elliott

Anyone considering Espectrito? He had a fairly long career & was highly regarded. How did he age into the 90s & early 00s?

It is crazy to me that it took until mid 1987 for Vince to hire Gang & he didn't have a higher profile run. For a guy that big to bump & move as well as Gang was really impressive. Feels more like a top 100 Favorites but if someone voted for him I'd think it was a cool pick. Do we have the 12/5/87 match against Hogan from Philly? I know we have the MSG match from September & a Houston match, but Spectrum crowds were the best so I'd like to check that one out if its floating around.

I really wish Togo had picked any two moves other than the crossface & the pedigree. I'm still strongly considering him. Sasuke - I still really like this absolute nut & think his peak is spectacular. Could lay in a kneebar for too long as the years went on but would fling himself into exploding barbed wire so I can forgive him. On the bubble for me but if we were doing lists of 120, he'd certainly make it. Mens Teioh - I've said before he's my favorite of these wrestlers & my favorite junior of his (or maybe any) generation. Could do the lucharesu style as well as his peers but also had a lot more versatility & tricks up his sleeve. CIMA - Maybe the #1 guy in all of wrestling I don't particularly like at all but I think he's so overtly talented & charismatic that every few years I'll watch some of his matches & be impressed.

Couldn't help but think of Barr when re-nominating Pillman. Barr has the shortest career of anyone I'm strongly considering but I think his peak run is so great that I'll probably end up finding a spot for him. One of the great heels of his generation.

For me it's his injuries & then death that keeps him off my list more so than just WCW booking. They definitely fucked him around, but they also gave him a lot of high profile opportunities that he wouldn't have gotten had he been in the WWF. The feud with Luger including a big PPV match just a few months into his run, a TV match with Flair, a PPV showcase match with Liger, blood feud with Windham. WCW never went as far with him as they should have of course, but without WCW I'm not sure where he's getting a similar opportunity (Puerto Rico is our coolest option). In the end I don't think his peak is quite high enough to overcome his too short career.

I have never been able to look beyond the Terry Funk rip off routine to fairly assess Slater. I figure I should give him a real look at some point but it's a difficult hurdle to overcome. I've never thought he was bad, I'm just left with a sour taste. Looks fine on a list and is definitely good on paper.

I'm watching a ton of 80s WWF tag teams and High Flyers are better than all of them. Greg was an excellent babyface tag worker. I will look at some of his singles work at some point but I think he's a viable pick for the bottom half of the list just by virtue of his tag work. Probably more likely he's a top 100-200 wrestler of all time, but I think he's worthy of consideration. Especially if you like tag wrestling.

I have always liked Razor Ramon. If he had spent like 5 more years working at that level, I think he'd be an interesting candidate. I love his offense. The fallaway slam, chokeslam, razor's edge are all awesome moves and he usually executes them well from memory. Really good puncher too. He's got enough quality matches that a 2-3 hour playlist would reflect well on him. Another for the " in another universe, this guy could've turned into a candidate" group. I think he works well enough as a personal pick towards the bottom of someone's list because the two ladder matches & action zone tag are so highly regarded. I also think the Jarrett match from Rumble 1995 is a really good match that is one of the better WWF matches of the decade not involving Bret, Shawn, Austin or Savage. I know he fell apart quickly but are there any WCW matches people feel passionately about?

Pillman has always felt like someone I should like more than I actually do. On paper he's a great candidate just missing the longevity. Great as a babyface or heel, good in singles or tags. Really good in intense brawls. The Halloween Havoc 1989 match with Luger might be my favorite match of Pillman's career but something like vs Mero is such an achievement it might be the thing I'd point to first when trying to make a case for him. Still feels like a top 100 Could Have Been.

That spot would not be my only criticism.

Goddamn that's rough.

He's got the long singles match with Mens Teioh that I love, a pair of tag matches with Teioh that are also excellent. I like him but I'm not sure there's an argument for him. He always looked good though in limited opportunities so if someone wanted to vote for him, I wouldn't argue it.

