CurtainJerker

It's all true about Punk- he's not naturally athletic and still awkward. But that's part of his charm. He earns everything he does. He already is the best storyteller in AEW. He demands respect and gets it. He is treated like an icon. His attention to detail and kayfabe are top notch. The live fans have appreciated his methodical pacing and "struggle" to win matches against younger talent- no flips or insane bumps needed. He's basically the modern version of Bret Hart in AEW. Punk is doing long term character work and hasn't been better since his WWE title run. His body of work on paper in AEW is not there yet, of course. But it will be in a year or two. And I say this as someone who was very disappointed with his MMA-era interviews, the FOX stuff, and the Twitter nonsense with the Miz and Cody.

I do agree that everyone has an argument, and I did not mean to be controversial in any way. I have a feeling many others have hesitations about where to fit such popular stars. I hope discussions here, the official GWE podcast. and Discord channel can make things more clear to me on what I am judging when I watch video. It's a different debate/thread and I haven't made up my mind for sure, and I certainly don't want to gatekeep anyone's choices, but to me Hogan and Rock are so dependent on their total career value, drawing power, pops, booking, big moment opportunities, mic work, storylines, access to the best opponents, and marketing that if I just focus on in-ring, there are probably 100 wrestlers who were better. Tito Santana was a better wrestler than Hogan, unless we insist it was Hogan's psychology that made him millions and not his looks or booking. I do appreciate Hogan's selling and the Rock's timing. Both are masters of psychology, and I still am befuddled how to account this list for crowd connection. If crowd connection is such a valued attribute, then our lists would be the most popular wrestlers of all time. Or if it was based on titles, main events, and awards, I'd just copy + paste my spreadsheet that ranks that, and give it to Flair, Thesz, Londos, Bruno, Hogan, and friends. I think, say, Rick Steamboat does everything better than Hogan/Rock except make more money, and if I was doing some kind of draft the only reason why I'd choose Hulk or Rock over Steamboat would be because of charisma/drawing power, not because of wrestling skill. In my world, Bob Orton, Jr and Paul Orndorff actually wrestled better than Hogan in the 1980s. X-Pac was technically better than The Rock in the 1990s. I view Bob Backlund as being more of an "actual" pro wrestler than an entertaining strong man like Hogan, just as Dory Funk, Jr. is more "technical" than Bruno. Pat Patterson was probably a better ring general and bump taker. Terry Funk once observed that joshi he saw were better than the men- they "did more", were faster, had innovative highspots, worked stiffer, showed more toughness, etc. In a vacuum, Hogan, Rock, Dusty, Bruno, and Austin are rough around the edges in ring, more comparable to Mid South Jim Duggan or The Crusher than to all around, classic athletic performers like pre-Model Rick Martel or Jack Brisco. Those rough guys had more exciting matches, though. So excuse my ramblings.

She was the undisputed ace of Stardom before it got big after the buyout and it got a bunch of new viewers via TV + PPV. She carried the load on her back to keep the company in business and was proud to do it. I thankfully have all of Stardom's archive saved so I can relive her matches. Most have big time feels even with a small attendance or at a spot show. She can do Jeff Hardy highspots with Kana strikes or by the book matwork. As far as recommended matches, obviously she has classics as documented here. But she passes the random match test, too. So if anyone wants to sample her, just search for her stuff and an opponent you've heard of and chances are the match is good. She takes insanely high risks, such as moonsaults off on top of the concrete stairs and cage highspots. Her stamina is insane. Great in stables and tag teams as well. She was good before Stardom. I was able to get her "Triple Tails" run with her sister Mio and Kana (Asuka) in NEO and Smash in the early 2010s and saw she was always fine, although Mio seemed more of a natural early on, if not better. I believe the final key to Io's skillset was Mexico. Bonus points for a jaw-dropping Lucha Underground episode vs Pentagon, Jr. For me, she truly is the total package. I followed her to NXT, and she captivated the live crowds and did as best as she could considering the show's bad management. She actually was able to move the dial early on, before AEW ran away with it. NXT did help her get more popular outside of Japan. She's in the ring with green nobodies now, and she tries her best to keep a match on track. Doing deep dives into Io's complete career may not easy for many people because one has to be creative in order to get the older stuff, but I don't want people thinking she was only good post-2015. In 2009, it was clear she was going to be someone, even if she was behind Kana and Mio in 2010. Watching Stardom from the beginning in early 2011, Io immediately stands out when she makes her debut in August and immediately challenges for titles and formed a stable. In 2014 she won the 5★Star GP. The fact that WWE has denied fans from seeing Asuka vs Io is a travesty.

