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Inspired by Tim's many individual-based lists, I'm going for something slightly different than the old version. First off, it's limited to five matches, with possible expansions on a case-by-case basis (engagement pending). Second, I am limiting to singles, traditional tags, and 3-ways in order to keep the focus on individuals and to not get bogged down with multi-man matches clogging up every other list. One could argue that all singles matches would be ideal, but that seems much too limiting, and I believe this is the perfect balance of freedom for selection.
Lastly, and most importantly, I am not beholding to any previous rankings, including my own year-by-year lists and the Best Matches thread. The rankings are based on overall acclaim and individual performance (so a match that ranks very highly one list might not be as high on another's if they aren't as active in, say, a tag match), without necessarily trying to uphold an "influence" or "historical" criterion, though that could come into play.

Starting out with the Greatest Wrestlers as ranked on this board (which has a lot of issues but is a good starting structure; again, a la Tim) and then continuing with some major names, and to be continued.
Quick note: Wrestlers whose body of work is primarily in the 1960s or earlier are unlikely to be represented for obvious reasons: Lack of surviving recordings, lack of context for acclaim, and just straight up lack of knowledge or understanding. If anybody wishes to have a crack at it though, go ahead! Theoretically this could be open to any wrestler ever but we'll see how far this goes.


Ric Flair
1. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA Clash of the Champion VI, 4/2/89 - 2/3 Falls)
2. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA Chi Town Rumble, 2/20/89)
3. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA Wrestle War, 5/7/89)
4. Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (NWA World Wide Wrestling, 1/20/87)
5. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (NWA Clash of the Champions IX, 11/15/89 - I Quit)

Hulk Hogan
1. Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior (WWF WrestleMania VI, 4/1/90)
2. Hulk Hogan vs. Antonio Inoki (NJPW IWGP Championship League, 6/2/83)
3. Hulk Hogan vs. Stan Hansen (WWF/NJPW/AJPW Wrestling Summit, 4/13/90)
4. Hollywood Hogan vs. The Rock (WWF WrestleMania X8, 3/17/2002)
5. Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage (WWF, Philadelphia, PA, 9/28/85)

Giant Baba
1. Giant Baba vs. The Destroyer (JWA, Tokyo, 3/5/69 - 2/3 Falls)
2. Giant Baba & Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW Real World Tag League, 11/27/91)
3. Giant Baba vs. Fritz Von Erich (JWA, Tokyo, 12/3/66 - 2/3 Falls)
4. Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW, Tokyo, 7/31/84)
5. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. The Funks (AJPW Real World Tag League, 12/15/78)

Stone Cold Steve Austin
1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (WWF WrestleMania 13, 3/23/97 - Submission)
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock (WWF WrestleMania X7, 4/1/01 - No DQ)
3. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H (WWF No Way Out, 2/25/01 - 3 Stages of Hell)
4. Stone Cold Steve Austin & Triple H vs. Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit (WWF Raw Is War, 5/21/01)
5. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (WWF Survivor Series, 11/17/96)

Jumbo Tsuruta
1. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW, Tokyo, 6/5/89)
2. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, Tokyo, 6/8/91)
3. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW, Tokyo, 1/28/86)
4. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (AJPW, Tokyo, 6/8/83 - 2/3 Falls)
5. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, Tokyo, 9/1/90)

Andre the Giant
1. Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (NJPW, Tokyo, 9/23/81)
2. Andre the Giant vs. Killer Khan (NJPW, Tokyo, 1/4/82)
3. Monster Roussimoff vs. Strong Kobayashi (IWE, Morioka, 5/6/72 - 2/3 Falls)
4. Andre the Giant vs. Antonio Inoki (NJPW, Tokyo, 10/7/76)
5. Andre the Giant vs. Harley Race (NWA Houston, 1/7/79 - 2/3 Falls)

