Grimmas

Look at the jumps buddy, fujinama, Lawler etc. Made though, obviously it played a role.

20 - Tatsumi Fujinami 2006 Ranking: 58 Points: 9429 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 1 #3 Votes: 1 Top 10 Votes: 26 # of Ballots: 124 Average Vote: 25.94 High Vote: 2 (Kris Zellner) Low Vote: 88 Discussion Thread "1. Fujinami was very likely the best junior heavyweight in the world in the last 70s/early 80s, and then quickly transitioning into being one of the top heavyweights in the world as soon as he "moved up." 2. He was an excellent tag team worker, both in straight tags and elimination tags which required a different sort of psychology. 3. Really a great mat worker, but also underrated highspots, great bleeder, good selling, snug worker, et. Mechanically few were better, and it's notable that he could work really fluid exchanges, or more rugged, grisly segments at very high levels. 4. Good-to-great matches against a wide variety of opponents spanning five different decades. " Dylan Waco Recommended Matches: Tatsumi Fujinami vs Dynamite Kid (NJPW, 2/5/1980) Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu (NJPW, 4/3/1983) Tatsumi Fujinami vs Akira Maeda (NJPW, 6/12/1986)

21 - William Regal 2006 Ranking: 54 Points: 9422 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 1 #3 Votes: 1 Top 10 Votes: 6 # of Ballots: 138 Average Vote: 33.01 High Vote: 2 (Phil Rippa) Low Vote: 96 Discussion Thread "The man. If there's a bad Regal performance, I haven't seen it. His WCW run was tremendous and he had awesome matches with just about anyone. Arn Anderson, Zbysko, Ultimo Dragon, Psychosis, Benoit, Finlay, the list goes on and on. The way he's able to get in the ring with just about anyone and plug his style in and make it work is something very few guys in history have done. The Shinya Hashomoto series is incredible and his performance in the first match is one of the absolute best performances I've ever seen in a match. The beginning of his WWE run saw him put in stupid comedy spots until he started working with Benoit, although he had a few awesome TV gems with Austin. The Benoit matches are among my all time favorites. In 2008 he had a MSG house show match vs CM Punk that surfaced that I would call a top 5 Punk WWE match and a 2008 MOTYC. 2009 saw him as the arguable ECW MVP which is impressive when you consider how good Christian was. I was a big fan of the 2010 matches with Daniel Bryan including their excellent 5 minute RAW match which is a perfect of Regal being able to have a great performance/match no matter what the timeframe is. The Ambrose feud in 2011-2012 was awesome, and the Hero/Cesaro matches from last year were my two top WWE matches of the year." Venegas Recommended Matches: Steven Regal vs Arn Anderson (WCW SuperBrawl, 2/20/1994) William Regal vs Dean Ambrose (FCW, 11/6/2011) William Regal vs Kassius Ohno (NXT, 4/10/2013)

Top 10 is 4-10

At least he went up 16 places. Lucha did better this time compared to 2006, that is one thing we can be happy about.

My podcast with Tim. By the way, that was just the hardest reveal I had to do yet. The 4 people who considered lucha and did not vote for Casas are insane

22 - Negro Casas 2006 Ranking: 38 Points: 9251 #1 Votes: 4 #2 Votes: 5 #3 Votes: 7 Top 10 Votes: 36 # of Ballots: 108 Average Vote: 19.03 High Vote: 1 (JRGoldman, tim, cubbymark, & Sam DiMascio) Low Vote: 100 Discussion Thread "A guy who could be argued for number one. He is unquestionably the MVP of lucha libre over the last thirty years. And my brother, a non-wrestling fan who was vacationing in Mexico City, got to see him live this year." Dave Musgrave "Number one for me. Like Santito he could go on the mat, have a crazy brawl and turn up the workrate. But he's also incredibly charismatic in a way very, very few wrestlers have ever been. He's a guy who will add awesome touches to a match -- one little example that always comes to mind for me is in the famous 80s match vs. Santo, where he has Santo on the apron and runs him into the ringpost, and almost launches himself over the ropes, selling how much force he had used to ram Santo into the post. I appreciate stuff like that a lot. Tons of great matches, brawls, technical battles, trios, modern juniors-style lucha stuff. Still going strong in 2014. Won the WKO100 just last year. Plus he's really got an intangible quality about him that makes everything he does more interesting and compelling." tim Recommended Matches: Negro Casas vs El Hijo del Santo (EMLL, 7/18/1987) Negro Casas vs El Hijo del Santo (EMLL, 9/19/1997) Negro Casas vs Blue Panther (CMLL, 3/1/2012)

All the talk of Austin being way too high and he dropped 8 spots from 2006.

