Jetlag

Man, the Muto/Hashimoto matches are amazing. They are basically worked like an MMA fight with an expert striker vs a grappling artist. It made me actually reconsider the old "Muto is lazy" talk because while there isn't a ton happening in terms of 'moves' there is some fine fine wrestling going on. It's more about building tension and avoiding getting caught which is much more interesting to me than watching guys run through a bunch of moves like they are playing a Tony Hawk video game. Muto is a great takedown artist in those. The 1997 is an especially great Muto performance as they spend like 20 minutes building to Muto just hitting a dragon screw. If you can go 30 minutes using 5 moves but keep the crowd on edge of their seats and make everyone believe that you can turn the tide and sway the match in your favour if you can hit just 1 dragon screw then that is not lazy that is great wrestling. That said those matches may be entirely a Hashimoto creation but still Muto looks strong. Watching more 90s New Japan I've definitely come a lot of great technical wrestler Muto performances. The Yamazaki and Fujinami matches are great examples of this. The 1999 singles match with Yasuda is really unique and great because Mutos selling that he's so banged up he can barely move and even Yasuda could have a chance at beating him. That Muto is way more interesting to me than 2000s Muto who spams low dropkicks and Shining Wizards. I can definitely see why people gravitated towards the All Japan stuff because it's chock full of cool moves and big bumps, whereas the New Japan style was more simplistic and built around avoiding the big bombs rather than tanking them, matches worked like they could be decided at the drop of a pin. The former may be more spectacular but I think the later actually holds up better.

Strong consideration for a top 100: 1. Command Bolshoi 2. Chigusa Nagayo 3. Carl Greco 4. Chavo Guerrero Sr. 5. Carlos Amano 6. Curt Hennig Bolshoi and Nagayo are pretty neck and neck for me since both have some ridiculosly great stuff but also some underwhelming matches. Right now I'll take Bolshoi over Chiggy simply because I prefer her best stuff over Chiggys best though it's pretty much a coin toss. Some consideration for a Top 100: 7. Chon Shiryu 8. Chicky Starr 9. Chris Hero 10. Carlos Colon 11. Chihiro Hashimoto 12. Chavo Guerrero Jr. 13. Christian 14. Cesaro 15. Chico Che Little to no consideration for a top 100: 16.Clive Myers 17. Chikayo Nagashima 18. Chris Adams 19. Cassandro 20. Ciclon Ramirez 21. Cutie Suzuki 22. Chris Benoit 23. Combat Toyoda 24. Chic Cullen 25. CM Punk 26. Chris Jericho 27. Cien Caras 28. Carl Ouillet 29. Chris Markoff 30. Chris Masters 31. Caswell Martin 32. Chris Candido 33. Candy Okutsu 34. CW Anderson 35. Commando Negro/Canis Lupus 36 Chris Hamrick 37. Chris Dickinson 38. Cody Rhodes 39. Colt Cabana 40. Crazy Crusher 41. CIMA 42. Chris Harris 43. Christopher Daniels 44. Chris Sabin 45. Chris Brookes 46. Chuck Taylor Haven't seen enough/no ranking: Col. DeBeers Chad Gable Charlotte Flair Chase Stevens Chris Michaels Cash Wheeler Chris Colt

Try and rank the following wrestlers starting with the letter 'C'. Which ones are you considering for your all time Top 100? Candy Okutsu Carl Greco Carl Ouillet Carlos Colon Carlos Amano Cash Wheeler Cassandro Caswell Martin Cesaro Chad Gable Charlotte Flair Chase Stevens Chavo Guerrero Sr. Chavo Guerrero Jr. Chic Cullen Chicky Starr Chico Che Chigusa Nagayo Chihiro Hashimoto Chikayo Nagashima Chon Shiryu Chris Adams Chris Benoit Chris Brookes Chris Candido Chris Colt Chris Dickinson Chris Hamrick Chris Harris Chris Hero Chris Jericho Chris Markoff Chris Masters Chris Michaels Chris Sabin Christian Christopher Daniels Chuck Taylor Ciclon Ramirez Cien Caras CIMA Clive Myers CM Punk Cody Rhodes Col. DeBeers Colt Cabana Combat Toyoda Command Bolshoi Commando Negro/Canis Lupus Crazy Crusher Curt Hennig Cutie Suzuki CW Anderson