Antonio Inoki
1. Antonio Inoki vs. Bill Robinson (NJPW, Tokyo, 12/11/75 - 2/3 Falls)
2. Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (NJPW, Tokyo, 4/27/87)
3. Antonio Inoki vs. Dory Funk, Jr. (JWA, Osaka, 12/2/69 - 2/3 Falls)
4. Antonio Inoki vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW, Yokohama, 8/8/88)
5. Antonio Inoki vs. Jack Brisco (JWA, Nagoya, 8/5/71 - 2/3 Falls)

Shawn Michaels
1. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (WWE WrestleMania 25, 4/5/09)
2. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (WWE WrestleMania 26, 3/28/10 - No DQ)
3. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle (WWE WrestleMania 21, 4/3/05)
4. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WWF WrestleMania X, 3/20/94 - Ladder)
5. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (WWF Badd Blood, 10/5/97 - Hell in a Cell)

The Undertaker
1. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE WrestleMania 25, 4/5/09)
2. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE WrestleMania 26, 3/28/10 - No DQ)
3. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (WWF Badd Blood, 10/5/97 - Hell in a Cell)
4. The Undertaker vs. CM Punk (WWE WrestleMania 29, 4/7/13)
5. The Undertaker vs. Triple H (WWE WrestleMania 28, 4/1/12 - Hell in a Cell)

Bret Hart
1. Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF WrestleMania 13, 3/23/97 - Submission)
2. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WWF WrestleMania X, 3/20/94)
3. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WWF SummerSlam, 8/29/94 - Steel Cage)
4. Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog (WWF SummerSlam, 8/29/92)
5. Bret Harts vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF Survivor Series, 11/17/96)

Mistuharu Misawa
1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, Tokyo, 6/3/94)
2. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW, Tokyo, 6/9/95)
3. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, Tokyo, 10/31/98)
4. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, Tokyo, 1/20/97)
5. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (NOAH, Tokyo, 3/1/03)

El Hijo del Santo
1. El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas vs. El Dandy (CMLL Super Viernes, 12/6/96)
2. El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (CMLL 64th Aniversario, 9/19/97)
3. El Hijo del Santo vs. La Parka (LyC, Monterrey, 12/23/01 - 2/3 Falls)
4. El Hijo del Santo & Octagon vs. Eddy Guerrero & Love Machine (AAA When Worlds Collide, 11/6/94 - 2/3 Falls)
5. El Hijo del Santo & Villano IV vs. Angel Blanco, Jr., & El Hijo del Solitario (Todo X El Todo, Mexico City, 2/25/12 - 2/3 Falls)

Jushin Liger
1. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Naoki Sano (NJPW, Osaka, 1/31/90
2. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. The Great Sasuke (NJPW Super J Cup, 4/16/94)
3. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. The Great Sasuke (NJPW, Sapporo, 7/8/94)
4. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. El Samurai (NJPW, Tokyo, 4/30/92)
5. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani (NJPW, Sapporo, 2/9/97)

Randy Savage
1. Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat (WWF WrestleMania III, 3/29/87)
2. Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior (WWF SummerSlam, 3/24/91)
3. Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair (WWF WrestleMania VIII, 4/5/92)
4. Randy Savage vs. Jerry Lawler (CWA, Memphis, 6/3/85 - No DQ)
5. Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase (WWF, New York City, 6/25/88 - Steel Cage)

Terry Funk
1. Terry Funk vs. Harley Race (NWA Houston, 7/1/77 - 2/3 Falls)
2. Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair (NWA Clash of the Champions IX, 11/15/89 - I Quit)
3. The Funks vs. The Sheik & Abdullah the Butcher (AJPW Real World Tag League, 12/13/79)
4. Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW, Osaka, 4/14/83)
5. The Funks vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (AJPW Real World Tag League, 12/8/84)

The Rock
1. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF WrestleMania X7, 4/1/01 - No DQ)
2. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker (WWE Vengeance, 7/21/02)
3. The Rock vs. Triple H (WWF Judgment Day, 5/21/00 - Iron Man)
4. The Rock vs. Chris Jericho (WWF No Mercy, 10/21/01)
5. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF Backlash, 4/25/99 - No Holds Barred)

