2003 may not have been the greatest year for new wrestling, but there should never be any shortage of matches to enjoy. Samurai continued airing NJ classics, brought back AJ classics in a different form, and added an AJW classics show that looks invaluable. More old tapes resurfaced on DVD, and new compilations were released. The following are the 20 best matches I experienced for the first time in 2003. Of course, when I saw them is of no importance. In fact, this list further highlights my inability to stay up to date. However, I imagine everyone has some gaps in their viewing. Here are the latest matches I can suggest to potentially fill them.

11/4/82 NJ Wonderland Junior #18 7/29/02: Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi

One of the best series FIGHTING TV SAMURAI ever ran was their 29 show look at the WWF & NWA junior title matches from 1978-85. These shows contained numerous great Sayama matches, but basically all of them were against just two opponents. Everyone knows about Dynamite Kid, but the more developed matches and the ones that show Tiger's ability within a more traditional structure are against Kobayashi. Kobayashi tried mostly unsuccessfully to ground Tiger here since the mat is his biggest strength, which led to one of Tiger's most spectacular displays where he not only used his athleticism to gain the advantage, but do damage in the process. Tiger's matches often ended in screw job because he could never lose cleanly, but they had some great post matches, including this one where Kobayashi getting DQ'd for ripping Tiger's mask sets off a seemingly endless series of flare-ups. One would kick the crap out of the other until he was restrained, which somehow always gave the other the opening to do the same!

9/15/87 AJ Selection 11/20/99: Masa Fuchi vs. Toshiaki Kawada

The AJ junior title matches might have seemed pedestrian at the time considering the high quality of their flashier NJ counterparts, but in these spot oriented times their well built simplicity is a breath of fresh air. Though Fuchi used his formula that allowed him to carry all his opponents to smart technical matches built around counters, this was actually as spectacular as AJ juniors came in these days. It sounds funny to cite Kawada's presence for glamorous offense, but this was before he developed his mega tough persona and paired his offense down to what fit it. In the end though, one of the things Fuchi brought was the ability to make the act of going for the win more important than what you were trying to win with. Sure, damage is important, but so are other usually neglected aspects like leverage and the element of surprise.

3/21/93 NJ Tokon V Special Vol. 15 Comm: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Dean Malenko

Liger's mat skills were always underrated because this portion of the matches would largely be edited off the World Pro Wrestling show. Malenko's mat skills were always overrated because he forced a certain style on his opponent whether it suited them or not. Luckily, Liger's style was a perfect match for Malenko and they delivered something of great beauty with movement in perfect unison that was so fluid and smooth. Even on commercial tape they still felt the need to mutilate the match, but what did make it is likely to please any fan of technical wrestling.

12/14/00 NJ The 2nd. Judgement!! PPV: Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru Tanaka & Shinya Makabe vs. Super Delfin & Takehiro Murahama & Tsubasa

The best match of the unfortunately short lived NJ vs. Osaka Pro feud is the well known Tanaka vs. Murahama junior title match from 4/20/01, but this earlier match shouldn't be overlooked. Though much of what it accomplished was never actually capitalized on, the match stands out as something that was totally exciting even though its primary purpose was setting up future matches. It also had some of the most impressively complex work between unfamiliar juniors you'll ever see.

5/6/02 MP Battle Station 5/29/02: The Great Sasuke vs. Dick Togo

One of the highlights of Michinoku's two years of 10th Anniversary festivities was the Sekigun vs. FEC singles match series. Following a strong match by up and coming wrestlers Ikuto Hidaka & Tiger Mask that was nearly good enough to make the list in its own right, Sasuke & the recently returned Togo delivered one of their very best together. This match showed Michinoku had enough talent back in place to warrant keeping an eye on them, a fact that was punctuated when TAKA Michinoku showed up for a post match angle that set off the Michinoku/K-DOJO working relationship. What elevated this above the usual Sasuke fair is Togo had a shoulder injury, which Sasuke reinjured early on with his quebrada. The match would have been greater if this injury played into the deciding minutes, but meaningful shoulder work replacing the usual meandering submission work was still the big difference.