Woops, the competition is strong here. Strong consideration for a Top 100: 1. Blue Panther 2. Bill Dundee 3. Black Terry 4. Buddy Rose 5. Bret Hart 6. Bestia Salvaje 7. Butch Reed 8. Buddy Rogers 9. Bobby Eaton 10. Billy Robinson 10. Barry Windham Some consideration for a Top 100: 11. Buzz Sawyer 12. Bison Kimura 13. Bob Backlund 14. Brian Pillman 15. Brazo de Oro 16. Big Boss Man 17. Bruno Sammartino 18. Bam Bam Bigelow 19. Bob Orton Jr. 20 Barbaro Cavernario 21. Bert Royal 22. Bas Rutten 23. Brock Lesnar 24. Brian Kendrick 25. Bobby Fulton 26. Bobby Barnes 27. Brian Knobbs Little to no consideration for a Top 100: Brian Maxine Big Show Bruiser Brody B-Boy Batista Bobby Heenan Brad Armstrong Buddy Landell Biff Busick Bull Pain Bubba Ray Dudley Booker T Bobby Bass Bob Holly Bayley Billy Graham Bob Sapp Baron Scicluna Bobby Fish Haven't seen enough/no ranking: Becky Lynch Bianca Belair Bob Armstrong Bobby Jaggers Brett Sawyer

Try and rank the following wrestlers starting with the letter 'B'. Which ones are you considering for your all time Top 100? B-Boy Bam Bam Bigelow Barbaro Cavernario Baron Scicluna Barry Windham Bas Rutten Batista Bayley Becky Lynch Bert Royal Bestia Salvaje Bianca Belair Biff Busick Big Boss Man Big Show Bill Dundee Billy Graham Billy Robinson Bison Kimura Black Terry Blue Panther Bob Armstrong Bob Backlund Bob Holly Bob Orton Jr. Bob Sapp Bobby Barnes Bobby Bass Bobby Eaton Bobby Fish Bobby Fulton Bobby Heenan Bobby Jaggers Booker T Brad Armstrong Brazo de Oro Bret Hart Brett Sawyer Brian Kendrick Brian Knobbs Brian Maxine Brian Pillman Brock Lesnar Bruiser Brody Bruno Sammartino Bubba Ray Dudley Buddy Landell Buddy Rogers Buddy Rose Bull Nakano Bull Pain Butch Reed Buzz Sawyer

Strong consideration for a Top 100: 1. Aja Kong 2. Akira Taue 3. Akira Hokuto 4. Antonio Inoki 5. Akira Maeda 6. Alexander Otsuka 7. Arn Anderson 8. Atlantis 9. Ashura Hara Some consideration for a Top 100: 10. Akitoshi Saito 11. Andre the Giant 12. Anton Tejero 13. Albert Sanniez 14. Alan Sargeant 15. Adrian Street 16. Ayako Hamada 17. Azumi Hyuga 18. Atsushi Onita 19. Angel Azteca 20. Austin Idol 21. Abdullah the Butcher 22. Andrei Kopylov 23. Antonino Rocca 24. AJ Styles 25. Alan Kilby 26. Adrian Adonis 27. Andre Bollet Little to no consideration for a Top 100: (doesn't mean they are bad wrestlers the competition is just steep) 28. Axel Dieter 29. Amazing Red 30. Animal Hamaguchi 31. Akira Nogami 32. Aquiles O Matador 33. Arkangel dela Muerte 34. Awesome Kong 35. Antonio Honda 36. Abdullah Kobayashi 37. Andy Kaufman 38. Antonio Koinoki 39. Alex Shelley 40. Akebono 41. Arisa Nakajima 42. Austin Aries 43. Athena 44. A-Kid 45. Andrade/La Sombra 46. ACH 47. Abyss 48. Alex Wright 49. ASUKA/VENY 50. Adam Cole 51. Alberto del Rio No ranking / haven't seen enough of them: Ace Rockwell Adam Page Adam Priest Adnan Al-Kaissie Akira Tozawa Al Costello Alexa Bliss Alexander Navieb Andreza Giant Panda Arisa Hoshiki Arik Royal Art Barr AZM

Try and rank the following wrestlers starting with the letter 'A'. Which ones are you considering for your all time Top 100? Abyss Abdullah the Butcher Abdullah Kobayashi Ace Rockwell ACH Adam Cole Adam Page Adam Priest Adnan Al-Kaissie Adrian Adonis Adrian Street AJ Styles Aja Kong A-Kid Akebono Akira Hokuto Akira Maeda Akira Nogami Akira Taue Akira Tozawa Akitoshi Saito Al Costello Alan Kilby Alan Sargeant Albert Sanniez Alberto del Rio Alex Shelley Alex Wright Alexa Bliss Alexander Navieb Alexander Otsuka Amazing Red Andre Bollet Andre the Giant Andreza Giant Panda Andrei Kopylov Andrade/La Sombra Andy Kaufman Angel Azteca Animal Hamaguchi Antonio Honda Arisa Hoshiki Athena Anton Tejero Antonio Inoki Antonio Koinoki Antonino Rocca Aquiles O Matador Arik Royal Arisa Nakajima Arkangel dela Muerte Arn Anderson Art Barr Ashura Hara ASUKA/VENY Atlantis Atsushi Onita Austin Aries Austin Idol Awesome Kong Axel Dieter Ayako Hamada AZM Azumi Hyuga

