Boss Rock

Although the 80's U.S. territory style has never been my favorite, Lawler definitely stands out. Chris Hero started a podcast recently and said rather than "less is more", the phrase should be "get more out of less". And Lawler was terrific at that. The $10,000 challenge against King Kong Bundy stands out in particular. It's such a simple match structure and yet it's super fun and captivating.

Another NJPW wrestler who has a strong chance to make my top 50. I think the 2019 Bad Luck Fale G1 match is the only bad Ibushi match I've ever seen and that's because Fale has sucked more than usual in recent years. He's arguably been a top 10 wrestler since his return to NJPW in 2017 and you could make the case he was before as well. He's always been a really good tournament wrestler whether it be BOSJ, G1, or the Cruiserweight Classic. The Cruiserweight Classic in particular stands out as he faced a wider variety of wrestlers and had the best run of the tournament. An underrated aspect of Ibushi's game is how his style has evolved over the years. He still does high-flying and a lot of the same moves, but since moving up to heavyweight he's done a great job adding strikes and power moves to his game. He can be a terrific underdog face as well as a believable tough guy. It got to a point where he believably beat Suzuki at his own game in last year's G1. The only criticisms I can really think of are, like his former tag partner Kenny, a tendency to ignore leg selling and occasionally being too go-go-go. I'd like to see more of his early stuff in DDT, but most of what I've seen has been really good.

His WWE run wasn't great, but I have a lot of love for his match with Brock. He also had some pretty good matches with Roman and I honestly didn't hate the feud with A.J. But yeah, the bulk of his case rests on his early 2000's run. And that's probably still enough to round out the bottom tier of the ballot.

I once saw someone say this has replaced the annual "Is Tanahashi seriously injured?" cliche.

2016-onwards Naito has consistently one of the best in the world. His 2018-2019 had a few rocky outings due to suffering from double-vision, but he would still pull out some pretty high-caliber matches when called upon it. His 2020 was mostly disappointing due to being stuck with EVIL for most of the year, but he had a largely great G1 to make up for it and of course the MOTYC with Okada. I've enjoyed a few of his Stardust Genius matches pre-2015 but need to do a deeper dive on that period. That will probably determine if he's a top 50 candidate or "just" a lock somewhere on the ballot.

I think with Aja, she was big enough that she could be a convincing monster but she didn't necessarily tower over everyone to the point where opponents getting the better of her didn't look unrealistic. As it stands, she's my highest-ranked joshi wrestler just barely edging out Hokuto. I'd like to see more of her later career but she's a pretty strong "peak+longevity" candidate. She's not very good now based on her recent AEW showings, but she had a great match as recent as 2018 against Shida. She's a pretty strong top 20 candidate.

I think they both said the 2015 G1 match was their favorite match ever. Not either guy's best but still awesome and a low-key MOTYC for 2015.

Thanks! And I'll definitely check out that tag match as I do recall hearing that there was heat between him and HARASHIMA.

Bound to be one of the most controversial candidates this time around, but I like him so here goes. Kenny is easily one of if not the most polarizing wrestler in the world today. He's either the best in the world and one of the greatest to do it or an overrated hack who can't work. I tend to lean more towards the former as I think he's been one of the best in the world the past few years (arguably top 2 in 2017 and 2018). However, I certainly understand the criticisms. His leg selling can be spotty due to how many V-Triggers he throws per match and his comebacks come a bit too easily. He's certainly not the only wrestler to work a go-go-go style, but the praise he receives often makes him one of the easiest to criticize (very much like Toyota). And while his facials and mannerisms don't bug me nearly as much as others, he can still be histrionic and hammy. He's also not a particularly great babyface. But on the other hand, he may very well be the best in the world when it comes to offense. Not just the number of moves he uses, but how good he makes them look. Obviously everyone points to the V-Trigger, but his tope suicida is perfect every time. His dragon suplex almost defies logic with how fast it is. His time, execution, and overall athleticism is something to behold. And while his selling can be spotty, he's had a number of very good selling performances and is an underrated bumper. And while his style can be pretty go-go-go, he has a much better sense of pacing and escalation than most folks you see today. His big match performances are also pretty undeniable IMO. The Okada series is one of my favorites and all 4 matches made my Greatest Match of All-Time ballot. The Naito and Ishii series' also come pretty close. Those matches are also evidence of his underrated sense of pacing and escalation. He can certainly be go-go-go, but compare those matches to what you see in NXT or the indies. And even before his NJPW heavyweight run or current run in AEW, he had several great matches in DDT, AJPW, and in the 2009-2010 BOSJ tournaments. His tag work is also really good, not just with Page (admittedly Page was the bigger star of the two) but with Ibushi in the Golden Lovers. The Strong Style Evolved and Revolution tag matches against the Young Bucks are two of the best U.S. tags I've ever seen. Like Okada, unless he completely falls apart in the next 5 years he's a solid pick for my top 50.

