Jetlag

You know I'm the #1 Yasushi Sato supporter. The man rules, and even in the last 2 years with his progressing age I've thought he was clearly among the best wrestlers in the world, down to having a quaint little great match that was done in the fucking greco roman style things last year. Only Yasushi Sato can really do things like that, and that's why he's special I'm still griefing the fact there seems to be no way to watch his old Ustream.tv matches that he was having every week for years, but what can you do, maybe a data hoarding superfan from Nagoya will show up and make Yasushi Satos #1 case crystal clear in the next 10 years. Eitherways, here's a deep dive of great Yasushi Sato matches: vs. Akito (Sportiva 11/30/2011) A crazy grappling match in that iconic Japanese sportsbar, this was like if Tamon Honda fought Alexander Otsuka in U-Style or something. I'm in shambles that this seems to be only surviving match of Sato from the Sportiva era but what can you do, it's a really great, unique piece of wrestling. vs. Nori da Funky Shibaresasu, Imaike Pro 10/13/2013 The only match between Nori and Sato that I was able to find, again it's extremely regrettable since these two have had a ton of chemistry. Nori is quite the spectacular Taue-like gangly odd heavyweight wrestler who will kick you in the neck and Sato builds a sweet match around him. vs. Dekai Ichimotsu, 12/15/2013 It's kind of a dream match as Yasushi Sato faces one of the most unique and talented guys from the amateur-pro wrestling scene. Pretty much a great signature Yasushi Sato match, cool matwork, nifty counters and suplexes, Dekai is really good and far from carried in this etc. w Yuiga vs Aki Shizuku & Taro Yamada, Mutoha 7/13/2014 Totally sick intergender match that works with some spectacular matwork and sick headbutts between Sato and Yamada. vs. Akito, Sportiva 8/3/2014 This had those 2 count ironman rules so it's another unique and crafty match. Not quite as shootstyle as their 2011 match but good in it's own way so whichever you prefer is up to you. vs. Taro Yamada, 10/26/2014 I think their first encounter, these two are an amazing match up and this is a straight up great match in their signature style. Lots of matwork, some amazing counters, bla bla it's exactly what you expect and it's a pretty great match. vs. Hiroshi Watanabe (European Rounds) Mutoha 9/21/2015 A masterful rounds match between two of the greatest technical wrestlers of the modern era. vs. Oga Nozaki, JWA Tokai 7/24/2016 Nifty match as Yasushi Sato comes in as an outsider to take on the eternal ace of JWA Tokai. Nozaki has been working big matches on this small niche stage for 15 years and he wrestles a bit like a worshipper of 90s New Japan, he's another cool opponent for Sato to build his signature excellent match around and heeling it up a bit on the locals. vs. Hakaru, 3-2-1 Count Rules Jishidan 11/27/2016 Hakaru is a guy who adds a bit of a more gritty vibe to mat wrestling. This also has the rule that it's a 2/3 falls match with the 1st fall having 3 counts, 2nd 2 counts, and 3rd 1 count rules so it's just the kind of experimental chess match grappling that Yasushi Sato lives and thrives by. w Konaka vs. Hiroshi Watanabe & Hideya Iso, Mutoha 2/5/2017 A really cool showcase tag from Mutoha, pretty much 4 great matworkers hitting the mat for 15 minutes and doing their thing, Yasushi Sato is right at home here and his build to his unique submission finisher is really great. vs. Hideya Iso, Mutoha 5/21/2017 I love Iso to death and he's another great match up for the unstoppable force that is Yasushi Sato. vs. Idea, Bukotsu 6/11/2017 Any idea who Idea is? I don't, and neither has Sato because he just eats this guy up. Almost a Fit Finlay/Regal ish performance from Yasushi as he stretches this guy and builds a quite entertaining match around someone who brings very little to the table. vs. Super Taira, JWA Tokai 6/18/2017 These two are a great match up and this is a great match that would look good even next to your 90s junior classics. Tairas mixture of lucharesu and shootstyle is really cool and clearly these two have a blast grappling it out. vs. Shunsuke Sayama, Mutoha 1/14/2018 A great 10 minute war against Sayama who kicks really hard. The way Sato adapts his usual style to more hard hitting, vicious opponent is