WingedEagle

Man, this is a tough one. I think I agree with the above, especially the bolded part. Feels like a coin flip today. So how about we split the difference and acknowledge that Io Shirai is leaps and bounds ahead of both at this point?

Tenryu is a top 20 candidate while Lawler will not rank.

Armstrong won't and Cesaro is unlikely to make my top 100. This is a great example of an input/output comparison. I think Brad Armstrong is better than Cesaro at more things that make for a good professional wrestling match. But Cesaro's had the opportunity to put together a ton more matches that generally exceed the best that Armstrong could do in his role. For me that makes it an easy Cesaro vote but I could easily understand someone going the other way for the same reasons.

I'm a fan of the Buzz I've seen in Midsouth and even in squash matches but admittedly have no sense of what's out there that I may not have seen. What Brock's become the past few years working sub-10 minute matches is almost useless. Yet even accounting for that this is a comp that Brock takes handily and I still find myself hard-pressed to keep Brock out of the top quarter or third of my ballot. Incredible athleticism and presence that make his matches feel like more of a spectacle than most are capable of. But he's also an incredible and diverse seller. Whether bouncing around the ring, staggering to stay on his feet as Reigns throws shots at him at Mania 31 or selling a leg for Bryan, he can get you believing in just about any opponent regardless of size or booking because of how he sells over the course of a match. commits he absolutely gets you believing in any opponent. One of the best big match performers of the decade. You pair that with great matches against Rock, Rey and Angle and legitimately good matches against opponents like Hogan, Show and others on his all too brief first run and he'll rate very highly for me.

I'm a fan of the Buzz I've seen in Midsouth and even in squash matches but admittedly have no sense of what's out there that I may not have seen. What Brock's become the past few years working sub-10 minute matches is almost useless. Yet even accounting for that this is a comp that Brock takes handily and I still find myself hard-pressed to keep Brock out of the top quarter or third of my ballot. Incredible athleticism and presence that make his matches feel like more of a spectacle than most are capable of. But he's also an incredible and diverse seller. Whether bouncing around the ring, staggering to stay on his feet as Reigns throws shots at him at Mania 31 or selling a leg for Bryan, he can get you believing in just about any opponent regardless of size or booking because of how he sells over the course of a match. commits he absolutely gets you believing in any opponent. One of the best big match performers of the decade. You pair that with great matches against Rock, Rey and Angle and legitimately good matches against opponents like Hogan, Show and others on his all too brief first run and he'll rate very highly for me.

There wasn't enough meat on the bones 5 years ago, but we're now at over a half decade of her being one of the most selfless and willing bumpers in the business regardless of setting. A top 5 WOTY candidate in 2020 and great matches over the last few years in singles and tag settings with a wide variety of opponents while never simply punching in regardless of her place on the card. My gut says that earns her a spot on my ballot today but at worst it means she's a top tier bubble candidate in the future. Additional recs for those looking to dig deeper: Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani vs. Meiko Satomura & Kairi Hojo (Stardom 3/21/2016) Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom 5/15/2016) Io Shirai & Meiko Satomura vs. Mayu Iwatani & Chihiro Hashimoto (Stardom Io Shirai 10th Anniversary 3/9/2017) Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom 6/21/2017) Mayu Iwatani vs. Utami Hayashishita (5 Star Grand Prix Finals, Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix 9/24/2018) Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe (Stardom 9/22/2019) Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu (Stardom 12/24/2019) Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe (Stardom 1/19/2020) Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko (Stardom 3/3/2021)

Post-prime work doesn't seem to be forbidden for other candidates. Why such a concern here? If the totality of one's career is to be considered than it should be that way whether for Dump, Flair, Satanico, Rose or anyone else.

Would love to know just what led to him getting cut, especially given the timing, and then picked back up now.

Is it now possible to pause live programming on the 'cock?

Hope you have an amazing time! If the Nets didn't have a game tonight I'd definitely try to watch live, but alas playoffs take precedence.

The company will likely be sold long before then.

This. Not to mention that NJPW has been featured in AEW since these talks commenced. There's no reason to assume that any discussions have or will amount to anything substantive. For all we know either party may have leaked this for other purposes.

A confluence of factors makes a lot more sense. If it was simply burn out, frustration and/or personal issues I can't imagine NJPW would've taken the belt off of him so suddenly. Would imagine that in such a situation they'd at least play it week to week for a while and wait to get a read on things before taking such a drastic move, but an injury would certainly compound that. But what do I know?

Hey now, please do not besmirch the name of our lord and savior Kevin Durant.

Leaving aside any creative or storytelling efforts, this was probably the best in-ring raw in ages. Drew vs. Kofi, Charlotte vs. Asuka and Riddle vs. Woods were all solid matches given real time.

Excuse me? What's the word here?

I've been a fan of just about everything Cody has done in AEW and think he's been a consistent high for the promotion feud in and feud out. But as I believe @El-P succinctly put it, this promo was cringeworthy at best. A big miss. Go crush it at the PPV, get your trademark or whatever is important, and never, ever revisit this approach.

Where's Shota Umino these days? According to Cagematch he hasn't had a match in 14 months.

This match was indeed phenomenal and Kid was the highlight between his uphill fight at the end and how they used the mask. I'm not sure how highly it would rate for people watching in a vacuum as opposed to having followed the path there, but the drama and work would probably stand out even without context.

As I make my way through Toryumon and Dragon Gate, Kid stands out as someone who basically never has a bad match. He's always solidly entertaining at worst. I'm not sure I'll find many, if any, classics on his resume which will certainly limit how he ranks for me but I can't rule out someone who's that good for that long.

Akiyama has had an incredibly long career working various roles, whether singles or tag, and with an incredible array of opponents given the generations and promotions he's crossed. I was trying to pinpoint just why I don't regard him as highly as his peers from AJPW/NOAH and other GOAT candidates and think its because he rarely, if ever, made me feel the way they did. And I mean literally feel. Kobashi, Misawa, Kawada, Tanahashi, Bryan, even Flair -- whether through their fiery comebacks or the way they'll work the crowd, wrestlers of that level can get me can get me invested in a match at a level that others simply can't. I won't just enjoy what I'm watching but will actually care about what's happening -- whether for a fleeting moment or more. Akiyama has been great at this for nearly 30 years. He's probably no worse than a top 20-25 candidate. But he didn't make me feel the way those I'd consider at #1 ever did and that's why I can't look at him as a top 10 candidate.

I haven't looked into it deeply but thought I saw something that Japan has rules about only administering vaccines manufactured in Japan. If accurate it would certainly contribute to a slow rollout. Regardless, its certainly an unfortunate situation.

I don't see how its remotely outlandish to suggest Shawn & Marty's best matches, specifically vs. Rose & Somers, are better than anything those teams did.

Where is this current comedy Fuchi?

He'd probably insist that we ignore the years he wore a mask, in which case his candidacy holds no water.