Quentin

It’s probably worth prefacing everything I’m about to say with the fact that Ospreay more than likely makes my top 100 pretty comfortably. I think there is a lot of good about Ospreay, or at least things I give him a lot of credit for. His desire to round out his game was very apparent by 2017. Something like the KUSHIDA BOSJ final from that year was a match at the time I remember being extremely impressed by because even as someone who watched a lot of his work in England, what he showed in that match wasn’t necessarily something I thought he showed in 2014-2016. He’s firmly one of the best bases I’ve ever seen. Some of the stuff I’ve seen him be able to base for with wrestlers who frankly aren’t very athletic and probably had no business attempting those moves, only were able to pull them off because it was Ospreay they were doing it to. He works SUPER hard night in and night out. Every New Japan tour stop or tourney, it always felt like he was busting his ass and I do give him a lot of points for that. A lot of issues that people I frequently talk about wrestling with have with Ospreay, I don’t always agree with but I don’t think it’s 100% rooted in wanting to be a “hater” or to be a contrarian just for the sake of pushing back on something people love. The selling gripes with Ospreay go beyond the idea of limb selling. It’s the space between big spots that are supposed to feel important that a lot of people feel like aren’t given the time to breathe or matter the way they’re being presented. There are absolutely people who will harp on his limb selling, but that’s not the entire crux of why people point to that as a flaw of his. As he bulked up and started to put more into his striking, he became a guy I did like watching in control during matches, because his offense was so great. Beyond the outwardly stunning stuff, something like his back breaker became really AJ Styles-esque. With that, I feel like he became extremely ambitious in trying to have these longer, epic matches with people who he has no business trying those things with like Ricky Knight Jr or Michael Oku or Shota Umino or Yota Tsuji. I’ve seen all of that RevPro run from the pandemic and on and it’s not something that bolsters his case at all. I understand the attempts to “make” those guys, but it all ultimately falls flat for me because it’s the biggest example of it feeling like Ospreay’s bigger=better mindset than finding ways to work around their limitations and making it just as effective. I’m a Bryan number 1 voter and this is one of the main criticisms I’ll see towards him so it’s not just an Ospreay ding. Another thing that is sort of dishonest to not mention when discussing him is the very legitimate reasons why people don’t like him. We don’t have to rehash all of it, but some of the stuff isn’t just petty grudge holding. Especially when Will is best equipped to work as a babyface, not being able to buy in because of not liking the traits he’s shown as a person is more than fair. If someone said Will was the best wrestler of the last 5, going on 6, years, I’m not really going to push back on that a lot. My issue is the sort of manner in which it’s said, that if you don’t feel this way about Ospreay you’re just a hater or you’re not paying attention or denying greatness. Over this span of time I think people like Darby, Danielson, Moxley, Kingston and a few others all have compelling cases for this. Even with European peers like Zack or WALTER as you mentioned, I’ll have both of them ranked as well and probably above Ospreay or at the very least they’ll be close to each other. Huge disagree on their best matches being with Ospreay, though with Zack I can understand that sentiment more. I don’t think that WALTER vs Ospreay match is even a top 15 WALTER match.

haven’t updated this in awhile, but felt like a good time to revisit this thread since the first PID episode in 2 years. I was joined by Ethan (@ethanmacandcheese on X and Four Pillars of Hell on YouTube) to talk all things shoot style. The history and its origins, the stylistic differences between all the key promotions, the eventual fizzling out of the genre and what really factored into it, and the inextricable link to Inokism. https://share.transistor.fm/s/083a562d

I’ve gone through a lot of Santito stuff the last few weeks and him over Casas is becoming a very possible thing for me as well. The dude just floors me every single time in a way only a handful of guys do. Absolutely magical pro wrestler, no other way I can describe him.

As I was thinking about the pillars the other day, I might’ve convinced myself on a Taue as the best pillar case between how long he was great (15-16 years), being the best tag worker of the 4 in my mind, and the variety of roles and performances from him over that course of time. I had him as top half guy before pretty safely but now it’s becoming “wait, am I sure he’s not a top 15 contender?”. I didn’t really plan on going back to All Japan or 2000s NOAH any time soon but that epiphany probably threw a wrench in those plans.

Another big riser for me. Didn’t see any Buddy before we turned ballots in and he was the first person I dug in to after and I was blown away. At his best, one of like four people where I thought they were the best I’ve ever seen at their peak. Going from not being on my list last time and now being one of the only locks for “territory guys” to make my list is about as ringing an endorsement I can give.

Since 2016, we’ve gotten really good Ki stuff in MLW vs Fenix and Thatcher, his tag match with WALTER facing Starr and Devlin was fantastic and had maybe the best match of Sami Callihan’s Triple H run as AAW champion. Not sure if it moves Ki up for me at all but it at least means his spot is safe and that he still is delivering on an elite level in big spots.

