Personally, I believe Lou Thesz creating a brand new Championship for Rikidozan to win in Japan (because the NWA forbid Thesz from bringing one of the belts he was holding overseas) was a crucial point in Puroresu's origins. Even to the Japanese public, Lou Thesz was considered "the undefeated Iron Man", a revered, highly influential legend and one of the absolute biggest names to ever lace up a pair of Wrestling boots. Thesz' defeat was more than just the proverbial passing of the torch. Thesz saw potential in Japanese Wrestling and helped solidify Rikidozan's credibility as a champion and local hero that the Japanese could rally behind. The very same approach one of Rikidozan's proteges would continue to harness in the decades to follow: Antonio Inoki.
Inoki certainly was more skilled with the media and gathering attention, but in terms of styles, Baba was way more in line with what Rikidozan did. The American Drama and the spectacles to matches, whereas Inoki wanted wrestling to be a legit martial art.
Wrestling's most significant match is Street profits vs Andrade and Angel Garza. Although I don't really know which one of the 756 was the most significant.
Gotch vs Hackenschmidt was huge. Hackenschmidt was a star in Germany (?) considered the world champion over there. Rogers vs Sammartino was also huge. Rogers had had a heart attack just a short time before it but Vince Sr. coaxed him into doing a 48 sec bearhug job. This match single handedly launched the WWWF.
The wrestling bubble lacks all perspective but especially historical: You think a shoot wrestling match must be considered...even though shoot wrestling was such an unsuccessful business, success came by making it fake? Then you overrate a match nobody outside the northeast even saw, that launched a promotion that already existed but just decided to have it's own champ? MTV, Mania I, Mr. T, Lauper, Mania II in multiple locations, Hogan/Orndorf in a stadium, and Hogan/Andre are all HISTORICALLY more significant than Bruno/Rogers
Im so thrilled he answered my email & it got the honor of being a youtube clip all by itself. Here is my brief reaction to Last Saturdays Turning Point 2020. Sincerely hope you enjoy. ua-cam.com/video/1RFtEAak0A4/v-deo.html
Agreed. Cornettes rants are fun and all, but I find him most engaging when he talks about the history because his passion really comes out. A podcast of him just documenting the history of wrestling would be amazing.
Kimura n Dozan also had a massive influence on MMA as well since they brought in Gotch and Robinson who trained Funaki and Suzuki who created the first mma org in Pancrase. Robinson also trained Sakuraba who was the first to sub a gjj/bjj blackbelt ever and was the first to defeat a Gracie family member in 48 years, and still to sub them
The two MTV specials featuring Hogan/Piper and Moolah/Richter were significant in terms of mainstream exposure considering MTV was such a hot commodity at the time.
I agree .. I was 12 ...the Hogan Piper and Moolah Cyndi angles brought in a generation of new fans. This let to Mania 1 and if that hadn't been successful he never could have went nationally.
@@danieltrenkovski1629 But he can adapt those old school principles into modern wrestling and there have been proof in at least two different periods: OVW and Kane.
He doesn't like the Young bucks which is classed to be a sin among the internet wrestling community just like saying "Vince Russo wasn't that bad" or "TNA was pretty good"
@Nate Amstutz pockets IS Orange Cassidy, that's what I said. Pockets and kip. And it was a botch fest, they were missing things like crazy and kept switching camera angles to hide it
Sting, Lex Luger, and Macho Man vs the Outsiders at the 1996 Bash at the Beach and Bret Hart vs HBK at the 1997 Survivor Series was both significant for the industry and both produced far-reaching effects in the industry.
I'd been focusing too much on WWFE. Yes Hogan's heel turn, Goldberg winning it all, and Hogan/Nash and Mankind/Rock for a somewhat negative example are right up there with the most historical matches of all time.
@@rolltide9547 Hogan/Nash. Aka the Fingerpoke of Doom where between that and WCW sending half a million viewers to WWF for Mankind winning the title from The Rock was the nail in the coffin for the company. Any changes to Nitro's night might have made a difference. Unfortunately for them it was just a perfect storm of bad business.
Steamboat vs Savage - Wrestlemania 3 Hogan beats the Iron Sheik for the WWF title, Hulkamania era begins Flair beats Race for the NWA Title - Starrcade ' 83 ECW Mass Transit Incident Kerry Von Erich beats Flair for NWA Title - '84 David Von Erich Memorial
Mass Transit is underated, because the reason it is historical is bad, but it sure is signifigant. The resulting lawsuit literally set precedents on all sorts of wrestling related things in the legal system.
my 2 cents, Hogan vs Andre was more influential when it comes to a, help-wrestling-blow-up viewpoint. That's what brought wrestling to the spotlight, that's what brought wrestling to Europe (Greece at least). Everyone would watch the "catch wrestling giants" every saturday on television, and the only reason that was on television in the first place, was Hulkamania and Hogan vs Andre. So yeah if that was the case in other countries as well, that's what made the WWF/E the giant it is today
Hogan v Andre also created the new industry, they made modern ppv viable and also birthed Summerslam, the Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble too, and it's the blueprint for all modern day mega cards in front of big crowds, which as you said spread to the UK with big events like SSlam 92.
@@AlexPat998 AEK good team, I remember when Greece won the euros man, good times. How's you're country doing now since the huge recession, you had a good few years back when u got the bailout fund, hope Greece is doing well, man. Take care.
@@Kedallroysucession well actually we're still in recession, we never really recovered from it and coronavirus just made it worse, but to be honest we've learned to live with not having a whole lot of money, thanks man you take care as well
I'm really glad that Jim mentioned the "country-centric" element of the question, because as someone outside the US, who was only really exposed to PW from the early 80s, my viewpoint on who's the best, what the most significant moments are etc is of course entirely based on the context of my exposure.
@@marshallmcluhan33 There's plenty of matches that I know aren't significant, or even "good" in terms of the matches themselves, but because I remember how they made me feel as a kid when my favourite guy/team came through. That's different to significant of course, and I think Jim & Brian underestimate the significance of Hogan/Andre on a worldwide scale, because of course they come at it from their perspective. WM3 was the spark that ignited PW around the world, and took it from either a complete unknown, or a small thing in particular countries to something that everyone around the world suddenly knew about. That's pretty significant I reckon.
@@Jon.S Are there any matches that mean more to people where you live that most people outside where you might not know? I’m genuinely interested it in those type of matches.
Brian's Maeda and Choshu match is a good pick. That would lead to the creation of the UWF, essentially worked MMA and it got huge. The UWF split leading to UWF-i, Pancrase and RINGS. The former would lead into PRIDE FC. Ken Shamrock was trained by these guys and helped put UFC on the map. UWF-i even got international PPV which I don't think Japanese promotions were doing at the time.
