stomperspc

I think a Goldberg vs. Austin, WCW vs. WWF card in the late summer or fall of 1998 would have at least come close to achieving a still-standing record, but probably would have fallen well short of 2 million buys. Both promotions' bigger shows were doing far less than 1 million buys at that time and there was certainly some cross over in customers. So even if the interest in a WCW/WWF joint show got a significant amount of fans who never bought a PPV to buy one, it still wouldn't be enough (unless it was a REALLY significant amount). Watching the '98 year book, we discussed that Austin/Goldberg in the summer of 1998 does feel like it could have been one of the biggest matches of all time in terms of hype and anticipation. I think its safe to say that whatever amount of buys a joint card headlined by that match would have done in 1998, would have represented the ceiling a pro wrestling PPV could have done at that particular time.

Yea, I also thought that Okada/Nakamura seemed like the Tokyo Dome main event going into the G1. I was thinking Nakamura vs. Naito in the finals and Okada getting the October Sumo Hall title shot by virtue of pinning Styles during the tournament. I figured Okada would win there to set up him vs. Nakamura at the Dome. Like pol said, this made sense once the G1 played out the way it did. Doing Tanahashi/Okada again after a 15 month layoff certainly makes more sense than running Styles/Okada for the 4th time in seven months for the Tokyo Dome show. I know some people are scratching their heads over the title change but it seemed like the most likely outcome as soon as the match was announced. I also only saw the second half but thought it was a solid show. The junior title match was fine, but Taguchi doesn't do much for me (though the KUSHIDA match last month was good). Agreed about Desperado being better as a heel. I am not sure why it took them so long to pull the trigger on a full turn. He teased a heel turn from day one (his debut last January 4th) and then he kind of waddled around in in no mans land until the turn this summer. He is still struggling to find his way in long singles matches, though. Taichi is relatively useless, so I would be all for a full time Desperado/Taka team. Meltzer really liked Yujiro vs. Ishii. I thought it was good for a Yujiro match but not "just below MOTYC" level like Meltzer wrote. I didn't think Ishii's stuff with Naito earlier this year was very good. The one-count kick outs, endless strike exchanges, no-selling, and longer-than-necessary finishing stretches pulled those matches down. I think he has produced at a much higher level as the year as gone on. A lot of those annoying elements are gone. Instead he is just having really basic, solid matches with wrestlers up and down the card. I enjoyed Okada/Naito. They had a really good idea for the opening stuff but it didn't flow into the next section of the match all that well. Tanahashi/Styles was MOTN. I thought it was much better than their Seibu Dome match. The Jarrett stuff built to some real nice false finishes and interference teases. For all of the complaining about New Japan doing too much interference with the Bullet Club, all they really did in the end (since the story line of thee Bullet Club dominating the promotion seems to be on its last legs) was use that stuff to put some heat on them and then pay it off at almost the perfect times. That is good pro wrestling booking whether it is Japan, US, or wherever.

I haven't watched that match since it happened but I remember thinking it was a lot of fun. I think in general, Sekimoto is better when he is working holds and doing limb work. You don't get that a lot from wrestlers with his build and it adds another dimension. Sekimoto cranking back on a Boston Crab looks a lot more brutal than when other guys do it. I thought the opening minutes of his title match versus Shinya Ishikawa from May was good for similar reasons. They exchanged basic holds but it all looked really crisp. Two guys like that can use head lock and leg scissor spots and still convey a real sense of violence and pain. Now maybe I haven't seen all the right matches, but I'd wish he'd work more of his matches like that (focused attacks built around holds) rather than matches that delve into slug fests. As a striker, I don't think much of him. Tends to be a little too back and forth in that regard. The fighting spirit spots in his matches don't bother me as much as they do in other matches, because over the past few years at least, he has done a good job in general of utilizing them at the right time and in the right manner. He's a good wrestler and I'd certainly have him among the best non-New Japan modern Japanese heavyweights, but that is not top 100 worthy or anything. I definitely wouldn't have him in the same group as people like Taue, Baba, or even Akiyama.

Eaton's in-ring timing was so good and usually so spot-on that he was able to get great reactions regardless of whether or not he had charisma in the more "traditional" sense. The way he'd take a perfectly timed, right-sized bump off of Lane for a mis-communication spot or the way he'd hit a cutoff move at the precise right time to get a big reaction were almost unparalleled, particularly by tag workers. Charisma in wrestling is more than just facial expressions, big movements, and emotion. Strong timing and smoothness, for example, are two qualities that can help a wrestler connect with a crowd and Eaton had those in spades.

Could you give an example or two of this? Not saying he didn't do it but my recollection is that he timed his big bumps really well and maximized their impact, but maybe we are not thinking of the same matches. I would agree that he bumped "a lot" relative to other big men, but I thought he always did a good job getting a big reaction out of his first few bumps and then saved bigger/well-timed ones for near falls.

This is just from the last two years because (a) I have not seen a ton of him before then and ( b )he generally was not very good pre-2012-ish (and I'd say even later than that). Ultimately, the fact that that he has just a two year or so track record as a "good" wrestler will keep him off my list. However, he is only 26 and has all the tools (and then some). If he can continue putting it altogether and land in the right spot long term, he could be a top guy for years to come. w/ Rich Swann vs. Samuray del Sol & AR Fox - 03.22.13 (PWG All-Star Weekend 9) - A very fun all-out sprint with a ton of cool athletic spots and a crowd that just eats all of it up. vs. Jushin Liger - 06.03.14 (NJPW 2014 BOSJ Night #4) - A shorter match (10 minutes) that is a bit toned down in terms of big time high flying spots so you can see how he handles a situation where he cannot (totally) lean on his amazing athleticism. vs. KUSHIDA - 06.08.14 (NJPW 2014 BOSJ Finals) - Probably my favorite Ricochet match. KUSHIDA was really great in it but Ricochet's performance was good, too. vs. Kota Ibushi - 06.21.14 (NJPW Dominion) - The big athletic spectacle you would expect between these two. vs. YAMATO - 05.05.14 (Dragon Gate Dead or Alive) - Ricochet has his leg worked over. His selling is strong here but he is also able to mix in enough offense without (for the most part) blowing off the leg work (which was the focus of the match) I think that would give someone unfamiliar with Ricochet a good idea of why some think so highly of him. The Chris Hero match from EVOLVE in January and the two Uhaa Nation matches from this year (DG and EVOLVE) some people also really liked. I thought all three were okay to good, but not great.