wonderful. vs. Taro Yamada, No Rope Escape 4/21/2018 Another great match against Yamada, this time more experimental and with some sick headbutts. vs. Masamune, Mutoha 6/3/2018 The match that enlightened me to the greatness of Yasushi Sato. It's pretty fucking great. Masamune is a guy who also has legit amateur credentials and this provides a real challenge. vs. Konaka, AWG/JAST 6/24/2018 vs. Konaka 2 Count Ironman Match, Mutoha 7/21/2018 Yasushi Sato and Konaka had a 60 minute ironman match in 2013 which is probably my ultimate holy grail in wrestling. At least we have these two matches to make up for it. The AWG/JAST match is just an insanely fun 10 minute match with two slick technicians doing cool stuff and impressing with basic things like Yasushi Sato hitting the most perfect kneedrop, while the 2 count ironman is more of a sicko grappling chess match and there's also some insanely great stuff. vs. Hiroyuki Kondo, BRAVES 9/24/2018 Kondo is another obscure indy guy who is secretly really good and has a lot of nifty tricks in his bag, so just a perfect opponent for Sato to go at it. More great inventive work here. vs. Hiroshi Watanabe, Mutoha 4/27/2019 It's another rounds match between them and while it's not as good as their match in 2015 it's still damn good pro wrestling in the classic vein. w Hiroshi Watanabe vs. Manabu Hara & Raito Shimizu, Mutoha 1/13/2020 Mutoha guys facing some shootstylists. It's really good and Yasushi Sato rules here, throwing punches and crazy headbutts like he should've been a BattlARTS guy. vs. Kenichiro Arai, Mutoha 11/3/2020 Another great chess match. Sato may be Arais best opponent besides GENTARO, nobody quite matches him like Sato does. As such this is probably my 2nd favourite Arai match next to the GENTARO bout too, it's damn good and Sato is great here. vs. GENTARO, Mutoha 3/19/2022 These two had a match in 2009, which unfortunately we will probably never see. Thankfully we have this match in which they basically have a great MUGA style match with maximum resistance and intrigue to every hold they do. vs. S.T., 8/13/2023 S.T. is Super Taira who was going through a bit of a phase at the time going through various name changes. This also has the 'no rope breaks' rule. It's pretty much a great maestros match with both guys hitting the mat, busting out crazy holds and using the no rope breaks rule to the full effect. vs. Super Shisa, 11/4/2023 Another experimental rules match. It's pretty great, too. Listen, I can only say this stuff so often, but Yasushi Sato really cames out like the most intelligent wrestler in these, just making the most out of everything. Oh and this is probably the best Super Shisa match I've seen too. vs. Takafumi Ito, Mutoha 7/7/2024 Yasushi Sato takes on an ex-Pancrase guy. Pretty great outmatched Sato performance, as he really doesn't want Ito to KO him, and he really has to try to seize even the slightest advantage. vs. Kenichiro Arai, Mutoha 12/1/2024 Their 2020 felt almost like 80s New Japan in how straightforward it was. This is a bit more like if Tracy Smothers and Dick Murdoch were told to have a 20 minute scientific match on an IWA MS show. I think I prefer the 2020 match but this is another class in getting the most out of every movement. vs Shoji Ohno, Mutoha 2/16/2025 Shoji Ohno fucking rules and it's another great performance in Yasushi Satos resume as this one is a bit more about how if the challenger can topple the champion. w Taro Yamada vs. Akira Jo & Hideya Iso, Yoshino Aid 6/22/2025 4 oddball technical wresters having one of the best matches of the year and looking spry as hell despite being old as hell. Yasushi Sato vs Super Taira, Greco Roman Rules Match, JWA Tokai 4/20/2025 It's a fucking greco roman rules match. They totally make it work though and basically have a 15 minute clinic of extremely believable and intrigueing grappling, the kind that won't see in any other match post the 1930s. So yeah, here's ~25 great Yasushi Sato matches. If you And since you know I have tried to watch as much Yasushi Sato as humanly possible it's almost every Yasushi Sato on tape too. He's also great in those Unicorn 3 vs. 3 matches that I didn't include and there's some extra stuff from JWA Tokai that I haven't seen yet but I will definitely try to unearth at some point. Either way, Yasushi Sato rules.