23 - Shinya Hashimoto 2006 Ranking: 24 Points: 9107 #1 Votes: 1 #2 Votes: 1 #3 Votes: 4 Top 10 Votes: 19 # of Ballots: 119 Average Vote: 25.45 High Vote: 1 (GOTNW) Low Vote: 86 Discussion Thread "Not quite a "monster" in the traditional wrestling use of that term but Hashimoto is a compelling physical force. That physicality is very focused and methodical although he does have some brawls to his name. A tremendous ace and there really is no wrestler like him." A Stock "Hashimoto will probably end up as my #1. I love 90s All Japan to death but the way Hashimoto structures and paces his matches suits my viewing needs more than anyone else's does. He had amazing offence, could hang on the mat with the best of them (as astonishing and definitive Hase's performance in their 1994 title match was Hashimoto's was equally as important because of how big of an obstacle he made himself look like and how hard it looked for Hase to transition into better positioning) ,carried himself like a star and made everything around him *FEEL* special, always brought a sense of struggle and urgency to his matches, was marvelous at creating the illusion of strategy and sold fantastically. A lot of wrestlers see selling as "grab limb and yell loudly a lot" but Hashimoto managed to sell subtly enough so it wouldn't compromise his aura of the greatest warrior ever but he would sell enough for you to remember the injury *was* there. The 1991 G1 match against Chono is a great example of that. Had great facial expressions that sold the importance and the intensity of his matches. His stalling was also superb and it lead to outbursts of violent strikes which of course make for astounding pro wrestling. He was also an amazing draw and was consistently awesome from at least 1989 onwards. And CHOSHUUUUUUUUUUU~! is the greatest moment in pro wrestling history. A wonderful pro wrestler any way you look at him." GOTNW Recommended Matches: Shinya Hashimoto vs Victor Zangiev (NJPW, 4/24/1989) Shinya Hashimoto vs Masahiro Chono (NJPW, 1/4/1994) Shinya Hashimoto vs Jushin Liger (NJPW, 2/24/1994)

24 - "Stone Cold" Steve Austin 2006 Ranking: 16 Points: 9001 #1 Votes: 1 #2 Votes: 1 #3 Votes: 3 Top 10 Votes: 13 # of Ballots: 139 Average Vote: 37.02 High Vote: 1 (DMJ) Low Vote: 97 Discussion Thread "I always knew I was going to be the high voter on him, and I was feeling guilty about it, but fuck it. Even in nothing matches, his performances were really good. People complain about his punches, but when a manic brawler flushed with adrenaline is attacking someone, they make perfect sense. Not everyone can be Lawler." MoS "Prior to his neck injury he was phenomenal in-ring. After the neck injury he adjusted his style to become a top in-ring ace for WWF." Dave Musgrave "The man exudes "pro wrestler" like few others have. Other-wordly charisma that imbibes all of his matches with importance and excitement. Has lots of good matches, some of the best and most memorable WWE matches ever, and had one of the best working years ever in 2001. One of my most infinitely watchable wrestlers." Jimmy Redman "The reason why I became a fan in 1999 was watching the Austin/Rock feud when the Smoking Skull belt was thrown into a river. From then on, Austin as a character stayed with me because he was an interesting personality. Plus he and Bret Hart had one of my favorite rivalries once I got a chance to go back and watch the series of events." mprice "Every Austin brawl is awesome because Austin is awesome. His unbelievable fire. His perfect timing. His ability to be make hatred towards his opponent feel as real as it could possibly feel is literally bar none. He could sell his ass off. His comebacks were amazing. You can watch an Austin match with non wrestling fans and they are going to think it's awesome. I do it regularly. He doesn't do high spots. He doesn't do any flips. Yet, he has anyone who watches him wrestle in the palm of his hands. He's the GOAT. You could put him in front of a crowd in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, or 80's and he's going to get an ass whooping over. He could bring in someones grandma from the crowd and stomp a mudhole in her, and her granddaughter is going to cheer it. He's just that damn good. He isn't fluid. He doesn't beautifully manipulate a body part. He may not "work well from underneath", but he's the most entertaining wrestler ever. And that's what the fuck it's all about. He might not have an unbelievable amount of 5 and 4 star matches, but he could get an entertaining match out of anyone. Someone on the other Austin thread said it best "He could have a 10 minute minute match where he just stalks McMahon and make it a 3 star match." and goddamnit is that true."TRMD Recommended Matches: Steve Austin vs Dustin Rhodes (WCW Halloween Havoc, 10/27/1991) Steve Austin vs Bret Hart (Submission, WWF WrestleMania, 3/23/1997) Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle (WWF SummerSlam, 8/19/2001)

Yes.

