WingedEagle

Are you going to add back photos for those below 499?

Can't lie, seeing a podcast that long is a huge buzzkill. Just need to be prepared to make dents and get through it in time. But loving it so far. Makes the commute and traffic a whole lot more tolerable. Oh believe me it's a buzz kill for me as well. Going in to this I wanted it to be the "concise" GWE pod. Silly me Ha I bet. Absolutely no clue how you guys block out that much time. A huge help is also listening at 2x speed. Don't lose anything but helps you churn through material a bit quicker. 3x sounds like listening to a cartoon though. Just can't go that far.

Can't lie, seeing a podcast that long is a huge buzzkill. Just need to be prepared to make dents and get through it in time. But loving it so far. Makes the commute and traffic a whole lot more tolerable.

We should probably just make everybody change their avatar to the pic of the lowest ranked guy they were high voter on. Scarlet letter the shit out of this place and shame everyone. It would be glorious. That's a great idea......unless you're me.....the guy who's the high voter on someone who played a pro-apartheid gimmick. You're right. Then its the best idea ever. Let's make PWO great again.

I was about to change mine to Teranishi but looks like the pics have been taken down.

I'm an hour in and very much enjoying this. Traffic on the drive home tonight will dictate how much further I make it before the weekend, but already loving Marty's list and appreciate where Kelly's coming from even he's determined to make war with Japan.

We should probably just make everybody change their avatar to the pic of the lowest ranked guy they were high voter on. Scarlet letter the shit out of this place and shame everyone. It would be glorious. This is absolutely brilliant. Would happily put Teranishi as my avatar. So far him and Reigns are the only 2 on my list to pop up. As much as I don't love ranking Reigns at this stage, he was half of 2 classics and that's not something I could simply dismiss.

I expected Mistico to get a lot more love. Probably shows what I know about lucha, but figured he'd rank on a number of ballots.

Christian Rock? I was thinking that was more calendar material.

How often did Bruno or Graham make it Florida when they were champ though? Would seem at that point like its not a two way street.

I might very well agree with that. 5/25 gets all the love whereas the July match seems very much overlooked.

Wouldn't it be to Graham's interest to keep Backlund a regular in Florida, or at least no more than a special attraction in NY?

Not really NXT at this point, but Enzo & Cass are on Austin's new podcast. No earth-shattering insights, but a very fun listen.

I seem to recall Meltzer had a really fascinating piece (maybe more) about some of these shenanigans -- perhaps in connection with a Moolah obit or related story? To be fair, unless any of the current female crew has really gone digging outside company archives they probably wouldn't have any idea about the history there. Was Laurinaitis scouting for the boys or himself?

I think this is the key point. Perhaps its somewhat more formalized now or there's greater awareness, but it doesn't necessarily mean there's any dramatic shift in the relationship or approach.

So I finally started Backlund's book this week and thus far its really terrific. Very detailed and well laid out. Its also not at all choppy and a very easy read, as his co-author clearly did a great job. Big recommendation for anyone on the fence. I had a question about his move to New York. So he has a successful run in Florida for Eddie Graham and apparently does well for Muchnick in St. Louis. Why would Graham recommend him to Vince Sr. as a potential babyface champion? Wouldn't that ensure he'd almost never be able to headline with him? Seems like those interests are a bit at odds.

Akitoshi Saito seems like someone who'd have done a whole lot better if we ranked 150 or 200. Easily lost in the shuffle despite almost always putting forth a credible performance and playing a role in a lot of good matches. I hope the ballot with Cornette was submitted by Cornette. And ranked him ahead of the Young Bucks and every Indy work with a springboard 630.

Freebirds definitely could've been repackaged as The Golden Showers.

Outstanding post with many truths and a nod to some of the subjectivity that will (and should) come into play here for everyone. I'm also very much a matches guy and can say with certainty that great matches influenced my ballot more than regular season consistency. There are some exceptions where a name ranked highly without a bulk of MOTYCs (looking at you, Arn & Regal), but they are notable outliers on my list.

I like this. No chance I'll be that dedicated but may try to at least put together a watchlist for those I haven't seen much of.

What was reported about Tanahashi?

Two totally straight dudes. And ridiculously charismatic. While underdog babyface Nakamura had some great moments, I can't imagine him playing another role.