George Hackenschidt vs Tom Jenkins (1904) Frank Gotch vs George Hackenschmidt (1908) Gotch vs Hackenschidt II (1911) Ed Strangler vs Joe Stretcher (1920) Lou Thesz vs Baron (1952) Thesz vs Verne Gagne (1952) Rikidozan vs Thesz (1957) Buddy Rogers vs Pat Connor (1961) Buddy Rogers vs Bobo Brazil Bruno Sammartino vs Rogers (1963) Rogers vs Thesz (63) Rikidozan vs Destroyer (63) Bruno vs Graham (1977) Gagne vs Bockwinkle (1981) Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask (81) Bockwinkle vs Hoan (82) Muraco vs Snuka (83) Flair vs Harley Race (83) Bret Hart, Davey Boy Smith and Sonny Two Rivers v Bad News Allen, The Stomper & Jeff Gouldie (83) Hogan vs Sheik (1984) Hogan & Mr. T vs Piper & Orndoff (1984) Flair vs Rhodes II (1985) Hogan vs Andre (1987) Steamboat vs Macho (87) Hogan vs Andre II (1988) Flair vs Sting (1988) Flair vs Steamboat (1989) Warrior vs Savage (1991) Ron Simmons vs Vader (1992) HBK vs Razor (1994) 2 Cold Scorpio vs Shane Douglas (1994) Austin vs Roberts (1996) Outsiders (Hogan) vs Savage, Sting, Luger (1996) Austin vs Bret (1997) Hart vs HBK (1997) Sting vs Hogan (1997) Austin vs HBK (1998) Mankind vs Taker (1998) Hardy's vs E&C vs Dudleys (2000) Austin vs Rock (2001) Rock vs Hogan (2002) AJ vs Daniels vs Joe (2005) HBK vs Taker (2009) Punk vs Cena (2011) Rock vs Cena (2012) Daniel Bryan vs HHH/Daniel Bryan vs Orton vs Batista (2014) Dragunov vs Walter (2020) Roman vs Cody (2024)
Taker vs Mankind HIAC. For as long as wrestling is a thing, that moment will live in infamy. The match itself is actually pretty good considering how badly hurt Mick was after the two bumps.
Yea was freakin' sweet I remember the bumps in the match and didn't realize as I was just young the significance of the match and how injured they both were, to continue to keep going with teeth through you're lip and a broken foot going in, concussions etc, just shows how much both guys loved the business. Props to both taker and makind, really vivid good memories watching on ppv when I was supposed to be studying my homework as a teenager.
Undertaker vs Mankind Hell in a Cell is the match that's lasted the test of time. Non wrestling sources like ESPN tweet about it every year on it's anniversary.
@@jeffmac9642 nothing wrong with lasting 2 mins, lol most human males only last any where from 2-7 mins, unless a dude is trained and a porn star or Sting, a male could last 30 mins, but even porn stars have trouble lasting that long , watched a doc back in the early 2000 called porno valley a look behind the scenes of porn, on showcase canada, was interesting
@@spookerredmenace3950 LOL !!! Ahhhhh youth . She wanted doggy and I was a kid. I saw her bare arse and that was about it for me . How goes it anyways? I hardly watch wrestling but I see Thunder rosa in AEW 👍. I'm still chilling in the pandemic as a pizza delivery guy and not driving tractor trailer. I'm probably get a few more chances to bicycle 🚲 at the falls before it gets too cold. Then I'm doing the DREADED cabbage soup diet for a week. The plan is to be totally LEX LUGER when the pandemic is over. (Or as close as I can get 🤣) . Its ridiculous smelling pepperoni in my car during a diet. At least I can be around people a bit during lockdown. Did you watch the inner circle in Vegas ? Cornette is going to go nuts on that one . Well I'm out , time to sell the pizza 🍕 🚗
Wholeheartedly agree! Kiniski looked like a bumbling fool. The ref bump took away from the finish. Race was always out of shape but could go when he had to. The textbook example of not judging a book by it’s cover.
The most significant event / matches ever is. - STARCADE 1983 - The event popualized closed circuit TV which lead to PPV , It was the inspiration for future Wrestlmania's It is where Vince saw Piper and he decided to sign him a few months after this - Piper became arguably the industries biggest heel ever The event turned Jim Crockett promotions into a National based company which lead to WCW which lead to the Monday night wars 15 years later
One of the worst days in American professional wrestling history. Mexican wrestling should have stayed in Mexico. The style has now destroyed modern professional wrestling.
@@AJ-xv7oh I disagree. Yes modern Lucha style is quite frankly garbage but the Luchadors back in the day were more well rounded. Many of them had wrestled in Japan as well as towns along the Mexico/US border. They were able to incorporate all 3 styles into their repertoire. This is why Penta and Fenix aren't that great. They only know the Lucha style. Without a territory system and with increased media exposure they have had to try and Learn the other styles in front of the camera. Also, back when guys like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Psicosis Juventud Guerrera burst onto the scene Lucha was fresh and new to US/Canadian fans. Now everyone does it. Penta and Fenix don't stand out and they aren't that good. I think some of it is because they don't seem to want to learn any other style than Lucha Libre and it's hurting them. You could put any combination of four names I mentioned above in the ring and they could have a great match in their sleep. Penta and Fenix must have had hundreds of matches with each other yet can't seem to get through a match without botching moves or hurting one and other or both.
It wasn't a sanctioned match ...more an exhibition but I wonder how many of us got their first exposure via ....Thunderlips the Ultimate Male vs the Italian Stallion ...the ultimate meatball
@@trappenweisseguy27 Well its one of those things that, if you don't follow historic early TV bouts, or Japanese wrestling, you would never know it, but it did essentially make wrestling viable in Japan, so it is a big deal to the history of the business. But it's totally a history buff's kind of match, more than a fan's match, unless you happen to be Japanese.
Has to be a tie between the tournament final Buddy Rogers won in Rio for the WWWF title and the tournament final Pat Patterson won in Rio for the IC title. Classic matches. Watch them every night.
Dave overstates the cultural influence of Rikidozan in Japan. Was he the biggest wrestling star there? Yes! But Dave likes to say that Rikidozan is as well known in Japan as JFK in the US and that's just false. I have two sister in laws from Japan(my brothers met them while stationed in Japan in the 90s) and neither of them nor their parents knew who Rikidozan was outside of "Wasnt he a wrestler or something?" When I asked them. If he was this JFK like figure they surely would've knew more about him then that. And yes I concede this is a small sample and perhaps my brothers wives and inlaws are outliers but I find that pretty farfetched.
As to El Santo he even made a cameo appearance of sorts when The Assassin renewed his acquaintance with Dusty Rhodes in Florida in 1981. The masked Jody Hamilton (as The Assassin) pretended to be El Santo all so he could attack Rhodes with a commemorative plaque. What made this even more surreal was that in 1980, only months before, Assassins Jody Hamilton and Tom Renesto, Ivan Koloff, Gene Anderson, and Ole Anderson quintuple teamed Rhodes in Ole's legendary heel turn in The Omni! And the same guy was present for both events as to be expected on the mic. Gordon Solie.B.W.
Too bad he was a generic babyface at the time. If the APA Faarooq character had existed, he wouldn't have been in midcard matches as WCW champion. It would have been awesome. But he got the belt years before he found the right fit character-wise.
He was all American and the athlete packed and great. But his attitude and intimidation of doom have his hard hitting style an ass whoopin stamp of approval. It happens to the best of talents. Glad as a fan we can appreciate and respect the wrestlers for their craft and hard work in the squared circle.
Undertaker/Foley in the cell was another one. Austin vs Bret at Wrestlemania 13 after that brought really sky rocketed Steve Austin to the top and the Attitude Era grew from there.
It was one of the biggest angles of all-time but that's all it was. It didn't create anything nor did it lead to anything after the feud ended at Summerslam 88.
@@jeffreyriley8742 It put WWF on the worldwide mainstream map, so it's ridiculous to say " It didn't create anything nor did it lead to anything after the feud ended at Summerslam 88." It lead to more PPV events and WWF merchandise appearing in countries all around the world.
@@jeffreyriley8742 it did create something. It paved the way for the wwf/wwe to become I billion dollar industry. Without this match its hard to say whether or not wrestling becomes as big as it has become.
Savage vs Steamboat WM 3. Flair vs Steamboat. Ron Simmons vs Vader, Foley vs Vader, Taker vs HBK at 25 and 26, set the bar for great story telling and a perfect match.
This is like saying the two-part Batman / Green Hornet crossover from the 60s was bigger than The Dark Knight because it paved the way for superhero crossovers.
