We’re lucky that we have the internet and streaming media now because televion cable and pay per view providers were the only way to watch the competition between WCW, WWF, and ECW in 90s North America. Though Streaming services are absolutely convenient, it took the magic away. Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, and Paul Heyman were absolutely fierce about keeping their pormotions alive. However the true experience of revisiting 1990s wrestling is how it is the most transformative period in wrestling. Not only was it the end of the Gold Age of Wrestling (1984 – 1992) but we had the dark age of wrestling with New Generation Era and WCW-Hogan era (1993-1996), and we also had a renaissance with the Attitude Era and NWO era (1996 – 1999). Both WCW, WWF, and ECW would ever get noticed if they didn’t take influence from Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling’s hardcore wrestling style, All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling’s gender alternative, or All Japan Pro Wrestling & New Japan Pro Wrestling’s invasion angle. Because wrestling fans from the 1980s already grew up, wrestling had to do the same as well. There’s no wonder why many of us wrestling fans look fondly with this era. Even taking off our nostalgia glass, this period of wrestling is so much better than what we have now. We didn’t rely on just spotfests or high flying gymnastics, we had grappling, starpower, epic moments, and storylines to not only help build our characters but also the business as a whole. As a wrestling historian, I had absolutly fun going back and top a Top 10 Best shows of each year of the 1990s decade. It’s because lost so much today that back thin had everything. If I could go back and relive all of these moments I would. After experiencing almost earything that ’90s wrestling offered, what was the best night of wrestling in from 1990 – 1999?
Number 20. – Survivor Series 1995
This is where Diesel’s reign as WWF Champion is finally over and we were all spared from his reign of awful. This is the only big four pay per view in 1995 that wasn’t bad. After the garbage Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania XI, and Summerslam, this show actually turned out better than expect. Of coure this is where Bret Hart came to save us all from Diesel shoving down our throats. Thank God this rematch from King of the Ring 1994 surpassed expectations. It’s remembered for the having the first table crash in the WWF, Bret beat Nash fair and square, and those multiple jackknife powerbombs because Nash is a sore loser. What I also love about this Survivor Series is that we finally got good traditional Survivor Series elimination tag matches which were lacking in last year’s show. Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, The British Bulldog, and Sycho Sid vs. Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon and Dean Douglas was the best Surivor Series tag match of the night. It was full of intensity and fast-paced action that it’s remembered as being the best of its kind. We also had our very first Survivor Series tag match filled with female performers since the first Survivor Series (8 years ago) with Bertha Faye, Aja Kong, Tomoko Watanabe and Lioness Asuka vs Alundra Blayze, Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasegawa and Chaparita Asari. These were all All-Japan Women Pro Wrestling stars (except for 
Blayze of course) and they showed American audiences that women can do it too. I’m pretty sure a lot of casual American viewers were stunned that women could wrestler that good at the time. And Skip, Rad Radford, Dr. Tom Prichard and 1-2-3 Kid w/Sunny and Ted Dibiase vs. Marty Jannetty, Hakushi, Barry Horowitz and Bob Holly was surprisingly a great opening match that got the crowd really pumped. The only bad matches was the lesser quality Survivor Series tag bout with The Undertaker, Savio Vega, Fatu and Henry O. Godwinn vs. King Mabel, Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem and Hunter Hearst Helmsley and the sluggish Goldust vs. Bam Bam Bigelow singles match. But if we got more good matches than one bad one, I’m sastified with it. I remembered Hart/Diesel being awesome, but forgot some of other stuff being above decent. I’m so happy that this Survivor Series came out as a huge surprise during WWF’s worst year.
Number 19. – Over The Edge
This In Your House show is one of those special wrestling shows that captures the the appeal of the Attitude Era. Not only was this card one of the best, but between match segments and brawls seen in this show was totally entertaining. All the feuds happening during May 31, 1998 were really pushing it forward into engaging storylines and fantastic match ups. Moments like Farooq attacking The Rock, (after an awesome opener with Road Warrior’s victory), or Marc Mero shoot matching Sable, D-X brawling with the Nation, and even Pat Peterson giving an intro to Vince McMahon as special guest referee and Dude Love was fantastic to build up for what’s later to be seen in the show. And the anticipation never disappointed which is what’s seriously lacking in many other wrestling shows. There were a lot of surprise in this show like Marc Mero beating Sable, Kaientai-Taka Michinoku/Justin Bradshaw match were high flying action that we tend to forget happened in Attitude, many more took me off guard. And there were headline matches that exceed our expectations. The Rock-Farooq match certainly delivered after a long storyline with former leader and then-current lead of Nation of Dominaiton while earlier the feud was so good that they brawled earlier in the show. Vader making his last appearance in the WWF after getting creamed by the awesome Kane was certainly emotional & memorable. But still 
remember the long awaited D-Generation X vs. Nation of Domination has been one of the best faction vs. faction match that doesn’t happen often in wrestling. Sure a lot of heels in this show won many of these matches, but I really enjoyed & fully appreciated that every aspect of the show felt different from the other. This isn’t a card with basic matches, Over The Edge ’98 was a professional wrestling experience that has was incredibly varied and creative all at once! And the match that certainly paid off is the main event with Dude Love vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin with Vince McMahon as special guest referee. It was a brawl of a life time, but the whole match was a fantastic shoot of McMahon and Austin. All the plans of trying to take the WWF Championship away from Austin was backfired when Austin knocked both Dude Love and McMahon having Austin to use McMahon’s only hand to make the three count to retain as Champ. This pay per view was completely wild and never stopped being entertaining from beginning to end. For me, this is WWE’s only Over The Edge show (let’s just not talk about the other one) and is the most out of the Attitude Era that you can get.
