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1991 was an interesting year for wrestling. WWE was fully immersed in Vince McMahon’s cartoon era, with dozens of wrestlers adopting wacky costumes while trying to convince people that they had other ‘regular jobs’ while also wrestling. Of these dozens of gimmicks, the only one that actually survived was the Undertaker, but that was because his gimmick shifted away from being a wrestling mortician years later.
Outside of WWE, there were interesting matches happening that ensured that alternatives existed for Vince’s strange take on pro wrestling. WCW was growing in popularity thanks to a loyal fanbase and intriguing booking. Junior heavyweight/cruiserweight wrestling was growing ever more popular in Japan, with a wide variety of wrestlers turning into top stars as opposed to just ‘mid-carders’.
Finally, tag team wrestling seemed to be a major theme in 1991, as some of the best matches of the year involved teams instead of just singles matches. So which matches were the best in 1991? Let’s start with…
5. The Steiner Brothers vs. Sting & Lex Luger
This is a perfect example of babyface vs. babyface tag team matches working. All four wrestlers involved here were friends, which made this more of a classic ‘who is better’ sort of match without any major ‘heelish’ behavior.
That said, this was a very competitive match with several momentum turns, crazy power moves, and a raucous crowd that loved every moment of it. The drama was palpable from the moment the match started right to the very end.
Although it ended in a dusty finish (which is ironic, given that Dusty Rhodes was doing commentary during the match) it was still a fun match that’s definitely worth watching, especially since it shows how athletic WCW wrestlers were at the time.
4. WrestleWar 1991: WarGames – The Four Horsemen vs. Brian Pillman, Sting & The Steiner Brothers
This is one of the greatest gimmick matches in wrestling history. The bitterness and excitement start from the very beginning, as Bryan Pillman gets his revenge on Barry Windham. With each additional entry, the match gets more unpredictable and chaotic, and the audience simply erupts as each new entry comes in.
It isn’t hard to see why so many people love this type of match. The drama and anticipation with each additional entry are akin to the Royal Rumble entrants, but this match allows for more intricate storytelling and psychology, which makes this match more enjoyable.
The only real knock against this match (pardon the pun) is the set of botched Powerbombs that Sid executed onto Brian Pillman. The first one looked utterly horrid and the second one appeared to legitimately knock him out.
While this was indeed an exciting match, serious botches like that prevented it from scoring any higher on this list.
3. Keiji Mutoh vs. Big Van Vader
The good news about this match is that there still exists some footage of it. The bad news is that it’s from a fan camera, so the image quality might not be the best. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that this match is simply awesome (especially with Vader’s elaborate entrance, which makes him look like an actual monster).
Vader looks as destructive as always, using his superior strength and size advantage to decimate Mutoh at every opportunity. But Mutoh refuses to give up and keeps fighting desperately to find a way to win. That gutsy determination is the main reason why this match is so good.
The storytelling is so well-executed that you can understand the story being told without having to know anything about either wrestler. Vader is excellent here and Mutoh absolutely shines as a babyface in peril having to climb a mountain (both metaphorical and literal) just to survive. If you ever wanted to see a perfect way of booking a ‘big man vs. small man’ match, this is it.
2. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Owen Hart
This is a classic Japanese wrestling match. Featuring a quiet and studious audience, the focus is directly on the wrestlers and their in-ring actions. Liger was known as an outstanding grappler in his prime, while Owen Hart was an excellent grappler in his own right. Both wrestlers’ skills were on full display as both of them jockeyed for control throughout this back-and-forth technical masterpiece.
Although Liger had the hometown advantage, this was very much Owen’s match, as he had more precision and better control throughout the match. This is a great match to watch because it shows just how good both men were. But more importantly, it showed that Owen could perform well on his own, without being defined by his family name or by his older brothers.
1. The Steiner Brothers vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki
The Steiner Brothers were arguably the best tag team in the English-speaking world in 1991. They had awesome matches both stateside and in Japan, and this match falls into the latter category. It’s a far more technical match than most of the Steiners’ matches in the US, especially since chain-grappling is so important in Japanese wrestling.
Moreover, it’s astonishing to see what Scott Steiner looked like in those early days. Although his penchant for shouting in matches and using crazy power moves was still there, he looked wildly different from the image he’s known for nowadays.
This match was only 13 minutes in length but it was still exciting, unpredictable and dramatic. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that this was voted the Match of the Year in 1991 by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It goes to show that a match doesn’t have to be super-long to be great; if you put in enough action, technique and drama into a contest, even a match under fifteen minutes can be great.
