Ranking Who Was Really The Man In Wrestling Every Year 1990-2020

27. 1994 - Mitsuharu Misawa

Austin Jericho
Pro Wrestling NOAH

Toshiaki Kawada's 1994 is more revered for its in-ring than Misawa's, but 1994 was the year in which the Ace truly earned a lofty designation.

His performance against Kawada, on June 3, distilled it: he, in the match as with reality, was the indomitable threat, even in the fight of Kawada's life. He found levels upon levels of expertise, brutality and, by the finish, grotesque cruelty to repel Kawada's raging fire. One of the most intricate pro wrestling matches ever, in terms of its grand narrative heft, and it was worked at a level of craft the industry had never seen. It remained, by hardcore tape-trader consensus, the greatest ever until this current generation exploded.

1994 was also the year Misawa solidified the greatest tag team ever, alongside Kenta Kobashi, insofar as combined drawing power and exceptional match quality, and strengthened his trend of near-constant Budokan sellouts.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!