Number 18. – ECW Wrestlepalooza
Unlike the slow and akward pacing of Barely Legal, Wrestlepalooza went right back to how ECW shows were handled. Lot of wrestling fans never realized that Wrestlepalooza ’97 what makes Wrestlepalooza so special. Not only is it the end of an ECW chapter, but I’d argue it’s the end of an ECW era. ECW is split into three separate eras – Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992-mid 1994), Extreme pre-PPV (Mid 1994-mid 1997), and Extreme PPV (mid 1997-2001). The ever changing ECW roster sees a few huge changes with the likes of Raven, Stevie Richards, and Perry Saturn all leaving, while new acts like Balls Mahoney, The Dudley Boyz, and Lance Storm are picking up steam. Of course Tommy Dreamer finally beating Raven before he went to WCW will always be the match of the night and it was one of the best closure of a feud in the promotion’s history. And when that feud had it’s epic blowoff, Jerry Lawler appeared to create an uproar. Talk about an epic moment right there! Another match that’s worth mentioning was Stevie Richards broke his neck in the show prior (The Buffalo Invasion) so he got replaced to face Chris Candino when facing Terry Funk for the ECW championship. I think this was a better match than originally intended because both Funk and Candio’s styles are so complimentary with each other that it felt old school. Another great match was Sabu and Taz’s rematch and honestly it was better here because it was better paced and there were better spots. It’s interesting that right after 
that Taz lost he had an opportunity to pull double duty with another competitor that also pulled double duty – Shane Douglas. It was wild that Taz was able to choke out Douglas in less than 5 minutes otherwise he had to be suspended for 60 days and it was monumental. And our main event the Dudley Boys went on to the main event, after beating Sandman and Ball Mahoney for the #1 contenders, pulled double duty as well when challenging The Eliminators for the Tag Team belts. This was the very last time we got to see The Eliminators in action because Perry Saturn was dealing with an injury and was going to WCW with Raven and the others. The fact that Perry was able to keep up with the Dudleys with only one good leg was magnificent. Coming out still as Tag Team champions proves that the Eliminators should be considered being one the tag teams in history. Wrestlepalooza was the multiple segments near the end with Raven vs Dreamer, ECW debut of Lawler, Taz/Sabu II, and Taz winning the TV Title was one of the best hours of ECW action I’ve seen thus far. Every segment of that hour was memorable and came off so well. There’s no doubt in my mind that Wrestlepalooza is one of the best shows of 1997.
Number 17. – AAA When
Worlds Collide
If you want a better show than Super J-Cup, why haven’t you checked out When Worlds Collide? This collaboration between the AAA promotion in Mexico and World Championship Wrestling which is often referred to as the first time American audiences had been exposed to the Lucha Libre style of pro wrestling. This show only has five matches on the card and all of them are worth your time if you love wrestling. This was a big deal because it was the first time a non-US-based wrestling promotion was shown live on US PPV television. Many white-American homes were finally exposed to Lucha Libre style and the young Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. This is the greatest Pay Per View you haven’t seen and the one of the finest Luchador shows ever produced. The opener between Mascarita Sagrada and Octagoncito vs Espectrito and Jerrito Estrada was such a fast-paced opener that if you blink 
The Pegasus Kid Family Killer, 2 Cold Scorpio, and Tito Santana vs Jerry Estrada, La Parka, and Blue Panther. Without a doubt the match of the night was Octagón and El Hijo del Santo vs La Pareja del Terror AKA Eddie Guererro in a Mask vs Hair 2 out of 3 Falls. If you want the most intense match since Royal Rumble 1992, you must go out your way and see this match. Neither one of the contenders wanted their hair cut or mask taken off and I was on the edge of my seat throughout that match. And if you want a cage match that was better than Owen vs. Bret at Summerslam, you should see Konnan vs Perro Aguayo. I would never imagine Konnan being a main eventer but shit he was good in this match! I implore you to watch this show! You will not regret a single minute of the best night of Lucha Libre. I don’t think without thsi match, Asistencia Asesoría y Administración would ever have a chance to last as long as they are now.
Number 16. – King of the Ring 1998
I make no hyperbole when I say that, this is the show that truly defined the whole Era of Attitude! From the opening with The Headbangers/Taka Michinoku–Kaientai match, Sable returning, Ken Shemrock beating the Rock in the King in the Ring Final Round, Vince McMahon shoot interview on the main event, D-Generation X’s dominance over Owen & Midnight Express, the hilarious Al Snow & Head beaten by Too Much (now known as Too Cool), and the final two matches that went completely chaotic! Everyone around the world should remember the Hell in a Cell match with Undertaker & Mankind. It is the most brutal, fearsome, and unpredictable match of all time. If there’s a reason why Hell in a Cell is such a popular match type, it has to be because of the impact that this match given us. If the Golden Age’s defining moment was Hulk Hogan bodyslamming Andre The Giant in Wrestlemania III, Attitude Era’s defining moment was when Undertaker tossing Mankind off the Hell in the Cell, not once but twice. To me this was the most important match of all time because it exposed the violence and seriousness of professional to the mainstream. I seriously think that without this match the WWF would never get so much popularity and the sake that Mick Foley sacrificed his own life for the company because he is the most hardcore individual who ever lived. 
