Riren 100: Matches 49-25

Columns, Top Story

Section A: Why Write This?

Here they are: the top 100 matches of the year. As it’s probably the longest single column in Inside Pulse history, I’ve split it into four parts. This is Part 3, with Matches 49-25. The final 24 go up tomorrow, while both 100-75 and 74-50 are already up. The whole list clocks in at over 30,000 words, so my recommendation is to print it out for bathroom reading this holiday season. It should keep you company while you avoid your relatives.

If you just want the list, skip to Section B. Section C is the meat, with countdown and review of every match. Most of these thoughts were written months apart as I watched the individual shows, edited at multiple periods throughout the year. Writing all this in one weekend would probably kill me, but taking a few minutes to write about a great match is a good way to reflect on our collective hobby, especially in this period when so many people have mistaken “criticism” to mean “stuff I hated.” So this list is a response to those Top Fives and Top Tens that seem so sad, as with seven hours of wrestling on TV in the U.S. per week and numerous indies, if you only saw five matches you want to celebrate you really need a new hobby. This is something we love. Each match in both Section B and C list the wrestlers, the date, the company and the show name, so you can track down the episode or DVD of anything you like.

The list covers every WWE and TNA pay per view as well as their television shows. I’m pretty sure that if it weren’t for my local library intervening I would have irrevocable brain damage. But you’ll notice most of the matches aren’t from those two companies. The list expands to every ROH DVD and PPV this year, and all the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Chikara Pro and IWA: Mid South I could get my hands on. Miscellaneous North American indies, such as IWS, got fewer viewings, but if readers have any matches they want considered, they can submit them to riren100@gmail.com. I’ve regularly watched NJPW, NOAH, Zero-1 and Dragon Gate, with a handful of AJPW, El Dorado, SEM, DDT, BJW, general Joshi and Battlarts on the side. A match must be watched at least twice to be on the list, as you can’t have a full grasp of a match in just one viewing. Again if you feel a match is unrepresented, feel free to drop me a line. Honestly my only regret in putting the list together is the absence of Lucha in my life, which comes from not getting the proper television stations. That, and I’d like to go outside every so often. Maybe read a book.

A list like this brings up the fundamental problems of comparing wrestling matches. For instance, there is no such thing as the one formula for a great match. Not every tag match has to have a Ricky Morton character selling his way up to the hot tag under the oppression of a Midnight Express. Not every great singles match needs to be a Hart Dungeon technical clinic. The formula or story wrestlers try to tell can be just as important as how they tell it, and a variety of things succeed. Shawn Michaels can make a match more compelling by showing a leg injury in every motion he makes, while Samoa Joe can make a match just as compelling by noticeably ignoring that same pain, and Umaga may add to his aura by completely disregarding everything an opponent throws at him. The psychology of how and what to show in response to an opponent’s offense is one of many factors that can make a match shine. Many things come into play, and different features become the basis of different matches: the way moves are executed, the kinds that are used, how they’re pulled together, the characters that are established, the physical chemistry, how they play the audience, general audience participation, how sympathetic or convincing selling is, the tenacity shown by someone who fights against injury or physical limitations, the story that is told, how the performance resonates with the style of the company. Rather, it’s how things work and what qualities come together that make a match, and they can come together in many different wildly entertaining ways. The importance in a list like this is less ranking one match above another, and more recognizing the many successful works in this art.

How are we supposed to compare matches without a rubric? Usually I hate comparing them, and generally avoid the practice except in this annual column. How the heck are you supposed to judge Michaels and Jericho’s Ladder Match against McGuinness and Danielson’s mat fare in Japan? A comedy tag against a hardcore war? The truth is that one match at this level is seldom truly better than another. One match does certain things that another doesn’t, or does those things better. Especially in comparing your favorite matches of a year, you’ll find they are both better than each other at specific things. One has a perfect ending and frequent references to wrestling history, while another has more passion and more amazing highspots. Usually the best match of the year is the one that did the best at the things you care for the most. And in that spirit, I admit that most of these rankings are intuitive and based on personal preferences. I’ll also accuse that every other list is, too. The goal really isn’t to determine #1, #2 and #3, but to gather a hundred matches I loved and hope it resonates with others.

Despite all that, I expect hate mail for putting a comedy battle royale as high as I did.

Because I couldn’t provide a timely update to the list last year, one match from the very end of 2007 that demands recognition will appear on the 2008 list. Every December wrestling critics face this problem with the dead zone of releases: not everything that happened in 2008 is yet available for viewing. Pro Wrestling NOAH is infamous for releasing matches long after they happen, PWG has yet to release its Battle of Los Angeles tournament, which is infamous for having at least one must-see match, and ROH still has several releases to go. Starting this year (or technically, next year) each Riren 100 will be updated in the March-April period when everything from various companies has been released. In that interim I welcome any readers to submit other matches for consideration or re-consideration.

Given that there are a hundred matches, I’m sure you’ll disagree with at least one being ahead of another. And even though there are a hundred, I’m sure there are some you think I missed or was a bastard to exclude – I had 28 matches on my “short list” alone that I had to cut. But know that any criticism of match placement is less interesting than your response to what I actually wrote about the match. If you have a gripe, your own list (even just a Top 3), or if you have other matches you want to see praised, I encourage you drop a comment on wrestling.insidepulse.com, or e-mail me at Riren100@gmail.com.

