Microstatistics

While this isn't the best Flair match (thought it's Top 5), I would argue this as his best performance. The sensational offensive performance coupled with the imposing stature did not sacrifice any of the selflessness. He bossed the first fall, but his selling of Sawyer's resistance turned it into an attritional win that put Sawyer over big. It seamed nicely into the second fall as the lost momentum cost him the second fall. The third fall is interesting because while it's probably the "weakest", it narratively makes sense as Sawyer didn't expect to be 1-1 and sort of lost the plot in control. But again Flair needed something unique to put him down.

Backlund's excellent selling really got this across as the war of attrition it was. I think him being on the defensive for large portions of the match added a unique wrinkle that makes this match stand out. With respect to Slaughter, not many wrestlers could deliver a performance where they were simultaneously a cartoonish heel stooger AND a vicious mauler who could plausibly end Backlund's near 3-year world title reign with a ref stoppage. An early babyface shine and some focused armwork led to a Sarge counter-assault on the face and back and a grinding section where Backlund tried to recover from underneath. Not to mention, the king of the mountain segment, the champion bleeding profusely, and the final ferocious comeback, all of which makes for the best WWE match until the Wrestlemania X opener.

Invasion Attack 13 is the best, but this is easily the second best in the series. These two did a particularly great job wrestling to their characters and career junctures: Tanahashi's performance was dripping with urgency as he played the aging champion desperately trying to cling on while Okada conducted himself like the guy who knew he was destined for the top spot. The resulting complacency was the latter's undoing as he failed to keep a level head and consolidate the stranglehold he had early in the match. Haphazardly missing the railing crossbody and getting caught with the big high fly flow was the key turning point as Okada never really recovered from there even when Tanahashi slipped up during the terminal stages. The overall work wasn't mind-blowing but remained, as mentioned, fundamentally solid, logically deliberate, and even rather minimalist, fitting Tanahashi's wrestling ethos I suppose. I really liked the melodrama of the post-match as well with a triumphant Tanahashi having bought himself another day and an inconsolable Okada, aware that he had (temporarily) blown what was supposed to be his coronation.

The first two-thirds were impressively reserved and strategic with Taker working the arm and deliberately establishing control while Angle relentlessly attacked the leg. The struggle was on point as it built organically to an action-packed and counter-heavy final third. All those reversals to the ankle lock were largely logical and earned and really got Angle across as an absolute beast on par with the mythical phenom. Some blatant no-selling and Angle Slam spamming near the end threatened to derail this but a truly excellent finish salvaged proceedings. As things stand, this looks like the best WWE match of 2006.

The opening jockeying for position and babyface shine sections were solid, and Cody's missed dive onto the ramp was nasty and effectively altered the complexion of the match, setting up two injury points that were persisted with right to the end. I saw some criticism of Jericho's lack of mobility, but he delivered a really great old-school heel performance: All his cut-offs attacking the ribs were chef's kiss-worthy and his control segments were impeccably paced. Cody was the super-over, fired-up babyface. The quality of action dipped noticeably during Cody's elongated comeback, making this a borderline MOTYC, but they managed to sustain the drama that peaked at the finish.

You'd expect a match featuring Ricky Steamboat vs. Jack Brisco to rule but their interactions were actually rather minimal. In fact, both wrestlers weren't really that involved as Youngblood and Jerry took center stage and yet the match is one of the best of its kind from this era. The all-time great crowd was all in on the babyfaces as they bullied around Jerry during the opening shine before Jay injured his ribs/back in transition. The Briscos mauled Youngblood from pillar to post in a wicked FIP segment before Steamboat punished Jerry's knee in revenge as the match escalated into chaos approaching the finish. I thought the final stretch was too truncated as they easily could have extended the action a few more minutes but, overall, there was virtually no wasted moment, the finish was a neat heel switcheroo, and the post-match kept the crowd happy.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Brock Lesnar Will Ospreay vs. Nick Bockwinkel El Satanico vs. AJ Styles Kenta Kobashi vs. Bret Hart Shawn Michaels vs. Mitsuharu Misawa

