Boss Rock

I do wish Hangman's reign had gone a bit better. The MJF feud started off well enough but they got too bogged down in the contract and overbooking shenanigans. And this feud with Joe never felt particularly hot or interesting, as perfectly fine as it was.

I hope they follow through on Taipei death match.

One of the greatest hardcore/death match wrestlers ever and one of the greatest tag wrestlers as well. Ozaki is likely a top 40 lock for me.

Same as in the Etsuka thread: Both Etsuka and Mima will make my list. LCO is an all-timer tag team for me not just because of their great matches, but also because of their uncanny way to really get me invested when I often have very little context. Regardless of opponents, nearly every LCO match manages to get these reactions out of me: intrigue with how violent and chaotic it starts, frustration and annoyance with how much they dominate and how quickly they cut off babyface comebacks each time, and finally almost a fist pump when seeing them finally getting their comeuppance. There aren't many other wrestlers who can do that.

Both Etsuka and Mima will make my list. LCO is an all-timer tag team for me not just because of their great matches, but also because of their uncanny way to really get me invested when I often have very little context. Regardless of opponents, nearly every LCO match manages to get these reactions out of me: intrigue with how violent and chaotic it starts, frustration and annoyance with how much they dominate and how quickly they cut off babyface comebacks each time, and finally almost a fist pump when seeing them finally getting their comeuppance. There aren't many other wrestlers who can do that.

I honestly thought it was a pretty good match botches aside. The Raging Fire before the Rainmaker was a nice touch.

Tough position they find themselves in (what else is new) in that Tanahashi-Okada should absolutely main event the show, but that means a possible Tsuji win would be massively overshadowed. So I think there's a very good chance Takeshita retains.

Finally saw a clip of the ending to Kazarian-Santana and holy shit that was bad.

For a while I wasn't even considering Punk. As good as they were, I was never blown away by his matches with Cena and Joe. And while his AEW run was very good, apart from 2-3 matches his WWE return has been a disappointment. But delving into his older ROH stuff against Raven and Jimmy Rave, I was really impressed with how well they held up and how well Punk excelled as both a face and heel. Combined with his AEW run and first WWE stint, it might be enough to just make the cut.

Lowkey one of the best workers of the 2010's. I caught most of his AJPW run 2017-2019 and he was arguably top 10 in the world. Catching up on his older stuff in BJW, deathmatchers or otherwise, and he'll rank.

Likely a top 50 if not 40 pick for me. Awesome heavy-hitter.

Still working my way through a lot of Masami matches, but she'll rank. Great offensive wrestler. And I honestly dug the zombie/Taker gimmick in the Ozaki match.

Suzuki-Gun circa 2017 and 2018 were very much the same (I know Taichi is a good wrestler now, but was really not a fan of the dude for the longest time). And even though they were (mostly) designated to the midcard, they were still a drag. But NJPW could get away with it because how red hot they were 2017 due to how many stars they had. So yeah, House of Torture is really more of a symptom than the cause of their current booking woes. I can't help but think how different things could have possibly been if they pulled and Okada with Tsuji coming back from excursion.

Kinda embarrassed it took me this long to consider Kikuchi considering how much I love the Kobashi tags. Very likely he makes the lower-end of my list. Great fiery underdog.

I'm curious if this means he's going to spend more time in NJPW or essentially continue as a part-timer.

I've been on the fence with Dustin for quite a bit but that match (and a few other older Dynamite matches I revisited) clinched it for me. Even if he does have a pretty big gap in the 90's-00's, his longevity has been remarkable.

He would've made my ballot even if he had not made this comeback. And even if none of his AEW stuff has quite reached the heights of what he was doing in NJPW, he's still been a very fun and enjoyable wrestler to watch.

If I had a nickel for every time someone tried to claim NJPW was "back"....

I've seen numerous arguments that HoT are big merch movers. But the NJPW merch sites don't have any of their gear in the top 10 of sales. I know some of NJPW's woes can be blamed on losing talent to AEW and the company becoming very draconian with gifs on social media which has resulted in less buzz for their big matches. But good Lord is the booking absolutely fried. Takeshita winning would be cool and all, but unless he's going to devote more time to NJPW or leave altogether, I'm not sure putting a part-timer in the main event of WK is a good idea. Especially considering Mox's run with the title in 2024 did nothing for them.

I didn't see it, but basically Tanahashi's G1 ended with House of Torture bullshit? Tremendous. Imagine if Liger had lost to the dastardly Taichi in his final BOSJ match. And I know Nagata, Kojima, and Tenzan lost their final G1 matches. But those were all clean losses.

Let me preface this by saying I'm not taking star power, audience connection, or overness. Hulk Hogan had an uncanny ability to rile up an audience. But I think he was a very mediocre in-ring wrestler. A movie can do well at the box office but still not be very good. That's how I look at it with wrestling. That being said, there are a number of critically acclaimed wrestlers that I watch that I just can't get into. Even if I can acknowledge their talent, sometimes their style just isn't for me. Does that mean I should still vote for them? My gut says no, but there is still that inclination to vote for them because I feel like I "have" to. But then I recall a point made on a different thread years ago: if a particular style of wrestling isn't for you, maybe just don't bother with it. And I find this helpful because I only have so much time to watch and revisit wrestling that I DO enjoy and I DO understand. That's not to say I won't completely dismiss potential candidates (i.e. lucha isn't one of my favorite styles but there are a handful of folks I do like so I want to give others a chance). But if you're struggling to fill out a ballot and space is limited, don't necessarily feel obligated to seek out what you know you won't care for.

Locks so far: Negro Casas El Satanico El Hijo del Santo Atlantis L.A. Park Under consideration/need to see more of: El Dandy Sangre Chicana Perro Aguayo Admittedly lucha isn't my favorite style, but the best are really good.

The Network really was a steal, wasn't it?

Naito said in a recent interview with Tokyo Sports he wanted to go to the U.S. but he wasn't able to get a visa. I figured he could easily sign with NOAH but apparently Japan is "not an option."

I was shocked for like a few seconds, then I remembered Paul said everyone should just move on from the Vince allegations, which was a sign as clear as any all bets were off.