2001 was probably the most tumultuous year in the history of pro wrestling. Not only were the three major promotions in North American being absorbed by the winner-take-all WWF, but in Japan the longtime top two promotions of New Japan and All Japan saw a splintering for the first time since their creation in 1972, when Misawa and the majority of AJPW talent departed to form NOAH. A threadbare roster called for desperate times for those left in All Japan, and that's why we see a match for the promotion's top prize be contested between a man who Giant Baba had said he'd never allow to return to the promotion after his unexpected departure in 1990, and one of the top stars of New Japan, and longtime fan of the 'King's Road' style of wrestling, Keiji Mutoh, who was halfway into his miraculous comeback when it seemed he was nothing but a shattered, broken down husk of his former self less than a year earlier.The match was voted the best of the year by Wrestling Observer readers, and 2001 was a year of great matches around the world. Does it hold up? Lorcan (@lorcanmullan) and Simon (@simoncross3) are here to find out.

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