Childs

The best-case scenario of Minoru Suzuki was incredible, but he mailed in so many performances with the goofy facial expressions and the mindless forearm exchanges. Couldn't bring myself to vote for him. I've never been a Sabu person. So much of his work strikes me as just a mess rather than something gripping and unhinged, though I'll happily acknowledge he was one of a kind. I'd prefer him at his 2016 placement, but his rise was inevitable. I'm not sure I'd have Kevin Owens in my top 500. I've enjoyed him as a fat guy doing crazy spots in matches made great by other people, but that's about the best I can say. Morton and Dustin deserve better company. Oh, and Dandy was a beautiful wrestler operating on a totally different level than most of those who've dropped so far.

A little GWE poetry right there.

Earlier in this thread (or maybe one of the other GWE threads), someone made the point that you can no longer just assume an '80s territory wrestler's rep will hold up based on a few lines of praise and a handful of match recs. In other words, you have to proselytize for your guys. It's a good point, and Matt's long-term advocacy for Bock is proof. He convinced me. I used to have the slightest reservation about Bock, only because we have so little footage from his (presumed) physical prime. But Matt has spent years convincingly making a more important point, which is that every bit of Bock footage we do have reinforces his multi-faceted mastery. Would that every great from the '70s and '80s could have such an effective spokesperson.

I think Bock holds on for a while. Just looking at the limited sample of ballots posted here, he's on most of them and top 10-20 in many of those. For me, he's a legit No. 1 candidate. I couldn't say that about any of the dearly departed from the last few days.

Windham's my guy. Hate seeing him drop 75 spots. Can't say I'm surprised given the other names falling. I know he doesn't resonate with everyone at the highest level, and his peak was shortish, but man he did so many things well. His long TV match with Flair was a watershed moment for me in understanding that WWF wasn't the only way to do wrestling. And then his heel turn was one of the best ever. Every time I revisit that period, I come away thinking, "Barry Windham, goddamn!"

I don't get Roderick Strong cracking it. Good worker for a long time, but so much less special than dozens of men and women who have already fallen.

It's very possible that by the desert island test, I'll prefer 101-150 to 51-100. So many favorites have fallen the last few days. But 10 more women in the top 100 is a win. That was an obvious flaw in 2016 (on my ballot as well). I've only lost two of my top 50, while my second 50 have been largely wiped out, so I do wonder if we'll see something closer to the old consensus near the top.

Yeah, this latest drop was the first to make me say this poll can fuck right off (Murdoch, Brisco, Martel, Robinson, Finlay, Valentine). But that's the nature of these things. Times change. I'm baffled by something like Goldberg getting three No. 1 votes, but then I read the explanations, and I at least see the POV.

Yeah, I had him at 27 but not surprised he fell. The British candidates never gained the traction with this expanded voter base that they had in 2016.

Yeah, Sano and Marty Jones dropping 240 spots each are my biggest bummers so far. Sano was such a great, versatile wrestler; I wonder if his peak work being spread across styles and promotions has led to him being less distinct for younger generations? I'm sorry, there's no world in which Abyss was better than him.

I was just about to ask: Who the fuck is Alexander Navieb?

FWIW, I'm not sure the original conception of the project ever centered on wrestling mechanics. You look at the 2016 list, and there are plenty of wrestlers who were great at conveying their character in the ring without necessarily being good technicians. I could at least see an argument for Vince -- gasbag billionaire who's too arrogant to know where he doesn't belong and crazy enough to endanger himself for a buck -- by that measure. Though I'd never vote for him.

Daniel Bryan/Bryan Danielson Genichiro Tenryu Yoshiaki Fujiwara Stan Hansen Kenta Kobashi Nick Bockwinkel Terry Funk Ric Flair Tatsumi Fujinami Rey Mysterio Jr. Toshiaki Kawada Buddy Rose Jumbo Tsuruta Mitsuharu Misawa Shinya Hashimoto El Satanico Jerry Lawler Jushin Liger El Hijo Del Santo Antonio Inoki Akira Hokuto Kiyoshi Tamura El Dandy Riki Choshu Jaguar Yokota Yuki Ishikawa Steve Grey Vader Barry Windham Akira Taue Jun Akiyama Volk Han Aja Kong Billy Robinson AJ Styles Eddie Guerrero Bret Hart Jack Brisco Dustin Rhodes Randy Savage Chigusa Nagayo Ricky Morton Ricky Steamboat Chris Hero Negro Casas Chris Benoit Meiko Satomura Bobby Eaton William Regal Daisuke Ikeda Bull Nakano Andre the Giant WALTER/Gunther Rick Martel Shinjiro Ohtani Zack Sabre Jr. Ron Garvin Greg Valentine Fit Finlay Marty Jones Arn Anderson Dick Murdoch Jim Breaks Bill Dundee Dynamite Kansai Hiroshi Tanahashi Alexander Otsuka Devil Masami Akira Maeda Dump Matsumoto Steve Austin Blue Panther Lou Thesz Giant Baba Naoki Sano Low Ki Yoshihiro Takayama Samoa Joe Tito Santana Steve Williams Cesaro Mark Briscoe Dick Togo CM Punk Jay Briscoe Hiroshi Hase Eddie Kingston Pirata Morgan Carlos Colon Osamu Nishimura Tully Blanchard Sangre Chicana Invader I Mick Foley Shawn Michaels Masa Saito Will Ospreay Tsuyoshi Kikuchi Necro Butcher Super Dragon GWE 2026.gdoc

Inoki went from off my list in 2016 to top 25 this time around. 1) I understand his career better. 2) I value what made him special more than I did a decade ago, when I was overly focused on some selfish, boring performances from the '80s. Bottom line is that if I want to watch a big match worker from the late '60s to the late '80s. not many ahead of him.

Not to mention, Ospreay has all that momentum and they book him with lame-ass Roderick Strong (good worker, negligible character) for a title no one cares about?

Thought it was excellent and I'm not a huge fan of either guy.

Almost everything he does, even the rainmaker, looks weak. It's why I've never gotten into him, even though he has an undeniable aura and many great matches to his name.

We need a pro wrestling czar to ban ladder matches for a minimum of two years.

During this burst of Angle discourse, it hit me that I've hardly watched him in the last 10 years. Even during the last GWE, he wasn't someone I looked at with any focus. Might take a spin through a few matches just to see what I think of him now. I guess the greater point is that it's easy to become frozen in positions from decades-old debates.

I was mixed on it. It had the unhinged violence/bumping you want from a match like that, and it certainly told a story. But I did feel the length. There were stretches when it lost any dramatic tension for me, in part, to be fair, because I feel zero attachment to most of the participants. The comparison to Cage of Death is apt, and I have to think that was the model these guys had in mind, but it didn't get all the way there.

This show has been tremendous, even if most of the wrestling world would rather talk about Punk.

Darby vs. Luchasaurus was damn good too, maybe the best Luchasaurus singles match ever?

Joe vs. Shane Taylor was a tight, excellent slugfest after we got a tease of Joe as MJF's next challenger. I'll take all of that.

Yes, I spoke too soon.

With Danielson injured and Punk gone, what remains is not a compelling product. That's not to say TK was wrong to sever what seemed to be an increasingly toxic relationship. But it's an invitation for me to stop watching, at least for awhile.