El Dragon

As great as the main and the Goto moment was, I feel like Tsuji/Kidd cannot be underplayed with how good it was and how hot the crowd was for it. I’m a rarity: I got into New Japan only recently, as I found the idea of a company this big losing so many top stars due to raiding and just aging out in rapid succession with no real plan for it fascinating, and I wanted to track how they adjusted, and who among their up and comers would step up, if any. Tsuji’s rise has felt “destined” but it was clear even as recent as New Japan Cup or even G1 he just wasn’t there yet, and I was begging for a heel turn by the end of the G1. But I think he really started turning a corner during tag league, the WK Finlay match was quite good, but it really felt like something clicked against Kidd. Not only did it feel like it clicked, it felt like you could see him realize it during the match, like this is the matchup that is going to take him to be one of true top guys in this company for years. That’s super fun to watch. Kidd, on the other hand, the rise feels shocking, out of nowhere, and company defining. He’s gone from a guy I didn’t particularly like, to a guy I really was starting to appreciate, to really good with lesser moments, to suddenly feeling like the clear call to be the cornerstone of the company for the next few years in about 6-8 months. He reminds me of a young Eddie Kingston in terms of just feeling very real in a wrestling world that is very fake. I genuinely am never quite sure what is character work and what is Kidd just being himself, but which is a huge quality to have. And him becoming the guy who wears the logo on the tights, saying the things the fans have been thinking and then backing it up in the ring is perfect. The Omega match was great, but so many people were wrapping that up as Omega being incredible (and he was amazing in that match, make no mistake) that Kidd’s part got downplayed. You can’t downplay the Kidd/Tsuji match though. As much shit as Gedo gets, and seemingly deserves, the decision to tell their 2 best up and comers go before the Goto title win, and just let them tear the house down and get the crowd in on them, even with no good finish is his best work in a very long time. If fans were there to see Goto get his one last big moment, they also got a pretty clear reason to want to stay for the rise of Tsuji and Kidd as well. And nobody cares about the non finish now, because Goto won, and the good will from that far out weighs it.

Zach is fascinating to me, as I've really enjoyed watching him overall in New Japan, but I weirdly have kind of stopped really viewing him as a technical wrestler in any real way. To me, he comes across as a high spot guy whose high spots just happen to be flashy submission holds, but he and the commentary also make it clear that he doesn't use his holds to work down a body part or anything, he just goes for damaging holds. Which I like as an idea, but also weirdly kind of discredits him for what works as a "Technical wrestler" in my head: If you are working offense that is random and doesn't follow a set pattern, what sets you apart from just a high flyer? I guess it's an outdated concept, but it's just how he's clicked in my head: He's a modern big match worker who just uses slowly building submission holds as his big spots instead of dropping someone on their head or doing a flip. Luckily for him, he's still quite good at that, and it is a decent cross point for that style of match. I'm not sure if he's a top 100 guy for me, but he probably would be right now if I didn't watch anymore, but the more I watch the harder it is to firmly hold onto anything.

Might be the most surprising guy in this entire nominees list to have no posts. I've been deep diving for Goto, and man, the consistency is the thing that makes him interesting. He was good really early on, he's still quite good now when guys like Tanahashi and Naito are well past their prime. I need to deep dive more, but I've already seen enough to know he's probably a lock for my top 200, it's just a matter of how high he can get from there.

Way too early, but the dude is a guy I'm super high on, and he feels like the flag bearer for the company over the next 5 years. He's smartened up a lot recently, and I don't mind the strike exchange crutch with him because his entire energy is "Dude who shows up at a bar and you know immediately it's time to go because a bar fight is happening in the next 5 minutes". His character to me is the exact type to want to prove to every single person he meets he's tougher than them. Already has a genuine connection the crowd, and I'm hoping they have him, Connors, and Drilla separate from Finlay (who I also think is really good right now) as an anti-hero group. I do get the feeling that if Kidd isn't world champion in a year, something had to go very wrong along the way.

Fun fact: Kingston nor Garcia even went over the top rope. Neither should have been eliminated. I'm so god damned confused about this company. Also, the one thing this company really really needed: ANOTHER FUCKING TOURNAMENT.

