Match of the Year Candidates 2019 *Official Thread*

[Jeff Hardy 18]

David Starr c'è poco da presentare è obiettivamente il miglior talento al momento in giro non sotto contratto con una major. Americano che si è trasferito in Inghilterra, lotta lì da secoli ormai, ottimo sul ring, unisce più scuole in maniera eccelsa, ottimo nella parte extra-ring e nell'interpretazione generale del personaggio in-ring.
Erick Stevens è uno dei grandi nomi della scena indy seconda metà anni '00, soprattutto in ROH e FIP, quando le due erano legate. Ritirato nel 2010 è rientrato quest'anno proprio in Beyond.
Match dunque dalle altissime aspettative.
Oh, e che bisogna dire qua? CIoè davvero è un matchone.
Stevens fa una prestazione in cui fa la summa di tutto il suo stile, le sue trade, le sue movenze, il suo modo di portare le mosse, un modo per dire alla gente "esisto ancora".
Il fatto che questo suo stile, ormai non lo faccia più nessuno in questo modo, perchè Richards ed Edwards sono la versione obesa, Strong sta in WWE quindi fa due trademark e via, dunque lo rende ancora più unico.
Il fatto che Starr sia riuscito a portare questo match, in questo modo, in un modo che non si fa più in questo modo, lo rende ancora più un grande.
Mi voglio soffermare solo sulla testata in cui Starr si apre e sanguina, questoo è storytelling, è un modo perfetto di inserire un elemento come quello, tipico in questa modalità narrativa di wrestling e renderlo un elemento chiave di tutto l'incontro stesso, sia omaggiando lo stile, sia dando a Starr un modo per imporsi.
Peccato che sia avvenuto il 31/12 e non si possa inserire nella classifica 2020. Voto: 7.5

[Joy Black]

Aggiornamento a termine dell'anno.

La mia personalissima e soggettiva lista dei match con il solito metodo a livelli (all'interno di essi sono messi sostanzialmente in ordine cronologico). Ho inserito anche dei gradini ulteriori all'interno visto la numerosità.
Alcuni match dovrei rivederli, altri rivisti e ho cambiato la posizione rispetto all'ultimo aggiornamento
Alcuni piazzamenti sono stati dati a caldo, altri dopo qualche giorno.
Principalmente comprende NJPW, WWE e AEW, più pochi match fatti altrove.

In verde aggiunte e cambiamenti rispetto all'ultimo aggiornamento postato.


MOTYC #1
Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay (Best of Super Juniors 26 Finals) - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 15 05/06/2019

Livello S (Must See - Imperdibili)

NJPW
Kenny Omega (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match)- NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 04/01/2019
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 7 20/07/2019
Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki (IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match) - NJPW Royal Quest 31.08.2019
Rocky Romero vs El Phantasmo - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 9 24.05.2019
Jon Moxley vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 6 19/07/2019
Kazuchika Okada vs SANADA - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 13 03.08.2019
Shingo Takagi vs. Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 14 04.08.2019
Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii -NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 16 08.08.2019

WWE
Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT Championship 2 out of 3 falls Match) - WWE NXT TakeOver: New York 05.04.2019
Tyler Bate vs. WALTER (c) (WWE United Kingdom Championship Match) - WWE NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff 31.08.2019
Ricochet (c) vs Johnny Gargano (NXT North American Championship Match) - NXT Takeover Phoenix 27/01/2019
Pete Dunne (c) vs Walter (WWE United Kingdom Championship Match) - WWE NXT TakeOver: New York 05.04.2019
Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT Championship Match) - WWE NXT TakeOver: XXV 01.06.2019

AEW
Cody vs Dustin Rhodes - AEW Double or Nothing 25/05/2019

Livello A (Molto Raccomadati)

