The Watch List takes a look at what matches you should be watching while you’re at home and they come recommended by your favorite professional wrestling stars.
WrestleZone recently spoke with David Penzer, the long-time WCW ring announcer who now works for IMPACT Wrestling and appeared on Talk ‘N Shop A-Mania. Penzer was the only person to be at every single WCW Nitro and Thunder taping and has a tenured history in the business, but says he doesn’t have too many favorite matches as much as he does favorite moments. Penzer called back to several monumental moments in WCW history, including Scott Hall’s arrival and the Four Horsemen reunion in 1998. Penzer also referred to another famed Ric Flair moment in TNA, his ‘WOOOOO Off’ with Jay Lethal, and said those are the moments he likes to watch back today.
“People ask me that a lot and I have a hard time with matches, I’m more of a ‘moment’ guy. Scott Hall walking down the stairs in Macon, Georgia, we knew he was going to be there and we didn’t know what they were going to do with him. By playing off of ‘Scheme’ Gene and playing off of the ‘you want a war’ stuff, a light bulb went off in my head and I got goosebumps.
“The Horsemen reunion in Columbia, South Carolina, I was driving with Arn Anderson at the time and he must’ve practiced that speech with me 100 times, if not 150 and I still pop like a mark. I would say Hulk Hogan turning heel—it was well-known in the back that’s what they wanted him to do but nobody knew until he came out that he was going to do it because there were powers in his ear saying ‘don’t do this, you’ve been this All-American babyface your whole life, don’t do this.’ There was a lot of money on the line for him and thankfully for him he made the right decision.
“As far as IMPACT Wrestling goes, I absolutely love and probably watch it on a monthly basis after I have a few vodkas on the weekend—the Jay Lethal and Ric Flair encounter. It’s must-watch viewing, probably my favorite in TNA history and that covers a lot.
With that said, Penzer has seen plenty of great matches in his time in the business and said the 1992 War Games stands as his favorite. He also referenced Goldberg’s title win over Hollywood Hulk Hogan in Atlanta, and praised Diamond Dallas Page’s battles against the nWo, noting that a lot of the archived material he watches is the stuff he still pops for.
That would be my go-to stuff, but as matches, the best match I ever saw was War Games in Jacksonville. It was 1992, it was the Dangerous Alliance against Sting’s Squadron. If that’s available online or on WWE Network I would encourage you to watch it. I was actually ringing the bell that night in the stands and I was just so into the match that I forgot to ring the bell at the finish. You’ll notice there’s a little delay, and Keith Mitchell was in my ear going ‘ring the f’n bell!’”
I got so into that match but that covers a lot, I’ve seen some really good matches. The Goldberg win over Hogan at the Georgia Dome was just electric, when Diamond Dallas Page turned on Hall and Nash after they courted him and he gave them the Diamond Cutter in the Superdome in Louisiana, that was fantastic. I loved the angle where Don West turned heel on Mike Tenay [in TNA] because they had so much fun with that. I know those guys and I used to hang out with those guys before the shows and after the shows, I became really good friends with them, so that was really fun for me. Those would be on my must-watch list and I watch them over and over because I still pop for them.”
Related: David Penzer On The Surreal Feeling Of Empty Arena Tapings, One Positive That Came As A Result
We added some of Penzer’s moments and match recommendations to the list; you can check out some more from our interview with him at this link. The War Games match is also available in full on WWE Network.
WATCH More: FTR Pick The Classic Matches That ‘Define’ Tag Team Wrestling, Recall Their Feud With American Alpha
