Dylan Waco

I'm honestly not even sure he has the best comebacks of babyface icons from Puerto Rico. Not that he doesn't have a great one

I don't think I have a uniform standard because I see different wrestlers as requiring different things depending on setting. I'm also rigidly opposed to standardization and categorization on ideological grounds (which will sound nuts and maybe is given how "listy" I am), so I can't get into the habit of counting good matches, let alone taking the formula approach you have though I am glad it works for you. I think what hurts Ted most in my eyes is the fact that he does appear to have a lot of the tools I would look for in a wrestler, but so little in the way of output that I consider high level. The fact that I could point to more Mikey Whipwreck matches I really love than Ted matches is a major indictment given their relative skill levels.

I'd be interested in reading JVK's critique of him rather than just "he's getting a pass and that strikes me as unfair." Tell me what you think he's getting a pass, not a single line that does nothing other than antagonize. Have no problem with El's point and think there may even be something to it, though I would note that for me what helps Blackwell most are the random performances I have stumbled upon over the last few years that were outside of the limelight where he is doing fun and creative things. I also think it's a bit rich to fuss about others going on initial instincts when you have proclaimed people like Hase and others as locks for your list off of an admittedly tiny sampling. You can't have it both ways.

We are miles apart on this one JVK. I am not as devoted to the idea of Hennig being better as a babyface as Will is, but I think he was excellent in that role throughout his run in Portland and his run in the AWA. I will grant that the AWA presentation doesn't really do anyone favors in terms of projecting their underdog fire, but Hennig was aces at that in my mind. He's a dynamic character in the WWF that was certainly more polished than anything we got before, but in the ring I can't think of a single thing he did better in Vince-land.

I generally agree that it was the nature of the crowd, but I also think it's fair to say that Bryan encouraged it. Whether that was the right track to take or not is debatable. It certainly mattered less with a promotion that had the business model ROH did then it would for a more traditional promotion. That said it's not as if ROH heels couldn't get real heat. Some absolutely did, and in one case it was done by deliberately tempering what he could do to annoy the workcentric attitude of the ROH faithful.

Sasaki was always someone I liked more than the hardcore fan mainstream in the 90's, but it kind of makes me laugh to see him thought of as being underrated by this site. I'm not even saying that's wrong necessarily, but when I was growing up watching Japanese wrestling it would have been considered the ravings of a lunatic to even consider Sasaki seriously for a list like this. I understand that for many people the 00's are a big plus for him, and I would consider them a plus as well. Still the swing on how Sasaki is viewed by the hardest of hardcore Japanese wrestling fans is pretty dramatic.

I think there is something to the argument that Andre gets a bit of a pass for underwhelming performances, but I would also listen to an argument that a guy his size is almost working against himself so he deserves some slack. I'm not sure I'd buy hat argument mind you, and I doubt very seriously it's an argument Matt would make, but it's one that I wouldn't completely dismiss out of hand. I also think there are a lot of guys with underwhelming performances that you've been gentle or favorable too JVK, including Ted and Bob Orton.

I don't think Ted sniffs Windham. I think Windham was better mechanically. I prefer his selling to Ted's by a fairly large margin as I think Windham is an all time great in that regard whether it's selling exhaustion, dramatic bumping and facial expressions off of a big spot, selling from underneath as a babyface, or more reactive selling as a heel. I also think he's a much bumper than. I think he was a genius at working within a hierarchical framework which isn't really something I see in Ted or very many other U.S. workers during that era to be fair. I'd have Windham at or near the top of the best tag team workers in wrestling history. I think he has a much bigger resume of good and great matches than Ted. In fact Windham may even have better matches in Ted's top promotions (Mid-South and WWF) if you take out gimmick matches. I thought Windham was better than Flair in their best matches together so the idea that he got a huge benefit from working opposite Flair doesn't work on me. Even if it did I wouldn't be effected that much, because if Windham's career didn't include a single Flair match I'd safely rate him over Ted based on what I've seen, and I don't think Ted ever had a run in his career at the level of early 90's Barry when Flair was a non-factor in his career entirely. Ted really has no shot at my list, unless I get a bug up my ass to watch a bunch of his vaunted Mid-South run and that's unlikely because the last time I went down that road I thought it was more in the "good and entertaining" camp than the "truly great" camp and it would have to be almost completely "truly great" to make up for his disappointing AJPW run, and virtually non-existent WWF "resume" of empty but inoffensive matches. All that said I kind of agree with the idea that Ted is a natural comparison to Barry because of their size and backgrounds. It's just that Barry completely laps Ted both in terms of input and output.

