WingedEagle

This is the credited response. Though upon rewatching a bit this month, Naito is sneaking into consideration for #2 on my list after thinking of him as a top 10 contender all year.

I didn't participate and thus don't know what rules may have influenced rankings, but Reigns & Bryan look like the standouts who should be there.

What he said. They remain the best.

I plan on grabbing Highspots as soon as its avialable via Firestick or PS4. Stardom is currently the only one I'm willing to support without big screen access.

I'm more than game.

Love it. These are the kind of stories you don't get in the WON or in usual diehard circles. Seven years before the mask came off! How'd you close things in the third fall that night?

My understanding is all WXW shows (major events and Shotgun/TV episodes) are posted in both German and English. I believe WXW's site posts a lot of extra content / features that aren't on Highspots, but if you're looking to catch all matches you can do so on Highspots. It makes you wonder how long they'll keep the Highspots relationship in place as it would seem to cannibalize they're own service, but its not as though I've got nearly enough info to intelligently speculate.

What's their current TV exposure?

Not sure this belongs in another thread but I went to MSG for WWE's annual Christmas show and had a terrific time. Brief rundown: Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy -- Matt with new Beethoven entrance music. Perhaps similar to what he had in TNA? Crowd dug him and Matt went over cleanly. Absolution vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley & Mickie James -- Solid match with a good pace. Paige was strong working the crowd as a heel. Heat on Bayley led to a Mickie James hot tag and she was quickly pinned by Paige. Elias out for a song with Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows that set up a 10 man tag. Oddly none of these threes wrestled. Rhyno & Heath Slater & Goldust & Titus O'Neil & Apollo Crews vs. The Revival & Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel & Curt Hawkins -- Pour out a little liquor for The Revival. Nothing good here, but it was quick. Enzo Amore vs. Kalisto -- Enzo is not very good at professional wrestling. They did capture the crowd for one Kalisto no near fall, but there was nothing to see here. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor -- Joe looked absolutely huge. Fun, fast match that saw Joe go over cleanly. Asuka & Dane Brooke vs. Alexa Bliss & Nia Jax -- Not a great or good match by typical standards, but Alex & Nia are a super fun act. They have this pre-match handshake routine like you'd see from Damon Jones, Cam Payne or similar fun guys at the end of a basketball team's bunch. There's absolutely a place for this on a live wrestling show. Braun Strowman vs. Kane -- Kane DQ'd right away for a chair shot, which led to Braun putting him through a table for the easy pop. Braun ripped off his shirt and cupped his ears like Hogan afterwards. Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan vs. Cesaro & Sheamus -- They took an intermission before this match to set up the cage, then another extended pause afterwards to remove it. I found this odd because last year's Christmas show featured a cage for Miz/Dolph but it was suspended above the ring and lowered for that match. Not sure why the change in plans this year. Solid spectacle built around chase/escape spots that people seemed into. Roman Reigns vs. John Cena -- Not surprisingly these two received far and away the best reactions of the night, and the crowd was hot from intros through to the finish. They killed a few minutes early working the crowd (primarily Cena), but then ran through their big spots and gave each a great near fall before Roman won cleanly with a spear. Probably ***1/2 and easily the match of the night. There was a child in the row behind us who was a die hard Cena fan -- hat, shirt, cheering the whole night. He was losing his mind every time Roman was in control and legitimately ended up in years at the finish. Hopefully he sticks around. Roman/Cena was very much the only really good match on the show, but basically everything on the show was fun except for perhaps the 10 man tag and Enzo, and even those had their moments and didn't overstay their welcome. While I doubt such a show would play well on TV, especially given the state of commentary these days, I have to imagine any fan would have a good time at the event unless you go in expecting a show of the year.

Some random questions I don't know or forgot answers to over the last few years: How did people watch NJ big shows before NJPW World? iPPV? PPV? TV? What is NJ's current TV situation? How do they promote stars and matches beyond the NJPW World platform? Is Weekly Pro Wrestling still relevant? What about coverage in daily newspaper sports sections?

For me, the answer to that question is an unequivocal yes. His character and promos become consistently insufferable while failing to generate the kind of heat you want from a heel. Its like he's a weekly, omnipresent version of Lin Manuel Miranda's character from this season of Curb. Add in the fact that his in ring hasn't exactly delivered in quite some time and it makes for some pretty poor television. What I don't quite get is why, at least on the work side. He can clearly go in the ring, as shown by his matches with the likes of Cena, Reigns and Zayn, but has seemingly settled into a certain schtick that doesn't lend itself to quality matches.

Ha glad to know I'm not alone there. Love this place.