Section B: The List

25. Takeshi Morishima Vs. Kensuke Sasaki (September 6) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Shiny Navigation 2008
26. Kevin Steen & El Generico Vs. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino (March 28) – Ring of Honor: Dragon Gate Challenge 2
27. Jimmy Jacobs Vs. BJ Whitmer (April 12) – No Rope Barbed Wire Match from IWA: MS: April Bloodshowers
28. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori Vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (December 7) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Winter Navigation 2008
29. Jay & Mark Briscoe Vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley (April 19) – ROH: Return Engagement
30. Austin Aries Vs. Erick Stevens (January 11) – FIP Title Match at ROH: Proving Ground
31. Takeshi Morishima Vs. Takashi Sugiura (June 14) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Great Voyage 2008 in Yokohama
32. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Bryan Danielson (February 23) – ROH: Sixth Anniversary Show
33. Mike Quackenbush Vs. Johnny Saint (March 8) – World of Sport Rules Match from Westside Xtreme Wrestling: 16 Carat Gold Tournament Night 2
34. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Tyler Black (taped March 16, aired May 29) – ROH: Take No Prisoners
35. Kurt Angle Vs. Yuji Nagata (January 4) – NJPW: Wrestle Kingdom 2
36. Masato Tanaka Vs. Manabu Nakanishi (April 6) – Zero 1 Max: Miracle Rocket: 2nd Impact
37. Kurt Angle Vs. AJ Styles (August 10) – “Last Man Standing Match” that was actually a Texas Death Match from TNA: Hard Justice
38. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Bryan Danielson (September 13) – ROH: Battle of the Best
39. Aja Kong Vs. Meiko Satomura (October 26) – Sendai Girls
40. Brent Albright Vs. Adam Pearce (August 2) – Death Before Dishonor 6
41. Bryan Danielson Vs. Low Ki (January 5) – PWG: All Star Weekend 6 Night 1
42. Austin Aries Vs. Go Shiozaki (October 24) – FIP Title Match from ROH: Return of 187
43. Roderick Strong Vs. Erick Stevens (February 16) – Full Impact Pro: Redefined
44. Shawn Michaels Vs. Jeff Hardy (February 11) – WWE: Raw
45. Minoru Fujita & Takuya Sugawara Vs. Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa (August 3) – Zero-1: Fire Festival 2008
46. Umaga Vs. Jeff Hardy (January 7) – Steel Cage Match from WWE: Raw
47. Edge Vs. The Undertaker (March 30) – WWE: Wrestlemania 24
48. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black Vs. Brent Albright & BJ Whitmer Vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero Vs. Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson (January 26) – ROH: Without Remorse
49. Kurt Angle Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (February 17) – NJPW: New Japanism in Ryogoku
50. Naomichi Marufuji Vs. KENTA (October 8) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Autumn Navigation
51. Yuji Nagata Vs. Masato Tanaka (October 13) – NJPW: Destruction 2008
52. Bryan Danielson Vs. Tyler Black (May 9) – ROH: Southern Navigation
53. Bryan Danielson Vs. Tyler Black (January 25) – ROH: Breakout
54. Ric Flair Vs. Shawn Michaels (March 30) – WWE: Wrestlemania 24
55. Mitsuharu Misawa, Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura Vs. Kenta Kobashi, Yoshihiro Takayama & Katsuhiko Nakajima (July 18) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Summer Navigation 2008
56. Kevin Steen & El Generico Vs. Homicide & Hernandez Vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black Vs. Davey Richards & Chris Hero (October 24) – 30-Minute Iron Team Match from ROH: Return of 187
57. Jay & Mark Briscoe Vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kota Ibushi (September 6) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Shiny Navigation 2008
58. Takeshi Morishima, Naomichi Marufuji & Go Shiozaki Vs. Roderick Strong, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (May 9) – ROH: Southern Navigation
59. Shingo Takagi & BxB Hulk Vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black (March 28) – Ring of Honor: Dragon Gate Challenge 2
60. Bryan Danielson & Eddie Edwards Vs. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori (June 21) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: European Navigation
61. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Roderick Strong (September 19) – ROH: Driven 2008
62. John Cena Vs. Dave Batista (August 17) –WWE: Summerslam
63. Kurt Angle Vs. A.J. Styles (June 8) – TNA: Slammiversary
64. Shawn Michaels Vs. Chris Jericho (July 20) – WWE: Great American Bash
65. Shingo Takagi, BxB Hulk & Cyber Kong Vs. Kota Ibushi, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda (April 13) – DDT and Dragon Gate co-present DDG Returns
66. Bryan Danielson Vs. Tyler Black Vs. Kenny Omega (November 8) – ROH: Bound By Hate
67. Eddie Kingston Vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (March 1) – IWA: Mid South: The 500th Show
68. Shingo Takagi & BxB Hulk Vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico (March 29) – Ring of Honor: Supercard of Honor 3
69. HHH Vs. Jeff Hardy (October 5) – WWE: No Mercy
70. Roderick Strong Vs. Davey Richards (September 13) – ROH: Battle of the Best
71. MEN’s Teioh, Shinobu, Onryo & KUDO Vs. Makoto Oishi, Tsutomu Oosugi, Hercules Senga & Yuki Sato (October 27) – BJW: Men’s World
72. Bryan Danielson Vs. Bad Bones (March 9) – Westside Xtreme Wrestling: 16 Carat Gold Tournament Night 3
73. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black Vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe Vs. Brent Albright & B.J. Whitmer Vs. Jack Evans & Jigsaw (January 11) – “Ultimate” Ultimate Endurance ROH: Proving Ground
74. Kenta Kobashi, Tamon Honda & KENTA Vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Go Shiozaki (April 27) –Pro Wrestling NOAH at the Tokyo Nippon Budokan
75. Jay & Mark Briscoe Vs. Homicide & Hernandez (October 25) –ROH: Ring of Homicide 2
76. Giant Bernard Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (March 23) – NJPW New Japan Cup: Who Is The Highest?
77. Mitsuharu Misawa Vs. Takeshi Morishima (March 2) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Second Navigation at the Nippon Budokan
78. Shingo Takagi & BxB Hulk Vs. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori (March 20) – Dragon Gate: The Gate of Generation
79. Bryan Danielson Vs. Mike Quackenbush (March 7) – Westside Xtreme Wrestling: 16 Carat Gold Tournament Night 1
80. Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio Vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima (April 27) – Pro Wrestling NOAH at the Tokyo Nippon Budokan
81. Naomichi Marufuji Vs. Roderick Strong (July 25) – ROH: Northern Navigation
82. Kurt Angle Vs. Christian Cage (February 10) – TNA: Against All Odds
83. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black Vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Go Shiozaki (August 1) – ROH: Fueling the Fire
84. CIMA, Dragon Kid & Ryo Saito Vs. Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi & Genki Horiguchi (March 29) – ROH: Supercard of Honor 3
85. Roderick Strong Vs. Rocky Romero (January 27) – Pro Wrestling Guerrilla: Pearl Habra
86. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley Vs. James Storm & Bobby Roode (November 9) – TNA: Turning Point
87. Bryan Danielson Vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (September 20) – ROH: Glory By Honor 7
88. Bryan Danielson Vs. Claudio Castagnoli (June 28) – ROH: Vendetta 2
89. El Generico Vs. Taiji Ishimori (March 7) – Westside Xtreme Wrestling: 16 Carat Gold Tournament Night 1
90. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Jimmy Jacobs (September 14) – ROH: Tokyo Summit
91. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley Vs. Masato Tanaka & Daisuke Sekimoto (October 25) Pro Wrestling Expo: Part 3: Blue Chapter
92. Bryan Danielson Vs. Naomichi Marufuji (May 10) – ROH: A New Level
93. Roderick Strong Vs. Tyler Black (August 30) – PWG: All Star Weekend 7 Night 1
94. Edge Vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (January 27) – WWE: Royal Rumble
95. El Generico Vs. Kota Ibushi (April 19) – ROH: Return Engagement
96. Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura Vs. Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio (April 12) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Global Tag League at the Hiroshima Green Arena
97. Kurt Angle Vs. Samoa Joe (April 13) – TNA: Lockdown
98. Claudio Castagnoli Vs. El Generico (January 26) – ROH: Without Remorse
99. Naomichi Marufuji Vs. Mike Quackenbush (March 9) – Westside Xtreme Wrestling: 16 Carat Gold Tournament Night 3
100. Randy Orton Vs. HHH Vs. John Cena (March 30) – WWE: Wrestlemania 24