I wouldn't argue Colon over Bruno as a drawing card. It's possible, but it's a grand claim to make unless you have the research in front of.

I don't want to say Eddie ages poorly because I don't think that's true at all. In fact I think peak Eddie holds up very well. That said I think the idea of Eddie as a top 10 guy ages pretty poorly, and it's not all because of the footage explosion elevating other guys. When the SC poll happened Eddie had just died, and as it happens he died during what was almost certainly his peak as an overall performer. The fact that he felt like one of "our guys" both added to the heartbreak and also added to his status. I don't think there is anything wrong with that at all. That said, when I look at the scope of Eddie's career I just don't see a top ten case at all. I suppose it's possible that if you are voting for someone on absolutely peak performance Eddie could be in the discussion. But if you are someone like me who tries to synthesize peak and volume, I think it is really hard. Of the eleven or twelve years when he was really in the limelight as a performer, a couple of those are lost entirely to injury or drugs. While I thought he was excellent at times in WCW, especially in 1997 which I thought was a brilliant year, looking at the totality of the run nothing about it screams top ten. I do think a lot of his WWF run was masterful and closer to that level, but it's not a terribly long run in the grand scheme of things. I think in order to make a top ten case for him that I would find compelling you'd have to go the wall for him having had tremendously underrated years in 98 and 99, and I'm just not sure that's possible. There are just too many other guys that have comparable peaks, and much larger amount of volume.