Hadn’t seen enough BattlArts the last time I voted to have him but I’ve grown to totally adore the dude. From the PWFG stuff to his wXw weekend last year, it’s rare to find any Ishikawa match that I don’t love Ishikawa in. Very much someone in play for my top 10, but he won’t be dropping any further than top 20.

Would also add the Liger vs Eita match from the first round of that 2016 Super J Cup for great Liger 2010s stuff

For me the issue with 2nd run Brock isn’t the way of the quality of his matches or performances, more often than not Brock usually delivers something I enjoy other than the Braun Strowman egg. The problem is I find his booking totally antithetical to how the basics of storytelling within American wrestling work and because of that, it drastically affects the rest of the product in an overwhelmingly negative way. Brock isn’t presented as an “ace” in the way that you saw Cena, Backlund and Hogan fending off all comers. He’s a freak athlete bully who does what he wants, with no regard for anyone else. He’s a monster, and basic storytelling shows that you build a monster up so they can be slain by a conquering hero rising up the ranks. But the way Brock is presented and used doesn’t allow for that kind of storytelling to be done on an effective level. And it’s not like WWE as a company forgot how to do that during his run. They were able to build up Bray Wyatt and Rusev so they could be overcame by Cena. And maybe people enjoy Brock for his push being a subversion of wrestling tropes in terms of style AND booking. Maybe WWE should have changed the way the entire company works to mold around how they used Brock, but when the rest of the show is business as it always has been and then Brock’s credibility isn’t lent as effectively as it could be to to complete other stories, it effects him for me in a way I’m not sure I can detach his work from.

Matt how do you feel about Brock’s work when he was abiding by the rules in his first run? I would still argue between the Rock, Undertaker, Cena, Benoit, Rey, Angle, Guerrero matches he still jumped off the page and that work holds up tremendously. Granted it’s only a 2 year run so he didn’t have to face the problems that eventually become of guys who have to adapt to not being a fresh new face anymore and navigating the weekly TV landscape 5-10 years in. And this isn’t a project based off theoretical scenarios but based off the Brock we got in that time frame, I think we’re still talking about an all time level talent if he’s not the Brock we know who completely bucked their structure in the 2nd run. Maybe he’s not as high as people have him now but all the aspects I like most about Brock are very much present in 2002-2004.

When I was doing the preparation for the top 101 matches of the 2010s shows, every Brock match I revisited still felt just as special as it did in the moment. There’s a certain type of shock and awe to a Brock match while you’re watching it unfold in real time but on playback stuff like Brock’s timing, his cut offs, how masterful his near falls are, his all time level selling, keep his work as stuff you want to watch over and over again.

Fred Yehi Baffling this guy hasn’t gotten more opportunities the last 3 years but someone who’s individual performances in a match have never disappointed me. One of the most unique people to come out of that peak EVOLVE era. Very low key amount of longevity, he’s having matches I would call very good going back to 2012. Wish he got to do more but one of my favorites of the last few years who I think highly of enough to sneak on at #100 Fred Yehi vs Slim J: NWA Anarchy Hardcore Hell 3/28/15 Fred Yehi vs DJZ: EVOLVE 92 6/2/17 Fred Yehi vs Brian Cage: FIP Ascension 2/11/17

No for right now but with the trajectory his AEW run has shown so far, someone to keep an eye on as 2026 looms closer. Barring a freak injury or a sudden lack of push, he’ll have a strong case as a lower half guy.

I think Shelley deserves some reevaluation after having some stuff during the last few years that help his case as a singles guy like the Lee Moriarty and Gresham matches. His tag teams with Sabin and KUSHIDA were consistently awesome and as I keep digging through IWA-MS stuff, in 2003 the dude having killer stuff with Claudio and the Jacobs feud has been great. He may not have any super high end stuff but this idea I’ve seen that he doesn’t have strong enough singles work is complete nonsense. He’s no guarantee for my list but if I keep coming away loving his singles matches, it’ll be hard for me to not have him.

I’m already considering Gresham as a 80-100 guy and I can see that case only growing in the next 5 years. Gresham has been fantastic for a good amount of time now, I would say he’s been great since 2012. One of the best tag workers of his generation between stuff with Jay Skillet, Chris Brookes and Jay Lethal. Can do it all like pick the pace of his style up and do more flashy and athletic spots as babyface with really infectious fire. As a heel, can be cocky and surgical in his control segments and can even stooge better than a lot of people. Flawless execution on everything that he does with the ability to seamlessly weave in his athletic spots with elite mat work and I think he’s added the “classic” matches to his resume with his stuff against Zack Sabre Jr and Jay Lethal.