Phil Schneider

Carl is wrestling Mad Dog Connelly for ACTION this Friday, I couldn't be more biased, as his return was something I basically manifested, but it is too bad this deadline is in May, because if we pull off half the things we are planning I could see a huge jump in his placement.

I am pretty sure the 1951 match is a different guy working the Gypsy Joe gimmick

Three years later then most of the posts in this thread, and Darby has just moved higher and higher. I him wrestle Clark Conners tonight on Collision and it was incredible stuff, just a throw away TV match on a B show and he broke out some all timer bumps and some really cool storytelling around his back, he just does this kind of thing virtually week after week. I could honestly see him being the highest rated guy on my list who is getting there mostly on AEW work

We are bringing him back!! https://x.com/WrestleACTION1/status/2011517339679019427?s=20

I really liked the Ole vs. Bubba cage match from the new Crockett Cup drop, really great performance as a walking tall babyface, something I hadn't seen him do before.

Did I miss Pantera on your list of guys, we just had him in for DEAN 3, and he looked fucking awesome. Hechicero is a guy with enough of a resume at this point to be considered too (also looked awesome on Saturday)

Card so far!! Lucha Maestros Trios (Virus confirmed) Nicole Matthews vs. X Gypsy Joe Invitational (Coven of the Goat confirmed) Mad Dog Connelly vs. Demus Hair vs. Hair

https://x.com/WrestleACTION1/status/1951343087051219123

I guess, but iff you look at someone like Rick Rude, he is really just 86-92, Connelly will have as long a career as that by the time the vote comes along

Someone posted a pretty long excerpt on Reddit where he talks about the first Hangman Page Texas Death Match https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/1lz6oz2/except_from_way_of_the_blade_aew_editionjon/

Wild that this was posted 11 years ago, and Panther has had this kind of run over the last year or so. DEAN 2 Cibernetico, the pair of Moriarity matches, the Hechicero and Danielson singles, he has put together one of the great old man runs in history and it keeps going. Pretty rare to add a bunch to your GWE resume in your sixties, but Panther sure as shit has.

Connelly has had a bigger profile 2025 then 2024, main evented DEAN 2, and had a great series against Matt Tremont in several different promotions, I got something pretty sick on tap for DEAN 3 as well, so I think he is making a late push.

Talking to Mox for Way of the Blade: AEW Edition helped me appreciate him more in the ring, he thinks about wrestling in a pretty interesting way and his willingness to break molds doesn't always work, but makes his matches way more interesting then guys who are pigeonholed into the same 2.9 count formula as every other Meltzer beloved 2025 wrestler.

It is crazy to read this thread and see how opinions have shifted, everyone 10 years ago was kind of on the "Piper was a good talker but sucked in the ring", people ever comparing him to guys like Jericho and Edge, I think consensus has shifted rightly to him being an all time great in ring wrestler, new footage has helped, the unearthered Valentine match and new Buzz Sawyer dog collar are both classics, but it is interesting to see how people have reevaluated his WWF and WCW runs too.

Thanks! I have really been branching out to doing more interviews in the last couple of years especially for The Ringer and Yahoo and I am really happy with how the interviews for this book turned out.