Microstatistics

To me, Punk vs. McIntyre III is the Danielson vs. Ospreay of WWE: A deeply flawed match that is mystifyingly getting intense, almost unanimous MOTYC praise. It was pretty violent and they retained the necessary vitriol but, otherwise, it was shockingly plodding with large empty chunks and no real structure or direction at all. The Berlin Strap bout was exponentially better and the highlight of the feud, having struck an optimal balance between a hateful gimmick brawl and a smartly constructed match. The main event tag was alright but pretty much what you'd expect. Super-babyface and WWE champion Cody Rhodes getting outcheered by Roman Reigns in Atlanta was something else though and tells you that virtually anything can be achieved.

I ended up watching the whole thing. Very good show, every match was, at worst, decent. Cody vs. KO: Strong opener. It suffered from the usual structural disjointedness of Cody defenses since Wrestlemania but the ribwork and KO's moral crisis were well done. **3/4 Bianca/Cargill vs. The Unholy Union: Much better than I expected. The theme of a good team vs. pairing of powerful individuals and the rare instance where the latter prevailed. FIP on Bianca was the best segment but Jade's hot tag and the finishing stretch weren't bad. ***1/4 Punk vs. McIntyre Strap match: Now that is more like it. This was much closer to what I expected from a blood feud, not the clown show that was the Summerslam bout whether Seth Rollins took center stage for some reason. At least they built off that finish with Punk learning to kill things off before indulging emotionally. They actually tried to beat on each other for large stretches and any time either of them got too cutesy, they ceded control. The pacing and selling felt stilted at times but that might be down to the stipulation. This is one I'll revisit. ***1/2 - ***3/4 Terror Twins vs. Dom/Liv: Solid intergender match with the babyface shine, FIP segments, interference, and revenge spots all put together fairly well. **3/4 Gunther vs. Orton: I appreciate how they constructed this, capitalizing on Gunther's locational babyface status and having him work from underneath across an experienced, similarly sized guy. Having said that, the pacing was too deliberate for it to hit any great heights and I think the KOTR final was ultimately better. Still, a nice moment for Gunther (and Ludwig). **3/4 - ***

Perhaps this is unfortunate timing from a political standpoint, but I've largely come around on Hogan and will likely rank him, a thought that would have been utterly preposterous in years past. His unrelenting motion approach did bring something extra to his matches by elevating the competitors and intensifying crowd heat. I have gained an appreciation for his basic offense, combined with some of the flashier stuff he could bust out, and he could even sell well when he focused on it. Still, certain fundamental criticisms do persist e.g., the Hulk-up which, in many instances, was awful because it involved completely blowing off all the damage sustained and rarely going back to selling. But, in his defense, that's what the audiences craved so it's a case of artistic merit vs. what draws the money. He particularly excelled in brawls and spectacle matches and the MSG Desert Storm bout and Wrestlemania X8 are career highlights and should be enough to secure at least a 75-100 spot. Also, it took me a while to fully accept it, but it's nearly undeniable now that he is the face of professional wrestling. There have been larger-than-life stars before (Jim Londos, Bruno, Backlund) and after (Austin with his 98/99 mega-peak, Rock and Cena with cross-over appeal, even Roman to some extent) but when non-fans think of wrestling, they think of Hulk Hogan. He was a case of right guy, right place, right time as his infectious energy and persona melded perfectly with the landscape of 80s America and immortalized his place at the top.

I agree completely. The comments here and in other forums are classic Germanophobia where any negative connotations related to Austrians/Germans just have to draw Third Reich parallels, followed up by people filling in their own blanks by projecting ideological ideals onto specific elements. Equating the snobbery and talk of sanctity of the mat with Nazi concepts of racial hierarchy and purity is plain ridiculous. Like you said, if it was any other European, people wouldn't even bat an eye.