One of the best things about this project has been the the multitude of random stuff I've watched. Especially important has been the stuff I've watched that I probably wouldn't have watched in any other situation either because of bad memories and/or bad reputation associated with it, or because it wouldn't have been something at the forefront. As it happens, two random things I have ended up watching a ton of are TNA and Wildside/Anarchy. It's not surprising that the Wildside/Anarchy stuff is a lot of fun and holds up fairly well, but it has been almost shocking to me the number of TNA matches that I have enjoyed a great deal. Perhaps that's something that is easier to do in hindsight, when the booking doesn't matter as much. Or maybe it's just that I've watched a bunch of AJ Styles. But either way, the combination of the Wildside stuff and the TNA stuff I've watched has really swung me around on AJ Styles big time to the point that I'm about to say something I would have thought crazy even two months ago - I am at the moment considering the idea of rating Styles over Daniel Bryan. Now let me be clear. I am in no way saying this is something I will certainly do. In fact if pressed at this moment I would have Bryan above him. That said, I don't think the gap is all that wide, or at least it doesn't feel that wide as someone who has gone through a ton of footage over the last several months. First things first. I think Bryan is more versatile than Styles in some ways. For example I freely concede that he's a more compelling mat worker. I also think that bad AJ is far worse than bad Bryan, though I would note here that Bryan managed to avoid working post-prime Kurt Angle, and given his penchant for going long I can absolutely envision a scenario where he had matches at least close to as appalling as the worst AJ v. Kurt bouts. Having said that I think young heel AJ in Wildside was a better heel than Bryan ever was in terms of playing a hateable character that could garner real heat, and then channel it back into the match. It's true it didn't last long in part because the crowd sort of instinctively loved him, but there is also no question that he was more invested in being a bad guy than Danielson ever was. I prefer pre-ROH Styles to pre-ROH Bryan. Granted it's a relatively small sample from both, but AJ as the crazy face of Cornelia wrestling, really could do it all, and was a smarter worker at that young age than he is often given credit for. I'm not at all sure who I would rate as the better wrestler from 02-04. Probably Bryan because he was a less spotty wrestler, and seemed to have a better command of how to build a match. That said there is a lot of AJ from this period that is underrated. Random TNA matches v. guys like Red, Kash, et. hold up as very good, bordering on great in many cases. His appearances in Cornelia fall under the same category. He was definitely not as polished as Bryan during the period, but I also feel he was more reliable holding up his end of a true feud. 05 I would honestly take AJ over Bryan which I'm sure will be controversial. To me despite having the extreme handicap of working in the shittiest promotion of all time, he regularly delivered in strong performances not just against great workers like Joe, but totally turds like Abyss. It's possible that Bryan had more good matches that year, and maybe even more great ones. But I can't recall a single one off the top of my head and that is telling in it's own way. More to the point I think what AJ's year jumps off the page more. 06-07 is Bryan for sure, though I had lost interest in him to a large degree by the middle of 07, and I tend to think that things like AJ's tag run with Daniels are really underrated. 08 isn't really a year I'd rate much from either guy off the top of my head. 09-13 I freely concede is Bryan's, but here is the thing - I think I kind of like AJ's post-TNA run more than Bryan's WWE run. It's close and I could be convinced I'm being dumb. After all I loved Bryan v. Cena and Bryan v. Sheamus. That said the variety of Styles run, the range of opponents he's worked, the multitude of places where he's stepped up to the plate and hit home runs. All of this impresses me big time. The fact that he has done so much of this building his matches around psychology/selling and not purely spots is also a big plus to me. Looking at this I guess I'd rate Bryan above Styles still for a variety of reasons, but it really doesn't feel like the gap is that large to me. In general I think A.J.'s TNA run - especially through 07 or so though there are gems even after that - is really, really underrated, as is his run in Wildside. He's definitely gone from being a guy with a shot, to a guy would edge on, to a guy who will easily make my list.

Throughout this process Bryan has been talked about as favorably as anyone. I myself have argued that he's probably the closest thing to a consensus favorite in the modern hardcore fan universe where consensus is extremely difficult to come by. Having said that I do think he's gotten off a bit light in terms of critical assessment during this process. Going through this thread it seems that there have been a couple of criticisms that have popped up along the way. Matt D criticized his selling, and the fact that he worked a style post-injury that seemed to say "damn my limitations!" rather than trying to adapt. A few people offered mild criticisms of him going too long at times, particularly during what is often cited as his peak run in ROH when he seemingly had the run of the place and could do whatever the hell he wanted (05-06). There was also some mild criticism from Joe Lanza and a few others about him being repetitive at various points in this career. While Matt's comments were presented in a fashion where it would lead one to believe it would effect his ranking of him, the others felt like critiques put forward solely to acknowledge that he was not perfect. I confess that I'm probably closer to that than I am to Matt with what I'm about to write, but I do think there are some things Bryan fans should have to address, some of which were criticisms a decade ago that have oddly vanished with time. The first criticism is something that came up during the first Smarkschoice GWE poll. That poll was conducted a the height of what is often cited as Bryan's peak, his 05/06 run as a heel ace of Ring of Honor. At the time people like Kevin Cook, Bix, and a lot of the regulars at DVDVR were very critical of Bryan working as a "fake heel." The argument was that he was a meta character who had sort of brought the crowd in on the act with him, rather than working hard to get real heat. He was often accused of preferring to be cute and appease the fans looking for a certain type of classic match, rather than building compelling storylines centered around traditional wrestling tropes. Others thought Bryan was simply incapable of garnering a true heel reaction, and saw this has a serious mark against his status as an all timer. While one can argue against this critique of Bryan's meta-heel gimmick, I think this is something that deserves to be addressed by his biggest supporters, especially since that run is still being held up as a major feather in the cap of a top ten case. Another criticism that I think deserves to be thought about more is the argument touched upon by some here that Bryan would go too long, and do too much with certain guys during he aforementioned ROH run. While that has been mentioned in this thread, it seems to have been glossed over - I'm not sure it should be. If Bryan's peak years were marked by a penchant for excess and trying to force limited talents to work epics because that's what he wanted to do and/or that's what he believed was expected of him how good were they really? It's also worth noting that one could argue this tendency to go long might have the effect of sort of padding Bryan's stats in the eyes of some who may fetishize the idea of logged hours in the ring, or carrying on the tradition of NWA champions who allegedly went an hour every night. At the very least I think it's worth asking how common was this practice during Bryan's peak run, and how did that stance compare to other super indie darlings of the same time period (Styles, Joe, Aries, et)? One final criticism I want to throw out there is something that I don't consider major, but one that hasn't been mentioned and one I may be alone on. I'm not sure how else to say it so I'll just be blunt - by the end of Bryan's ROH run I was bored as fuck with him, and felt that he had totally overstayed his welcome. This is not necessarily to say that I thought he was bad. However I was very happy he signed with the WWE not only because he deserved that spot, but because it meant I didn't have to see him work on the indies anymore where he had become a very bland act, that felt static and uninspired. I remember a Generico match from that last run that a lot of people loved to death that just bored me to tears because it felt like a weak willed greatest hits version of a guy who didn't care anymore. I have no clue if I'd still feel that way now, but I felt that way at the time, and it's the sort of thing that I can't completely shake when thinking about him as a top ten contender. This post is largely an example of devil's advocacy. I'm likely to rate Bryan fairly high, and as noted before I don't think he's an outrageous candidate for the top spot overall. That said I do think he's someone who gets a bit of a pass, at least in the sense that the arguments against him seem to be left relatively unexplored even when they are out in the open.

