Parties

Of the Han that I've seen (the stuff discussed here plus some arbitrary Youtube scouring), he def. makes my list. There are many shoot style workers I like more, but he's top 100 on mat prowess alone. I realize it's counterintuitive to a worked shoot in that you don't want to express emotion facially in an MMA fight, but from a wrestling lens I really preferred Han when he would show a little fire/frustration/enthusiasm. The Yamamoto match in July '98 is a good example of how he got more expressive over time and played to the crowds better in turn.

They would never do this, but I've thought of late that a babyface should win the next MITB, and decide that they will do the honorable thing and announce ahead of time that they would like to "cash in" their briefcase on the main event of the next PPV (Battleground, Summerslam, whatever). Champ (be they heel or babyface) agrees. Then in the opening segment of the go-home episode of RAW on the week of the PPV, the champ is cutting a promo predicting their victory this Sunday at _____, when suddenly the challenger jumps them from behind, cashes in early and wins the title, thereby turning heel by having gone against their word and stolen the belt. You have the match that Sunday, but the dynamic has changed so much that it can believably end in a vengeful double DQ, thereby launching a hot feud with guys in fresh roles. It seemed like an option they could have done with Reigns had they wanted to do a double turn with Rollins, but it could work with anyone you wanted to turn. Come to think of it: what have the most recent turns in the company even been? Naomi going heel? Lana turning face? New Day? Emma? Feels like Sheamus at the end of March was the last big one, and Orton prior to that back in November.

Wait, "a lot of people hated the brand split"? It was a great help to their business, they just ended up booking it so badly that after a while it meant nothing. But in hindsight the first 5 years or so feel like a real asset, both creatively and for business. Even the drafts, ludicrously one-sided as they were, offered a lot to freshen up the cards. What you're proposing is great, albeit not at all realistic to Vince and Dunn's approach. Moreover I'm not sure HHH and Steph would settle for SD, or want a situation that feels like such a clearly divided in-house competition. It's what the internet wants to see based on the rumored in-fighting between the two factions, but it's not the impression they want to give publicly. More likely a brand split return would just mean that you'd have a bit more meaning behind certain midcard feuds, a better range of talent of TV, less stale/repetitive/hotshot booking, all of which would do wonders for them right now. That and about 3 to 5 extra world title runs in Orton's career.

I was curious to look at the roster and see whose stock has fallen the lowest in 2015. I’d probably rank it as Ambrose at #1, Reigns at #2, and Barrett at #3. Ambrose: massively over guy who was getting biggest babyface reaction on shows and comparisons to Austin. Gets stuck in lousy feud with Barrett over stealing the IC title and duct taping opponent to ring post. Has sudden one month main event feud with Rollins where getting beers with Reigns was more important to him than winning the title. Now stuck in midcard mire while the internet chastises his weird moveset and selling. Reigns: got almost completely cooled off post-Mania as WWE enters its annual nine month long April-January holding pattern. Big Show feud was a mess, and I say that as a Big Show apologist. Better luck next year. Barrett: Has been booked like an impotent fool for years, but WWE used to be willing to have a few different scapegoats around who could spread around the embarrassing angles and losses (Swagger, Ziggler, Show, Cesaro, 3MB, Miz, etc.) Now it just seems like whenever they want to have some fun humiliating someone, it’s always Barrett. Every accolade he’s given is just a prop for opponents to wag in front of him like some dimestore cuckold.