Reigns has been a very good wrestler for quite a few years now, but for some reason I've always been lower on him than most. Maybe it's because he was forced in to a babyface role which saw him have to work extended heat segments with boring heels like Corbin, Bray, or McIntyre. Or maybe it's because some of his biggest matches fall into the "multiple finisher kick-out" formula WWE has been relying on the last few years which I've really come to dislike. His best matches are pretty dang good though and it's been a while since I've seen most of the Shield tags, so I'd like to reevaluate.

I want to revisit his later TNA career, but he's a top 15 candidate for me. His NJPW run was great, his current WWE run has been largely very good, and his 2005 was a BITW-level run. Terrific offensive wrestler who can do high-flying and spot-heavy matches or more story-driven stuff a la his first match with Cena. All-time great bumper and seller which I think has been a huge part of his success in WWE. Who else can say they've gotten to good to great matches out of Jinder Mahal, Shane McMahon, Baron Corbin, Tye Dillinger, Abyss, and Bully Ray? And as much as I love Jon Moxley, he wasn't very good as Dean Ambrose and A.J. put on great stuff with him too.

As lame as the Kane feud was, their Extreme Rules match was way better than it had any right to be.

I really enjoyed his 2017. His 2018 was a bit dull but DDT as a whole didn't do much for me that year. I'm really interested in doing a deeper dive on his early career and getting caught up on current DDT. His offense is terrific as he's such an athletic and explosive guy. The only main criticism I have is iffy limb selling, but he's hardly the only one.

Which Marufuji match was that? 2016 G1?

The biggest issue I have with Sasha as a candidate right now (and this could change in 5 years) is that her output was severely hampered by inconsistent and downright piss-poor booking. Imagine if she had gotten Charlotte's push for all these years.

Thanks!

Tanahashi is top 15 for me and could very well be the best worker of the 2010's. To this day he's still one of the best big match workers in the world. Even as he's slowed down in recent years you can expect at least one or two MOTYC's from him. His performance in the last two G1's are also major feathers in his cap. 2020 in particular he was in a rather weak block and still delivered on an almost nightly basis. His pre-2010's stuff is also very good with good to great matches against Giant Bernard, Nagata, Fujita, and Suwama. The Suwama match in particular is a fantastic heel performance by Tanahashi, playing the cocky hotshot free agent from the "other" promotion.

Love the Jungle Jack tag team but interested in some singles recs.

Carlos is currently a top 20 candidate for me. Phenomenal babyface, seller, and brawler. The feud with Hansen is one of my all-time favorites and the feud with Hercules Ayala is super underrated. The brawls with Abdullah are loads of fun and he got something halfway decent out of Steve Strong who might be the worst wrestler I've ever seen.

Probably the Dreamslam tag. For a singles match, probably the 95 Hokuto match or one of the Aja matches. I think Childs hit the nail on the head with her doing the most making her the biggest perpetrator. But at the same time, her peaks are pretty dang high.