Sting
1. Sting vs. Ric Flair (NWA Clash of the Champions, 3/27/88)
2. Sting & Lex Luger vs. The Steiners (WCW SuperBrawl, 5/19/91)
3. Sting vs. Big Van Vader (WCW Starrcade, 12/28/92)
4. Sting vs. Cactus Jack (WCW Beach Blast, 6/20/92 - Falls Count Anywhere)
5. Sting vs. Big Van Vader (WCW SuperBrawl III, 2/21/93 - Strap)

Mick Foley
1. Cactus Jack vs. Triple H (WWF Royal Rumble, 1/23/00 - Street Fight)
2. Mankind vs. Shawn Michaels (WWF In Your House 10: Mind Games, 9/22/96)
3. Cactus Jack vs. Sting (WCW Beach Blast, 6/20/92 - Falls Count Anywhere)
4. Cactus Jack vs. Big Van Vader (WCW Halloween Havoc, 10/24/93 - Texas Death)
5. Cactus Jack vs. Randy Orton (WWE Backlash, 4/18/04 - No Holds Barred)

Triple H
1. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (WWF Royal Rumble, 1/23/00 - Street Fight)
2. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE WrestleMania XX, 3/14/04)
3. Triple H vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF No Way Out, 2/25/01 - 3 Stages of Hell)
4. Triple H vs. The Undertaker (WWE WrestleMania 28, 4/1/12 - Hell in a Cell)
5. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (WWF No Way Out, 2/27/00 - Hell in a Cell)

Chris Jericho
1. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit (WWF Royal Rumble, 1/21/01 - Ladder)
2. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE WrestleMania XIX)
3. Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12, 1/4/18)
4. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE No Mercy, 10/5/08 - Ladder)
5. Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin & Triple H (WWF Raw Is War, 5/21/01)

Kenta Kobashi
1. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW, Tokyo, 6/9/95)
2. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, Tokyo, 10/31/98)
3. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, Tokyo, 1/20/97)
4. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (NOAH, Tokyo, 3/1/03)
5. Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (NOAH Departure, 7/10/04)

Toshiaki Kawada
1. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, Tokyo, 6/3/94)
2. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, Tokyo, 6/9/95)
3. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Satoshi Kojima (AJPW Realize, 2/16/05)
4. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiywama (AJPW Real World Tag League, 12/6/96)
5. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, Tokyo, 6/6/97)

Kurt Angle
1. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (WWE Royal Rumble, 1/19/03)
2. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE WrestleMania 21, 4/3/05)
3. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio (WWE No Mercy, 10/20/02)
4. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE SmackDown, 9/18/03 - Iron Man)
5. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock vs. The Undertaker (WWE Vengeance, 7/21/02)

Chris Benoit
1. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (WWE Royal Rumble, 1/19/03)
2. Christ Benoit vs. Chris Jericho (WWF Royal Rumble, 1/21/01 - Ladder)
3. Chris Benoit vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE WrestleMania XX, 3/14/04)
4. Wild Pegasus vs. The Great Sasuke (NJPW Super J Cup, 4/16/94)
5. Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio (WWE No Mercy, 10/20/02)

Eddy Guerrero
1. Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio, Jr. (WCW Halloween Havoc, 10/26/97)
2. Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (ECW Hostile City Showdown, 4/15/95)
3. Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (ECW Hardcore TV, 8/26/95 - 2/3 Falls)
4. Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE No Way Out, 2/15/04)
5. Eddie Guerrero vs. John Bradshaw Layfield (WWE Judgment Day 5/16/04)

Bryan Danielson
1. Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay (AEW Dynasty, 4/21/24)
2. Bryan Danielson vs. MJF (AEW Revolution, 3/5/23 - Iron Man)
3. Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW All In, 8/25/24)
4. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH Manhattan Mayhem II, 8/25/07)
5. Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA (ROH Glory by Honor V, 9/16/06)

CM Punk
1. CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe (ROH Joe vs. Punk II, 10/16/04)
2. CM Punk vs. John Cena (WWE Money in the Bank, 7/17/11)
3. CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE SummerSlam, 8/18/13 - No DQ)
4. CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe (ROH All Star Extravaganza II, 12/4/04)
5. CM Punk vs. John Cena (WWE Raw, 2/25/13)

