1989 Awards 

 

Having waded through 1989’s outstanding year of pro-wrestling, I’m here to give my takes on the best of it. For those who asked, the numbers in parentheses (!) are the position of the wrestler/promotion on the awards list last year (1988).  

 

WRESTLER OF THE YEAR 

1. Ric Flair (3). Flair bounces back from a dodgy 1988 to win his fourth WOTY title. I was *THIS* close to giving it to Jumbo but I just couldn’t. Flair having that series with Steamboat and the feud with Funk. It’s probably his best year in wrestling.  

 

2. Jumbo Tsuruta (5). Jumbo takes a big jump up in quality in 1989. He’s every inch the iconic stud of All Japan this year. Having improved in every aspect. The main thing that makes Jumbo so good is his intensity, which ramped up in 1989 and showed the other wrestlers in the promotion how to be The Man.  

 

3. Ricky Steamboat (RE). Steamboat didn’t feature last year, after placing highly in every countdown I’ve done. 1989 was the year ‘back’. Just outstanding from the second he set foot in the NWA. The Flair series was great, and he went on to a stellar match with Terry Funk and had started what looked like being an unreal series with Lex Luger when he left. WCW dropping the ball on that one. 

 

4. Masakatsu Funaki (NE). I debated this for ages, but nobody hit me with more killer moments in 1989 than Funaki. He was made for shootstyle but has the personality of a big shining star and would have been a hit anywhere. The timing was right for him and that Nakano match is out of this world good.  

 

5. Genichiro Tenryu (6). Unlucky to miss out on being higher, after posting his best year. Tenryu had an incredible feud with Jumbo Tsuruta, put to bed his feud with Stan Hansen and mentored Toshiaki Kawada up the card. Not a bad year. He’d form his own promotion in 1990. Let’s see how that plays out! 

 

6. Terry Funk (RE). Terry missed out in 1988 on account of him being retired and wrestling zero matches. His 1989 return featured a banger of a feud with Ric Flair and then he just retired again. Who knows if he’ll ever get on this list again. I love him. He had a cracker with Eddie Guerrero this year.  

 

7. Lex Luger (NE). This is the first, and probably the last, time Luger appears in my top ten wrestlers of the year. He had a great 1989 though. Full of energy and capable of working both face and heel, without the usual bullshit of completely changing his personality in the process. Worked some great matches with the usual suspects (Flair, Steamboat, Pillman) but also had a banger with Tommy “Wildfire” Rich. He deserves this spot.  

 

8. Vader (NE). This is Vader’s first appearance too, although he’s almost certain to feature again in the future. Vader is one of the greatest big men to ever lace up them boots. He’s also brutally stiff, which is something I adore.  

 

9. Randy Savage (9). Savage hangs on to ninth spot in a year where the WWF sucked, and he had to play second fiddle to an actor. Randy carried so many big matches in 1989, because he had to, and his act with Sensational Sherri was sensational.  

 

10. Jushin Liger (NE). This was a tough one because I’ve not seen as much Liger from 1989 as I wanted to. I really shouldn’t put him in here but he’s so good and his work helped to redefine what junior heavyweights could do in the business.  

 

Honourable Mentions: Victor Zangiev, Kenta Kobashi, Rick Rude, Habieli Victachev, Kiyoshi Tamura, Manami Toyota.  

 

Gone from ‘88: Akira Maeda (1). Last year’s winner drops completely out of reckoning. Maeda was indulgent in 1989 and frustratingly so. Had he been willing to put anyone over, other than Takada, he could have created some huge main events for UWF. Instead, he spent the year legitimising his Brand. The big jerk. Stan Hansen (2). While Hansen had a good 1989, it wasn’t a patch on 1988. Also, he played second fiddle to Tsuruta and Tenryu all year. He was a supporting act, and his work was below theirs. Nobuhiko Takada (4). I was very disappointed in Takada’s 1989. He seemed more interested in just existing in midcard matches. Spending a lot of time in rest holds. Barry Windham (7). 1989 is the year Barry Windham fell off. He did start the year well, as a disciple of Ric Flair, but his decision to jump to the WWF effectively ended his career as a top guy. He’ll be back but in the top ten? Maybe not. Sting (10). Suffered from the improvement from Lex Luger in 1989. It put Sting back in his shadow, to a degree, although Sting ended the year as WCW’s top babyface.  

 

BEST TAG TEAM 

1. Brainbusters (1). I won’t get the chance to do this again, so I wanted to solidify my opinion that, while they existed as a team, the Brainbusters were the best damn team going. It was a lot tighter in 1989 than beforehand though. They had genuine competition and had to drag great matches out of WWF tag teams to win out. 

 

2. British Bulldogs (RE). This is another tough decision as they’re finished as a team here. British Bulldogs had an unbelievable 1989 considering they’d just left the WWF. They went over to All Japan and kicked all kinds of ass. Unlike at their peak, Davey Boy Smith was now a phenomenal wrestler. 

 

3. Can-Am Express (NE). Doug Furnas & Dan Krofatt, one of the best tag teams of the 1990s. They ruled the AJPW tag team scene for half a decade. They’re so good in every match I saw them in for 1989. A delight.  