5/23/02 01 Battle Station 6/5/02: Naohiro Hoshikawa vs. Ikuto Hidaka

My favorite guys to watch on the newer shows were Hoshikawa & Hidaka, and this was the match that put them over the top. Little of the recent stuff is making an impression on me, but this match that I saw once in February is still pretty fresh in my mind and could easily see its rating elevated when I get around to reexamining it. What these two are capable of doing with their bodies makes their stuff stand out to begin with, but this one had extra thought and effort put in from start to finish. It was with this match that Hoshikawa fulfilled the potential that the far more hyped Koji Kanemoto never did, as a junior with a strong persona and shootfighting credibility that presents the combination logically and without putting too much attention on himself. Hidaka spent most of the year making wrestlers that were still learning or stuck in their ways look better in fairly simple ways, but here he showed the kind of spots he could pull off and sequences he could develop with an advanced opponent that was willing to experiment.

7/4/02 NJ WPW Zenmen Han 8/3/02: Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru Tanaka vs. Koji Kanemoto & AKIRA

The NJ juniors didn't deliver consistent high quality in tags during 2002 like they had in the mid to late 90s, in part because the matches have grown too short for much meaningful build. For this title match, they used the expected shorter length to their advantage, doing so many false finishes but always finding a way to keep the match going. There were actually enough problems in the early portion, but they were overshadowed by the drama of the second half.

11/8/02 MP Jiai Chukei 11/27/02: Curry Man & Tiger Mask & Dragon Kid vs. CIMA & SUWA & Don Fujii

The whole match was essentially a very lengthy finishing segment. Extremely spectacular stuff with a high pace, big moves, quick changes, double teams, and saves. CIMA & Tiger were on top of their game here, and Dragon & Curry with quite impressive as well.

11/8/02 MP Jiai Chukei 11/27/02: The Great Sasuke & Jinsei Shinzaki & Dick Togo vs. TAKA Michinoku & Kaz Hayashi & Gran Naniwa

Quite different from the previous match, starting fast but quickly slowing down and becoming very much a group effort. Got really good at 12, and they found a way to squeeze another 10 minutes out, building to each big near fall and then calming things down just a little so they could build up to the next one. Sasuke & TAKA were the main guys, and refreshingly for the biggest show of the year they found a way to let it come down to them, more or less getting everyone else out of the way so they could decide the outcome.

11/28/86 AJ Selection 8/7/99: Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiru Tenryu vs. Giant Baba & Tiger Mask

During the later but not final years, Baba would only really work during a few matches per year, but they were damn effective. Having Misawa to carry the bulk of the match was certainly a great help, but one reason the match worked so well is everything seemed to involve Baba. Even though Jumbo & Tenryu were usually wrestling Tiger, there was regular interplay and one-upsmanship going on with Baba that kept the focus on him. Baba might not have worked 15 minutes, but he took one hell of a beating when he was in. The match was laid out so well that Tiger was even able to creep up on you and eventually leave the mark of a wrestler that belonged with these other big boys.

3/12/87 AJ Selection 9/11/99: Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiru Tenryu vs. The Road Warriors

Jumbo even figured out how to get an excellent match out of the Warriors. This style wasn't Jumbo's strongest by any means, but by working short urgently paced matches that were nothing with big spots without big selling he maximized the strengths and minimized the weaknesses of this opposition. There was enough selling so the match would work, just enough.

6/9/87 AJ Selection 10/9/99: Genichiru Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano

Two of this years "discoveries" were Hara & Nakano. Hara was one mean wrestler when he was younger; a simple no frills wrestler that just beat the crap out of you. Nakano is more proof that if you have decent ability you can get by on effort providing you are able to convey how hard you are trying to the audience. In a way, effort was Nakano's gimmick since he was always fighting an uphill battle against more experienced and accomplished wrestlers. This match was just Nakano playing his underdog role with Tenryu & Hara having as much fun as possible keeping him in his place and Yatsu playing big brother at opportune times.

