WingedEagle

I firmly believe New Day's issues are unrelated to generation or type but simply a matter of taste. I watch sports nonstop in addition to wrestling. My favorite author is Robert Caro. My favorite movies are Devil Wears Prada, Bad Boys 2 and Some Like It Hot. Taylor Swift belongs on the $10 bill. Ric Flair is the greatest wrestler who ever lived. Unless its Kenta Kobashi. And the New Day need to be off my TV.

I also dig trashier Liz. I've got a wife at home and prefer to see something different when browsing, even if I can only look

This is all fair and probably accurate with respect to many voters, regardless of whether it is for Tim. Personally, there's no question that setting and all that goes into it -- build, booking, placement and other factors -- can help a match tremendously. That may be because of the time and leeway they're given, it may be because of the crowd reaction coming into the match that the can work with, or a host of other factors. But it definitely puts the random encounter at a disadvantage. These circumstances are by no means fatal and can certainly be overcome, even if it is a disadvantage. In some rare instances its probably a plus as the match that's delivered absolutely demolishes expectations. But such is booking and the ups and downs of the business, right? Will add more to it later as right now I'm spending my wrestling time simply watching, but I'm very much a great match guy. If you have a ton of great matches you're going to do well on my rankings. If we could evaluate everyone with the same advantages in time, booking, card placement, tricks, etc. we could get closer to a level playing field, but there are still a number of what ifs that would come into play at that point. Just not sure there's a way to overcome that.

They're an easy 10 minutes to go do something else. Count on it every week.

Very much under the radar in '92 and '93 with some standout singles matches during that time, as well as playing a vital role in a ton of tags. He'll definitely be the highest person I rate from New Japan.

Originally someone I could sit on until next time because of the length of his career, Okada is now a lock for my list. Just working from his NJ reentry in '12 until today, that is 4+ years filled with a metric ton of matches I rate very highly. As much as I appreciate the perspective that is afforded by looking back at people who are either retired or well past their glory years, at the end of the day Okada very likely has more great matches on tape, already, than a number names I'll rank much higher. That's not their fault and simply a function of availability, but I'm not about to penalize him for it. Rise of the moderns!

A Reigns heel turn on Taker giving Shane the win would be interesting. Along with probably many other scenarios they could but are unlikely to roll with.

I'd go suit with no tie and make sure you have a water bottle to spit from when you walk down the aisle. Or maybe suit plus Iron Fist tee in case some folks are dense.

Currently slotted in at #5.

Not about to get into discussing the merits of this versus All Japan as while I have strong opinions, I fully admit I'm in the bag for Baba's boys. There's a reason 3 will be in my top 10 and a 4th not much lower, if at all. The Chono G1 was very similar though in that it didn't waste 6-8 minutes or more with aimless matwork that went nowhere. I just don't find Hase & especially Chono at the same level as those who would've done it for Mr. Baba. What Parv's review and thoughts did make me think about though is just how I'd weigh Hase vs. Hashimoto. I'd have to look back on and think about the volume and depth of Hashimoto's top matches, but do find it interesting that on just about every occasion I walk away from a Hase match thinking it exceeded my expectations whereas with Hash almost the exact opposite is true, save perhaps for some of the early Ogawa stuff. Just don't see him as a peer of the elites from that era.

It seems simple to me: Hase wants to win a wrestling match, and he wants to do that by hurting his opponent enough to pin him. And with the piledriver he hurt Chono's neck which has a history of being injured since he injured it in September of 1992 after taking a piledriver from Austin. And so where is it going? Basic psychology. Just ABC logic, follow up hurt neck with ... Move that targets neck. And then another one. And then another. Aimless my arse. Forgive the rant, but I'm not having that. And why does it need to go so long? Chono is meant to be a world class wrestler so he's going to take some putting away. I struggle to understand that post by Ackerman, and was absolutely shocked to read that someone wrote that about THIS match. Hase is also NOT repetitive in this match. He pulls out tons of moves you don't typically see him do. He even did the Bossman jump onto the second rope. Chono has much more time on top in this match and I dug his assault on Hase's injured ankle, although the weird goat noises he made throughout are ... Weird and pretty annoying. But sound psychology again, series of leg holds, shinbreaker. It's very solid stuff, although I will note that Chono's execution was sloppy on occasion both here and in the last match. Hase continues to sell that leg during his next offensive portion. And goes right back to that neck with a German before things get more back and forth. It's neck vs. ankle. And this is extenuated when Hase throws his boot off. Hase switches up a bit to work Chono's legs too with a great figure four on the outside. Loved the two of them kicking out each others' legs, and I thought Hase was phenomenal in selling the pain of the injured ankle on the kick, his screams of pain in the figure-four after it were pretty awesome too. Why don't people like Hase more? I don't get it; the dude was just brilliant at pro wrestling. Finishing stretch and near falls were hot as hell and very exciting. Hase still kept selling that leg too. And I popped for the kick out on the bridging Northern lights suplex. And then the work on the neck AND on the legs is paid off with an upside down STF thing in a totally PERFECT pay off that had been built to since literally minute one of the match. This match seems like a real lost classic to me. Just such perfect psychology throughout, consistently excellent work in my book here. And I was surprised not to see higher ratings in the yearbook, because this is a fucking GREAT match. I'd say it is better than matches I have at 4.75 like Arn Anderson vs. Barry Windham from 92 or the Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat from Superbrawl 2. 4-stars, honestly, is low-balling it. Aside from some slight execution issues with Chono -- and we give Taue or Tenryu a pass for that in many a five-star affair -- I cannot think of single issue I have with this match. It is perfectly told, the psychology is perfect, and the match builds to a crescendo that then pays off that psychology in the most logical manner possible. Best Hase match I've seen, best Chono match I've seen. I encourage people to re-watch and re-evaluate because this is just phenomenal stuff here in my book. I'd probably rank this in my top 20 matches of all time, maybe just behind Jumbo vs. Misawa 9/1/90. I can't see what it is losing any stars over at all, and would love someone to explain why this is not a five star match. For me, it is. ***** So of course I fell off adding my notes to everything on the '93 Yearbook about halfway through the year (note to self: get back on it), but wanted to add that this match is just so incredibly under the radar. My brief notes from originally watching the match way back when: This was amazing and I thought clearly ahead of the Muto match in '91 or Rude in '92 as Chono's career outing. You never hear much about '93 as an all-timer but this is up there with some of the best G1 matches ever. No whole hog, 5 star love here as its still Masa Chono and despite the tremendous psychology and layout he's not someone who can build a match like the All Japan boys or put together the kind of finishing run I look for in a match that I'd put on my list of all-timers. But I did think this was the best match of 1993 taking place outside of All Japan or All Japan Women.