I agree with this though I might bump up Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher up to tier 2 and the CMLL Anniversary tag title match down to tier 3. Some others: Tier 2 Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, NJPW Destruction, 09/21 *Not the 5-star match Meltzer had it as, but a good, stiff match without some of the usual Shibata nonsense.* KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, NJPW Destruction, 9/21 Tier 3 The Colony (Silver Ant, Fire Ant & Worker Ant) vs. The Colony: Extreme Force (Orbit Adventure Ant, Missile Assault Ant & Arctic Rescue Ant), Chikara King of Trios: Night 1, 09/19 Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster, Blaster McMassive & Flex Rumblecrunch) vs. Icarus & The Throwbacks (Mark Angelosetti & Dash Hatfield), Chikara King of Trios: Night 3, 09/21 Kengo Mashimo vs. Shiori Asahi, Kaientai Dojo King Sea Tournament, 09/14 A.J. Styles vs. Adam Cole, ROH All-Star Extravaganza, 09/06

My thoughts would be to keep the March 2016 deadline and if it went reasonably well, make it a semi-regular (every couple of years?) exercise. It goes without saying that in 18 months, everyone involved will be submitting a bunch of imperfect ballots that are based on incomplete viewings/knowledge of all the matches that are out there. That will always be the case even if this poll goes on forever. At some point I think it makes to put our pencils down and make a list, with the obvious caveat that this list is far from perfect and based on incomplete information. Keep the forums and discussion alive and a year or two down the road (whenever people feel a refresh is needed), another poll can be created. I think March 2016 is as far into the future as the deadline should be. That is a long time (18 months from the start) to stick with an undertaking like this. It will never be perfect, so I wouldn't bother pushing it out more. Doing so will only increase the likelihood that the project never finishes.

Ki definitely deserves to be nominated. I know when Tim and I watched a bunch of his 2000 - 2002 recently it held up remarkably well. He had a totally unique style that he could adapt to high flyers (Amazing Red), more traditional opponents (Eddie Guerrero), mat work heavy wrestlers (Danielson at the time), strikers, ect. Agreed that his ROH heel run was awesome as well. He might be the one guy that makes my list (if he does) almost entirely based on his work on the indies. FWIW, as bad as Ki looked in AJPW at the end of last year he looked really good in three matches he had for Preston City Wrestling in May of this year and the little TNA work of his I have caught this year wasn't too bad. He could definitely contribute somewhere in 2014, but unfortunately he has burned a lot of bridges and really narrowed his options.