Section C: Countdown & Reviews

49. Kurt Angle Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (February 17) – NJPW: New Japanism in Ryogoku
They worked Angle’s Ankle Lock in clever and believable ways that we largely haven’t seen since he went to TNA. Nakamura had some of the best counters of the hold to date, making Angle fight him in one direction only to turn around in the hopes of an escape or reversal. The Jujigatame also hasn’t looked this devastating in NJPW outside a Yuji Nagata match in quite a while. They channeled MMA moves into pro wrestling logic in the fashion many Japanese matches only aspire to these days, wholly explaining the shortness of the match through the danger of the Ankle Lock and Jujigatame.

48. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black Vs. Brent Albright & BJ Whitmer Vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero Vs. Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson (January 26) – ROH: Without Remorse
People have overlooked how good the first fall of this match was. There was too much competition for these guys to snatch pinfalls or apply effective submissions and it quickly turned into the generic ROH scramble. Black’s Twisting Moonsault to the floor has never been stable and required even more focus to pull off than anything else guys were trying (plus he’d almost missed it at Breakout the previous night); that in addition to pinfall attempts in general not being anticipated in the match made Richards’s technical roll-up perfect. From there things developed interestingly, truly exploding in the final fall that made Richards and Romero look like they belonged in the ring against Aries and Danielson. It’s a shame ROH didn’t capitalize on that performance more later on because it could have seriously helped the tag and singles careers of those two guys. Not that Aries and Danielson were slouches; their offensive flurries were inspired and Aries busted out the mother of all great hot tags. The final minutes were simply mesmerizing.

47. Edge Vs. The Undertaker (March 30) – WWE: Wrestlemania 24
Just by positioning this match last on Wrestlemania, WWE gave it something no storyline could. Why put a match everyone considered a lock for the Undertaker to win in the main event? It had such a bad build. But WWE does stupid stuff all the time. Oh Christ, were they going to have Edge break the Undertaker’s streak after all? That was on everyone’s mind from the second the pre-match video played. The slow beginning dampened that anxiety while Edge wore Undertaker down to his physical level with a series of moves on the outside, necessary to turn the match into as even a contest as it was. It really clicked when they got into Edge’s counters, showing how much Edge had prepared while feigning arrogance and idiocy with Vickie Guerrero. Those same preparations made Undertaker’s ultimate counter of the Spear with the Gogoplata all the sweeter, showing that while he’d tried to rely on force, he brought preparations of his own (even if the commentators didn’t mention it). It was more nuanced than that (Undertaker planned ahead to counter the counter to his Old School Arm Bar Smash), but they let Edge’s preparation override his to give that last surprise more kick. The false finish with Charles Robinson sprinting down the incredibly long rampway to count the fall after the Tombstone was as brilliant a way of getting around the Tombstone as an inevitable match-ender as anything. The following minute with the goons and the Spears had the raucous magic the match called for.

46. Umaga Vs. Jeff Hardy (January 7) Steel Cage Match from WWE: Raw
They showed great chemistry throughout 2007 and opened up 2008 with a bang. A good, steady start with Umaga dominatingly more actively (rather than relying on some of the boring holds that killed audiences in latter-2007 bouts) and a few premature hope spots, including a phenomenal reversal that almost saw Hardy escape over the top of the cage. Everything from the moment they returned from commercials was solid, as they drew the crowd into everything including Umaga’s nerve hold, which usually quiets the crowd (even Ric Flair couldn’t make it work). Orton’s presence at ringside detracted from the emotion between the two guys, but he provided some tremendous facial reactions to Hardy’s comebacks. Hardy didn’t dominate, but every time he came in control he looked legit without damaging Umaga’s aura. Each of the chair attacks could have feasibly finished the match, and while I hate the idea of a savage who pins people with a thumb-punch relying on a weapon, his chairshot to Hardy’s back was sickening. The finish was a great tease that had me screaming at the TV for Hardy to dive onto Orton. Umaga and Hardy is one pair I never tire of watching go at it.