The sake that he was tossed off the cell, had a piece of his took coming out of his nose, and even landing on thumbtacks left us an impact and made Mick Foley a big name in the wrestling world. And yet that never stopped either Undertaker or Mankind because they came back to interfere in the main event with Kane vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin in a first blood match. This main event certainly became one of my all time favorite matches in the whole attitude era because for a First Blood match, the Hell in a Cell came down and the level of chaos never slowed down. That chair shot that hit Stone Cold’s head caused him to loose the match with blood pouring off of his skull. It was an anticlimactic ending for many who bought the pay-per-view, but I love that it was a follow up to my favorite episode of Raw is War when Austin had his rematch and beat Kane for the WWF Championship. Sure this Pay Per View was a build up to an episode of Raw, but the historical impact and significance that this show accomplished will forever appeal to wrestling fans and non wrestling fans alike!
Number 15. – WrestleWar 1992
As WCW continue doing business without Ric Flair present, they were able to make the most out of their stars. We may not have the Four Horsemen but we have the second best faction in WCW (that isn’t NWO) – the Dangerous Alliance. This has to be the best WarGames match and it didn’t involve Four Horsement or NWO for that matter. All the members of The Dangerous Alliance (Steve Austin, Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton and Larry Zbyszko) faced the short-lived Sting’s Squadron (Sting, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat and Nikita Koloff). As barbaric as as the match was, I won’t forget that moment when Madusa (aka Alundra Blayze for you WWF fans) climbed up the cage just to drop a weapon to one of the members of the Dangerous Alliance and it got everyone roaring that a woman as pretty as her is doing something that dangerous on top of the cage. And the finish of this match was absolutely nuts that the ropes of the ring detatched and was used as a weapon. Without a doubt this was and still is the best WarGames match of all 
time. This is definitely better than last year’s WrestleWar ’91. Luckily this wasn’t a one-match-show. Other matches you must check out is Brian Pillman vs Tom Zenk for the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship. Talk about a fast-paced match that’s for the short-lived WCW lightweight title and it all because these two were former tag team partners and they have a personal connection with each other as opponents. And you all know that the Steiner Brothers always have a good match and they had another greate one with New Japan’s Tatsumi Fujinami & Takayuki Iizuka. The only dissapointing match was Cactus Jack & Junkyard Dog were both replaced by Ron Simmons & Mr. Hughs. Why does Cactus Jack need a bodyguard and why aren’t we getting a Cactus Jack match here? Despite that being my only issue with show, WrestleWar ’92 is most definitely a must watch show from beginning to end.
Number 14. – Beach Blast 1992
I’m genuinely shocked that that there’s a WCW pay per view that no body is talking about. This is a show that has has not a single issue on the card. This is that rare opportunity where many of WCW’s undercard were able to wrestle like they were main eventers. That is something because WCW will never do this ever again for their roster. For example, did you know Raven wrestled in the opener against Brian Pillman. Yeah he was Scotty Flamingo but the fact these two beloved wrestlers had a dream match at the opener says lot. Buff Bagwell was able to wrestle with a long time star like Greg Valentine in one of his few good matches. Three must see matches you should go ahead and check out is the main event between Steiner Brothers vs the Miracle Violence Connection ( Terry Gordy and Dr. motherfucking Death Steve Williams) and it ended in a time-limit draw. The best time-limit draw since Sting vs Flair at Clash of Champions I. And speaking of Sting, him and Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere was 
one of the earliest examples of hardcore wrestling happening in American soil. Both Sting and Mick Foley took full advantage of beating each other outside of the ring and it was such a great match. And the one match you must check out is the very first Iron Man match between Ricky Steamboat and Rick Rude. These two were treated better in WCW than they ever were in WWF and they both had a long match together. Yeah WWF went overboard with making Iron Man go an hour (which is too long) with Bret Hard vs. Ric Flair, but wow did this match set the blueprint of how Iron man matches work and it was intense to see who was getting the most fall before time limit. Also, it’s not a match but you like to see hot, why not see Madusa and Missy Hyatt in a bikini contest? That’s good enought to convince me that Beach Blast is better than WrestleWar.
Number 13. – Starrcade 1995
It’s interesting that WCW in 1995 was so awful but yet they managed to make a show that was the best they’ve ever made since Slamboree 1994. It’s all thank to Hulk Hogan’s absence of the show and New Japan Pro Wrestling making a crossover of the biggest show of the year when WCW needed it the most. This is a very similar senario with WWF making one bad show after another but somehow they made a great show at the end of 1995. What’s unique about this Starrcade is that the matches with WCW & NJPW were counting victories of their wrestler to see which is the promotion with the best wrestlers. Jushin Thunder Liger vs Chris Benoit Family Killer was a fantastic opener and it felt like it was a match that was supposed to happened at Super J-Cup 1994 and and this match completely rocked the house. The following bout between Koji Kanemoto vs Alex Wright was equally as good and Lex Luger vs. Masahiro Chono was just as fun. Where was this WCW at when booking 3 consecutively good matches, but then we had a dud on the fourth with a DQ finish in the Johnny B. Badd vs Masa Saito match. I forget that knocking someone off the top rope is see as breaking the rules. Luckily picked itself back up with 
the next match Shinjiro Otani vs Eddie Guerrero which was so far the best match of the night. Randy Savage vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Sting vs Kensuke Sasaki came to save WCW’s victory numbers against NJPW. What’s crazy is that Savage, Luger, & Sting pulled double duty this night as they all faced Ric Flair. When the tournament ended, Flair, Lex, & Sting had the rare triple threat match to face Macho Man’s WCW World Championship. Ric Flair did a double duty like his three opponent by beating Luger, Sting, and Randy Savage all in one night. If it were Hogan doing it it would have been a dreadful show but Flair was the right guy to prove that he’s the best and he really a better performance than in Starrcade 1993. You can say whatever you want about WCW, especially in 1995, but you shouldn’t have a single negative thing to say about Starrcade 1995 when we needed this show the most after a year long drought of good wrestling.
