1001 MATCHES: Medium One (Part 1)
50 matches to get 700. Part 2 can be found here.
651) RIKIDOZAN vs. MASAHIKO KIMURA – JAPAN PRO WRESTLING ALLIANCE (12/22/54 – Japan Heavyweight Championship)
Rikidozan shoots on Kimura and this happens
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652) GIANT BABA vs. THE DESTROYER – JWA (03/05/69)
A long match that seems to go by in the blink of an eye. Everyone should watch more young Baba and sorta young Destroyer.
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653) THE MAGNIFICENT SAINTS (ROY & TONY ST. CLAIR) vs. VIC FAULKNER/BERT ROYAL – WORLD OF SPORT (01/12/71)
I am giggling to myself since I am figuring a lot of people… okay one person… is reading this and going “Wait! Tony St. Clair has a brother!”. Mmm…. World of Sport.
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654) ATSUSHI ONITA/MASANOBU FUCHI vs. ROBOT R2/ROBOT C3 – ALL JAPAN (07/06/79)
Just do a Google search and remember that Giant Baba had an amazing sense of humor. We had luchadore Star Wars robots back after original movies. Added bonus of Onita not being a death match wrestler.
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655) BOB BACKLUND vs. KEN PATERA – WWF (05/19/80 – Texas Death Match)
The Wrestling Observer Match of the Year for 1980.
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656) JUNKYARD DOG/MR. OLYMPIA vs. TED DIBIASE/MATT BORNE – MIDSOUTH (10/27/82 – No DQ, Loser Leaves Town)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgnbez
Oh so much hatred. Ted DiBiase is now EVIL~! so that is a lotta fun. Plus it is ANGLETASTIC~! and it all works. One? The? most memorable moment from Mid-South?
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657) JERRY BLACKWELL/SGT. SLAUGHTER vs. MASKED SUPERSTAR/KING TONGA/SHEIK ADNAN EL-KAISSEY – AWA (04/21/85 – Cage Match)
Finished in the Top 10 of the AWA 80s poll. Most important thing to remember is that you are getting to see Jerry Blackwell and Meng work inside a cage.
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658) STAN HANSEN vs. CURT HENNIG – AWA (05/31/86 – AWA World Heavyweight Championship)
AWA Stan Hansen isn’t my favorite Stan Hansen but it is still Stan Hansen. Plus, young babyface Curt Hennig is a treat. Bonus points for angle things with Jerry Blackwell.
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659) TERRY FUNK vs. BARRY WINDHAM – WWC (09/19/86 – 1st Round WWC Universal Championship Tournament)
I love both these guys. Barry breaks my heart way too often but not here. Puerto Rico is a treasure and we have fucked them over. Must be really hard to spend aid to dirty immigrants… oh wait… they aren’t. I know shitty hotels cost a lot but still. Sorry… started veering off into a tangent.
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660) CAN-AM CONNECTION (RICK MARTEL/TOM ZENK) vs. THE DREAM TEAM (BRUTUS BEEFCAKE/GREG VALENTINE) – WWF (01/19/87)
One of the best WWF tag matches from that time period. That might sound like damning with faint praise and you might be leery because of Beefcake and Zenk but let Martel and Valentine be your lighthouses in the darkness.
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661) SHINYA HASHIMOTO vs. VICTOR ZANGIEV – NEW JAPAN (04/24/89 – Semis, IWGP Heavyweight Championship Tournament)
Victor Zangiev – a video game character come to life. Okay, it is actually the other way around but that sounds better. Basically a Street Fighter character and Shinya Hashimoto beat the tar out of each other in the hopes of winning the IWGP Title.
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662) JAVIER CRUZ vs. JERRY ESTRADA – EMLL (10/22/89 – Hair Match)
“Overall, Cruz is fucking AWESOME in this. Estrada is as psychotic as he usually is PLUS he seems to be completely numb from whatever he is on- thus you have a bump freak going beyond the call of duty.” – DEAN
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663) MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (BOBBY EATON/STAN LANE) vs. RICKY MORTON/TOMMY RICH – NWA “HALLOWEEN HAVOC ’90” (10/27/90)
The last hurrah for the Midnights and Tommy Rich makes a great Robert Gibson stand-in.