I don't even disagree with that point, in all honesty. In fact, that was the reasoning for why Santo was outside my Top 10 and Casas in it back in 2016. Santo is probably not the guy if one emphasizes the mininutiae of the work (though that's probably also a reductive take) and someone like Casas was more about little flourishes and deviations from the norm. But, when it comes to matches as a holistic package (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and all that), that's where Santo far outshines Casas (who is also great) for me. I know cad hates hyperbolic praise around Satanico and understandably so, but I wonder if he was the only luchador to couple both criteria at the highest level.

Honestly, Santo was even more guilty of this. Watching the guy work high-end brawls, technical bouts, and bombfests over 25+ years left almost everyone else in the dust. Also, for what it's worth, I did come to the aforementioned conclusion with a heavy heart. I wanted to always like lucha more than I objectively do (and I like it a lot since I ranked Santo #3, Satanico #6, Hechicero #29, Casas #40, Pirata Morgan #61, El Dandy #75, Rush #81, Mocho Cota #89), but can no longer deny the gulf in output. Still, the heritage is undeniable and it's disappointing when people dismiss Lucha out of hand.

I agree with the "journey, not destination" sentiment for this project. I'm satisfied with my list I submitted (especially the top end), but the process of getting there was the real reward. It helped me refine my tastes, re-define priorities, and, importantly, optimize my GME collection which is what I really value.

Honestly, the sheer length of her tenure didn't really strike me until recently, but it's up there with the ultimate longevity candidates now. Hell, she had a quality match as recently as last week. Still think Hokuto is better because of the peak, but I get why Aja was the highest ranked woman.

She didn't do too badly (#424) but is someone Joshi fans should seek out if they haven't seen much of her. The late 90s to late 00s ace run is really quite substantial.

Joshi of all eras did great this time but one wrestler that fell by the wayside was Giulia. I hope the booking hell doesn't make people forget about her prime and general ability.

Hope Miu Watanabe is one who is examined more closely by the next round.

Lucha took a real hiding this time but it's not too surprising because the stylistic disconnect from the Japanese/American styles is just too much for the majority of people. Hell, I'm not one to talk since, aside the tippy top guys and a few around the upper-middle regions of the list (Hechicero, Casas, Pirata), my list featured far fewer luchadores than it did in the past. I mean Santo & Satanico are unreal and there is high-end lucha I really cherish, but I think I am now aligned with the general consensus that Mexico is a distant #3, relative to Japan and USA, when it comes to professional wrestling.

The pre-1980s voting block is by far the most intriguing one. Hogan, Andre, Inoki and especially Bruno and Dusty being high makes sense but Shawn, Muto, Omega, Bull being featured is cool as hell.

Number of wrestlers who made the Top 200: 81 Number of wrestlers who made the Top 100: 59 Number of wrestlers who made the Top 50: 38 Numbers of wrestlers who made the Top 25: 21 Highest wrestlers who did not make the Top 500: Josh Barnett (#67), El Samurai (#78), Axel Dieter (#86) Highest wrestlers who did not make the Top 200: Hechicero (#29), Steve Grey (#44), Mima Shimoda (#50) Highest wrestlers who did not make the Top 100: Chris Jericho (#25), The Undertaker (#26), Roman Reigns (#34) Highest wrestlers who did not make the Top 50: Kiyoshi Tamura (#5), El Satanico (#6), Gunther (#10) Highest wrestlers who did not make the Top 25: Shawn Michaels (#2), Yoshiaki Fujiwara (#4) High votes: Anton Tejero (#88) & Kenta Kobashi (joint #1) Exact placements: Akira Hokuto (#16) Near-perfect alignments: Mitsuharu Misawa (#11 vs. #10 on main list), AJ Styles (#18 vs. #17 on main list), Tully Blanchard (#98 vs. #99 on main list)