NJPW
Chris Jericho (c) vs Tetsuya Naito (IWGP Intercontinetal Championship No DQ Match) - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 04/01/2019
SANADA vs Minoru Suzuki (NJ Cup Round 2) - NJPW New Japan Cup 2019 - Tag 8 17/03/2019
Kota Ibushi (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr. (IWGP Intercontinetal Championship Match) - NJPW Sengoku Lord In Nagoya 20.04.2019
Tomohiro Ishii vs EVIL - NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2019 - Tag 2 04/05/2019
Shingo Takagi vs SHO - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 1 13.05.2019
El Phantasmo vs Will Ospreay - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 7 22.05.2019
Shingo Takagi vs Dragon Lee - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 8 23.05.2019
Juice Robinson (c) vs Jon Moxley (IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Match) - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 15 05/06/2019
Dragon Lee (c) vs Will Ospreay (IWGP Jr Heavywieght Championship Match) - NJPW Dominion 09/06/2019
Will Ospreay (c) vs Robbie Eagles (IWGP Jr Heavywieght Championship Match) - NJPW Southern Showdown In Melbourne 29.06.2019
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 1 06.07.2019
Lance Archer vs. Will Ospreay - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 1 06.07.2019
Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 5 18.07.2019
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 17 10.08.2019
Jay White vs Kota Ibushi (G1 Climax Final Match) - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 19 12.08.2019
Will Ospreay vs Amazing Red (Super J Cup Round 1 Match) - NJPW Super J Cup 2019 - Tag 1 22.08.2019
----
Kazuchika Okada vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJ Cup Semi-Final) - NJPW New Japan Cup 2019 - Tag 11 23/03/2019
Rocky Romero vs Will Ospraey - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 4 16/05/2019
Will Ospraey vs Bandido - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 8 23.05.2019
Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 3 14.07.2019
Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 4 15.07.2019
Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 10 28.07.2019
EVIL vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 11 30/07/2019
EVIL vs. Will Ospreay - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 13 03.08.2019
EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 15 - 07.08.2019
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 17 10.08.2019
Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 18 11.08.2019
SHO vs. Will Ospreay (Super J Cup Quater final Match) - NJPW Super J Cup 2019 - Tag 2 24.08.2019
El Phantasmo vs Dragon Lee (Super J Cup Final Match) - NJPW Super J Cup 2019 - Tag 3 25.08.2019
El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori vs. Robbie Eagles & Will Ospreay - NJPW Destruction In Kagoshima 16.09.2019
KENTA (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Championship Match) - NJPW Power Struggle 03.11.2019

WWE
Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs Alistair Black (NXT Championship Match) - NXT Takeover Phoenix 27/01/2019
Ricochet, Alistair Black & Valveteen Dream vs Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa - NXT Halftime Heat 03/02/2019
War Raider (Hanson & Rowe) vs Ricochet & Alistair Black (NXT Tag Team Championship Match) - WWE NXT TakeOver: New York 05.04.2019
Daniel Bryan (c) vs Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship Match) - WWE Wrestlemania 35 07/04/2019
----
DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) (Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Round 1) - NXT Tv 06/30/2019
Valveteen Dream (c) vs Matt Riddle (NXT North American Championship Match) - WWE NXT TakeOver: New York 05.04.2019
Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai - WWE NXT TakeOver: Toronto 2 10.08.2019
Becky Lynch (c) vs Sasha Banks (Raw Women's Championship Hell in a Cell Match) - WWE Hell in a Cell 2019 06.10.2019
Adam Cole (c) vs Pete Dunne (NXT Championship Match) - WWE Survivor Series 2019 - 24.11.2019
Team Baszler (Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray & Shayna Baszler) vs. Team Ripley (Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley & Tegan Nox) - WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames III 23.11.2019b
Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) vs. The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) - WWE NXT tv 20.11.2019

AJPW
Kento Miyahara (c) vs Suwama (Triple Crown Championship Match) - AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 10 24/02/2019

AEW
Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega (Light Out Match) - AEW Full Gear 09.11.2019
Chris Jericho vs. Cody (AEW World Championship Match) - AEW Full Gear 09.11.2019

Livello B (Raccomandati)