MJF Up there with Darby Allin as one of the best post-2015 debutantes. At first glance, he seems like purely a mic guy with limited chops in the ring. Until you actually watch the big matches, which deliver in spades. He does well to combine old-school psychology with hyper-modern offense. Charismatic, particularly as the heel, though his unshakable kayfabe bit could be over-the-top. His commitment to long-term limb selling is also admirable, even if not everyone is going to be a fan of that particular style of selling I suspect. vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 11/13/2021) vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 3/5/2023) vs. Jay White (AEW, 11/18/2023)

Online wrestling community "humor" is usually cringe but some of the Mya Lesnar jokes were pretty amusing e.g., Brock suplexing the Punnett square into oblivion, reproducing via asexual budding etc. Yeah, I'm surprised how bad some WWE wrestlers are on Twitter/online considering the company's public relations strength. Between the above and that winceworthy Sheamus tweet about Gunther last week before their match, they don't seem to know what flies. At least they had the good sense to delete the tweets after a few minutes.

Melina Contender for best WWE/US women's wrestler. Very reliable worker who was effective both as a fighting, sympathetic underdog and a vicious, underhanded heel. Bought a lot of intensity and aggression to her matches, which was particularly impressive in an environment of sub-10 minute matches and cringy commentary. Even with the supposed revolution of 2014-15, the I Quit match vs. Beth Phoenix still might hold up as the best women's match in the history of the company. vs. Mickie James (WWE, 4/29/2007) vs. Beth Phoenix (WWE, 6/1/2008) vs. Michelle McCool (WWE, 7/26/2009)

That finish was so surreal that I never actually considered the match quality itself. It doesn't have the best rep but wouldn't be surprised if it held up well, especially with all the historical context and Lesnar being his best opponent. Taker has a solid shot at the Top 50 for me. I guess he was a late bloomer and his form dipped in the early 2000s but 1996-1998 and 2006-2015 are very impressive career peaks. The picks below are, at the very least, very good, while the bold made my most recent Top 100. This doesn't include the series vs. Big Show, Edge, Triple H, Batista, which were all worthwhile from what I remember. vs. Mankind, Buried Alive vs. Bret Hart, One Night Only 97 vs. Shawn Michaels, Badd Blood vs. Mankind, King of the Ring 98 vs. Kurt Angle, No Way Out 06 vs. Shawn Michaels, WM25 vs. Rey Mysterio, RR 2010 vs. Shawn Michaels, WM26 vs. Brock Lesnar, Summerslam 2015 As for old man Taker, I remember liking Reigns WM33 and Goldberg 2019 way more than most outside our bubble did, so those are feathers in his cap to me. And, of course, he was one of the most legendary characters in wrestling history and combined that with array of interesting offense (particularly impressive for a big man) and, as mentioned, great and sometimes nuanced, and hence under-appreciated, selling.

Completely agree. Didn't rank him in 2016 but he's in now.

Watched the last two matches and ending of Jey vs. Priest. I'm glad they did a PLE in France but I don't know what to make of that crowd: they ranged from spiritedly engaging to being mildly obnoxious. The tag title match was looking good but the stretch where Kairi wasn't legal and they looked completely lost for a couple of minutes while Bianca sold on the floor really cooled things off. Good main event but could have been better had they followed up on the arm injury angle instead of introducing new ones (back, neck) that they didn't really build on either. Yeah, busting out the Burning Hammer of all moves, only for a 1-count fighting spirit comeback was strange as hell. The rest of the match was strong though.

I'm sad to report that Jumbo has slid down my list during the latest round as I remember defending him quite strongly during the correction of 2016. I mean it's just a minor downturn (Top 10-20 to Top 30) and he has a chance at bouncing back as I watch/rewatch more stuff but he is not in the tippy-top tier anymore. He is a strange case because his rookie years (1974-1979) and twilight years (1989-1992) were better than his supposed peak (bulk of the 1980s). He was one of the best wrestlers in the world during those two periods, no mean feat for the latter time-block when a number of all-time greats were at their peak. But mid-1980s Jumbo matches have left me cold, including the May 84 Kerry match that didn't hold up most recently. But I don't agree with the assessment that he just was along for the ride in matches against more interesting opponents because he could be just as, if not more dynamic than them. Crazy athleticism, great selling, fantastic striking, state-of-the-art offense, a flair for the dramatic: he was the total package in many ways.