6/11/87 AJ Selection 10/16/99: Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask vs. Genichiru Tenryu & Ashura Hara

Hara carried this team most of the time, but Tenryu was highly motivated here, and that made a big impact on the overall quality. Jumbo, Tenryu, & Hara were basically running around looking for someone to wallop, with Tiger providing the diversity.

7/17/87 AJ Selection 11/6/99: Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano

Yatsu & Nakano were one of the greatest effort teams ever. Though they were huge underdogs because of Nakano, they managed to make you believe they not only could win, but would win. The great equalizer was a "knee injury" DiBiase suffered early on, which allowed them to trap him in the ring for the bulk of the match. Later Hansen tried a jumping knee with Yatsu held against the post, but Nakano jumped in front of him pulling his partner out of harms way, so Hansen's knee was now shot as well.

8/28/92 UWF-I Bushido 7/19/03: Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoji Anjo

In between the usual gay fashion and idiotic dating programs, the Metro channel showed much of the second year of UWF-I last summer. I would have guessed the first great UWF-I match would have had Kazuo Yamazaki or Nobuhiko Takada, but instead Tamura managed to transform a 30:00 draw with Anjo of all people into a futuristic mat classic that contained an astonishing amount of counters. Like later Tamura, the advantage kept changing because every technique you attempted left you open to lose control or be put in a submission. Just when you thought someone had something, the other took it away. Anjo tired halfway through because they were pacing this like a 5-minute match, but overall was very impressive in being able to hang with Tamura in what would become his never get hooked mat style. He was also very resourceful and made many contributions to this counterhold clinic. The first half was much better than the second and it wasn't as tight or believable as Tamura's later masterpieces, but easily the best ground stuff UWF-I had seen up to that point.

12/14/00 NJ The 2nd. Judgement!! PPV: Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi

The kind of match Kawada is made for. Freed of having to deliver a payoff, Kawada was able to do something much more important, reexcite people about being wrestling fans. It was a beginning, and the teams got to start off even, building anticipation for the day when one of the wrestlers or promotions would break that tie. The roles of the wrestlers are the most important thing because they dictate what they do, the way they act, how they are treated, and so on. The match was part of Nagata's elevation, as he was the real star of his team and the guy everyone wanted to see against Kawada even though he was the lower ranked wrestler. They largely held Kawada vs. Nagata off for almost 20 minutes, but when they did get together they delivered on the high level you'd expect. Fuchi showed he can still deliver on a high level when given a role to play and involved with other guys that are willing to tell a story. He's not as good as he was in the mid 90's, but he can still add the focus that's so missing from the current stuff. The match was arguably just short of greatness, but as an early interpromotional match it was just about perfect.

2/24/02 AJ 2002 Excite Series PPV: Genichiru Tenryu vs. Satoshi Kojima

Tenryu was in his comfort zone here, still fending off the up and comers with the best of them. He laid the foundation and was very effective and efficient, once again passing the illusion that he's bringing a lot more than he actually is. To add to the fun and greatly piss Kojima off, he added some of Kojima's former partner Tenzan to the mix. Kojima did most of the actual ring work of course, once again making his opponent come off better than they have the right to through his simple but effective formula. Practically the opposite of Tenryu's vastly overrated matches with Keiji Muto, providing just enough to be consistently interesting while the match is logically built up for a dramatic finish.

3/16/03 DSE PRIDE.25: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Fedor Emelianenko

Although one discipline fighters seem a thing of the distant past, the initial idea of seeing which is the superior of two very distinct styles can still produce one of the best matches of the year. Essentially the entire fight was contested within the comfort zone of both, Nogueira employing the open guard to maximize his submission potential and Fedor on top throwing bombs from the guard like only he can. Nogueira lost the title here, but certainly showed the heart of a champion taking a year's worth of punishment and still trying, even if in vein, his submissions.

10/5/03 DSE PRIDE BUSHIDO: Carlos Newton vs. Renzo Gracie

Two extremely even fighters giving a mat clinic on movement and positioning. They kept working throughout, but the defense was at least as good as the offense, resulting in several impressive counters but no near finishes. Sadly, this kind of fight seems on the verge of extinction. Skilled ground fighters are on the decline and instead we're getting showy murals that deliver mediocre kickboxing with a few takedowns or the worst of Mark Coleman while the announcers rave about how the sport has evolved.