Number 12. – Living Dangerously
Sometimes all you need is some overly hyped title matches to deliver and that’s soemthign that this event can say happened. It took places in the Asbury Park Convention Hall where the previous Living Dangerously took place. But comparing Living Dangerously 1998 to 1999 is night an day (meaning 1999 is a better show). This ECW event is some of the finest booking made by Paul Heyman himself. Taz and Sabu had the best match that the two had with one another to unify the ECW World Heavyweight Championship and The Fuck The World Championship. Forget Barely Legal and forget Wrestlepalooza 1997, this is the ultimate Taz vs. Sabu match that we were all promised. This feud blow off delivered as an epic closure but also one of ECW’s greatest main events! The second best match of the night was Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn for the Television championship. This match would have been a disaster if it ended in a time-limit draw after all the effort both contended pulled out, but the officials approved for the match to restart only to have a glorious victory that got the audience happy. Though their bout in Hardcore Heaven was a better match, Van Dam and Jerry Lynn made a hell of a
match together that made all of us want more. And Super Crazy vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri had the best opener of the year. Spike Dudley had the perfect tag team parter, picking Sid to beat the Dudley Boyz was a must watch. The moment that Spike made the hot tag to Sid, the Dudley Boyz were dead. Honestly, it was awesome seeing Sid having a match that lasted longer than 5 minutes here! Everyone neglects that the Gangstas broke up and New Jack and Mustafa had an crazy singles match with each other as a betrayal feud. Steve Corino had a nasty chairshot ever from Balls Mahoney. I do admit that Shane Douglas as a babyface and teaming up with Tommy Dreamer to got agaisnt the Impact Players was really off, but I have to appreciate this being Shane Douglas’s last ever ECW match and finally working together his his longtime rival Tommy. Is that’s the only weakest aspect of the show, Living Dangerously has to honestly be that damn good! It’s such a shame that Living Dangerously got lost in the suffle and never was as appreciative as it should be.
Number 11. – Wrestlemania X
This show just has a special place in my heart. It was my first Wrestlemania and it still is a childhood favorite of mine and it got better with age. No longer were we in the Golden Age of Wrestling where Rock n Wrestling Collection & Hulkamania was around. This new era of Wrestling was the New Generation Era where new stars had more showmanship than the old and were there to bring in new style of wrestling that departed out of the old WWF. This means no more Hulk Hogan overshadowing the spotlight any more, instead we got wrestlers like Bret Hart, Yokozuna, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Owen Hart, and so many more now passed down the torch to bring in a more physical and sportsman like wrestling. Though it was never as big as Golden Age, it was definitely a step up to the times, despite how bad they’ve became in the later years. So was ten years in the making worth it all? Well the card had an awesome beginning, okay middle, but an awesome finish towards the end. We didn’t need a Hulk Hogan to make a Wrestlemania great and instead of getting one classic match, and we got two! The opening match between Owen and Bret was the best opening match ever in any wrestling show and the Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon Ladder Match was so outstanding. It’s amazing that we got two 6 out of 5 wrestling matches in this very show and no other Wrestlemania that I’ve reviewed had that many all star classics 
in a singular show! People has debated which of those two matches were better, however despite which of the two were great, we must remember that they both made Wrestlemania X special! Also, we should not forget that this was also Macho Man Randy Savage’s last match and to have him beat Crush in the Fall-Count Anywhere match was definitely memorable! WMX seriously makes up for it the horrid Wrestlemania IX and had a much better main event rematch with Bret and Yoko. Bret and Yoko were two of the best New Generation Era wrestlers and we had them wrestle in two to main events in this show and do a much better job redeemed itself! Though there are aspects of the show that could have been better like more effort to the mid-card show, give us an Undertaker match, and toss out that Doink and Dink match, but for only having Owen vs. Bret, Michaels vs. Razor, Macho Man burying Crush, Mr. Perfect screwing Lex Lugar over, and having the show end with Bret Hart beating Yokozuna for the championship is the reason why Wrestlemania X is the second greatest Wrestlemania! I really love this Wrestlemania for all that it’s worth and it still continues to give me a warm feeling each time I watch it!
Number 10. – Survivor Series 1996
For me, Survivor Series 1996 was the ultimate “anti-WWF” WWF pay per view. A show packed with historic debuts (The Rock most importantly), numerous good matches, and major title changes, this is the greatest example of Vince McMahon actually taking risks. He was so fixated with making Boyhood Dream Shawn Michaels a morale babyface but we all see past the bullshit of who Michaels really was (talented, yet an asshole). The entire Madison Square Garden crowd knew this and it was great that not only was he booed the fuck out of the stadium (before Montreal wanted his head). Sid beating Shawn for the WWF Title was the second thing to ever happen for the company that year (first will always be Austin winning the King of the Ring and debuted Austin 3:16). To see that the Boyhood Dream Shawn Michaels run died was a major step forward for the company. Prior to that, Bret Hart returns to the WWF after a long hiatus since Wrestlemania XII to face the popular Stone Cold Steve Austin. This was certainly the best match of the night because it was a great mixture of technicality wrestling and a straight on brawl. Don’t expect this to be better than their later bout at Wrestlemania 13,
but damn was this a good match and it felt very unique. A match where The Hitman kept up with the Texas Rattlesnake, and the match just kept building until we got the surprising conclusion. Another match to see is Undertaker vs Mankind after a year long into the feud. This was the best match together to that point, while Paul Bearer was locked up and suspended up in a shark game to protect himself from Taker. There were also three traditional Survivor Series tag matches booked in this card, the best of which was the first one was Doug Furnas, Henry O. Godwinn, Phil Lafon and Phineas I. Godwinn vs The British Bulldog, Leif Cassidy, Marty Jannetty and Owen Hart. Of course this show is most famous for debuting the most popular celebrity of all time, The Rock and having him survive and win the third Survivor Series tag match of the night. Sure fake-Diesel, fake-Razor Ramon, Farooq and Vader vs. Flash Funk, Jimmy Snuka Girlfriend Killer, Savio Vega and Yokozuna was the only bad match on the card, but how can you ignore an engaging crowd and effort being made in this very show?
