I wonder if, with all the shows I went to this year, some outside my local vicinity even, if I can be considered Super Markish. Or whatever.
I got to see some pretty sweet stuff in the year 2007, including the most profitable Wrestle Mania ever. I traveled 3 times out of Detroit (Kitty Limits) to see both WWE and ROH. I rekindled my love for local indy shows. It’s been a great year for me as far as wrestling goes.
So I sit here on the morning of the last day of the year, reflecting on 2007 and Kitty Limits’ life of pro wrestling…and I count down from the top ten matches I saw live in person.
10. August 25th, 2007 – Dearborn, Michigan, IWF Pro Wrestling
Mr. Insanity vs. Necro Butcher for the vacant IWF Heavyweight Title.
The Dearborn Elks Lounge is not a large venue at all. Nor do the Insane Wrestling Federation (IWF) draw large crowds. So on that warm summer evening, almost right down the street from my home, I saw one of the bloodiest and grueling matches that I’ve seen live, with no more than 35 other people. The action literally at one point wound up in my lap, with Mr. Insanity Toby Klein grasping at me with blood dripping on my purse. It was quite some fun, and a match experience that I’ve never had. And as much as I’ve seen in the world of wrestling, even I was a bit scared during this match, as there’s something that will always be nerve wrecking about two grown men head-butting back and forth for 5 minutes straight 12 inches away from you.
To give you an idea of the mayhem that these two awesome talents, which saw Necro Butcher coming up the winner, here’s something I found on youtube of them battling it out in some “King of the Deathmatches.”
9. April 28th, 2007 – Chicago Ridge, Illinois, Ring of Honor’s “Good Times, Great Memories.”
Colt Cabana vs. Adam Pierce
No, this match was not a technical orgasm, nor was it your hardcore bloodfest wet dream. It was just a fun match. Full of Colt Cabana’s usual comedic antics, and ROH’s usual streamer antics, this match followed a match that you’ll see a littler higher on my list, which says something. If this match can be entertaining after following THAT, then that says something. I thought it was the perfect send-off from ROH, as it was Colt’s last match since he had just signed with the WWE developmental. I put this on the list of the top matches I saw this year, simply because it was one of the most fun I had watching a match live. And afterall, isn’t that the whole point of the game?
8. September 14th, 2007 – Detroit, Michigan, Ring of Honor’s “Motor City Madness 2007″
Erick Stevens vs. ROH Champion Morishima
I turned 21 this year. Instead of dragging “mah gurlz!” to the bar to get incredibly shitfaced, I dragged a mix of “may gurlz” and “mY bOyZ” to an “obscure” wrestling show. None of them like wrestling. They like me, though, so they treated me to a night at the show with them. Sadly, it was the most lackluster ROH I’ve been to…But still, pretty fantastic fun. Early in the evening, Erick Stevens won a 4-Corner Suvival match to get a shot against quite the wrecker, Morishima. I was pretty “meh” about the whole thing – I wasn’t a fan of Stevens, and I knew he didn’t have a chance of winning this match.
By the end of the night, however, I was turned. Erick Stevens and Takeshi Morishima had a GREAT match, and deep down, while I knew Morishima was going to walk out the champ, there were points were I stood up because I was SURE Erick Stevens had won it. Honestly, Stevens really showed up in this match and I felt bad about doubting him…because I realized I had no idea why I did in the first place.
7. March 30th, 2007 – Detroit, Michigan, Ring of Honor’s “All Star Extravaganza III”
Roderick Strong vs. Jack Evans
I realize that the last 3 matches on this list are from Ring of Honor shows – but you must realize, I went to a few ROH shows this year, and all of them feature just a bunch of wrestling matches. So it’s easy to pick ones from their shows! In any event, Roderick Strong whooped the ass of Jack Evans in this match. I’m not too big a fan of Evans but watching him live is always entertaining. I am a huge supporter of Strong though, and I love him as a bad boy. Roderick won, of course, as Jack Evans is ROH’s version of the pre-December 2007 Jeff Hardy.
6. April 1st, 2007 – Detroit, Michigan, WWE’s Wrestle Mania 23
The Granddaddy of them all. Of course I’d have at least ONE (and hm…maybe two…) matches on this list! Of all the shows I went to this year, Wrestle Mania obviously is the biggest one. When you are in a building of about 80,000 people who are there for the same reason as you, you have to imagine every match seems ten times bigger than it actually is – or, in some cases, IS worth all the hype. The Undertaker might be one of my all time favorite wrestlers, and I have been watching him since I was a kid (as many of us have.) But on the show tagged “All grown up,” there’s nothing cooler than seeing your childhood favorite win the World Heavyweight Title, which is exactly what happened here. It helped that I was not a big fan of Batista, so it was easy to side with Taker. However, Batista did carry his weight and helped make this match a full on entertaining brawl with lots of back and forth action. And yes, when The Undertaker won, I was drunk enough to have tears in my eyes.