I'm probably not the best guy to go to bat for Tank because I never had the privilege of going to a show he worked regularly. Having said that if you talk to old Wildside fans, or fans in the Chattanooga area, or even IWA-MS fans, the consensus is that this guy is one of the few independent workers who has a real aura of violence and intensity about him. In the build up to last years Scenic City Invitational I referred to him as "the Brock Lesnar of Empire" and while that likely sounds absurd to people who haven't experienced it, it is also an absolute fact. I nominate him because I think Exposer might consider him, but also because he is sort of the iconic Southern badass. His team with Iceberg is legendary in Southern indie circles and it should be. I've seen plenty of those two together, and it was like watching a prime Road Warriors if the Roadies had cooler spots, and were ten times more agile. I've also seen Tank live enough to know that he's a shockingly dynamic wrestler when he's on, a guy who combines presence and working stiff into a package that makes you always want to see him regardless of opponent. It is not an exaggeration to say that with the exception of Kyle Matthews and Jimmy Rave, there is no Southern wrestler now or from the last fifteen years who I would rather see live. Like Abdullah The Butcher and Sabu, there is an authenticity to the Tank character that sort of transcends the narrow concept of good matches. Like those two I would consider him v. almost anyone a dream match, and like those two, seeing him live is a real experience. Last night my family saw him have a death match that was apparently quite violent, and quite good. That doesn't really surprise me. The guy is in his 40's and much less mobile than he used to be, and I'd pay good money to see him work just about anyone. That has to count for something.