Just me... Hogan/Andre would be the bigger match, the more important and significant match. You could also argue from a purely wrestling and showmanship standpoint that Savage/Steamboat was even more important. To take the question further you could look to Snuka/Muraco in the Steel Cage, Hart/Michaels Iron Man, Hart/Austin I Quit, Undertaker/Mankind Hell in a Cell, Hardys/Edge and Christian Ladder Match, the Cactus/Triple H Street Fight, Austin/Rock at Wrestlemania, or the 2004 Rumble, as the eight most important, career making business changing matches.
As someone who is currently more into Puroresu then american pro wrestling, this comparision is flawed on so many levels. Hogan vs. Andre was important for the international market of Wrestling. Here in germany, Wrestling was mostly unknown before the late 80s, before WWF started to show their shows over here on TV and then they did European tours. The Slam from Hogan really was the Slam that was heard throughout the World. You could also make other claims for important wrestling matches throughout history, like Flair vs. Race at Starccade, Austin vs. Rock at Wrestlemania X-7 or even Sammartino and Koloff in MSG in 71. The Sharps vs. Kimura and Rikidozan is only one of those, but not the most important.
Even if Uncle Dave is full of shit the last few years, I'll agree on him on this one, and for a good reason: Hogan vs Andre at WM 3 is not even the biggest fight between them, it was the rematch at NBC, The Main Event, which had 33 million viewers (33 MILLION!!!!). You know, the ref switch and Andre giving the title to The Million Dollar Man. That should be the match you compare to the Rikidozan/Kimura vs Sharpe, and I'll still give it to the latter because I'm sure ALL OF JAPAN glued to their TV sets for that match alone, creating an industry there.
TBH, if I was going to put an 80's WWF match on this list, I think I'd go with Hogan Vs. The Iron Sheik as that was the match that really kicked off Vince's program of going national.
Sting v Flair at Clash of Champions ...Crockett goes head to head against mania 4 ....vince puts first Survivor Series against Starrcade and the PPV era wars are on the way .
Rock v Hogan was feakin sweet, Stone Cold v Bret Hart and Taker v Makind, as I'm only 36 these are the ones that stick out in my mind, I've watched macho man v steamboat , hogan v Andre on video when I was a kid and watched a few years ago, my ex fiancée, stupid woman threw them in the bin, not realising how significant they were and how dear I cherished them, got the dvds but wasn't the same .
Nothing Hogan did was legendary! Hogan/Andre was nothing except for Andre’s last big payday! I loved Andre!!! He was number 1 Hogan and Vince ain’t nothing to me except rich assholes
HHH vs. Katie Vick "Inside A Casket" Match. Or... Rich Swann vs. Vannarah Riggs in their falls count anywhere match. It was so real to the cops dammit.
the original olympics. and “greco-roman” wrestling, didnt overlap. that actually the modern olympics. the ancient greeks did not wrestle “greco-roman” rules. some guy in 19th century came up with those rules.
True, but it's another case of signifigant for the wrong reasons and so people don't think about it. It is the catalyst of WWE lifting the veil officially on kayfabe, effected the two biggest wrestling companies in history right before they hit their peak(partly due to the screwjob) and spawned Mr. McMahon as a villain character, causing the highest grossing feud in history with him and Austin. It absolutely belongs in the conversation.
Intriguing Question and worth some thinking . . . but the last 5 years is too soon to include 1) Moolah Winning the Battle Royal for her first world title, kicking off both the ludicrous length of her title reign as well as giving the most power hungry woman in wrestling history her platform 2) Blassie-Rikidozan (that's the answer to what was discussed in the segment) 3) War At The Shore - the introduction of the Rock and Wrestling era, which still carries on today and you could include the Richter win over Moolah as part of that 4) The Crush Girls vs Dump Matsumoto crew to show women's wrestling could draw all by itself (and in a country where feminism was not in vogue) 5) Gotch-Hackenschmidt certainly is a correct answer 6) Bam Bam vs Lawrence Taylor, which showed that a celebrity outside the business could definitely attract attention while not looking ridiculous 7) I can't think of one but there's got to ba a Lucha match in Mexico that made that country's wrestling business take off 8) It's not technically a match but the Stossel-Schultz confrontation led to eventually the full acceptance of the worked philosophy being acknowledged 9) The very first battle royal (Los Angelas in 1969?) . . . so many spinoffs today and over the years
i'd add the NJPW match where choshu turns heel on fujinami. choshu becoming a star changed the course of japanese wrestling in so many ways 1) the whole dynamic of gaijin vs japanese, introducing japanese vs japanese feuds which eventually leads to the japanese federations becoming more independent from their american partners and able to abandon the boring double DQ finishes (with the success of shoot-style contributing as well) 2) the wrestling style, putting over choshu's brawling style which he'll carry over to AJPW where jumbo and tenryu will assimilate it into their classic NWA style creating the signature king's road style of the 90s
From the vantage point of the UK, Hulk vs Andre was when the WWF became visible and we started buying Silvervision VHS’es and plastic toys. UK wrestling had become a bit naff at the point, and kids everywhere started to pay attention to a very sparkly product. I would guess this would be the same for Europe as well.
Well, Mr Meltzer wasn't wrong. He didn't have to be so condescending about it, or maybe he did? I generally only look at what wrestlers and promoters post on Twitter. If I want Meltzer's opinion I look at the Observer.
The most important wrestling match was Buddy Rogers vs. Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Because that's when the WWWF broke away from the NWA and thus creating later on the WWF.
IMO, some significant matches, whether in a negative or positive manner, include Hart/Michaels at Survivor Series, Sammartino/Ivan Koloff when Koloff won the title, Shikat/O’Mahoney when Shikat shot to win the title, and to a lesser extent, Jericho/Omega at WrestleKingdom in 2018. I used to own a set of Funk & Wagnalls encyclopedias in the 80’s. I’d you looked up the word “wrestling”, they had a picture of Koloff suspended in mid-air as he came off the top rope into Bruno.
There are many wrestling matches that were very important in a specific country but outside of that country no one really cares, if we talk about the most important historically. The two matches of Frank Gotch vs George Hackenschmidt are undoubtedly the most important. I know that after their rematch in 1911, Wrestling ended up losing popularity (because by WW1 people realized that wrestling became fake fights) but it is clear that this rematch made wrestling popular in the states to the point of spreading to other places. We can talk about how important El Santo vs Blue Demon Mask vs Mask was in Mexico, in Puerto Rico Carlos Colon vs The Destroyer, in Japan Rikidozan vs. Lou Thesz and Kimura vs. Rikidozan. ("The Sharps vs Kimura and Rikidozan" the match that our dear Dave mentions is not even the most relevant to the average Japanese of that time, it only serves as historical trivia) but none can really be considered the most important outside of the one who started it all. It's not to sound smark but I think that the majority of wrestling matches between the 20's and 30's that are vastly simple and boring are the most important from a historical point of view due to their importance in evolving the industry until its great years of the 80's and the end. from the 90's. tho we should not confuse something that has historical importance with something that is objectively good.
I think you have some trouble being able to differentiate between "Which match is your favorite?" and "Which match had the biggest impact on the professional wrestling business?". Flair vs Steamboat matches in 1989 led to the booker being fired and record low numbers, so yeah, very important...........................
@@handsolo1209 Can you post those ratings before and after. Cornette who has all the ratings said business went up in early 1990. What booker got fired?
@@rolltide9547 George Scott was the booker who was a little senile in 1989 and booked his 1978 NWA roster, like Iron Sheik. He was fired and that's when Flair became part of a booking team with Cornette and Sullivan. oswreview.com/history/tv-ratings-1989/
@@handsolo1209 numbers actually got better in the fall of 1989. I remember that Cornette said George did not advertise at all in 1989 especially the clash of champions in April.