It’s been said here already many times, but this is a disappointing card. You could have done practically the same TV and still booked the show as Brock/Reigns II, Taker/Rollins, Cesaro beating Cena for the US title, Sheamus/Orton, Owens beating Ryback for the IC title, and Wyatts winning the tag titles. Taker/Brock: Main event in year one of “Summertime Wrestlemania” is a lukewarm rehash of a D+ match from two years ago. The perception of Meltzer and co. that this is a hot feud just because they did one pull apart seems really overstated. If Taker starts botching stuff, it would not surprise me at all to see a Brooklyn crowd boo him mercilessly. Logical booking would have him lose again and then challenge Brock in his retirement match. Which means he’ll instead be booked to win and make it a parity booked 1-1 tie going into Mania. People are now expecting Kane to interfere, which is really just icing on the cake. Cena/Rollins: This is honestly much worse booking than Taker/Brock. Jesus, they did this match on RAW what, three weeks ago? And how many times in the last two years prior to that? Such a waste of both titles after Cena’s great US title run - there’s genuinely no pairing I’d like to see less in either spot. I expect a no contest and continuation of the feud. Shield/Wyatts: People keep saying that Reigns or Ambrose will turn. Ambrose seems far more likely, but I really don’t want either of them to do so. Could not care less who wins, so I’ll say Wyatts take it in some kind of unclean manner, be it a heel turn or some supernatural distraction idiocy. Hoping they just let them do a crazy tornado brawl that saves the show. Orton/Sheamus: They pair well together, so I’m actually happy to see this again. It even has a solid - if never properly stated - race against time storyline to see which one of them can beat the champ first as they Terminator each other out of every opportunity. Some people have predicted Sheamus cashes in, but that would both flat and overwrought on this show. Just bad timing and too close in time/style to Rollins’ cash-in. That said, I would actually like them to just get Sheamus’ title match over with, as MITB is so stale that it would be good to get it off the table for nine months. I’ll say Sheamus gets his win back since he won’t cash in here. Tag Title 4-Way: Hey, remember the Ascension? New Day deserves to win and I expect them to. Depending on what Reigns gets to do in the fall, ND may be the company MVPs this year when all’s said and done. All three should win “Most Improved” for sure, though Big E was always great. IC Title: Awful title booking continues. Ryback should/will retain in a match that the crowd boos while going into business for themselves via chants. Cesaro/Owens: Cesaro is on the ascent, Owens clearly in the doghouse. Match will be good but not nearly as good as everyone wants it to be, triggering “bloom is off the rose / he was brought up too early” backlash online to Owens. Cosmic King/Stardust vs. Neville/Arnell: I go to the concession stand to buy largest possible version of pretentious Brooklyn microbrew, run into an acquaintance from college. We realize that we had little in common, but still appreciate each other warts and all. I return in time to see Neville and Arnell celebrating while standing on the second rope of opposite corners. Bellas/Fox vs. PCB vs. Team BAD: I haven’t really been keeping track of who’s rising/falling in this feud. but feels like they’ll do another PCB win as there’s no reason not to, unless Banks gets a decisive pin on Nikki. I’ll say Charlotte pins Banks to keep Nikki strongish. Dolph/Rusev: Rusev needs the win more than Dolph right now, but I don’t understand where they’re going with this feud anymore, and don’t think the writers do either. Flip a coin, but I’ll optimistically give it to Rusev, to make this a show with 5 babyface wins, 4 heel, and a no contest.

The biggest issue with that Survivior Series wasn't even so much that Ziggler isn't main event talent who could capitalize on the moment (his recent mic work has suggested he's not on that level, though I agree with Loss that he deserved a fair chance), but that they erased the moment a month later, via Cena reinstating the Authority in a horrible angle. Probably my least favorite RAW segment of the last few years, and I bring it up here way too often, but wow. So bad. And while I agree with the larger point about Vince's paranoia, let's be honest: there's zero threat of Ziggler becoming a successful comedian.

This speaks to something I've been thinking about certain candidates recently (Piper was the example that brought it to mind) where there are select guys who I've seen have many awesome matches, but won't make my list because I've seen them suck too often throughout their career. Like Piper was often thrilling, yet he's also a guy where on any given day you didn't know what you were gonna get out of him, and that this seemed to be true everywhere he went. OJ: were there matches/performances that made you think less of Finlay, or was it just that there are so many more folks you prefer to him?

I probably should have had Ishikawa in my "Maybe" list, as I'll have him considerably higher than Ikeda on my list. I like Ishikawa more on the mat and far more as a character. Ikeda probably has better strikes on most days. Ishikawa: probably top 20? Maeda: top 30? Ikeda: top 30-40? So I stand corrected: top 20's too rich for my blood on him, but he's a guy who deserves to make any and every ballot. Hoshino, Satanico, Yamazaki, Anjoh, Hash, and Chicana all make my list, but I wouldn't expect to be the high vote on any of them.

Feels like they're planning to shelve Brock for a while, particularly if this is a loss for him. I know his new deal has more dates, but they still need to parse him out for Rumble/Mania season. Ideal would be that he goes away until early November, returns as RAW-destroying lunatic, and is challenged by Cesaro in a Survivor Series match that Brock wins, but cements Cesaro as a main event babyface. Note: I don't expect them to do any of that. More likely we'll see Cena-Brock Part 4 for no good reason in a TLC match.

