8/6, 1990, Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa. Obvious pick, it's The star making match of AJPW, the passing of the torch between generations.
Honorable mentions include:
Kawasaki Dream, seeing Cactus Jack vs Terry Funk would be wild.
Heatwave 98', that Shinzaki and Hayabusa v RVD and Sabu match is a ton of fun.
7/8, 1976, Madison Squared Garden, 70s MSG shows have some of the hottest crowds around, and the big match on this card is a steelcage grudge match between Stan Hansen and Bruno Sammartino, only a few months after Hansen broke Sammartinos neck.
I was in Japan in 2017 and went to the Togi Makabe anniversary house show and New Beginning in Osaka. I left in early April. As fucked as it is/was (much lessened now that Shibata is back), I could have gone to Sakura Genesis 2017 and constantly shit on myself for not seeing that match in person.
Otherwise, with a time machine and infinite means:
- NOAH December 2, 2007 for Kobashi's return from cancer.
- King of the Ring 98 for the HIAC
- Probably some 83-84 AJPW for Brody/Hansen vs Tenryu/Jumbo
- Mania 17
- back to the 60s or 70s to see the height of World Championship Wrestling Australia at Festival Hall and see Killer Kowalski, Bruno, Bockwinkel etc
Bockwinkel is one of my favourite AWA guys. Needs more Mad Dogs in that lineup.
I lived in San Francisco when Eddie beat Brock for the title at the Cow Palace but I was too much of a broke, ignorant high schooler to even know how to get a ticket.
