few years ago. The WWE list was made in 2009-2010 while the ECW list looks to be from 2007. Enjoy!
WWE 2000s
1. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (Royal Rumble 2000)
2. Triple H vs. Steve Austin (No Way Out 2001)
3. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (Royal Rumble 2003)
4. Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair (Wrestlemania 24)
5. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (No Way Out 2000)
6. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania 20)
7. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania 21)
8. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (Summerslam 2002)
9. Brock Lesnar vs. Chris Benoit (Smackdown 12-4-03)
10. Steve Austin vs. The Rock (Wrestlemania 17)
11. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho (Wrestlemania 19)
12. Randy Orton vs. Cactus Jack (Backlash 2004)
13. Kurt Angle vs. Edge vs. Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero (Smackdown 12-5-02)
14. John Cena vs. Umaga (Royal Rumble 2007)
15. Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker (No Way Out 2006)
16. Edge vs. Mick Foley (Wrestlemania 22)
17. Steve Austin vs. Chris Benoit (Smackdown 5-31-01)
18. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania 25)
19. Kurt Angle/Chris Benoit vs. Edge/Rey Mysterio (No Mercy 2002)
20. Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar (No Way Out 2004)
21. Chris Jericho/Chris Benoit vs. Edge/Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz (Smackdown 5-24-2001)
22. Chris Benoit vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (Backlash 2004)
23. Triple H vs. The Rock (Judgment Day 2000)
24. Edge/Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz (Summerslam 2000)
25. Edge/Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz (Wrestlemania 17)
26. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle (Vengeance 2005)
27. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (No Mercy 2008)
28. Edge/Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz (Wrestlemania 16)
29. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (Raw 12-29-03)
30. Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (Wrestlemania 20)
31. Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero (Smackdown 9-26-02)
32. Batista vs. Triple H (Vengeance 2005)
33. Triple H vs. Chris Jericho (Fully Loaded 2000)
34. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker (No Mercy 2002)
35. The Undertaker vs. Edge (Summerslam 2008)
36. Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena (Raw 4-23-07)
37. Chris Benoit/Chris Jericho vs. Triple H/Steve Austin (Raw 5-21-01)
38. John Cena vs. JBL (Judgment Day 2005)
39. The Undertaker vs. Edge (Wrestlemania 24)
40. The Undertaker vs. Batista (Wrestlemania 23)
41. Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin (Summerslam 2001)
42. JBL vs. Eddie Guerrero (Judgment Day 2004)
43. The Rock vs. Triple H (Backlash 2000)
44. Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon (King of the Ring 2001)
45. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (Unforgiven 2002)
46. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit (Royal Rumble 2001)
47. Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin (Raw 5-2-05)
48. Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker (Smackdown 9-4-03)
49. Triple H/X-Pac/Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko/Perry Saturn vs. The Rock/Cactus Jack/Rikishi/Too Cool (Raw 2-7-00)
50. Randy Orton/Chris Jericho/Christian/Mark Henry/Scott Steiner vs. Shawn Michaels/Rob Van Dam/Booker T/Dudley Boyz (Survivor Series 2003)
51. The Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy (Raw 7-1-02)
52. Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho (The Bash 2009)
53. Edge vs. Ric Flair (Raw 1-16-06)
54. Edge vs. Christian vs. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kane (Wrestlemania 21)
55. Triple H vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge (New Years Revolution 2005)
56. Matt Hardy vs. Edge (Unforgiven 2005)
57. Chris Jericho vs. The Rock (No Mercy 2001)
58. Triple H vs. Ric Flair (Taboo Tuesday 2005)
59. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge (Backlash 2007)
60. The Undertaker vs. Batista (Backlash 2007)
61. Randy Orton vs. Triple H (No Mercy 2007- Last Man Standing)
62. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels (Raw 5-3-04)
63. John Cena vs. Edge (Unforgiven 2006)
64. Edge vs. Kurt Angle (Judgment Day 2001)
65. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (Raw 6-11-01)
66. Kurt Angle/Chris Benoit vs. Edge/Rey Mysterio (Smackdown 11-7-02)
67. The Undertaker vs. Ric Flair (Wrestlemania 18)
68. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit (No Mercy 2000)
69. Edge/Mick Foley/Lita vs. Terry Funk/Tommy Dreamer/Beulah (One Night Stand 2006)
70. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels (Survivor Series 2007)
71. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock vs. Steve Austin vs. Triple H vs. The Undertaker vs. Rikishi (Armageddon 2000)
72. Rey Mysterio vs. Matt Hardy (Smackdown 6-5-03)
73. Triple H/Randy Orton/Batista/Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels/Chris Benoit/Mick Foley/Shelton Benjamin (Raw 4-12-04)
74. Randy Orton/Batista/Ric Flair vs. The Rock/Mick Foley (Wrestlemania 20)
75. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar (Summerslam 2003)
76. Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga (Raw 1-7-08)
77. Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy (No Mercy 2008)
78. Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka (One Night Stand 2005)
79. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock (No Mercy 2000)
80. Batista vs. The Undertaker (Cyber Sunday 2007)
81. The Undertaker vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania 17)
82. Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle vs. Rob Van Dam (No Mercy 2001)
83. John Cena vs. Edge vs. Triple H (Backlash 2006)
84. Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton (Smackdown 1-27-06)
85. Kurt Angle vs. John Cena (No Mercy 2003)
86. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania 23)
87. Triple H vs. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle (Summerslam 2000)
88. CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy (Smackdown 8-28-09)
89. Kurt Angle vs. Edge (Smackdown 5-30-02)
90. Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit (Summerslam 2004)
91. Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock (Summerslam 2002)
92. John Cena vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania 22)
93. Kurt Angle vs. Edge (Backlash 2002)
94. Edge vs. Randy Orton (Raw 4-30-07)
95. Shawn Michaels vs. Edge (Raw 1-22-07)
96. Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio (Smackdown 2-10-05)
97. Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio (Smackdown 8-26-04)
98. London/Kendrick vs. MNM vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Regal/Taylor (Armageddon 2006)
99. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle (No Way Out 2001)
100. Shane McMahon vs. Vince McMahon (Wrestlemania 17)
ECW
1. Sabu vs. Terry Funk- Born To Be Wired
2. Pitbulls vs. Raven/Richards- Gangstas Paradise
3. Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven- Wrestlepalooza 97
4. Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull 2 vs. 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Chris Jericho- Heatwave 96
5. Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka vs. Taz- Anarchy Rulz 99
* These have been my top 5 ECW matches for the last 13 years. Nothing has changed. I think these 5 matches, more than any others, epitomize what ECW was all about. They're the ones I've always recommended to folks looking to get into ECW.
6. Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn- ECW Arena 8/99
7. Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn- Living Dangerously 99
* I loved their ECW Arena match. It had a real big match feel. I really thought Lynn was going over here back in the day. Even the screwy finish doesn't bother me. I rated the LD match above their more famous Hardcore Heaven match because I'm a huge sucker for matches where guys are "made." This was Lynn's coming out party.
8. Rey Mysterio vs. Juventud Guerrera- Big Ass Extreme Bash- Amazing match. I'd probably bump it up to #6 if I did this list over again.
9. Chris Benoit vs. Al Snow- Double Tables
10. Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko- Hostile City Showdown
* For my money, the two best pure technical wrestling matches in ECW history.
11. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis
12. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis
13. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis
* Told you these matches all ran together for me. I didn't even have show names written down here.
14. Jerry Lynn vs. Steve Corino- PPV 2000- Excellent underrated match. This was the most intense Lynn ever got. The hatred was palpable.
15. Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome- Heatwave 98- These two always matched up well. This match, being the 1st I saw, always stood out over the others
16. Michinoku Pro 6 Man Tag- Barely Legal- Was always a sucker for these type of balls-to-the-wall action packed bouts
17. Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu- ECW Arena 10/99
18. Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam- The Doctor Is In
* The #17 match was the hardest to place. I hadn't seen it since it took place and could not find it online. Could end up way higher or lower if I did this list today. The #18 match was my favorite of their kinda-epic 96 series. Sabu & RVD never followed the traditional rules of wrestling. That worked well in a Stretcher Match setting
19. Taz vs. Sabu- Barely Legal- Really well done match that I fiercely underrated back in 97
20. Sabu vs. Sandman- January, 1998- Crazy, crazy match. Sandman's best ever
21. Lance Storm vs. Jerry Lynn- Anarchy Rulz 99- Really good technical bout. My favorite Storm match
22. Terry Funk vs. Sandman vs. Stevie Richards- Barely Legal- Just tons of fun. What ECW was all about
23. Tasmaniac/ Sabu vs. Benoit/Malenko- Double Tables?- Balls to the wall action, a good story with Sabu and some crazy moves. This seems way too low
24. Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Rob Van Dam- April, 1998
25. Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Taz- Taz goes through ring
26. Taz vs. Bam Bam Bigelow- Bam Bam goes through ring
* Love the show dates/names for these matches This is where I started getting lazy and just listed a bunch of consecutive matches by the same wrestlers. Still, all 3 of these are really good matches. I feel like RVD vs. BBB and the first Bam Bam vs. Taz match should probably be higher
27. Tajiri vs. Psicosis- ECW Arena 8/00- Was blown away by this live. It lost some luster last time I watched it
28. Shane Douglas vs. Justin Credible- ECW Arena 4/99- Shockingly good match that got a little screwy at the end
29. Eliminators vs. Dudleys- Barely Legal- Best squash match ever. I'd bump this up at least 10 spots if I did this list over
30. Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko- Farewell Match- I never did like this as much as everybody else, but #30 seems too low
31. Cactus Jack vs. Mikey Whipwreck- Cactus' farewell
32. Sabu vs. Mikey Whipwreck- 1996
33. Shane Douglas vs. Mikey Whipwreck- 1996
* Probably got lazy again here with all these Mikey matches in succession. They all ruled though. Love my show dates.
34. Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn- Hardcore Heaven 99- Another one that seems too low. Or maybe ECW had more good/great matches than I thought...
35. Fonzie vs. Beulah- Awesome brawl. Probably the best intergender match I ever saw.
36. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy
37. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy
* No show dates again. These guys got jobbed on this list. Tajiri, in particular, should have been on here way more. What was I thinking?
38. Justin Credible vs. Jerry Lynn- Heatwave 98
39. Chris Candido vs. Lance Storm- Heatwave 98
*Were these really that good?
40. Cactus Jack vs. Terry Funk- No show date again. I do remember really digging one of their matches though
41. Sabu vs. Hack Myers- November To Remember 95- YES! YES! YES! I was not a total idiot in 2007. Hackamania!
42. Chris Jericho vs. Pitbull 2- 1996- I remember this being really good. PB 2 was awesome in 96. Nobody ever talks about this match.
43. Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam- Respect Match
44. Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam- 4/96
* I may or may not like these now depending on my mood that day. Amazing spots, but a lot of botches as well iirc
45. Cactus/Raven vs. Dreamer/Funk- November To Remember 95- Just a flatout fun match
46. Tommy/Sandman/Spike vs. Dudley Boyz- Heatwave 98- Another fun vintage ECW brawl. Think this is where the Duds took heeling to a whole new level
47. Rob Van Dam vs. Balls Mahoney- Anarchy Rulz 99- Glad I remembered this. Always enjoyed these guys together
48. Cactus/Mikey vs. Public Enemy- Cactus/Mikey win tag gold- Yet another super fun match
49. Cactus Jack vs. Sabu- 1994- I'll always remember this for the bottle that wouldn't break
50. Taz vs. Shane Douglas- Wrestlepalooza 97- Total guilty pleasure. Loved seeing Taz make that whiny bitch Douglas tap.
This might actually be kinda easy for you, as you still haven't even got to WCW/NWA, ROH or TNA yet, and you only have 350 left. Hope you finish this bro, I'm gonna get started on your list when I get off work tonight. Thanks!
I could come up with my 500 favorite American matches but I gotta go to work first. Later tonight I can do it, should be fun. Might be tomorrow but I'll get it done. Great thread idea.
Barring a top 20, possibly 50, I think that once you get passed a certain number you will have hundreds of matches that could be placed at either 100, 200 or even 300 and nobody would really be able to tell the difference.
Do you have qualifications for matches? Performance, importance, impact etc, or is it really just 500 matches I've liked?
I will probably post the 500 in chronological order, instead of best to worst. After the first 100 or so, the rest I would probably like about the same.
it would be way too hard, I'd think it'd be better to do the best matches in chronological order from the mid 70's on by year. only thing is they must be on tape, no 'last battle of atlanta' shit.
because if we can't see it, we can't judge.
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