Top 30 Mid-South/UWF Matches

I had just finished watching over 70+ hours of Mid-South/UWF wrestling from the 80s and I can say hands down that this may be my favorite wrestling promotion ever.  This has everything you could like as a wrestling fan.  It had hot angles, had an all action, no bullshit vibe, bloody feuds, hoss matches, great title matches and amazing tag matches.  The shows are very rewatchable and the matches are booked incredibly well.  Over the next few weeks, I'll write up longer posts about my favorite matches but for now, here are my Top 30:

 1.    Ted DiBiase vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan (No DQ, Loser Leaves Town, Coal Miner's Glove on a Poll, Tuxedo, Cage Match) [3/22/85]
2.    Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer [11/11/85]
3.    Ric Flair vs. Ted DiBiase [11/6/85]
4.    Barry Windham vs. Dick Murdoch [7/11/87]
5.    Dick Murdoch vs. Butch Reed [9/22/85]
6.    Ted DiBiase vs. Dick Murdoch [12/27/85]
7.    Junkyard Dog/Mr. Olympia vs. Ted DiBiase/Matt Borne (Loser Leaves Town) [10/27/82]
8.    Ted DiBiase vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan (No DQ) [3/8/85]
9.    Ted DiBiase vs. Dick Murdoch (No DQ) [12/31/85]
10.    Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer (Dog Collar Match) [12/27/85]
11.    Ric Flair vs. Wahoo McDaniel [7/12/85]
12.    Mr. Olympia vs. Chavo Guerrero [6/24/83]
13.    Ric Flair vs. Terry Taylor [6/1/85]
14.    Ted DiBiase/Dr. Death vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan/Terry Gordy (Texas Tornado Match) [1/21/85]
15.    Dick Murdoch vs. Butch Reed [10/14/85]
16.    The Fantastics vs. Midnight Express (No DQ) [9/28/84]
17.    The Fantastics vs. Dutch Mantell/Bill Dundee [9/22/85]
18.    Terry Gordy vs. Dr. Death [12/28/86]
19.    The Fantastics/Terry Taylor vs. The Sheepherders/Jack Victory (Barbed Wire Cage Match) [5/25/86]
20.    Magnum TA vs. Ted DiBiase (No DQ) [Tulsa 5/27/84]
21.    Midnight Express vs. Bill Watts/Stagger Lee [4/22/84]
22.    Rock N' Roll Express vs. Midnight Express [1/21/85]
23.    Ted DiBiase vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan (Street Fight) [7/29/83]
24.    Butch Reed/Jim Neidhart vs. Mr. Wrestling II/Magnum TA (Cage Match) [12/28/83]
25.    Buzz Sawyer vs. Butch Reed (Dog Collar Match) [12/31/85]
26.    Magnum TA vs. Ted DiBiase (No DQ) [OKC 5/27/84]
27.    The Fabulous Ones vs. Chavo/Hector Guerrero (Mexican Death Match) [1/24/86]
28.    Magnum TA vs. Ted DiBiase [7/6/84]
29.    The Fabulous Ones vs. Chavo/Hector Guerrero [12/29/85]
30.    Rock N' Roll Express vs. Midnight Express [6/30/85]

Fantasy Booking: International Wrestling Association Week #1

I decided to keep my mind busy and jump into writing a fantasy wrestling promotion.  This takes place after AWA shuts down in 1991 and will take over the void of booking in Chicago and other areas in the mid-west.  I take free agents that aren't a part of the big 2 companies of the time.  I also try to incorporate Japanese and lucha wrestlers where I can but try to keep it realistic enough with a budget of who I can afford in the beginning.  Chicago is a great place to feature luchadores because of a sizable Hispanic population that would come out for the stars and because Galavision and Univision are accessible in the area.

