It's every man for himself as Kieran, Mark, Andy Ogden and Eddie Sideburns get to grips with the 1992 Royal Rumble from January 19, 1992. PLUS: other Rumbles we love, This Tuesday in Texas, the rest of the card, Steve Keirn, Jack Tunney, all-time great commentary, a legendary promo, Play Your Ages Right with some shocking results, more cowbell, more of Mark’s sporting misadventures, The Z-Man, vintage leather handbags, Survivor Series 1987, Eastenders, speedboats, Mil Mascaras, everybody hates V...
Oct 14, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Kieran and Mark seek solace in the arms of Andy Ogden and Eddie Sideburns to escape the unrepentant violence of WALTER vs. Ilja Drgunov from NXT UK TV on October 29, 2020. PLUS: Gardening, Covid era wrestling, Rhea Ripley, E. Honda, corned beef, Hajime no Ippo, gurning, enormous hairdressers, Nigel vs. German and several other languages, immigrant dreams, Stand By Me, Bray Wyatt, Fujita vs. Shiozaki, and golf claps. Follow the project and podcast on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and BlueSky: @Must...
Oct 07, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Kieran and Mark revisit the "can't miss" period of New-Japan Pro Wrestling as Strigga returns to talk Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada from Invasion Attack on April 7, 2013. PLUS: no crying over spilt pepper, potential credit card fraud, burning Christmas trees, a “triple main event”, card games, Michael Nakazawa, Don Fujii, Flair/Steamboat, The Thing, Captain fuckin’ New Japan, Big Boss Shimizu, the many wacky lucha submission holds of Kazuchika Okada, pink trainers, pinning sleeping wrest...
Oct 01, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Parm Singh Mann is back to help Kieran and Mark talk about a match twice as old as he is! The classic Hair vs. Hair match between MS-1 and Sangre Chicana from EMLL's 50th Anniversary show on September 23, 1983. Also, big thanks to The Cubs Fan (@luchablog) for helping us source the show image. PLUS: excessive heat, serial killers, Lucha Underground, Zona 23, When Worlds Collide, current-day CMLL, Hell of War, Tony Salazar, baby Mistico, lucha referees, Kennichiro Arai, and the Hell of War (TM). ...
Sep 24, 2023•51 min•Season 1Ep. 73
This time we’re-a stand up and shout with the returning Dave Ryan as he and Kieran tell Mark why they both put Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock from WrestleMania X-7 (April 1, 2001) on their Must See Matches lists, and of course we talk about THAT video… PLUS: the insanity that was US wrestling at this time, the WrestleMania 19 match, the overall quality of WrestleMania X7, (lack of) memories of WrestleMania 2000, other video packages, Highlander, Disturbed, Forceable Entry, young Rock, a co...
Sep 17, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Fiery underdog Kenta Kobashi takes it to wild veteran foreigner Stan Hansen on July 29, 1993, and returning guest MOJ helps Kieran and Mark with history, context and insight. PLUS: John Cena, running over title belts, Pete Roberts, Caswell Martin, The Destroyer, Kieran is an idiot, rubbish masks, Marvel comics, Kenta Kobashi’s vigilante justice, the eyesight of one John Stanley Hansen, Lost in Cleveland, Vader, Joe Higuchi: champion juggler, inspiration, Police Story, and Paper Bag Jones. Follow...
Sep 10, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 71
The Power Slam Man, Fin Martin from Inside The Ropes goes to WAR WAR WAR WAR with Kieran and Mark as they talk about the Sting’s Squadron vs. Dangerous Alliance War Games match from WCW WrestleWar ’92 on May 17, 1992. PLUS: VERY brief All In chat, Superstars of Wrestling, Power Slam, World of Sport, Strike Force vs. Demolition, Mickey Rourke, WCW repeating TV matches, “don’t take steroids”, the Western States Heritage Title, Ricky Steamboat’s broken nose, Jim Ross’s hotline scoops, Bill Watts, T...