 

4. Malenko Brothers (NE). See a theme of All Japan running through this? Their tag division was brilliant in 1989, and I’ll miss the Bulldogs being a part of it. The Can-Ams and Malenkos would continue for a while.  

 

5. Rockers (4). Despite the Rockers having a better 1989 than 1988, I’ve dropped them a place but that’s only because they didn’t wrestle for All Japan. Far too many of their WWF matches are full of cutesy, panto, house show crap. When they work hard, they’re a top, top team.  

 

6. Steiner Brothers (NE). I couldn’t just leave the Steiners out altogether, so I’ve given them the official sixth spot.  

 

Honourable Mentions: Roadwarriors, Midnight Express, Samoan Swat Team, Badd Company.  

 

BEST PROMOTION 

1. NWA (4). I had this thing about the awards where I wanted to give this to All Japan, but I’ll give All Japan promotion of the year a bunch of times after this. Guaranteed. Will I ever give it to NWA? Not a chance. Given their stellar 1989 (mostly Flair feuds but Great American Bash rules) it’s an easy enough decision.  

 

2. AJPW (2). Their second year as the bridesmaids and way, way closer to top spot than in 1988. If I didn’t believe in them coming back and winning this again, and again, and again, during the 1990s, I would have just plonked them on the top step.  

 

3. UWF (1). Third spot is tough on UWF who exploded in popularity and made shootstyle a stadium filling gig in 1989. Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada both will look back on 1989 and think of what could have been though. Which is why it’s not up at the top. Maeda for protecting his own reputation, Takada for being too docile.  

 

4. NJPW (3). I can’t believe New Japan doesn’t feature higher given their sensational 1989 where Antonio Inoki became OBSESSED with Soviet shooters. We also had the rise of the juniors and Inoki’s last stand before politics.  

 

5. FMW (NE). Atsushi Onita. What a mad bastard. His series with Aoyagi, where he almost caused a riot at a karate exhibition, and created a promotion out of it, is pure genius. FMW was a wonderful experience. Initially a shootstyle promotion, created to mimic the success of the UWF, it quickly morphed into a bloodshed promotion. I couldn’t be happier.  

 

MATCH OF THE YEAR 

 

You can find details of these in the relevant reviews. Suffice to say, this was the best year for high end MOTYC. Considering Flair had three all-timers with Ricky Steamboat, only one of them makes the list and isn’t even top. Flair would never do better so he’s never getting that top spot. Sorry, Naitch!  

1. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW, June 5) *****.  

 

2. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA Wrestlewar) ***** 

 

3. Masakatsu Funaki vs. Tatsuo Nakano (UWF Fighting Spirit Hakata) ****¾  

 

4. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW Excite Series) ****¾  

 

5. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (NWA Clash of the Champions #9) ****¾  

 

BEST MAJOR SHOW 

1. NWA Great American Bash. Almost everything on this show is good. It’s probably the best PPV to this point. Cornette-Paul E Tuxedo match, Steiners vs Varsity Club, Sting vs Muta, Luger vs. Steamboat, War Games, Flair vs. Funk. What’s not to love there? Hands down best show of the year. Not even close. 

 

2. Clash #8: Fall Brawl. A surprisingly good Clash show with second string guys hitting home runs. In particular Dick Slater subbing in for Terry Funk in the main event and Tommy Rich wrestling Lex Luger in a banger, second top. Even Flyin’ Brian vs. Norman the Lunatic was good for crying out loud. Woman turned heel. Sid squashed Ranger Ross. Tremendous.  

 

3. NJPW Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome. 53,000 in attendance to witness Antonio Inoki lose his goddamn mind. Inoki jobbing to a Georgian shooter nobody had ever heard of in the main event. Salman Hashimikov beating Bam Bam Bigelow. However, the show also boasts a mad spotfest tag with Hase & Koshinaka vs. Takano & SSM. Vader being crowned the beast. Victor Zangiev. Hashimoto upsetting Choshu! It was a hell of a card. 

 

4. UWF Midsummer Creation. My favourite UWF show, probably ever. Just a great card. Maeda and Fujiwara clashing in the main. A series of kicky young punks taking on grappling vets. Nakano vs. Minoru Suzuki. Tamura! Takada vs. Funaki. Just a great show. 

 

5. NWA Wrestlewar. It has the Flair-Steamboat match.  

 

WORST WRESTLER 

1. Zeus. I feel bad for Zeus. He did the best he could but let’s face it, he couldn’t wrestle at all. Which is kinda key if you’re a wrestler. He did rest holds and no selling. That was it. The only reason his matches weren’t awful is because Randy Savage held them together.  

 

2. Andre the Giant (9). The deterioration is real. He looks dreadful now. The match with Warrior was absolute dogshit. One of the worst matches ever put on TV to that point.  

 

3. Sid (NE). The guiltiest of guilty pleasures, Sid was rarely ever good. Entertaining? Yes. Over? Oh, hell yes. But good? Nah. A bunch of nerve holds and bearhugs and assorted shit. Just terrible.  