Number 9. – Spring Stampede 1999
I’m really sad to say that this is not only WCW’s good pay per view in 1999 but also the last REALLY good pay per view for the promotion. WCW in 1999 was full of misteps and really bad booking. Never again will WCW ever make another watchable show after this. In the past couple of years, whenever WCW is struggling to make a good show Spring Stampede gives us what we needed the most. Fortunatley for us Spring Stampede 1999 was the show we needed the most. All of the stars were aligned and all we ask is please don’t screw this up. What happened on April 11th, 1999 was a miracle. First of all, Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sandman (called Hak at the time) had an ECW style match in a WCW show. These two already had matches together in both ECW and WCW but this bout here was absolutely wild! Out of all the matches Sandman had in his WCW run, this was the best during his time and was awesome! Another match filled with ECW stars was Chris Benoit Family Killer and Dean Malenko vs Raven and Perry Saturn. I feel like we’ve traveled back in the year 1995 in ECW and this match kicked so much ass that it makes Paul Heyman smile. Just when you couldn’t get enought ECW bouts, you got yourself Scotty Riggs vs. Mikey Whipwreck and we’re already satisfied. It certainly elavates the card seeing the ECW alumni in the card like Juventud Guerrera beat Blitzkrieg in the opener, Konnan beating Disco Inferno, and Rey Mysterio retaining his Cruiserweight Championship from Billy Kidman. For the only three matches that doesn’t have any former-ECW wrestlers they were just as solid as well. Scott Steiner vs Booker T for the vacant United States Championship was absolutely awesome. Though both Steiner and Booker wasn’t pushed hard enough in 1999 as they
should, you can see that the promotion started to have confidence in these veteran tag team wrestlers and this match proved that they can have a great singles career. Goldberg had his epic revenge for losing to Kevin Nash at Starrcade and this was a very well booked semi-main event. Finally our main event between Ric Flair vs. Hollywood Hogan vs. Sting vs. Diamond Dallas Page was the last great main event in the company’s repertoire. This was the night that Diamond Dallas Page finally became WCW World Heavyweight Champion and this victory is what made him a top star. It was great that Hogan got carried out from an injury during this match and there were no NWO interference whatsoever. And when DDP pulled the Daimond Cutter on the World champion Flair, Page became the man. Though it sucked that his reign as champion left a lot to be desired, this moment right here of beating both Flair, Sting and Hogan made him the official face of the company. WCW did the right thing in putting the belt on DDP and it got everyone talking. Because WCW Spring Stampede felt like a hybrid of ECW and WCW, it made the best night of 1999 in wrestling. Now that we’re living in the days without WCW, Spring Stampede 1999 has become better with age. There were no screwy finishes, just wrestling at its most valued art form. I love Spring Stampede with every fiber of my being and I will not stop singing praises of this work of art!
Number 8. – FMW 6th Anniversary Show
So often we’ve heard that hardcore wrestling is garbage and only talentless individuals use weapons to excuse the fact that they have no in-ring skills. You might have a good argument about hardcore wrestling but if you manage to keep it entertaining throughout a show instead of whacking each other over the head for cheap entertainment. For FMW standards, this is really good. Sure there was a boring boxing/martial arts match between Katsuji Ueda and Tetsuhiro Kuroda was unrealistic, The Sheik burning Damian was a pathetic squash match, and the beginning was a rough start. But as the show continues, it goes nowhere but up. Amigo Ultra and Ultra Taro vs Battle Ranger Z and Mach Hayato was a hell of a highflying match. Mad Dog Military Kaori Nakayama vs Combat Toyoda, Sato and Ishikawa is how women’s tag team wrestling should be. And speaking of women’s wrestling, Megumi Kudo vs Bad Nurse Nakamura was as vicious as they come. Fuck, was that a fantastic women’s championship match! Also a surprise for me was Katsutoshi Niiyama and Masato Tanaka vs. Horace Boulder and The Gladiator. 
Has Tanaka and Mike Awesome ever had a bad match together? Tanaka was dropped on his head from a botched top-rope powerbomb and he still was able to win in a vicious match! But of course, we have to mention the main event between Hayabusa and Atsushi Onita in a No Rope Exploding Barbwire Deathmatch. It sounds so stupid but watching the show is actually the most intense and exciting hardcore match you’ll ever see! If you want a better match stipulation than Hell in a Cell or Elimination Chamber, this barbwire monstrosity is everything you need to scratch that vicarious itch. This match was important because Onita (the wrestler that made FMW) is having a retirement match and Hayabusa was the promotion’s next star. The fight between the two, the explosions, the countdown, and the intensity of seeing who’s going to hit the barbwire was so much fun. Without a doubt, the most exciting finale I’ve ever seen in a PPV. 1995 had a lot of awful showings from every promotion, but FMW managed to push wrestling to new boundaries and it’s the best night during a time a time when it was awful to be a wrestling.