I've no problem saying Anton Tejero is probably the greatest stooge/bumper of all time. He shows up 17 times in our goldmine of French stuff, from 1965 to 1984, mostly in matches going 20-30 minutes, pretty much all great and not a single bad performance from him. He's also a quite great aggressor. He also has about 4 singles matches which are also great with the Bordes, Mantopolous matches being something that would be considered an all time classic if any US territory guy had it. He was even still producing good stuff in 1984 when he was old as dirt and French wrestling was going to hell. Anton Tejero matches: RENE BEN CHEMOUL & GILBERT CESCA VS INCA PERUANO & ANTON TEJERO (03/12/1965; 32:15) RENE BEN CHEMOUL & GILBERT CESCA VS ANTON TEJERO & PANCHO ZAPATA (07/18/1965; 33:20) ANTON TEJERO VS WALTER BORDES (08/29/1967; 29:18) VASILIO MANTOPOULOS VS ANTON TEJERO (10/21/1967; 34:35) RENE BEN CHEMOUL & WALTER BORDES VS INCA PERUANO & ANTON TEJERO (03/09/1968; 38:15) INCA PERUANO & ANTON TEJERO VS RENE BEN CHEMOUL & WALTER BORDES (04/21/1969; 33:27) RENE BEN CHEMOUL & WALTER BORDES VS ANTON TEJERO & INCA VIRACOCHA (12/13/1969; 33:24) RENE BEN CHEMOUL & WALTER BORDES VS ANTON TEJERO & ANTONIO MONTORO (09/20/1971; 27:15) RENE BEN CHEMOUL & WALTER BORDES VS ANTON TEJERO & INCA VIRACOCHA (01/18/1973; 33:38) MAURICE DUMEZ & GEORGES COHEN VS ANTONIO MONTORO & ANTON TEJERO (04/30/1973; 28:58) RENE BEN CHEMOUL & WALTER BORDES VS ANTON TEJERO & UNKNOWN WRESTLER (02/23/1974; 33:41) DON GIL DON VS ANTON TEJERO (04/18/1976; 13:29) KADER HASSOUNI & LE PETIT PRINCE VS ANTON TEJERO & BOB REMY (01/08/1977; 39:42) LE PETIT PRINCE & GERARD BOUVET VS ANTON TEJERO & ALBERT SANNIEZ (01/01/1979; 31:38) LE PETIT PRINCE & CLAUDE ROCCA VS BOB REMY & ANTON TEJERO (08/18/1980; 36:17) GEORGES COHEN VS ANTON TEJERO (07/18/1984; 15:33)