For all the love 3 gets for its place in history lets assess this card logically from a historical perspective. The card itself was somewhat terrible. The Silverdome because it was huge seemed to lack atmosphere. The only really good match on it was Steamboat v Savage and I submit that Hogan Andre didn't bring you new or casual fans the way Mania 1 or 6 did . Sure it generated money but Andre was already well passed it and the proverbial passing of the torch to Hogan didn't seem to have the same effect if it would have been done by a young Andre.
Yeah, 93,000 fans crammed in to see Ricky Steamboat.........................and the 33,000,000 who tuned in to SNME in 1988 were just looking for that Savage vs Steamboat rematch.....................................I submit you are talking crap.
Somewhere down the list not top 10 or even top 20, necessarily, has to be the double-event of WCW's "Fingerpoke of Doom" vs. WWF giving the championship to Mankind. Started the snowball effect that led to the end of a huge promotion!
For me it's Andre v Hogan at 3 it popularized PPV and birthed the other big 3 shows and EVERY major PPV besides Starrcade; also as a fan of both WWF and NWA wrestling from the Crocketts I'd also put this match out there as important in terms of the value of titles: Ric Flair winning the WWF title at the '92 RR while never actually losing the Big Gold belt perception wise made the WWF title the most important title in wrestling imo, as a fan it became THE title after that...even Hogan become big in WCW didnt tarnish it, which is why Vince did the screwjob, he could not lose the added prestige of his title he gained since 92.
My opinion, Andre and Hogan. If I were to door to door down my street and ask people, They probably would say they remembered Andre and Hogan a lot more. So in my opinion thats game changing.
Before that in 1947 Sonny Myers defeated Orville Brown 73 years ago this month to become The World Heavyweight Champion. A Championship reign that The NWA mysteriously disregarded through the years. As a precursor to The Crockett Family's even more mysterious acquisition of NWA Central States decades later, St. Joseph, Missouri native Sonny Myers held The NWA Central States Championship on fourteen separate occasions and The Missouri Championship once.B.W.
Personally, I believe Lou Thesz creating a brand new Championship for Rikidozan to win in Japan (because the NWA forbid Thesz from bringing one of the belts he was holding overseas) was a crucial point in Puroresu's origins. Even to the Japanese public, Lou Thesz was considered "the undefeated Iron Man", a revered, highly influential legend and one of the absolute biggest names to ever lace up a pair of Wrestling boots. Thesz' defeat was more than just the proverbial passing of the torch. Thesz saw potential in Japanese Wrestling and helped solidify Rikidozan's credibility as a champion and local hero that the Japanese could rally behind. The very same approach one of Rikidozan's proteges would continue to harness in the decades to follow: Antonio Inoki.
Inoki certainly was more skilled with the media and gathering attention, but in terms of styles, Baba was way more in line with what Rikidozan did. The American Drama and the spectacles to matches, whereas Inoki wanted wrestling to be a legit martial art.
Judy Bagwell on a pole match...
Swerve, bro!
Greatest match in WCW history
Still think Dolph and Otis should have had a Mandy on a pole match
@@MichaelSmith-fq6hz - "That's 'GOOD SHIT,' pal!"
That was her on a forklift
Wrestling's most significant match is Street profits vs Andrade and Angel Garza.
Although I don't really know which one of the 756 was the most significant.
Actually it was street profits bowling vs Vikings that will be talked about for generations.
obviously the next one
@Wil Cee I loved that one too
Ohhh oh New Day Vs Usos
Gotch vs Hackenschmidt was huge. Hackenschmidt was a star in Germany (?) considered the world champion over there.
Rogers vs Sammartino was also huge. Rogers had had a heart attack just a short time before it but Vince Sr. coaxed him into doing a 48 sec bearhug job. This match single handedly launched the WWWF.
George Hackenshmidt was russian, a he was a world wide star, as well as super star in pre-revolution Russian Empire
He spent the majority of his career and life in the UK
@@bigfatcatbigfatcat7599 He was born in Russia, but is a Baltic German. You can’t have much more of a German name than Hackenschmidt
@@markabboud8564 What about Hitler?
The wrestling bubble lacks all perspective but especially historical: You think a shoot wrestling match must be considered...even though shoot wrestling was such an unsuccessful business, success came by making it fake? Then you overrate a match nobody outside the northeast even saw, that launched a promotion that already existed but just decided to have it's own champ? MTV, Mania I, Mr. T, Lauper, Mania II in multiple locations, Hogan/Orndorf in a stadium, and Hogan/Andre are all HISTORICALLY more significant than Bruno/Rogers
Then Hogan beating Sheik for the WWF title in 1984 was equally significant to the Japanese match because it launched the WWF's future dominance.
very good point also Hogan Andre was the deth blow to the territory's.
@@markleopard8960 ironically, it was the death blow to the Montreal/Quebec territory which Andre part owned.
Its funny how one natch changed so much.
No way, Hogan was already super over. If you had to pick a match it'd have to be either WM1 hogan-t-piper-orndorf or the War to settle the score
That seed and oak tree thing he did was actually brilliant LOL
Im so thrilled he answered my email & it got the honor of being a youtube clip all by itself. Here is my brief reaction to Last Saturdays Turning Point 2020. Sincerely hope you enjoy. ua-cam.com/video/1RFtEAak0A4/v-deo.html
Jim getting on metaphorical on them. The man has a way with words
Lol, he seemed to have surprised himself with that one
Please Mr. Cornette, do a podcast solely on this topic in the future. I'd love to know more about the origins of this sport. 🙂
Agreed. Cornettes rants are fun and all, but I find him most engaging when he talks about the history because his passion really comes out. A podcast of him just documenting the history of wrestling would be amazing.
How big is your Jimmy?
Kimura n Dozan also had a massive influence on MMA as well since they brought in Gotch and Robinson who trained Funaki and Suzuki who created the first mma org in Pancrase. Robinson also trained Sakuraba who was the first to sub a gjj/bjj blackbelt ever and was the first to defeat a Gracie family member in 48 years, and still to sub them
Well you forgot satoru Sayam the second tiger mask made shooto before pancarse
Frank Gotch vs George Hackenschmidt was huge and important.
The two MTV specials featuring Hogan/Piper and Moolah/Richter were significant in terms of mainstream exposure considering MTV was such a hot commodity at the time.
I agree .. I was 12 ...the Hogan Piper and Moolah Cyndi angles brought in a generation of new fans. This let to Mania 1 and if that hadn't been successful he never could have went nationally.
How do people in the wrestling business not take Jim Cornette's knowledge, insight and advice more seriously?
He does have some pretty old-school opinions on things, but most of the time you're right!
@@danieltrenkovski1629 But he can adapt those old school principles into modern wrestling and there have been proof in at least two different periods: OVW and Kane.
Cornette has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way throughout the years.
He says mean things
He doesn't like the Young bucks which is classed to be a sin among the internet wrestling community just like saying "Vince Russo wasn't that bad" or "TNA was pretty good"
If pockets wrestled kenny olivier it would be most significant in causing jim to have a heart attack.
Pockets and Kip had a match on dynamite today, worst botch fest I've ever seen, can't wait for Jim to watch it lol
Maybe from too much laughter and embarrassment.
@Nate Amstutz pockets IS Orange Cassidy, that's what I said. Pockets and kip. And it was a botch fest, they were missing things like crazy and kept switching camera angles to hide it
the question was a "Wrestling significant event" not dancing with the the wannabe stars
@Nate Amstutz huh? What u on about , they did have a match, pockets is orange, can I have what u are smoking
Sting, Lex Luger, and Macho Man vs the Outsiders at the 1996 Bash at the Beach and Bret Hart vs HBK at the 1997 Survivor Series was both significant for the industry and both produced far-reaching effects in the industry.