ECW’s pay per views in 1998 were from okay-ish to worst show of the year (just look at Wrestlepalooza 1998), that Heatwave ’98 is a huge exception. This is almost everything that you ever want from a hardcore wrestling promotion. It’s wierd that one of the best pay-per-views i the company’s history doesn’t have a ECW title defense on the card (thanks to Shane Douglas’s arm injury). Of course Heatwave ’98 is an unconventional one given the anarchic nature of the company itself. Every match in this is is absolutely well executed. Everyone keeps on saying that the tag title match between Rob Van Dam/Sabu vs. Hayabusa/Jinsei Shinzaki was dissapointing but I stongly beg to differ. This was an FMW style of match and this was Hayabusa‘s first debut in North American soil. I enjoyed the match for being more FMW than ECW and that double table landing will ways be in grained in my memory forever. Another bout that doesn’t get the credit that it deserves is Taz & Bam Bam Bigelow’s Falls Count Anywhere match for the unofficial FTW belt. That rematch turned out to be even better than their previous bout at Living Dangerously. Luckily this show offers well-done non-hardcore matches like Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible and Chris Candino vs Lance Storm. Of course everyone 
remembers how awesome Masato Tanaka took on Mike Awesome as the little guy took the nastliest bumps and chairshots of the night, but miraculously managed make the win by powerbombing the giant through the outside table. The Dudleyville street fight, with Sandman, Spike Dudley, Tommy Dreamer vs Buh Buh Ray, D-Von & Big Dick Dudley, was a nice combination of brutality and comedy. No doubt it was the best way to main event that match and close the show with New Jack interfering. Heatwave ’98 truly lives up to its name. Paul Heyman may not always be the genious that many proclaim him to be, but whenever the timing in right, he deliverse not only the goods but an enjoyment of a lifetime. 1998 for ECW had been a mediocre year for the company, but Heatwave ’98 was lightning in the bottle and since then it has been a crowning achievement and a booking masterpiece.
Number 6. – In Your House:
Canadian Stampede
This show doesn’t feel like a WWF show at all. And that’s a good thing considering that the Sport Entertainment direction needs a twist once in a while. For WWF, this was once in a blue moon. Besides Money In The Bank 2011, there hasn’t been another WWF/E show that felt as different as this. Throughout 1997, Bret Hart & his Hart Foundation have been seen as the most despised heels. But setting foot in Calgary, Alberta, those top heels were treated like hometown heroes as they should. No doubt that this show was made for Bret, Owen, Brian Pillman, Davy Boy Smith, and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart as they go up against, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Goldust, Ken Shamrock, and the fucking Road Warriors Hawk and Animal! There has never been a better 10-man tag team match than this since and after. It’s all thanks to the USA vs Canada heat going on in 1997 that made this show such a roaring moment for the crowd. No Survivor Series match will ever capitalize on how these heroes entered the ring, how they handled each other, and how they ended the night. Thankfully this was not a one-match show because this card was stacked with great action and storytelling to go along with it. There was only a total of four matches and they all made a such a great showing. This is proof that you don’t need to make your 
show 3 hours + to make an impression. The WWF Title bout between Undertaker and Vader was a hellacious big made match that it blew their weak Royal Rumble match out of the water. Even though WWF never understood or always underutilized their Light Heavywieght Division, this was the night where Vince allowed The Great Sasuke & Taka Michinoku to showcase what Japanese wrestling was all about to the western audience. It was no where as good at the WCW Cruiserweight division but wow, that was the best high flying match of 1997. And finally the opener between Triple H and Mankind was like Peanut butter and Jelly. It was a screwy finish but it was one hell of a brawl helped Triple H finally get out of his punishment from the Curtain Call Incident and prove to everyone why he’s the man. That brawling opener was something to remembered. Canadian Stampede is proof that you don’t need to have a stacked card, but can be a small as you can just as long as you remember it’s better to have quality over quantity.
Number 5. – November
to Remember
Okay, this is not a Pay Per View, but this is Paul Heyman’s greatest booking ever that I cannot let this show go unnoticed. If you want an ECW show that is better than Heat Wave 98, it has to be their November to Remember 1995. It’s sad that the November to Remember line-up was built as ECW’s Wrestlemania or Starrcade, but yet they have a lot of bad November to Remember shows and felt uneventful. But what Paul Heyman had in 1995 was the most stacked roster ready to be booked into one hell of a show. Sure the early matches were breif squash matches, but when the Pitbulls and Eliminators square off, the show has nowhere to go but up. That match was so much fun and it always proves my case that ECW’s tag team division is the best tag team division in any wrestling promotion. Even the follow-up match between Rey Misterio, Jr. vs Psicosis in a Mexican Deathmatch still remains the best match in both of their careers. Even though this wasn’t much of a deathmatch but more a hardcore lucha libre match, this has to be Mysterio’s best matches! Sure there’s a couple of slips and botches, but whenever they fly and flip, it’s something that inspires so many wrestlers today and this match was so damn exciting. Even 2 Cold Scorpio/Sandman vs. The Public Enemy was a fun brawl with the weirdest stipulation. Hell, 
how do you make a match between non-wrestlers with Bill Alfonso vs Tod Gordon so much fun to watch? The match that stole the show for me was without a doubt Mikey Whipwreck defeating Steve Austin for the ECW Championship. For a five minute, one-sided brawl, it was nice to see Austin finally wrestle in ECW for once, and for him to job to ECW’s favorite underdog was solid gold! How about Sabu’s return from WCW and buried Hack Meyer’s ass? A memorable moment if you ask me. And the main event between Terry Funk & Tommy Dreamer vs Raven & Cactus Jack. This is a bloody, slow brawl – with the ring littered with weapons and the match going along at a crawl. That’s not to say it was a bad match, but you really need to be a fan of the style to enjoy it. And that goes with everything in this show. You have to be familiar with ECW’s hardcore style to fully appreciate this show. So many things in this show are so memorable and brilliantly done that you have to see for yourself if you want something that’s actually better than ECW Heat Wave 98 or any One Night Stand. This is one of those rare moments for Paul Heyman to had the right talent to pull off a spectacular show.