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664) HURACAN CASTILLO JR. vs. MIGUEL PEREZ JR. – WWC (08/17/91 – Dog Collar Match)
It is a dog collar match in Puerto Rico. Why are you waiting around for me to tell you why to watch it?
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665) EL DANDY vs. JAVIER LLANES – CMLL (02/22/94)
If you don’t like lucha matwork then I hate you and this probably isn’t the match for you. A tangential member of the Guerrero family, I would say that Llanes is one of the great lost workers of the 90s but can you really be lost when you are the fucking booker?
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666) TOSHIAKI KAWADA vs. STEVE WILLIAMS – ALL JAPAN (04/16/94 – Champion Carnival 1994 Final)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x48is6r
I should have picked a Damien match for this one but to get it all to work out chronologically was even a step too far for my mania. Instead you get fucking Kawada vs. Dr Death. Quit your bitching.
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667) VADER vs. DUSTIN RHODES – WCW “CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXIX” (11/16/94)
Soon to be reviewed in DVDVR #181. You can figure it out though even without me holding your hand.
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668) JUVENTUD GUERRERA vs. REY MYSTERIO JR – WCW THUNDER (01/15/98 – WCW Cruiserweight Championship)
Poor poor much maligned Thunder. From the 2nd Thunder ever, WCW puts the title only Rey Jr.. Thank God this match was great since it allowed you to forget that you just watch Goldberg win via DQ over Chavo Jr. Or that Chris Jericho beat Eddie Guerrero for the #1 contender spot in four minutes.
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669) RAY GONZALEZ vs. FIDEL SIERRA – WWC (02/98 – WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship)
“God knows I love Ray Gonzalez, but holy fudge does Fidel Sierra rule the motherfucking world. This should be the first thing they show new students at wrezling skool.” – DEAN (from some random post on the board)
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670) SHINOBU KANDORI vs. YUMIKO HOTTA – LLPW (03/21/98 – WWWA World Single Championship, KO or Submission Match)
Kandori and Hotta go to fucking war. Not for the faint of heart.
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671) MARIKO YOSHIDA vs. CANDY OKUTSU – ARSION Carnival ’98 (12/18/98 – Queen of Arsion Title)
http://www.veoh.com/watch/v18535468hYZXqyG8
Considering it is Mariko Yoshida and the match is too crown the inaugural Queen of Arsion – I am positive Dean drooled all over himself reviewing this but I will be damned if I can find it.
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672) ALEXANDER OTSUKA/YUKI ISHIKAWA vs. DAISUKE IKEDA/MOHAMMED YONE – BATTLARTS (01/12/99)
“This match motherfucking RULED and the ending is absolutely HARROWING in its scope of danger and violence. You won’t see this in the US, folks. Yone got elevated, Otsuka got elevated and I got to watch some GREAT professional wrestling. Otsuka is poised for superstardom as is Minoru Tanaka and Yone is looking to be a new player in BattlARTS. GET EVERY LAST FUCKING MINUTE OF THIS.”
Dean – DVDVR #99
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673) GEDO/JADO vs. KOJI KANEMOTO/WATARU INOUE – NEW JAPAN (03/04/05 – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title)
http://www.veoh.com/watch/v425141YgMbF9Je
Come for the Wataru Inoue and stay for the Wataru Inoue. Though it does help that this is “good” Gedo and Jado.
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674) NECRO BUTCHER vs. SAMOA JOE – IWA MIDSOUTH (06/11/05)
The internet recently was all a flutter because one of the most memorable IWA Mid-South matches was posted online. If you like dudes trying to kill each other – this is for you. Fitting it was held in the ECW Arena.
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675) REBECCA KNOX vs. DAIZEE HAZE – SHIMMER (05/21/06 – 2 out of 3 Falls)
https://youtu.be/LNrL5oGskvU
For those who think Becky Lynch just arrived in NXT without every stepping into a ring or anything. Also, if someone needed a reminder of what it is like when Knox starts working as a heel.
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