Top 100 Matches Of Past 50 Years: 80-61

With the success of our Top 100 Wrestlers Of All Time list, we’ve decided to go even bolder. We’re going to rank the 100 best wrestling matches of the past 50 years!

Our ranking differs from the PWI 500 because we use math. Well, at least we try to. Just as we did before, we all submitted our own list of the top matches of all time, and each ranking represents points. For example, #1 = 100 points, #2 = 99 points, etc. At the end, we’d calculate which had the most points and assign ranking from there.

We narrowed the list down to the past 50 years because it’s quite challenging to find readily available footage from the 1960s and earlier (all of these matches except for one were televised). In a future Twitter Spaces, we’ll all break down the criteria we used in crafting our own lists. We’ll also bust each other’s balls over our choices and their absurdly low or ridiculously high rankings.

Here are 100-81.

80. Young Bucks vs. The Addiction vs. Machine Guns – All Star Extravaganza 2016

Ring of Honor has always delivered on its signature Ladder War matches, but this is the one that you show to educate new fans. All three teams didn’t need the ladders to have a good match, but they certainly knew how to use those instruments to their advantage. The Addiction bled buckets while the Motor City Machine Guns incorporated the ladders into their strategy and The Young Bucks jumped off everything around them. – Neal Wagner

79. Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid, August 30, 1982

Although their encounter in Japan the next year is the first to receive five stars from Dave Meltzer, the atmosphere for this one is off the charts. Madison Square Garden had never hosted a thriller like this before, as New York City roars at the breakneck pace and agility between these two ultra-athletes. Former editor in chief of PWI, Stu Saks, considers it his favorite match. – John Corrigan

78. Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks, All Out 2019

When The Young Bucks vowed to compile the best tag team division in wrestling in AEW, they knew they needed to back that statement up. So, at AEW’s second pay-per-view, the California brothers faced their rivals the Lucha Bros in a ladder match. Following the mantra of “anything you can do, I can do better,” they cemented AEW as the home of excellent tag team wrestling, building the foundation for the company’s Tag Team Titles just a couple months later. – Neal Wagner

77. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Funk Brothers, December 13, 1981

Imagine a scarier trio than Bruiser Brody, Jimmy Snuka and Stan Hansen. That’s what the Funks had to contend with in Japan in this heated battle. At one point, Hansen (simply in the corner of his friends) nearly decapitated Terry with a lariat on the outside. Concerned for his little brother, Dory Jr. decided to get revenge on his own, valiantly fighting both Brody and Snuka before finally succumbing to the numbers game. – John Corrigan

76. Americas Most Wanted vs. Triple X, Turning Point 2004

Everybody remembers this match for only one move, and while that was death-defying, the rest of the action is nothing to sneeze at. The stakes were never higher – whichever team lost had to disband forever, so naturally, they busted out everything in their arsenal to win. Nobody dug deeper into their back of tricks than Elix Skipper, who walked the cage like a tight rope before hitting a hurricanrana off the top. – Neal Wagner

75. Verne Gagne vs. Nick Bockwinkel, February 10, 1979

The AWA was built upon this rivalry between two world-class athletes who never slowed down, even as the years passed. There’s no wasted motion in this one, as Verne Gagne dominates Bockwinkel with a variety of holds that eventually wear the champion out. Bonus points for Bobby Heenan bleeding buckets! – John Corrigan

74. Jack Brisco vs. Jerry Lawler, September 16, 1974

Brisco starts off as a house of fire, unloading on the “King of Memphis,” who’s only able to take advantage by cheating. Lawler works a headlock for a long time, giving Brisco just enough hope to escape before yanking the tights or his hair behind the referee’s back, playing the fans’ emotions like a fiddle. As the crowd rallies behind the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Brisco finally breaks loose and the action heats up. When the ref goes down, Lawler retrieves a chain from his tights, clocking Brisco and picking up the pin. But as he celebrates, the chain falls and the ref sees it, reversing the decision as Gerry Brisco eats a piledriver for his troubles. – John Corrigan

73. Canadian Stampede 10-Man Tag

Oh Canada! The atmosphere inside the Saddledome was electric, something we may never experience again. As each member of the Hart Foundation entered, the crowd roared louder and louder, building to a fever pitch when “The Hitman” appeared. It was such an interesting dynamic of popular wrestlers in America like Stone Cold and the Road Warriors being booed against hometown favorites like the Hart family. When Owen Hart pinned Steve Austin, the crowd exploded in celebration. I still get goosebumps. – Neal Wagner

72. Billy Robinson & Red Bastien vs. Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens, November 6, 1973

An impromptu match ended up being one of the greatest ever. Unprepared for their popular challengers, AWA Tag Team Champions Bockwinkel and Stevens bumped all over like a couple of vintage bouncy balls. Both teams made frequent tags, allowing them to maintain the frantic pace. Here’s how well laid out the match was: Bastien took the first fall via an atomic drop on Stevens with his partner protecting the pin and then Robinson took the second fall via a backbreaker on Bockwinkel with Bastien preventing Stevens from breaking it up. – John Corrigan

71. Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada, Wrestle Kingdom 11

This was the first match in their historic series. Omega was on the rise, already becoming the first United States Champion in NJPW. However, he hadn’t been tested in the world title picture yet. This was “The Cleaner’s” main event shot and he made the most of it, albeit coming up short. The performance that he and Okada put on elevated both competitors in Japan, as well as raising NJPW’s visibility to the American audience, making new fans like myself. – Neal Wagner

70. Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page, Halloween Havoc 1998

If you watched Halloween Havoc 1998 live on pay-per-view, odds are you had to wait until the next night to watch this classic because, well, WCW. It was certainly worth the wait, though, as Diamond Dallas Page brought the fight to Goldberg. With DDP riding a wave of momentum as the “People’ Champion” and Goldberg in the midst of his undefeated streak, there was enormous intrigue as to who walk out as World Heavyweight Champion. When Page hits Goldberg with the Diamond Cutter, there’s a roar that had everybody on the edge of their seat wondering if this was the night “Da Man” would fall. – Neal Wagner

69. Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan, WrestleMania VI

The Ultimate Challenge. A first in several ways: two babyfaces battling in the main event of WrestleMania, both the WWF and Intercontinental Championship on the line, the first WrestleMania outside the United States. On paper, it shouldn’t have been what we’d consider a good match. But with Pat Patterson’s help, it became an epic, arguably Warrior’s best match ever. – Juan Bautista

68. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk, Great American Bash 1989

1989 was the year of Ric Flair, and coming straight off his historic trilogy with Ricky Steamboat, the “Nature Boy” was faced with arch-rival Terry Funk. While the “I Quit” match was great, this first battle between Flair and Funk was non-stop brawling of the highest order. This felt so much rawer and the crowd reactions are fantastic! – Steven Jackson

67. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi, Wrestle Kingdom 9

Wrestle Kingdom 9 is NJPW’s WrestleMania X-Seven. And Nakamura vs. Ibushi was as perfect a wrestling match as you will ever see. The innovation and the risks both men took in the Tokyo Dome for the IWGP Intercontinental Title prove why NJPW is the “King of Sports.” – Steven Jackson

66. PAC vs. Kenny Omega, AEW Dynamite February 26, 2020

Over 30 minutes of professional wrestling genius. Obviously, not every televised wrestling show can produce something of this quality, but every once in a while, when you dedicate enough time to two talented performers like PAC and Kenny Omega, this is what you can deliver to your loyal audience. Arguably the greatest match in Dynamite’s short history. – Neal Wagner

65. Ric Flair vs. Harley Race, Starrcade 1983

“Take the damn, money!” The build to the first Starrcade – a Flair for the Gold – was incredible. After Race put on a bounty on the “Nature Boy’s” head, which was collected by Bob Orton and Dick Slater, Flair returned for vengeance inside a steel cage. It was a true passing of the torch, as the NWA’s flagbearer for the ‘70s stepped aside for the man of the ‘80s. – Juan Bautista

64. Bill Dundee vs. Jerry Lawler, December 30, 1985

Here’s a masterclass in selling. Jerry Lawler went into this with only one eye, absorbing endless punishment as Bill Dundee pounded “The King.” As the blood pours down, Lawler mounts a comeback with his patented punches, and the brawl spills into the rafters. If Lawler lost, he was forced to leave Memphis. If Dundee lost, he AND his wife would lose their hair. With stakes that high, we can’t spoil the finish. – John Corrigan

63. Midnight Express vs. The Southern Boys, Great American Bash 1990

Tag team wrestling doesn’t get any better than this. Tracey Smothers and Steve Armstrong run wild on the Midnight Express, forcing the U.S. Tag Team Champions to retreat to Jim Cornette for guidance. Then a karate fight breaks out between Smothers and Stan Lane, with the latter coming up short. Just when Eaton and Lane think they finally have the advantage, Armstrong flies in with a double cross body. The pacing of the match brings you to the edge of your seat over and over, as you pray that it never ends. – John Corrigan

62. War Games, Great American Bash 1987

Dusty Rhodes’ brilliant concept remains beloved. Two rings, two cages, two teams and the only way to win the war is to force your enemy to surrender. In the inaugural War Games, the Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff, Paul Ellering and Rhodes collided with the Four Horsemen. Naturally, J.J. Dillon took the fall. – Juan Bautista

61. Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect, SummerSlam 1991

No two men worked better together than Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect. Their match at SummerSlam 1991 was the dawning of a new era in the WWF. It is one of those wrestling encounters which is utterly timeless and universally loved. It’s also a testament to Perfect’s dedication to the craft as he put on this performance in agony with a seemingly career-ending back injury. – Steven Jackson