WingedEagle

Life as a wrestling fan is amazing. Unless you insist on watch everything live you can fast forward through anything, access almost anything from the last 40+ years that's made tape in a matter of minutes and immediately thereafter find people who'll tell you you're wrong for loving or hating it. What more could I possibly ask for?

I don't think its unreasonable to call last year's WK double shot unifying the titles the peak of this past era. Whether creative has turned south due to poor ideas, saving better ones for post-covid, a lack of foreeign talent or all of the above doesn't really matter -- the Evil reign, rampant interference making its way to the main event scene and Okada with an off switch are not good things. There's nothing to defend there. Now let's leave all that aside. Last year's G1 was outstanding in the ring. I was higher on the final than most but I don't recall too many being sour on the booking once Ibushi went over. The top of the card has been phenomenal this year as well. Between Shingo/Cobb, Okada/Ospreay, Shingo/Tanahashi and Ibushi/Ospreay there's been no shortage of great matches. Undercards and Road To shows have generally been skippable and filler. That's a big difference from the past where big show lineups would be packed and you'd have 1 or 2 choice matches on the setup shows that would be worth checking out, whereas now they're running as many of those shows as they can to generate cash flow and as a result we're getting run of the mill multi-man matches all the time. There's very little you have to go out of your way to see even for those who regularly follow the promotion. Is it peak 2010s New Japan? No. But we've got another Ospreay/Shingo and Ospreay/Okada rematches coming up along with unannounced main events to fill at Dome shows and Dominion. For my money Dragon Gate has been the most enjoyable promotion *top to bottom* over the past year when factoring in booking (a bit inconsistent this year but their shows are all more interesting), but this company and its roster still put on the best big show matches. I can't complain too much about that.

Isn't New Japan running Korakuen into the ground with seemingly multiple shows per week as opposed to once or twice per month? Not to defend NJPW's booking of late because other than putting together main events that consistently deliver in the ring it hasn't exactly been creative to write home about. But I believe DDT, TJPW and the like are still running Korakuen essentially monthly for the equivalent of their PPV shows, as opposed to NJPW's Road To shows, which might be at Shinkiba or similarly small buildings for DDT & the like.

I'm comfortable saying he'll rank in the top quarter of my ballot and wouldn't be at all surprised if he finished in the top half of it. This is year 10 of a run that's seen him produce more great matches than just about anyone every single year.

Thanks, fun to see this kind of movement and I'm certainly curious to see how it'll shake out in a few years. Will be interesting to look at the next round of results and see what trends and footage drive rankings at that time.

Make this happen.

Many thanks for a phenomenally and meticulously prepared review that has me eager to watch this match. We'll see if I dive right in or wait to watch more early 80s AJW for some context. Kudos.

His ring work outside of AEW and a bit of indies before that is a real blind spot for me. If this were a promos list he'd be at worst top 1/3 or so. Hopefully someone can provide an extensive rec list for him that we can dive into at some point.

I don't understand this idea that the beginning of a match has to have anything more to do with the end of a match than the simple fact that the wrestler's objective is to win. Why can't a wrestler look to weaken or attack his opponent through many channels before choosing one to focus on later in the match? Or capitalizing on an opportunity that presents itself through attrition over time? This is especially true in longer matches where there is literally *more time* for *more* things to happen that can all potentially impact the outcome. Perhaps a given fan only appreciates a match that follows a clear and consistent plan of attack from the opening bell. That's not necessarily for everyone but if that's what it takes for someone enjoy wrestling then said fan(s) will naturally gravitate to that style. But it seems awfully presumptuous to criticize wrestlers for failing to work in that fashion.

Thanks! Clearly enough here for people unfamiliar with his work pre-NJPW to give him a chance and hopefully put him in some context.

Her promo after winning the elimination chamber is GWE worthy. Every now and then a match will be worked that makes you completely forgot how small she is relative to her opponent. She's not bad, but great?

It was a great match, but just one match. I wish Trish had a chance to work big matches regularly over the last couple years so I could really answer your questions, as she's hamstrung by what was asked of the women during her time.

A few other greats if you haven't seen them: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch (NXT Takeover Rival 2/11/2015) Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte (Iron Man Match, Roadblock: End of the Line 12/18/2016) Charlotte vs. Bayley (WWE Raw 2/13/2017) Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (Last Woman Standing, Evolution 10/28/2018) Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair (Survivor Series 11/18/2018) Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus (Summerslam 8/11/2019) Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley (WWE Wrestlemania 36 4/5/2020)

Someone like @Alan4L or @InYourCase need to show this man some respect with a properly comprehensive rec list running through his DG career. The NJPW, ROH, PWG, AJPW lists are much easier.

Names that look unlikely to survive if my list were due today: Jeff Hardy, Isamu Teranishi, Rick Rude, Seth Rollins, Mesias, Edge, Triple H, Jerry Lawler.

What does his gender have to do with his work?

Her matches never quite rise to the level that some people seem to hold her when I watch. In Japan, workers like Meiko & Io Shirai produce better on worse days, while in the states Bayley, Sasha, Charlotte and Rousey have all had higher highs. This isn't to knock her as bad or anything of the sort, but I simply don't see her as best in class anywhere she's been.

His matches with Andrade, Shingo, Ciampa (the first couple), Cole and The Revival are among the best I saw in this country over the last decade. No matter what's happened since the first Ciampa feud jumped the shark, being a vital part of that many classics locks you into my list. I've only seen bits and pieces of his work in EVOLVE and PWG so need to look at more there before I have any idea where he'll rank.

Yeah, he's absolutely a top half of the ballot guy with a pretty high ceiling. By far the biggest standout in the Dragon Gate I've seen thus far, and I've got a lot more to watch. He's been phenomenal in NJPW across G1's and BOSJs and is half of the two best matches I've seen so far this year. He was also great in the Champion Carnival a few years back.

Steamboat's matches in Japan as NWA Champion were both 3rd from the top beneath tags and/or six-man tags. One went just under 16 minutes and the other went over 10. Neither show look to have been major stops on a tour based on the building and lineups. How likely is it the crew is trying to put on a killer show in those circumstances? I'm not exactly a huge Steamboat fan but I'd like to understand why we should expect more from him or anyone in that setting.

Mania was a great even with two killer main events that left you going to bed feeling good about wrestling. Tonight's show was a very swift and rude awakening.

A wrestler that is always good and almost never boring. But I'm not sure I could point to a single classic he's been a part of. His matches against Cena and Sheamus are the first that come to mind but I wouldn't call anything with either a MOTYC. Tough for someone like that to make my list.

Someone who never clicked with me the way he did with others. I like some of the high points from Memphis but never found any of them an all-timer. Will struggle to make my list again.

A low-end WOTD candidate until coming to the States. I'm not sure where she'll rank but can't imagine I'll have many women ahead of her.

An easy top 10 pick for me this time around. Where he ranks in the top 10 will be a lot more difficult. After seeing basically he did this past decade in close to real time, I've started looking back at his work in the aughts and while I'm still early in that process its a lot better than I expected going in. Looking forward to finishing off that decade for him.