5 Best Wrestling Matches of 1995

WWE’s control over wrestling began to really falter in 1995. Unless your name was Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels, you were (with some exceptions) far behind everyone else in terms of big matches.

In Japan, both Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi each had five 5-star matches in 1995 alone, including arguably the best tag team match ever when they partnered together. Elsewhere, Rey Mysterio, Jr. was electrifying the wrestling world, putting on lucha libre matches the likes of which no one had ever seen before. If there was anyone that deserves everyone’s attention in 1995, it was Mysterio.

There was also another new company making a name for itself: Wrestle Association R (WAR), which became a launching pad of sorts for Chris Jericho’s career as an international star. It was also home to the 1995 Super J Cup which, like its predecessor from the year prior, was an outstanding night of incredible wrestling action.

But WWE wasn’t about to be out-done by a bunch of outsiders. They put on their own collection of great matches as well, especially with all of Shawn Michaels’ great matches.

So which matches stood head and shoulders above all the others? Keep ahead to find out…

---

5. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon SummerSlam 1995

In 1994, Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon put on one of the greatest matches in WWE history. Over a year later, they had a rematch for the same title, and had another spectacle of a match together.

This match isn’t as ‘novel’ as the original Ladder Match between both men, but it feels like a more traditional wrestling match. There’s more grappling and reversals than the first WWE Ladder match, and the eponymous ladders don’t appear until much later in the match than in the first one.

However, what it lacks in novelty it more than makes up in storytelling and ring psychology, as Razor absolutely destroys HBK’s legs. This is perhaps the greatest example of wrestling psychology in action, which makes this match significantly better than it would’ve been without the leg attacking.

Not only did this make Shawn’s Superkick virtually useless, but it also made it harder for Shawn to climb the ladder. It was storytelling genius for its time.

While it might be relatively tame by today’s standard – WWE Ladder matches have become far more unpredictable and elaborate in the last fifteen years – this great match has some classic storytelling and ‘smart’ action that showcased why HBK and Razor were so good during the mid-1990s.

4. Bret Hart vs. the British Bulldog – In Your House 5

Much like their legendary encounter at SummerSlam 1992, Bret & British Bulldog had a fantastic encounter at In Your House for the world title. This match, however, had another great personal edge because there was another Hart in the middle of the story: Bret’s sister Diana, who was also Bulldog’s wife. The camera panned to her several times, and the anxiety on her face was the perfect way to encapsulate how the other fans watching were feeling as well.

Bulldog used some great power moves and looked like a true world-champion-calibre athlete in this match. Meanwhile, Bret’s selling and execution (pardon the pun) were too crisp and realistic that he made even the most simplistic moves look painful and crippling.

This match is a classic for any fan of WWE’s because it shows just how good their wrestling could be when athleticism and drama were the focal points instead of gimmicks and theatrics. You didn’t need to know much of the story leading up to it as the wrestlers told their story in the ring, which is how it should be.

3. Rey Mysterio, Jr. vs. Psicosis – 2 of 3 falls –ECW show (October 17, 1995) & WAR Super J Cup (December 13, 1995)

I’m going to cheat here and give you two matches instead of one. Because the feud between Rey Mysterio and Psicosis was so phenomenal that it spanned more than one match. And more than one promotion.

Not only did this first march act as the perfect introduction to the bitter rivalry between Mysterio and Psicosis, but it also allowed both of them to showcase their legendary lucha libre abilities as well. The two of them managed to pack a ton of action into a ten-minute match, which was perfect for this tournament, as it was intended on showcasing the smaller and more agile junior heavyweight stars in wrestling.

The first match listed is a short, ten-minute bout between archrivals Mysterio and Psicosis that’s meant to give a brief summary of the Mexican wrestling style. It’s made so much better by the fact that the video contains absolutely no commentary, which allows you to be fully immersed into the match. Furthermore, you can hear when the audience goes ‘OOOHHH’ with these crazy lucha moves, which proves that these men were two of the best in the world at this time.

The second match is a lightning-fast match that showed just why ECW was gaining so much momentum during the mid-1990s. Mysterio was so unbelievably quick and technically-precise that he could pull off some of the most amazing moves ever seen that just electrified the crowd like no one else.

Not only do we get to see just as much crazy lucha libre action, but we also see some hardcore, weapons-based action from both wrestlers and a much louder and more emotionally-invested ECW audience. The crowd watching this match makes plenty of noise, which tells the audience watching at home just how good the action really is.

Watching these matches, it only makes it more depressing how criminally underutilized Psicosis was when he was on SmackDown as part of ‘The Mexicools’. If WWE allowed this Psicosis on their product, it would’ve rejuvenated their cruiserweight division like nothing else, and would’ve likely led to some truly outstanding wrestling matches.

If there was ever any doubt in just how good lucha libre wrestling could be, watch these two matches. You definitely won’t be disappointed.

2. Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue – May 7, 1995

This is the greatest women’s singles match in wrestling history. Two women wrestled each other for a full hour, showing off athleticism and wrestling dynamism the likes of which has not been seen before or since.

From vicious submission holds that look as real as possible to devastating suplex variations, Toyota and Inoue prove just how revolutionary they are in this match.

I cannot emphasize enough how awesome this match is. You have two women wrestling in a 6-minute match for the most coveted prize in just one promotion, but the entire world, as Toyota’s WWWA Championship traced its lineage back to Mildred Burke, the first-ever women’s wrestling champion of any kind.

Even with some of the most vicious offense ever seen (which includes German Suplexes, Piledrivers, and finishes galore), neither woman could be bested by the time the timer ran out.

This is what women’s wrestling could be when it’s treated with as much legitimacy as men’s wrestling, and serves as a standard bearer for any and all women’s wrestling matches that came after it.

If that isn’t enough to convince you to watch this match, consider the following. In light of all the great matches that took place in 1995, this was the match that was voted Match of the Year by the Wrestling Observer, and Manami Toyota became the only woman ever to win the Observer’s Most Outstanding Wrestler award and Readers’ Favorite Wrestler Award.

She won both awards for 1995 through matches like this one, which was an enormous accomplishment during a period when pro wrestling was almost completely dominated by men.

For history’s sake, if you want to see the apex of women’s wrestling, watch this match. It’s like watching history unfold before your very eyes.

1. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue – June 9th, 1995

This is, in my opinion, the greatest match in AJPW history, the single-greatest tag team match in wrestling history, and on my short-list of greatest wrestling matches of all time.

It was one of the rare occasions where traditional King’s Road wrestling included ‘western’ elements of wrestling likes good guys and bad guys. Misawa and Kobashi were the obvious good guys while Kawada and Taue used ‘dirty’ tactics that made them the obvious heels. Normally these two elements don’t work well together, but in this case they came together in one of the most dramatic matches ever.

You had multiple stories interwoven into one match, all of which played out perfectly in the ring. The main one was the years-long rivalry between Misawa the ace and Kawada the #2 man in the company. Kawada had felt bitter over being the #2 man for years, so when he finally scored a decisive pin over Misawa, it was an enormous deal for him.

At the same time, this match showed just why Kobashi was such a masterful wrestler in his prime. Not only was his selling perfect and his babyface fire strong, but he did perhaps the greatest thing a babyface could do. With his body virtually destroyed, he saw his partner Misawa being double-teamed and covered his partner with his own body because it was all he could so to save him.

This match is now over 23 years old, and no tag team match anywhere has come even remotely close to replicating this masterpiece. You will never see a better tag team match than this one; that is guaranteed.