11/9/03 DSE PRIDE GP 2003 FINAL: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Mirko Cro Cop

Another memorable submission vs. striker match, though very different from Nogueira vs. Fedor because their comfort zones clash rather than match. Both men were clearly winning when it was in their zone, but weren't having close to the success they normally experience. Nogueira again took a lot of punishment, but this time he was able to weather it and find a way to get Cro Cop down again so he could pull out the submission. Win or lose, this guy shows a ton of heart.

Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit (WWE Royal Rumble, Januray 2003)

It was certainly the best match of the year for WWE. Those who think Benoit won`t "get over" with the audience need to watch this match 24 million times and notice that the crowd gave him a standing ovation at the end. Of course WWE thinks you either have to be 300 pounds of roid or be able to cut a good promo to get over. No wonder Vince McMahon and Giant Baba didn`t get along.

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (Pro Wrestling NOAH, 3/01/03 Budokan)

This match isn`t nearly as good as their previous meetings, but they held to the "landing on heads" NOAH style. Honestly, I was a little disappointed in this match because I had read so much about it before watching it. But it`s still a really good match.

Jushin Liger/Takehiro Murahama vs KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji (Pro Wrestling NOAH Osaka 7/16)

Props need to go to NOAH and Jushin Liger for creating such a great feud between NOAH and New Japan juniors. This should have won for feud of the year last year (but Silva/Sakuraba beat it out) and I would hope it would win this year but I doubt it will. Dave Meltzer is crazy about KENTA and Marufuji but Jushin Liger made this match and he makes everyone look great.

Yuji Nagata vs Jun Akiyama (New Japan, 8/16 Tokyo Ryogoku Sumo Hall G-1 semi finals)

If you can`t tell by this list, I`m a Nagata mark. It's the same reason I like Toshiaki Kawada, Nobuhiko Takada, Tajiri and female wrestlers Toshiyo Yamada and Dynamite Kansai: Great stiff kicks. I like Akiyama too, but he seems to be just going through the motions a lot of times. This match was better than their match from 1/04/02 Tokyo Dome because it had build and psychology that the other match didn`t have. However, its still a little short of being a great match. These guys have wrestled 3 times and I`m hoping they do it again. Unfortunately, Nagata was destroyed by Emelianko Fedor on New Years Eve, and I think his career push might be over.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Jun Akiyama (New Japan, 8/16 Tokyo Ryogoku Sumo Hall G-1 finals)

Some criticized this match because they went 31 minutes to break the old record of the longest G-1 Climax tournament final match, thus hurting the pacing. I think this actually worked to its advantage because they were able to work out the psychology to its fullest extent. Tenzan deserves every push he gets but New Japan keeps retracting.

Satoshi Kojima vs Masato Tanaka (Zero One Fire Festival semi-finals, Korakuen Hall, 7/30/03)

The Zero-One Fire Festival is turning out to be a cool annual tournament. Their prize is a Katana and I can`t think of a cooler prize. I`m a big fan of both of these guys and they delivered. After seeing Tanaka live, I can attest to his fire that is able to get a crowd in to a match. Just look at how he got ECW fans behind him without ever speaking a word of English. Both of these guys are being held back way too much.

Satoshi Kojima vs Shinjiro Ohtani (Zero One Fire Festival finals, Korakuen Hall, 8/01/03)

Really good match with Kojima doing all the carrying. Ohtani lacks the stiffness and fire of Tanaka, but he`s still a good worker in my opinion. However, he still has the baggage of being just a bloated Junior. That detracts from the match a little, but its still well worth watching.

Yuji Nagata vs Kenta Kobashi (Pro Wrestling NOAH 9/12/03 Nippon Budokan)

Kobashi is having a great year but I think next year he won`t be able to walk. These guys basically just beat the crap out of each other and I`m down with that. It would be either this match or the Tenzan/Akiyama match as my choice for Match of The Year. All of NOAH`s best matches this year have been centered around titles, and I think that says something. There`s a reason why they`re the only traditional pro-wrestling company in Japan that is expanding. They do need to make some new stars though.