Here is my overly-comprehensive list. I bolded what I think are the best matches and and if you want to see the best, those are the ones to start with. I will probably write something up on a bunch of these matches because I think there is a good chance Bryan will be in my top 10. ******************* The American Dragon: 1999 – 2001 (FMW, TWA, Memphis) 1. American Dragon & Lance Cade vs. Hisakatsu Oya & Mammoth Sasaki (FMW – TV – December 12, 1999) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btpg0RLmSqo **Dragon’s match the day before this might be his first match to make tape, but this one is on YouTube. Good glimpse of how he looked just a little over two months after his in-ring debut.** 2. American Dragon vs. Spanky © for TWA Television Championship (Texas Wrestling Alliance – TV – January, 2000) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjNIpPOqwP0 3. American Dragon vs. Spanky in a 1st Round MCW Light Heavyweight Tournament Match (Memphis Championship Wrestling – TV – June, 2000) **Two short television matches versus Spanky. Dragon works as a high flying babyface in both.** 4. American Dragon vs. Derrick King (Memphis Championship Wrestling – TV – December, 2000) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWqyJGJIYnI ** Dragon works as a heel. A chance to see him working more Memphis-y rather than an indie showcase type of match early in his career.** 5. American Dragon vs. William Regal (Memphis Championship Wrestling – TV – May 5, 2001) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_9l8AgA__U Early Indies: 2001 – 2002 (ECWA, JAPW, EPIC) 6. American Dragon vs. Spanky (ECWA – Super 8 Tournament, 1st Round – February 24, 2001) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBGJd5nYBAg 7. American Dragon vs. Low Ki (ECWA – Super 8 Tournament, Finals – February 24, 2001) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq511_jQn9Y 8. American Dragon & Low Ki vs. Charlie & Russ Haas © for the ECWA Tag Team Championship (ECWA – Live Event – April 7, 2001) **The tag match is too long and the Haas Brothers are not very good, but worthwhile to see Danielson work a long tag match at this stage in his career.** 9. American Dragon vs. Low Ki (ECWA – Live Event – July 21, 2001) ** Ricky Steamboat is the special guest referee. This is the first really excellent Danielson match. They work the mat the entire time with really high end stuff especially given the time period and location.** 10. American Dragon vs. Spanky (APW – 2001 King of the Indies, 1st Round – October 26, 2001) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzQfeNWFk4Y 11. American Dragon vs. Low Ki (APW – 2001 King of the Indies, Finals – October 27, 2001) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJVIjUWTdd8 12. American Dragon vs. Low Ki (JAPW – Live Event – June 7, 2002) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft3AssT5b60 **This is a submission match. Once again, really high quality mat work particularly when you consider the context.** 13. American Dragon & Spanky vs. Samoa Joe & Super Dragon (EPIC – Live Event – July 14, 2002) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FRxJw6kHec **Not necessarily a good match but worth seeing for the guys involved. Joe is booked strong and looks good, Super Dragon is booked strong and looks bad, and Dragon is somewhere in between.** Early Ring of Honor: 2002 – 2005 14. American Dragon vs. Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels (ROH – An Era of Honor Begins – February 22, 2002) 15. American Dragon vs. Low Ki (ROH – Round Robin Challenge – March 30, 2002) **Final match in a three person round robin series also involving Christopher Daniels. Ken Shamrock is the special guest referee.** 16. American Dragon vs. Paul London (ROH – All-Star Extravaganza – November 9, 2002) 17. American Dragon vs. A.J. Styles (ROH – All-Star Extravaganza – November 9, 2002) ** Final two matches in a gauntlet series to determine a #1 contender. Dragon wrestles more like a heel in both (although particularly the London match) which gives a glimpse into his later heel stuff.** 18. American Dragon vs. Paul London (ROH – Night of the Butcher – December 7, 2002) 19. American Dragon vs. Samoa Joe (ROH – Revenge of the Prophecy – January 11, 2003) 20. American Dragon vs. Paul London in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match (ROH – Epic Encounter – April 12, 2003) **Somewhat of an early-career defining match for both London and Danielson. The match runs over 40 minutes and is far from perfect, but still holds up relatively well.** 21. Bryan Danielson vs. A.J. Styles (ROH – Main Event Spectacles – November 1, 2003) 22. Bryan Danielson vs. Jay Briscoe (ROH – Final Battle 2003 – December 27, 2003) **Danielson returns to ROH after spending the summer in Europe and parts of the fall in Japan. The first match is a good indie main event type match while the second is an excellent, more basic show opener. Danielson started being billed under his real name while using “American Dragon” as a nickname around this time.** 23. Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide (ROH – Reborn: Stage 2 – April 24, 2004) 24. Bryan Danielson vs. Jack Evans (ROH – Survival of the Fittest – June 24, 2004) 25. Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries vs. Homicide vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Samoa Joe vs. Colt Cabana in a Six-Way Elimination Match (ROH – Survival of the Fittest – June 24, 2004) **Evans match is a qualifier for the six-way main event. It is very one sided with Danielson twisting Jack around and beating him a bunch, which makes it different than almost every other match on this list to this point. The six-way finals is not essential viewing although it eventually turns into a 20-minute singles bout between Aries and Danielson that sets up the next match.** 26. Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match (ROH – Testing the Limit – August 7, 2004) **In a rather ambitious undertaking, Aries and Danielson have a near 75-minute match that reportedly was supposed to go even longer. The match was too long for it’s own good but it is sort of fascinating to watch just to see how they attempt to fill the time. There were some good ideas, butit falls short in execution.** 27. Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe © for the ROH World Championship (ROH – Midnight Express Reunion – October 2, 2004) 28. “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger (ROH – Weekend of Thunder: Night 1 – November 5, 2004) 29. “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson & Low Ki vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger & Samoa Joe (ROH – Weekend of Thunder: Night 2 – November 6, 2004) **Danielson wrestles as a heel in both matches against Liger. The first is a good New Japan juniors style television match. The tag we’ve always felt was a bit better as it has more heat and feels like more of a real match than a Liger showcase.** Early Television Matches: 2003 – 2004 (Portland, WWE, MLW, NJPW USA) **All of these are relatively short. I include them because I think we tend to view Danielson’s indie career as a whole bunch of long, featured main event matches so this gives a look into how he worked shorter, TV-style matches during this period.** 30. American Dragon vs. Dustin Snyder (Portland Wrestling – TV – January 11, 2003) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQeoZBE9kEg 31. Bryan Danielson vs. Jamie Noble (WWE – Velocity – January 12, 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_maEGA_8i2g 32. Bryan Danielson vs. Rico (WWE – Sunday Night Heat – February 3, 2003) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtsV7TeZLDA 33. Bryan Danielson vs. John Cena (WWE – Velocity – February 4, 2003) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf-kiUcAdVI 34. Bryan Danielson & John Walters vs. Paul London & Spanky (WWE – Velocity – November 11, 2003) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzF5bt8AY8E 35. Bryan Danielson vs. Teddy Hart (MLW – TV – January 9, 2004) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x81ey5_teddy-hart-vs-bryan-danielson_sport 36. Bryan Danielson vs. Joey Ryan (NJPW USA – TV – June 26, 2004) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXv8SzoNH-4 American Dragon Abroad: 2003 – 2010 37. American Dragon & Stampede Kid (Tyson Kidd) vs. Gedo & Jado (NJPW – TV – March 7, 2003) ** 15-minute time limit draw. Dragon gets beat up a lot.** 38. American Dragon vs. Doug Williams © in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match for the FWA Heavyweight Championship (FWA – Live Event – June 22, 2003) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLdCy8vG1GU 39. American Dragon vs. Tiger Mask (NJPW – TV – February 1, 2004) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQRz_K9-Ux8 40. American Dragon & Curry Man (Christopher Daniels) vs. Gedo & Jado © for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (NJPW – TV – February 1, 2004) 41. American Dragon vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi © for the NJPW U-30 Championship (NJPW – TV – October 24, 2004) 42. Bryan Danielson© vs. SUWA for the ROH World Championship (ROH – Anarchy in the UK – August 13, 2006) 43. Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA (NOAH – TV – December 2, 2006) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MlbBwzy67s 44. Bryan Danielson vs. Dean Allmark (ASW – Live Event – February 19, 2008) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afcuzx9sCt0 (3 Parts) 45. Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Hero (wXw – 16 Carrot Gold Tournament – March 9, 2008) 46. Bryan Danielson vs. Atsushi Aoki (NOAH – TV – May 15, 2008) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OkifT6NPkA 47. Bryan Danielson vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru © for GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship (ROH/NOAH – Live Event – September 14, 2008) 48. Bryan Danielson © vs. KENTA for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship (NOAH – TV – October 13, 2008) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOXflTy9weQ 49. Bryan Danielson vs. Tommy End (wXw – Ambition – July 4, 2010) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPs_Y-djBBU **1st Round match in a one night, single elimination shoot-style tournament.** ROH World Championship Reign (09/2005 – 12/2006) 50. Bryan Danielson vs. James Gibson (Noble) © for the ROH World Championship (ROH – Glory by Honor – September 17, 2005) 51. Bryan Danielson © vs. Roderick Strong (ROH – Vendetta – November 5, 2005) 52. Bryan Danielson © vs. Naomichi Marufuji (ROH – Final Battle 2005 – December 17, 2005) 53. Bryan Danielson ©vs. Chris Hero (ROH – Hell Freezes Over – January 14, 2006) 54. Bryan Danielson ©vs. Roderick Strong (ROH – Supercard of Honor – March 30, 2006) **Both Strong title defenses are VERY long and probably not essentially viewing beyond seeing how Danielson handled really long matches during this period. Both matches could have been very good at about half the length.