If you're judging matches & wrestlers by counting up moves, Putski isn't someone you're going to appreciate. Of course nobody ever pimped a Putski match or him as a wrestler in that way. The crowd connection & (as @SAMSsaid) the kinetic energy he brings are what stands out. I think he's a good comparative tool because although he's limited, he's extremely over, knows his limitations & has some consistent positives a good heel should be able to do something with. So it's fun to see how Larry or Slaughter or Patera or Superstar Graham approach a match with him. He went from someone I dreaded to a real "Oh hey, this guy is pretty fun!" He won't be on my top 100 Greatest WRestler Ever, but a top 100 "I Thought This Guy Was Supposed to Suck But Doesn't" is a good place for him. If someone wanted to vote for him, I'd support them in that battle.

I think he's better than Goldberg.

25 years ago, hardcore wrestling fans pointed to Juventud as a future best in the world candidate. Some even thought he was a better all around prospect than Rey Jr. I've always enjoyed the matches with Rey Jr when I've revisited them to one degree or another. He's been active the entire time and is only 48 years old. Is there anything worth looking at from the last 20 years or did it all just completely fall apart with WCW?

The pendulum probably swung too far. He's not Terry Funk but that's an unfair standard. Lots of awesome matches over a long period of time. I won't argue the "he's boring" take. He's dry & he can be boring. Even if you're a fan of his style & era he can be boring. But he's maybe the best of the boring wrestlers? He'd be in my top 150 probably.

I basically always like Haku/Meng. There's good stuff as King Tonga, The Islanders are one of the best WWF tag teams of the 80, I am as big a Faces of Fear fan as anyone. I enjoy his singles work too. I don't really see him as a candidate for the top 100, but maybe a top 100 wrestlers I'd want on my dream roster.

Sorry to quote from almost a decade ago, but I thought this was really interesting. It was actually similar to my reaction when watching Don Frye recently. In that alternate reality where Shamrock was The Man, then Frye was the #1 Heel. There are probably enough quality matches to make a sweet couple hour playlist but I'm not sure there's a lot of depth. Big fan of his matches with Sano, Vader & Owen though.

I still think the Rockers are among the best WWE teams ever (if not the best), the Rose & Somers feud is tremendous and there's some interesting singles work. The Doink 2/3 Falls match is one of my favorite matches from 90s WWF. Feels easy to dismiss at first glance but the more you stop to think about it, Marty was pretty great.

Watching 70s & early 80s WWF, Putski has become a real guilty pleasure. Super charisma, throws an insane haymaker and a sweet bearhug. There's not much to him, but he's authentic & that crowd buys him & with a good heel he could have an entertaining match. Good stuff with Superstar Graham in 77, teaming with Backlund vs the Valiants, and with Patera. I like him more than quite a few people nominated.

He's only 51 and still active so if anyone has recommendations from the last...20 years, I'd be thrilled to watch them. I think Guido was a great wrestler in ECW. I love him in tags & singles, as a heel or face, in workrate matches or in schtick heavy nonsense matches. I prefer his Tajiri matches to the Super Crazy/Tajiri matches. There's also a really great RVD match that's one of my favorite RVD matches. I don't think the ECW run is enough to get him on the list, but it makes him worthy of consideration and I'd love to take a look at his indy work post ECW. Feels like he could be a strong candidate hiding in plain sight.

Having rewatched some Nagashima in the early 00s, I still really like her. A fun mixture of mat work, flying & unique ideas. Sometimes it didn't work and it would get kinda sloppy and other times it would and she'd do a hurricanrana inside a giant bag and it would be the greatest spot ever. Street Fight with Sugar Sato in 2002 is one of my favorite matches of early 00s Japan. Great wrestler. Better than Satomura for a few years there.

Ricky Morton was the best at taking a backbreaker the way he'd just ragdoll all his limbs right at the moment of contact.

I love the matches with Hashimoto. Just crazy spectacles. He's a fun Don Frye opponent too. Ultimately he's a no, but he's a fun & compelling performer.

Booker's an interesting guy. I don't particularly like him as a wrestler, but I think he's just dripping with natural charisma & presence & I would've pushed the hell out of him as early as 95-96 and put him in every position to break out as a singles star. On paper I like his offense, but I often find his matches to be a little disjointed as sometimes he takes a bit too long setting up & actually executing his moves. Kind of a less garbagy RVD almost? But not to that extent. I dunno, there's just something a little off. I think he looks fine on the lower end of a list for a 90s & 00s US based fan & worth renominating, but he's just not someone I'm considering. But he's a first round draft pick for untapped potential imo.