Yeah it is amazing because most Gen X fans who watched "old man" Bruno beat up Savage, Piper, Adonis, Honky Tonk, etc loved his matches.

So my family sold me on Bruno when I was 6 years old. He was a beloved icon and considered legit, like a HOF Yankees baseball player or World Champion boxer in the northeast, where I was raised. He is without a doubt the best WWE champion of all time. When I first watched his matches as kid from Coliseum Home Video I noticed two things: He had the biggest pops I ever heard, even if he just glanced up at the fans. He mostly punched and kicked. When I was able to watch video off the net, I devoured all his available matches and am still on the lookout for new drops. He is the master of crowd control and is charismatic without any flair. There's not much to say about his in-ring work- he likes hammerlocks, wristlocks, headlocks, and bearhugs. When David Sammartino tried this in the 1980s he was a complete bomb. Bruno wasn't as technical with his grappling like the NWA champs. He didn't bump much. He selling was passable just so the heel could get the heat in and then he made the Bruno frenzied comeback. He didn't have much speed or movement generally. But everything he laid in looked real. Vince Sr basically booked him the same forever- if the heel drew well, there would be 2-3 matches and Bruno would utterly destroy him in the blowoff with 95% of the offense. So his matches are basically all part of a storyline, and his success was tied into his booking as the unbeatable champ. His Giant Baba matches are interesting, but I expected a masterpiece based on his own reviews of Baba. They were "realistic" and showed flashes of brilliance, but mostly were slow. As far as skills go, for his time he was one of the most powerful men in wrestling, had great stamina, and a natural psychology. The Larry feud was off the charts in every way. Would have liked if WWE released its vault with complete TV packages and MSG matches featuring another wrestler who backstabbed Bruno- Bill Watts or Bruno's various feuds vs Gorilla Monsoon, and the dream match with Pedro Morales. If GWE was about historical significance, drawing power, popularity, and championship runs, Bruno would be in my Top 5. But as I view this list, it's not for people like him, Dusty Rhodes, Rock, Steve Austin, and Hulk Hogan.

Yeah, it's amazing, any time I watch 1980s NWA/UWF events, the Fantastics always get my attention. If this was a tag team poll, I've have the Fantastics on my ballot. But yes, sadly, Tommy doesn't have a singles run to speak of, and I don't value tag team specialists for a GWE 100. He was too specialized. If he was in his prime today, his size would not be a minus for a singles push to any promoter except Vince.

Every time I see him now in AEW, all I can think of is that he is the Greatest Wrestler Ever. He's a perfect synthesis and fusion of all the different styles throughout time and place, and he has the crowd control and charisma.