It's sad how someone can make something of a name for themselves as an outstanding flyer and innovative cruiserweight, come back home to their region and improve as a wrestler, and become a complete after thought to most fans as a result. That said, that's pretty much what happened with Slim J. To be fair some will prefer his early run and who could blame them. While he's almost never talked about in the same breathe as people like Amazing Red or Jack Evans he should be. For the flashy, exciting, and unique spotfest workers of the era he was right there with them as illustrated in this match with Red or this brief reel where he does possibly the crazy sequence of spots I've ever seen to a seemingly terrified Sal Rinauro. What's crazy is that Slim J - who was regarded highly among fans of that style at the time - was almost erased from history when he went back to Georgia and dropped out of the big time limelight. Unlike a guy like Jimmy Rave, or even Tank, who worked elsewhere and are part of the wrestling memory of the places they worked outside of the South, Slim J is a guy who I NEVER hear mentioned when people talk about the early indie boom of nutty high flyers and crazy flippy dudes who were desperate to catch a break. That's bad enough in my eyes, but what makes it worse is the fact that he actually became a much more well rounded worker when he came back home. Yes you could still count on him for some crazy spots, and yes some of them were a little bit too goofy for their own good. That said he became a guy who could really sell, had great timing, new when to pick his spots, and could work the mat with the best of them. His matches v. Shaun Tempers and Fred Yehi in recent years were excellent, with the Yehi series in particular being among the best things in wrestling last year (technically it started at the end of 2014). I have no clue if he's really working anymore, as he rarely worked outside of Anarchy in recent years and they closed up. I know he took some dates late last year, but his days as a regular performer are probably over. That said, I think his stellar running in Cornelia, and his status as one of the most exciting flyers of his era, make him someone worth at least considering.

I just wrote a long post on Shaun Tempers, and Ace Rockwell probably deserves the same though I'm not sure I have enough context with him to do it. That said I could not imagine nominating Tempers and not Rockwell. If Tempers is the evil spawn of the Chattanooga indie world that went fourth into Georgia and douched his way through the broader scene, Ace is the good son. Mechanically he's actually better than Tempers and has a better range. I love Tempers, but I can't imagine him having effective "workrate" matches on a weekly basis. I could easily see Rockwell doing it, though he'd be the first to bitch about it as it's not really his style. In fact his style is basically to be an old school, traditional, hard nosed, Southern babyface. This means he knows how to take an ass beating, and knows how to return fire. He's very good at setting up, teasing, and delivering on his big spots, none of which are especially huge by contemporary standards, but all of which are effective and generally very crisp. He's probably got the best bulldog in the game for whatever that is worth. In last years Scenic City Invitational he had a match with Gunner that I loved, but didn't resonate with others. In fact it was probably the most polarizing match of the tourney. To me the match was entirely believable and featured a masterful performance by Ace in particular with his timing, bumping, and facial expressions really carrying the day. It's not the best Rockwell match I've seen, but the fact that he was able to get over as an equal "star" against Gunner in that building on that night was telling to me. He has plenty of good matches from Anarchy online, but the real standout there is the excellent title match v. Tempers. The Empire title match that is on the Empire website is also great, and remarkably ambitious for a match of this era. That said the best match of his I've seen is probably the I Quit match from 1/2/14 v. Matt Fortune, a talented but young kid. They worked an excellent brawl that probably would have rated in my top ten matches of that year from anywhere on Earth had a seen it sooner. If pressed I'd rate it as the best Empire match I've ever seen, and that's a promotion I like a lot. I'm probably less inclined to rate him than Tempers because I have seen less of his career, but I couldn't in good conscience nominate Tempers and not Ace.