Angle really is a weird case. Perhaps the intense DVDVR backlash towards him has eased and he appears to have new defenders (including me to some extent), but he is still considered a middling pick around here, relative to established greats. But in traditional circles, he remains this legendary, Tier 1 worker, a paragon even for modern greats. Even his inputs are odd. No doubt he was credible and athletic but his offense wasn't particularly dynamic, his selling didn't jump off the screen, and he wasn't exceptionally creative or ambitious (storytelling wise at least). Still, this is all sounding misleadingly negative because I will probably ended up ranking him in the 75-100 range. 2001 was his peak year, with the Shane McMahon street fight as his masterpiece. 2002-2006 WWE and the early TNA run had a solid amount of quality output vs. Benoit, Rey, Lesnar, Eddie, Undertaker, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles as well.

Wrestlemania XL Night 2: A cautionary tale against obsessive hate 1) McIntyre's insistence on rubbing the win in Punk's face undid the moment he so desperately craved 2) Roman choosing to hit Seth instead of his active opponent because of a corrosive ten-year long grudge ended up costing him everything. So Cody vs. Gunther in Berlin? Or at WM41?

The actual wrestling so far is miles ahead of last year's main event.

Wrestling logic/continuity is so unique. The guy who lost to Johnny Knoxville is the one to end the two-year title reign of a wrestling juggernaut. The best match on paper was indeed the MOTN but requires a rewatch to really assess the quality since the finishing stretch and surprise title change threw me off. The main event took a while to get going (typical of the Tribal Chief era), but picked up big time after they started attacking Seth's knee. I thought everyone played their part well, particularly the Rock with the heel act. The stereo pedigrees after the off-target spear got me for a second. The final shots echoing the ending of Wrestlemania 39 were neat and set things up nicely for the big finale tomorrow.

Man, the griping about the weather from commentary is getting annoying. Wear more layers. The actual wrestlers who are most affected are dealing with it.

Not the most heated grudge match but the fitting 50:50 nature and melodrama were pretty well done.

The crowd is surprisingly dead, even Dom is getting relatively little heat.

Did a lot of people get worked? Or did they shoot themselves into a work (brother)? They seem to be retconning last Friday so I'm not sure if this was actually the original intention but, nevertheless, the pivot was pretty solid. Cody back in the main event to "finish the story", corporate heel Rock, seeds for a Rock vs. Roman match with an actually compelling character dynamic: Things seem to have fallen into place (by design or not).

I would be really surprised if the dirtsheets don't backtrack on Roman's schedule, like they did last year (initially, it was reported he was not scheduled to work Elimination Chamber and a bunch of other PPVs as well). Hard to imagine Reigns not having a match at the big Perth stadium, leading into Wrestlemania no less. It's not gonna be the Rock (they aren't gonna sacrifice the US market that would result from the Western Australia time difference) but it'll be someone. I hope they don't bump Cody for the Rock at WM, that sounds extremely unappealing. A triple threat (Reigns. Rock vs. Cody) sounds like a solid compromise and seems like a win-win: You get the Rock in for the eyeballs and cash grab and you put the title on Cody as the big payoff. Moreover, it would be in keeping with the main event trend of WM20 and 30.

A few rough thoughts on the return: Yeah, the Rollins reaction was definitely a work. I doubt the WWE talent care, they are PR machines and can easily separate professional from personal. I didn't really comment during the whole AEW debacle, where I thought there was blame on both sides (Punk's nature being incompatible with AEW's "The inmates run the asylum" approach). Of course the WWE stans on r/scjerk have done a complete 180 on Punk in anticipation of this return (after trashing him for two years before the termination) and lay the blame solely on TK for the fallout. I'm guessing Punk will be on a much tighter leash in WWE and will probably fare better under a more structured and regimented administration. The hypocrisy of the return is hard to ignore, especially after the wellness and Saudi Arabia comments, but the temptation to spite (plus the financial incentive) was probably too great. I thought he looked really good in-ring wise during his AEW run so am interested in seeing how he pushes on in a more controlled environment. Finally, I sort of admire the "no permanent exiles or enmities" sentiment of WWE. If they can bring back Bret and hire Bischoff, this one is rather tame.

