Childs

How are you picking these matches Matt? I don't think anyone would point to them as particularly good samples of the guys involved.

I really loved their June '07 one back in the day. I recall that being their tightest match, though I probably haven't watched it in 3-4 years.

I've revisited some of the WOS matches I reviewed a few years back and my thoughts have changed considerably in a lot of cases. I mention this only because it feels like a style I learned to watch, and I'd encourage others to stick with it, even if it seems foreign for a time.

I doubt I would list Tanahashi but at the same time, think it's completely reasonable for him to pop up in some top 10s and top 20s. If you like what he does, he's been doing it at a high level for a long time now. He's earned a grudging respect from me in recent years. When it's time for him to perform on a big show, the guy works his ass off and absolutely carries himself like a star. I might not love the modern NJ main event style, but a lot of people do, and he played a big part in defining it. He's not some mindless twit reeling off moves; he's a performer who has to be reckoned with if you want to understand the state of the art in 2014.

I agree with this. He's like the Lesnar of New Japan for me, though not as awesome physically. I see him come out, and I know someone's ass is getting beat. No shot at my list, but I'm happy he's around, doing his thing.

I'm finding this discussion odd, because I honestly don't think of Austin as a "brawler." I know that was his persona, but not many of his matches were out-and-out slugfests. His punches and kicks weren't anything special. He never created that feeling of just eating up his opponent's space, like a Hansen or Finlay. As Stone Cold, he was great at applying his charisma to matches, so great that what he actually did physically didn't matter much to the crowd. He was certainly a far greater total performer than pure in-ring guy. For that reason, he'll be tough to rank--probably middle of my list.

I've rarely found Nagata interesting, but I've been watching this year's G1 lately, and I quite enjoyed his match with Nakamura. Nagata gave an appealing performance as the fired up old man, trying for a big upset. The crowd really treated it like a main event even though it was what, fourth from top?

If you like '80 Fujinami, you should also check out his stuff from the late '70s. It reinforces the idea he was one of the very best in the world at his cruiserweight apex. Parv talked earlier about how Brisco was ahead of his time. So was Fujinami.

Yeah, that's fair. He used it to good effect at times but not always. It never bothered me immensely. I know some people also feel he went to the head scissors too readily.

The Fujinami singles series in '83 was the best thing he did all decade. I'd probably put the tag series in All-Japan against Jumbo and Tenryu right behind that. He wasn't clearly better at one or the other. What impressed me about him as a tag wrestler is that he pulled off strong matches paired with almost every member of his crew, from Saito to Yatsu to Hamaguchi to Khan. And he was the constant, a guy who could generate heat from the apron and then pop in for tremendous bursts of action. Hell, he had a great tag match paired with Iizuka in '89. I loved the spot in that one where he kicked his own partner to fire him up. Choshu was weaker in matches that went too long, because he really didn't have a deep bag of shit to do. But give him 20 minutes and a big stage and he'd knock it out of the park in tags, singles and multi-mans.

Yep.

Yes.

He was always the respected veteran in Choshu's crew. If you hit the New Japan set, you'll get a much better sense of Saito.

Don't know the exact details of the prison thing, but if you want to see the match, it's in the extras on the All-Japan set.

I have to stress again thought that ROH really did get better, with fans caring about storylines, rivalries and the titles, not just MOTYCs. I'd argue it was a genuinely good promotion from mid-2004 until maybe '08. Not perfect, not devoid of annoying ticks, but good.

Now that's the match I truly regret leaving off the DVDVR set.

I watched Ken Joyce against Costas from 1980, and though I found Joyce very skilled, he seemed a little cutesy for my taste. Is that a bad read on his style? Walton obviously loved him.

Would Myers rank any higher for you if the Iron Fist gimmick had never happened? Not that you don't rank him highly as is.

I enjoyed him as Kokina in Japan. He hadn't gotten super-fat so he was more of a standard mobile big man. But he carried more presence as Yoko. If his WWF run doesn't put him in a GOAT discussion for you, I don't think the Japan stuff would push him over the top.

I nominated him, because I really like some of his '70s WOS work, when he brought a unique, aggressive style to match-ups with some really great opponents. I didn't think much of his Black Tiger work in New Japan, but I at least wanted him to be up for discussion.

No, I think that's dead wrong. He was a huge factor in some of the greatest tag team matches of the '80s, with multiple partners. The voting on the DVDVR '80s sets bears that out.

Amen.

I don't think anyone is asking Phil to rank Davey Richards or Joe to rank Jerry Lawler or me to rank Manami Toyota. Vote your bliss, even if that means rejecting whole genres of wrestling.

Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones 6/30/76 vs. Steve Grey 10/11/78 vs. Pete Roberts 5/28/80

I was there live for Aries' Dec. 2007 ROH title challenge against Nigel, and it was one of the best matches I've ever seen in person. I also remember seeing him in an elimination match with a bunch of lesser guys at Chikara's 2009 King of Trios, and he was a total pro, holding an unimportant match together. So I think well of him, especially after he managed to make TNA interesting for a brief stretch. Excellent offensive wrestler, has brought personality to his work in multiple character guises, carries a long list of very good matches. I doubt I'll list him, but it's not a ridiculous idea.