Incredible character, but pretty much his entire legacy hinges on the Inoki match. When he went on that NJPW tour he was not the same anymore as he's had a pretty debilitating injury plus his mind wasn't into wrestling anymore. The tag with Hansen is good and the rest of the time he was pretty much just doing squash matches with middling results to get over his double arm suplex as deadly. Some Japanese fan has done an incredible job digging up a few archived clips of him wrestling in Germany but it's not much. Once again it's too bad Germany never had regular wrestling TV in the classic era because Bock vs the likes George Gordienko, Horst Hoffmann and even Mil Mascaras sounds incredible just for the entertainment factor. The Inoki match is pretty peak just for watching two notoriously stiff uncooperative motherfuckers go at it for 50 minutes.

Ran Yu Yu / Tomoko Miyaguchi Previously I would've thought Ran Yu Yu never quite fulfilled her potential. But now? Fuck that, Ran Yu Yu fucking rules. Considering what she had to work with, she has so many hits under her belt it's honestly kind of staggering. Watching her is pretty much a guarantee to come across some hidden gems, whether in GAEA, JWP or anywhere else. While her career seemingly dipped a bit after her prime from around 1999-2005, she's still good-really good-great up to her final matches around 2012. Awesome wrestler with really stylish, graceful offense, has a knack for making basic things like an elbow feel epic, in a lot of great matches that she played no small role in. Absolutely one of my favourite women wrestlers ever and someone who deserves a deep dive. And now with GAEAism making so much of her stuff available and other previously more obscure things like JWP footage seeping out it's a good time as any. Recommended matches: vs Command Bolshoi, JWP 3/3/2006 vs Meiko Satomura, GAEA 9/15/2003 vs. Misae Genki, JWP 12/9/2001 Oga Nozaki / Michinori Nozaki Cool worker whose elusive career I am just starting to discover. He has a unique vibe, like he is more inspired by 90s NJPW than the typical Kings Road stuff, building his matches around a handful of signatures and making basic things like a stomp look meaningful, and oozing aura. I care more about his jumping enzuigiris than I can say for another post-2000s worker. He also has an array of cool unique submissions. He was on top of JWA Tokai for a really long time and from what I can tell he's done an honorable job carrying the main events against a variety of opponents ranging from the respectable to the completely sleazy. It's regrettable he rarely dipped outside that scene though when he did it was usually good. The 60 minute match he had with Hakaru is really special. As far as I can tell he also had unique talent in his early days before he developed the Oga Nozaki persona, focussing on a more basic but highly efficient and memorable approach to pro wrestling, getting more mileage out of something like a side headlock than most wrestlers. Recommended Matches: vs Hakaru, Jishindan 3/8/2015 w Hiroshi Toyoda vs Cosmo Soldier & Hakaru, KAGEKI 7/20/2014 w Hiroshi Toyoda vs Cosmo Soldier & Chojin Yusha G Valion, JWA Tokai 6/18/2017

I just did a YouTube search and there are well over 20 matches of his there. On this list of euro tapes, he shows up 36 times. He also had a couple matches in IWE and NJPW that made tape. I think he may also show up in some newly discovered matches through the Richard Land patreon. So I'd round it up to around 40-50 matches on tape.

Did a post about Tadao Yasuda today https://reverseviperhold.blogspot.com/2026/02/rip-tadao-yasuda.html He really does have a lot of great sprints. He was absolute magic in the 1999 G1 and the crowds loved him dearly. That match against Kojima felt surprisingly epic. Yasuda getting fired up while selling his damaged shoulder and trying to somehow get a win was better than almost anything I've seen in 2025. He is remembered for the coward shooter/Inokiist thing but plucky veteran sumo underdog Yasuda who will palm strike the shit out of you is also quite great.