Probably: Alan Serjeant Maeda Fuchi Kengo Kimura Maybe: Fujinami Regal Finlay Ikeda Terry Rudge Espanto Jr.

Likely top 50 guy - how high he goes depends on how much I can rewatch his stuff, but as others have said, the "disappointment" knock is a fault of how he was booked and All Japan falling apart at a crucial moment in his career.

On the "Other Japan" set he went from being my least favorite guy to my favorite in a span of five years. In '84 he was kind of lumbering through a technically sound but repetitive style. By '88, he'd turned up the heat and became an opponent on Fujiwara and Maeda's level. He's someone whose peak matches get him really high on my list. Like, top 40 high.

This is an old, old, old argument, but: you can't separate "in-ring" from "presence/character/promos". Each guides the other. You can appreciate great wrestling without knowing the personas working, but no match occurs in a bubble. Santo-Casas is better when you know who Santo and Casas are. We're all more influenced than we care to admit by what we know (or think we know) about workers' personalities when judging their skill in-ring. Being a great wrestler was a key aspect of Flair's "character" and the storytelling that followed. Likewise, the lens through which we look at Flair bell-to-bell is inexorably colored by Space Mountain.

"Wedgies are legal if the ref doesn't see them."

Crazy to think that in September of last year I saw Uhaa Nation headline an Evolve show at the Brooklyn Lyceum seating a couple hundred paid. Less than a year later, he's getting a big WWE debut just a few blocks down the road at sold out Barclays in front of 13,000. One disappointment of Summerslam is the usage of the World, IC and US titles. Would have been an opportunity to maybe change one of the belts or at least establish new challengers as legit upper midcard/main event. Instead it's totally safe, status quo placement. Cena-Rollins does absolutely nothing for me and feels like a step backward for both guys. Ryback's SS title match is a three way with the one guy in the company who makes him look comparatively small, and a third guy who should never wrestle.

Best wrestling-related thing I've seen in ages. Col. Brody's stache. Finlay grinning uncontrollably. A moping PN News dejectedly singing about living in hotels while wearing a giant Miami Vice suit. Kautoff's goofy arm-wagging dance. Nogami's enthusiasm. The guy in the back row of the locker room shot waving his cape in the air. The five star thumbs up from the car. But the best guy in this is Owen, who always understood that intense sincerity to something stupid is usually way funnier than ironic detachment. Dude sells the hell out of this like it's the most important stuff he's ever said.

One exception to this would be the Blindfold Match with Jake, which is almost entirely Martel giving (really good!) frustrated reactions, and working the crowd into a frenzy. There's actually a bunch of smart schtick in that match that had me thinking WWE should run that stip again. It's good enough to be used once every 25 years.

Greg Valentine's best post-1997 opponent.

Uematsu/Sugar Sato vs. Satomura/Nagashima from '96 is really good and readily available online. Big Japan was fun in the early days. This is a ten minute sprint done right, where everyone's going a 100mph but still hitting really textbook aerial stuff and working offense that would still make sense at half speed. The dropkicks alone here are fantastic.

Hogan is not someone who wants to "be used right". He wanted to be the main event, as always. Which you can't totally fault him for, given that athletes/performers tend to be megalomaniacs who don't recognize when to hang it up. It would have nice if the biggest star in wrestling history had any self-awareness, but I think this month has taught us what Hogan is and how distorted his world view has become. Back in 2003, the moment they realized he was tanking business and that having him as your champ looked bush league, he took his ball and went home. I'm overstating the point as we're currently in a particularly bad era for WWE booking too much nostalgia and relying too heavily on over-the-hill acts that can't go anymore. But that goes back to my original thought: the damage Hogan's '02-03 run did was plant the seed in Vince's head that you can always get "one more drop" from that rag. Which has now been the company mindset for over a decade. They've created exactly one new star in the last thirteen years. Two if you count Brock, who's really more a creation of UFC. And I think it's very clear that the detrimental attitude of always going back to the old-timers (coupled with Vince's own seniority) starts with that Hogan run. It's as much Vince's fault as it is Hulk's, but it directly led to the terrible pattern that the company has been stuck in ever since. All of which could forgiven if he was a great wrestler. Which he was at various times between 1980-1987. But his career in total tends to be a mix of selfish mediocrity, poor babyface psychology, and dull matches that still got massive crowd reactions. I'll never argue he wasn't incredibly charismatic. He does nothing for me, but he obviously did it in his time for tons of fans. But in assessing the 100 best wrestlers of all time, you have to be prioritizing star power and crowd reaction much more than I am to list him. Did he have a good match after Vader in '95? Hogan's a textbook example of someone who should be docked points for staying around too long and being horrible for longer than he was good. I have the same opinion of Foley, Savage, Michaels, Taker, Bruiser/Crusher, Kobashi, and lots of other megastars who became lousy. Because that's part of their story. Whereas if you look at guys like Finlay, Regal, Fujinami, Lawler, Dundee, Funk, Casas, Santito, and so many others at the top of my list, they were not only still technically proficient-to-excellent, they also became wiser in their tactics, better at conveying drama, and had the self-awareness to adapt to their aging physiques and limitations. Even Flair, for all his egotism and faults, worked a 2011 match with Jay Lethal in lame-ass TNA that I just watched randomly on Youtube that thought showed a lot of heart and brains.

