Microstatistics

I think if people find it difficult to separate the art from the person, that's perfectly ok but I implore them to be consistent with it. In 2016 people seemed to selectively apply personal criticisms against wrestlers they did not like (e.g., Bruiser Brody or 90s Shawn Michaels) while conveniently disregarding personal faults of workers they enjoyed (e.g., Jerry Lawler himself)

Agree with this. They failed to read the room with that segment. The crowd wasn't exactly enamored with Hogan and the Bellas received a lukewarm reaction at best. Bayley was actually popular (and rightly so) and Titus was left in an awkward position at the end.

Great, unique finish despite the interference. Both Bryan and Edge had their shoulders pinned to the mat so there was no ambiguity either.

Best joshi worker of the modern era? Certainly a contender. She should fare a lot better this time considering the strength of her post-2015 run in Stardom and even WWE.

TNA Styles > NJPW Styles > WWE Styles. Great career. I should have taken him more seriously in 2016 but he should be easy Top 50 this time around.

Naito is comfortably the best of the modern NJPW crew for me. Most relative number of great matches, super charismatic, can effortlessly play heel or face, great offense, good selling etc.

& Roy Heffernan vs. Dr. Bill Miller & Ed Miller (Buffalo, 1/24/1958)

Jim Londos Weird that he wasn't nominated last time though I'm assuming lack of footage was the primary barrier. Arguably the biggest draw of all time and a compact technician to boot. There are a few Londos matches out there, the notable being the famous, world-class Nagurski match. Matches: vs. Dick Shikat (Philadelphia, 6/6/1930) vs. Bronco Nagurski (Philadelphia, 11/18/1938) vs. Primo Carnera (Chicago, 2/3/1950)

Al Costello One of the standouts from the 1950s-60s era, even with very limited footage. Great heel, proficient in both technical wrestling and underhanded roughhousing. The Jesse James match is a classic. Matches: vs. Jesse James (Los Angeles, 6/8/1960) & Roy Heffernan vs. Moose Cholak and The Mighty Atlas (1950s?) & Roy Heffernan vs. Dr. Bill Miller & Ed Miller (Buffalo, 1/24/1958)

Axel Dieter One of the legends of European wrestling. From what I've seen, a classic fiery babyface with strong technique and great selling. Not a lot of footage is available but his veteran stuff from 1980s Hannover is more than solid and includes the Morowski epic. Matches: vs. Moose Morowski (Hannover, 10/5/1980) vs. Pat Roach (Hannover, 1981) vs. Bull Power (Hannover, 1986)

Will there be new discussion threads for individual wrestlers? Or are we continuing from the 2016 ones since I see people posting in those.

Wow, a lot of excitement for a project that's nearly five years away. Just to add to previous points made here, I thought 2016 was very informative and definitely more good than bad but the elitist and smug attitudes of some posters did sour the experience slightly. Please, none of that "How can you rank this wrestler in your Top 10, they wouldn't make a Top 200 for me" or "You are objectively wrong if you don't see this wrestler's greatness" I feel if people engage in civil discussions and respectfully consider the viewpoints of others while simultaneously define their own criteria(s) for ranking and trust their gut on who they feel is great, 2026 will be an even bigger success.

Is there a formal forum for list submission? Also, from what I can gather, the deadline is April 2021 correct?

Both should be Top 20 for me and so are pretty comparable. I'd rank Bryan a few spots higher though. Things might be different now considering it has been 5 years since GWE, but at the time I remember Bret suffered from intense anti-WWF bias. He is considered one of the GOAT outside our circle so I suspect people wanted to knock his reputation down a peg, which is understandable to an extent. But, due to the dreaded pendulum effect, they ended up overdoing it and you had people claiming he didn't have the volume to make a Top 100. The hate he got for making the Top 20 was ridiculous. Bryan's biggest flaw is (was?) lack of focus. Had he tightened up many of his ROH "epics" by 10-15 minutes, he'd be a solid #1 contender for me. There is a lot of neat stuff in those matches but the lack of structure and coherence limits the ceiling.

