5 Star Matches

Throughout the years, I’ve gone on record in various places that certain matches are 5 stars. In the grand tradition of the old forums, I’ve decided to compile a list of them here. There’s a caveat though in that this isn’t a comprehensive list of every 5 star match I’ve ever publicly awarded on my platforms. Rather, in compiling the list, I did a mental pruning. There was no hard science to what got cut and what remained, only the immediate gut reaction of how confident I felt about giving that rating to each match. If I thought to myself, “I need to revisit that to be sure,” then I cut it for the time being. If I saw it and thought, “Yes, that’s right,” then it stayed.

This will be corrected and changed over time so feel free to keep referring to it. The search for the greatest is neverending, and always shifting.

For the time being, here are the matches I currently consider to be among the greatest of all time, the pinnacle of what pro wrestling has to offer.

Intro dated July 3, 2024


IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Last updated November 22, 2024. Latest additions marked in bold.

Takuya Nomura vs. Fuminori Abe (We are the Fighting Detectives 10/12/23)

Hangman Page vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW Dynamite: Winter is Coming 12/15/21)

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7 1/4/13)

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE Extreme Rules 4/29/12)

Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH Final Battle 12/27/08)

Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH 6th Year Anniversary 2/23/08)

John Cena vs. Umaga (WWE Royal Rumble 2007 1/28/07)

Team ROH vs. Team CZW (ROH Death Before Dishonor IV 7/15/06)

Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher (IWA:MS Something to Prove 6/11/05)

Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk (ROH Joe vs. Punk II 10/16/04)

Akira Hokuto vs. Meiko Satomura (GAEA Limit Break N5 4/29/01)

El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (CMLL 64. Aniversario 9/19/97)

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (WWF WrestleMania 13 3/23/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, & Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW Fan Appreciation Night 4/20/91)

Masakatsu Funaki vs. Tatsuo Nakano (UWF Fighting Square Hakata 7/24/89)

Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (NWA The Great American Bash 7/23/89)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 6/5/89)

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Devil Masami (AJW Summer Night Festival in Budokan 8/22/85)