411manias top 50 matches of the 1990s

[mrslackalack]

Very interesting Article on 411mania. The writer did a great job in explaining why he put his matches at this rank. He also mentioned that he didnt look at the matches quality wise but what they did business and angle wise as well.

50) Sting vs. Cactus Jack (Bash At The Beach '92)
This was a falls count anywhere non-title match(Why they made it non-title when Cactus didn't win anyway is beyond me) that pitted the dangerous Cactus Jack against the World Champion Sting. This match was insanely fast paced with both men taking some very vicious bumps. Sting won the match after delivering a flying clothesline to Cactus from the top rope onto the ramp. Mick Foley often refers to this match as his favorite pre-WWE match and considering some of the crazy shit he did in ECW as well as Japan, that's saying a lot.

49) Great Sasuke/Gran Hamada/Masato Yakashiji vs. Taka Michinoku/Terry Boy/Dick Togo (Barely Legal '97)
This match stole the show on ECW's first ever Pay-Per-View and that's saying a lot considering it was on the same card with Taz/Sabu and Terry Funk winning the world title. These six men introduced the Japanese style of wrestling to a nationwide North American audience and the fans just ate it up. The pace in this match was just insanely fast and saw so many highspots and sick moves that it would take forever to mention all of them. If you have never seen this match do yourself a favor and find it as this match still holds up well over time and will leave you in amazement.

48) Bret Hart vs. The 1-2-3 Kid (Raw, 7/11/94)
Whenever there is a discussion about great matches in WWE history, this match is virtually never mentioned and that's a damn shame because it is one of the best pure wrestling matches you will ever see. This match is a forgotten gem in the annals of RAW's history and I'm so glad that the WWE included it on their Best Of Raw DVD set because it truly deserves to be recognized. This match was for Bret's WWE Title and The Kid came in as a huge underdog (big surprise) but by the end of this match, he earned the respect of all the fans. The match started off with some nice matwork, with both men feeling each other out, but soon Bret started to dominate with his strength advantage. He started delivering some vicious shots to The Kid and it seemed like Bret was just too much for the underdog. However, The Kid was able to fight back by utilizing his speed until Bret caught him with a Samoan Drop and pinned him for the three count. The match wasn't over, though, because The Kid had draped his foot across the bottom rope just before the 3 count and Bret (ever the babyface) made the official aware of it so the match was restarted. That seemed like it was going to be a fatal mistake for Bret as soon The Kid was able to regain himself and start taking the fight to Bret, including a SWEET running dropkick in the corner that caught Bret right in the mouth. It seemed like The Kid might pull of the huge upset, but he went for one too many high risk moves as Bret was able to catch him when he attempted a dropkick from the top rope and locked in The Sharpshooter to get the victory. A phenomenal, forgotten match that I hope more people get to enjoy now that it's been released on a DVD set.

47) Juventud Guerrera vs. Blitzkrieg (Spring Stampede '99)
Juve Driver from the top rope. That's all I gotta say.

46) Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (Hardcore Heaven '99)
Whenever RVD and Jerry Lynn stepped in a ring together, it seemed like the results were always a classic match. This match was no exception and I dare say it was the best of their numerous matches against each other. Many prefer their match at Living Dangerously '99, but I believe this match was just slightly better. This match included Lynn falling face first onto the concrete after getting kicked off the top rope, a Van Daminator in the crowd, a sunset flip powerbomb from Lynn to RVD from the ring apron through a table at ringside, and two of the prettiest 5 star frog splashes you'll ever see. It was just an awesome, exciting match that gained Jerry Lynn the respect of the fans and the respect of RVD.

45) The Rock vs. Mankind (Royal Rumble '99)
This match is one that is very hard to watch, but you can't help but look because of the sheer insanity of it. Mick Foley proved in this match why he is regarded as one of the craziest son-of-a-bitches to ever step foot in a wrestling ring. This match has gained an infamous reputation due to its inclusion on the "Beyond The Mat" documentary as well as the knowledge that Mick's family was ringside while he absorbed all this punishment. The match included Mankind getting knocked off a ledge in the crowd onto an electrical unit that caused sparks to fly everywhere, a people's elbow to Mankind's face with a chair on top of it, and at least 10 unprotected shots to Mick's face with a chair. Absolutely brutal shit that is now the stuff of legend and is quite difficult to watch knowing the toll it took on Mick's body and career.