He won't make my list, but he deserves a defense here. Highly underrated, esp. elsewhere online. He’s a victim of booking, but so is everyone in WWE from 2002-present. In particular he suffers from being a perennial mid carder who they sporadically and randomly throw into main event title programs at Vince’s whim. Wight is also a guy who works better on house shows than TV, due to his size and methods. Giants don’t resonate in WWE TV editing the way they do live. He’s also a guy who will look awesome in midcard PPV matches and Smackdown, while being booked particularly badly when the spotlight is on him. In terms of getting bad partners and storylines, he’s right up there with guys who’ve “overcome” WWE and been an asset to them in the process. Reigns matches have been shockingly good given how bad the feud’s been booked and how little people wanted to see them face off (2015), due to show being saddled with Authority gimmick. Very good against Wyatt at a time when no one wanted to feud with Wyatt (2014). Very good tag team with Mark Henry (2013). Del Rio’s best WWE opponent (2011 and again in 2013). Really good matches with Sheamus (2012). Worked like a viable threat to Punk’s title during the epic reign (2012). Worked well with Bryan during a horribly booked feud (2012). Worked well against Henry in a badly booked feud to appease Vince’s size queen impulses (2011). Worked well with Barrett at a time when they were being booked in idiotic matches that would go 2 or 3 minutes (2011). One of Swagger’s best opponents, esp. during Swagger’s failed title run (2010). Made the Miz look decent in their tag team (2010). Made Jericho look decent in their tag team (2009). Made 2009 HHH and HBK look competent. There’s a reason why he’s so consistently HHH’s hand-picked opponent. Ditto Taker. Several good TV and PPV matches with Cena over the last 10 years, though it’s fair to say that they’re never as good as they should be. Has made the best of being constantly paired up with/against Kane. (Seriously, go back and look at how much of his career has been time stuck with Kane in meaningless matches. It’s amazing.) The Mayweather feud was tremendous. The Mania match is a great spectacle that totally outclassed everything on the show, including Flair’s retirement. It was one of the five best matches of 2008 for sure. The ECW matches with Sabu, Sandman, and Flair are good. Good opponent for JBL during his title reign. He’s also as savvy a babyface as he is as a heel. One of the most likable guys they’ve got, such that he’ll steal the show on Saturday Night Live when the Rock is hosting. Again, he’s one of the most thoughtlessly worn-out workhorses in the stable. He's a guy who has a better portfolio than you'd think, because almost nothing he's in is ever booked to be memorable or meaningful. They’ve used him in a million different ways, almost always badly. Had to do a rehash of the infamously bad 2009 "HBK is broke" angle with the Authority in 2013, who mocked Show for buying strip malls and being an impoverished member of their roster so that they could show him repeatedly crying on TV. He’s essentially the WWE gatekeeper who tests out highly suspect new guys (Snitsky, Tomko, ’06 Masters, Jindrak) or gets title challengers ready to face the champ (Edge, Brock, ’04-05 Cena). The sheer amount of time he’s been stuck working HHH is crazy. The joke about him having turned face and heel dozens of times is exaggerated, but still speaks to how careless they are with him. He’s overcome all of it and produced lots of good to great matches. I won’t be voting for him, but he’s been one of the most consistent and under-appreciated guys of the last twenty years.

Two questions after the conversation that has emerged here: 1) Has Hero's physique kept him from being a top 100 worker? (No. Unless you think that six-pack abs would have gotten him onto WWE's main roster and led to a Danielson/Cesaro-level career. Possible, but totally hypothetical.) 2) Based on what he's achieved, is he a top 100 worker? (No.) That's not to take anything away from him. He's today one of the top guys on the indies. But being the fourth best worker in Evolve right now isn't getting you on my list.