Number 4. – Royal Rumble 1992
It’ has been nearly 30 year since this event was held and it still remains one of the best Royal Rumbles of all time. The main issue that nearly every Royal Rumble is treated as a lottery ticket to be booked in Wrestlemania instead of being it’s own show on its own merits. Luckily, Royal Rumble 1992 is a show that you can watch on your own and forget that there was even a build-up before this and a continuation after this show. Out of all the shows during the Hulkamania era, this is the greatest of all time! And it’s all thanks to the level of build-up and intensity that will get everyone on the edge of their seat! It was so intense that even the commentators (Bobby Heenan) was absolutely nervous about everything happening in the ring before the show started to the end of the show where he was celebrating like no other. Part of what makes this Royal Rumble so special is because not only was every match of the card worth watching, but this is the first time the winner of this Royal Rumble match get a reward greater than being the main event at Wrestlemania – the WWF Championship. You couldn’t make a stipulation any better or meaningful that than. And since then there hasn’t been another Royal Rumble match where the WWE title was on the line. And unlike other Royal Rumbles where an entry is wasted on a no-name star (looking at you, Michael Cole and Drew Carey) all 30 entries here were bigger than life. That’s what makes this Royal Rumble match so special and Ric Flair proved that he was the best in 
WCW and all the southern promotions but also in the WWF as well. The fact that Hulk Hogan spared all of us by losing was a breath of fresh air for all of us WWF fans. Even looking outside of that card, you can take a look at the three tag matches on this show that was the best of its kind. The New Foundations between Owen Hart & Jim Neidhart face the Orient Express and it was better opener than Rockers vs Orient Express the year prior. The one of the worst Intercontinental Champions, The Mountie, lost his championship to Rowdy Roddy Piper and Piper pulled double duty by not only winning the IC title and also enter the Royal Rumble, drawing Number 15. And the Road Warriors destoryed the Natural Disasters, one of the heaviest tag team of all time! This show certainly delivered on its goods and Royal Rumble 1992 got better with age. It’s one thing to make a well-booked show, but it’s another for fans to be on the edge of their seat to be genuinely engaged to see who will win. This was at the peak of the Hulkamania era and this was the best show this era could produce that withstood the test of time! You must watch Royal Rumble 1992 at it’s entirety. Even if you already know the results, it’s a much different experience if you suspend your disbelief and see how over the top it gets!
Number 3. – Spring Stampede / Slamboree 1994
I honestly cannot help it but to put both of these wrestling masterpieces into one entry. Both of these wonderful shows are so well connected that if they were movies, you cannot watch one entry without the other. Spring Stampede and Slamboree 1994 aren’t just really good shows that were only a month apart; they are rally parallels. Many of the feuds and matches going on were so interconnected and well told that this proof that Ric Flair is a much better booker than Dusty Rhodes. Just talking about how good the first ever Spring Stampede was at starting something special and the climax/blowoff settled in the second ever Slamboree is textbook example on how to book wrestling cards. Just look at how awesome the hardcore bout between The Nasty Boys vs Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne was in ending that match in the nastiest head bump I’ve ever seen from Mick Foley. Then in Slamboree he’s teamed up with Kevin Sullivan after Maxx Payne was 
booked off of the show but Maxx came in for the save to finish what was started in Spring Stampede. Ric Flair had the best reign with his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign and he went after his old rivals that he haven’t fought in years; Ricky Steamboat and Barry Windham. Disagree with me all you want but Flair had the best matches with both competitors and had a proper conclusion to both classic rivalries. Sting beat Rick Rude for the WCW International belt at Spring Stampede, as so did Vader won his match against Big Boss Man at Spring Stampede. Why not have one more match together at Slamboree’s main event and add closure to many years of fighting each other? Steve Austin was a victorious US champion when defeating The Great Muta at Spring Stampede and then beating Johnny B. Badd the following show? Or how about Bunkhouse Buck defeated Dustin Rhodes in his own game with the 
Bunkhouse match and Dustin got his revenge at his own game with the Bullrope match? Lord Steven Regal met his match wrestling Brian Pillman to a time-limit draw but the sequel he lost to Larry Zbyszko in Zbyszko’s last ever good match in his tenure. The only thing that different between the two shows was Diamond Dallas Page booked in Spring Stampede, and Slamboree had Terry Funk vs Tully Blanchard in a classic Jim Crockett Promotions match. All of these storyes happening at both shows had weight and consistency to them. All of the matches were an absolute joy to watch. This was the very last time we get to see WCW in this way of booking before Hulk Hogan came in and spoiled the quality of this once good promotion. Watching WCW in Spring of 1994 made me forget that even occcurred and let me escape from all the cruelty and injustices in the world. And that’s what a good wrestling show exactly does!
