Favorite Match

[Natural Selection]

So I'm sure this thread has been made before, but it is always a good conversation to have. So pretty simple here what is your favorite match and why.

King Of The Ring 1998

Hell in a Cell
Mankind vs The Undertaker​

To me this match had everything. Long build towards the match with Mankind and Undertaker having several PPV bouts and lots of mind games in the months leading toward this EPIC match. Obviously this match had two of the most remembered spots in the history of professional wrestling. With Mankind going off(Planned) and crashing through(Un-Planned) the cell. These two men told a story that night that will never be matched. This match cemented the characters of The Undertaker and Mankind. Mankind just would not die and Undertaker wouldn't stop until Mankind rested in peace. This was the first time I recall seeing any kind of emotion from The Undertaker. His eyes just screamed "Stay down!"

I remember being 12 years old and working all month long with my brother to earn the $30 to watch this PPV. The selling point was of course Austin vs Kane for the title with the stipulation being first blood and if Kane losses the match he has to light himself on fire. After the HIAC we were so worn out from cheering and just sure awe of what we had just witnessed I don't think either of us cared nearly as much about the Austin match.

This match stole the show and is forever burned into my memory. I don't know that any match could ever top this for me personally I will close with one of the best JR lines ever " As God is my witness he is BROKEN IN HALF!!!"

So what are your thoughts and opinions? Remember this is YOUR personal favorite match, not the best match ever.

 

[Unsold Bacon]

BigDaddyAwesome vs The Mods

 

[Natural Selection]

BigDaddyAwesome vs The Mods

Awww c'mon dude I didn't troll them or anything. I'm literally in here just because.

 

[JenksIX]

This thread should be closed, wtf!?!

It's obvious that everyones favorite match is HBK vs (anybody?)

HBK is leaps and bounds beyond anyone whosever competed in WWE/wrestling and it's hard to distinguish between which of his opponents gave him his best match, but obvious to see that HBK's greatest match would of been him vs his clone. He isn't legally named Mr. Wrestlemania for nothing!

 

[Natural Selection]

Way to troll, keep on keeping on.

 

[JenksIX]

Hate to tell ya, but your in the prison ... bitch.

 

[Pera]

Kurt Angle vs Mr Anderson - Lockdown 2010.

These dudes told an awesome story in the ring, and is probably the best cage match I have ever seen. I always enjoy the cage match concept but these two fucking nailed it. That top of the cage moonsault for the win.

TLC at Summerslam 2000 is also fucking awesome.

 

[Mark Gallows]

For me "favourite match" is kinda like "favourite band", I can narrow it down to 5/6 but to say "that's the one", nah...but I'll offer up;

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs Greg "the Hammer" Valentine NWA/JCP Starrcade-"Flair for the Gold" '83 Dog Collar Match.
Aside from me being a massive Piper mark, to my core, this is a fucking great gimmick match, imo a gimmick that's never been done better. The match had a great build-Piper losing his US title to Valentine, Valentine busting Piper's ear and Piper's (and the fans) pleas to Jim Crockett to let them have this brutal new concept match, and it is fucking brutal.

Piper sells like an absolutle motherfucker, the gimmick is used as almost a "third man" in the match (as a gimmick should be). It's worked in such a way that the use of the collar/chain is believable, in that it never looks like they're "co-operating", it looks like a fucking nasty, knock-down, drag-out brawl. When things spill out of the ring it feels like the fight really is getting out of hand. I guess what I'm saying is, aswell as telling a good story in the ring, psycologically it's worked so that the gimmick adds to the match without ever looking like "oh, here's the spot", sublime.

Also, how fucking great is that (first) Starrcade, seriously, if you ain't seen it, find it.

Honourable mentions to;
Hogan/Savage in the cage-Uncensored '98
Rock/Benoit-Fully Loaded 2000
Triple H/Undertaker-Wrestlemania X7
Wargames 1-Original Horsemen/Dusty, Sting and the Road Warriors
Taz/Bam Bam Bigelow-Heatwave '98
Sabu and Van Dam vs Hyabusa and Jinsei Shinzak-Heatwave 98

 

[Natural Selection]

I agree that the gimmick becoming the third man is what makes a gimmick match great, which is one of the many points I was trying to make about what makes Mankind vs The Undertaker K.O.R 98 so great. Love your match list though.

 

[Mark Gallows]

Just to keep this thread rolling, what do y'all look for in a match? Why are your "favourite matches" your favourites?

For me it's a combination of;
Build-I need to care about the match and the wrestlers in the match, there needs to be an angle between the guy's I can invest in. It can be as simple as revenge, a quest for the gold (piper/valentine) a battle for control (Hogan/Macho) or simply two guys who have pushed each other to the point where it's gonna be a war (Rock/Benoit, HHH/Taker). For me the story going in is as important as the story told in the ring, and if it's worked properly the latter should feed the former and add to the match.

Psycology-I've seen alot of cats on youtube get a bit confused and think wrestling "psycology" is working a body part then going for a submission...well, no. I'm talking psycology where the match is worked so that it;
a.fits the context of the angle. Take Rock/Austin at mania X7, the heat between those two if they'd gotten in the ring, locked up and chain wrestled it would've been wrong psycologically. What they did was as soon as Rock got off the turnbuckle a fight erupted. Also my main issue with Cena/Punk at MITB, the stakes of the title fight and the build going in we should've seen them go to war, not the niche indy-work "chain, rest hold, get up, look at each other, start again" garbage we got.

b. The way the match is worked, both men's offense and selling, comes together to draw you into the match. For me a match should start low and climb till the finish, which should get the biggest pop of the night. Take Hogan/Savage in the cage, is it "oooh japan, dave meltzer, 5 star work-rate" no. But, and here's why Hogan is one of the best workers ever...sorry, he is, him and Macho make a punch mean the world in that fight. Because both men are so fucking great at selling and being their characters in the ring the match seems so much more brutal than it actually is, neither guy gig's but when Macho hits the cage, you feel it. Hogan's offense is every inch the dispicable heel, which draws you into rooting for Macho.

I've always believed wrestling isn't about moves, if that's your deal watch your New Japan tapes 'n' go on yourself but to me it's, almost an emotional thing. It's not about what they do in the ring, in terms of moves, it's about how what they do draws you in and makes you feel. I mean, Austin was never a "technical wrestler" on a Benoit/Angle level, but his character was so good and he was so good at drawing you in and getting you invested in the match, you'd root for him to go over and you'd pop for the finish.

And finally, believability. This is very much tied with psycology but also ring work. I know wrestling's a work, I mean, come on, but when I'm watching a match I should never be thinking "nah, he'd be dead after that". It's why I can't watch ROH (and I'd like too, it's booked alot better than TNA/WWE) I feel like my intelligence is being insulted when a guy does a top rope tiger suplex, into a clothesline for a two count, then the guys get up straight away and start hitting more moves. That's like, fuck knows, "video-game" working. Yeah, you can say "oh, but a tombstone would kill a guy" true, and I don't want things to be "UFC real" but, for me, if they sell the move like it fucked them up, as opposed to just bouncing back and going on the offense, I can suspend my disbeliefe.

Bit of a ramble of random observations but yeah, I'd like to hear from other posters here, when you break it down, what really draws you into a match?

Also, I'd like to add Flair/Undertaker at Mania' 18 to my list. I dunno why the "american bad-ass" gimmick gets so much hate, that run was some of taker's best promo work, peroid. I still mark for that double A run in aswell.