Well, this is a bummer of a write up that’s next on the docket. Brodie Lee’s untimely passing really sucks for a few reasons, the largest obviously being by all accounts he was a good man that nobody has a bad thing to say about. But, this is a discussion about a case for a Top 100 all time, and I think Brodie had the chances to get there, but his death might lead to a general feeling of “There just isn’t enough” to his case. And even though I think he was awfully damn good at his peak, it’s gonna be hard for me to disagree. But, let’s talk about what made him awesome first. Brodie’s run as the Big Rig on the indies was always really impressive to me, and, as a bit CHIKARA fan at the time, I got to see a lot of the development first hand. A couple of things jump out at me from that era, as huge pluses for Brodie, and that’s everything he throws out looks great, and the dude was a fantastic base. Not quite at the Claudio level, but possibly second best of any US based wrestler this century. He didn’t fall into the trap so many of modern “big” guys did, where they focus on what they can do (flips or super athletic spots) and instead focus on what someone there size should do (great looking strikes, and using your athleticism intelligently to maximize your moments to show them off). That said, I honestly think his size limited him on the indies. Nobody was willing to go all with him as a dominant champion heel monster, which is a role I think he’d have thrived. It led to him working a bunch of 50/50 stuff which he was good at, but did feel it was him somewhat limited. So, then phase 2 of his career starts in the E, which can be described as “when given an opportunity he is clearly great, but he’s just never given enough god damned opportunity.” Great performances as a Wyatt member, probably the best guy in the match for the first Shield/Wyatt Six Man, his singles runs were always really good then immediately cut off at the knees because he wasn’t once of Vince’s guys, and it was a frustrating my time as a Brodie fan and for Brodie personally. He still clearly added to his case in this era, as he was still clearly really good, but it once more felt like a missed opportunity. And then we have the move to AEW, we’re it feels largely like thinks click into place. He’s given a push at the forefront as soon as he signs, and fits in perfectly, has some really strong in ring performances. It feels like he’s ready for that extended run that truly solidifies him as one of the best performers of his generation. And then he dies. Fucking sucks. Basically, I have no real negatives to say other then his case feels incomplete in a way that frustrates me. His AEW run felt like the start of the 3rd act of a movie that just ends after 5 minutes. The best comparison I can give is, try imagining a world we’re Eddie Guerrero passes away in late 03 instead of late 05. It feels like we are really missing that 2 year run that kind of cements Brodie as a worker that really locks in the type of case he has. As stated, Fucking Sucks. At present, Brodie Lee Is at 81st on my list. That’s pretty firmly in my “will finish somewhere between 120-160” block of wrestlers, were it would be pretty surprising if they made my top 100, but firmly in my top 200. If I further deep dive Brodie I might be able to move him up a bit, and he should be worth deep diving for basically everyone, as man could the big guy work.

It’s actually remarkable how after every single big Eddie Kingston PPV match I come away looking at my list and go “Kingston is too low on my list”, which is mighty impressive as he’s in my top 10 right now. I’m not sure if there is a wrestler that more speaks to what I want in wrestling ever then Kingston. He can make me forget wrestling isn’t real for stretches of matches. When a crazed bloody zombie looking Kingston staggers out with a can of gas in his hand, I’m not thinking how goofy this shit is, I’m thinking “Oh my God he’s going to burn Jericho alive on fucking Pay Per View” Sure, I return to my senses, but he keeps getting the moment. He makes you care about more then how great the match is and makes you care who wins and losses in a time period basically nobody else does. I think we are at the point we’re having Kingston in your top 5 doesn’t feel like it’s a crazy pick at all. And, well. If it is, I might just embrace the crazy.

I've thought this has been pretty damned great personally.

You don't think Danielson loved checking another box of matches to pay tribute too? It was probably his idea.

They built it, he had a leg injury set in story this week. Also, everyone else got literally taken out of the match, he was the last man left to even take the fall.

This is an orgy of violence and I love it.

The brawl going while Wild Thing plays is fucking perfect.

That dive by Darby was god damned terrifying.

I don't know why they are still running this back. You had the Scorpio/Sammy ladder match. You got something out of a total dud of a feud. And yet they are still running this back.

For my bitching about the result, this post match was incredibly well done, so full credit there. Also, those belts are awesome.