Sting vs Flair first Clash
I'd been focusing too much on WWFE. Yes Hogan's heel turn, Goldberg winning it all, and Hogan/Nash and Mankind/Rock for a somewhat negative example are right up there with the most historical matches of all time.
Hogan Nash?
@@rolltide9547 Hogan/Nash. Aka the Fingerpoke of Doom where between that and WCW sending half a million viewers to WWF for Mankind winning the title from The Rock was the nail in the coffin for the company. Any changes to Nitro's night might have made a difference. Unfortunately for them it was just a perfect storm of bad business.
@@rolltide9547 lol bama vs georgia state
Steamboat vs Savage - Wrestlemania 3
Hogan beats the Iron Sheik for the WWF title, Hulkamania era begins
Flair beats Race for the NWA Title - Starrcade ' 83
ECW Mass Transit Incident
Kerry Von Erich beats Flair for NWA Title - '84 David Von Erich Memorial
I posted about Hogan/Sheik, too.
John Cena versus Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio versus Eddie Guerrero
Mass Transit is underated, because the reason it is historical is bad, but it sure is signifigant. The resulting lawsuit literally set precedents on all sorts of wrestling related things in the legal system.
@@seanceystephens6512 Which match out of the 3,000 they’ve had?
my 2 cents, Hogan vs Andre was more influential when it comes to a, help-wrestling-blow-up viewpoint. That's what brought wrestling to the spotlight, that's what brought wrestling to Europe (Greece at least). Everyone would watch the "catch wrestling giants" every saturday on television, and the only reason that was on television in the first place, was Hulkamania and Hogan vs Andre. So yeah if that was the case in other countries as well, that's what made the WWF/E the giant it is today
Hogan v Andre also created the new industry, they made modern ppv viable and also birthed Summerslam, the Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble too, and it's the blueprint for all modern day mega cards in front of big crowds, which as you said spread to the UK with big events like SSlam 92.
Facts Alex, what does you're avatar mean ?
@@Kedallroysucession it's a greek football (soccer) team, Athlitiki Enosi Konstantinoupolis or A.E.K.
@@AlexPat998 AEK good team, I remember when Greece won the euros man, good times. How's you're country doing now since the huge recession, you had a good few years back when u got the bailout fund, hope Greece is doing well, man. Take care.
@@Kedallroysucession well actually we're still in recession, we never really recovered from it and coronavirus just made it worse, but to be honest we've learned to live with not having a whole lot of money, thanks man you take care as well
I could listen to Jim cornette talk about the history of wrestling for the rest of my life and never get bored of it.
All the Norman Smi-lay wcw hardcore matches
Barry Horowitz's first win 🙊🙉🙈
the mulkeys
I'm really glad that Jim mentioned the "country-centric" element of the question, because as someone outside the US, who was only really exposed to PW from the early 80s, my viewpoint on who's the best, what the most significant moments are etc is of course entirely based on the context of my exposure.
What matches mean a lot to you?
@@marshallmcluhan33 There's plenty of matches that I know aren't significant, or even "good" in terms of the matches themselves, but because I remember how they made me feel as a kid when my favourite guy/team came through. That's different to significant of course, and I think Jim & Brian underestimate the significance of Hogan/Andre on a worldwide scale, because of course they come at it from their perspective. WM3 was the spark that ignited PW around the world, and took it from either a complete unknown, or a small thing in particular countries to something that everyone around the world suddenly knew about. That's pretty significant I reckon.
@@Jon.S Are there any matches that mean more to people where you live that most people outside where you might not know? I’m genuinely interested it in those type of matches.
Hogan was obscenely over in Japan as well before then. That match with Andre was definitely a world wide event
Hogan was insanely over in the UK too. That's 3 continents down. Just need an African, Australasian and Antarctic commenter now lol.
In Japan, that was way before his standard refuse to sell matches we got in the US
Brian's Maeda and Choshu match is a good pick. That would lead to the creation of the UWF, essentially worked MMA and it got huge. The UWF split leading to UWF-i, Pancrase and RINGS. The former would lead into PRIDE FC. Ken Shamrock was trained by these guys and helped put UFC on the map. UWF-i even got international PPV which I don't think Japanese promotions were doing at the time.
George Hackenschidt vs Tom Jenkins (1904)
Frank Gotch vs George Hackenschmidt (1908)
Gotch vs Hackenschidt II (1911)
Ed Strangler vs Joe Stretcher (1920)
Lou Thesz vs Baron (1952)
Thesz vs Verne Gagne (1952)
Rikidozan vs Thesz (1957)
Buddy Rogers vs Pat Connor (1961)
Buddy Rogers vs Bobo Brazil
Bruno Sammartino vs Rogers (1963)
Rogers vs Thesz (63)
Rikidozan vs Destroyer (63)
Bruno vs Graham (1977)
Gagne vs Bockwinkle (1981)
Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask (81)
Bockwinkle vs Hoan (82)
Muraco vs Snuka (83)
Flair vs Harley Race (83)
Bret Hart, Davey Boy Smith and Sonny Two Rivers v Bad News Allen, The Stomper & Jeff Gouldie (83)
Hogan vs Sheik (1984)
Hogan & Mr. T vs Piper & Orndoff (1984)
Flair vs Rhodes II (1985)
Hogan vs Andre (1987)
Steamboat vs Macho (87)
Hogan vs Andre II (1988)
Flair vs Sting (1988)
Flair vs Steamboat (1989)
Warrior vs Savage (1991)
Ron Simmons vs Vader (1992)
HBK vs Razor (1994)
2 Cold Scorpio vs Shane Douglas (1994)
Austin vs Roberts (1996)
Outsiders (Hogan) vs Savage, Sting, Luger (1996)
Austin vs Bret (1997)
Hart vs HBK (1997)
Sting vs Hogan (1997)
Austin vs HBK (1998)
Mankind vs Taker (1998)
Hardy's vs E&C vs Dudleys (2000)
Austin vs Rock (2001)
Rock vs Hogan (2002)
AJ vs Daniels vs Joe (2005)
HBK vs Taker (2009)
Punk vs Cena (2011)
Rock vs Cena (2012)
Daniel Bryan vs HHH/Daniel Bryan vs Orton vs Batista (2014)
Dragunov vs Walter (2020)
Roman vs Cody (2024)
Ding Dongs vs George South and Cougar Jay at CotC VII in June '89.
Jim Hated The Pizza Man& especially this particular idea😆🤣😂 That's a miss on your part commenting that on a Jim Cornette upload
@@thunderorblunder Are you kidding? That was the most revolutionary tag team until the Bucks came around. 7 star match!
Taker vs Mankind HIAC. For as long as wrestling is a thing, that moment will live in infamy. The match itself is actually pretty good considering how badly hurt Mick was after the two bumps.
And taker having a broken foot going in
It certainly influenced a bunch of marks to take stupid bumps every show.
YEEEESSSS!!! THANK YOU!!! this is the most important match in wrestling history because of the reputation
It's a crazy bump that indirectly lead to the death of Owen Hart. Think about it.
Yea was freakin' sweet I remember the bumps in the match and didn't realize as I was just young the significance of the match and how injured they both were, to continue to keep going with teeth through you're lip and a broken foot going in, concussions etc, just shows how much both guys loved the business. Props to both taker and makind, really vivid good memories watching on ppv when I was supposed to be studying my homework as a teenager.
The Shockmaster debut was the most important thing in wrestling history 😏.
Nah The Yeti bear hugging was.
@@thedude2897 Here comes the YETAY
wcw was so cheesy at that time
Undertaker vs Mankind Hell in a Cell is the match that's lasted the test of time. Non wrestling sources like ESPN tweet about it every year on it's anniversary.
What's funny about it is that it wasn't even that great of a match, it's mainly remembered because of the bumps Foley took from/through the cage.
