Pro-Wrestling Gems

[enviousdominous]

A few of us are old enough to be nostalgic, to be able to hold in out hearts a pro-wrestling moment that could never be matched. The obscurity of these moments, in a way, amplifies their power over our standard of what great pro-wrestling is.

I have a few examples, but I'll only share one. If there's a match from your youth that resonates as that most potent example of what made you fall in love with pro-wrestling, and it seems like nobody else was paying attention at the time, do share.

The match you will hopefully watch in full is, in my opinion, the greatest tag team match of all time. It was held at the AJW event Dreamslam, which booked female wrestlers from every major wrestling organization. If you're totally disillusioned by the redundancy of today's product, this match should remind you of what an a-class product looks like.

Harley Saito and Eagle Sawai vs Bull Nakano and Aja Kong:

[YOUTUBE]b21ZlzDXTac[/YOUTUBE]

Main highlight being Harley using the nunchucks at 7:36. If you have an example of your own, please share it. So many of pro-wrestling's greatest moments are being overlooked.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Funnily enough my pick isnt a match, its a return. And it is still the greatest pop I have ever heard from a WWE crowd.

[YOUTUBE]yhFpy9p_30o[/YOUTUBE]

The Game, Triple H returns at Madison Square Garden in early 2002 after being out for 8 long months with a torn Quad, to be greeted by the huge roar of the sold out crowd. The funny thing is, Triple H was a mega heel at the time of his injury, but the crowd responds in a way you would normally expect an incredibly popular babyface, showing the respect they have for one of the all-time greats and showing how much they missed him.

I hated Triple H before this moment, which shows how good he was at playing a heel. But even I popped massively watching this when I heard that guitar riff and the "TIME TO PLAY THE GAME!" theme music. It was at this point I realised how much I loved pro-wrestling. I was already a huge fan, and had been for quite a number of years but the way the crowd and myself reacted to HHH's return after a serious injury just showed me that the guys we see in the ring are a very special kind of athlete, who put their bodies through hell for us and to see the fans at MSG show their respect for The Game was a great moment.

I knew then that Triple H would always be a favourite of mine, and it was just an awesome moment seeing him soak in the love from the fans after months of agonising rehab, you could tell he had been waiting for this return for a long time and the reaction from the crowd made it all worthwhile. Triple H loves the wrestling business, and deserves respect from everyone.

 

[Wald]

One of mine isn't from a live show but from the Slammy Awards when Owen Hart won his second Slammy. Genuinely cracked me up and started an amazing year of Two Time Slammy Award Winning Owen Hart boasts. Vader chasing him and falling over a chair was the icing on the cake

[YOUTUBE]VOSDvpfzPFs[/YOUTUBE]

 

[OwenHart]

For me it was the Ultimate Warriors first return. I was a total mark... i was jupming on my couch and screaming like crazy. Haha... good old times! I am glad he is back in WWE now and will be in the HOF. I hope we will even see him wrestle one final match. Maybe not waste a Wrestlemania match for him but.. maybe a PPV before Wrestlemania? He is still in great shape.

[YOUTUBE]ELC0vAbBVvI[/YOUTUBE]

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Funnily enough my pick isnt a match, its a return. And it is still the greatest pop I have ever heard from a WWE crowd.

[YOUTUBE]yhFpy9p_30o[/YOUTUBE]

The Game, Triple H returns at Madison Square Garden in early 2002 after being out for 8 long months with a torn Quad, to be greeted by the huge roar of the sold out crowd. The funny thing is, Triple H was a mega heel at the time of his injury, but the crowd responds in a way you would normally expect an incredibly popular babyface, showing the respect they have for one of the all-time greats and showing how much they missed him.

I hated Triple H before this moment, which shows how good he was at playing a heel. But even I popped massively watching this when I heard that guitar riff and the "TIME TO PLAY THE GAME!" theme music. It was at this point I realised how much I loved pro-wrestling. I was already a huge fan, and had been for quite a number of years but the way the crowd and myself reacted to HHH's return after a serious injury just showed me that the guys we see in the ring are a very special kind of athlete, who put their bodies through hell for us and to see the fans at MSG show their respect for The Game was a great moment.