Sep 03, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 70
The English language voice of Dragon Gate, Jae Church, joins Kieran and Mark to talk the history, the action, the legacy and the importance of Toryumon's first-ever four-way trios match: DoFixer vs. Shin M2K vs. CrazyMAX vs. Italian Connection from August 30, 2003. PLUS: piracy, “Quick Draw” Rick McGraw, a dial that only goes to 10, the DreamCast, HoHo Lun, Tomohiro Ishii, Detective Alan Kuroki, the many former names of Don Fujii, Shoji Kondo’s cookies, Kieran confesses his love for Milano Colle...
Aug 26, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 69
The best place to end a trilogy is in the middle. The man behind No Context Flair, Jack Milner, jumps in at the last moment to help Kieran and Mark talk Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair from Clash of the Champions VI, on April 2, 1989. An excellent match that famously drew very poorly, for reasons we shall discuss. PLUS: other wrestlers bereft of context, “the wilderness years”, Preston, “the big cage”, Steamboat vs. Misawa, Rick Steamboat: Microphone Master, the Manager of Dunder-Mifflin’s Yokoham...
Aug 21, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Unfortunately, we have to talk about Chris Benoit again. Feel free to skip this one if that still feels icky. This is the last time. Kieran & Mark saddle up the tandem for their obligatory coverage of Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit from the Royal Rumble on January 19, 2003. Apologies for Mark sounding a bit RoboCop this week; technical difficulties. We’ll reboot him and upgrade his firmware for next week. PLUS: fainting, lard, chocolates, The Smackdown Six, wooden horses, new puppy John Cena, c...
Aug 12, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 67
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 Sim...
Aug 06, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 66
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...
Jul 30, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 65
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 Morish...
Jul 23, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 64
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 ...
Jul 16, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 63
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. PLUS: DDT, rain, Pancrase, nerdy details, Suzuki and New-Japan history, Ayumi Nakamura and Kaze ni Nare, dubious hair decisions, One Piece, John Cena, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Okada’s terrible submission holds, dodgy footwork, the best Figure-Four Leglock ever, Timothy Thatcher and Buster Keaton. Follow the pro...
Jul 09, 2023•54 min•Season 1Ep. 62
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: @M...
Jul 02, 2023•54 min•Season 1Ep. 61
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: ...
Jun 25, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 60
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 pr...
Jun 18, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 59
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 m...
Jun 11, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Were you there? With wrestling at Wembley Stadium currently a hot topic, Allan Cheapshot is in the guest seat - whether he wants to or not - to talk the history, build-up, dynamics, action and fallout of Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith from SummerSlam '92 on August 29, 1992. PLUS: Elton Welsby, Video+, anime on the Sci-Fi Channel, Landover, WWF home computer games, “Ultimate Wins WWF”, Burger King, the chemical state of the Bulldog, Lennox Lewis, the little platform, Ed Miliband, Diana and Diana, ...
Jun 03, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 57
The other (better?) half of The Arn & Eddie Experience, Arnold Furious, joins Kieran and Mark to discuss a nostalgic classic from the days when wrestling was better... and worse: Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect from SummerSlam '91 on August 26, 1991. PLUS: 1999, the West Texas Rednecks, swatting gum, the Mr Perfect vignettes, Bret Hart’s transition to singles, Ricky Steamboat, Virgil, “Coach” John Tolos, Herb Abrams’ UWF, Hennig’s injuries, Bobby Heenan, Irish whips, trademark bumps, the Hart fami...
May 28, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Dave Ryan from Days of Thunder makes it a hattrick as he joins Kieran and Mark to discuss what is arguably the in-ring peak of NXT Black & Gold: Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade 'Cien' Almas from NXT Takeover Philadelphia on January 27, 2018 PLUS: "An-draid", the quality of this period of NXT, WrestleMania Dallas, THE MOVE~!, Ultimate Spider Jr., Be Like No One, undefeated Asuka, NXT Loud, Sid Vicious, TM61, Australian slang, sexy lucha men, the Prince of Luxembourg, obnoxious crowds, bouncy corne...
May 20, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Saddle up the MSM tandem, it's a two-hander as Kieran and Mark get stuck into the only ECW match to make the 104: Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome from Heatwave '98 on August 2, 1998. PLUS: VHS, The Head Hunters, The Night The Line Was Crossed, Bravo, zombies, FMW, Gran Naniwa, the brilliance of ECW TV, Atsushi Onita, The Zoo, JT Smith, “Roaring Elbow”, Ulf Herman, Taz, Jerry Lynn’s action figure, Aldo Montoya, “Yagawama, Japan”, Kenta Kobashi, Bill Alfonso goes on holiday, WCW, and One Night Stan...