** 55. Bryan Danielson © vs. Lance Storm (ROH – Better than Our Best – April 1, 2006) 56. Bryan Danielson © vs. Colt Cabana (ROH – The 100th Show – April 22, 2006) **If you are tired of long Danielson title matches, then this is a good one . . . ** 57. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuiness in a ROH World/ROH Pure Championship Unification Match contested under “Pure Wrestling” rules (ROH – Weekend of Champions: Night 2 – April 29, 2006) 58. Bryan Danielson © vs. Nigel McGuiness (ROH – Generation Now – July 29, 2006) 59. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuiness in a ROH World/ROH Pure Championship Unification Match (ROH – Unified – August 12, 2006) 60. Bryan Danielson © vs. Nigel McGuiness in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match (ROH –Epic Encounter II – August 25, 2006) **Title match series versus Nigel. The third match is the infamous head-butt match. The fourth is a 60 minute draw. I want to go back myself and watch these because I wasn’t too high on them at the time, not only due to the physicality but also because I felt they were generally too long and just not that great.** 61. Bryan Danielson © vs. KENTA (ROH – Glory by Honor – September 16, 2006) 62. Bryan Danielson © vs. Samoa Joe in a Steel Cage Match (ROH – The Chicago Spectacular: Night 1 – December 8, 2006) 63. Bryan Danielson © vs. Homicide (ROH – Final Battle – December 23, 2006) Non-ROH US Indies (2003 – 2010) 64. American Dragon vs. Bobby Quance (PWG – Taste the Radness – February 22, 2004) 65. American Dragon vs. Samoa Joe (PWG – The Musical – April 17, 2004) 66. Bryan Danielson vs. A.J. Styles (IWA-MS – An IWA Homecoming – September 16, 2004) 67. Bryan Danielson vs. CM Punk in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match (Full-Impact Pro – Bring the Pain – March 26, 2005) 68. Bryan Danielson vs. El Generico (PWG – Giant Sized Annual #4 – July 29, 2007) **Might want to watch his match vs. Necro Butcher from earlier on the same show since it leads into this one.** 69. Bryan Danielson vs. Low Ki (PWG – All-Star Weekend Night #1 – January 5, 2008) 70. Team Uppercut (Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli & Dave Taylor) vs. The Masters of a Thousand Holds (Johnny Saints, Skayde & Mike Quackenbush) (CHIKARA – King of Trios – March 28, 2009) 71. Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Hero (PWG - Guerre Sans Frontières – September 4, 2009) 72. Bryan Danielson vs. Naruki Doi (Dragon Gate USA – Open the Untouchable Gate – September 6, 2009) 73. Team Uppercut (Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Jigsaw & Mike Quackenbush (Chikara – Hiding in Plain Sight – September 13, 2009) 74. Bryan Danielson vs. John Moxley (Dean Ambrose) (Dragon Gate USA – Way of the Ronin – September 26, 2010) Final ROH Run (2007 – 2009) 75. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuiness (ROH – Domination – June 9, 2007) 76. Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA (ROH – Drive – June 23, 2007) 77. Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuiness vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe © for the ROH Tag Team Championship (ROH – Race to the Top Tournament Night 1 – July 23, 2007) 78. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima © for the ROH World Championship (ROH – Manhattan Mayhem II – August 25, 2007) 79. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima © for the ROH World Championship (ROH – Man Up – September 15, 2007) 80. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH – Glory by Honor – November 3, 2007) 81. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH – Rising Above – December 29, 2007) 82. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima in a Fight Without Honor (ROH – Final Battle 2008 – December 27, 2008) **The really excellent Morishima/Danielson ROH series. A couple of times earlier in his career he worked an extended series of matches against one opponent (Homicide, Joe to an extent) and they were largely disappointing. The feud with Morishima is anything but. Great progression from match to match and each match is quality stuff, as well. They had to wait a year for the blow off because Morishima was the GHC champion during half of 2008 but the last match is still good.** 83. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuiness © for the ROH World Championship (ROH – Sixth Anniversary Show – February 23, 2008) 84. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli (ROH – Northern Navigation – July 25, 2008) 85. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black (ROH – New Horizons – July 26, 2008) 86. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuiness © for the ROH World Championship (ROH – Rising Above – November 22, 2008) WWE (2010 – Present) 87. Bryan Danielson vs. Kaval (Low Ki) (Florida Championship Wrestling – TV – January 14, 2010) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg-Yk6gdJAU **First match under WWE contract. ** 88. Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Jericho (WWE – NXT – February 23, 2010) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE5uH1I4xbI **First match in WWE.** 89. Daniel Bryan vs. Batista in a “Beat the Clock Challenge” (WWE – RAW – May 3, 2010) 90. WWE vs. Nexus in a 14-man tag team elimination match (WWE – SummerSlam – August 15, 2010) 91. Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz © for the WWE United States Championship (WWE – Night of Champions – September 19, 2010) 92. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE – Bragging Rights – October 24, 2010) 93. Daniel Bryan © vs. Sheamus for the WWE United States Championship (WWE – RAW – March 14, 2011) 94. Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Heath Slater vs. Justin Gabriel vs. Kane vs. Sheamus vs. Sin Cara vs. Wade Barrett in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match (WWE – Money in the Bank – July 17, 2011) 95. Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry © for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Steel Cage Match (WWE – Smackdown – November 29, 2011) 96. Daniel Bryan © vs. The Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship (WWE – Smackdown – January 10, 2012) 97. Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk (WWE – RAW – January 30, 2012) 98. Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk (WWE – Smackdown – February 21, 2012) 99. Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk (WWE – RAW – February 27, 2012) **All three of the Punk matches above are non-finishes since they were both champions at that point. Each one is solid though and was the first glimpse at the promotion using Bryan in more a featured, in-ring heavy role.** 100. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus © in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match for the World Heavyweight Championship (WWE – Extreme Rules – April 29, 2012) 101. Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk © for the WWE Championship (WWE – Over the Limit – May 20, 2012) 102. Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk © in a No Disqualification match for the WWE Championship (WWE – Money in the Bank – July 15, 2012) 103. Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena (WWE – RAW – August 6, 2012) 104. Daniel Bryan vs. Tyson Kidd (WWE – Saturday Morning Slam – September 25, 2012) 105. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE – RAW – October 22, 2012) 106. Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) © vs. The Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow) for the WWE Tag Team Championship (WWE – Main Event – November 13, 2012) 107. Daniel Bryan, Kane & Ryback vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (WWE – TLC – December 16, 2012) 108. Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Jericho vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton (WWE – Elimination Chamber – February 17, 2013) 109. Daniel Bryan, Kane & The Undertaker vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (WWE – RAW – April 22, 2013) 110. Daniel Bryan, Kane & John Cena vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (WWE – RAW – April 29, 2013) 111. Daniel Bryan, Kane & John Cena vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns in an Elimination Match (WWE – RAW – May 13, 2013) 112. Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) © vs. The Shield (Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns) in a Tornado Tag Team match for the WWE Tag Team championship (WWE – Extreme Rules – May 19, 2013) 113. Daniel Bryan, Kane & Kofi Kingston vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns in an Elimination Match (WWE – RAW – May 20, 2013) 114. Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) © vs. The Shield (Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns) © for the WWE Tag Team championship (WWE – RAW – May 27, 2013) 115. Daniel Bryan, Kane & Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (WWE – RAW – June 3, 2013) **A whole lot of Bryan vs. The Shield in tags and trios. This is where he started getting really over as a face doing high energy hot tags. All of the six-man tags are good and the straight up tags are solid.** 116. Daniel Bryan vs. Ryback (WWE – RAW – June 3, 2013) 117. Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins (WWE – RAW – June 10, 2013) 118. Daniel Bryan, Kane & Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (WWE – Smackdown – June 11, 2013) 119. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton in a Street Fight (WWE – RAW – June 24, 2013) 120. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus (WWE – RAW – July 8, 2013) 121. Daniel Bryan vs. Ryback, Jack Swagger & Cesaro in a gauntlet match (WWE – RAW – July 22, 2013) **The Cesaro portion of the gauntlet is a very good standalone singles match. Bryan has to have more [good] gauntlet matches than your average wrestler.** 122. Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena © for the WWE Heavyweight Championship (WWE – SummerSlam – August 18, 2013) 123. Daniel Bryan & The Usos vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (WWE – Smackdown – September 17, 2013) 124. Daniel Bryan vs. Dean Ambrose (WWE – RAW – October 21, 2013) 125. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton (WWE – RAW – December 16, 2013) 126. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE – Royal Rumble – January 26, 2014) 127. Daniel Bryan, John Cena & Sheamus vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (WWE – RAW – January 27, 2014) 128. Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio & Sheamus vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (WWE – Smackdown – January 28, 2014) 129. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton (WWE – RAW – February 3, 2014) 130. Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro vs. Christian vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus in an Elimination Chamber Match (WWE – Elimination Chamber – February 23, 2014) 131. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WWE – WrestleMania – April 6, 2014) 132. Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton © for the WWE World Championship (WWE – WrestleMania – April 6, 2014) 133. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane (WWE – Payback – May 4, 2014)