@@sgtraytango great matches are rarely the most important. Hogan vs Andre was a rotten match but still one of the most influential.
@@rickytpb2164 Really? I thoroughly enjoyed Hogan/Andre and found nothing pleasing about Taker/Foley.
@Tiger pierson Nobody thought any such thing, Dumbo.
Thanks Rick , you got any smokes? Pepperoni ? Rock on
We all know the most significant match is with Melina and Alicia Fox.
That moment inspired Omega into going to Japan to wrestle blow up dolls.
Is that a Cameron in Tough Enough reference?
@@ac8274 Yes, it is. Lol
Alicia Fox has the best northern lights suplex in the biz.
@@ThatDoesntWorkForMeBrother well played, sir.
Bruno vs.Zybysko most heat ever. Great matches too.
Outsiders vs Sting/Savage is up there for a more modern example for changing the industry when wrestling had become this Saturday morning cartoon.
You forgot that Lex Luger and 3rd man both where in this match
TLC Edge Christian vs the Dudley's vs The Hardy boys at maina x17 when Edge speared Jeff off that belt oh damn!
As far as wwe audience sure. Ecw had been doing that for a while.
@@durden2480 no i know that lol but to see it to that level in WWE in 2000, and not have anyone try to actually murder someone was impressive
AX vs SMASH #1 and #2 in the Royal Rumble. Most EPIC 2 minutes in my youth minus my first 2 minutes with first girlfriend 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@jeffmac9642 nothing wrong with lasting 2 mins, lol most human males only last any where from 2-7 mins, unless a dude is trained and a porn star or Sting, a male could last 30 mins, but even porn stars have trouble lasting that long , watched a doc back in the early 2000 called porno valley a look behind the scenes of porn, on showcase canada, was interesting
@@spookerredmenace3950 LOL !!! Ahhhhh youth . She wanted doggy and I was a kid. I saw her bare arse and that was about it for me . How goes it anyways? I hardly watch wrestling but I see Thunder rosa in AEW 👍. I'm still chilling in the pandemic as a pizza delivery guy and not driving tractor trailer. I'm probably get a few more chances to bicycle 🚲 at the falls before it gets too cold. Then I'm doing the DREADED cabbage soup diet for a week. The plan is to be totally LEX LUGER when the pandemic is over. (Or as close as I can get 🤣) . Its ridiculous smelling pepperoni in my car during a diet. At least I can be around people a bit during lockdown. Did you watch the inner circle in Vegas ? Cornette is going to go nuts on that one . Well I'm out , time to sell the pizza 🍕 🚗
Also the Montreal Screwjob had a tremendous amount of historical impact
This was long before Junior started Vinnie land.
Yakuza reportedly owned Rikidozan and his success was contributed a lot to that.
@@butchfletcher5694 Calling a 70+ year old man junior to show you have some kind of insider knowledge, is really pretentious dude.
Yes, it was recreated multiple times (WCW, TNA), so you know it had an impact even in wrestling circles.
Ric Flair - Harley Race Starrcade 83'
The lead up and build up to the match was great. The match itself sucked between Gene Kaniski being a goof and Harley looking out of shape.
Wholeheartedly agree! Kiniski looked like a bumbling fool. The ref bump took away from the finish. Race was always out of shape but could go when he had to. The textbook example of not judging a book by it’s cover.
@@earlostrohs3543 race looked like that for 10 years
The most significant event / matches ever is. - STARCADE 1983 -
The event popualized closed circuit TV which lead to PPV ,
It was the inspiration for future Wrestlmania's
It is where Vince saw Piper and he decided to sign him a few months after this - Piper became arguably the industries biggest heel ever
The event turned Jim Crockett promotions into a National based company which lead to WCW which lead to the Monday night wars 15 years later
Eddie and Art vs Hijo del Santo and Octagon was an important match for mexican wrestling in USA.
That was most Important for AAA it really carried that PPV and it was really the first exposure of Mexican wrestling to a lot Americans
One of the worst days in American professional wrestling history. Mexican wrestling should have stayed in Mexico. The style has now destroyed modern professional wrestling.
@@AJ-xv7oh I disagree. Yes modern Lucha style is quite frankly garbage but the Luchadors back in the day were more well rounded. Many of them had wrestled in Japan as well as towns along the Mexico/US border. They were able to incorporate all 3 styles into their repertoire. This is why Penta and Fenix aren't that great. They only know the Lucha style. Without a territory system and with increased media exposure they have had to try and Learn the other styles in front of the camera.
Also, back when guys like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Psicosis Juventud Guerrera burst onto the scene Lucha was fresh and new to US/Canadian fans. Now everyone does it. Penta and Fenix don't stand out and they aren't that good. I think some of it is because they don't seem to want to learn any other style than Lucha Libre and it's hurting them. You could put any combination of four names I mentioned above in the ring and they could have a great match in their sleep. Penta and Fenix must have had hundreds of matches with each other yet can't seem to get through a match without botching moves or hurting one and other or both.
The matches between dynamite Kid and tiger mask were influential
It wasn't a sanctioned match ...more an exhibition but I wonder how many of us got their first exposure via ....Thunderlips the Ultimate Male vs the Italian Stallion ...the ultimate meatball
The Sharps?. I’ve never even heard of them. Is he talking about “Iron Mike Sharpe” 🤣?.
Iron Mike Sharpe was the son of one of these brothers.
Okay, I still never heard of this match before and I’ve been watching wrestling since 1972.
TrappenWeisseGuy ; I thought he was talking about Shannon Sharpe and his brother Sterling lol
@@trappenweisseguy27 They both retired in the 60s. And I think they were mainly California stars in the USA.
@@trappenweisseguy27 Well its one of those things that, if you don't follow historic early TV bouts, or Japanese wrestling, you would never know it, but it did essentially make wrestling viable in Japan, so it is a big deal to the history of the business. But it's totally a history buff's kind of match, more than a fan's match, unless you happen to be Japanese.
How about the Japanese matches Hogan has had almost could not tell it was him until I seen his trademark bald spot
Has to be a tie between the tournament final Buddy Rogers won in Rio for the WWWF title and the tournament final Pat Patterson won in Rio for the IC title. Classic matches. Watch them every night.
clever.
The very first tag team match. Whatever it was, whenever, good luck. But it started basically a whole "genre" of wrestling.
1920s I think
Dave overstates the cultural influence of Rikidozan in Japan. Was he the biggest wrestling star there? Yes! But Dave likes to say that Rikidozan is as well known in Japan as JFK in the US and that's just false.
I have two sister in laws from Japan(my brothers met them while stationed in Japan in the 90s) and neither of them nor their parents knew who Rikidozan was outside of "Wasnt he a wrestler or something?" When I asked them. If he was this JFK like figure they surely would've knew more about him then that. And yes I concede this is a small sample and perhaps my brothers wives and inlaws are outliers but I find that pretty farfetched.
El Santo at least inspired a whole generation of mexican wrestlers and trascended into movies, a cartoon and a clothing brand.
More important than Inoki.
most people know the names hogan and andre. most don't even know wrestling exists in japan let alone watch it. its very niche
@@marcostacey9726 Those are the kind who would watch Hogan vs Andre and claim it was better than Flair Steamboat or Austin vs Bret Hart.
As to El Santo he even made a cameo appearance of sorts when The Assassin renewed his acquaintance with Dusty Rhodes in Florida in 1981. The masked Jody Hamilton (as The Assassin) pretended to be El Santo all so he could attack Rhodes with a commemorative plaque. What made this even more surreal was that in 1980, only months before, Assassins Jody Hamilton and Tom Renesto, Ivan Koloff, Gene Anderson, and Ole Anderson quintuple teamed Rhodes in Ole's legendary heel turn in The Omni! And the same guy was present for both events as to be expected on the mic. Gordon Solie.B.W.