My gripes with the company are endless, in fantasy booking “Here’s how I’d book/direct it” kind of ways. But instead of giving point-by-point critiques of TV every week, I’ve become one of those fans who cancelled his network subscription and just watches PPVs. Moreover, I try to watch them with a grain of salt and laugh it off when I see someone as shitty as 2015 Taker being made the main event of Summerslam. It’s much easier, I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything, and it’s far less of a time commitment, esp. for something I wasn’t enjoying. There’s more than enough old wrestling on TV that I enjoy far more, and to Goc’s point - that old stuff is what I want wrestling to be, rather than placing old standards on today’s WWE. (That’s not to say WWE shouldn’t learn from the past, or that they never produce anything great today: it’s just that I can’t stress over it anymore.) One thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet: from the way that the McMahons talk about talent - and the way they book TV - it seems like they don’t really like or respect very much of their current roster. It probably has a lot to do with Vince getting older and wishing the business was more like what it was during glory days, but he just doesn’t like this batch of guys on any personal or professional level. For whatever reasons, the bookers seem to think that most of these workers lack “star” power or whatever it is that Vince and co. are looking for. (The sad irony being that such "star" power would be exhibited only by going off-script from what's being asked of you.) Vince has recently said that he views the future as being built around Reigns, Rollins, Ambrose, and Wyatt. Which would be fine, if the 90% of your employees were offered any direction or career opportunities whatsoever. Ideally, you’d just fire all these people who you consider lost causes. Save money, give your Slaters and Fandangos and Sandows a fresh start elsewhere, and give the salary you were paying them to your new projects: Corbin or Scott Dawson or Bailey or whoever. Only Vince has become the greedy kid who wants the toys he never plays with to remain on his shelf. Part of monopolizing the business is that you don’t want Ziggler to go be of use to anyone else, even if “anyone else” is a company like ROH or New Japan who pose absolutely no real threat to you. So you give these guys just enough to stay, and you remind them that there’s no real competition. And you instill enough fear for job security that most guys become compliant. And you hire subservient types who’ll buy into the office mentality and amuse/behave themselves, without getting all CM Punk about it. (And believe me, I’m no allegiant mark to Punk: he’s just an example of the type of prima donna they’re trying to extinguish from day one of Developmental.) WWE has become so tenacious about quelling any potential #2 competitor from getting off the ground, that they’re willing to damage themselves (listless booking, no long-term direction, no pushes, painfully repetitive and insignificant TV) in the name of absolute control. Here we are talking about why there are no faces, or heels, or feuds in this company. At the risk of being lofty: a lot of it comes down to corporate America. Within that structure, being an individual isn't rewarded. Personal pride and devotion to your own unique cause isn't rewarded. At some point wrestling stopped being a collaborative circus and became not just a corporation, but a Corporate Ministry. We all know why it happened. The usual reasons for why things stop being fun: money and power got in the way.

There's an old double-edged proverb sometimes found in fortune cookies that I've been thinking about the last few months: "May you live in interesting times." Strange year, this one. He's seen the glory, he's told the story Of battles glorious and deeds victorious But he will cease now, he is at peace now Far from these green hills of Tyrol

Falls into the category of being underrated by some and overrated by others. He wouldn't make my top 100, but I don't think he's a terrible pick. The UWF stuff is very strong. As a singles worker on the DVDVR New Japan set, he was a flop. But in tags where he could come in as a house on fire, he was good. I think him tagging with Fujinami against Pete Roberts and Solitario was very underrated on that set (#119). When tagging with guys like Fujinami, Hamada, Hoshino, he could come in for sprint segments to add a new flavor without going overboard. It would be fair to say that his best singles (vs. Fujiwara, Steven Wright, Maeda, Marty Jones) were mostly carryjobs. Though Maeda was actually a few months younger than him, so that either speaks poorly for Sayama or well for Maeda. His worst ones are well known, but only the Dynamite Kid ones strike me as truly bad. The stuff with Bret, Rocco, and Canek all had structural flaws and dull patches, but by everyday standards they weren't "bad" matches at all. Totally agree that Hamada and even Hoshino in hindsight look just as impressive, and that both as of now make my list, while Sayama does not.