I agree with the shoot-style picks. Volk Han 1992 (technically he debuted in late 1991 but still) Kiyoshi Tamura 1989

1965: Gilbert Cesca/Rene Ben Chemoul vs. Anton Tejero/Inca Peruano, 3/12 1966: Fritz Von Erich vs. Giant Baba, 12/3 1967: Francis Sullivan/Albert Sanniez vs. Bernard Caclard/Tony Martino, 10/21 1968: Franz Van Buyten vs. Jean Ferre, 1/20 1969: TBD 1970: TBD 1971: Jack Brisco vs. Antonio Inoki, 8/5 1972: Jim Breaks vs. Adrian Street, 2/12 1973: The Destroyer vs. Mil Mascaras, 10/9 1974: TBD 1975: The Destroyer vs. The Spirit, 7/25 1976: Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Jack Brisco, 8/28 1977: Caribbean Sunshine Boys vs. Kung-Fu Fighters, 10/4 1978: TBD 1979: Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel, 2/14 1980: Axel Dieter vs. Moose Morowski, 10/5 1981: Steve Grey vs. Jon Cortez, 7/27 1982: TBD 1983: Greg Valentine vs. Roddy Piper, 11/24 1984: El Satanico vs. Gran Cochise, 9/14 1985: Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee, 12/30 1986: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Akira Maeda, 6/12 1987: TBD 1988: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Antonio Inoki, 8/8 1989: El Satanico vs. Sangre Chicana, 5/26 1990: Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Nobuhiko Takada, 10/25 1991: Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoji Anjoh, 7/3 1992: Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai, 4/30 1993: Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori, 4/2 1994: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, 3/20 1995: Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue, 6/9 1996: Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind, 9/22 1997: Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Volk Han, 9/26 1998: El Hijo del Santo vs. Felino, 3/8 1999: Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, 6/24 2000: Cactus Jack vs. Triple H, 1/23 2001: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa, 12/9 2002: Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker, 10/20 2003: Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, 3/1 2004: Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama, 7/10 2005: AJ Styles vs. Abyss, 4/24 2006: Jun Akiyama vs. Masao Inoue, 4/23 2007: Yuji Nagata vs. Togi Makabe, 7/6 2008: Daisuke Ikeda/Katsumi Usuda/Super Tiger II vs. Yuki Ishikawa/Alexander Otsuka/Munenori Sawa, 7/26 2009: Daisuke Ikeda/Takeshi Ono vs. Manabu Suruga/Takahiro Oba, 4/9 2010: Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker, 3/28 2011: TBD 2012: Daniel Bryan/Kane/Ryback vs. The Shield, 12/16 2013: Rey Hechicero vs. Charles Lucero, 8/4 2014: Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H, 4/6 2015: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, 3/29 2016: Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani, 12/22 2017: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega, 8/12 2018: TBD 2019: Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi, 2/3 2020: WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov, 10/29 2021: Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair, 4/10 Last updated: 12/28/2021

Glad you enjoyed the list OJ. I'm not surprised you hated Naito vs. Taichi, that's an extremely polarizing match. KENTA vs. Tenryu (10/8/2005) is a neat little match. KENTA also had another match with Kobashi (3/5/2006). For Takayama, his 2002 is pretty famous and well acclaimed. Matches vs. Nagata (5/2/2002), Sasaki (8/3/2002), Nishimura (8/10/2002), Ogawa (9/7/2002) and Misawa (9/23/2002).

Misterio had to put his precious mask on the line for a shot at the cruiseweight title. The stipulation was particularly precarious since the champion Eddy had recently developed a bitter mean streak. Misterio was extremely agile, but Eddy seemed to have his every move scouted, allowing him to unleash a vicious assault on Misterio’s back. Eddy targeted the back with a variety of submissions and backbreakers, while maliciously ripping at the mask every chance he got. Misterio’s resilience and some breathtaking counters managed to keep him competitive. Eddy arrogantly went for an avalanche splash mountain, a move Misterio had proven adept at countering, and, unsurprisingly, it was reversed in mid-air for the title change. One of the best matches in WCW history. ****5/8