Number 2. – Wrestlemania XIV
This has to go down as some of the best Wrestlemania of all time. There was not a single bad match in this card. Rather than just calling all the matches on the card good matches, each of these matches represented aspects of the Attitude Era and what is to come for the WWF after this show. There are so many things that made the Attitude Era the most beloved time of Wrestling and it’s all thanks to this very Wrestling show. There was so much hype and build up leading to this show that blew everyone away, only to have the WWF to deliver even more stuff like this in their later years. New stars were being made, more memorable moments were created, and even more surprises that forever leaves us with an undying impression. Because of the main event, Stone Cold Steve Austin is some of the biggest names of the wrestling world and still to this day he continues make everyone excited which is what wrestling is seriously lacking today. There was not a single bad match on this show – it was really consistent throughout with starting out with the awesome victory of Legion on Doom dominating the 15-team battle royal, the surprising and forgotten match with Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila, Sable proved to be the dominate female in the company, Ken Shamrock snapping and going ape shit on The Rock, the Nation of Domination, and the referees, Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie trashing New Age Outlaws in a Dumpster, Pete
Rose getting Tombstoned by Kane, and the best match of the night, Kane vs. Undertaker that came so damn close to ending the streak! I will always remember Stone Cold looking like he had no chance of winning because Vince McMahon, D-Generation-X and Mike Tyson were all against him. It was a true Wrestlemania moment where Tyson screwed Shawn Michaels, punched him square in the face, and raised Stone Cold’s hands in the air as the new WWF Champion. Shawn Michaels definitely got what he deserved for the Montreal Screwjob and this finish was a redemption from that tragedy! That should tell you why this show is a must see for everyone, not just wrestling fans! Nobody can ever take away the historical significance, the meaning of this show, and what it represents. The WWF was trying to find a direction and finally nailed it with Mike Tyson’s help and went full force for many years to come. Like Wrestlemania 3 that took wrestling to an entirely different stratosphere, Wrestlemania 14 was that moment in time that did it once again and helped the company to be later to be once again the king of professional wrestling again. I like to go back to this Wrestlemania and watch it in its entirety because it really is one of my favorite entities in professional wrestling!
Number 1. – FMW 7th Anniversary Show
Is it possible to make a wrestling show full of hardcore matches, multiple stipulations and gimmick matches, and barbwire a five-star show? Yes, you can! The godfather of Deathmatch wrestling, Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling, knows how to make the term hardcore a spectacle. Sure there were a few duds like seeing a Michael Meyers, Leatherface, two Jason Voorhees, & a Freddy Krueger rip-off, the Rock n’ Roll express, a Bret Hart lookalike (Koji Nakagawa) didn’t belong to this show. It took a while for the show to start getting good. But if it took Wrestlemania X7 a while to start getting good and still be considered “the greatest Pay Per View of all time” why can’t FMW’s 7th Anniversary Show do the same? But all in all, this show is really good! TAKA Michinoku beating Koji Nakagawa in a hard-fought bout was all-so satisfying, the women’s street fight between Chigusa Nagayo and Shark Tsuchiya was absolutely brutal (honestly a flaming stick and a reaper?), and seeing Mike Awesome fight off a Leatherface rip-off on top of the light tower in the 6-man tag team title match was insane. But without a doubt, the final three matches are the best uppercard and main event booking in FMW. Caribbean Barbwire Barricade Spider Net Glass Deathmatch between Cactus Jack and W*ING
Kanemura still remains one of Mick Foley’s most brutal matches. Seeing both of them fall on barbwire and shattered glass for over sixteen minutes is some of the most brutal brawls I’ve ever seen in the ring. This is the type of match that the Cactus Jack character was meant for and to see both of them fall into sharp objects still give me a big reaction. You want something more brutal than that? How about your main event, the No Ropes Exploding Barbwire Double Hell Exploding Deathmatch between Hayabusa / Masato Tanaka vs Mr. Pogo / Terry Funk? Just when you thought that Hayabua vs Onita in the Exploding Barbwire Cage match in the 6th Anniversary Show was brutal, this main event is probably harder to watch considering that there’s not only explosions and barbwires but also fire-spitting! The fact that all of them were still alive after this unbelievable deathmatch still is the biggest spectacle ever placed in the ring and is a must-watch for everyone who wants to see in-ring psychology and shock value. But between Cactus Jack and Terry Funk’s match, there is one match that stole a show. It is a woman’s exploding 
barbwire deathmatch between Megumi Kudo and Combat Toyoda. Back when women’s wrestling in the west was looked down upon, FMW was innovating with what you can do with women’s wrestling. And still to this day, it’s one of the most amazing showcase between two female wrestlers. The whole match, all of us watching gets anxious that one of them was going to hit the exploding barbwire and whenever they do, we have a bigger reaction than when a male wrestler falls into it. The rivalry between Megumi Kudo and Combat Toyoda was some of the most vicious I’ve ever seen in wrestling! And for Onita (founder of FMW) to come out and assist them help after the match just elevates the match. That post-match recording backstage is still is the most emotional segment in all of wrestling. I’ve never seen women deal with so much pain in my life and because they dared to go above and beyond the men in wrestling, shows how much respect I have for Kudo and Toyoda as well as everyone who’s part of the show. This was an emotional night and it felt like Wrestlemania went 100% hardcore. It was intense, never boring, and most of all climatic! Never will there be another hardcore show that will ever be as exciting, shocking, and satisfying as this. They placed wrestling and brutality in an equal measure throughout and no other promotion will ever have a card quite as exciting as this!
The Top Lister 