5. March 30th, 2007 – Detroit, Michigan, Ring of Honor’s “All Star Extravaganza III”
Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer
ROH really likes to go out on their shows Wrestle Mania weekend, as they usually attract a TON of hardcore wrestling fans. The stars of ROH don’t fail to keep up with this trend. Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer had one of the most entertaining matches I’ve EVER seen in person. Two of my all time favorite female wrestlers got involved in this match – Lacey and Daizee Haze – and that was probably the highlight of it. Everything flowed like a well written song, from the action, to the womens’ involvement, to Jimmy Jacobs HEINOUSLY spearing Daizee’s shoes off – LITERALLY! It was just so amazing and BOY did that Jacobs come off so heelish. Many people have said it and I completely agree – Jimmy Jacobs might be the greatest evolved character in the history of pro wrestling. I loved this match.
4. March 30th, 2007 – Detroit, Michigan, Ring of Honor’s “All Star Extravaganza III”
Rocky Romero, Claudio Castagnoli, Delirious, and Austin Aries vs. Dragon Gate’s CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid, and Ryo Saito.
That’s right. Yet another Ring of Honor match, and even so, another one from the “All Star Extravaganza III” show. Honestly, that show was 2 days before Wrestle Mania and I must say, full of way better in ring action. It was so much fun. This match was just AMAZING to see live – I can’t even imagine what the next night’s Supercard of Honor II Dragon Gate rematch from the year before must have been like. Everyone’s styles went really well together, and it was like watching a perfectly choreographed action fight scene in a Quentin Tarantino film. It just can’t get better than this match…or can it?
3. October 7th, 2007 – Chicago, Illinois, WWE’s “No Mercy”
Oh, lookie! I’m not COMPLETELY “Smarky.” A WWE match made it this high! WWE’s No Mercy was supposed to feature John Cena defending the championship against Randy Orton in a last man standing match. However, when Cena got injured, Vince McMahon personally “guaranteed” a new champion at No Mercy, as well as history being made. History was made, and early in the evening we saw Randy Orton get awarded the title, to have it immediately be taken by Triple H, making Randy’s second world title reign even shorter than his first! Randy DEMANDING his rematch that night, and got it – in the stipulation that was originally supposed to happen in the first place – Last Man Standing.
It’s safe to say that a back-story to matches automatically add a few points to how entertaining a match is. Not to mention Orton and Triple H’s history together, this match already looked good on paper. And it did NOT disappoint. I couldn’t believe how intense Last Man Standing matches are in person, I always figured it would be annoying for the crowd. But this is was one of the sickest WWE matches I’ve ever seen live, and I can’t believe that Triple H and Randy Orton aren’t currently having the most heated feud in years right now after that. I really see these two headlining Wrestle Mania against each other – Rightfully so. I like watching them fight, anyways, and was able to see Randy Orton win the title back, with Triple H making me think that he was about to die from getting his ass kicked.
2. April 1st, 2007 – Detroit, Michigan, WWE’s Wrestle Mania 23
John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWE Title
Well…DUH! Of course a Wrestle Mania match was going to be this high! And of course it would be the MAIN EVENT! The build to this match was so old school, and so awesome, that I can’t imagine the same kind of hype at this year’s Wrestle Mania. Maybe I’m biased because the show was in Detroit, but still. HBK showed that he still “can go,” and John Cena proved to anyone that dislikes him that they are disliking him for no reason – he’s TALENTED. No, I’m not just a markish girl, I hated John Cena up until 2007. I would definitely and gladly say he was the wrestler of the year – proving that he can draw, wrestle, entertain, and catch attention, proving by how lacking the show has been since he has been gone. I really felt so much intensity watching this match. It felt like these two were the only two that could main event such a hugely hyped event. I hope they can wrestle again someday.
1. April 28th, 2007 – Chicago Ridge, Illinois, Ring of Honor’s “Good times, great memories”
Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. The Briscoes for the ROH Tag Team Titles
So sue me. Two hometown heroes made it into the most entertaining match I saw live this year. Big deal. Honestly, this match was the best match I’ve ever seen live. I would love to put my vote in for this to be Match of the Year. The action, the fun, the respect…It was just so damn good. When I saw the Motor City Kitties (yeah, I know, shut up) challenge and attack the Briscoes at the All Star Extravaganza I knew I had to see this match. It was only in Chicago, that’s not too far! This match paid for my gas, it paid for my food, and it paid for the alcohol that my friend and I snuck into the prudish Frontier Fieldhouse. If ANYONE gets a chance to see this match, do it. Buy the DVD. Steal it from the internet. Sneak into a creep’s home and smash their stuff until you find it. Just watch it. If you don’t watch ROH I highly suggest this as a match you watch to get you hooked. My kitties lost, but who cares? THE FANS WERE THE TRUE WINNERS!!!
So there you have it. My favorite matches that I saw live in 2007 wrapped up in a nice little blog. I hope you enjoy it…and I hope 2008 can top it! 
Happy New Year, everyone.
Kitty
