The 411 Wrestling Top 5 10.24.12: Week 192 – Top 5 Best Gimmick Matches

Jack Stevenson
5. Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer in a Steel Cage Match, ROH Supercard of Honor II – If this match took place on a bigger stage than ROH’s second Supercard of Honor event, people would still talk about it to this day. Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer’s rivalry, it’s seeds sewn in 2004 and finally growing through 2006 before coming to full fruition in 2007, is one of the finest pieces of storytelling an independent promotion not named ‘Chikara’ has ever been able to pull off, and it all culminated in a bloody, intense, utterly enthralling Cage match. The crowd was electric, the hatred was palpable, and the violence built in a logical, well-designed manner to a truly breathtaking finale. This might be the most controversial pick on my list, especially since it bumps many other very notable encounters, but this bout had me on the edge of my seat for a larger proportion of the match than most matches I’ve seen in the past decade, and has the additional benefit of being a spectacular revival of the concept of the steel cage as the ultimate structure to decide the most diabolical of grudges. Just a really good example of what I look for in the pro wrestling.

4. Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon in a Street Fight, Wrestlemania XIX – If I could pick one match to take with me to a desert island, it would be this. I could watch in ten zillion times in a row and not get bored. There isn’t a single facet of this street fight that isn’t utterly demented and wildly entertaining, from their ‘so bad it’s good’ attempts at technical wrestling in the beginning to Hugo Savinovich taking a beating to Vince McMahon spilling buckets of blood and plunging off the top of a ladder through the Spanish Announce table for no good reason other than ‘he’s Vince McMahon’ to the infamous ‘heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrre’s Vince!’ visual to Roddy Piper’s cameo appearance, this whole match is zany, goofy, over the top fun, and a perfect example of just how to subvert the street fight genre into a feel good, soap opera spectacle without going too far into comedic territory. This is also a really good example of what I look for in wrestling.

3. Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine in a Dog Collar Match, Starrcade 1983 – This is the polar opposite from the last match. It’s dark and violent and dripping in blood, and those qualities help burn it permanently into your brain. Piper and Valentine used the dog collar in an impressive array of uncomfortable ways; it genuinely felt like the two mortal enemies simply could not escape each other, and thus had to use their dog collar to try and maim each other until one couldn’t find any more. Valentine tried to ram Piper’s ear inside his own skull, Piper tried to whip the skin of Valentine’s body, and the match finished, albeit anti-climacticly, when one of the wrestlers simply couldn’t move anymore. You don’t feel wholly clean after watching this match, but you know the darkest recesses of your human mind are immensely satisfied.

2. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon in a Ladder Match, Summerslam 1995 – Some prefer their Wrestlemania X classic, and I won’t argue with them, but this for me is the stronger of the two, and the closest anyone will come to performing the truly perfect Ladder match. They don’t go all-out with crazy stunts from the get go, preferring to build the tension with aggressive in ring action, but when they do start to dice with death it’s truly spectacular. Michaels catches his leg on the guardrail in genuinely nasty fashion early in the match, triggering a compelling yet simple story based on Ramon working over the leg of HBK. It adds an extra layer of excitement as the match enters the finishing stretch, with Shawn taking a truly thrilling, ahead of it’s time flight from the top of the ladder. Sadly, the finish, the one flaw in the otherwise flawless execution of the match, tarnishes the bout somewhat, but it’s still a terrific match and possibly the only worthwhile thing to come out of WWF in 1995.

1. Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match, Clash of the Champions VI – OK, a 2 out of 3 falls match isn’t the most enticing of stipulations, but Steamboat-Flair is the most enticing of matches. This is as perfect a match as you will ever find, a near hour long epic than leaves you utterly drained but wonderfully contented when it’s finished. You really feel, as these two in ring equals slowly wear each other down, piece by piece, that the two out of three falls isn’t just conducive to a great match, it’s completely necessary to finding a true winner, because both these guys are too good to truly claim to be the better man after just one pinfall. Not only are these two a perfect match physically, they also contrast brilliantly mentally though, with Steamboat the squeaky clean family man and Flair the hard-living son of a gun, but both as passionate as anyone about professional wrestling. Anyway, it’s a fucking brilliant match, more so than I can aptly describe, so I’ll wrap up by demanding you dig this out your DVD collection and watch it post-haste.

Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat – 2 Out Of 3 Falls… by rohfan13

MICHAEL WEYER
HM: Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon, Ladder match, Wrestlemania X: The match that changed so much for WWF in the ’90’s as the two took bumps never seen on the national stage and elevated themselves in a war that set the standard for every ladder match that followed.
HM: Undertaker vs Mankind, Hell in the Cell: The most famous of all HITC matches as the two went at it with Foley taking two of the most stunning falls ever seen and Taker keeping up with him in a stunningly violent battle.