#2 "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson My #7. Ah, if it wasn't going to be Kobashi, I was hoping at least Bryan would win the whole thing but what can you do? He actually doesn't have an all-time classic like the rest of my Top 10 do so I wasn't entirely certain about placing him in that company. But the sheer volume of high-end quality against a wide array of opponents made him hard to deny. Despite the superfluous elements of that run, I think he was already an all-time great by the time he left ROH and the WWE & AEW runs are personally just bonuses. #1 Terry Funk I should have trusted my first instinct when I said he was going to win. Obviously my biggest omission, even if I do think he was a great wrestler. The old "where are the matches?" specter clearly doesn't apply for nearly 95% of voters but it did for me, unfortunately. Not that he doesn't have truly high-end output (like Flair GAB or Hansen 83 AJPW), it's just that there wasn't enough for me to warrant a Top 100 spot. Still, his adaptability and longevity can't be denied and he was always doing something entertaining. All in all, I understand why he won and rather convincingly too.

So the most predictable outcome for a while now does transpire: Bryan Danielson and Terry Funk are the Top 2. Before the unveiling, I predicted Funk to win but now would be stunned if Bryan doesn't win, potentially in a landslide.

#3 Kenta Kobashi I'm fairly content with my Top 5, but #2-#5 felt pretty interchangeable. But I was certain Kobashi has gonna be my #1. From the early work with Hansen and in tags/trios to the athletic peak of the mid/late 90s to the greatest title run in history (2003-2004 GHC vs. a plethora of opponents), and finally the legend bouts of the mid/late-2000s, there is no one who comes close to his resume. Moreover, his mastery of the basic elements of wrestling (selling, execution of offense from the most basic level to the most sophisticated moves, emoting & crowd control) is also probably second to none. Sure, he has flaws like the machismo nonsense and Chopbashi, but that's just noise because if you focus on the stuff that matters, the case is crystal clear. Bryan and Funk were always gonna be stiff competition but I am thrilled with this placement.

So the output point ended up eclipsing anything else and he just rose and rose and finished in the 30s for me. One of the best wrestlers of the 2000s.

Perhaps the most durable wrestler in history. Pit him against European aces, shoot-style artists, US babyfaces, Puro legends etc. and he would just do Vader things and deliver the goods.

The indie death match beginnings, the compelling FCW stuff with Regal etc., the great Shield run, the flat but decent WWE singles run supplement a terrific run from 2019 that features some of the top matches that have happened since (vs. Juice Robinson, Josh Barnett, CM Punk, Kyle 'OReilly, Will Ospreay). Aggregately, they make for one of the best wrestlers of the last 15-20 years.

#6 Genichiro Tenryu Someone I was happy to see make the Top 10 but now I'm just disappointed he missed the Top 5. A former favorite who I'm not quite as high on as I used to be and so had him at *only* #22 but that doesn't mean he wasn't brilliant. Infinitely watchable, gelled perfectly in every setting, and thanks to that wonderful retirement match with Okada, one of the handful of wrestlers to have great matches across 4 decades. That points per vote is absurd, to the point of being inconceivable. #5 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin I understand the charisma and magnetism argument, but I solidly lean towards the crowd who think he is way too high for a cumulative poll. He was my #39 so it's not like I'm not a big fan of the solid WCW run, the 1996-97 peak, the reliable Attitude Era stuff, and that insane 2001, but the case lacks the weight for such a high finish. Rey and Funk I might not agree with but I understand the respective argument at least. I suppose the coalition proclivities really did align for him. #4 "Nature Boy" Ric Flair My #24, though I probably should have gone higher. He was always gonna be dethroned here but this is still a respectable performance. Someone I always thought was great but whose estimation has gone up in the last ten years. Might still lean Satanico or Fujinami but Flair was, at worst, Top 3 wrestler of the 1980s. Proficient at the classic title match but an even superior brawler. Always watchable.

6. Austin 5. Tenryu 4. Flair 3. Kobashi 2. Funk 1. Bryan