Must See Matches

Rewinding almost exactly 40 years from last week, wrestling historian, author, referee and promoter, Patrick W Reed joins Mark and Kieran to talk the oldest match to make the 104: Andre The Giant vs. Stan Hansen from September 23, 1981.

PLUS: wrestling in Jersey, Drew Gulak, George Hackenschmidt, how tall was Andre really, Samuel Beckett, Pat Roach, Conan The Destroyer, Andre’s crazy schedule at his peak, The Big Show, Hulk Hogan, giant inflatable pandas, Bruce Tharpe, Arnold Skaaland, Homer Simpson, a pattern, Roland Bock, Antonio Inoki, bears, history’s mildest heel turn, Stan’s judo, Shibata’s dad, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Princess Bride, French lucha libre, bonus Andre, and Big Papa T!

Follow the project and podcast on Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads and BlueSky: @MustSeeMatches

http://linktr.ee/mustseematches

Join the Discord: bit.ly/mustseematchesdiscord

Follow and support Patrick: @Patrick_W_Reed // patrickwreed.com // https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lostsoulspizza // https://youtu.be/owL6T5-pZ_8

Kieran: @kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles

MUSIC: "Chuck Kick Ass" by Nicolas Jeudy. Used under license from Dark Fantasy Studio.

The bendiest of boys, Parm Singh Mann makes his long-overdue return to talk the I-can't-believe-they-put-this-on-free-TV match, Kenny Omega vs. Bryan Danielson from AEW Dynamite Grand Slam on September 22, 2021.

PLUS: Mark’s escapades with suits of armour, 1PW, Fight Forever, Jim Ross, CM Punk, Team Taz, “the Duggan button”, The Suzuki Incident, the return of crowds to American wrestling, shoes, the influence these two are having and will have on the wrestling industry, Harley Omega, lip-reading, Paul Turner, Kenny’s big hands, Kieran’s big TV production rant, praise for TNA, Anton Voorhees, Tomohiro Ishii, Alan4L, and Kieran has a stern warning for Parm.

Follow the project and podcast on Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon and BlueSky: @MustSeeMatches

http://linktr.ee/mustseematches

Join the Discord: bit.ly/discordmsm

Follow Parm: @BiBoyParm

Kieran: @kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles

MUSIC: "Chuck Kick Ass" by Nicolas Jeudy. Used under license from Dark Fantasy Studio.

Yes, the one with the eye... Plucked from Guerrilla Island, Sarah Flann comes to talk about Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima from Ring of Honor's Manhattan Mayhem II on August 25, 2007.

Unfortunately, Sarah’s audio had a habit of dropping out mid-sentence. The options were to spend a lot of time editing around it, trying to keep as much of what she is saying, or leave it as is, and let our intelligent listeners fill in the blanks. We chose option B.

PLUS: Mark’s first good joke, some Morishima/NOAH history, some Ring of Honor World Title history, unavoidable discussion of a horrible injury, the Bryan Danielson thought process, Pac, Kieran plays devil’s advocate, Raw dark matches, and find out who doesn’t do legs.

Follow the project and podcast on Twitter: @MustSeeMatches http://linktr.ee/mustseematches

Follow Sarah: @SarahFlann

Kieran: @kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles

MUSIC: "Chuck Kick Ass" by Nicolas Jeudy. Used under license from Dark Fantasy Studio.

For "the match to change All-Japan", Misawa vows to go all out, and so does our guest. Former ring announcer and podcaster, MOJ, joins Kieran and Mark to break down the epic Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa Triple Crown match from January 20, 1997.

PLUS: cartoon WWF goes hardcore, VHS (again), hair chat (again) Atsushi Onita crying (again), “The Pisstaker” Kazuchika Okada, Kinch Stalker, Osaka wrestling experiences, poorly attended shows, Kaiyukan, Misawa’s love of Super Street Fighter II, “a steam train in orange trunks”, the mist gland, VPW 2, company tag lines, “incredibly painful imaginary athletics”, “Miss AWA”, horrific head-drops, and an analogy you won’t see coming.