45. Minoru Fujita & Takuya Sugawara Vs. Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa (August 3) – Zero-1: Fire Festival 2008
Hidaka is golden so long as he’s motivated and hgis opponents can keep up. Every time Going up against his most infamous partner in Fujita guaranteed that here, and Hidaka went on a roll for the first ten minutes of the match before the Sworn Brothers really took over. Both sides had great energy, even in the sick holds the Sworn Brothers threw on Hidaka, carrying the emotion from exchange to exchange in inspiring fashion. You have to love the way the Fire Festival crowd got invested in this, especially as it went on. It had little to none of the awkwardness in exchanges that hinders a lot of the lesser Zero-1 I’ve seen; this is the type of stuff that makes me go out and get more from that great Japanese indy. It didn’t have false finishes so much as things everyone believed might end it, a subtle difference – this didn’t have the “gotcha!” effect of many matches that hinge on big kick-outs.

44. Shawn Michaels Vs. Jeff Hardy (February 11) – WWE: Raw
A match of character from the opening fist bump and chop. Hardy proved he could play the top babyface against anyone, and Michaels managed to play a subtle heel role that could be cheered on offense but simultaneously could be rooted against. Rather than building to one climactic ending moment, they built a dozen lesser moments that made it compulsively watchable wrestling television, from a meaningful clothesline spot to a huge powerslam on the floor. My one complaint is that this match also featured the goofiest moment of the year: Shawn Michaels going for a standing second rope double axe-handle to Jeff Hardy on the mat, specifically because everyone counters it with a boot to the face, so that he could catch Hardy’s leg and apply a submission hold. Planning ahead to counter a counter to a move that could not work in the first place was like wrestling metafiction.

43. Roderick Strong Vs. Erick Stevens (February 16) – Full Impact Pro: Redefined
Do you enjoy watching the sweat spray off of grown men’s chests while they chop each other? Then this was the feud for you. The significant size difference between Strong and Stevens takes a lot of people out of their matches (particularly new viewers who don’t follow the indies). Strong is primarily a striker and power wrestler with some solid technical ability, but being smaller, his striking and power moves aren’t believable enough to let him dominate Stevens, and he isn’t an aggressive enough technical wrestler to make picking Stevens apart believable on a regular basis (as, say, William Regal or Bryan Danielson might have been). The two were very clever in this match to lock horns so much of the time and fight over hammerlocks, often with Stevens legs bent to some degree to give the impression of him being a little shorter, and given Stevens enough control time to underplay the usual Strong-dominance that hindered previous matches. Stevens followed through on his own physical success and became too confident, given Strong little openings for logical reversals, but never too much. They framed their struggle such that Stevens was elevated to Strong’s level in character, and Strong was elevated to a physically believable level. And while you can’t credit the wrestlers for the camera work, the camera angles contributed to neutralizing the size issue. The match was such a struggle that the one (possibly accidental) belt shot believably put things in Strong’s power, and Stevens sold and bumped like a martyr to accentuate it. The subtle story of Strong’s underhanded tactics was also brilliantly woven in, such that you might convince yourself he wasn’t up to something until the end. They made the most of that available passion by executing things so fluidly, moving through a complex struggle in a way that was easy to follow. It far outshone the looser matches that follow in ROH.

42. Austin Aries Vs. Go Shiozaki (October 24) – FIP Title Match from ROH: Return of 187
This match showed how much Go had grown in singles over his ROH tenure. He wasn’t as stiff in falling and taking moves, more natural with reversals, and his character was well suited to the expanded story. At the Sixth Anniversary Show only Aries had scouted Go, where this time Go was prepared for many of Aries’s trademarks, even willing to threaten a Brainbuster before Aries had hit one. His new attitude fit cowardly dodges (like bailing to the ropes in avoiding Aries’s dropkick escape trick), and especially well in brutalizing Aries with different kinds of chops. Just like before, Aries took everything like a champ, but this time Go had a smarmy personality to redefine the match, making it less about out-doing the original, and more about telling a new story. Casting Aries as a stronger underdog who needed the quick strikes and high risk of the first match, but included more ground-based striking hoping to keep the bigger guy loopy also switched up original role nicely, though simply not as radical a change as Go becoming the villain. From the plays on original strategies all the way to the plunge of a finish, this was a heck of a way to introduce Go as FIP champion to the ROH audience.

41. Bryan Danielson Vs. Low Ki (January 5) – PWG: All Star Weekend 6 Night 1
Fantastic nuanced minimalism. If you want to do technical wrestling today, watch matches like this to see how Danielson and Ki used small expressions and motions while sitting in a hold to express their struggle. They incorporated elements of amateur wrestling and MMA seamlessly into a free pro wrestling grappling style, and their ease with grappling counters needs to be seen. Even if you like PWG’s commentary, this is better without because Excalibur and Bryce Remsburg couldn’t catch everything these guys hinted at, and their actions were so in touch with the intimate crowd that the crowd’s groans and cheers served as a much more fitting soundtrack. The hesitation in their approaches, the hesitation towards switching holds, and even how much they managed to do with their legs twined in the opening segment was fascinating. Danielson using the front of not wanting them to strike each other, and later of trying to escape Ki’s retribution, threaded all the lock-ups and technical exchanges before Ki got his highly satisfying chance to lay into him. That chance was also a great example of how to make really hard strikes mean something rather than just doing them at all points during a match. Here they built up every really painful action so that it meant more emotionally when it happened. Low Ki was definitely off in the final minutes, seeming to go completely against the flow and logic of the match (crossing the ring to take a breather when he had a viable pinfall opportunity, going for a Phoenix Splash and messing it up, seeming to require Danielson to scoop him up into a hold), but even if he wasn’t hurt (and that did seem more like the result of an injured performer than intention), the ending delivered and rested atop a stunning body of a match.