It has in fact, changed haha. Cena will still almost certainly make my ballot because his peaks are undeniable (Umaga, Bryan, Brock 2012) and his 2007, while not an all-timer year, had some pretty impressive carry jobs with Khali and Lashley. But he's been involved in a lot of crap. Some of that was due to not always having a ton to work with, but there are times I felt he really didn't wrestle to his strengths. His 2015 U.S. Title run was a fun novelty but the matches have not aged particularly well. His desire to prove the "You can't wrestle!" crowd wrong saw the rise of "PWG Cena" with tons of big moves that he could never properly pull off because of his sloppy execution and multiple finisher kickouts. Even his series with A.J, which is still very good overall, uses the same tropes. At this point I would be surprised if he cracks my top 50.

I'd love if they could bring Takeshita in full time.

His matches with the likes of Okada, Omega, Naito, Sabre, and Jay show what Ishii is capable of apart from strong style strike sequences.

I recall you saying during the first GME poll you were no longer a fan of Rage in a Cage. Is that still the case?

Let me get the negatives out of the way first because even as a huge fan, I can't deny that Okada has his flaws. His mat and submission game is bad. His transitions are slow and his submissions are weak. If I can call out Cena for having the worst STF ever, I have to call out Okada for having ineffective-looking submissions. That being said, he's thankfully gone back to the Rainmaker as his primary finish with the Money Clip as a secondary. His strikes also tend to be on the soft side. It's interesting, because during his initial push from 2012 to 2013, his strikes actually looked pretty solid. Although his striking game has declined over the years, it's almost a meta character aspect. Since his gimmick is that of being the flashy, hotshot ace who relies on his athleticism and gas tank, he doesn't need to be a great striker. But when challenged by a physically more powerful opponent, he tends to put a bit more "oomph" in his strikes. His leg selling is also historically spotty (although he's hardly the only offender). And when it comes to 30 minute plus matches, his urgency can be left wanting. He always delivers in the second half and finishing stretches of a match, but the first 10 minutes or so are always slow and padded. I get that his character is supposed to be confident and collected and his kayfabe strategy is to dictate the pace. But sometimes I wish he would just step on the gas pedal. Now that I've covered the holes in his game, it's time to mention the positives which I think he really has a lot of. As a big match worker, he's one of the most consistent in the world over the last few years. His return from excursion in 2012 has great matches against Tanahashi, Naito, Nakamura, and Anderson. From 2013-onwards he's had a pretty comfortable claim of at least top 10 in the world while being the arguable best in 2017. He has an uncanny way of adding drama to his matches and making the ending seem in doubt when his win is already a foregone conclusion. I'll never forget seeing a match with him and SANADA during the 2017 G1 already knowing that he won but still on the edge of my seat when he was locked in the skull end. He's perhaps better than anyone at selling peril and that he's in danger of losing. He especially thrives against physically larger and more powerful opponents as he sells their biggest shots like he's been ko'd on his feet. And even against opponents who aren't that big, his match formula allows them to show off their best offense even if they're limited in other regards. His 2018 G1 run is probably the best example of this as he gave nearly everyone their best match (and it was a rather pitiful field). His 2020 was a bit rocky due to ostensibly having a bad back, but he still had the highest peaks on anyone that year. As a character-worker, I think he's an underrated babyface as evidenced by his wars with Suzuki as well as some of the Tanahashi matches. However, it's obvious he thrives more as the cocky ace or disrespectful youngster to the beloved veterans. His matches against Kojima, Nagata, and Makabe are probably the best example of these, especially the miraculously fantastic Dominion 2013 match against Makabe. It's another formula that works for him because he gets to sell their best and flashiest shots like death. And that's to say nothing of the 2017 Shibata match. Shibata's performance may have been the greatest any wrestler has ever had, but there's no way he has that kind of match against anyone but Okada. And while I mentioned his iffy limb selling at times, he's overall a really good seller and great at making his opponents' moves look good. While his best matches are obviously against BITW-level wrestlers, he also has quite a few notable carry jobs. He's gotten several solid to downright good matches out of Bad Luck Fale. Put on really good matches with Michael Elgin, even after the latter was exposed as a one-trick pony. The 2015 match with Tenryu is also pretty miraculous considering Tenryu had no business being in the ring at that point. Unless he completely breaks down or retires, I think Okada has a pretty comfortable spot in the top 50. But I'm not quite sure he breaches the top 30 yet.