The southern indies are generally speaking (with a couple of notable exceptions in PWX and AWE), much closer to the territories of old than the "super indie" universe that many people think of when they think of independent wrestling today. By this I mean there is a week-to-week, show-to-show story arc, that necessitates an approach that is centered on a build to a big payoff down the road, rather than the delivery of "great" matches on every card. This is not to say that quality weekly/tv matches aren't valued, but the emphasis is on building to, and paying off on, a big storyline that has been built over the course of months. At it's best this can also include even longer story arcs that last years, and in the most extreme cases decades. I think that is something that is really critical to understanding why Shaun Tempers is so great. Before I get into particulars I will say that Tempers can be frustrating. While I would never call him lazy, he has always struck me as the kind of guy that is best as a heel who pushes a babyface to really work and fill in the gaps. If a babyface does not respond to this challenge, Tempers is more than content to coast. In this sense I suppose you could argue that he's not a Flair-style, miracle working carry job type of guy, but that would be wrong. I've seen him carry complete incompetents to very good matches. Having said that he tends to save those type of performances for the moments when they matter most, or for instances where he can cajole weaker talents into decent enough efforts. Now that that is out of the way, I will say that I think Tempers is the best in context Southern indie worker of the last decade, or at least the one where I have seen enough of the context to make the case. I make that distinction in part because Kyle Matthews is a more consistent hand, and if one is taking the "pick random matches and watch them on YouTube" approach he stands out more than Tempers. He also probably has the better high end matches. I consider Jimmy Rave to be better than both of them, and his peak Southern work is better than both, but I don't regard him as a specifically Southern indie worker. So what do I mean when I call him the best in context Southern indie worker of the last decade? Specifically I mean that if you were a follower of the products that he was a part of - Rampage, NWA Chattanooga, Empire, Anarchy, DSCW, et. - Tempers commitment to adhering to his character and the stories his character was involved with was better than anyone else. Building on that Tempers is a guy who will wrestle the exact right match for a given setting or opponent. This often means that you get a match that is solid/good and makes perfect sense, but isn't blowaway great - and it shouldn't be. Working Kevin Blue on an episode of Anarchy TV, should not be the same as working a Cage Match blowoff with Azrael. Tempers knows this and works accordingly. I've seen Tempers as a babyface and he's effective enough in that role, but he shines as a heel. In fact, it is not hard at all for me to imagine Tempers working the East TN territory in the days of Whitey Caldwell and Ron Wright and being a top star. In part this is because his facial expressions, body language, and bumping style are exceptionally well suited for that time and place, but I also think he is a rare instance of modern indie guy who is a brilliant t.v. worker. Tempers can go 6-12 minutes with anyone and get across exactly what needs to be gotten across about his character, his opponents character, their respective spots on the depth chart, and what the purpose of the match was. He is also great at the "pushed to the limit" style of the TV Title defense, which is something he was often called upon to do in Anarchy. As a big match and blow off worker I'd argue he's excellent. No he doesn't have a litany of out of this world matches to point to - though I think his best matches v. Ace Rockwell, Kyle Matthews, Slim J, and others are excellent - but he will always deliver big time with what the fans want to see. If that is a classic, long title match v. Ace Rockwell you'll get it (there are two of those online, one from Anarchy, the other from Empire, and both are great). If it is him getting his ass savagely beaten, and it often was, he'll do that too pinballing and bleeding like a stuck pig to get over even the most limited rivals as he did with Logan Alvey last year at Empire's Tooth and Nail event (a match that also ended a year and a half long run he had as the promotions ace). The whole story arc of his run with and against Rockwell isn't something I can do justice to in this thread, and even I don't know all of the particulars to it. But it's reemergence at key points over the years, and the way both guys have made that work, is something really special that they both deserve credit for as well. I also think he's a clever, and underrated offensive worker. While he can grind a match to a halt if he's in their with an unmotivated guy (as noted above), he has a variety of interesting and different strikes. He also uses a lot of clever "outs" that are unconventional but in a a good way. Things like stomping on a toe to break a suplex attempt, or rearing back on a choke at angle that makes it look especially believable. On top of that his finishes and high end offensive genuinely looks brutal. The neckbreaker, cobra clutch backbreaker, and sitout powerbomb he does are all great at generating compelling near falls, or effective finishes depending on what the situation calls for. I've even seen him do dives over the years, and they are exactly the sort of "go for broke" spots you would expect from a person with Tempers look and in ring demeanor. There is a fair amount of Tempers run that is available online, though key moments are missing. For example I'd love to have his title v. career match v. Andrew Alexander on tape, as their chain match is excellent and I can imagine the culmination of the feud was even better. That said, what is out there is more than enough to make a compelling case for him to be at least thought about as one of the top indie wrestlers of his era. Before today I hadn't really considered Tempers, but the more I think about him the harder it is to dismiss him.

Discuss Here.

Discuss Here.

Discuss Here.