Ron Simmons winning the title was amazing and historically significant.
Good point...unfortunately though it didn't have the larger overall cultural significance it should have.
Too bad he was a generic babyface at the time. If the APA Faarooq character had existed, he wouldn't have been in midcard matches as WCW champion. It would have been awesome. But he got the belt years before he found the right fit character-wise.
He was all American and the athlete packed and great. But his attitude and intimidation of doom have his hard hitting style an ass whoopin stamp of approval. It happens to the best of talents. Glad as a fan we can appreciate and respect the wrestlers for their craft and hard work in the squared circle.
Yeah, it made him a worldwide celebrity bigger than Ali................................
As mig an event as it was, they could have done more with it.
Undertaker/Foley in the cell was another one. Austin vs Bret at Wrestlemania 13 after that brought really sky rocketed Steve Austin to the top and the Attitude Era grew from there.
The top of the list has to be Hulk VS Andre. The match quality is clearly low, but as far as a cultural event goes nothing NOTHING comes close.
It was one of the biggest angles of all-time but that's all it was. It didn't create anything nor did it lead to anything after the feud ended at Summerslam 88.
@@jeffreyriley8742 It put WWF on the worldwide mainstream map, so it's ridiculous to say " It didn't create anything nor did it lead to anything after the feud ended at Summerslam 88." It lead to more PPV events and WWF merchandise appearing in countries all around the world.
@@jeffreyriley8742 it did create something. It paved the way for the wwf/wwe to become I billion dollar industry. Without this match its hard to say whether or not wrestling becomes as big as it has become.
@@NotMyName78 Okay. Good opinion.
Savage vs Steamboat WM 3. Flair vs Steamboat. Ron Simmons vs Vader, Foley vs Vader, Taker vs HBK at 25 and 26, set the bar for great story telling and a perfect match.
This is like saying the two-part Batman / Green Hornet crossover from the 60s was bigger than The Dark Knight because it paved the way for superhero crossovers.
Just me...
Hogan/Andre would be the bigger match, the more important and significant match. You could also argue from a purely wrestling and showmanship standpoint that Savage/Steamboat was even more important.
To take the question further you could look to Snuka/Muraco in the Steel Cage, Hart/Michaels Iron Man, Hart/Austin I Quit, Undertaker/Mankind Hell in a Cell, Hardys/Edge and Christian Ladder Match, the Cactus/Triple H Street Fight, Austin/Rock at Wrestlemania, or the 2004 Rumble, as the eight most important, career making business changing matches.
As someone who is currently more into Puroresu then american pro wrestling, this comparision is flawed on so many levels. Hogan vs. Andre was important for the international market of Wrestling. Here in germany, Wrestling was mostly unknown before the late 80s, before WWF started to show their shows over here on TV and then they did European tours. The Slam from Hogan really was the Slam that was heard throughout the World.
You could also make other claims for important wrestling matches throughout history, like Flair vs. Race at Starccade, Austin vs. Rock at Wrestlemania X-7 or even Sammartino and Koloff in MSG in 71. The Sharps vs. Kimura and Rikidozan is only one of those, but not the most important.
After all who in America even knew about what was going on in Japan back then on terms of wresting.
@@thekidfromiowa Historical significance, the vast majority of historical significances don't involve America, in anything
@@stueymorris In the past 300 years it has.
@@stueymorris Nor Canada nor Australia nor other major former colonies.
Hogan slammed andre the giant before wrestlemania 3
Austin v. Hart at WrestleMania 13...
Bret Hart vs Austin is one of the most significant matches of all time besides being one of the greatest
Y’all should do a limited edition magazine . And count down most influential matches . With very good pictures if u could fine them
hart v Bulldog Summerslam 92. Reinvented wrestling in the UK
One of the best matches in WWF history easily. They filled Wembley to the rim. Those were the days.
Lodi vs Stevie Ray on Thunder. Match of the Century. Changed the wrestling business forever.
Even if Uncle Dave is full of shit the last few years, I'll agree on him on this one, and for a good reason: Hogan vs Andre at WM 3 is not even the biggest fight between them, it was the rematch at NBC, The Main Event, which had 33 million viewers (33 MILLION!!!!). You know, the ref switch and Andre giving the title to The Million Dollar Man. That should be the match you compare to the Rikidozan/Kimura vs Sharpe, and I'll still give it to the latter because I'm sure ALL OF JAPAN glued to their TV sets for that match alone, creating an industry there.
I love it when my two dads, Meltzer and Cornette, get along
Great insight! Stone Cold vs Hitman Hart was a big deal.
TBH, if I was going to put an 80's WWF match on this list, I think I'd go with Hogan Vs. The Iron Sheik as that was the match that really kicked off Vince's program of going national.
Hulk Hogan-Harry Valdez-1979....(LOL)...
I think this thumbnail is Travis’s masterpiece. Fantastic!!!!
Sting v Flair at Clash of Champions ...Crockett goes head to head against mania 4 ....vince puts first Survivor Series against Starrcade and the PPV era wars are on the way .
Rock v Hogan was feakin sweet, Stone Cold v Bret Hart and Taker v Makind, as I'm only 36 these are the ones that stick out in my mind, I've watched macho man v steamboat , hogan v Andre on video when I was a kid and watched a few years ago, my ex fiancée, stupid woman threw them in the bin, not realising how significant they were and how dear I cherished them, got the dvds but wasn't the same .
Nothing Hogan did was legendary! Hogan/Andre was nothing except for Andre’s last big payday! I loved Andre!!! He was number 1 Hogan and Vince ain’t nothing to me except rich assholes
Hogan vs. Andre at WM3. Opened the floodgates to $$$$$ and cemented WWF in the mainstream for good.
@Ze TheGame and Hogan & Andre were bigger stars in Japan that 99% of any wrestlers who ever worked there.
The nWo angle was inspired from Japan. So no Sharpes vs Kimura and Rikidozan, no nWo
True
HHH vs. Katie Vick "Inside A Casket" Match.
Or...
Rich Swann vs. Vannarah Riggs in their falls count anywhere match. It was so real to the cops dammit.
@Tiger pierson ah yes, good ol' Suseh.
The first Greco-Roman match ever at the first Olympics (non-modern era).
the original olympics. and “greco-roman” wrestling, didnt overlap. that actually the modern olympics. the ancient greeks did not wrestle “greco-roman” rules. some guy in 19th century came up with those rules.
Maybe this is dumb but what, the Montreal Screwjob isn’t even a part of this conversation?
Good point it changed the face of both companies and may have indirectly caused WCW demise.
True, but it's another case of signifigant for the wrong reasons and so people don't think about it. It is the catalyst of WWE lifting the veil officially on kayfabe, effected the two biggest wrestling companies in history right before they hit their peak(partly due to the screwjob) and spawned Mr. McMahon as a villain character, causing the highest grossing feud in history with him and Austin. It absolutely belongs in the conversation.