I've said more than enough in my first post, but it cannot be said often enough. Toba rules. Great wrestler. Not just a great 'novelty act' but a great all around wrestler, full stop. Not many wrestlers have been this good for for 20 years while only changing their act to accommodate for their progressing age. 25 Great Tanomusaku Toba Matches w Nihao vs. Takashi Sasaki & Asian Cougar, DDT 11/27/1999 w Super Rider & Neo Winger vs. Phantom Funakoshi & Exciting Yoshida & Yuki Nishino (DDT 12/22/1999) vs. Takashi Sasaki, DDT 1/30/2000 w Shinigami vs. Ni Hao & Tadahiro Fujisaki, WYF ??/2000 w Takashi Sasaki vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Super Rider, DDT 4/19/2000 w MIKAMI vs. Sanshiro Takagi & Takashi Sasaki, DDT 4/20/2000 w Koichiro Kimura vs. Sanshiro Takagi & Exciting Yoshida (DDT 7/6/2000) vs. Takashi Sasaki, DDT 11/19/2000 w MIKAMI vs. GENTARO & YOSHIYA (DDT 11/30/2001) w MIKAMI vs. Super Uchu Power & Poison Sawada JULIE, DT 8/25/2002 w MIKAMI vs. Takashi Sasaki & GENTARO, DDT 10/24/2002 vs. Takeshi Yamada, Nightmare Pro 2/2/2002 vs. Yuki Nishino, DDT ??/2003 w MIKAMI vs. Kota Ibushi & Daichi Kakimoto, DDT 12/28/2005 vs. MIKAMI, DDT 12/29/2006 w Kota Ibushi vs. Munenori Sawa & Yuta Yoshikawa, DDT 4/1/2007 vs. Munenori Sawa, DDT 5/4/2007 w Kota Ibushi vs. Manabu Hara & Katsumi Usuda, DDT 6/13/2007 w Ranbo Yoshida Okuntun vs. Kota Ibushi & KUDO (DDT 8/8/2007) vs. Shinjuku Shark, XWF 9/8/2008 w HARASHIMA vs. Masashi Takeda & Takashi Sasaki, 1/25/2009 w MIKAMI vs. KUDO & Choun Shiryu, DDT 4/1/2009 vs KAZMA, Ganbare Pro 8/11/2017 vs. Fuminori Abe, BASARA 4/20/2018 w Ikuto Hidaka vs Hikaru Sato & Brother Yasshi, Kakuto Tanteidan 10/12/2023 It's one hell of a resume for a wrestler to have 25 matches like this under their belt, and Toba is definitely someone who brings out the best out of otherwise bland wrestlers like KAZMA or Tomomitsu Matsunaga.

Rank the following wrestlers starting with the letter 'M'. Which ones are likely to make your Top 100? Mad Dog Connelly Mad Dog Vachon Madison Eagles Magnum TA Maki Ito Makoto Hashi Mami Kumano Manami Toyota Manny Fernandez MAO Marc Mero Marcela Marcus Alexander Bagwell Mariko Yoshida Mark Briscoe Mark Henry Mark Rocco Marty Jannetty Marty Jones Marty Scurll Masa Chono Masa Fuchi Masa Saito Masaaki Mochizuki Masahito Kakihara Masakatsu Funaki Masanobu Kurisu Masao Inoue Masao Orihara Masashi Aoyagi Masashi Takeda Masato Tanaka Masato Yoshino Masayuki Naruse Mascara Dorada 2.0 Mascara Sagrada Mascarita Dorada Mascarita Sagrada Masked Superstar Matt Borne Matt Hardy Matt Jackson Matt Sydal Matt Tremont MJF Mayu Iwatani Mayumi Ozaki Masakazu Fukuda Megumi Fujii Megumi Kudo Mei Suruga Meiko Satomura Melina Mentai Kid MEN'S Teoh Mercedes Martinez Michael Elgin Michael Hayes Michel Saulnier Mick Foley Mick McManus Mickie James Mickie Knuckles Mighty Inoue Miguel Perez Jr. MIKAMI Mike Awesome Mike Bailey Mike Jackson Mike Quackenbush Mike Rotunda Mikey Whipwreck Mikhail Ilyukhin Mil Mascaras Milano Collection A.T. Mile Zrno Mima Shimoda Mimi Hagiwara Minoru Suzuki Minoru Tanaka Mio Momono Mistico Mitsuharu Misawa Mitsuhiro Matsunaga Mitsuya Nagai Miu Watanabe Miyu Yamashita Mocho Cota Modesto Aledo Momo Watanabe Momoe Nakanashi Monster Ripper Mr. Condor Mr. Fuji Mr. Gannosuke Mr. Niebla Mr. Pogo Mr. Wrestling II MS-1 Muhammad Ali Munenori Sawa