Toshiaki Kawada vs Shinjiro Ohtani (All Japan TC tournament finals Nippon Budokan, 9/6)

Kawada is the man, what can I say? Ohtani once again shows the fire of the Pacific Ocean in this match (he is completely expressionless when he is applying submissions) but due to Kawada`s selling, it almost becomes a moot point. Kawada deserves every belt they put on him.

Yuji Nagata/Hiroshi Tanahashi (GHC Champions) vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Osamu Nishimura (IWGP Champions) (New Japan, Korakuen Hall 12/23/03)

OK, I was at this show, I know, but I still thought this was a pretty rocking match. Of course, I was marking out because I was seeing the GHC Champions (NOAH belts but New Japan wrestlers holding them) taking on the IWGP tag champs. At the beginning of the match they tried to make it a unification match and that made the crowd laugh. These guys put on the best show they could, and even though it went to 30 minute draw, everyone was happy because they knew it was going to happen but the guys gave it their best anyways. After the match Nishimura and Nagata gave interviews and the crowd laughed and cheered with them. Unlike other promotions, these guys had a true connection with their audience.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Emelianko Fedor (PRIDE 25 3/16/03)

Nogueira is my favorite fighter in the world and Fedor is up there as well. This is what main events should be: Guys doing what they do best.

Randy Couture vs Chuck Liddell (UFC 43 6/6/03)

Randy Couture shocks everyone except his fans who knew the true story. He`s my second favorite fighter.

Kiyoshi Tamura vs Hidehiko Yoshida (PRIDE Grand PRIX Round 1 8/10/03)

Whether this was a work or shoot, I really don`t know and honestly, I don`t care. This was the best match of the show.

Randy Couture vs Tito Ortiz (UFC 44)

Couture becomes a legend. UFC treats this guy like WWF treated Bret Hart. It is awful. I`m expecting Dana White to be at ringside (he`s always at ringside) at UFC 46 and when Vitor Belfort has Couture in a submission position, he`ll signal John McCarthy to say "Ring the bell!!!!"

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Mirko Cro Crop (PRIDE Grand PRIX finals 11/09/03)

Man what a match!!!! Mirko finally gets a real test with Nogueira and fails (but not horribly). Actually Mirko had this one almost won, but Nogueira found an opening and locked in so fast it was nothing but great. A great lightning striker vs a great lightning ground fighter!!!!!

Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Jackson (PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Finals 11/09/03)

I don`t know if the result would have been the same had both guys not had matches earlier in the evening. However, Silva still deserves his props for smelling blood like a shark and going for the kill. This also builds towards a much awaited rematch.

This year I mainly tried to get into women`s wrestling. There`s still a wealth to see but I am looking forward to it:

Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki (AJW Dream Rush, AJW Dreamslam II and AJW St.Final 1992-1993) series

I heard these are the three greatest women`s tag matches and I am not going to disagree. I love Toyota and Dynamite Kansai. Can`t wait to see more of them.

CRUSH GALS vs Jaguar Yokota/Devil Masami (from 1985)

All Japan Women`s classics is a great show and this is the best match I think I`ve seen so far. Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka (the CRUSH GALS) were babes back then (Now, Nagayo is a man beast. She was better looking than Asuka back then but I think Lioness is better looking now) and great workers. Yokota and Masami are pretty awesome too. Actually, I really like most of CRUSH`s stuff, I just picked this match as its representative because I think it's the best match.

Manami Toyota vs Aja Kong (AJW Tokyo Dome Show 11/20/94)

The AJW Tokyo Dome event was a great show along with the Dreamslams (you will do yourself a favor to get all three shows). I just picked this match because I thought it was the best match and I`m a Toyota mark for the moment.

Kenta Kobashi vs Misawa (All Japan 1/20/97 Nippon Budokan)

Back to the men, this was Kobashi and Misawa`s best meeting and one of the best matches of all time. Its really hard to top this match and that`s why I was so hard on their match from this year, which once again opted for spots over development.