Week 1 (June 15-21)
IWA Genesis
Odeum Pavilion
Villa Park, IL
1.    Chris Candido defeats Jeff Gaylord (7:34) with the Suicide Blond diving headbutt to win the pinfall.
2.    Eddy Guerrero defeats Al Snow (15:12) with brainbuster suplex to win pinfall.
3.    The Wild Bunch and The Eliminators fight to a double DQ in a bloody brawl (13:29).
4.    Blue Panther/Negro Navarro/Black Terry defeats Pirata Morgan/Fuerza Guerrera/Emilio Charles Jr. (14:13) after Panther makes Guerrera submit.
5.    Brad Armstrong defeats 2 Cold Scorpio (9:45) with a Russian legsweep turned into a three-quarter facelock causing a submission.
6.    The Fantastics defeats Eddie Gilbert/Eric Embry (19:47) when Bobby Fulton rolls Gilbert up in a small package.
7.    Tully Blanchard defeats Norman Smiley (12:51) after a low blow that the ref didn't catch and rolled Smiley up.
8.    Lightning Kid defeats Jerry Lynn (18:10) via pinfall after a guillotine leg drop.

IWA on WGN (June 18, 1991)
West Bradley Place
Chicago, IL
⦁    Our announce team, Scott Hudson and Bob Caudel welcome us to the very first episode of International Wrestling Association on WGN.
⦁    They go on to declare that this will be the promotion of the future and that while they have established stars from all over the country, they will be giving a bigger platform for the future of the business.  They go on to announce the main event as two of the hottest young free agents in wrestling: Lightning Kid vs. Jerry Lynn!  Tully Blanchard and The Fantastics will be on hand for matches as well as stars from Mexico and England!
⦁    A highlight reel of newcomer Sabu is shown before the first match of his exploits in the indies around the U.S. and in Japan.
⦁    Sabu defeats Chris Candido (5:04) by submission with the camel clutch after a short but very intense match that saw Sabu also perform a big moonsault from the top rope to the outside onto Candido.
⦁    Hudson and Caudel introduce former NWA U.S. Champion and World Tag Team Champion Tully Blanchard to the announcing desk for an interview.  Caudel asks Blanchard what he expects to achieve in the IWA.  He said simply to continue to prove that he's the best in the world and will capture the Heavyweight title when it becomes available and no one's in his way here to stop him.
⦁    Caudel introduces the audience to the world of lucha libre in a short highlight reel of the high flying moves that occur on a regular basis.
⦁    Eddy Guerrero defeats Fuerza Guerrera (7:24) with a brainbuster.
⦁    The Fantastics defeat Dave Taylor/Dave Finlay (9:42) with the Fantastic Flip.
⦁    The Fantastics give a post match interview in which they are happy to be in Chicago and wrestle in front of crowds that appreciate real, down to earth wrestling and will continue to bring the most exciting tag team wrestling in the world.
⦁    Tully Blanchard defeats local jobber (2:23) via pinfall after his patented slingshot suplex.
⦁    Jerry Lynn defeats Lightning Kid (2-1) in a 2 out of 3 falls match (14:45).  The first fall is more mat based and showing their use of counters and submission work.  Lynn defeats Kid in first fall (5:48) with a rollup with a brige pin.  The second fall, while short, is a bit more frantic.  Kid then pins Lynn after running him head first into the ringpost and taking him into the ring and pinning with his feet on the bottom rope (8:03).  The third fall is an all out affair as both incorporate dives and all of their signature high spots.  Lynn gains the victory with a missile dropkick.
⦁    After the match, Jerry Lynn is celebrating his win and then Lightning Kid out of nowhere attacks him from behind.  They brawl around the time keepers table and back by the announcers area.  Officials break them up and commissioner Les Thatcher comes in to intervene.  He said that he knows of their feud across the country and how out of control it gets.  Kid demands a rematch and Lynn agrees.  Thatcher grants them the rematch after a bit of thought but he said he won't appreciate any more chaos around the ring.  They'll have to keep it in the ring so next week's main event will pit Lightning Kid and Jerry Lynn in a lumberjack match!
⦁    As every one staring each other down, the screen fades to black.

Top 50 First Time Watches of 2015 [Final Edition]

This has been a big year of watching wrestling for myself as I've probably viewed more matches than I have in several years.  This list includes all eras including 2015 matches. 