Masakazu Fukuda Incredibly talented guy whose career was unfortunately cut very short by his tragic passing. That said, Fukuda was quite great pretty much from the get go, and he stood out in a big way with his gangly physique and unique style. I would say he kinda wrestled like Tamon Honda before Tamon Honda wrestled like Tamon Honda, just a unique grappler with a knack for cool submissions and nifty suplexes, and not afraid to scrap hard. Apparently his background was sumo and he was even in the RINGS dojo for a bit. Lots of little gem performance from him working WYF, MUGA or NJPW, with the WYF vs Buko Dojo feud being an obvious standout as well as pushing Liger to the limit or having a mat classic with Osamu Nishimura. Really wish I could find footage of his sole appearance in Germany which sounds fantastic too. Recommendations: vs Osamu Nishimura, NJPW/MUGA 5/15/1998 w KAMIKAZE vs Yoshikazu Taru & Takashi Okamura, WYF 4/29/1997 vs Kazuhiko Shoda, NJPW7MUGA 12/8/1998 Super Taira Big fan of Taira who is a really cool stylish indy wrestler that blends shootstyle with lucharesu. Footage of him is hard to come by but pretty much whenever he shows up he's a highlight with his unique approach and not afraid to go insanely hard even in obscure settings like KAGEKI or JWA Tokai. Since he became a regular Sportiva appearance he's looked consistently great while also showing up for free on the internet. I'm also really fond of his match series with Yasushi Sato. He's been around all the way since 1992, and he's definitely someone to look out for because from what I can tell he's always great. Recommended matches: vs Yasushi Sato, JWA Tokai 6/18/2017 vs Kenta Kosugi, Sportiva 10/30/2024 w Cosmo Soldier vs Koji Niizumi & Kitai Kubo, KAGEKI 2/27/2011 Konaka Incredibly unique wrestler who is both a mat genius but also a worshipper of old school match psychology and an immediate standout with his ghoulish appearance and eccentric style. It says enough that he came from the amateur-scene but became one of the most outstanding and most booked wrestlers on the japanese indy scene. Totally capable wrestler who always makes things interesting just by being who he is, and he's in a number of great matches both going at it with technical wrestling masters but also carrying lesser wrestlers. He does his comedy side personas and there's also the fact we don't have many of greatest matches due to Ustream blowing up (I am still praying for a copy of his ironman match with Yasushi Sato to show up somehow). Still Konaka is one of those guys who make me immensely happy to be a wrestling fan. Recommended matches: vs Sae, Sportiva 5/11/2022 vs Taro Yamada, Sportiva 7/5/2015 vs Yasushi Sato, Sportiva 7/21/2018 Chon Shiryu Great, great wrestler as he's basically the Bobby Eaton of the Japanese indy scene all while working an insane gimmick. It's honestly crazy how good he is as I've seen him do multiple styles and roles, from sympathetic Rey Mysterio-like underdog face with unique spots, to working as a sleazy rudo, to hitting the mat in a lengthy grappling clinic, to garbage brawling, to working a psycho bumpfest in a sportsbar. And he does all that while being himself, and all that for well over 20 years now, and the man doesn't seem to slow down. Throw him in the ring with someone half-trained on a tiny show in a basement somewhere and he'll still give you a memorable match. If that's not the sign of an amazing wrestler I don't know what is, but he does have his share of genuinely great matches too. I love his signature spots but the fact he has great substance really makes him great. Recommended matches: vs Masa Takanashi, Choco Pro 1/22/2022 vs Samas, Hot Shushu 5/6/2024 vs Kiku, Ice Ribbon 5/6/2023 Yoichi Shinmei / Yacchae Seven The former ace of the JWA Tokai scene from 25 years ago recently came back in his old age. Very athletic guy who can still go hard. Clearly he's a worshipper of Mitsuharu Misawa with those hard elbows he likes to throw and sometimes downright imitating finishes from famous Misawa matches but I think the way he puts everything together is pretty unique and makes him standout on his own. Clearly a super gifted wrestler who can go like no tomorrow and strikes me as one of the better wrestlers in Japan during his prime. Recommended Matches: w Yuta Oya vs Ali Najima & Masanori Watanabe, Sportiva 20/22/2025 vs Super Taira, Sportiva 3/6/2024 vs Konaka, Sportiva 6/5/2024 Kazuki Niimura/Grappler ASUKA/ASKA Somewhat legendary obscure figure from the Japanese 'amateur-pro wrestling' scene. As far as I can tell a super talented shoot stylist who was consistently a big highlight in that scene with his unrelenting submissions and brutal strikes with a few outstanding matches under his belt. His wider career is a bit of a mystery as he have almost nothing from him in other places like JWA Kansai or even Osaka Pro, though I'd love for more of that stuff to be uncovered somehow. Recommended Matches: vs Tadanobu Fujisawa, K-WEST 2/18/2010 w Fumitake Nakano vs Buffalo Sakata & Yoshiyuki Watanabe, JWA Tokai 8/29/1993 vs Takaku Fuke, JWA Tokai 1/18/2009

When he gets serious he is awesome. Really great at matches with blood, mask ripping and chippiness. Nothing like an angry clown shoot punching and kicking people. But between that... boy oh boy, he is in a lot of hick comedy matches. A compilation of serious Kamen matches would be awesome though. He was also quite fun before he put on the mask but not entirely at the point of greatness yet.

It's a short peak due to her leaving for the states really cutting down her output, though I'd say she was still fun in the US from what I've seen. That said, I'd rather watch a Sumie Sakai match over many other wrestlers. The Yabushita series is great.