The High Five #1: HOSSES

 This is The High Five. An excuse...I mean platform to talk about five random wrestling matches. The best part about it is they can be from any period, any promotion, and/or any gimmick in wrestling.  The point is to showcase five matches that maybe don't get enough praise, no praise, or maybe so much praise that you're sick and tired of hearing about it and can no longer handle it. Now obviously, not every match is easily available through video streaming sites, so I will do my best to provide some type of video to associate with the match. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

     We're starting off with Misawa/Hansen, and let me say this match is HOSSY.  This is 1990, so Misawa is still very pseudo heavyweight, but here he beats the absolute shit out of Hansen.  Now, Hansen is the big American baddie in All Japan at this time, so Misawa taking it to him via kicks and elbows makes this a truly unique Japanese crowd.  Overall, the match is under twenty minutes, which I love in a match, and it's current American HOSS vs future Japanese HOSS, which makes it all the better.

Rating: ****1/4



       Mysterio is perhaps a Top 5 WWE wrestlers of all time depending on who you asked. This is a short match that goes like 6 minutes with McIntyre laying into Mysterio. It's great. It is sad to see that injuries and age have caught up with Mysterio, while McIntyre continues to make the best of his position and 3MB kills it on Superstars.  Oh yeah, this match is good.
Rating: ***    This is it, the now infamous Goldberg vs Regal match.  I truly have a special place in my heart for this one, as Regal is a top 10 guy for me, and Goldberg is...well... GOLDBERG!  This was the match that led to Regal's release, as he began to "shoot" on Goldberg, really just taking it to Goldberg, who at this point was still incredibly green.  So many uppercuts, kicks and takedowns. WATCH THIS!!
Rating: ***1/2   Matt Hardy can play the "I need sympathy" gimmick better than a lot of guys.  In this match, this is Finlay's debut on Smackdown, and he goes at it headstrong. When it comes to rankings, I am higher on this match than a LOT of people, but this match is truly a gem in the greatest year of Smackdown history.  Finlay had been teased for weeks, but then he comes in, beats the shit out of Matt Hardy and solidifies himself as HOSS status.  Watch this, if only for the awesome limbwork done by Finlay. Also, STIFF.
Rating: ***3/4            This match features, in my opinion, the greatest of all time, the being of Genichiro Tenryu.  I could talk about Tenryu all day, and truly I have only seen a fraction of his work.  Tenryu in the mid 2000s played the ultimate "get off my lawn or I'll seriously kill you" gimmick to perfection, be it with his spot on punches, chops that rivaled that of Kenta Kobashi's, and crazy old man enzurguri's.  We have YUJI NAGATA playing the youngster, which is strange to think about now. Watch this, just because Tenryu truly shows no mercy in his ass kickings.
Rating: ***3/4     There you have it folks. The first edition of The High Five. Some of the greatest HOSSES of all time were showcased in some not so well known matches, along with Mysterio/McIntyre. What more could you ask for?  Remember, Tenryu will take your lunch money if you don't check these matches out, so do it!