Since starting to record every match I've watched in 2017, I have rated 41 matches at *****. Here is the ranking of those 41 matches.

#41 Tommaso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano: NXT Takeover New Orleans - honestly with the way this feud has went, I fully expect this to be below ***** on rewatch. It started so well here.

#40 Shinjiro Ohtani vs El Samurai: NJPW 1/21/96 - The best NJPW juniors match of the 90's IMO and Ohtani's dad is awesome in the Korakuen crowd.

#39 Masahiro Chono vs Keiji Mutoh: NJPW 8/11/91 - Purple Rain..... Purple Rain. A pairing I certainly don't always love together but it was magic on this night.

#38 Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi: NJPW 8/16/15 - A pairing I certainly don't always love together but it was magic on this night.

#37 Aja Kong vs KAORU: GAEA 2/13/00 - Maybe the most surprising *****, a match I had heard little about when watching the 2000 footage but the violence was outstanding.

#36 Aja Kong vs Bull Nakano: AJW 11/26/92 - Very few feuds that span multiple years end at precisely the right time, this match did that and ushered in a new era of Aja as the ace.

#35 Sgt. Slaughter vs Iron Sheik: WWF 06/06/84 - As Americana as apple pie, Slaughter has the MSG faithful living and dying on his every punch.

#34 Negro Casas vs El Hijo del Santo: Los Angeles 07/18/87 - A perfect template on what a rudo vs tecnico match should look like. Santo gets carried into the arena like a god.

#33 Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Naito: NJPW 08/13/16 - I was resistant to think I could ever really love and totally get a Kenny Omega match. He had me in the palm of his hand here with every step and I don't think I have been so enamored with another one of his performances since.

#32 Kota Ibushi vs Shinsuke Nakamura: NJPW 01/04/15 - How willing are you to go to the edge to prove your way. Ibushi and Nakamura have a grueling, violent match showcasing the best aspects of their eccentric personalities.

#31 Royal Rumble: WWF 01/19/92 - Flair gives a splendid performance as the match weaves against here. Most of the main principal characters of the WWF boom are all here and involved. Its an encapsulation of my childhood.

#30 American Dragon vs Low Ki: ROH 03/30/02 - I have purposely put off watching most of the hyped indie stuff dues to chronicling those years but I always think this match won't quite hold up and yet it does. Wonderful matwork and focus that melds into a thrilling climax.

#29 Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa: AJPW 09/01/90 - Jumbo humored the young upstart kids, but now he says get off my lawn. A commanding and vicious performance to say that Misawa may can take him to the brink and even win sometimes, but he is still king of the mountain.

#28 Minoru Suzuki vs HIroshi Tanahashi: NJPW 10/08/12 - A thoughtful and beautiful classic that cemented NJPW as the best in ring promotion of the 2010's.

#27 DIY vs The Revival: NXT 11/19/16 - The best US tag ever. So many intricate spots but always telling a coherent story and never feeling contrived. I really miss this NXT.

#26 Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat: WCW 05/07/89 - You may be seeing these two on the list later. I have always appreciated the greatest hits approach to this match without them again slipping into contempt.

#25 Terry Funk vs Ric Flair: WCW 07/23/89 - Surprised myself by having this over WrestleWar but the whole package is just out of control mayhem and the post match puts it over the top. Truly the best encapsulation of a Terry Funk match.

#24 Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu: AJPW 06/05/89 - A great climax to this feud and it really ushers in a style that propels AJPW 90's to be the best in ring run of any promotion in history.

#23 Wargames: WCW 05/17/92 - Wargames is my favorite gimmick and this is the best version. Blood, violence and storytelling inside of a unique structure.

#22 Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue: AJPW 12/03/93 - A unbelievable sell job by Kawada with the leg selling. Overall, easily the tightest match these four would have.

#21 Samoa Joe vs Necro Butcher: IWA MS 06/11/05 - Every time I try to say that this is too short or ultimately inconsequential to be *****, I recall the match move for move and the visceral nature of it always makes me confirm that this is one of the greatest brawls of all time.

#20 Brock Lesnar vs John Cena: WWE 04/29/12 - Another match that really held up in the confines of watching a bunch of the 2010's hyped stuff together. Cena proves he can take a beating and slays the beast.

#19 Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi: AJPW 07/29/93 - A dig darn fight. Kobashi thinks hes the biggest jock in the locker room and now he is up against a brute cowboy legend that isn't ready to relinquish his spot just yet.

