5 Best Wrestling Matches of 1998

#2 Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa - October 31, 1998

Throughout the 1990s, Misawa was All Japan Pro Wrestling’s #1 wrestler and Kobashi was either #2 or #3, depending on the year. They were tag team partners for many years and faced each other in singles competition many times as well. We’ve already touched on this match once before, so all you need to know is this: Kobashi and Misawa are legendary wrestlers the likes of which will never be seen again.

They were both tough as nails and were also two of the smartest and most ‘logical’ wrestlers in the world. Their matches – including this one – are famous for their logic, storytelling and psychology. They knew each other so well at this point that they could block and predict each other’s moves perfectly.

This led to some amazing reversal sequences and pinfalls that came out of nowhere, which translated into spectacular wrestling matches.

This match is a masterpiece in terms of showing toughness and having elements of a match build on top of one another. This isn’t just a slugfest where two wrestlers trade power moves back and forth; there are logic and meaning behind every move, and this is applied to a wrestling match that goes over forty minutes in length.

It’s an old-school tough man contest with some brutal moves that showcase how superhuman wrestlers can be. It’s a must-see for true wrestling enthusiasts that definitely earned its title of Match of the Year for 1998.