Favorite live show match

[jtolliver23]

So this is for those who have been to a live event, televised, non televised, whatever. I am just looking to strike up some conversation and reminisce on what everybody's favorite match is that they saw live. For me, its a four way tie:

Ric Flair vs Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff for the WCW World title. Great match, great back and forth match. It was a house show, and they were really impressive. Ric Flair won with his patented figure four.

Rey Mysterio Jr vs Dean Malenko was at another WCW house show. This was when they first got introduced, and it was just a great Cruiserweight title match. Dean Malenko won with the Texas cloverleaf.

Ric Flair vs Curt Hennig at yet a different WCW house show. Honestly, do I need to say anything else about that? A great technical match with two of the greatest in the business. Hennig won by DQ. It was after Hennig slammed Flairs face with the cage door and turned on the Horseman.

Triple H and the Undertaker vs Randy Orton and Fortune. This was a very entertaining handicapped match at another house show. Of course, I may have found it so entertaining because it was the first time I saw Triple H and the Undertaker live. I marked out..won't lie.

So what does everybody consider their favorite matches they've seen live?

 

[TheOneTheyCallOn]

The first match that pops into my head was the match I saw with Owen Heart vs The British Bulldog. It went about 25 minutes, it had very good technical wrestling a few great spots and was overall just really well done. This was the best match of the night and certainly one of my favorite matches i have seen live. This was at a house show at the Anaheim convention center.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I feel honored to have seen Jerry Lawler in an actual match but the match itself wasnt amazing considering it was him vs Miz but they put on a decent show.

I saw Edge retain the World Heavyweight Championship at last year's Smackdown Elimination Chamber, that was an incredible match as a whole but he kicked ass the whole time.

The best match I've seen live though was actually about a month ago at a house show, I got to see an incredible 30 minute match between CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship. I hope to add some more to this list soon but for now that match absolutely destroys all others ive seen.

 

[The Brain]

It's a toss up between the Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart steel cage match at SummerSlam 94 and Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. So many people have talked about how awesome the WM25 match was, and being in the middle of that crowd when Michaels kicked out of the tombstone was a unique moment, but if forced to pick one I'd probably go with the cage match. Maybe it's because I was so much younger but I just felt more excitement for that one. It was my first ppv and I was there with my dad and my brother, both who have since passed. That will always be a special memory for me. Another honorable mention goes to TLC2 at WrestleMania 17. It was fun to be in the crowd for that one.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

I've only been to one live show. It was the July 22, 2002 edition of RAW, but boy did it have an epic match between Rock and Eddie Guerrero. It all started earlier in the night when Guerrero was incensed that his girls were fans of The Rock instead of him. This led to an awesome match, one where I saw The Rock Bottom get reversed in one of the most unique ways ever. The Rock won, but this was the night that Eddie Guerrero made me a fan.

 

[HBsam31]

For me it was July 26, 2004's Raw from Pittsburgh PA. a 60 minute iron man match between Chris Benoit and HHH. I hadn't read the card for the night anywhere and when they announced the match i was pumped as HBK vs Bret Hart Ironman from mania 12 is one of my all time favorites. I had been to other raw and Smackdown shows and seeing an Ironman match live was interesting. It wasn't edge of your seat, but seeing two great wrestlers perform for 60 minutes was a treat for me as a long time fan, and for the fact that you just don't see matches that long anymore. Next for me would be Jericho and Hogan from Smackdown on April 25, 2002 also in Pittsburgh. First time i ever seen Hogan live and his entrance alone made my night. Not a five star match, but made for a great memory.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Bryan Danielson vs Nigel Mcguinness in Chicago sometime in like 2008? Everyone knew Dragon was leaving and didn't expect him to win, but by the end of the match, everyone was biting on every false finish.

Close second (and maybe tops now that I think of it), is Bryan Danielson vs Austin Aries in Dragon's last ROH match in Chicago. It was for the title, nobody expected him to win, but by the time he countered Aries' 450 into the triangle, people were believing.

I can't put into words what it was like to see Dragon in ROH in his (indy) prime. IMO that's as great of a worker for a specific audience as there has ever been. There may have only been 1,000 or 1,500 people in the Frontier Fieldhouse, but every single one BELIEVED in those matches. For 20, 30, 40 minutes, Dragon turned those fat virgin smarks who you couldn't pay to act like they get emotionally involved, to jump up and down and squeal like little John Cena marks. It was an awesome experience.

 

[DrMantisToboggan]

I don't really remember too many specifics for the only show I've seen live as I was only 9 or 10 but it was a house show and I remember Stone cold was in the main event but I don't remember who it was against and another thing I'll never forget was trying to go to the bathroom when I knew Kane was about to come out because I was terrified of the lights going out in the arena because I thought that for some odd reason he would be in the nose bleed seats beside me. Also remember him doing his arm thing and no pyros coming out of the ring posts, which I'm sure is the norm for a house show.

 

[FlairFan2003]

All in Pgh... Aug 1989 Ric Flair vs Terry Funk, Texas Death Match - basically this was a No Holds Barred, No DQ Match where you got a 1 min break after a pin or submission, then re started the match. This continued until one competitor could no longer go on. Despite it being a non televised house show these two used chairs, branding irons, straps, title belts, anything they could get their hands on to beat each other. Funk pinned Flair 3 times but each time Flair refused to quit. Finally Flair won the 5th fall with the figure four and Funk could not answer the bell to go on

Nov 1991 - Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair - nearly two months before Flair's Royal Rumble Title Win, 3 years before their WCW showdown I hitched a ride just to get to downtown Pittsburgh to see this match. Pretty much the same as the MSG match, solid back & forth with Flair pinning Hogan, only to have the decission reversed into a DQ. Even without a title switch it was worth it to see the two biggest stars on the planet in the same ring.

Honorable Mention to Brett Hart vs Curt Henning April 98, HBK vs British Bulldog (Erie Civic Center) Nov 92, The Four Horsemen vs Road Warriors & Super Powers July 87 during The Great American Bash tour, Rock & Roll Express vs Andersons Oct 86, Flair vs Dusty Rhodes Oct 86, Flair vs Sting Jan 88.