 

4. Jimmy Snuka (NE). Snuka was in horrible shape before the WWF brought him back. I have no idea why they decided to get him back in the fold. He was so bad. The match with Ted DiBiase, a genuinely great worker, should have had alarm bells ringing at Summerslam. They even put him with Savage AFTER that match.  

 

5. Dusty Rhodes (RE). Big Dust is back in here courtesy of his big polka dot covered ass embarrassing himself in the WWF. Crawling through shit to kiss the feet of a man he wanted to destroy.  

 

6. Dino Bravo (7). Continuing his run of shitty matches. Just an awful pro-wrestler. How did he even think he was going to continue doing this? Did no one tell him? Foreshame. 

 

7. Akeem (NE). How has Akeem never made the top ten worst wrestlers before? Absolutely horrid.  

 

8. Jim Duggan (3). In defence of Duggan, he wrestled Randy Savage on house shows in the second half of the year and he sharpened right up. There was a worker in there somewhere. 

 

9. Ultimate Warrior (2). Warrior improved a little in 1989. To the point where he wasn’t noticeably shit until he wrestled Andre and couldn’t do anything. That match is an abomination.  

 

10. Ranger Ross (NE). Another guy who just couldn’t do anything. Kinda like Goldberg only without the impactful moves.  

 

WORST PROMOTION 

1. AWA (2). I didn’t even sit through an AWA match, let alone a show, but they fucking sucked in 1989. The shows were unwatchable. The same old duffers having the same old matches. Sgt Slaughter. Colonel DeBeers. Manny Fernandez. Wahoo. Ken Patera. Greg bloody Gagne. Wendi Richter. Then a new generation of talent like Derrick Dukes and Tommy Jammer who couldn’t draw flies. The odd guy like Scott Norton or Mike Enos would go on to better things but they’re just rookies here. 

 

2. WWC (NE). I switch between being in awe of Carlos Colon for being able to draw massive houses by putting himself in barbed wire matches and just bleeding all over the place and hating Carlos Colon for the dogshit matches he had. FMW is the final straw for WWC because it shows you can do blood and make it interesting. 

 

3. WWF (1). Another bad year for Vince’s three ring circus. It was as popular as ever, but the product was garbage. They’re lucky that AWA exists to make them look better. Despite many returning top stars like Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka, they were reliant on Hulk Hogan’s dreadful movie “No Holds Barred” for half the year. Wrestlemania was in one of Trump’s shitty casinos again. Just an awful year for the Fed.  

 

SNME was at a creative low. Ideas were constantly being recycled. The only hot angle they had was Savage turning on Hogan and that should have led to a hot as hell Wrestlemania but they held it at Trump Plaza, so nobody cared. Mania featured an enormous 14 matches, precisely one of which anyone wanted to see. Beefcake vs. DiBiase? Bushwhackers vs. Rougeaus? Bravo vs. Garvin? Jake vs Andre? Bad News vs Duggan? Just a terrible card. 

 

WORST MAJOR SHOW 

1. NWA Clash of the Champions #5. After the diatribe above, you’d expect Mania here right? Wrong. That’s because I’ve seen Clash of the Champions #5. Featuring a 17-minute Butch Reed vs. Steven Casey match! Lex Luger against Jack Victory under a mask for 13 minutes. Ricky Steamboat vs. Bob Bradley. Rick Steiner vs. Rip Morgan. A shmoz main event running less than six minutes. No Flair at all. No Sting. Doing bait and switch for the main event! Just awful.  

 

2. Royal Rumble. Super Posedown. Rockin’ Robin. King Haku. John Studd’s Rumble win. A dreadful show, only highlighted by Hogan, the big jockass, eliminating his mate Randy Savage from the Rumble match.  

 

3. WrestleMania V. Wrestlemania, the “showcase of the immortals” has made my list of worst shows three times in the opening five installments. Pop that in your pipe and smoke it. The only good early Manias are one (for the celebrities and the pomp) and three (Hogan-Andre, Savage-Steamboat). The rest are all shit. V is a big offender. A bad card, headlined by ‘all eggs in one basket’ match of Hogan-Savage. Which isn’t even that good by their standards. The show is way too long, very boring and in a shithole casino. Oh, and that bloody Piper’s Pit with Morten Downey Jr on it. Fuck this show.  

 

NEXT: 1990. In which I watch FMW, Tri-State Wrestling and attempt to find some Super World of Sports. Cactus Jack, Flair vs Luger, Hogan vs Warrior, Sgt Slaughter goes back to the WWF but not as you remember him, Paul Orndorff returns, AWA Superclash IV, EL GIGANTE, Vader vs Stan Hansen, Tenryu quits All Japan, Sting gets the belt, Black Scorpion, some ginger guy called Mean Mark signs for WCW, Kerry von Erich joins the Fed, Tiger Mask II unmasks, Tsuruta vs Misawa, Aja Kong, Bull Nakano, the UWF implodes, WWF & NJPW & AJPW co-promote a show! THE RETURN OF ROBOCOP! All coming soon.