#18 John Cena vs CM Punk: WWE 07/17/11 - Probably the worst technically executed match on this list but really the last time I felt like WWE was the "it" promotion and had a chance to become something that worked at the box office and received critical praise in my net corners.

#17 Canis Lupus vs Trauma 1: IWRG 09/04/16 - I am always appreciative and enchanted by lucha and the importance of the mask. That legacy and protectiveness allows a good worker like Canis Lupus to have one of the best lucha matches I have ever seen.

#16 Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada: AJPW 06/12/98 - I was surprised at how high this match kept rising as I was making this list but it really does time stamp a moment in time for me where AJPW had great matches until the NOAH split but just wasn't dominating like before.

#15 Daniel Bryan vs John Cena: WWE 08/18/13 - I keep becomming convinced this is the best match of either of these two guys career and it really should have ushered in a new era of WWE main events. I pretend the show ends after the running knee.

#14 Jun Akiyama vs Mitsuharu Misawa: AJPW 02/27/00 - I understand the argument that Misawa was too reluctant in the Baba system to really champion for Akiyama to be elevated before this but he does that here and then doubles down on Akiyama's stature once NOAH is formed.

#13 Tenryu/Jumbo vs Yatsu/Choshu 01/28/86 - A state of the art tag that featured a clean finish when so much of the 80's AJPW big matches up to that point featured crap count outs and non decisive culminations. This to me is the first brick laid on the King's Road.

#12 Dude Love vs Steve Austin: WWF 05/31/98 - I keep creeping up to the edge of thinking this is the best WWF match ever. Everything is so note perfect from the long winded intros to Austin counting the pin with Vince's own hand. Beyond all of that, the brawl is really great too.

#11 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada: NJPW 04/07/13 - The rivalry had some great matches up to this point but the focused nature of Tanahashi going after the arm and Okada having to find that extra gear transcends this into one of the best matches of all time.

#10 Steve Austin vs Bret Hart: WWF 03/23/97 - Still the best WWE match for now in history. Most successful double turn I have seen and a match that can feel cliched given how much it is inserted into the zeitgeist of US wrestling but yet it never does.

#9 Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazuchika Okada: NJPW 04/09/17 - The best match of the 2010's. Tough to watch given the current circumstances but in every aspect a match that represents the beauty and tragedy of pro wrestling in one complete package.

#8 Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat: WCW 04/02/89 - I'm actually shocked that this is so "low" on the list but it lost an ever so slight bit on my last rewatch and now is not my favorite of the trilogy. Still the transformation of Flair throughout this match is outstanding.

#7 Kansai/Ozaki vs Toyota/Yamada: AJW 11/26/92 - The best athletic display on the entire list. 40+ minutes of full exhilarating action at a great pace but also wrapped with an inter-promotional rivalry and the JWP contingent determined to prove they belong.

#6 Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada: AJPW 06/03/94 - What else can be said about this one? I freaking love this match!!!! Possibly could be #1 overall with Kawada winning.

#5 Magnum TA vs Tully Blanchard: JCP 11/28/85 - Tully is so despicable throughout this match and feud and yet as TA has him screaming in pain that he quits, I feel for him. That is human sympathy at its finest and TA triumphantly leaving the cage gives me chills every time.

#4 Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat: WCW 02/20/89 - Something about the tightness of the work and even seeing people like Meltzer in the crowd losing his mind really resonated for me this time. People become lifelong fans watching matches like these.

#3 Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi: AJPW 01/20/97 - Was my #1 match for a long time. There is a reason I watch it on my birthday every year. The arm work on Misawa, the power of the elbow, the Tiger Driver 91. This has it all.

#2 Villano III vs Atlantis: CMLL 03/17/00 - Take everything I said about Lupus vs Trauma I and amplify it with two all time workers. This being one fall really adds to the drama and 20 years later, knowing the result, I am still on the edge of my seat and feel the tension.

#1 Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue: AJPW 06/09/95 - Christmas day for me is about family, religion and watching this match. I will always be a wrestling fan and this match is one of the reasons why. This hobby is stupid and can seem inconsequential, but it has meant a lot to me.

Writing this list was a great reminder of the pleasures I can have in life. Life has been kicking my ass lately along with everyone else but I am glad that I have a refuge in a hobby and luxury that previous generations did not when hardships were encountered.

The other thing is there is still a lot due for rewatch. I surprised myself seeing it had been three years since I watched Chicana/MS-1, 3/1/03 Misawa vs Kobashi or Savage vs Warrior