Jetlag

I love Arkangel as guy holding CMLL undercard tags together. Currently I'm not familiar enough with his history to see a case for him (as he only gets showcase matches once in a blue moon), so I would like to know when exactly he got really good.

Trauma I had two really great years in 2010 and 2011. His advantage over his brother is that he has a handful of go to single matches, not all of which were easy tasks (the Angelico match comes to mind). If that period had kept up he really could have been one of the better workers of the 2010s, but unfortunately an injury happened and Trauma I wasn't the same anymore. Right now he doesn't touch his brother, as he kind of he lost the super menacing, stiff brawler aura that made him stand out in the beginning and as a mat worker was never top shelf (later on even regressing). He seems to have some kind of resurgence going with lots matches against prominent opponents, haven't gotten to check it out to be honest, but currently I don't see a case for this list at all and it pains me because at his best the guy is a killer.

I really, really liked her match vs. Amano from 1999. Really out of left field great performance. However, her other, more praised stuff that I've seen isn't on the level. Maybe she would benefit from someone doing a mass uploading spree because there's still a lot I like about her and the online footage from her is limited. I recall her matches vs. Haruyama are some of the best 2000s joshi bouts simply for being psychotically fast paced, violent deathfests.

Good as a rookie with a good cool-stuff-per-minute ratio (which is what you want from a young overactive japanese girl worker), but her post-injury, pushed as company ace current run I don't like at all. It represents all the bad aspects of the style for me - excess combined with bad execution. Didn't even like her matches against Kana who had developed into a near superworker at that point.

This starts slow and builds to quite the epic 3rd fall. Lewin's chops and nerve holds were unusual and nasty looking. I dig the chop to the throat as a finisher and him attacking Terry's face in the 3rd was nasty. This was the Terry Funk show through and through. He does all his awesome signature punches and bumping and throws in a bunch of amazing ankle picks. It felt like something a high end UWF wrestler would bust out. The best being in the 3rd where he does this awesome amateur switching and sliding to weasel into the toe hold. His staggering selling alone comfortably pushes this into the EPIC territory. Nuclear reactions in the 3rd are a testament to the greatness here.

Kawada being a bad 70s wannabe may be the most alien thing I've ever heard. Sure you are talking about the guy who spin kicks, stomps people on the back of their heads when doing a leg crab and doesn't do worked punches at all? Or is "doing holds and going long" something that belongs in the 70s in general? I don't recall him doing any Destroyer-style teases of the Stretch Plum. Atleast now I have a motivation to watch those 60 minute matches again....

Good example of a shootstylist who was really great right out of the gate. For 3 years this guy produced a string of high quality undercard matches with some incredible carry jobs under his belt. Great on the mat, great at structuring matches, great at telling a story through subtle selling and mannerisms, and a really great moveset to top it off. And then BattlARTS closes and his career kind of ends. I was excited to see him popping up in HARD HIT again but he hasn't done anything worthwhile there. It would have been interesting to see what he would have done in NJPW had he been accepted into their dojo.

No comments on Sawa, so I'll leave something here. I don't see him as a contender at all, ESPECIALLY not with the hardcore BattlARTS fans. To his credit: able to work both as a spunky underdog and as a stiff bully. To his detriment: often obnoxious and goofy with his mannerisms to a degree that he would drag down matches. Not great at his style. He has a handful of surprisingly good outings (his match with Super Tiger II borders on a miracle), but for the most part he is fodder to the argument that Yuki Ishikawa is the best ever.

I haven't dived to deep into him, so I mainly want OJ's opinion here. I was surprised to learn he has quite a bit of footage on tape, so I want to know if he's a contender. He has a really strong rep especially with the folks who used to watch him in germany but the footage isn't there. I really love him vs. Czeslaw and based on that I could see putting him above someone like Pete Roberts.