I knew then that Triple H would always be a favourite of mine, and it was just an awesome moment seeing him soak in the love from the fans after months of agonising rehab, you could tell he had been waiting for this return for a long time and the reaction from the crowd made it all worthwhile. Triple H loves the wrestling business, and deserves respect from everyone.

I was at the Garden that night and I say that, not as one of these "I was there so I had a hand in its legacy" people, but because I didn't get to appreciate the pop BECAUSE I was there. I went to WWF events as a kid. I probably went to 10 live events at the Meadowlands, including SummerSlam 89 and maybe 2 events at MSG as a teenager. I was 23 during Trips' return and hadn't been to a live event in ages. So, even though I realized it was the biggest pop of the night, I had no gauge on how huge it was historically. I just figured that was how pops sounded live. (Speaking of SummerSlam 89, that place was rocking for Ultimate Warrior's entrance and IC title win, and I never realized how loud it was until watching it on TV later). Same at MSG. Ironically, had I been watching RAW on TV that night, the pop might have stayed with me longer--like Jericho's debut or Austin's run-in during Foley's first title win. But, because I was there, it was a memorable moment, but not as memorable as the others.

Warrior's return at WMVIII was an awesome choice. The crowd in the background when he hit the ring, mixed with his music...just amazing! I rewound that a million times once I got the VHS. If someone could post the Austin/Foley one I mentioned, that would be my choice to add to this post. I rewound that just as much. Sid outside the ring and Billy Gunn outside the ring...burned into my memory because I would rewind to that part--right before Warrior and Austin's music hit respectively. Great thread idea!

 

[SuperTaco]

For me it was the Ultimate Warriors first return. I was a total mark... i was jupming on my couch and screaming like crazy. Haha... good old times! I am glad he is back in WWE now and will be in the HOF. I hope we will even see him wrestle one final match. Maybe not waste a Wrestlemania match for him but.. maybe a PPV before Wrestlemania? He is still in great shape.

[YOUTUBE]ELC0vAbBVvI[/YOUTUBE]

An interesting sidenote about this one:

-Sid's partner was late arriving to the ring, he was supposed to interrupt the match before Hulk pinned Sid, but because he was late, they improvised and Sid became the first guy to kick out of the Hogan Leg Drop, if I'm not mistaken.

For gem moments, I'd certainly have to go with Austin's interaction in the Mankind/Rock match. That crowd had so much energy they couldn't stand still.

 

[EveryNightsMainEvent]

Ha! I remember that mania well. It was kind of funny how long the entrance isle for the wrestlers was due to the layout of the arena. Some of the entrances lasted longer than the matches....and the Papa Shango run-in may be the longest in history.

 

[Matty~!]

[YOUTUBE]1qU4XB3ehhU[/YOUTUBE]

Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada - All Japan 02/28/93

A lot of Puro fans rightly laud 1993 as the breakout singles year of Kenta Kobashi. He was in some fantastic matches that year, including a really famous match in July with Hansen. However, I freaking love this match. Hansen is just so complete gnarly and full of piss and vinegar wanting to beat the snot out of the new generation of Japanese main eventers. Kawada shows fantastic fire and ungodly selling ability that were the staples of his career. Kawada stands toe to toe with Hansen here and throws everything he receives back at Hansen with interest.

[YOUTUBE]6AsjhRd9JHU[/YOUTUBE]

Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi - All Japan 08/31/93

I'm pretty sure the date on Youtube is wrong because the version I have is dated as above. Either way this match is jaw droppingly great I remember seeing it for the first time on the RF Shoot Interview with Steve Williams when I hadn't seen much Puro at all and it amazed me how much emotion it conveyed despite not understanding the language and gauging from crowd reactions.

For people who have only see Steve Williams during the Brawl for All debacle and ensuing JR heel turn angle. I implore you if you are a fan of pro wrestling then seek out as much Steve Willams as you can from 1990 to 1995 he was so fantastic to watch.

[YOUTUBE]Z7XNWEmyZLo[/YOUTUBE]

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW - 04/08/2013)


Meltzer gave this ***** when reviewing the G1 Climax. I'm not inclined to agree or disagree just because I've watched so much wrestling in the past 20 years that I really struggle to rate matches within that system at this point. What I will say this is a match that left me speechless watching it and in 2013 as a fan who has been watching wrestling since the early 90's that's one of the biggest compliments I can give it.

