Boss Rock

Anything can happen considering this list has been anything but predictable, but I still expect Jumbo and Tenryu to finish high. Choshu was 41 last time and Jumbo and Tenryu just fell outside the top 10.

Choshu was my 26. Tremendous, hard-hitting grump. One of the best wrestlers of the 80's and still great in the 90's, particularly against Hashimoto and old rival Tenryu. I had Ishikawa at 66 (one spot below Ikeda). Awesome, awesome violence. I had Ibushi at 37. I'm not entirely sure if I think it’s too high or not, but I’m not bothered by my final placing of him either. I agree the last few years have not been kind to him (though his Dynamite match with Okada was legitimately really good) and his myriad of injuries and refusal to seek proper medical treatment has understandably irritated a lot of people to the point where his himbo personality is no longer endearing. But to me, Ibushi was still an excellent junior for many years and then believably transformed into a heavy-hitting heavyweight. And even with the additional muscle, he could still deliver on the crazy high spots. As far as match quality, I think he’s consistently pretty great for the majority of the 2010’s all the way up until his injury in 2021. The Golden Lovers tag run in 2018 is fantastic and his Wrestle Kingdom match against Nakamura is still one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen.

I did not vote for any of the three most recent drops. Regal was considered but ultimately cut. I think his best stuff is really good (the Hashimoto match in particular is excellent), but I personally didn't see a ton of volume with him. I like 2000's KENTA. I don't like WWE KENTA. I think NJPW KENTA is OK. Similar to Nakamura, I have to imagine him placing is due to newer fans discovering his peak in ROH and Noah and either ignoring or not being aware of the rest of his career. He's kind of the anti-Nakamura in this scenario, with having a lower peak but a better run this past decade. Seeing Mercedes place is really cool even if I think her WWE booking hampered her. Being the best U.S. women's wrestler ever may seem like an incredibly low bar considering how poorly women's wrestling has been treated/booked in this country for so long, but it's still an impressive feather in her cap. And when she was actually given the opportunity, she almost always delivered. The matches with the other horsewomen go without saying, but she was also able to have fun matches with folks like Alexa and her match with Bianca is arguably one of the greatest Mania matches ever. And since leaving the Fed, she's really hit the ground running in AEW and Stardom.

Baba did.

It was probably my fault for even bothering, but I legit got into an argument with someone on Reddit because they insisted Mania 32 was Moxley's fault. Because of course Mox was the one who didn't want to do anything interesting and just wanted to do his stupid suplex routine.

I've seen a bit of Takayama, but there are some gaps. I did not vote for him, but I've always really enjoyed what I've seen. A big, hulking dude and entertaining striker. And while it's not related at all to pro wrestling, him and Don Frye remains one of my favorite MMA fights, as unrefined as it is. I'm sure there are lots of folks who object to Ospreay making the top 100, but probably lots of sighs of relief he didn't make the top 50. Personally, I had Ospreay at 27. A bit too high? I'm not sure yet, but I ultimately went with my gut. A decade now of great work with 2019-onward looking like the best in the world. As DMJ so eloquently put it in his nomination thread: "I'd much rather watch an Ospreay match, willfully going into it expecting to be blown away by a bunch of convoluted spots designed for the sole purpose of "popping" the crowd, than, say, watch a Seth Rollins match where he'll try to do the same thing but get nowhere close because (a) his offense isn't nearly as exciting and (b) if you're going to just not sell, its almost better to just not sell the whole match. Ospreay is a maximalist and, if you're going to be that, if you're just going to do superhero wrestling where almost nothing matters because everything is going to get a 2.9 count, well, you have to really, really blow the audience away with your stuff. If its going to be a fireworks show, you can't have any misfires. Ospreay does it better than anyone else I've seen in the past decade. " That pretty much sums it up for me. Very few who are as consistent a big match wrestler as he is. And even when he's just wrestling a match on Dynamite, he's almost always the highlight.

Of course because I mention him he's going to drop today, but it's awesome that Onita is guaranteed to finish higher than last time, which is honestly kinda surprising.

Funnily enough, I also had Jaguar one spot ahead of Jay (72 and 73 respectively). For Jay specifically, I think there's a very strong case to be made for the Briscoes being the greatest tag team of the 21st century. Did not vote for either Eaton or Morton. May seem blasphemous, and trust me I tried. Neither guy just really clicked with me. And when it comes to 80's tag teams, I always found the Rockers and Fabulous One more compelling. I will give Ricky props for the Flair cage match though, it rules. Did not vote for Brock. He's genuinely great at his best, but there are too many instances of him just eating his opponent alive because he didn't respect them.

Suzuki was my 39. Maybe a bit too high, but I'm still somewhat comfortable with it. Very few wrestlers have played evil and sadistic as well as he has. And his more technical and strike-heavy style gels very well with the more high spot and bombfest-oriented style of modern day NJPW. The 2012 KOPW Tanahashi match is one of the best in the history of the promotion and honestly, he was almost as good a rival to Tanahashi as Okada was. And while he has been de-emphasized over the years, AEW, ROH, and several indys have provided ample opportunity to prove he still has it well into his 50's. I like Kevin Owens well enough and think the Steenerico stuff is great, but 81 seems super high to me. His WWE run has definitely had its moments, but I don't think anything he's done has ever been truly excellent.