Nominating Slim J TEAM ELITE (JAGGED EDGE, SEV7N, NEMESIS, SHADOW JACKSON & SHAUN TEMPERS) v. TEAM ANARCHY (BRODIE CHASE, SLIM J, AZRAEL, BRIAN CASANOVA & SETH DELAY) - NWA Anarchy 3/9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0pbHjZKDrI I really liked this as it was kind of your textbook example of how to hide middling talents (in some cases that may be a generous appraisal) in a tag like this and everyone ends up looking better. We got a double FIP with both Slim J and later Delay in that role and the match was sort of built around that. Azrael/Slim J still being around in 2013 and working square dancing double team spots warms my heart more than it should. Se7en is a really flawed guy but they worked really well with him as the big, power guy enforcer the faces had trouble and had to confound with speed. And Tempers was awesome in this. He was barely in the ring at all, but he's just an excellent heel ace, directing traffic, talking shit, wrenching in nasty neck cranks and sick forearms, cheapshotting Slim J with an ace crusher on the ropes, feigning a back injury early and then late again to get an advantage on Casanova and score the pin. Just awesome heeling douchebaggery from Tempers. Makes me really want to see him work some of these guys in Anarchy Title defenses. Shaun Tempers/Bobby Moore v. Slim J/Ace Rockwell - Anarchy 3/8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_w_sZnUgWE Really fun showcase match for these guys that I liked in part because they used the standard tag formula and did some slightly different things with it. For instance I really loved Tempers shoving Moore out of the way to start the heat section as it's something you don't really see, but it was a fun start, and believing big bump to put Slim J on the defensive. I also liked Tempers blindsiding J with a shot to the back of the head, and then Moore hitting him with a diving tackle, as a sort of slovenly, but violent double team spot. Slim J was fucking nuts in this his bumping as he folded himself up a few times, and was running right into all of the shots of Tempers and Moore. There were a couple of spots down the stretch that weren't to my taste, but this had a good tempo, J ate a sick forearm on a dive attempt down the stretch, and I really liked the idea of the finish even if the execution was a bit off. This won't make any match of the year lists, but if you are looking for something different, this is a fun one. Shaun Tempers v. Slim J - Anarchy 6/28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYaZVVcyl7o This wasn't Gulak v. Busick, but it might very well be the best Southern indie match of the year, and honestly I can't imagine these guys having a better match together. It's probably better if you know that Tempers three finishers are the neckbreaker, cobra clutch/backbreaker and cobra clutch as that adds meaning to the shockingly great near fall sequence, but even without knowing that I can't imagine anyone here thinking this was less than really good. Slim J is such a hit or miss offensive wrestler for a flashy guy that you never know what you are going to get with him, and Tempers is a guy who can grind a match to a halt if you let him, but here the difference in pacing and offensive styles dramatically enhance the match. The opening matwork - while not world class - was WAY better than you would think in terms of snugness, interesting counters and setting the tone, and even Tempers working his typical "running down the whole shot clock" offense really fit this match well. This match had an awesome test of strength spot, a brutal couple of shots that led to Tempers in control, one of the nastiness neckbreakers I've ever seen, a couple of legitimately great cut off spots, was excellently paced, and as mentioned before had one of the better runs of near falls of any match I've seen from anywhere on Earth this year. The finish was kind of unsatisfying considering how good the rest of this was, but it wasn't bad, and it gives me hope that we might see a series between these two. Ace Rockwell Shaun Tempers v. Ace Rockwell - Anarchy 4/26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80DaeqitHGo These guys had a legitimately great match in the same building a couple of years ago that went about a half an hour. This one didn't go near that long, and was more in keeping with Tempers working his quasi-tv champ gimmick, with Jeff G. Bailey as his second, but I really like them as an act so I loved this. This definitely had a couple of clunky moments, but taken as a whole I thought they did a great job playing off of previous matches they've had (these guys have been feuded on indies in the area for close to a decade), and some of the counters in this were really awesome. I love how Tempers adds different counters