I've seen 60 minute classics, I've seen techincal master classes, wild brawls, high flying that blew my mind. I had never seen anything like this match before. Prior to watching it in August I had seen Shibata and Ishii work before and I was expecting a good match but the offence, the crowd, the pacing everything just works. Minus entrances / post match it clocks in around 12 minutes and I defy you to find a 12 minute match in the history of this business that elicits the emotion and response that this does.

 

[LuchaJ]

I was six years old, in the live crowd, watching this gem between Bret & Owen Hart. Bret Hart was (and still is) one of my all-time favorites, and as a lil mark I was eager to see Owen get his. Looking back nearly 20 years to this match, these two had magic. It should have headlined the PPV. It didn't because of the ridiculous Undertaker vs. "Undertaker" (Brian Lee) fiasco; the crowd was dead for that match after entrances.

[YOUTUBE]bMDB8nqZ6iw[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Mustang Sally]

If there's a match from your youth that resonates as that most potent example of what made you fall in love with pro-wrestling....

Mine was a match between Bret Hart and John Pierre LaFitte, whom we knew better as Pierre from The Quebecers. The contest took place in 1995 (I believe) and it was just a fill-in match with no titles at stake; really, with nothing at all up for grabs.

But the match itself was amazing. Even with the pirate gimmick, LaFitte was a tremendous ring worker. If it weren't for his big gut, he might have passed for Tyson Kidd with his technical style, except rougher and meaner.

Yes, one figured Bret was going to win.....and he did.....but there were actually times during the contest I thought LaFitte might actually pull off the victory. They exchanged holds in rapid motion and tactical excellence, each move blending into the next with such smooth efficiency that it seemed the two had rehearsed this particular match for weeks.

Of course, that wouldn't be so, not in a preliminary match with no significance attached. In fact, because it was that unimportant a contest in the scheme of things, I had the feeling that planned moves were at a minimum and that this match featured two guys who were being allowed to work freely. The fans were really into it; they could tell something special is going on, even with non titles at stake.

I'll never forget the match. It was one of those rare instances where everything fell together, even though there was no fanfare to greet it.

 

[enviousdominous]

I can't resist posting this one, it's been on my mind for years.

One of the most recognizable names in pro-wrestling is Andre the Giant, a man who at one time went by the name of Monster Roussimoff. He hit his peak in terms of fame long after he was at his peak in terms of physical ability.

The following match is Andre when he wrestled like a giant Bob Backlund. His opponent is Strong Kobayashi, a man who sentai geeks like me will remember as Monster from the Japanese tv series Chou-Denshi Bioman.

[YOUTUBE]mOOyxdEHZKU[/YOUTUBE]

My favorite parts being Andre pulls hair at 10:12, Andre pulls tights at 10:46, Andre begging for mercy at 15:22, Andre playing possum at 15:55, Andre get sneaky at 17:24, Andre inspires Mark Calloway at 17:46, Andre taps at 20:20, Strong hulks up at 25:39, Andre shows his submission skills at 32:35, Classic Andre at 33:40, Strong attempting The Walls of Jericho on Andre at 35:28, Andre surrenders at 39:00, Strong puts a bear hug on Andre at 39:30, epic finish at 41:07.

This is a 41 minute match starring Andre the Giant and it's chock full of highlights.

 

[The Warlord]

Ive attended many different pro wrestling events...but the moment that stands out fot me was at an event that is highly criticized here on the IWC. What I witnessed from bell to bell during the Triangle ladder match at Wrestlemania 2000 is something Id never forget. It didnt make me fall in love with wrestling since I had been a die-hard fan for over a decade prior...but it did etch a memory into my brain that will never be forgotten. You have a whole new appreciation for what they do when you witness it live. What an amazing moment.
I remember looking at complete strangers sitting next to me shaking our heads in disbelief wondering what these 6 guys were going to do next. This is my pro wrestling gem.

 

[Matty~!]

[DM]xz8hcc_28-93-06-17-barry-windham-vs-2-cold-scorpio-clash-xxiii_sport[/DM]

This is a really fun COTC match up on the face of things Scorpio is just there as a fall guy to put Windham the reigning NWA champion over. However, it turns into a very good competitive match up with Scorpio bringing some great offence and Windham taking some cool risks to keep up with Scorpio.