I started working on something similar (with pretty much those same categories) a while ago. Let me finish it up and I'll post an extensive match lists (with links if they exist) in the next day or so.

I enjoyed the last two shows. Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher from the Friday night show was very good. I don't think Sabre, Jr. has looked outright bad at any point this year but he has been a bit hit or miss. Some of his matches are "just there" (most of his wXw stuff from this year for example) but when he is on he might be my favorite indie guy to watch. He was on in this match and was just excellent. I was actually going to ask about Sabre, because the few hyped matches I've seen from him didn't really click for me, though I recall him at least having some interesting offense. What would you say he's best at? He is definitely an offensive-minded wrestler, which is apparent in both his good matches and not-so-good matches. I think he is at his best when he finds a happy medium between his arm bar centric offense and his British wrestling influenced offense (cat-and-mouse spots, counters, pinning combos). He has a lot of fun offense and when he brings it altogether, his matches tend to click. I think he is a bit like 2003 – 2006 Bryan Danielson in terms of having a lot of fine offense but still trying to figure out how to best put it all together. I think he gets in to trouble when he works entire matches around arm bar variations or when he tries to wrestle more of a Japanese junior heavyweight style with a bigger focus on striking and big near falls. Those are the matches that tend not to click for me. He has fun and varied arm-based offense, but his matches that are built entirely around that become a little too one dimensional and a little too cute for their own good. He is not a good striker nor does he have the high impact offense to work a near fall heavy match, so he can falter a bit when he goes in that direction as well. I’d check out the Thatcher EVOLVE match and the 05/03 GHC Jr. tag title defense with Ogawa vs. Hiro Tonai & Shiori Asahi for two different but very good Sabre, Jr. performances from 2014.