I edited my post to mention that. I have a first-gen Fire Stick though, and it's hot garbage. Still, with that app already created, I have no idea why they didn't immediately start working on apps for the Roku and PS3/4. I realize it's not a simple port-job from a technical standpoint, but at least the translation work is already done. I wish they had a PS4 app, but I don't know that the North American numbers justify the development. Very much a chicken/egg situation though.

The Firestick app works pretty well.

They can be pretty great when working as serious heels. Its rarely the case these days but there were at least a couple occasions this year when they dropped the BTE act and comedy routine, and just wrestled. I'm thinking a couple examples were at the G1 Special in in Cali and at the G1 Finals, but could be off. They know how to get heat and build a babyface comeback. But those occasions seem fewer and further between these days. I haven't seen them live in a few years. Perhaps the Elite routine with the comedy, too sweets, superkicks and catchphrases makes for a fun variety show if you're in the live audience. Its certainly different from what you get on the rest of most shows. But its not an act that I need to see on tape ever again. Just doesn't cut it for me at all. If they make money with it that is great for them. Its just not where I'd invest my fan dollars.

Wrestle Kingdom 11 looks pretty safe on my ballot.

That's a fair point. I don't think Jinder's offense really added anything at all and AJ would've put together the same performance bumping & selling his ribs along the way, but perhaps some others would've gone off script to the match's detriment.

So the crowd in Boston was dead much of the way and I can't blame them given everything that's happened since the opener. But AJ Styles killed himself, working a smart match along the way and bumping his ribs in every imaginable way, including many that didn't require a whole lot of help from Jinder. Throw in the early work on the leg to set up the Calf Crusher finish and this was a pretty damn good match. Easily Jinder's best. ***1/4

Who would've guessed this show would nose dive after a Baron Corbin triple threat?

This one's a cluster. If my math is correct, we have 3 official matches remaining. Even if likely that a match or segment is added to fill in time, I'm crossing my fingers they can close up shop by 11.

The tag title match fell short of expectations as much as the US Title exceeded them. Bad chaos throughout before a fun finish.

Corbin vs. Roode vs. Ziggler - This dramatically over-delivered after a slow start. Big spots that were well chained together and captured the crowd. I even appreciated their wrinkle on the steal the pin trope they often rely on. Really fun opener. ***1/4

I'm in the camp of people who actually thoroughly enjoyed that match when I first saw it (have yet to rewatch). Things like the Undertaker visibly struggling to do his sit up spot or looking lost as Reigns ran circles around him to hit the Spear are top notch moments for me. Yeah, I thought it told an incredibly compelling story that I probably wouldn't have bought had you laid it out on paper in advance. But Taker's failing efforts to overcome the superstar in his prime along with Roman practically toying with him throughout made for a really special match. In fact, this performance along with his promo the next night had me beyond convinced that Heel Roman Reigns would've been the hottest thing the company had to offer this year. But it ended after that 24 hour period. Even most of the botches in the match really added to what they were doing.

I've got incredibly low expectations, which usually leads to a pleasant surprise. But this is one hell of a tough lineup.

Okada is a runaway #1 for me. I understand the argument against him if you're not high on the Omega matches. I am, which makes this as easy as any call in recent years. Especially when you add in the Tiger Mask W, Shibata, Suzuki & Evil title defenses as well as his work in various tag & six man matches at Korakuen on lesser shows. Those tags were almost never meaningful matches but he almost never mailed them in and always delivered sequences that helped build his next big main event. That can't be understated. All of that is before you factor in his G1, which beyond the Omega match featured an incredible MOTYC with Kojima along with excellent matches with with Elgin, Suzuki and Evil. Not to mention what I think is Cody Rhodes's best career match at the G1 Special in the states. Io Shirai was in the running for #2 on my ballot based on the first 7 months of the year, but hasn't really been put in position to build on that in her work since returning from injury. Strong work every time out rarely delivering great matches based on how she's been used in tag settings. Still a possibility to make my top 3, but far from the lock she was over the summer. I can't say I love the thought of a top placing for Omega on my ballot because of those nights where he works in tune with his colorful tights, but between the Okada series, the Ishii series, the G1 matches and Juice defense its tough to leave him off. Walter is right in the mix for a spot in the top 3 and a lock for the top 5. In-ring feud of the year contender with Riddle, the 16 Carat final with Dragunov, the Starr matches, the tag work with Thatcher -- just an incredibly diverse body of work all over the world. Reigns has delivered pretty consistently when given an opportunity this year, from the Owens match at the Rumble (KO's best outing since his first couple outings with Cena), the Braun feud and then TV run late in the year. Then there's the Mania match with Undertaker. Widely panned and I get it, but I guess I'm the outlier here. I liked it that night at the end of the marathon that Wrestlemania has become, and I liked it even more on rewatch later in the year. Call me crazy, I loved it.