Dylan Waco

I realize we have had a bunch of threads like this tonight, but I'm genuinely curious about this. For me I know I'll have Cena and Styles (though of course that has nothing to do with his WWE run so far), and I'm virtually certain Cesaro will sneak his way onto the bottom portion. After that I'm either blanking, or there is no one else I can say for sure will make the cut.

Very torn on him, as I think at worst he's one of the absolute dirt worst offenders of indie excess. Even in his great matches last year he had a tendency to build everything to a head drop no sell spot which is irking and annoying as all hell. I also was not a fan of the Kings of Wrestling as a team, and genuinely think that was lost time for him. On the other hand he's had a lot of matches that I would rate from very good to great going back over a decade. I'm not sure Hero at his peak was ever as good as say Samoa Joe at his peak, but he has far fewer lost years, and a wider range of skills. At this best Hero is a great grappler, great brawler, and has legitimately excellent highspots. Seeing him live this year he has a true presence that puts him a level above most of the other talented indie stars. He's an athletic freak, almost Buddy Rosesque really, but I think sometimes people miss the fact that on top of having cool varied offense, and the ability to do impressive stuff physically, he can sell well and pace his matches better than most....when he's at his best. I also think he's been effective playing a variety of characters over the years. I recently went back and watched some of that CZW/ROH feud and he really was great during it, right there with Joe and Necro, but if anything with an even more impressive character role in the angle. I"m tempted to go back and watch some the IWA-MS stuff before this is over with. I'm likely to be more forgiving of excess during that period as it was guys trying to get noticed, and doing things completely outside of the box for period. Even absent doing that I'll still consider him. Most of the other great indie workers lack the volume, longevity, and relative consistency as a high end worker and that should count for something.

I have been avoiding writing a longish piece on Marty like I've done with a lot of the other WoS guys because I'm not really sure where to go with it He's a very confusing wrestler to me because I used to absolutely love him, and I don't much disagree with the idea that he's probably got as many good matches as anyone from the Brit scene in the 70s and 80s. Having said that rewatching things over the last couple of months his star has really faded with me. It's not that he's bad. He's clearly a good worker. He has good highspots, he always brings effort, he has strong technique, and I think he is effectively working underneath. That said he does not jump off the page at all. Watching a litany of his matches in recent weeks I can count maybe three occasions where I thought he was better than or equal to his opponent, and 2 of those were against the erratic Rocco. I do think he worked really well v. Pete Roberts and was kind of stunned to see OJ wasn't terribly high on those matches as they were the only Jones matches I saw where Jones really came across like a world class worker to me. Maybe it's just my preference for the type of wrestlers they are, but I was shocked at how much I preferred the performances of Rudge and Finlay to Jones. While I wouldn't use the term carry job, almost everything interesting in the Rudge match I would argue was due to Terry. Perhaps even more shockingly I thought St. Clair was better than Marty in their head to head which I never would have guessed coming in. Maybe it was Jones getting him to rise to that level, but it was still somewhat shocking. I think what hurts Jones most to me is that the Brit style is one I often associate (fairly or not) with subtitles, nuances, and tactical approaches. I never really get that from Jones. Maybe I'm just overlooking it, because OJ is calling him a psychologists of the Finlay/Regal sort. I just haven't seen that, or it doesn't pop off the screen. On volume he has a case, but I really want someone to pitch him to me with more particulars about what he was actually great at. I'm happy to be shown the way here.

I realize WingedEagle wasn't really addressing me with the bump, but I have generally liked a lot more Tanahashi in the last 18 months or than at any other point prior. If I had another six months I'd consider going back and rewatching some of his pre-NJPW revival stuff just see how it's aged. He won't be anywhere near my top 100, nor do I honestly think he was anywhere close to one of the best wrestlers in the World over the last couple of years. That said, he's had more than a few matches where I really loved his performances, even when many of his normal fans didn't think much of them. He still can be pretty worthless on B/C shows, and I don't buy the argument that he's a consistently high end performer, but he's basically post-comeback Shawn Michaels both in terms of good and bad.

I'm trying to not be lazy and work on a longer piece about this theory to come out sometime in the next 5 or 6 days. That said I will say two quick things 1. I don't think Stomper's point that is highlighted by Parties is wrong or misplaced. In fact to a large degree that's my theory. I would absolutely say that I've accepted that this is a combination of incompetence and HHH being HHH, the difference is I believe much of the incompetence has been managed, encouraged, or at the very least enhanced by HHH's actions. The "conspiracy theory" tag is something people are latching on to and I get why. I can see how the term itself, and some aspects of the theory come across as cloak and daggery to people. That said, no one seems to object to the idea that HHH has done things to undermine people in the past, though in many cases the arguments are at least as conspiratorial as what is being posed here. I also strongly doubt people will disagree with my other contentions, some of which were outlined by Loss, though I plan to go into more detail. 2. I am by no means an "insider," but over the last couple of years I have gotten closer to people in and around the wrestling business than I ever intended. The closer I have gotten the more I believe this theory to be true. Not necessarily because of any inside knowledge or backstage political shit I've heard about, but because as you see how the wrestling culture works up close the idea of deliberate sabotage as a means of solidifying or taking control really doesn't seem far fetched at all. Hopefully I'll get my shit together and knock out something readable and coherent in the next few days. I'll do my best to answer any objections or challenges people have to my argument, as long as they are actually challenges to my argument and not to an argument I'm not making.

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Gran Apache reviews via WKO From Exposer: Gran Apache/Trauma I/Mari Apache vs. Negro Navarro/Trauma II/Fabi Apache - IWRG 04/09/12 - YES This was highly entertaining. Old fart fighting his sons. Old fart fighting his daughters. The Apache ladies were vicious here and I loved the exchanges between TI and Navarro. It was fun when Gran Apache got in there with Fabi too. I do wish the camera caught the misdirection spot. All in all, this was a lot of fun and just fucking hilarious and great at the same time. From Phil: Daga, Fenix, Gran Apache vs Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, Oficial Fierro AAA 2/23/12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RxHnxzEa2E Awesome spotfest lucha. We get some really slick Apache v. 911 matwork before it all goes bonkers. Oficiales take 50 crazy bumps, Daga forearms and kicks people really hard, Apache throws lefts, Fenix breaks out flippy dives. Realy fun WCWSN lucha Several other Gran Apache matches discussed here: http://z11.invisionfree.com/wrestling_ko/ar/t4269.htm

Could probably find them at WKO if you don't want to write them.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about what my theory actually is. A lot of the arguments against it are based on those misunderstandings. This is my fault for not discussing it or covering it consistently in one place. This week I'll try to write up something in a longer form that explains what I mean by the term, my theories on motivations for it, et. Until I get to that please note that my theory has never been that the WWE as a whole has put a political hit on Roman Reigns, but rather that his "mishandling" is at least in part deliberate sabotage of a sort, and that his booking is representative of the internal war in the company right now over its future direction.

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I very much doubt it, but I'd be more inclined to rate him than I would someone like Jericho.

The theory isn't that all of WWE has a hit on Reigns.