Funny enough, Dustin was my 85, one below. One of the last additions after much deliberation. He's really good in early 90's WCW, really good tagging with Cody against the Shield, and has continued to be really good in AEW (the street fight with Fletcher is what clinched his spot). It's just hard to overlook that huge gap of 90's WWF to early 2010's. I know his ECW run is well-regarded but I wasn't blown away. And I'm probably a bit lower on his early 90's peaks than others. But at the end of the day, it's hard to deny a guy this late in his career who can deliver with guys half his age who are much faster.

Had Naito at 43. I agree with Makai Club that his output could be a bit inconsistent as injuries and vision issues crept up on him. But at his best he was right there with the very tip top of 2010's NJPW guys, 2016 and 2017 being particularly spectacular and arguable BITW runs. And even after that, he was still capable of great matches until at least 2022 or so. Could play both the dickhead heel or cool, roguish face. Could push the pace while other folks were a bit slower during the start of the 30 minute main event. And while his pre-LIJ face run is remembered as being a failed experiment, he was still really good. I really appreciate how much he was able to differentiate his Ingobernable run while still keeping a good amount of his repertoire.

Did not vote for Pac but interestingly enough I had Claudio higher.

He'll very likely make the top 50, but I think if any 2010's NJPW wrestler makes the top 10 it'll be Tanahashi.

I think Mox regained a lot of goodwill near the tail-end of the Death Riders run in the build-up to and match with Page. Shortly after that he dropped a lot of the repeated interference and went back to his usual style, just in time for the Continental Classic which he had a great run in.

I think Mox is worlds better than he was in WWE. He pretty much changed his entire offense once he left which was easily the weakest part of his game. I agree with Mone though. Nothing about her feels fundamentally different and had she gotten Charlotte's push in 2016, her Fed resume is likely even deeper. Though I do believe her leaving has helped her case as well.

Roderick was my 67. Terrific utilitarian worker and someone who's had a ton of longevity. Drop him into any match or situation and you're going to get something good. Excellent offense as well.

Trying to predict the next round of drops based on recent trends: Angle, Jaguar, Piper, Ishikawa, Strong, KENTA, Dusty, Owens, Baba, and Inoki. Granted I've been wrong about several of these.

Ozaki was my 34. Was hoping she'd hold on a bit longer. Joshi getting more representation now than in 2016 is certainly a victory, but I'm hoping we get at least a few in the top 50. Anywho, Ozaki could pretty much do it all: singles, tags, death matches. And her heel work could be downright evil. Finding her street fights with Kansai and her '94 match with Nagayo are some of my favorite gems this last decade of diving. Nakamura finishing higher almost defies explanation unless everyone decided to ignore the last 10 years. And considering how there are less than 10 active WWE wrestlers in the top 100, I don't think it's due to more Fed-centric voters. He's still a top 150 guy for me because of how good his peak was and how his pre-2011 work is still solid. But definitely a headscratcher.

I had Eddie at 80 and feel pretty comfortable with that. I imagine his AEW work is what made his case for a lot of folks and indeed it was pretty great until his injury, but he was really good before that too (particularly the Hero series). Can be a real dick as a heel but is even better as an everyman babyface. I can see why his King's Road tribute could be grating, but I think he pulls it off more often than not. Claudio was my 39. I would wager the greatest tag worker ever. Kings of Wrestling, Real Americans, Brass Ring Club, the Bar, and the Death Riders. No matter who he's partnered with, he knocks it out of the park. Quite possibly the greatest utilitarian/TV worker as well. Plays a solid babyface but honestly a bullying heel is where he thrives. I did not vote for Necro. Not sure if there are gaps I haven't seen or if he just had too short a peak. But it's a tremendous peak and his matches with Joe and Super Dragon are among the greatest I've ever seen. Excellent stuff with Low Ki and Toby Imada too. That being said, I'm curious if there is much beyond that because I haven't seen it.

Kandori was my 47. In hindsight maybe a little high, but she really is great. Like many others, my introduction to her was the Hokuto and Queendom tag matches. Even beyond those matches, she was a terrific bruiser and I honestly really like her business casual death match run as well. I remember in her thread someone mentioned there was a narrative years ago that Kandori was bad and that Hokuto carried her. I don't know if there's any truth to that, but it's wild to consider.

Nakamura continues to inch closer to surpassing his 2016 finish, ha.

I did not vote for Chris Masters, but I will never forget how cool his entrance and Master Lock Challenge gimmick were.

Ikeda was my 65. Of all the shoot style/BattlArts folks, Ikeda is my favorite. Just gloriously violent. In 2020 he and Ishikawa had another barnburner in wXw. I'm pleasantly surprised he not only made the cut once again, but he actually improved by 2! Barry was my 70. I've mentioned that U.S. 80's isn't my favorite era of wrestling, but Barry was different. Excellent offense and execution, could play both face and heel with ease. The Flair matches are still really, really good.

Tully was my 97 and one of the final additions to my ballot. 80's territory isn't my favorite era of wrestling, but I had to make room for Tully. The greatest stooge in history. The Magnum match goes without saying, but he also had really good stuff with Garvin and Steamboat.

Hero at 100. I figured if he made the cut it would be on the lower end. I know a lot of folks are critical of his earlier work and tendency to go long (and no, I have no desire to check out the 90 minute match with Punk). But he's another one who's been really good for a really long time. And his 2017 is one of the best years of any wrestler in recent memory. His return to NXT didn't exactly set the world on fire but he had some solid matches. Has mostly been inactive since working with AEW but his match with Senka during Mania weekend was a hoot and proof that he still has it. Was my 31.