I enjoyed the last two shows. Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher from the Friday night show was very good. I don't think Sabre, Jr. has looked outright bad at any point this year but he has been a bit hit or miss. Some of his matches are "just there" (most of his wXw stuff from this year for example) but when he is on he might be my favorite indie guy to watch. He was on in this match and was just excellent. Ricochet/Uhaa Nation was fine. I didn't like their Dragon Gate match from March as much as some but also thought that was fine. I thought that from a structural standpoint it wasn't as cohesive as it could have been but there were several strong parts of the match and they stayed away from the overkill. Ricochet has been at somewhat of a standstill these past few months, but I still think he is on the doorstep of being really, really good once he figures out how to best structure his matches in a way where his agility spots feel a tad less forced.

Putting the Vader series aside, I think Sting had a nice run (1988 – 1996) as an above average worker. There is enough in that time frame to support that notion. On the singles side, the Flair matches – while some are definitely overrated (ie. Clash 1) – were still good matches. He had the “Submit or Surrender” and Beach Blast matches with Cactus Jack. The Regal series produced nothing but good or better matches every time out. You have post-prime matches versus DDP (title matches in early 1998 and April 1999) and Goldberg (September ’98 Nitro) that were amongst the best main event-level television matches in either WCW or WWF during that period. He had some above average matches against New Japan guys including Muta and Hase. Recognizing that is not at all an exhaustive list of Sting’s best matches, it at the very least gives a good idea of his non-Vader singles match output, while working against a wide variety of opponents over a significant period of time. He was a capable tag worker in that he could play both roles (hot tag and selling) very effectively. Sting’s ability to mesh his power offense with selling and working from behind is one of his strong points in general. He has the more spot heavy Steiner matches (w/ Luger & Muta) and the matches teaming with Flair against J-Tex Corporation in 1989, before you event get to the Dangerous Alliance period where he was part of several good trios and regular tags. While he was not amongst the standout performers in either the ’91 or ’92 War Games, I’d argue that his presence in those matches as the captain of the face side added a significant amount of heat to those matches (particularly ’92). Everyone is over in ’92 War Games, but Sting and the crowd’s reaction to him clearly positions him as the big star of the group. So basically without the Vader matches Sting is a wrestler with an above average eight year run who proved himself capable against a variety of different opponents in a variety of different matches & contexts. He was not always (in fact, he often was not) the best wrestler in those matches I think it would be inaccurate to reduce his contributions to that of a warm body. I think that is a resume that at least gets a wrestler in the discussion for Top 100 of all-time. Post-1990, I would put the Vader vs. Sting matches above any other US Heavyweight series including ones Rock vs. Austin, Austin vs. Hart, Cena vs. Punk, ect. They also hold up against the better heavyweight matches in the world during that period (1992 – 1994) and that was not a weak time period for heavyweights on a worldwide basis. The GAB ’92, Starrcade ’92, Superbrawl ’93 strap match, Slamboree ’94, and Fall Brawl ’94 triangle are legitimately good to great matches. I view the Vader series as the factor that pushes Sting over the edge from borderline candidate to almost certain top 100 wrestler. Again, Vader might have been doing the heavy lifting but I am not sure I could be convinced that Vader could have had those matches with many other wrestlers at the time.

I didn't think it was anything totally out of the ordinary, particularly for a Shibata match. I might be wrong but I get the impression the stiffness in that match struck Meltzer so much because it involved Tanahashi. Meltzer has made a big deal recently about Tanahashi's body breaking down and working through a bunch of lingering injuries. I think the stiffness might have stuck out to him more since it was Tanahashi on the receiving end. Agreed that the ***** rating for that match is pretty nutty. I can usually understand why Meltzer rated a match what he did by reading his description. I may not agree with it, but I can see what he might have saw in it. With this match, it was like he watched something completely different from what I (and seemingly most everyone else) watched. I also wonder if he watched it twice before giving it the rating? Dave watched the show live (this match would have been around 3:00 AM PT) and did live coverage of the show for his site. Like we all know, you can watch a match at a certain time, in a certain mood, and with/without distractions and all of that can impact what you think about it. I would sort of be surprised if he watched it twice and came to the same conclusion.