Intriguing Question and worth some thinking . . . but the last 5 years is too soon to include
1) Moolah Winning the Battle Royal for her first world title, kicking off both the ludicrous length of her title reign as well as giving the most power hungry woman in wrestling history her platform
2) Blassie-Rikidozan (that's the answer to what was discussed in the segment)
3) War At The Shore - the introduction of the Rock and Wrestling era, which still carries on today and you could include the Richter win over Moolah as part of that
4) The Crush Girls vs Dump Matsumoto crew to show women's wrestling could draw all by itself (and in a country where feminism was not in vogue)
5) Gotch-Hackenschmidt certainly is a correct answer
6) Bam Bam vs Lawrence Taylor, which showed that a celebrity outside the business could definitely attract attention while not looking ridiculous
7) I can't think of one but there's got to ba a Lucha match in Mexico that made that country's wrestling business take off
8) It's not technically a match but the Stossel-Schultz confrontation led to eventually the full acceptance of the worked philosophy being acknowledged
9) The very first battle royal (Los Angelas in 1969?) . . . so many spinoffs today and over the years
i'd add the NJPW match where choshu turns heel on fujinami. choshu becoming a star changed the course of japanese wrestling in so many ways
1) the whole dynamic of gaijin vs japanese, introducing japanese vs japanese feuds which eventually leads to the japanese federations becoming more independent from their american partners and able to abandon the boring double DQ finishes (with the success of shoot-style contributing as well)
2) the wrestling style, putting over choshu's brawling style which he'll carry over to AJPW where jumbo and tenryu will assimilate it into their classic NWA style creating the signature king's road style of the 90s
From the vantage point of the UK, Hulk vs Andre was when the WWF became visible and we started buying Silvervision VHS’es and plastic toys. UK wrestling had become a bit naff at the point, and kids everywhere started to pay attention to a very sparkly product.
I would guess this would be the same for Europe as well.
I really liked Brian's argument. Great segment!
Well, Mr Meltzer wasn't wrong. He didn't have to be so condescending about it, or maybe he did? I generally only look at what wrestlers and promoters post on Twitter. If I want Meltzer's opinion I look at the Observer.
Andre vs. Hogan was absolute shit, but it was also immensely important.
If it happened in Japan, Meltzer automatically thinks its more important than any American wrestling moment.
Hogan/Andre was nothing
The most important wrestling match was Buddy Rogers vs. Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Because that's when the WWWF broke away from the NWA and thus creating later on the WWF.
To the growth of WWE going forward at that point, Bruno vs Rogers was way more important.
Best Part is Jim going “what?”
The Road Warriors vs. Bill and Randy Mulkey 1986. All 20 seconds of the match.
Iv watched wrestling for 30 years and I never heard of the other match 😂
Joe Turco vs. Vincente Pomenti
Nice video
ok this artwork and the DX artwork are my favorites.
haven't even listen to this yet but that artwork is fantastic.
I try to wait for the full podcast, but the art work sucks me into the clips
Meltzer, Jim, two wives, and a hot tub. Let's have a treaty!
Sting vs Flair at Clash of the Champions 88 and the Great American Bash of 90.
IMO, some significant matches, whether in a negative or positive manner, include Hart/Michaels at Survivor Series, Sammartino/Ivan Koloff when Koloff won the title, Shikat/O’Mahoney when Shikat shot to win the title, and to a lesser extent, Jericho/Omega at WrestleKingdom in 2018. I used to own a set of Funk & Wagnalls encyclopedias in the 80’s. I’d you looked up the word “wrestling”, they had a picture of Koloff suspended in mid-air as he came off the top rope into Bruno.
Orange Cassidy vs the short bald guy from dork order
There are many wrestling matches that were very important in a specific country but outside of that country no one really cares, if we talk about the most important historically. The two matches of Frank Gotch vs George Hackenschmidt are undoubtedly the most important.
I know that after their rematch in 1911, Wrestling ended up losing popularity (because by WW1 people realized that wrestling became fake fights) but it is clear that this rematch made wrestling popular in the states to the point of spreading to other places.
We can talk about how important El Santo vs Blue Demon Mask vs Mask was in Mexico, in Puerto Rico Carlos Colon vs The Destroyer, in Japan Rikidozan vs. Lou Thesz and Kimura vs. Rikidozan. ("The Sharps vs Kimura and Rikidozan" the match that our dear Dave mentions is not even the most relevant to the average Japanese of that time, it only serves as historical trivia)
but none can really be considered the most important outside of the one who started it all.
It's not to sound smark but I think that the majority of wrestling matches between the 20's and 30's that are vastly simple and boring are the most important from a historical point of view due to their importance in evolving the industry until its great years of the 80's and the end. from the 90's.
tho we should not confuse something that has historical importance with something that is objectively good.
Flair vs Steamboat any 3 in 89
Flair vs Funk I quit help move toward an ECW hardcore style.
I think you have some trouble being able to differentiate between "Which match is your favorite?" and "Which match had the biggest impact on the professional wrestling business?". Flair vs Steamboat matches in 1989 led to the booker being fired and record low numbers, so yeah, very important...........................
@@handsolo1209 Can you post those ratings before and after. Cornette who has all the ratings said business went up in early 1990. What booker got fired?
@@rolltide9547 George Scott was the booker who was a little senile in 1989 and booked his 1978 NWA roster, like Iron Sheik. He was fired and that's when Flair became part of a booking team with Cornette and Sullivan.
oswreview.com/history/tv-ratings-1989/
@@handsolo1209 numbers actually got better in the fall of 1989. I remember that Cornette said George did not advertise at all in 1989 especially the clash of champions in April.
@@rolltide9547 Yes, they got better when Scott was fired and Steamboat had left. Funk & Muta vs Flair & Sting brought the viewers back.
If it's historically significant why doesn't Meltzer mention Shiek vs Hogan? Also Hart vs Austin
Call 📞 📲 🤙 ☎️ when Corny reviews the inner circle in Vegas.
For all the love 3 gets for its place in history lets assess this card logically from a historical perspective. The card itself was somewhat terrible. The Silverdome because it was huge seemed to lack atmosphere. The only really good match on it was Steamboat v Savage and I submit that Hogan Andre didn't bring you new or casual fans the way Mania 1 or 6 did . Sure it generated money but Andre was already well passed it and the proverbial passing of the torch to Hogan didn't seem to have the same effect if it would have been done by a young Andre.
Yeah, 93,000 fans crammed in to see Ricky Steamboat.........................and the 33,000,000 who tuned in to SNME in 1988 were just looking for that Savage vs Steamboat rematch.....................................I submit you are talking crap.
i agree, WM3 was a huge success but there are other WM (1 and 14) which were way more important in changing the history of WWE
I was going with Don Valentine vs. Chris Champion
The fingerpoke of Doom. Mainly because it happened the very same night as "that'll put butts in seats".
6 man tag that creating the nWo, Bash at the Beach '96
Most important match ever ? Moondogs vs Brookly Brawler and Adrian Adonis.
Somewhere down the list not top 10 or even top 20, necessarily, has to be the double-event of WCW's "Fingerpoke of Doom" vs. WWF giving the championship to Mankind. Started the snowball effect that led to the end of a huge promotion!
For me it's Andre v Hogan at 3 it popularized PPV and birthed the other big 3 shows and EVERY major PPV besides Starrcade; also as a fan of both WWF and NWA wrestling from the Crocketts I'd also put this match out there as important in terms of the value of titles: Ric Flair winning the WWF title at the '92 RR while never actually losing the Big Gold belt perception wise made the WWF title the most important title in wrestling imo, as a fan it became THE title after that...even Hogan become big in WCW didnt tarnish it, which is why Vince did the screwjob, he could not lose the added prestige of his title he gained since 92.
My opinion, Andre and Hogan. If I were to door to door down my street and ask people, They probably would say they remembered Andre and Hogan a lot more. So in my opinion thats game changing.
1948 Orville Brown beat Sonny Myers for the 1st NWA world's championship.
Before that in 1947 Sonny Myers defeated Orville Brown 73 years ago this month to become The World Heavyweight Champion. A Championship reign that The NWA mysteriously disregarded through the years. As a precursor to The Crockett Family's even more mysterious acquisition of NWA Central States decades later, St. Joseph, Missouri native Sonny Myers held The NWA Central States Championship on fourteen separate occasions and The Missouri Championship once.B.W.
Jim looks like Freddie Mercury with specs in this artwork 🤣