Matt's Movie Musings

While a lot of this list is subjective, I'm confident in saying that every entry on this instalment is a definite Match Of The Year candidate. 30) Royal Rumble Match       WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Every year, the Royal Rumble is one of the most anticipated events on the WWE calender and this is entirely thanks to the match of the same name. For anyone who might not know, the Royal Rumble match is a contest between 30 wrestlers, who enter at timed intervals, with eliminations occuring when a competitor is thrown over the top rope and both feet conect with the floor. In additition, since 1993 it has been tradition that the winner of the match gets a highly sought after championship match at the company's biggest show of the year, WrestleMania. Most of the enjoyment of the show comes from unexpected entries into the match, or confrontations between talent on different shows, to be completely honest the matches themselves are very rarely of a high quality. This is mostly ...

This entry has taken a little longer to get out as I found myself stopping to rewatch each match as I was writing about them. Now a terribly efficient way to work but a great way to pass the time. 40) Bret Hart vs Steve Austin (Submission Match)       WWF WrestleMania 13 1997 Purely in terms of match quality, there's a solid argument to be made that Bret Hart and Steve Austin had the greatest rivalvry in WWF history. Their excellent first match in November 1996 lead to a hugely entertaining collision during the 1997 Royal Rumble and an excellent 4 way bout (also featuring Vader and The Undertaker) at In Your House: Final Four. They would would be involved in at least 2 more memorable matches in 1997 but of all their clashes, this one is justifiably the most famous. Infamously, this match was never in the plans but Shawn Michaels controversial decision to take time away from the company, nixed the planned WrestleMania rematch with Hart so Austin got the match. Even th...

Here we are, into the Top 50 and to be perfectly honest, I would say that all of these matches are essential viewing for any modern wrestling fan. 50) Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan       WWF WrestleMania V 1989 For better or for worse, these two men define wrestling in the 1980's for me. Hulk Hogan, the megastar, and Randy Savage, the superworker, each had charisma to spare and it's little surprise that their careers would be entwined for much of the following decade. Vince McMahon recognised the potential in this match and showed that rarest of things in the wrestling industry, restraint. The build for this match began in early 1988 when multiyear champion, Hogan, lost the WWF Championship due to referee Dave Hebner's "evil" twin brother Earl. The Giant then "sold" the title to Ted Dibease and subsequently it was declared vacant, Savage ultimately won the WWF Championship in a one night tournament at WrestleMania IV with help from Hogan and the two...

Thanks for bearing with me. This one was a bit tougher to write then I would have expected but at least I had the madness of Lucha Underground to keep me going. As a warning, it only gets weirder from here. 60) Triple H vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit       WWE WrestleMania XX 2004 It is difficult to look back on any match that involves Chris Benoit, with the knowledge of the tragic events that would unfold in 2007. Yet I cannot simply erase the fact that through the late 90's and early 00's, I was a hugely passionate fan of the man's work. When Benoit won the Royal Rumble in January 2002 and earned himself a championship match at WrestleMania I was over the moon and the subsequent inclusion of Shawn Michaels in the match upped the stakes considerably. I was utterly convinced at the time that the Triple Threat stipulation of the match was only being used as a way to stop Benoit from finally winning the big one and I watched this match on the edge of my seat. That ...

Part 4 of my Top 100 and Kurt Angle has begun his inevitable domination of the list... 70) Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair       WWE Survivor Series 2018 As I mentioned in the previous installment of this list, a celebrity making the jump into professional wrestling is a recipe for disaster. Luckily Ronda Rousey wasn't just any celebrity. Her past experience as an Olympic Judoka and the huge success she had as a pioneer of Women's MMA meant she was primed for the physicality of wrestling and being a lifelong fan of the WWE meant she brought a level of genuine enthusiasm with her into the business. In stark contrast to Rousey's path into the industry, was that of Charlotte Flair. Being the daughter of one of the greatest wrestlers of all time did not endear to Charlotte the prospect of a career in wrestling. Instead, it was the tragic passing of her brother Reid that encouraged her to live out his dream of being a wrestler in tribute. If Ronda proved a naturally gifte...

Due to feeling under the weather, I took yesterday off. But as reliably as a Hulk Hogan comeback, I'm no selling the effects of illness today to bring you the 3rd installment of my list of favourite wrestling matches of all time. I hope you enjoy it. 80) Bret Hart vs British Bulldog       WWF SummerSlam 1992 In 1989, a deal that would last 30 years was signed between Rupert Murdoch's Sky Television and the WWF. Make no mistake, wrestling was a huge part of the early success of Sky Television in the UK. WWF programming featured prominently across Sky's brands, with PPV's often being shown on the Sky Movies channels, and was a cornerstone of the new Sky Sports channel in 1991. It is thanks to the success of this partnership, that the WWF felt confident to hold one of their "Big 4" shows of the year on UK soil and as a result, 80'000 wrestling fans packed into Wembley Stadium for 1992's SummerSlam. British, and European, wrestling audiences have hist...

Let's dive straight in... 90) Triple H vs Chris Jericho (Last Man Standing)                                        WWF Fully Loaded 2000 When Chris Jericho made the jump from WCW to the WWF in 1999, expectations were high. To say those expectations weren't met would be an understatement. Jericho's first 6 months in the company went from stellar to abysmal and then back to passable with the arrival in the company of talent such as Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle. A year after his debut, Jericho had restored some faith in upper management with regard to his abilities but he was a long way from being viewed as a potential main eventer until this match came along. Triple H over the next few years would earn the reputation of sabotaging talent to keep his position in the company, but in July of 2000 he was still fighting to earn that position. Subsequently, at a show designed around pairin...