5. Roddy Piper vs Greg Valentine, Dog Collar match, Starrcade ’83: The dog collar is a concept that should really be brought back today. Two guys chained together at the neck, the chain long enough to be used as a weapon but insuring neither guy can get far from the other. The result here was a bloody battle that puts most ECW bouts to shame. Valentine and Piper hated each other and that came off in spades as they used the chain to smash each other, both bloody messes, Valentine targeting Piper’s poor ear, choking him with the chain and Piper responding in kind by nearly scalping Valentine with it. It finally came to Piper getting the pin after whipping Valentine to a bloody pulp and end a match that still blows you away for its sheer brutality today.

4. Magnum T.A. vs Tully Blanchard, I Quit match for the U.S. title, Starrcade ’85: I’m of the camp that if it wasn’t for his car accident, Magnum T.A. would have been the Hogan of WCW. The guy was amazing in the ring, awesome on the mic and had the fans backing him fully. He’d been rising as a star for a while but this is where he achieved his greatest glory as he and Blanchard capped off their feud for the U.S. belt in a steel cage match where the loser had to say “I quit.” There have been matches like it before and since but few this utterly brutal as these two just beat the living hell out of each other, slamming into the cage, using weapons and more, neither wanting to let out those words. Finally, Magnum used a jagged piece of wood to nearly stab Blanchard’s head open, Tully screaming “I QUIT!” into the mic as Magnum finally let him up. Beautiful to watch and a shame Magnum’s career never rose as high as it should have.

3. 1992 Royal Rumble: The Rumble is one of my favorite matches of the year. It’s always been fun, the idea of a battle royal with new guys coming in every couple of minutes and thus the longer you go, the harder it is. Picking one as the best is tough but 1992 remains a highlight. With the vacant WWF title on the line, Ric Flair came in at number three and lasted the entire hour to win it all. He didn’t hang back either, he threw himself at every guy in the bout, a huge selection of stars of the time and silenced critics of how he was getting past his prime. Better still was Bobby Heenan’s commentary urging Flair on and moaning at the odds. It showed the way the Rumble takes off so well and how to sell a star nicely.

2. A.J. Styles vs Petey Williams vs Chris Sabin, Ultimate X, Final Resolution 2005: Ultimate X, to me, is the best match concept TNA has ever created. It’s so simple, it’s brilliant: A ladder match without a ladder. Instead, the prize (in this case the X Division title belt) is suspended at the center of two red cables forming a huge X with the goal to climb the cables and grab it. Before being neutered with the giant steel ramps, the cables made for more exciting bouts and this is still the best of the bunch as Williams, Sabin and Styles went at it in a fantastic three-way that used the match concept to its best. Sabin hanging from the cables and hitting a rana on Styles, who was on top of William’s shoulders; Styles doing a great double revese DDT on both guys off the ropes; Styles hanging from the cables, drop-kicked by Sabin, causing Styles to do a 360 flip in mid-air before landing hard on the mat; and the finale of Sabin and Williams hanging at the X, each grabbing the belt only for Styles to fly across the ring to snatch it out of their hands to win the belt. Amazing action all around that sold me as a TNA fan and shines today as an example of how the company can work.

1. War Games/The Match Beyond I: It’d be easy for me to just say “It’s WARGAMES” and that’d be it. But it’s still one of the most fantastic matches ever devised. Two rings enclosed in a massive cage. Two guys from each team fighting it out, a coin flip deciding who’s next. A guy coming in every two minutes with the point to just brutalize the hell out of each other, all building to all the team members inside at which point, it becomes making a guy submit. There have been numerous ones over the years but it’s the first that stands out as the Four Horsemen took on Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff and the Road Warriors in a wild and bloody battle that redefined so much action in the ’80’s. Hands down the greatest creation Dusty Rhodes ever came up with and that even WWE refuses to steal it shows how well it was a part of WCW even to the end.

Francisco Ramirez
5. Bret Hart Vs. Steve Austin: Submission Match – Wrestlemania XIII was the perfect setting for this, scratch that, this match stole the show and is still considered a classic. Bret Hart and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin had themselves a blood feud brewing. It was decided that simply pinning your opponent would not suffice, one would have to submit, admit defeat to lose the match. A perfect gimmick for this match. Ken Shamrock was added as the special referee. Everything was set and this moment is remembered as the moment Steve Austin was catapulted to the top, King of the Ring set him up, this solidified him. The moment that Bret put Austin in the Sharpshooter and Austin struggled to try and free himself while blood poured down his face is a moment that will be immortal.