In terms of story and execution, this match might be the closest pro wrestling has come to resembling a traditional sporting event. Grey upset Saint in December but the general feeling was that it might have been a fluke. The first fall only reinforced that notion since Saint outwrestled Grey to take the 1-0 lead. Saint’s control continued into the second fall, especially as Grey hurt his leg. But Grey soldiered on and when opportunities presented themselves, he capitalized not once but twice to complete an impressive come from behind 1-2 victory and prove the doubters wrong. A respectful yet competitive feel, tricked out wrestling with compelling offense from Saint and world-class selling by Grey and a nice perseverance narrative. ****3/8

Funk gave arguably the most complete heel performance in wrestling history here. He managed to be smug, deranged, cowardly, cunning, or pathetic depending on the needs of the story. Lawler’s cool and calm demeanor was a really nice contrast. The brawling was uncooperative and aggressive, and this had a dangerous, almost shoot-ish vibe to it. The opening portion with Lance Russell and the entrances is definitely essential but the main section could have used a few extra minutes. The “my eye” finish is, of course, super memorable but Lawler throwing the spike away in disgust was also a great visual. ****3/8

Huh, surprised at the lack of reviews for this one. The climax to a blood feud that involved Piper suffering ear damage and Valentine almost asphyxiating in July. This consisted of an unusual yet dangerous stipulation: both wrestlers were chained to the other at dog collars around their necks. I liked the emphasis on the fact that Piper was better at utilizing the chain as he used it multiple times and in imaginative fashion to inflict damage and get out of trouble. Valentine responded with clubbing brutality and by targeting Piper’s injured ear. Fiery comebacks from Piper combated Valentine’s attempts to permanently incapacitate him. Eventually, Piper’s proficiency with the chain won him the match as he wrapped Valentine’s legs with it during the pin and conquered brawn with brains. Valentine’s post-match attack was vicious but ultimately meaningless since Piper clearly bested him. I wish Valentine’s US title was on the line here since it would have made the finish more rewarding. Valentine could have sold for longer here and there but for a combination of hate, creativity and violence, this is almost certainly the greatest gimmick match of all time. ****5/8

The terrific finale of a fierce junior heavyweight feud. Sano offered a handshake as an olive branch at the onset, but Liger simply slapped him and launched a quick ambush. An angry Sano bloodied Liger up to gain the upper hand. He followed that up with a prolonged and malicious thrashing, with attacks on the cut and mask ripping. Liger managed intermittent urgency-fueled mini-comebacks, but Sano was one step ahead at every turn and retook charge each time. Yet he was unable to deliver the kill shot and punched himself out by the end. A terminal burst allowed a battered Liger to regain the juniors title. ****5/8

Fujinami was finally world champion, yet he was still in the shadow of the New Japan legend, Inoki. So, he had a chip on his shoulder and was determined to topple Inoki. A swanky and lengthy technical battle between the top two wrestlers in the company ensued. Fujinami went all out, with his pride and defiance occasionally taking center stage, compared to Inoki’s more measured approach. But, ultimately, Fujinami’s quest was in vain as they reached the time limit, and Inoki was no closer to being defeated by then anyways. Fujinami wasn’t defeated but lost the symbolic battle. My patience for long matches is not what it used to be. If 40 minutes feels long, 60 minutes is an eternity. So, they did a great job of keeping things consistently lively, especially as the pace slowed. As a result, it may be the best match of its kind. ****1/2

Arguably the high point of a blood feud between a pair of young fan favorites and a veteran heel duo. Shawn initially impressed with his flashy, athletic offense but got busted open and was isolated from Jannetty. Rose and Somers gleefully punished a dazed Michaels for a solid chunk of time. A hot tag led to Somers and Jannetty himself bleeding and the match escalated into a chaotic brawl as tensions boiled over and, eventually, a double DQ was called. One of the finest US tags. ****3/8

Hase was known more for his technical wrestling but realized the danger his opponent posed and displayed unusual aggression right from the start. Muta fought back, hurting Hase’s hamstring in the process, before grabbing a spike. But Hase turned the tables and busted him wide open with it, perhaps as revenge for their September 1990 match when the shoe was on the other foot. He attacked the cut with a great mix of psychology and barbarism, forcing Muta to eventually make an almost underdog like comeback. This led to a bomb-heavy finishing stretch, where Muta finally prevailed. One of the better 90s NJPW heavyweight matches. ****3/8