NJPW
Kota Ibushi (c) vs Will Ospreay (NEVER Openweight Championship Match)- NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 04/01/2019
Jay White vs Will Ospreay - NJPW 47th Anniversary Show
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata (NJ Cup Round 1) - NJPW New Japan Cup 2019 - Tag 1 08/03/2019
Kazuchika Okada vs Michael Elgin (NJ Cup Round 1) - NJPW New Japan Cup 2019 - Tag 2 09/03/2019
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shota Umino (NJ Cup Round 1) - NJPW New Japan Cup 2019 - Tag 3 10/03/2019
Kota Ibushi vs Zack Sabre jr. (NJ Cup Round 2) - NJPW New Japan Cup 2019 - Tag 7 16/03/2019
Kazuchika Okada vs SANADA (NJ Cup Final) - NJPW New Japan Cup 2019 - Tag 12 24.03.2019
Jay White (c) vs Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match)- ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard 06/04/2019
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Kota Ibushi (IWGP Intercontinetal Championship Match) - ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard 06/04/2019
Ryusuke Taguchi vs Will Ospreay - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 14 03.06.2019
SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 1 06.07.2019
Jeff Cobb vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 2 13.07.2019
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 3 14.07.2019
SANADA vs. Will Ospreay - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 3 14.07.2019
EVIL vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 3 14.07.2019
Jon Moxley vs Shingo Takagi - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 8 24/07/2019
Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 11 30/07/2019
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 13 03.08.2019
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 15 - 07.08.2019
KENTA vs Will Ospreay - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 15 - 07.08.2019
KENTA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 17 10.08.2019
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - NJPW Destruction In Beppu 15.09.2019
Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo Takagi - NJPW Destruction In Kobe 2019 22.09.2019
El Phantasmo vs. Will Ospreay (IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship match) - NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling 2019 14.10.2019
Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA (IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match) - NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling 2019 14.10.2019
---
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Jay White (IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match) - NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 11/02/2019
Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi NJPW New Japan Cup 2019 - Tag 3 10/03/2019
Dragon Lee (c) vs Taiji Ishimori (IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship match) - NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2019 - Tag 2 04/05/2019
SHO vs Dragon Lee - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 3 15/05/2019
Shingo Takagi vs Taiji Ishimori - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 13 31/05/2019
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI - Tag 15 05/06/2019
Juice Robinson vs. Shingo Takagi - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 2 13.07.2019
Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 6 19/07/201
Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 10 28.07.2019
Hiroki Goto vs Shingo Takagi - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 18 11.08.2019
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling 2019 14.10.2019
[/color]

WWE
Pete Dunne (c) vs Joe Coffey (WWE United Kingdom Championship match) - NXT UK Takeover Blackpool 12/01/2019
Mustance Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs Zack Gibson & James Drake - NXT UK Takeover Blackpool 12/01/2019
Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong - WWE NXT TakeOver: XXV 01.06.2019
Andrade vs Rey Mysterio - WWE Smackdown 15/01/2019
Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong) vs War Raiders (Hanson & Rowe) - NXT Takeover Phoenix 27/01/2019
Daniel Bryan (c) vs Samoa Joe vs Kofi Kingston vs Aj Styles vs Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton (WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match) - WWE Elimination Chamber 17/02/2019
Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews vs. James Drake & Zack Gibson (c) vs. Mark Coffey & Wolfgang (NXT UK Tag Team Championship 3-way match) - WWE NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff 31.08.2019
----
Valveteen Dream vs Tyler Bate (Worlds Collide Tornament Finals) - WWE Worlds Collide Tornament 02/02/2019
Ricochet vs Adam Cole - WWE NXT tv 13/02/2019
Buddy Murphy (c) vs Akira Tozawa (Cruiserweight Championship Match) - WWE Elimination Chamber 17/02/2019
Aleister Black vs. Cesaro - WWE Extreme Rules 2019 14.07.2019

AEW
Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr & Rey Fenix) - - AEW Double or Nothing 25/05/2019

BJW
Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Michael Elgin - BJW 24/08/2019
Violent Giants (Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama) vs Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) - BJW To Was Gat Early 13/01/2019


Livello B2 (Recuperabili/Mediamente consigliati)

Spoiler:

NJPW
Kazuchika Okada vs Jay White - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 04/01/2019
Minoru Suzuki vs SANADA - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 02/02/2019
Tomohiro Ishii vs Taichi - NJPW New Japan Cup 2019 - Tag 5 13/03/2019
Will Ospreay vs Lance Archer - NJPW New Japan Cup 2019 - Tag 6 14/03/2019
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 5 18.07.2019
EVIL vs SANADA - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 5 18.07.2019
EVIL vs KENTA - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 7 20/07/2019
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Lance Archer - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 7 20/07/2019
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 8 24/07/2019
Kazuchika Okada vs KENTA - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 9 27.07.2019
Kota Ibushi vs Lance Archer - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 9 27.07.2019
Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 2019 - Tag 18 11.08.2019
Zack Sabre jr. (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (RevPro British Heavyweight Championship Match) - NJPW Royal Quest 31.08.2019
Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito (c) (IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match) - NJPW Destruction In Kobe 2019 22.09.2019

WWE
Andrade vs Rey Mysterio (2 out of 3 falls Match) - WWE Smackdown 22/01/2019
Asuka (c) vs Becky Lynch (Smackdown Women Championship Match) - WWE Royal Rumble 27/01/2019
Ronda Rousey (c) vs Sasha Banks (Raw Women Championship Match) - WWE Royal Rumble 27/01/2019
Johnny Gargano (c) vs Valveteen Dream (NXT North America Championship Match) - NXT TV 20/02/2019
Valveteen Dream (c) vs Buddy Murphy (NXT North American Championship Match) - NXT TV 17/04/2019
Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong) vs. Team Ciampa (Dominik Dijakovic, Keith Lee, Kevin Owens & Tommaso Ciampa) - WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames III 23.11.2019

AEW
Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho - AEW Double or Nothing 25/05/2019
Cody & Dustin Rhodes vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson - AEW Fight For The Fallen 13.07.2019
CIMA vs. Kenny Omega - AEW Fight For The Fallen 13.07.2019
Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix) - AEW All Out 31/08/2019
Kenny Omega vs PAC - AEW All Out 31/08/2019

GCW
Josh Barnett vs. Minoru Suzuki - GCW Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 04.04.2019

[Joy Black]

Per curiosità mi sono andato a vedere i match più votati su cagematch nel 2019 questa è la top 50




Dominio giapponese ed in particolare NJPW (dove la fanno da padroni i tornei, tutti match dal BOSJ, G1 e NJ Cup)
Primo match WWE Bate vs Walter al 7, primo match del main roster Bryan vs Kingston al 45 (sopra i Cole Gargano).
Hashimoto vs Saree in Sendai match femminile piazzato più in alto (17), invece fra tag Violent Giants vs Strong BJ in AJPW
In top 5 ci sono ben 3 match di Shingo Takagi.

Qui tutta la lista.
https://www.cagematch.net//?id=111&view ... ttype=DESC

[Black MePhil]

Takeshita-Endo e Takeshita-HARASHIMA si meritano tantissimo di essere lì.

[The27ALDUIR]

Personalmente ribadisco Jordan Devlin vs David Starr durante OTT 5th Anniversary e valevole per il titolo massimo della compagnia detenuto da Devlin.
Match assurdo che rappresenta anche il finale perfetto di una storyline perfetta, un clima pazzesco nel National Stadium, forse essere stato li ha sicuramente influito parecchio nella mia scelta che ho inserito anche nei TW Awards.

[Joy Black]

Per continuare le altre classifiche, qui quella dei voti dei WON awards per match dell'anno, dalla newsletter.

PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR



1. WILL OSPREAY VS. SHINGO TAKAGI 6/5 TOKYO (330) 2,549

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega 1/4 Tokyo (259) 2,156

3. Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes 5/24 Las Vegas (151) 1,295

4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay 7/20 Tokyo (127) 1,141

5. Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole 4/5 Brooklyn (97) 1,033

6. Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii 8/8 Yokohama (31) 450

7. Young Bucks vs. Pentagon Jr. & Fenix 8/31 Chicago (43) 427

8. Walter vs. Tyler Bate 8/31 Cardiff (19) 338

9. Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White 8/12 Tokyo (13) 259

10. Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii 7/19 Tokyo (8) 186



HONORABLE MENTION: Will Ospreay vs. Dragon Lee 6/9 Osaka 153, Jordan Devlin vs. David Starr 10/26 152, Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan 4/7 East Rutherford, NJ 122, Arisa Nakajima vs. Nanae Takahashi 11/2 Kawasaki 97, Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi 8/10 Tokyo 91, Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley 11/9 Baltimore 90, Rocky Romero vs. El Phantasmo 5/24 Tokyo 81, Young Bucks vs. Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix 5/24 Las Vegas 73, Will Ospreay vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 8/10 Tokyo 60



It really came down to a two-match race, the Ospreay vs. Takagi finals of the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors tournament at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, and the Tanahashi over Omega IWGP title win before the first Tokyo Dome sellout in nearly 20 years. Both were long matches that came in with great stories and had very different kinds of classic matches.