40. Brent Albright Vs. Adam Pearce (August 2) – Death Before Dishonor 6
Some matches mean more simply because of where they happen. You let Bourne and Mysterio Jr. go free on Raw and even if they do something merely on par with what’s normal in an indy, it means more because of how they work that material with that novel audience. Albright and Pearce took classic elements of NWA title matches and brought them to ROH for that same kind of imported meaning. It helped that they were structured very well: Larry Sweeney stepped in only to be cut off, and the fall through the table and Piledriver were totally believable elements to an ending we didn’t want to see but thought was certain. And it was about damned time Albright got an ROH crowd that appreciated the way he fired up. The crowd treated them like titans, and Albright in particular stepped it up for them, in the way he put effort into every grope for the ropes, the delivery of the German Suplexes, right up to the last seconds, adjusting his angle and grip on the Crowbar to force Pearce to give in. That is the testament to detail that always enriches a match: working the Crowbar with aspects of technical wrestling a match that was far from technical, making the whole thing better. Pearce has been a good bully and focus of comeuppance for a long time, but I’ve never seen him in such a position to make the most of it.

39. Aja Kong Vs. Meiko Satomura (October 26) – Sendai Girls
If you were squeamish at Morishima attacking Danielson’s eye in ROH last year, fear Aja Kong. Even Michaels and Jericho weren’t this deep with their eye-related violence. It wasn’t just starting the match with a spinning backfist, but taking so many opportunities to dig at Satomura’s eye, even when she was just lying in a lackadaisical cover. If it was a chinlock? An opportunity to rake the eye. If Satomura started coming back? A palmstrike across the brow. Kong wasn’t a mere sadist, but tickled to be one. Satomura had all the necessary fire and technical ability to play the role, but the best fun came from her simply trying to chop down this mammoth opponent – and it’s saying something when solid desperation comebacks aren’t the highlight of a match like this. They weren’t content for a simple comeback story, but made Kong resilient when she wasn’t formidable. In that way, they went from the best kind of return match for Satomura to the best kind of competitive match for both of them. Unsurprisingly the mix made it the most emotional women’s match I’ve seen all year.

38. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Bryan Danielson (September 13) – ROH: Battle of the Best
I would be a happier wrestling fan if more people could do this much this well in mat holds. What an opening, completely harnessing the tone of ROH’s Japan shows for a scientific wrestling match that took both men so seriously that neither could rush into anything. Other matches use slowness to stall, build (often empty) emotion or to save the wrestlers exerting themselves as they pad the time they’re in the ring. This was all about emphasizing how good and how dangerous McGuinness and Danielson were. It never became as hot as Unified or Driven 2007, focusing on the contest aspect without resorting to as many strikes or generic fighting spirit. Instead it was essentially the Survival of the Fittest 2007 preliminary without the short time limit. In one sense it was necessary, as it was the wrong crowd to do a big blow-off style match. In another sense it was prudent, in that they added another diverse chapter to their storied history, something that won’t resemble anything too much as to seem cheap – as I already mentioned, it was an extension of a previous match that had been clipped by circumstances. It was refreshing both because it was so different from the Sixth Anniversary Show match, and because the two are so good at technical wrestling. Danielson wouldn’t just stall to clasp his hands in a double underhook; he fought for the proper angle. McGuinness looked for the chance to hit one stunning Reverse Elbow for several minutes, rather than throwing one whenever he felt like it. They even performed McGuinness’s mule kick in above average fashion, with Danielson in more believable ring positioning to try to counter it the first time only to be suckered. At all times they were vulnerable: sometimes they were tired, sometimes in pain or unable to escape a hold, sometimes only looking for a counter or the ropes when they weren’t available. In the previous match on the card El Generico hit a Top Rope Splash to almost no effect; here, an Irish Whip was devastating. How expressive they were as they went from moment to moment carried very simple wrestling far beyond what a lot of matches that rely on much more dangerous feats accomplish.

37. Kurt Angle Vs. AJ Styles (August 10) – “Last Man Standing Match” that was actually a Texas Death Match from TNA Hard Justice
If 2008 was Kurt Angle’s last year in wrestling, this match would have been a suitable end. With its athleticism, ferocity and conclusion, this would have been the note to walk out on, setting up Styles for a permanent main-eventer run so long as TNA could sustain him. A shame, then, that TNA immediately followed it up with an angle and two TV rematches, and Styles was pushed back into the bizarre “unaccomplished young gun” role later in the year. It started out with a peculiar charm in its brawling, for there’s nothing like seeing two guys fight all over the aisle way only to still rely on professional wrestling offense like a Capture Suplex or plancha. Especially in the style that Angle wrestles, it suggests that pro wrestling is the most effective offense outside the ring – obviously false, but reinforcing something very positive in a wrestling match. They reserved hitting each other at full force to important moments, like the double Cross-Body Block mid-match. The taunting reversals were also smarter, as Angle would catch Styles in a Powerbomb and actually fold him up for the pin, only pulling him up into Styles’s own Styles Clash once he kicked out – something Styles ought to do himself. Styles played the same game with an Ankle Lock, where he braced himself and stayed mid-ring, not immediately following Angle to maintain his leverage, but letting Angle crawl forward a little and lose all of his own leverage before finally grapevining the legs. Not just stealing from each other, but showing each other how they could do their offense better was a great layer to some of their upper tier exchanges, and added meaning to the first fall. It was that same pointed familiarity that carried to Angle fighting to have his way on the top rope, a place he can usually charge up onto and have his way, and ultimately trying to brutalize someone with one more Suplex and getting it turned on him in devastating fashion. It’s always a big statement when a guy wins a match with something he’s never (or rarely) done before and it still makes total sense.