I liked her Brian Cage match as well. Tessa was a natural born champion. She does Charlotte better than Charlotte, and she doesn't need someone laying out her matches or script promos. I agree Tessa can both play a face in peril, and is a natural heel like her dad. Dr. Baker is a poor woman's version of Tessa. As far as her personality goes, she is copying her dad, who learned it from his dad. Tully is probably proud of the way she handles business. WOW debuts in September 2022. We shall see if Tessa apologizes for her scandal or continues to deny the accusations. This would be a dream match today: Io vs Tessa from 2016. Io is more athletic and dominating in this match, but Tessa puts some good work in. I think Io dumped Tessa on her face near the end, and Tessa grabbed an armbar to recover because it seemed out of place near the climax. But what do I know? I found her intergender matches more exciting than her normal ones. Her first Stardom tour was a disaster in and out of the ring as her ego got out of hand. Just so much gossip not only from her fellow wrestlers but also the fans who went to the Stardom shows/signings. Kagetsu had to put her in her place in the ring. One wrestler quit the tour because she and Tessa were yelling at each other. The N-Word situation. I think Tessa likes to play with the boys instead of the girls. I think we can safely assume if she ever went to WWE, she and Charlotte would wind up shooting on each other. I don't think she's light years ahead of a random joshi from any time period or today, but she is in the same discussion with the Four Horsewomen, wherever they rank historically. Tessa just needed more opportunities on PPV/TV to shine like the Horsewomen in terms of big matches. Of course, she shot herself in the foot by ditching Impact and she blacklisted herself.

TNA and Gail Kim do deserve full credit for modern women's wrestling empowerment. Gail Kim is indeed overlooked. She was a top woman in North America during her time, including Trish Stratus who got all the attention and whom people overrate on a sliding scale. Gail was athletic and ambitious enough to adapt to any era. She told stories in the ring and wanted to get the other women over. Let's face it, many of her opponents would be on AEW Elevation or NXT today, so her body of work for great matches isn't as high as some others. But she has perhaps a dozen exciting matches on video compared other men and women who are lucky to have 2 great matches, but skate on their longevity, reputation, or being booked all the time on big shows. We set our own criteria for voting. Perhaps we ought to consider how Gail was discriminated against in WWE and the business wasn't into U.S. women for her era. She carved her own niche in TNA which forced its fans to respect women's wrestling on TV.

Amazing/Awesome Kong Want to diversity your ballot this time, whether it be race, gender, or style? Kia Stevens is someone who was left off nominations previously. She played the monster heel exceptionally well, and had amazing power moves and awesome top rope spots. Believable, threatening aura. She went all out with total action and could have satisfying complete matches in 10 minutes. Had 800 recorded matches. Japanese cred, in demand in U.S., but never had a successful WWE/AEW run which hurt her recognition. If you are looking at non-joshi women to think about Kong actually is an excellent worker compared to the 2000s WWE's pre-Revolution roster, not to mention the 1990s divas. She ignited the TNA Knockouts division with Gail Kim. Kong was hardcore and took sick bumps, had a great spinning backfist and powerbomb, didn't no sell, and was more agile than the nostalgic 1980s male hosses who racked up votes last time. Worked intergender matches, had babyface runs, and exciting three ways. If you were running a league in the 2000s, who would be better to top the women's division as a heel, champion, and then turn babyface? Amazing Kong vs. Aja Kong (4/30/2004) A warzone featuring the original and the new version Amazing Kong vs MsChif 4/7/2007 Sickest backbreaker you will ever see, really showcases how dominating Kong is but is also willing to sell. I dare say this fun match would rank in the top 1% of modern day WWE, NXT, and AEW women's matches. Amazing Kong vs Azumi Hyuga 8/26/2007 20-minute epic video game battle/legalized attempted murder. I broke down crying after Azumi got busted open. Awesome Kong vs. Gail Kim 1/10/2008 Sub-10-minute TV match that will leave your jaw dropped [You can watch any Kim vs Kong match BTW, since they perfected Monster vs Underdog] Awesome Kong vs. ODB (9/14/2008) Sick table highspots in a quick 10 minute match with a tough brawler

With so many legit candidates, IMHO making #100 a not worthy personal favorite/throwaway/funny isn't something I feel comfortable doing. PWI 500 is justified in doing it for a given year because there are not really 500 great active wrestlers. I too would have put Lulu Pencil as #500 as PWI did because it have her positive attention. But I don't think my list would be in good faith if I put Lulu #100 for my GWE submission.

I will second that site. I have been using it for this project and my other hobbies. It really is amazing. I also use an Elo Ranker to double check my lists. https://elo-ranker.glitch.me/