TCAW Classic Match of the Year Part 4: Top 5 Matches of 1987


Welcome to part 4 of this article where we look back at the best matches from years past. This is the first year where more than one match from a feud made the shortlist, so I made the decision to only include the best of them. That will play a more important part in future years. On to the list.


5. The British Bulldogs, The Killer Bees, The Fabulous Rougeaus, Strike Force & The Young Stallions vs The Bolsheviks, Demolition, The Dream Team, Hart Foundation & The Islanders (Elimination Match) - WWF Survivor Series

For the first couple of years of it's existence Survivor Series contained a tag team version of the traditional elimination match and for whatever reason, for my money, they always delivered. It always felt like they went at the match with nothing to lose and that helped them to come across better. There are quite a few excellent wrestlers in the 20 man field so it shouldn't really come as a surprise. You can see the match here.

4. Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada vs Keiji Muto & Shiro Koshinaka (IWGP Tag Titles) - NJPW Spring Flare Up Day 18

This match has a bit of a fighter vs wrestler feel to it with Maeda and Takada using the UWF strike heavy style. The pace of the match is pretty relentless throughout too, faster than you would typically see at the time. Muto and Koshinaka have the crowd's support throughout and the comeback they make tells a great story, and plays nicely in to the quick finish. You can check out the match for yourself here.

3. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, Tully Blanchard & JJ Dillon vs Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, The Roadwarriors & Paul Ellering (Wargames Match) - NWA Great American Bash Day 4

This is the first Wargames match ever and deserves a ton of respect for that alone, but it is also a great match. Arn and Dusty start the match and it sets the tone very nicely. Arn would become a master of the stipulation in the coming years. This is definitely not going to be the prettiest match you will ever see, or even the best use of the stipulation, but it sure is a hell of a brawl. It has all the hallmarks of a great NWA match. The crowd love it and so does JR on commentary. If you have the Network then check this out.

2. Ric Flair vs Barry Windham (NWA Title) - NWA Worldwide January 20th

There are actually two Flair vs Windham that I could have put in this slot as in addition to this match they had another classic at the Crockett Cup. This match is the better of the two though, and it is up there with the Battle of the Belts match from the previous year. Flair's selling is incredible here, to the point where it looks like Windham is the best wrestler in the world, which he may have been. As far as TV main events go, this is as good as it gets. 

1. 'Macho Man' Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat (WWF Intercontinental Title) - WWF WrestleMania III

This is the quintessential old school WrestleMania match. By all accounts they worked out all of the kinks from this match during the run of house shows that led up to the show. This resulted in a match that was as smooth of silk, at least when compared to every other match from that time. Both of these men are incredible wrestlers and they tell a hell of a story here, and the crowd buys into it fully. This was one of the matches that established the IC Title as the wrestling title. I assume that almost everybody reading this has already watched it but it is well worth watching again. The first true WrestleMania classic.

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