JRGoldman

I guess I'm not surprised that I was the high vote on Johnny Saint. I think in some ways, the pendulum has swung too far the other way. Other WoS workers have come across looking great and have been fun discoveries, but I think Saint deserves credit for being tremendously influential (moreso than any other WoS worker with the possible exception of Regal) and being, in my opinion, one of the best ever at working a face vs. face match. It's not a match style that is done super often, but Saint is one of the only people who I think is able to work that match and keep it interesting without one of the people playing de facto heel, which always comes across as insincere to me. I like his schtick and I think due to his size, him eating up lesser competitors on the mat has never bothered me in the way bigger guys bullying opponents can. As an aside, can Grimmas or somebody say: Is Saint the highest ranked person without a top 25 vote? That feels noteworthy for some reason.

I know someone recently asked Vader this question on twitter and he responded with 1) Misawa 2) Randy Orton, so ask at your own peril.

I had Ozaki on my ballot, but I can completely understand people not ranking her. I think that for a great wrestler (which I think she is and voted as such) there are a lot of things she does poorly. If you are a voter who places heavy emphasis on technique, or how impactful things looks, Ozaki probably isn't going to be for you. I think it's easy for someone to watch an Ozaki match, even a good one, and make a snapshot judgement that she "isn't very good". It takes a while to see how much the little things she does every match add up.

When I first decided to put together a ballot and was hypothetically forming it in my head, I had Tommy pegged for the 30-50 range, but the more footage I watched (not of him, necessarily, but of others) I found him sliding down. I eventually had him at #71, which I felt good about in terms of objectivity but sad that a guy I was sure was going to be a high point ended up falling. I can't help but think others may have had a similar experience with him.

There's absolutely inflation though. Now I'm worried. If HHH finished 109 in 2006, with less than 40 ballots and only a few years removed from when most of the online community thought he was quite literally the worst thing to ever happen to main stream wrestling, I'm almost positive he ends up in the top 100 now. He's been less offensive (partially due to being less visible for a lot of that time) and has two or three matches more matches that a lot of people actively enjoy. It almost seems inevitable at this point. That's garbage. Straight garbage.

HHH finishing ahead of VIII makes me question whether I'm actually watching the same things as other voters. Unfathomable. It can't be a question of footage, because the majority of footage we have for HHH hurts his case.

I just realized that Virus hasn't dropped yet. Is he in line for biggest climb? Also, where do we think Nakamura is going to land?

Black Terry just missing the top 150 makes me feel sad, even if that's a pretty excellent showing all things considered. 29 people lost thus far, with 4 high votes. Was sure that I would be the high vote on Necro as well. I think I probably have two more people I have a shot at high vote for (not including my number 1).

PWO is a big enough community where it wouldn't be uncommon for one group to scream the former while another screams the latter. Now if somebody is being a hypocrite.... name names!!!! I'm not even sure I'd classify someone changing their mind to be hypocritical in this scenario. When people were pleading for ballots, it was generally directed at PWO posters who had contributed to the project from the start but were having doubts about their lists or their ability to quantify "great". I don't think too many people who were saying "everyone should turn in a list" were saying it thinking that a bunch of people would submit anonymously. That being said, it doesn't matter and in my opinion has added a lot to the who reveal process.

Yeah, I don't get the criticism that Emilio didn't have good enough singles stuff. I feel like Charles' rating is the first person I can point to that has fallen due to ignorance of him more than anything. Obviously not everyone has time to deep dive in to everything, but he rewards effort and watching lots of footage, which many voters did not do for lucha. Oh well.

It's also pretty clear that things wrestlers value in performance are by and large not the things we value as fans and observers. Like, most wrestlers seem to like Stevens because he was able to work for long periods despite getting hammered the night previous. I would imagine that was not the secret seventh category for BIGLAV.

Nigel getting a #4 vote is preposterous. He was never even the best worker in his own company, even in his peak years. Unless shittylittleboots has Danielson #1, Hero #2, Low Ki #3 or something. I would say Ian Rotten was largely better than Nigel during the "Indie Golden Age" that people are voting on.

So as of tonight, I have had four high votes: Les Kellet, Tarzan Goto, Solar and Porky. I'm not surprised about Porky, although I think Porky is way more fun and good in his later years than some people give him credit for. Like, last night on Puebla he couldn't put on his jacket but was still pretty good. Solar I think I knew I was overrating in some respect, although I think I went in to the project with the idea that I would weigh peak and exceptional performance over longevity (except in rare circumstance). I think Solar had one of the best matches of the 90s, so he ends up higher than others. Goto I was shocked I was the high voter on.

I like Sasha's pic, because she is looking up in disbelief that Raven ranked that high.

Scarlet Left, please show your work on Asuka at #7.

I just realized that Raven hasn't shown up yet, which is a shock to me. I even went and checked the "didn't receive votes" list because I'm so surprised. Also, I just realized that Nigel McGuiness will finish ahead of Homicide, which is a travesty.

Mr. Gannosuke is the first person who I really regret not ranking. That was an oversight on my part.

I was thinking about this today, although it's probably going to be someone completely random: who do you think will be the highest ranking person with a #100 vote?

I'm sort of surprised that I wasn't the high voter on anyone I nominated: Cassandro, Survival Tobita and Morishima.

Mrzfn, may I ask if you were also that high vote for Eddie Kingston? Also, I love your justification for Quack. I hope that post inspires others to defend their positions despite voting anonymously.

If you want me to incessantly complain about it forever, sure. I've never agreed with boards forcing their members to change their names, titles, avatar pics, or whatever. If people want to participate with a fad, fine, but you shouldn't ever force them. Exactly. Lay off Jingus. It was a joke. I am sorry it was not taken as such.

I'm sort of shocked at Tarzan Goto being this low. I feel like he's pretty accessible and has a reputation as a work horse. I guess I'm not surprised I was the high voter, but I thought he would be bottom 50 on a lot more ballots.

It would be amazing if you end up having to change your avatar to Ted.

Can a mod go in and change Jingus' avatar to a wet blanket?

I would like to formally request that my 100 vote for Tobita be changed with my 99 vote so that he places ahead of Davey Richards. This is important.