and offensive spots to every match depending on opponent, setting, et. Here we got a cool dropkick to the ropes to lead to his first control segment, a sick overhead suplex, and a great counter of the Ace Crusher into his Cobra Clutch. To Rockwell's credit he took some crazy bumps, including a crossbody into the ropes, and a spot where he slingshotted right into a Tempers forearm. You knew this was building to a bullshit finish, but they left the door open for another match so I'm fine with it. Tempers is in my top 20 at this point Plus Tempers v. Ace review in the Tempers nomination. Tank Jimmy Rave Approved v. The Devil's Rejects - Empire Wrestling 4/7/12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ-BJQ_CpQk...yIg&lf=plcp Not sure others will like this anywhere near as much as me, but this was the best of the four Empire matches I watched today and I liked this one enough to nominate it. Actually Exposer will probably Yes it, but he's hardly objective since he's a semi-regular attendee of Empire shows. I'd be interested to hear thoughts from others. Day and Hollis are a petty good team. I love Tank when he is an asskicker and that is what he is here. Still Andrew Alexander is the guy having the best year in this as he has been really entertaining in every match I've seen him in this year as the sort of doofy heel, wearing the Heenan style singlet, flopping around and surprising you with his athletic prowess on occasion. This was really solidly structured as you had you had a good shine with constant tags and flashy face spots and then a really solid heel control segment with some big shots, some really nice hope spots, et. I really loved the leaping elbow off the apron spot onto Alexander, Alexander's Boston Crab and the subsequent cradle escape and some of Tank's nastier offense. The stuff off the hot tag was good and Tank cutting it off and then dragging Alexander over to the corner so he could tag in ruled. I also really liked the fact that Tank finally "got hurt" only after hurting himself by missing a spot off the ropes. They put together some neat looking spots and near falls to set up the finish. The finish itself was a hair off in timing, but I thought it still worked well and was creative in a good way. Review of his match v. Cyrus from Pro Wrestling Rossville is here. http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/18959-dylan-reviews-full-shows-in-this-thread/page-7 Jimmy Rave Approved v. Kyle Matthews/Tank Norton/Jessico Blue/Mr. Showtime (Elimination Match) NWA/DSCW 11/3/11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD_FKqd5U4s I absolutely fucking loved this. I have no doubt you could pick this apart as Blue is one of the least physical wrestlers I've ever seen, and this is chalk full of indyish spots, but I thought those spots looked good as fuck. The Rave led team is a bunch of guys I don't know offhand, but they are all in matching gear and come across as a Kaentei'sh heel stable with Rave as a Southern mans Taka Minchinoku. Crowd is fucking bananas for this and Matthews keeps leading them in a stomp/clap "We Will Rock You" beat. They segmented this really well as it went almost 25 minutes and was back and fourth between a more traditional match and a balls to the wall sprint. All the eliminations were believable. Tank Norton is one of my favorite indy guys live and he was awesome here just punishing dudes with his obesity and freakshow spots. Every time Rave and Matthews were in the match was really great and the finishing run with Rave and Matthews was just brutally stiff, with Matthews taking some crazy bumps, hitting a fucking lunatic tope, et before having the win stolen out from under him on a sweet Rave counter. Super enjoyable match, with a tremendous atmosphere. Honestly this is the sort of match that would have been a MOTYC for me if I had seen it live.

Discuss Here.

Discuss Here.

Freelance stream is up. Not quite the show time yet, so it's just music over a black screen, but they are set to go in ten minutes.

Figured I would plug this here because it is a pretty interesting card featuring some of the best from the South and the Midwest and it can be watched for free here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3fcD6AUjHLU they are taking donations if people want to drop them some coin for their efforts on their website freelancewrestling.com I'm typing this out from my phone so I won't post the full card but it's available on their Facebook page and looks great on paper Starts at 11pm EST

Been thinking a lot about him this week, and he's a guy who is really hard to place. On gut he feels like a top half guy, but I want to go back and watch a wide range of his stuff. I'm tempted to just go YouTube hunting, but I want to open this up to suggestions.