I think Jones is a wrestling genius. It baffles me that Dylan mentions his lack of subtitles, nuances and tactical approaches, because that seems to be his trump card for me. He's being touted as a forebear to the Regals and Finlays but those guys are far more erratic. Jones is a stone faced technician and doesn't do any of that posturing or grimacing at all. I may be seriously overinterpreting things but the way he carries himself, how he will dissect a body part or calmly set up a move off of the top and how he excels both at fighting heavyweights and lighter types in methodical/fast paced bouts makes me think of him as "the man" of british wrestling akin to a Misawa type. When he gets fired up at a heel its barely a change from his usual demeanour and yet he oozes intensity. I would add him vs. Alan Woods to the list of recommended matches. Not a perfect bout, but I love it for Woods' performance and how Jones fuels his mania. Jones also shows some real commitment there taking reckless bumps to the floor. The match also has some nice symmetries for you psyche-fans to spot. Jones/Rudge is epic. And Jones does so much in it. One thing I love about him is that he knows exactly how much offense to give and take, when to hit his spots etc. A 30 minute technical match is a perfect example of this, but he never loses his sight even in these rippingly fast paced go here-go there lightweight style bouts. I guess one criticism towards him is that he doesn't jump out the way some of the flashier technicians or outrageous characters of the era will do. On the other hand, he does enough nifty stuff like bust out a Santo-style tope or just slapping his man square in the face in the first round. Point is the main thing that keeps me glued to watching him wrestle is the stuff described above. Nuances and subtitles. Again maybe I'm just ranting, but in my eyes Jones beats the shit out of a loooooot of other guys nominated in this.

Nominating Caswell Martin, again via. OJ's euro thread.

Faulkner is one of those ultra-talented, slightly weird brit dudes you just come across. When he's fired up and pissed-off, he's blowaway great. What's interesting about him is that he was also able to do super fast paced, 70s-lightweight-workrate stuff. Even more notable is that unlike many other brit workers he has some tag bouts worth checking out, being in a popular team with his brother Bert Royal. I remember having problems with his more cliche doosie-doo "smiley technical brit comedy" stuff, but he's def. a guy I want to go back and study in detail before I complete my Top 100.

Really? I've never heard many positive words for him even from DG/Evolve fans. In fact the general opinion on him seemed to be that he was "Gabe's project" and not good enough to be poster boy. He has also worked several indies and never really set the world ablaze.

I think not being on the same level as the best rudos ever isn't a big knock against someone. It really may be your expectations. I'm not very familiar with Panther's rudo work but I really enjoyed his amusing bumping and stooging while working in Hamada's UWF. As far as placing Panther goes, he'll be about in my Top 20-30. He's had a loaded career with great mat performances, quality singles matches and that really great late career feud with Casas. And he's still been damn good in the last couple years. I guess you could make the argument that he's a bit of a one trick pony but when your trick is hitting the mat hard and being as awesome as he is I simply don't care.

I watched the recommended Austin matches that I wasn't familiar with. I think the problem for me is that Austin's image has been built up as this mythical asskicker, almost like a Stan Hansen or Vader type slotted into crazy overbooked matches. His 2001 run matches that image, as he is awesome as a psychopath there. The Attitude Era stuff shows him not quite as that asskicker, but rather as a pretty smart worker, which is a big plus. A negative is that the matches don't feel very violent even when Mick Foley is there killing himself. Sometimes the smoke and mirrors (as in the matches with Rock) gets a little overbearing. Overall I'd say the stuff is underwhelming but still ends up being a feather in his cap, if that makes sense.

Pirata Morgan: There's also a Complete & Accurate for Pirata here: http://segundacaida.blogspot.de/search?q=Pirata+Morgan Blue Panther:

I'm not really seeing that bit about Hash being a specialist. The guy has a huge variety of great matches under his belt, including several matches built around all the things you mention about Hase (well, except maybe for bumping and stooging, but doing something like that simply didn't fit his role). Including matches against other heavyweights, juniorweights, martial artists, guys from other promotions, jobbers, US style workers, etc. And he does those things as good as anyone I've seen. I could see it if you said Hase is a superworker due to being closer to an US guy, but that raises the question can only US style guys (or guys who are close to it) be superworkers?