44) Triple H vs. The Rock (Summerslam '98)
This match is seen as the coming out party for both these guys as it was the first true indicator that both were ready to be in the main event. This was a ladder match for the IC title and these two guys put on a performance that had Madison Square Garden rocking. This was during the height of popularity for DX and The Rock was in his awesome heel mode, but both men received the respect of the Garden as well as millions of fans around the world. And the People's Elbow on the ladder is still one of my favorite Rock moments ever.

43) Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Guerrero (Fall Brawl '97)
Chris Jericho entered this match as the Cruiserweight Champion and Eddie was on a warpath to try to get his hands on that gold. The match started slow with the two trading various counters and Eddie working over Jericho with various submission moves. Once Jericho started to make his comeback, though, this match picked up very quickly and it was near fall after near fall. The ending saw Jericho attempt a superplex only for Eddie to reverse it and land on top of Jericho and then go to the top rope to deliver one of the prettiest frog splashes you'll ever see. An absolutely terrific match that made Eddie look like a true badass and made Jericho look like a CHAMP for being able to absorb so mch punishment and almost pull out the victory.

42) Chris Jericho vs. Pitbull #2 vs. Shane Douglas vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (ECW Heatwave '96)
This was a four corners match for the TV title held by Jericho and it was 40 minutes of great, nonstop wrestling action. The story of this match centered around Pitbull #2 and Douglas as P#2 wanted to get his hands on Douglas badly but Douglas would constantly tag out to avoid confronting him. This played off great in the match as it displayed Douglas as a chickenshit heel and the fans were clamoring to see P#2 finally beat the shit out of the Franchise. Jericho and Scorpio had some terrific interaction in the match that included an insane spot where Scorpio dropkicked Jericho in his head while he was upside down in mid-air performing the lionsault. Eventually Jericho and Scorpio were eliminated which left it down to P#2 and Douglas. Pitbull #2 had his manager, Francine, turn on him and join the Franchise during the match. He responded to that betrayal by powerbombing her through a table. Wouldn't it be nice if we could powerbomb the backstabbing women we know through a table? P#2 kept fighting back even after getting hit with brass knucks, a splintered piece of table, a chain, and the title belt. Eventually he would fall to Douglas' belly to belly slam, but that couldn't tarnish what was an absolutely unbelievable match.

41) Ric Flair vs. Vader (Starrcade '93)
Flair came into this match as a huge underdog because at this time, Vader was virtually unstoppable. He had run right through top guys like Sting and Cactus Jack and it seemed like nobody could stop his path of destruction, especially an aging (even at that time) Ric Flair. This was a match for the WCW World Title which Vader had a stranglehold on for most of 1993. In the early portions of the match, Vader did indeed appear unstoppable as he took all of Flair's punishment like it didn't even faze him. He proceeded to give Flair one hell of a beating with some absolutely stiff shots and it seemed like we had a massacre on our hands. But then all of a sudden, Flair started fighting back with some stiff shots of his own and began to target the big man's legs. After a few attempts, he was able to lock in the figure four and it seemed like Vader was done for, but he was just barely able to make the ropes. After some more brutality between the two, the end came when Vader's manager, Harley Race, gave Vader a diving headbutt by accident and even though the big man was able to recover from that, he wasn't able to kick out of a cradle after Flair clipped his knee. This match was brutal, emotional, engaging, and highly entertaining. In other words, classic Flair.

40) Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (Wrestlemania 8)
This match was about as personal as you can get because Ric Flair bragged about having an affair with Miss Elizabeth and promised to reveal a scantily clad photo of Liz after he won the match (which as a horny eight year old automatically made me root for Flair). This match was a great back and forth contest which saw The Nature Boy focus and Savage's knee and dissect it to the point where Savage could barely stand. Flair seemed to be in total control and ready to set up for the figure four, when Savage was able to catch the Nature Boy in a rollup and take a page out of Flair's book by grabbing onto the tights. This gave Savage his second WWE Title and this was a great payoff to a fantastic storyline. I'm still bitter about never seeing that Liz pic, though. Damn Macho Man.