4. Bret Hart Vs. Owen Hart: Cage Match – Cage Matches are among the best type of gimmick matches around. They used to be the climax or end to a feud, that has changed a bit over time, but they are still a sight to see. Now, cage matches have been synonymous with two things, brutality and blood! So how do you have yourself a cage match, not have any blood, but still make it good? Bret Hart and his brother Owen took up that challenge and had themselves one of the best cage matches ever. They put on a 30-minute show and did not disappoint. This was not the type of cage match one was accustomed to, but that didn’t matter. The sibling rivalry storyline was red hot, Bret and Owen put on their “A” game, what more can one ask for?

3. Jerry Lawler Vs. Terry Funk: Empty Arena Match – This is just a guilty pleasure of mine! It might not be the most brutal, most technically savvy, but it is just batshit insane and I love it! First thing, Terry Funk is in full psycho mode, the match by itself isn’t anything special, you have to also watch the promo where Terry just sold the match.

So after Terry sells a match that consists of zero fans, you then have the match itself. Now, one aspect about it, how Lance Russell sells this as a spur of the moment thing, he’s not sure if anybody will show, he acts like they may be just wasting his time and even lights a cigarette. Funk arrives and goes on this rant about Lawler and just gives Russell a hard time. A thing of beauty! Lawler finally arrives and we are all in for a match that isn’t really a match. More of a fight. The two living legends go at it throughout ringside area, and ends in a timeless moment with words from Funk that will never be forgotten, “My eye, my eye!”

2. Wargames: The Match Beyond – Team Dusty versus the Horsemen, that’s a license to print money right there. Add an extra ring, a cage surrounding both rings and you have Wargames. Personally, the original is still the best. Team Dusty consisted of leader Dusty Rhodes, the fresh babyface turned Nikita, the Road Warriors and Paul Ellering. The Horsemen were the classic, but not best, lineup of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger and JJ Dillon. The concept itself was brilliant, the match was brutal, and the ending was smart, have the Horsemen lose, but with JJ submitting it gave them an excuse to keep going strong. Damn good match, and it’s sad to see the concept basically dead.

1. Atlantis Vs. Villano III: Mask Vs. Mask – I asked, and was given the “go ahead”, a stipulation match, such as a Mask Vs. Mask match, is considered a gimmick match. So to quote Futurama “I make score point!”. My all-time favorite match, and it’s a lucha match! CMLL’s first ever Pay Per View was held in 2000. The card was headlined by the culmination of the red-hot feud between Villano III and Atlantis. Masks were on the line, and it was unclear who would win. Both were on equal footing, so it truly was a mystery. This match was just a thing of beauty, the wrestling was clean and crisp, a technical marvel. It featured one of the most brutal Topes/Dives ever, I’m still unclear if it was accidental. The crowd was loud and split, you heard equal amounts of Atlantis and Villano chants. It took Atlantis putting Villano III in “La Atlantida” two times to get the win. No shenanigans, just lucha. Villano III looked like a champ, and completely put Atlantis over during the postmatch interview. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love this match. There is a reason this is the only lucha match to win MOTY in the Wrestling Observer.

Robert S. Leighty Jr
5. Six Sides of Steel: TNA Tag Titles: XXX (c) vs. AMW – I will give TNA some love in the top 5 by mentioning my favorite TNA match of all time. These 2 teams had the 1st cage match in TNA history earlier in the year, and their war was being settled back in the cage with the losing team being forced to disband. This was a great old, school, bloody war that featured Elix Skipper nearly killing himself with his famous cage walk rana.

4. Broad Street Bully Match: WCW Tag Titles: The Nasty Boys (c) vs. Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan – One of my personal favorite matches and it may be my favorite WCW match ever. The intimate Philly crowd made for a great setting as this was the closest WCW ever got to feeling like ECW. This was balls to the wall action from the opening bell and featured all 4 men beating the hell out of each other. The Nasty Boys got theirs as it resolved months of story issues as new chaps were crowned, Evad Sullivan got his pay back, and Maxx Payne gave the world the greatest guitar shot in the history of pro-wrestling.

3. Submission Match: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin – The match where the legend of Steve Austin was born, and a match where they stole the show at WrestleMania. These two men were made to feud with each other, and this brutal, bloody war will go down as one the greatest matches you will ever see.

2. Career vs. Career: The Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage – This is one of my favorite matches of all time and is easily the greatest match in Warrior’s career. These two produced an all time classic in front of a white-hot crowd on the biggest stage of the year. The post match stuff with Liz and Sherri only added to the spectacle of this match. This match still leaves me wanting more, and the Savage/Liz stuff still makes me smile each time I watch.

1. Hell in a Cell: Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker – The very first Hell in a Cell match, and to this day it’s still the best Cell match. This match set the standards for what every cell match that followed should be. The match was basically a horror movie as Taker stalked Shawn and beat the every loving shit out of him in spectacular fashion. The stuff Shawn did in, on top of, and around the cell were crazy good, and even the ending made sense as it took the debut of another monster for Shawn to escape with his life.