May 14, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Mysterious joshi expert Kadaveri joins Kieran and Mark to discuss the context, rules, history and action of the epic interpromotional team battle: Dynamite Kansai, Mayumi Ozaki, Cutie Suzuki & Hikari Fukuoka vs. Aja Kong, Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue & Sakie Hasegawa from JWP Thunder Queen Battle on July 31, 1993. PLUS: a useful deal, wrestling forums, WCW, Blizzard Yuki, FMW, unsanctioned promos, FIRST ATTACK!, secret rules, The Juniors, The Charisma, The Glamour, The Giants, an existentia...
May 07, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 53
We’ve covered the end, now we cover the beginning. GRAPPL Gareth is here to talk the build-up, execution and aftermath of the first match in the Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat ’89 trilogy, from Chi-Town Rumble on February 20, 1989. PLUS: Monkeyoke, nostalgia for VHS, the genesis of Grappl, High Fidelity, “YAHOO!”, Magnum TA, the mystery of Hiro Matsuda and the Yamazaki Corporation, Die Hard, Hulk Hogan’s broken leg, LaToya Jackson, Kip Montana, Street Fighter II, Dan Spivey, Samoan Swat Team, Ric...
Apr 30, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 52
With apologies for accidental false advertising, Eamonn Bell returns again to talk the only pure Dragon Date match on the 104: Shingo Takagi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki from Gate of Destiny on November 1, 2015. PLUS: CIMA in all his forms, Kamikaze USA, Mochizuki Jr., Uncle Don Fujii, Open the Owarai Gate, Alice in Borderland , weird unit line-ups, Florida Bros., Kieran hasn’t seen The Wire , Animal Hamaguchi, the double kickpad theory, Homer Simpson, “unplanned rapid disassembly”, Devil May Cry , Bre...
Apr 23, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 51
A marvellous man returns! Days of Thunder's Dave Ryan joins Kieran & Mark again to talk the first match between the Olypmic gold medallist and Mr. WrestleMania: Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania 21 on April 3, 2005. Watch the match on WWE's YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/8WMHSghZix8 Follow the project and podcast on Twitter, Instagram and Mastodon: @MustSeeMatches Follow Mark: @monkey_buckles Follow Kieran: @kieranedits http://linktr.ee/mustseematches Follow Dave...
Apr 16, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Alan4L returns to talk the build-up, legend and aftermath of the classic Magnum T.A. vs. Tully Blanchard I Quit Cage match from Starrcade 85 on November 18, 1985. PLUS: Some Buckeldee slander, some Lefort shame, college football, Excalibur’s dad, 1980s TV studio wrestling, Buddy Landel, Razor Ramon, Paul Roma, Goldberg, Johnny Weaver, Ivan Koloff’s forehead, the cancellation of Magnum TA, Crocketts on TV, Poochie Rhodes, clumsy Hawk, “Jimmy Black(land)”, The Roberts family, Bob Seger, pro-wrestl...
Apr 09, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Kieran's podcasting sidepiece, Andy Ogden from GCP, joins us to talk a nostalgic classic, Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior from WrestleMania VII, on March 24, 1991, the only appearance of the Ultimate Warrior on Must See Matches.PLUS: Play Your Ages Right, thrones, a large deadman appears, Randy Savage plays Ric Flair, the rear view camera, the wonderful Sherri Martel, the liar Gorilla Monsoon, referee rigor mortis, Johnny Gargano, game shows and a shocking revelation from Mark.Follow the proje...
Apr 01, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Sarah Parkin returns to help Kieran & Mark cover one of the most important matches on our list: the first time two women of colour main event WrestleMania in Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair from WrestleMania 37 on April 10, 2021. PLUS: stupid entrances, treatment of female wrestlers and wrestlers of colour in WWE, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, Kurt Angle, WWE TV production, Michael Cole, Masato Yoshino, anatomy with Dr. Lefort, giant pirate skeletons, Argentina, lots of hair, and lots and lots of...
Mar 26, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 47
