5 Best Wrestling Matches of 1997

4. Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto –February 16, 1997

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1t5n6t

When this match occurred, Liger was the J-Crown Champion, which was the combination of eight different cruiserweight championships from around the world. In other words, Liger held and defended eight championships at the same time. In this match, he defended said crown against Koji Kanemoto, one of the best technical wrestlers in New Japan at the time.

The match was awesome from the opening bell, with the wrestlers working a fast pace filled with scientific reversals. Even though Liger was a veteran at the time, he had his hands full with Kanemoto, who proceeded to out-wrestle Liger at first.

He then proceeded to kick Liger as hard as possible, which seemed to anger Liger with each strike. Eventually, Liger got mad and started hitting his big moves, including the Shotei palm strike and the Ligerbomb.

Oh, and to prove that Liger was mad at this point, he hit a Brainbuster on the outside, which got a huge pop from the crowd.

This is why Liger was so awesome in the 1990s: not only was he a daredevil high-flyer, but he could also hit power moves and strikes with laser precision and make them look both convincing and devastating.

Thanks to the incredible athleticism and grappling skills of both wrestlers, this match was rated 4.75 stars out of five. But what’s more impressive is that Liger wrestled this match in 1997, six months after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor. If that doesn’t scream dedication and badassery, I don’t know what does.