We are looking at their entire careers, but context is important. The overwhelming majority of pro wrestlers are not wrestling a full time schedule on national TV as 55 year olds. To diminish Flair’s career in any significant way because he was a poor wrestler at a time when most wrestlers are retired and those that aren’t are generally pretty bad doesn’t make sense. Doing so essentially means you are placing value on a wrestler getting out at the “right” time and I don’t see how that is relevant to a discussion of the greatest wrestler of all time. I think it makes sense to compare Flair’s post-50 output to other 50+ year old wrestlers, IF the rest of those wrestlers’ careers compare favorably to the rest of Flair's career. Wrestlers like Terry Funk and Lawler were clearly better at an older age than Flair. If I had Funk & Flair neck-and-neck over their careers to that point, Funk’s work at an old age would give him the edge. If I think Flair was a better worker as Funk for the bulk of their career, the fact that Funk was better than Flair at an age where most guys are retired and the majority that aren’t are not very good, doesn’t hold much weight in my evaluation. Flair’s WWE career as a guy in his mid-50’s shouldn’t be dismissed, but it has to be viewed in the proper context. If someone is deciding between Flair and Funk/Lawler at #5 on their list, then absolutely their 50+ work comes into play. If someone just generally drops Flair down a few pegs because he wasn’t a good 55 year old wrestler, I don’t agree with that. This is not a perfect example, but Hank Aaron had an OPS+ of 95 and 102 in his age 40 and 41 seasons. Raul Ibanez had an OPS+ of 103 and 122 at those same ages in about double the number of plate appearances. Ibanez gets bonus points from me for being a good hitter at an older age. Aaron’s career is not diminished in my eyes because he was an average-ish hitter at a time when most hitters are retired or poor hitters. Funk/Lawler get bonus points for being good wrestlers at an older age. Flair’s career is not diminished because he was a below average wrestler at a time when most wrestlers are retired or below average.

Why would Rock’s successes – or anyone’s for that matter – be measured against our own personal perceptions of their potential? Rock either had a career worthy of placing him in the top 100 of all time or he didn’t. I don’t hold it against the Rock that he “could have” been better based on his pedigree just as I wouldn’t give a wrestler bonus points for having a great career despite obvious limitations (ie. less athleticism). Ultimately, the actual output is what counts. I think Rock did enough during his career to make my list. I agree with MoS that I don’t separate charisma from a wrestler’s overall ability. It is part of the package. Having said that, there have been wrestlers who showed a certain amount of charisma outside the ring or while talking, but couldn’t translate it to their ring work. In cases such as those, the wrestler’s charisma might not matter when rating them but I don’t think that’s the case with the Rock. His charisma improved his work. It enabled him to get monster reactions on comeback spots, garner sympathy while selling, and get the fans into matches in ways other than running through a lot of moves. Rock was a “less is more guy” in many ways. He got an elbow drop over huge. He made rather pedestrian slaps the focal point of his comebacks. Even the Rock Bottom wasn’t much of a finisher but he got it over. He leaned on his charisma to do so, as well as his ability to know when and how to present these moves. At the same time as MoS also alluded to, the Rock demonstrated he could grow and adapt by how he adjusted when wrestlers like the Radicals, Jericho, Angle, ect. came into WWE and changed up the style a bit. It wasn’t always pretty, but in the end he effectively evolved his style just enough so he didn’t look totally out of place wrestling offensive-minded guys like Benoit. One last thing is that watching the 1997 and 19987 year books, I came away with a much great appreciation for Rock’s pre-superstar work. There were a lot of timing and luck elements involved in Rock’s ascension to super stardom. However, watching him right before he takes off it is clear that even if the circumstances had been different, he still had more than enough ability to carve out a career as a “normal” (below true superstar level) main eventer. His promos then were more traditional, he was a great bumper, and had a strong sense of timing.

Tim pretty much covered what I was going to say. I just want to expand on one point. If we watch shoot style pro wrestling matches with the benchmark of a good match being a match that looks exactly (or almost exactly) like an MMA fight, even the best ones are likely to come up short. I don't believe the intent is or ever was to perfectly replicate MMA matches. While there was more of a reason to do so back in the UWF and RINGS days since many fans bought it as real and there was not readily available MMA to compare it to, I am still not sure the intent was to basically "fake" an MMA bout down to the smallest details. The intent is and was to present a more realistic style of pro wrestling using submissions and modified set of rules. You are still going to get pro wrestling elements. Submissions are still going to be applied in somewhat of a pro wrestling way because they need to be since it is a cooperative match and not a shoot. In my opinion, that really isn't an issue. In fact, I think that's one of the positives of shoot style pro wrestling matches over shoots. The wrestlers can get rid of the down time and make transitions in and out of holds more visually pleasing because they have the luxury in a worked environment. In comparing Han's matches to other shoot style matches and other matches in general, his matches stand out for being as logical/realistic of pro wrestling matches as I have seen in terms of the mat, stand up, and submission work, while also being action packed and exciting in a more traditional pro wrestling way. To me, the best shoot style worker is not the one that most closely replicates MMA, it is the one that puts on the most entertaining matches while working a more realistic mat/submission based style relative to the average pro wrestling match.

Brock vs. Cena was great. I loved how their built off of the SummerSlam match in a really smart and entertaining way. You don't get that sort of match to match progression in WWE very often (or anywhere for that matter). The ending wasn't good (stating the obvious) but it wasn't a big turnoff for me or anything. Maybe that's not a good thing that I am either immune to those types of lousy finishes or I just don't care enough anymore to get upset about it. Like I said, it wasn't good but it didn't hit me as being unprecedented in its lousiness.

Our of curiosity, what Volk Han match did you watch? I ask because I think your criticism of shoot style matches can be valid. What you described - trying to making it look real without hurting your opponent - is why the style is so hard to pull of (and likely why we don't see more of it). However, what makes Volk Han so good in my opinion is that his matches have very few of those moments. In fact, where he gets himself into trouble on occasion is that he gets his opponent into a predicament that is near impossible to get of and has to just release the hold to continue on. That's sort of the opposite of what you are saying though. I agree with OJ too that the "100 match" thing shouldn't be that much of a detriment. Its not like we are talking about a wrestler with just 15 or 20 available matches. Relatively speaking, 100 matches is a large sample size for a wrestler. Add in the fact that the vast majority of those Volk Han matches are featured matches and good matches at that, and he easily as a strong case. Not sure where he'll land on my list exactly, but its certainly in the upper half if not significantly higher.