The best ace in WWE history (not counting Austin whose tenure was too short). The Shield is one of the great modern factions and so he already had an enviable tag match/trios resume early into his career. Late 2014-Early 2018 was his athletic peak as a singles wrestler and he was a Top 10 worker in the world in that period in spite of the noxious crowd engagement. Perhaps the Tribal Chief era matches have been less than the sum of their parts due to the dawdling starts and monotonous interference-laden finishes but I appreciate the overarching storytelling elements. The quality of his offense and in-ring attention to detail put him miles ahead of someone like Cena. He possesses generational charisma as well and you can understand why he was the chosen one from pretty much Day 1, even if the process of consolidating that was an ugly and sometimes misguided one. Still, taken cumulatively, he is Top 50 contender.

Potentially the best "joshi for people who don't like joshi" wrestler, alongside maybe Kana/Asuka. A wonderful technician, on par with the BattlARTs guys, as well as a selfless seller. She is also one of the ultimate peak candidates, with the bulk of her case residing in the 1998-2001 period, even if there was good stuff in 2003-2004 as well. Her 1999 is stuff of folklore even if it falls short of a GOAT-level year for me. The Yagi 2/18/1999 match is her magnum opus but nothing else really reached that level, making a bottom half inclusion much more likely than a top half one.

Omega is a tricky one. I agree with the predictions above regarding the polarized placements. He seems to embody many of the faults of modern pro wrestling, particularly the flagrant emphasis on generating "bangers", further unconcealed by his "best bout machine" moniker. Having said that, I would counter by saying his fundamentals are far stronger than a lot of his peers, on both the offense and selling fronts. That, alongside his admirably ambitious match layouts, makes him more likely to actually meet that objective. The three matches below are amongst the best of the past 10 years. vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 8/13/2016) vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 8/12/2017) vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW, 1/4/2023) The facial expressions don't bother me and are no different than those of William Regal and Devil Masami. My issue lies in the wild inconsistency. No wrestler nails every big match but the drop-off for when he misses the mark is remarkable, even if it's not exclusively his fault. The Tanahashi 1/2019, Ishii 8/2018, and Takeshita 8/2023 matches, for instance, are genuinely poor to mediocre. His best output is probably enough to secure a Top 50 spot, with a shot at the Top 25, but the hit-or-miss nature of his work likely keeps him below the top tier of past greats.

WALTER/Gunther seems like one of the major contenders from the grouping of wrestlers who debuted this century. He sticks out since he didn't follow the conventional major US promotion/Japan route during the initial phase of his career but instead wrestled across comparatively smaller promotions in Germany, England, and the US . This indie run could suffer from a slight lack of focus, with matches often being less than sum of their parts. On the other hand, while his ceiling might have been near ***3/4 (though the Thatcher 1/28/2018 match broke through), he rarely delivered a sub-par match and that too against a wide assortment of opponents. I feel he matured once he joined WWE/NXT and has started to hit higher highs more consistently, without sacrificing his basal level. For instance, the McIntyre match from Summerslam this month was the most generic Gunther match possible and was still quite serviceable. The shift to Smackdown/Raw also demonstrated his ability to construct effective television matches against essentially anyone. I am also a big fan of his character's philosophy: A no-nonsense approach to pro wrestling where it is like a respectable sport built around winning and defending championships, ensured by brutalization of opponents. It's a breath of fresh air, particularly in the contemporary era where wrestler priorities can be blatantly telegraphed (i.e., garner "critical acclaim"). His commanding aura is also something no one aside from Brock Lesnar can match. He does have signature stuff he incorporates into virtually every match but so did Santo & Misawa & Flair to some extent. Furthermore, most of the offense looks good so you can't knock him too much for it. So you have a great big-match wrestler AND a great TV worker, a very high floor, high-end output (particularly in the last 5-6 years), strong fundamentals, an atypical career trajectory and a refreshing outlook and style. Top 25 is ambitious but doesn't seem too outlandish.