John Cena
1. John Cena vs. CM Punk (WWE Money in the Bank, 7/17/11)
2. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan ((WWE SummerSlam, 8/18/13)
3. John Cena vs. CM Punk (WWE Raw, 2/25/13)
4. John Cena vs. AJ Styles (WWE Royal Rumble, 1/29/17)
5. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins (WWE Royal Rumble, 1/25/15)

Samoa Joe
1. Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi (ROH Joe vs. Kobashi, 10/1/05)
2. Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk (ROH Joe vs. Punk II, 10/16/04)
3. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (TNA Unbreakable, 9/11/05)
4. Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk (ROH All Star Extravaganza II, 12/4/04)
5. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles (TNA Turning Point, 12/11/05)

AJ Styles
1. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10, 1/4/16)
2. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels (TNA Unbreakable, 9/11/05)
3. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/1/14)
4. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe (TNA Turning Point, 12/11/05)
5. AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Dominion, 7/5/15)

Kenny Omega
1. Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Dominion, 6/9/18)
2. Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11, 1/4/17)
3. Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Dominion, 6/1/17)
4. Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, 1/4/23)
5. Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/13/17)

Kazuchika Okada
1. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega (NJPW Dominion, 6/9/18)
2. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11, 1/4/17)
3. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega (NJPW Dominion, 6/1/17)
4. Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10, 1/4/16)
5. Kazuchika Okada vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Sakura Genesis, 4/9/17)

Will Ospreay
1. Will Ospreay vs Bryan Danielson (AEW Dynasty, 4/21/24)
2. Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, 1/4/23)
3. Will Ospreay vs Shingo Takagi (NJPW Best of the Super Junior, 6/5/19)
4. Will Ospreay vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/18/22)
5. Will Ospreay vs Adam Page (AEW Double or Nothing, 5/25/25)

Hiroshi Tanahashi
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10, 1/4/16)
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW G1 Climax 8/12/18)
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Invasion Attack, 4/7/13)
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Minoru Suzuki (NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling, 10/8/12)
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9, 1/4/15)

Jon Moxley
1. Jon Moxley vs Adam Page (AEW All In Texas, 7/12/25 - Texas Death)
2. Jon Moxley vs Adam Page (AEW Revolution, 3/5/23 - Texas Death)
3. Jon Moxley vs Kyle Fletcher (AEW Worlds End, 12/27/25)
4. Jon Moxley vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Climax, 7/19/19)
5. Jon Moxley vs Kenny Omega (AEW Dynamite, 5/10/23 - Steel Cage)

Tetsuya Naito
1. Tetsuya Naito vs Kenny Omega (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/13/17)
2. Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14, 1/5/20)
3. Tetsuya Naito vs Kenny Omega (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/13/16)
4. Tetsuya Naito vs Will Ospreay (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/12/23)
5. Tetsuya Naito vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka, 2/11/14)

Kota Ibushi
1. Kota Ibushi vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Climax 8/12/18)
2. Kota Ibushi vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14, 1/4/20)
3. Kota Ibushi vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9, 1/4/15)
4. Kota Ibushi vs Kenny Omega (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/11/18)
5. Kota Ibushi vs Jay White (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/12/19)

Tomohiro Ishii
1. Tomohiro Ishii vs Kenny Omega (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/4/18)
2. Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Climax 8/4/13)
3. Tomohiro Ishii vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/6/16)
4. Tomohiro Ishii vs Shingo Takagi (G1 Climax, 8/8/19)
3. Tomohiro Ishii vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW New Japan Cup, 3/23/19)

Minoru Suzuki
1. Minoru Suzuki vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling, 10/8/12)
2. Minoru Suzuki vs AJ Styles (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/1/14)
3. Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax, 8/8/17)
4. Minoru Suzuki vs Kota Ibushi (G1 Climax, 10/10/20)
5. Minoru Suzuki vs Takashi Sugiura (NOAH Great Voyage, 9/19/15)