mjp7798

I truly believe he's the star of the 04 U-STYLE match with Tamura which is an achievement in and of itself because Tamura is Tamura.

Probably the most underrated/underappreciated wrestler of Kings Road and NOAH. Been fantasizing about a Tamon Honda vs Hideki Suzuki dream match.

I really don't know how to define Ibushi in my head. On one hand, he's had matches/moments in matches that I just get my head around but hes also had some of the strongest matches in modern New Japan and of the 2010s. Striking Ibushi is a million miles stronger than the flier yet I do find myself getting tired of the "Ibushi gets pissed" big match formula. I dont know. I love him/get annoyed at him at the same time.

Jetlag, I completely understand your Sawa clone thoughts because I'm by no means a Sawa guy either. But I find myself gravitating towards Abe far more than I ever did towards Sawa. Especially as he's dialed back the 'Sawaisms'. This could be largely in part to how stale I find Japanese wrestling ATM but I do find Abe to be one of the best on the island by a mile. Still the second of the Astronauts to me.

Elliott, I had been looking for that match for ages due to your rec and finally found it. Holy shit. Unbelievable spectacle. It's the Otsuka show and everything that makes him a true top half guy.

There's a group of wrestlers who in every match, have one moment where i audibly say "fuck that's awesome". Volk Han may be the one where I find myself saying that the most

The entire feud w/ Murakami (especially the 2000 match) completely rules. He's a lock for my top 20. Currently my working #17. I could absolutely see himself as a camp pick for number 1 and I'm completely game for the argument. If this list were to account his work as a booker and his overall vision of pro wrestling then he is an easy top 5.

Only my top 4 is a lock (Funk, Hansen, Tamura, Casas). The following names have all have a shot at my top 10 in no particular order: Hijo del Santo Satanico Misawa Fujiwara Flair Steamboat Danielson Nagayo Yokota Masami Chicana Kobashi Tenryu Kawada Bockwinkel Ishikawa Rose Liger

If he's missing out on my list he's only BARELY missing. Probably the RINGS candidate who suffers the most from lack of volume. RINGS takes a giant leap up in quality around 96 (and thats not to say it wasnt awesome prior) and is primarily attributed to Tamura but just as much credit should be given to TK who debuted that year and was churning out quality matches from the start. Especially his own trilogy with Volk Han.

Is there a link to this match online at all? This must be the last truly great RINGS work along with Yamamoto vs. Tamura on 6/24 before they go full shoot