1.    The Midnight Express vs. The Fantastics [NWA Worldwide 4/26/88]
2.    Jumbo Tsuruta/Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Stan Hansen [AJPW Real World Tag League 12/6/89]
3.    Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yammamoto [RINGS 6/24/99]
4.    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchiko Okada [NJPW WrestleKingdom 9 1/4/15]
5.    Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan [WWE Extreme Rules 4/29/12]
6.    Kerry Von Erich vs. Jumbo Tsuruta [AJPW 5/22/84]
7.    Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinari Ogawa [AJPW 3/6/99]
8.    Blue Panther vs. Negro Casas [CMLL 3/2/12]
9.    Ultimo Dragon vs. Negro Casas [CMLL 3/26/93]
10.    Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi [NJPW WrestleKingdom 9 1/4/15]
11.    The Sheild vs. The Wyatt Family [WWE Elimination Chamber 2/23/14]
12.    John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan [WWE SummerSlam 8/18/13]
13.    Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle [WWF SummerSlam 8/19/01]
14.    John Cena vs. CM Punk [WWE Raw 2/23/13]
15.    Alexander Otsuka vs. Yuki Ishikawa [BattlArts 1/20/98]
16.    CM Punk vs. John Cena [WWE Night of Champions 9/16/12]
17.    La Parka vs. Ultimo Guerrero [CMLL 4/14/04]
18.    Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko vs. Chris Jericho/Eddy Guerrero [Brian Hildebrand Tribute 11/29/98]
19.    Alexander Otsuka vs. Daisuke Ikeda [BattlArts 11/5/97]
20.    Ron Garvin vs. Ric Flair [NWA Starrcade 11/26/87]
21.    Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch [NXT Takeover 5/20/15]
22.    John Cena/Ryback/Sheamus vs. The Sheild [WWE Elimination Chamber 2/17/13]
23.    Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase [WWF MSG 6/25/88]
24.    El Dandy/Pierroth Jr./Ultimo Dragon vs. Negro Casas/La Fiera/El Supremo [CMLL 10/30/92]
25.    Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H [WWE WrestleMania XXX 4/6/14]
26.    Vader vs. Shinya Hashimoto [NJPW 4/24/89]
27.    La Fiera vs. Babyface [EMLL 8/15/86]
28.    Chris Benoit vs. William Regal [WWE Velocity 10/2/05]
29.    Steve Austin vs. Chris Benoit [WWF SmackDown! 5/31/01]
30.    Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart [WWF WrestleMania VIII 4/5/92]
 31.    Brian Pillman/Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit/Beef Wellington [WCW Clash of the Champions XIX 6/16/92]
32.    Atsushi Onita/Tarzan Goto vs. Masanobu Kurisu/Dragon Master [FMW 4/1/90]
33.    Sasha Banks vs. Bayley [NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 8/22/15]
34.    Mariko Yoshida vs. Hiroumi Yagi [ARSION 2/18/99]
35.    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki [NJPW 10/8/12]
36.    Wild Pegasus vs. Black Tiger [NJPW 6/11/96]
37.    Blue Panther vs. Super Astro [AAA 10/9/92]
38.    Dean Ambrose vs. William Regal [FCW 7/1/12]
39.    Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams/Johnny Ace [AJPW 9/5/96]
40.    Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada [AJPW 10/23/93]
41.    Terry Gordy vs. Steve Williams [UWF 9/28/86]
42.    Nick Bockwinkel/Ray Stevens vs. Red Bastien/Billy Robinson [AWA 12/72]
43.    El Hijo del Santo vs. El Hijo del Perro Aguayo [CMLL 8/26/06]
44.    Lizmark vs. El Satanico [AAA 9/17/93]
45.    Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi [CMLL 3/28/15]
46.    Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns [WWE WrestleMania 31 3/29/15]
47.    Solar I/II vs. Hombre Bala/El Supremo [EMLL 5/4/90]
48.    Sekigun vs. Blonde Outlaws [NJPW 6/26/90]
49.    Vader/John Tenta vs. Gary Albright/Kazou Yamazaki [UWFi 10/8/94]
50.    Steve Williams/Terry Gordy vs. Barry Windham/Dustin Rhodes [WCW Saturday Night 10/3/92]