I've got zero issue with the idea of Akiyama as a top tier candidate. Its a completely plausible one that doesn't exactly require digging through obscurity to reach if you're that high on him throughout the entire course of his career. The standout performances are well known during much of the run as is the depth. Because of when he rose to his position I don't think he's part of anywhere near the number of classics as the rest of the AJ crew. That's simply a function of timing rather than anything he did wrong, but I think his list is a lot shorter. In NOAH and beyond, you've got the depth and the long run once again, but I didn't find him someone churning out MOTYC's regularly. If you were blown away by what he was doing upon returning to All Japan then that stuff can pretty easily assist making an elite case for him, but your mileage may vary there. Really comes down to how you see that material.

I think they do a great job of following a specific timeline with their wrestler comps and they don't duplicate, so really would be finding your personal faves there. Their Year One - Five series is a nice time capsule. Thanks, will check those out and hopefully find they have a lot I need. If I recall there's also a Danielson set or 2 that would be good to have on the big screen.

I'm not suggesting there is distortion or unfair criticism. But I do think when you became a fan has a lot to do with how you view Akiyama. I may be wrong but I see the trends out there and it seems to point to something. That said, when speaking of "thresholds" I'm not sure how many guys who have as many consensus great matches with as many different people and a run of being very good at minimum for as long as Akiyama does who aren't seen as number one contenders, let alone top ten contenders. What's interesting to me about Akiyama is that no one really seems to reject the particulars (for example I might disagree with Michaels particulars, some with the lucha standouts, et.). I just think there are some fans who don't instinctively see him/feel him as being at that level because of how his career narrative has unfolded. What's the problem with his career narrative? I can't speak for the masses, either at PWO or among those who have watched much AJPW or NOAH, but at no point in his career did I ever see him at the level of Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, Taue or Jumbo. An absolutely phenomenal wrestler who would've been the best thing going in New Japan and many other places, but yeah, he happened to fall into a universe that prominently featured a handful of what I consider to be the greater professional wrestlers to have ever lived. That doesn't demean his output whatsoever, but its a pretty high standard to meet. Scottie Pippen was damn good, but he wasn't Jordan.

Foundation definitely count as heels. Part of the first angle that hooked me as a fan.

Come on, Bret never had a heel run in your neck of the woods

A name I might've dismissed without second thought when this started 18 months ago and now a lock for top half of the ballot. Amazing in the AWA, great in Japan & Portland, and the brief WCW run was nothing to hold your nose at. Pretending WWF never happened, but I know some folks even find value there. Just an incredible babyface.

I'm not sure there's any distortion or unfair criticism being leveled against Akiyama. You're pushing for him to be considered as a top 10 all-timer. That's a high threshold and one that many people can easily dismiss while at the same time regarding him as dynamic and consistent with an epic run of good to classic matches that earn him a spot among their top 20, 30 or 50.

Parv, are you actually resubmitting your list to bump Misawa & Kobashi? Two thumbs up, if so. Listening to the Excite Series its hard to see how you'd have them behind a number of the folks that finished ahead under BIGLAV.

Okay I listened the whole way through. What's this big comedy spot I missed?

Are your top 80 settled already or do you just know that they're in somewhere?

That is almost exactly the position I'm in with Satanico. Enough to know I need to see more and he belongs, but not enough to comfortably say where. May slot in late as a nod to what I've seen thus far, or hold off entirely because if I go that route I'll have no idea where to draw the line on folks I've seen a similar amount of footage from.

This is what's always held down the big blow-off for me as well. To be fair, I've only seen a couple matches from the entire arc along with the cage match, but never quite understood how some of those names were part of this epic affair. Actually planning on rewatching all of it this summer (have it all on the computer and usually spend summer weekends away from the big screen) and very curious to see how it plays out in full.

I just don't see how its unrealistic and patently absurd for an Olympic gold medalist to "work" the mat with another professional wrestler, but perfectly acceptable for said Olympic gold medalist to abandon his Olympic talents and hit a moonsault, eat a Stunner, People's Elbow or anything short of grinding these amateur actors into the mat.

And they wonder why they can't get any money sponsors.