Ospreay lost early in the tournament, needing to come from behind in his block to make the finals. Takagi went not only undefeated in the tournament, but had not lost a fall since first arriving in New Japan. In what turned out to be both men’s final BOSJ match, since both are not in the heavyweight division, they put on easily the greatest match in the long history of the tournament.

Tanahashi vs. Omega had a number of stories going into it. It was a battle of two very different philosophies of wrestling which played into the build. It was also a story of Tanahashi, at 41, with his body broken down, winning the G-1 and having an incredible second half of 2018, facing the company’s most popular foreign wrestler of the current boom era. The dynamic between the two led to the largest gate for a pro wrestling show in Japan since 1998. Behind-the-scenes was another story, since Omega was scheduled for a long title reign, but asked to lose it and it ended up being, unbeknownst to most, his last match in the promotion.

Kazuchika Okada, who had won the award the past three years, had his best showing at No. 4 for his match with Ospreay.

Of the 19 matches making the list, Ospreay had four, with Takagi, Okada and Dragon Lee. Those having two included Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, Kota Ibushi, Okada, Takagi, Tomohiro Ishii, Tanahashi, Young Bucks, Pentagon Jr., and Rey Fenix, The latter four had the only two tag team matches to make the top 19.



PREVIOUS WINNERS: 1980 - Bob Backlund vs. Ken Patera 5/19 New York Madison Square Garden; 1981 - Pat Patterson vs. Sgt. Slaughter 4/21 New York Madison Square Garden; 1982 - Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) vs. Dynamite Kid 8/5 Tokyo; 1983 - Ric Flair vs. Harley Race 11/24 Greensboro; 1984 - Freebirds vs. Von Erichs 7/4 Fort Worth; 1985 - Tiger Mask (Mitsuharu Misawa) vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi 6/12 Tokyo; 1986 - Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham 2/14 Orlando; 1987 - Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage 3/29 Pontiac; 1988 - Ric Flair vs. Sting 3/27 Greensboro; 1989 - Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat 4/2 New Orleans; 1990 - Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (Takuma Sano) 1/31 Osaka; 1991 - Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki 3/21 Tokyo; 1992 - Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi 5/25 Sendai; 1993 - Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki 4/21 Osaka; 1994 - Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) 3/20 New York Madison Square Garden; 1995 - Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue 5/7 Tokyo; 1996 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace 6/7 Tokyo; 1997 - Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin 3/23 Chicago; 1998 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi 10/31 Tokyo; 1999 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi 6/11 Tokyo; 2000 - Atlantis vs. Villano III 3/17 Mexico City; 2001 - Keiji Muto vs. Genichiro Tenryu 6/8 Tokyo; 2002 - Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio 10/20 Little Rock; 2003 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi 3/1 Tokyo; 2004 - Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama 7/10 Tokyo Dome; 2005 - Kenta Kobashi vs. Samoa Joe 10/1 New York; 2006 - Dragon Kid & Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi vs. Cima & Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino 3/31 Chicago; 2007 - Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima 8/25 New York; 2008 - Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho 10/5 Portland, OR; 2009 - Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels 4/5 Houston; 2010 - Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels 3/28 Phoenix; 2011 - John Cena vs. C.M. Punk 7/17 Chicago; 2012 - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki 10/8 Tokyo; 2013 - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada 4/7 Tokyo; 2014 - A.J. Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki 8/1 Tokyo; 2015 - Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi 1/4 Tokyo; 2016 - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada 1/4 Tokyo; 2017 - Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada 1/4 Tokyo; 2018 - Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada 6/9 Osaka