36. Masato Tanaka Vs. Manabu Nakanishi (April 6) – Zero 1 Max: Miracle Rocket: 2nd Impact
Masato Tanaka went wild in the opening minutes, establishing a white-hot atmosphere of hatred around the fight before channeling it into a more traditional Japanese pro-wrestling match. From thereon they hit a flow where they could rely on passionate violence or the more standard big-time wrestling style without breaking the story they told or their hold over the audience. Both halves of this dualistic flow complimented the other, and especially with the brawling on the outside and some of the struggles mid-match, added energy when they switched up. Nakanishi was almost guiltily fun as the immovable object-style powerhouse, really coming into his own mid-match and towards the end with a great sense of when to do nothing and let Tanaka accentuate his strength. So Nakanishi resisting an irish whip became as impressive as Tanaka hitting a Sliding D at top speed. Some may find this match too chaotic or think it went overboard, but you have to appreciate how they channeled their brief excesses into a truly minimalistic ending – perhaps a standard finishing sequence for Tanaka’s big matches these days, but fitting far better than usual.

35. Kurt Angle Vs. Yuji Nagata (January 4) – NJPW: Wrestle Kingdom 2
I think most people expected more of a technical, mat-based match, especially early on. I know I did. Instead they surprised me by going for the heavy artillery early. The prideful attempts for knockout kicks were great touches, and the almost resentful exchanges of Suplexes should have established animosity for any American viewers who didn’t know the backstory of the IWGP belt situation. Angle just was not going to chain wrestle in the opening, but if he was going to stiff Nagata, Nagata was going to bring it back to him. Saving the chain wrestling for later was unorthodox, but completely worked, especially with their series of reversals of high profile finishing holds. You had to love Nagata refusing to show weakness in his leg even as Angle ripped on it, and something possessing Angle to work Nagata’s leg more aggressively, logically and convincingly than he did to any TNA opponent in all of 2007, just four days into 2008. Nagata is a very underrated seller, in that he simultaneously conveys feeling pain and fighting through pain, conveying weakness and toughness, which makes any course of action he might take plausible. It’s equally believable that his leg would give out the next time he went for a throw, or that he’d be able to Saito Suplex Angle to death, and the NJPW audience will passionately buy into either. Throughout the match you can see him take rounder steps with the leg Angle worked over, and have to catch himself when he tries to rest on it – he doesn’t express the weakness constantly, but it’s downright to say it he forgets it. Meanwhile, is downright fun to watch Angle freeze up in agony from every strike, in what might have been his most entertaining selling since his jump to TNA. It lacked an explosive ending appropriate to such a clash of stars, but it was great up until that finish.

34. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Tyler Black (taped March 16, aired May 29) – ROH: Take No Prisoners
What a one-two punch this was with Danielson Vs. Aries, making Take No Prisoners one of my favorite PPV’s of the year, up there with Summerslam. While Danielson/Aries was much more fluid, competitive, consistent and arguably deeper, this had higher highs. Everything from the chairshot on was special, and McGuinness introduced his end-match formula of a ridiculous number of kickouts in grand fashion. You couldn’t have asked for a better subject than Black, who bumped and sold like he was getting murdered. It’s a testament to Black’s ability to read, flow with and command crowds that his F-5, a move he’d never even used in ROH before, was a believable nearfall. Even months later on PPV I was ready for the title to change hands at his last roll-up attempt. Yes, McGuinness’s domination in the first half gets tired. Yes, on repeated viewings the kick-outs can be a bit much. Yes, Black submitting works to negate a lot of what the match set up, and a knockout pin wouldn’t have been difficult to use instead. But this made a star even better than the Breakout match, and in tandem with it, got things rolling for Black’s great year in Ring of Honor.

33. Mike Quackenbush Vs. Johnny Saint (March 8) – World of Sport Rules Match from Westside Xtreme Wrestling: 16 Carat Gold Tournament Night 2
You know what? I dare you to do this when you’re 65. Seriously, while Michaels Vs. Flair from Wrestlemania had an incomparably more dramatic build, Saint’s sheer ability here put Flair’s to shame. And one can’t discount the references in this contest either, right down to the hold Quackenbush used to win his only fall. The creativity of counters (including pretending to stumble when trapped in a Front Facelock), fluidity of exchanges to take control back from one side to another, and the packing of meaning into little moments (like Saint finding a way to return to his feet when trapped in knucklelocks before the first bell, or him managing to pull a Bodyslam just at another) took this far above the normal technical match between men of any age and experience level. The lack of animosity didn’t hurt it at all, suggesting hate-based wrestling some companies force too hard into every angle might not be necessary – the legitimate surprise of Quackenbush (such as after the first fall) only complimented the veteran. Little dashes of humor were structured to reinforce how sound Saint was, again only reinforcing the drama of a hateless but difficult match. When you add how rad it is to see a 65-year-old man effortlessly catch Mike Quackenbush’s arm and roll into a submission hold that only requires him to do a push-up… well, it sure gets on this list.

32. Nigel McGuinness Vs. Bryan Danielson (February 23) – ROH: Sixth Anniversary Show
The restart was a great bit of wrestling theatre, and an homage for what Ring of Honor is supposed to stand. Someone can go for a DQ and escape with the title in WWE (in fact, Randy Orton did that same thing at No Way Out a few days before this match), but here the locker room wouldn’t allow it. So while it was by-the-numbers before the disqualification, the real match began after the restart. It still couldn’t match Unified or Driven for intensity or creativity, and the men didn’t hit a similar groove. McGuinness’s attack on Danielson’s arm was uninspired, hailing back to one of the things that held back their first match at Weekend of Champions Night 2. However, they built out of that and into a solid brawl where the heavy bombs of offense meant a lot. The best theme was how McGuinness handled Danielson’s head after Danielson promised not to go after his. At first he was actually hesitant to do damage there, then he hit a desperation Lariat that dumped Danielson on the back of his head. Later he hit a Tower of London, only to cut himself open. You could interpret that he was just doing enough to get an advantage or actually became absorbed in his own fear of damage to his head, but thereafter he went right back into arm work (much better stuff than earlier in the match, including stealing Danielson’s Cattle Mutilation) and striking. By that stretch they at least earned their conceits, particularly the question of why Danielson wouldn’t go right after his head after the DQ and his cowardly escape attempt. The last ten minutes climbed back up to the best these guys can do together, with references to their history and some logical innovations. Hey, McGuinness put his arm up at 1 when the ref was checking if he was conscious in a hold. It’s about freaking time someone did that. And it figured into the point McGuinness really wanted to make. Beyond any dubious concern for his health, he’d never been able to fairly and decisively beat Danielson, and whether he recognized his shortcuts before snapping at the end or not, he was trying in his way. When he gave in and went for Danielson’s eye, though, he threw it all away and embraced perhaps the most wicked mid-match turn in ROH history. He was a prick at the start of the show, but this was a whole other magnitude.