I liked the mask match. The build to the finish with the teases of the Atlantida leading to the finish were awesome. The post-match stuff was obviously great and a reminder of what can make lucha so great and unique from other forms of pro wrestling. I am not sure if it was a MOTYC candidate or anything like that, but I am also not sure if that is really relevant. It was a big, memorable match as it should have been with an extremely memorable ending. Rey Cometa/Cavernario was good, but I am not sure it was all that much different/better than something like La Sombra/Volador Jr. form 8/1. I liked it just fine, but below the top notch CMLL matches from this year. Really fun show overall, though.

100 was definitely an exaggeration but I'd put at the very least 20-30 guys in ROH above Jacobs during that period. Everything you're mentioning here is right, but it's nothing more than him being a good hand in a number of promotions and somewhat standing out by doing a different style than what was most popular. That doesn't make him inherently great, good or a top 100 wrestler on any list. He also spent a good majority of his early ROH run getting "X-Pac heat" while people laughed and made fun of his awful characters (Jimmy loves Lacey!). The Age of the Fall storyline was a colossal failure afters months of build and even now as a veteran of the company, he's not seen as an ROH legend by ROH, their fans or anyone who regularly follows the product. I was going to ROH shows on the east coast regularly from before Jacobs debut with the promotion through the conclusion of the Lacey storyline. I don’t recall him ever getting “go away” heat from the live crowd. I do remember most of the live crowds being way into the Lacey angle, however, to the point that he was getting more sympathetic reactions than the intended “this guy is a little too creepy/over the top” reaction they were ultimately shooting for. I am not going to argue too hard for Jacobs because he likely not making my list but I do think Phil makes an interesting case for him. I suspect that there will be at least a handful of wrestlers who make the master list whose full bodies of work pale in comparison to Jacobs’, but do so due to of better visibility and continuity in their careers.

The idea that Jimmy Jacobs is a top 100 wrestler of all-time is far less of a crazy notion to me than the idea that there were 100 better wrestlers than Jacobs in ROH from 2007 through 2011. Like Phil mentioned, one of Jacobs' major credentials is his demonstrated ability to effectively work different styles. He got himself over initially both in the Midwest and in ROH working a short shelf life comedy gimmick as a pint-sized Bruiser Brody enthusiast. I thought he struck the right balance of comedy and sympathy with that gimmick. Obviously he played it for some laughs, but his big bumping style at the time and good comeback offense complimented the gimmick perfectly. I didn't watch all of his IWA-MS title run at the time (2004) but I recall him being plenty effective working against all different styles of wrestlers while doing the fighting champion gimmick. In terms of champions of 2000's-era super indie promotions, I thought his IWA-MS title reign was much better than Homicide or Nigel McGuinness' ROH title runs. He is a good, intelligent tag team wrestler which he showed with both BJ Whitmer & Tyler Black. As others have mentioned, he is a terrific brawler. He is able to have believable brawls despite being a small guy even by US indie standards which is a real testament to his ability. So basically you have a wrestler that has worked effectively as a sympathetic babyface and psychopath heel in a straight up, brawling, and tag team environment for a dozen years now. He is sort of a bit player in ROH right now but he has easily looked like one of the more polished, talented wrestlers in tags and six-man tags I have seen him in recently with the Decade. I thought his match against Shane Hollister from AAW in January was an excellent one man performance considering who he was working with. The little Chikara stuff I have seen with him hasn't been very good, but that's largely a reflection of the poor material (the Eddie Kingston storyline) that he has had to work with. He really has not fallen off that much. Anyway, I'd be surprised if he makes my list but I think there are far less worthy people that have been nominated so far. I think Phil makes a great point that if his entire career took place within the confines of a single territory, people would talk him up far more because it would be easier to see how strong his body of work has been.

That has become the talking point with Rey but I am not sure it is that cut and dry. He certainly became a more complete wrestler when he got to WWE but he wasn't hopeless at structuring a coherent match before then. I am not quite there on the 1998 year book yet but I am interested in re-watching his matches with Eddie, Kidman, and Juvi in the fall/winter of that year as part of the LWO feud. My recollection was that he had a very good stretch of TV matches during that angle and the credit certainly didn't belong all to his opponent. Rey knew then when and how to work his big flying spots into a match in a logical and coherent fashion. There are certainly matches earlier on his WCW career where that is apparent as well. So while I wouldn't argue that Rey was a more complete wrestler in WWE, he was already pretty great in WCW. If he suffers anywhere, it is the fact that he has missed so much time due to injuries and basically coasted for a year and a half in WCW under Russo (late 1999 through end of 2000) during what should have been the start of the prime of his career.

Styles might be one of those guys who is ultimately done in by his career path/career choices. While I agree with Dylan that he is one of the few (or perhaps only??) wrestlers who made something of themselves in TNA, spending such a long portion of his career with that promotion was still ultimately a detriment. Based off of his early ROH work and post-TNA US indie/New Japan work, you don't have to squint too hard to see A.J. having a Top 100 worthy career had he stayed on the indies/ROH longer, went to Japan sooner, or ended up in WWE at some point. As it is, there might not be enough to get him there but he certainly had/has the tools. The Paul London June 2003 ROH match and the Jimmy Rave 2005 ROH matches are all really good matches and not in a "flashy move showcase" sort of way that I think many tend to think when they think of Styles. He has been nothing short of good this year on both the indies and in Japan.