Low Ki vs La Park is a pretty interesting comparison. Strong consideration for a Top 100: 1. Low Ki 2. LA Park 3. La Fiera 4. Le Petit Prince Some consideration: 5. Lou Thesz 6. Larry Zbyszko 7. Luke Harper 8. Lizmark Little to no consideration Leo Burke Les Kellett Lex Luger Lino Di Santo Lioness Asuka Little Guido Lord Al Hayes LuFisto Haven't seen enough/no ranking: Lacey Lance Archer Lanny Poffo Lulu Pencil

Rank the following wrestlers starting with the letter 'L'. Which ones are likely to make your Top 100 all time? La Fiera LA Park Lacey Lance Archer Lanny Poffo Larry Zbyszko Le Petit Prince Leo Burke Les Kellett Lex Luger Lino Di Santo Lioness Asuka Little Guido Lizmark Lord Al Hayes Lou Thesz Low Ki LuFisto Luke Harper Lulu Pencil

Given how good she was right at her debut, Monster Ripper seems like an obvious contender that may be easily overlooked. She was pretty damn good.

Briscoe vs. Inoki is amazing, but I think Danielson/Low Ki holds up pretty good against it when it comes to mat wrestling. What else is there from Brisco besides some clips and a handful of cool TV matches? Seems it's mostly clips, and I recall his AJPW work not being that amazing but he was working against Dory Funk Jr. and rookie Jumbo there which is not the best competition. To be fair, Danielson has like a 100 more taped main events against a variety of opponents over a 20 year career, so it's a bit of an uneven comparison.

This is a big bracket. Over 50 names here. Lots of big names and lovable workers, proving just how steep the competition for a spot on the Top 100 is. Strong consideration: Kiyoshi Tamura Kenta Kobashi Some consideration: Keita Yano Katsumi Usuda Koji Kanemoto Kazunari Murakami Koki Kitahara Kazuo Yamazaki Koko B Ware Kana/Asuka Kaori Yoneyama KAORU Keisuke Yamada/Black Buffalo Killer Karl Kox Kyoko Inoue Kuishinbo Kamen Kantaro Hoshino Kazushi Sakuraba Konaka Little to no consideration: Ken Joyce Killer Khan Kamala Karl Gotch Kengo Mashimo Kota Ibushi Keiji Mutoh Kazuki Niimura/Grappler ASUKA/ASKA Kenichiro Arai Kid Kash Kuniaki Kobayashi KENTA Kengo Kimura Kerry Von Erich Koichiro Kimura Kyoko Kimura Kazuyuki Fujita Katsuyori Shibata Kazuo Sakurada KUSHIDA Katsuhiko Nakajima Keith Haward Ken Shamrock Kazusada Higuchi Kensuke Sasaki Kevin Sullivan Kevin Steen Kyle O'Reilly Kaz Hayashi Kung Fu Kurt Angle Kenny Omega Kazuchika Okada Konosuke Takeshita Kagetsu Kairi Hojo/Sane Kohei Sato Kaito Kiyomiya Kevin Nash Kofi Kingston Kotaro Suzuki Kane Kendo Kashin Kendo Nagasaki Kenoh Konnan Kazuki Hirata Ken the Box Ken Patera Kento Miyahara Kevin Ku Kevin Von Erich Killer Kowalski Kim Duk Kim Hyun Hwan King Kong Bundy Kintaro Oki Konan Big Kyle Matthews