31. Takeshi Morishima Vs. Takashi Sugiura (June 14) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Great Voyage 2008 in Yokohama
Sugiura is still trying to prove himself in high profile matches. He succeeds every time, but it’s mostly despite NOAH’s wishes, and he drifts back down thanks to their lack of attention. In matches like these, his effort bleeds through to character in little moments like the Super Hurricanrana and German Suplex combo in this match: the first move being unusual athleticism from him and the sort of move that always makes Morishima psych up in anger, opening him to a second sledgehammer move in the beautiful and surprisingly powerful reversal into the suplex. That one exchange embodied everything Sugiura brought to the table: agility unbefitting his shape, strength unbefitting his size, excellent technical skill and strategic plotting of offense. Morishima gave him enough time to seem like a real force (if not a real threat), even taking a Kobashi-style drop off the apron at one point. None of this hurt Morishima, however, who came across as a juggernaut who necessitated loads of high-level offense from his opponent. Sugiura is a more believable fighter at the heavyweight class than anyone ex-Junior in NOAH, and when Morishima turned things around he laid into Sugiura with some very visually effective punches, forearms and lariats. He earned that “Japanese monster!” title the commentator kept shouting, and was only made more believable by how varied Sugiura had to keep his game, reversing a back suplex into a splash here, picking the ankle there, all in the attempt keep himself in control. Morishima further accentuated that struggle with his own high-end offense near the end, both trying to make a point as a would-be dominant champion, and to break this smaller but driven opponent. A top-turnbuckle Double Stomp just to keep Sugiura down was impressive, but how many times in the last year have you seen Morishima Moonsault? That a former Junior Heavyweight, even one as strong and talented as Sugiura, could struggle to *remain* in control lent this a drama you can’t get in every match, but which couldn’t have been given to a better challenger.

30. Austin Aries Vs. Erick Stevens (January 11) – FIP Title Match at ROH: Proving Ground
This reminded me of the much-lauded Cena/Michaels 2 match from Raw last year. Then, you could tell Michaels was more responsible for it working so well, but could also see that Cena was capable and bringing everything he had to his role. Here, Aries was clearly in charge more of the time, but every time Stevens took over he showed character, confidence, effort, power and ability. This is the kind of match that makes somebody because when Stevens was given something, he used it, rather than just going through it and getting back under the direction of his more seasoned opponent. Aries’s big traits were setting the pace of the segments, bringing much more variety to the offense, and growing increasing agitated and aggressive. The build-up to the double count-out was inspired, and Aries’s dive was crazy (though ROH used an awful camera angle that obscured just how far he jumped). Everything after the restart of the match possessed exhilarating sprint, with every thirty seconds pointed by some purpose – going for the 450, going for the Horns of Aries, and going for the Doctor Bomb. Because of that directed energy, everything worked even better, and Aries’s amazing reversal to the Suplex came off as even more impressive. It should have made Stevens, but unfortunately ROH’s handling of him in 2008 wasn’t as good as some of his performances.

29. Jay & Mark Briscoe Vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley (April 19) – ROH: Return Engagement
In mid-2008 people were surprised that the Briscoes would claim they needed to go back to their roots with more brawling. But if you watched this match, you could tell why. They tried submissions and both wound tied up in the ring. They tried to go flying and Sabin bowled them over even with the referee getting in his way. Even when they pulled some big reversals, like Mark flying into the ring to turn Shelley’s Air Raid Crash into a setup for Jay’s Jay Driller, the Guns turned it around on them again. All their wars with the Age of the Fall had left their state-of-the-art fast, flying and innovative rusty, below the level they were at last year. They walked into the match prepared to wrestle the same gameplan as last year with little preparation, continuing to fall back on the big tricks of 2007 even late in the match, hitting one big slow tandem move just to setup their Doomsday Device variant, and found their execution was off and the fatigue they went through left them too sluggish to hit it before Sabin could run in. It doesn’t get plainer than Jay Briscoe picking up Alex Shelley on his shoulders for that Springboard Doomsday Device only to end up getting Skull Fucked. As Sabin and Shelley said at the top of the show, they spent the year off studying the Briscoes’ offense, and came out with fast counters and their trademark tandem moves in ways the Briscoes weren’t ready for. The Briscoes were probably physically stronger and possibly tougher, so it made sense that those things were what helped them hang in. Their reliable offense was ugly and simple, like a quick and loose Death Valley Driver, chops to the throat and the ground-and-pound based offense that granted them their longest stretch of domination. Their coolest counters were things like an Exploder Suplex on one guy that slammed him onto his partner to break up a submission – technically complex, but relying only on brute force. The Briscoes simply did not have the skills in complex clutches that they’d once had, while Shelley & Sabin had only gotten better at picking spots. It was a good story that made for a less compelling match than their 2007 encounter (#1 on the Riren 100 in 2007), but not by too much.

28. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori Vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (December 7) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Winter Navigation 2008
KENTA started out with an aggression that would really define him as one of the greats in the world if he could bring it to more singles matches and keep it up. For this match more than any other in the two teams’ feud, he was the defining element, almost a dangerous veteran in the role someone like Takayama or Kobashi normally plays. That made every time either guy went so much as even with him that much more impressive, and despite being a former singles (and still tag) champion, Kanemaru still showed the benefits of being elevated. It meant that much more for them to actually bust open and dominate KENTA. Ishimori was more on-point with offense and reversals than usual, and he’s usually one of the best, and his dynamic spills helped Suzuki and Kanemaru look slicker than ever. And really, how cool was it when Suzuki caught Ishimori’s legs during his normal cocky dive fake, only to yank him out of the ring and wing him into the guardrail? They established peril and consequence, and got rolling at more apt times than pretty much any NOAH Juniors tag match this year, without so much of the perfunctory deliveries that show when unseasoned guys don’t know what they’re doing. Similarly their crescendos were higher, better-timed and better-executed than even the previous matches the teams had with each other could lead you to expect. They stepped up, including more character like Suzuki’s struggle at ringside to take the bell, putting attitude into places that would normally be lulls. Especially on this show NOAH had a lot of to prove, but these might have been the only guys to prove it.

27. Jimmy Jacobs Vs. B.J. Whitmer (April 12) – No Rope Barbed Wire Match from IWA: MS: April Bloodshowers
There are some difficult decisions in the Riren 100. This match is one of them. Matches like this have truly great moments and truly stupid moments, with the latter not being hidden, and sometimes outright emphasized. The minutes spent with duct tape only for somebody run in and cut it apart in thirty seconds was downright depressing. A few stretches of the match dragged. Some of the setups took so long that they further disjointed an already questionably paced match. The trade-off is that the highpoints were so impressive that if it did make it onto the list, it wouldn’t be low. I wrote “highpoints,” not “highspots,” because this wasn’t about big flip or head drops, but periods of wrestling greatness in a long, thought-out match. It demands to be lauded. The pacing here isn’t as much of an issue as their I Quit match as, between the damage they did, the destruction around and in the ring, and the atmosphere they played off of, this came across as a drawn-out war rather than listless. They started it off with remarkable sense, doing a great job of expressing the danger of the barbed wire in various ways: the traditional fighting of Irish Whips, the less common baseball slide under the wire, and Whitmer clutching his hand from just touching the stuff. The first real contact with the barbed wire was surprising and logical at the same time, simply great. We know Whitmer and Jacobs have great brawling chemistry (they earned two spots on the Riren 100 in 2007), and that brawling really worked. The use of duct tape in their I Quit match seriously hurt matters, and it definitely didn’t help this time, but it didn’t do as much damage because they were so much more focused. They built to a final chapter that you couldn’t even classify as a finishing stretch. It was a chapter in a damned long, damned brutal match. The Barry White Driver off the apron was simply insane. The two Sentons were breathtaking – I have to use that word because for once it’s true. The table not giving way made my breath catch in my throat. That one defective table accidentally provided IWA:MS with its most evocative finish in years, mixing irony, brutality and Jacobs’s great psychology. This match was disturbing and should never be done again – but it should also be on the list.

26. Kevin Steen & El Generico Vs. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino (March 28) – Ring of Honor: Dragon Gate Challenge 2
I lamented this in the Riren 100 last year, but it really seems like the top Dragon Gate wrestlers work harder in PWG and ROH than in their home promotion. Maybe it’s the encouragement of more vocally passionate audiences. Maybe it’s insecurity in wrestling in a foreign country, or they’re trying to advertise themselves to these new markets. Maybe they’re earning those pricey plane tickets, or maybe they love their craft but can’t physically keep this sort of performance level up all year round, but they seem to go faster and put more energy into their work in these American companies that have very similar in-ring styles to that of their home promotion. Here Doi and Yoshino were at their very best as a unit. They were a little on the faceless side, but that was a strength, allowing them to watch each other’s backs and file in against either of their opponents seamlessly. Yoshino was particularly on, picking his spots and hitting them with better pacing than I normally see him do in Dragon Gate. Steen played a very suitable powerhouse while Generico did everything you could expect from him, absorbing punishment and building small comebacks into a larger array of exceptionally structured offense. They all switched between strikes, work on the mat, work near the ropes, stuff on the outside, double teams, flying offense and power offense such that every exchange felt either fresh or more exciting than the last. This built to one of the best false finishes ROH has ever seen, and a highly satisfying real finish. A must-see for all fans of sprint tag wrestling.

25. Takeshi Morishima Vs. Kensuke Sasaki (September 6) – Pro Wrestling NOAH: Shiny Navigation 2008
You can hate the decision of the company, but you shouldn’t hold it against the match two guys put on. These two walked into a war. Morishima approached Sasaki with a blunt physicality that matched or trumped the veteran, giving the match energy and necessitating the slower holds in this match, giving it a direction that was the only thing seriously lacking to Sasaki/Marufuji in Kensuke Office. Of course it helped that the two fought in a very similar style, making it much easier for them to click. But damn did they click, and from there you got tastes of Morishima’s astounding agility, made all the more impressive by him physically dwarfing Sasaki. Moves like Morishima’s early Dropkick (and shortly later, the Suicide Dive) added flare to what was already working, and later when he pulled out the Moonsault he got the properly augmented response. All these elements were tethered to the big brawl atmosphere, which lent itself just as much to a Missile Dropkick as to the three teased count-outs in the first ten minutes. The pliable atmosphere wasn’t a mere result of their reputations, but hard work in softening each other up, constantly requiring additional strikes or surprises to be able to hit the next big thing. Sasaki wrestles like he’s made of iron, but all of Morishima’s offense and resilience did more to build him as at or near that level of toughness than any of the Misawa matches. Those who hated this match on Morishima’s behalf would be well-served to go back and watch the crowd reaction to his signature offense. He lost, but he left an enormous star.

That brings us to #25. Come back tomorrow for the finale, and the #1 match of the year. You can check out my non-wrestling blog over at www.johnwiswell.blogspot.com.