I'm a little puzzled by Hase getting praised as a superworker. He's clearly the most talented NJ heavy after Hashimoto, but Hash will be in my Top 10-20, while Hase right now isn't a lock for the list at all. He has strong positives: quality amateur style matwork, great at bomb throwing, and knows how to create drama. Problems for him are the chunks missing from his career due to him being exiled from NJ and being a part timer later on. In the 2000s he is far overshadowed by other guys even in post-split All Japan. What is most puzzling about him is that he clearly understands wrestling very well as evidenced in his selling and expressiveness, but also sometimes mixes these Kurt Angle-ish tendencies into matches (throwing a dozen Uranages in a row, awkward pacing etc). I can only watch so many matches that build from indian deathlocks to Uranages and nearfalls before it gets old. His AJPW work, very good Akiyama match aside, was very underwhelming. His match vs. Kobashi wouldn't even make my Top 30 for 1997 and him vs. Misawa in 2000 is kind of painful. His best match for me is against Hashimoto and the gap between that match and the rest of his work is nearly as big as the gap between him and Hash.

He looks good in the little footage we have, but ultimately he's a guy who's legendary for his influence and vision rather than legendary matches. If you want to put him on your list based on him being a fun old man technician there's a lot of competition for him.

Szakacs is amazing. I don't think there's anybody who does the "crazy british hold escapes" better. Maybe it's because he's a heavyweight, but the way he moves is really fascinating to watch. The KO chop finisher is brilliant too and makes for really interesting bouts. The guy combines intensity and technical brilliance like the best of the british wrestlers. Also has that Volk Han-like charisma that only a former Hungarian army officer/refugee could have. The problem? He has about 10 matches on tape. But since Alan Sarjeant has a thread too, the name Tibor Szakacs deserves to be known. Recommended matches: vs. Big Bruno Elrington vs. Jack Fallon vs. Prince Kumali

Roach not being talked up much is a bit of a mystery to me. A badass giant with a black belt in judo, who wasn't afraid to rip guys heads off with forearms or just dump them hard in the middle of the ring. And it's surprising how well he works as a TV star in restrained british style bouts when you expect this guy to show up in NJPW and battle Hashimoto. I find it really amazing that I watch his matches to see him eventually knock the shit out of people, but then end up staying for the more technical stuff. I really love his graceful throws and surprisingly agile movements when locking in holds. Due to him being Roach, every match becomes interesting simply because he has it all over his opponent's in size and skills. Being quite a household name, he also has many taped matches including some brawls in germany (which I enjoyed more than OJ), so unlike some other british guys footage is not an issue with him. Also, I have soft spot for the guy because watching him as an unstoppable machine in Never say Never again is one of my earliest childhood memories. Recommended matches: Pete Roberts vs. Pat Roach (2/13/80) Pat Roach vs. Gil Singh (4/21/80) Pat Roach vs. Tom Tyrone (10/11/83)

Poor Pete Roberts. I don't think I've seen anyone really praise this guy except for OJ and Regal. Doesn't look like much, not flashy at all, but he has a real knack for slick, graceful technical wrestling (especially dig his takedowns) and creating intensity within the span of a few rounds wrestling session on TV. It's not just that he can throw a european uppercut, but really work escalation into his matches, even when they technically remain fairly harmless. For example, in one of his bouts vs. Pat Roach, he does this awesome half-boxer/half-Fujiwara-like ring positioning about to lure Roach into the corner and then kick the shit out of him. His big drawing card is his consistency as he has shown up on british TV for many years and never stopped being awesome even as british TV wrestling was on it's last legs. Apparently he has worked abroad aswell but somebody else will have to comment on that. Only seen him matching up really well with Fujinami in japan once. Regardless, give him a chance. Recommended matches: vs. Pat Roach vs. Wayne Bridges vs. Terry Rudge

He also did some really fun stuff in NOAH, working as a heel invader there.

Nominating: Tibor Szakacs, Pete Roberts & Pat Roach via. OJ's euro wrestling thread: http://z11.invisionfree.com/wrestling_ko/index.php?showtopic=2555&st=0

I like him and he's a guy with some worthwhiel matches under his belt but there's about a dozen other euro guys who deserve your attention more, and perhaps another dozen who deserve to be nominated just as much as him. Why bother with this guy when Franz van Buyten is right there? EDIT: Actually I just remembered all the Van Buyten matches I uploaded to YouTube have been deleted, so I guess he's not there actually.