Follow the project and podcast on Twitter: @MustSeeMatches http://linktr.ee/mustseematches

Follow MOJ: @threekidneysmoj

Kieran: @kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles

MUSIC: "Chuck Kick Ass" by Nicolas Jeudy. Used under license from Dark Fantasy Studio.

Wrestling video essayist Squill joins Mark and Kieran to discuss a classic of the modern New-Japan golden age: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki from King of Pro-Wrestling on October 8, 2012.

In a change to scheduled programming, FMW historian Bahu (Bret) joins Kieran and Mark to talk through the history, action and legacy of the first ever women's No-Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match: Megumi Kudo vs. Combat Toyoda from FMW's 7th Anniversary on May 5, 1996.

PLUS: PowerSlam, Fire Matches, VHS, dubious production values, the mystery of the colourless commentator, Mark watches a LOT of FMW, quite a few powerbombs, and Terry Pratchett.

Follow the project and podcast on Twitter: ⁠⁠@MustSeeMatches⁠⁠

⁠⁠http://linktr.ee/mustseematches⁠⁠

Kieran: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@kieranedits⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mark: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@monkey_buckles⁠⁠⁠

Follow Bret: @BahuFMW // IG: BahuFMWWorld

Watch the match on Bret’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Xmw3TyNtZhE

MUSIC: "Chuck Kick Ass" by Nicolas Jeudy. Used under license from Dark Fantasy Studio.

GRAPPL Spotlight's Matty Edwards joins Kieran & Mark once again to mark the 25th anniversary, and talk the on- and off-screen build-up, legend and legacy of the original wild stunt match: Undertaker vs. Mankind from King of the Ring on June 28, 1998.

PLUS: cavemen, angry beard trimming, Trainer Talk, BJW, horrible injuries, and more than one shocking revelation...

Follow the project and podcast on Twitter: ⁠@MustSeeMatches⁠

⁠http://linktr.ee/mustseematches⁠

Kieran: ⁠⁠⁠@kieranedits⁠⁠⁠ Mark: ⁠⁠⁠@monkey_buckles⁠⁠

Follow Matty: ⁠@MattyEdwards86⁠

Follow GRAPPL: ⁠@GRAPPLpod⁠ // ⁠patreon.com/GRAPPL⁠

MUSIC: "Chuck Kick Ass" by Nicolas Jeudy. Used under license from Dark Fantasy Studio.

Guard your larynix and other fictitious bodyparts! In a change to the scheduled progamming, Mark & Kieran traverse the aisle in their little ring cart to discuss one of Kieran's nominations and a true 80s classic: Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat from WrestleMania III on March 29, 1987.

PLUS: Rain, sausages, DDP, accidental VHS theft, Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask, on-air admin, Charles Robinson, angry karate, Hercules, Jim Steele, the art of the Irish whip, and a whole lot more. 

Follow the project and podcast on Twitter/IG: ⁠⁠@MustSeeMatches⁠⁠

⁠⁠http://linktr.ee/mustseematches⁠⁠

Kieran: ⁠⁠@kieranedits⁠⁠ Mark: ⁠⁠@monkey_buckles⁠⁠

MUSIC: "Chuck Kick Ass" by Nicolas Jeudy. Used under license from Dark Fantasy Studio.

To celebrate the 18th anniversary, Eamonn Bell returns to discuss one of his favourite matches and a true must-see: Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher from IWA: Mid-South Something to Prove on June 11, 2005.

PLUS: The Wrestling Channel, does long equal good, who or what is a “Necro Butcher”, Sylvester Terkay, RoH vs. CZW, The Wrestler, laying it in, IWA: Mid-South’s mark on US independent wrestling, New-Japan being arseholes, Rainman, Bryce Remsburg, Eddie Kingston, CM Punk, Spider-Man, and too many movie analogies.

Watch the match here for free on IWA: MS’s Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/mMU5S9VHhJM WARNING: It is gross.

Follow the project and podcast on Twitter/IG: ⁠@MustSeeMatches⁠

⁠http://linktr.ee/mustseematches⁠

Kieran: ⁠@kieranedits⁠ Mark: ⁠@monkey_buckles⁠

Follow Eamonn: ⁠no_more_mutants⁠

MUSIC: "Chuck Kick Ass" by Nicolas Jeudy. Used under license from Dark Fantasy Studio.