Rank the following wrestlers starting with the letter 'K'. Which ones are likely to make your Top 100? Kagetsu Kamala Kana/Asuka Kairi Hojo/Sane Kaito Kiyomiya Kane Kantaro Hoshino Kaori Yoneyama KAORU Karl Gotch Katsuhiko Nakajima Katsumi Usuda Katsuyori Shibata Kaz Hayashi Kazuchika Okada Kazuki Hirata Kazuki Niimura/Grappler ASUKA/ASKA Kazunari Murakami Kazuo Sakurada Kazuo Yamazaki Kazusada Higuchi Kazushi Sakuraba Kazuyuki Fujita Keiji Mutoh Keisuke Yamada/Black Buffalo Keith Haward Keita Yano Ken the Box Ken Joyce Ken Patera Ken Shamrock Kendo Kashin Kendo Nagasaki Kengo Kimura Kengo Mashimo Kenichiro Arai Kenny Omega Kenoh Kensuke Sasaki KENTA Kenta Kobashi Kento Miyahara Kerry Von Erich Kevin Ku Kevin Nash Kevin Steen Kevin Sullivan Kevin Von Erich Kid Kash Killer Karl Kox Killer Khan Killer Kowalski Kim Duk Kim Hyun Hwan King Kong Bundy Kintaro Oki Kiyoshi Tamura Kofi Kingston Kohei Sato Koichiro Kimura Koji Kanemoto Koki Kitahara Koko B Ware Konaka Konnan Konan Big Konosuke Takeshita Kota Ibushi Kotaro Suzuki Kung Fu Kuniaki Kobayashi Kurt Angle KUSHIDA Kuishinbo Kamen Kyle Matthews Kyle O'Reilly Kyoko Inoue Kyoko Kimura

A lot of Jimmies and Johnnies and what not here. I think the most interesting discovery here is that Jimmy Jacobs does pretty well for himself when compared to the all time greats. Strong Consideration for Making a Top 100 Jaguar Yokota Jackie Sato Jerry Lawler Jun Akiyama Jim Breaks Jumbo Tsuruta Jushin Liger Some consideration for Making a Top 100 Jimmy Jacobs Jim Duggan Joe Cortez Jose Lothario Jay Briscoe Jimmy Rave Little to No Cosideration for Making a Top 100 Javier Cruz Jake Roberts Jack Brisco Jackie Fargo Jacky Corn Jeff Hardy Johnny Saint Johnny Ace Jinsei Shinzaki Jack Evans Jerry Etrada John Tatum Joe Malenko Jamie Noble Jerry Blackwell Johnny Kincaid Junkyard Dog John Tenta Josh Barnett John Morrison Jun Kasai John Cena Jerry Stubbs Jimmy Snuka Juventud Guerrera James Mason Jerry Lynn Jack Gallagher Jonny Storm Jeremy Wyatt JBL Jerry Saggs Jeff Jarrett Jay Lethal Jado Jonathan Gresham Jay Strongbow Josh Alexander Johnny Gargano Joey Ryan Not seen enough/No Ranking Jacques Rougeau James Storm Jamie Dundee Jamie Hayter Javier Llanes Jay White Jay Youngblood Jerry Valiant Jesse Ventura Jey Uso Jim Brunzell Jim Cornette Jim Londos Jimmy Garvin Jimmy Golden Jimmy Hart Jimmy Havoc Jimmy Uso Jimmy Valiant Johnny Rodz Johnny Valentine Judy Martin

The man made his debut in 80s? You're telling me he was less than 2 years in wrestling when the King Ben and Terry Rudge matches happened? Guy looked and worked like a seasoned veteran badass if I've ever seen one.

