Boss Rock

Huge jump for the Rock and I have to wonder if the Final Boss stuff with Cody played a part. I used to be a huge Rock fan when I was younger, but I don't really think I see a case with him as an in-ring worker. 2001-2002 he could be really smooth and his selling was always over-the-top and dramatic, but I struggle to think of any true classics he had under his belt. Especially when his career was so short in the grand scheme of things.

I had Gunther at 54 (I also nominated him). Was a rather obscure indy name who had an absolutely massive breakout year in 2017, immediately establishing himself as one of the best in the world. His 2018 was even better and is one of the best individual years for any wrestler I've seen. I was worried that WWE wouldn't "get" him and I was initially offput by his dramatic weight loss. But he's absolutely thrived and has kept that final boss energy while continuing to deliver high-end matches. He's easily been the best wrestler in WWE for the last few years.

As unpredictable as this rollout has been, I would still be surprised if Tanahashi did not make the top 20. I don't think he makes the top 10, but not completely ruling that out either.

It's also becoming increasingly clear problematic behavior has had no meaningful bearing on the results.

Hogan improves this time around. I knew he would make the top 100 again, but did not expect him to finish higher. He's someone I did not even consider and personally don't see a case for. That being said, I sorta kinda get why some might. He had an undeniable ability to connect with a crowd and how to give them exactly what they wanted. But does that mean the matches were always great? I don't think so. He had fun matches with Hansen and Tenryu (but honestly, hard not to against those guys). The Warrior, Rock, and Savage Mania matches are decent spectacles. The Andre match is nowhere near as bad as Meltzer would have you believe (he's actually acknowledged he was way too harsh). But I can't think of anything mechanically that he did well or a single truly great match to his name.

Their opponents are named after anthrax AND ebola? Lucha is wild.

I had Mutoh at 76. A later entry on my list but I couldn't really deny him. Another guy who was really good for a long time and when he wrestled as Muta, he actually wrestled differently. In fact, he would be downright diabolical. Too many folks take this for granted with a gimmick change (stares at Demon Finn Balor). I recall his retirement match* against Naito was very good.

Thanks!

I dont necessarily want to make the assumption that folks didn't vote Dusty high because they didn't in good faith believe he was a good in-ring worker. But it would not shock me if he got a lot of support from folks who love his character and promos. Everyone seems to love Dusty even if they've seen very little of his work.

Thanks!

If there are Mistico recommendations I'd love to check them out.

Did not vote for Mistico and am shocked he made half the ballots. That's probably on me as apart from his aspuestas match with Black Warrior, his Triplemania match with Rey, and maybe a few trios matches, I only know his disastrous WWE run. I know he all but revitalized CMLL last year, so big ups to him on that. Iyo was my 58. One of the best workers of the 2010's and has managed to thrive in WWE as one of the best big match wrestlers in the company. A great high-flier and face but also an underrated bully to smaller folks like Mayu.

I had Asuka at 95. Has been one of the best wrestlers in WWE since the day she debuted in NXT. Has had good to great matches with everyone from Dana Brooke to Charlotte to Becky Lynch. I've only dipped my toes a bit into her earlier work but she was really good then too. Ishii was my 28 and I stand by it. Consistently one of the best in the world for almost the entirety of the 2010’s and the early 2020’s. I know he’s quite polarizing and a lot of people hate the bullmoose elbow exchanges and fighting spirit no sells, but honestly I think Ishii could do it better than almost anyone else today. Despite being a rather short guy, he still has a great deal of presence and just exudes toughness. And he’s an incredibly compelling underdog face against guys higher up on the card like Okada, Omega, Tanahashi, and Jay White.

I still have no idea what 6-7 is and I don't think I want to. All I know is that Scottie Pippen is 6'7"

I recall I think a Morishima match in Noah Ikeda had that was really good.

Could never really get into RINGS. BATTLArts was always more my jam, maybe because it has more of a pro wrestling feel.

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.