Rank the following wrestlers starting with the letter J. Which ones are likely to make your Top 100? Jack Brisco Jack Evans Jack Gallagher Jackie Fargo Jackie Sato Jacky Corn Jacques Rougeau Jado Jaguar Yokota Jake Roberts James Mason James Storm Jamie Dundee Jamie Hayter Jamie Noble Javier Cruz Javier Llanes Jay Briscoe Jay Lethal Jay Strongbow Jay White Jay Youngblood JBL Jeff Hardy Jeff Jarrett Jeremy Wyatt Jerry Blackwell Jerry Estrada Jerry Lawler Jerry Lynn Jerry Saggs Jerry Stubbs Jerry Valiant Jesse Ventura Jey Uso Jim Breaks Jim Brunzell Jim Cornette Jim Duggan Jim Londos Jimmy Garvin Jimmy Golden Jimmy Hart Jimmy Havoc Jimmy Jacobs Jimmy Rave Jimmy Snuka Jimmy Uso Jimmy Valiant Jinsei Shinzaki Joe Cortez Joe Malenko Joey Ryan John Cena John Morrison John Tatum John Tenta Johnny Ace Johnny Gargano Johnny Kincaid Johnny Rodz Johnny Saint Johnny Valentine Jonathan Gresham Jonny Storm Jose Lothario Josh Alexander Josh Barnett Judy Martin Jumbo Tsuruta Jun Akiyama Jun Kasai Junkyard Dog Jushin Liger Juventud Guerrera

Talking about workers in the first year of their career, I am struggling to think of many wrestlers that were as good as Senka Akatsuki straight out of the gate. Within a year she's had several unique, engaging and great matches and looked close to up there even against the likes of Chihiro Hashimoto despite her still limited moveset. Single handedly made the pinfall into a finisher in 2025, her match against Aja made a modern wrestling crowd flip out for an attempted pinfall in 2025 which is no easy feet. Caveats: - she got a monster push right out of the gate and getting to work with many highly experienced top workers throughout the year. - she still looks pretty green in some matches although not much considering how little experience she actually has. Clearly better: - Volk Han and other shootstyle freak outliers that were producing greatness right away. No shame in being worse than Volk Han though. - Carl Greco. Producing shootstyle clinics from the go. - Ali Najima & Yuta Oya. Great matches on a weekly basis in the first year of their career, in Oyas case even before he made his official debut. Comparable: - Jun Akiyama. The default choice when it comes to discussions of 'greatest rookies'. In his first year though? I think he had that Kawada match right? - Ikuto Hidaka. Did a lot of pretty high end stuff already in his first year as a wrestler. - Mika Akino. Seems like the obvious comparison considering she had a pretty great big title match against Yoshida just about 6 months into her career, although that may be a Yoshida creation. Also had that all timer bloodbath against LCO a little over a year into wrestling. - Ayako Hamada. Similiar case as Akino. The 98 ZION final against Yoshida was like her 7th match ever which is downright insane. Again, maybe all on Yoshida though but let's not discredit Ayako, she was incredibly fun from the go. - Yujiro Yamamoto: Great from the go pretty much. The Otsuka match is his 10th match ever and smokes most wrestlers entire resume. - Yuki Ishikawa. Pretty much all the BattlARTS guys were good-great as soon as they stepped on the mat, though I am not sure Yuki Ishikawa has had a really great match before the Duane Kosloski match which came a bit over a year into his career. - Meiko Satomura & the GAEA girls. I know they let Satomura have a singles against Toshiyo Yamada in her first year that was pretty insane, the others may be spotty. I recall the likes of Chihiro Nakano and Maiko Matsumoto doing some great stuff like 6 months into their careers though. - Jushin Liger. I am not sure how much of his rookie year is on tape but he had that match with Shunji Kosugi that was pretty damn great. The Fujiwara match was also just a bit over a year in his wrestling career. - Hiroshi Itakura. Based on the 2 matches of his... he was pretty great.

The first bracket where almost nobody really seems like quite a lock in though sure there are some fun candidates. Strong chance at making a Top 100: 1. Inca Peruano - lack of footage may be a bit of a problem for him but then, he's clearly one of the greatest bumping heels of all time and also quite the expert technician and brawler. Some consideration for making a Top 100: 1. Ian Rotten 2. Ikuto Hidaka 3. Itsuki Yamazaki Little to no consideration: 4. Isamu Teranishi 5. Ilja Dragnuov 6. Iron Sheik Not seen enough/no ranking Invader I Invader III Io Shirai/IYO SKY "Iron" Mike Sharpe Ivan Koloff Ivan Putski