25 - Barry Windham 2006 Ranking: 28 Points: 7987 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 0 Top 10 Votes: 1 # of Ballots: 130 Average Vote: 39.56 High Vote: 10 (John Steffy) Low Vote: 91 Discussion Thread "What sticks out about Barry is that he excelled in every role he was put in. He looked great as a young guy climbing the ladder, he was great pushing Flair to the limit and then later he was great as a veteran. He was a terrific bumper and could sell and show vulnerability in spite of being a big guy. He could also work as a tough ass kicker. He could work face or heel. One of the best tag team wrestlers ever. I think Windham had all the tools to be a contender for best of all time. Obviously it never came together like that but Barry was still an exceptional worker." Elliott Recommended Matches: Barry Windham vs Ric Flair (NWA, 2/14/1986) Barry Windham vs Arn Anderson (WCW, 6/6/1992) Barry Windham vs 2 Cold Scoprio (WCW Clash of the Champions, 1/23/1993)

Reactions to the Honorable Mention List: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Reactions to the List: 100-51 50-26

Wouldn't change anything for me.

Who gives a shit, Taue was in the same spot as 2006!!!!!!!!!!

26 - Akira Taue 2006 Ranking: 26 Points: 7850 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 0 Top 10 Votes: 3 # of Ballots: 121 Average Vote: 36.16 High Vote: 6 (Ismael Retana) Low Vote: 98 Discussion Thread "He may be the least of the 4 Pillars but, my word, could this curmudgeon captivate a crowd! One of the meanest and most purposeful bastards to ever step in the ring." Jon Burr "Possibly the most underrated wrestler I can think of. He is thought of as the "other guy" in the four pillars but did as much to get that group over early on as anyone, especially in the six-man matches. Other than Tenryu, he would be the best ex-sumo wrestler to enter pro wrestling." Dave Musgrave "The ranking does not do justice the awesomeness that I have seen with Akira Taue. He is a great big man who I could watch destroy other guys time after time." mprice "I love the big bastard. Another one of my inherent weaknesses is for big, stretched out, goofy looking giants. Taue looks like the son of Baba, and I mean that in the best possible way. I love his size and how he can just amble over and chop people, but then turn around and get into the AJ-style dropping of bombs. He's great in these long AJ epics, great at brawling, and also just so great at working sprints. And for such a big guy, he's surprisingly sympathetic when it's his turn to actually get beaten on. He's also a total dick and that is always great." Jimmy Redman Recommended Matches: Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa (APW, 4/15/1995) Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, 6/9/1995) Akira Taue vs Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 3/5/2006)

27 - Jun Akiyama 2006 Ranking: 50 Points: 7686 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 2 Top 10 Votes: 9 # of Ballots: 114 Average Vote: 33.97 High Vote: 3 (Tanner Teat & Alan Counihan) Low Vote: 93 Discussion Thread "I love how his never reaching the heights of his mentors' careers led to him having an equally interesting if not as flashy second act, wherein he consistently put on great matches all over Japan." Jon Burr "The single biggest PWO inspired high jumper for me. Two years ago he was around nr. 80. Six months ago probably about 40. I asked online who I should devote most time to catching up on post-2000, and Akiyama was pretty much the only respone I got. That won him a deep dive into his career, and he came out the better for it." Danish Dynamite "Akiyama is fucking amazing and I'll probably be the high vote for him. I have some bias which I shall now explain. You see, a lot of the characters in Japan are based on the idea of being "the strongest" and workers seem to have the mindset of wanting to be eternal champions of their promotions, which is a perfectly normal thing to strive for. Akiyama, while immensely talented, was slightly different. His character was never presented in that vein, he would regularly lose most of the strike exchanges and tests of strenght and have to use tactics and intelligence to overcome his "stronger" opponents. His anxiety issues prevented him from ever becoming the top guy. So, I find him somewhat relatable and he is a favourite of mine." GOTNW Recommended Matches: Jun Akiyama vs Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, 2/27/2000) Jun Akiyama vs Yuji Nagata (NJPW, 1/4/2002) Jun Akiyama vs Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 9/9/2006)

Cena smokes Toyota, come on.

28 - "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton 2006 Ranking: 49 Points: 7630 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 0 Top 10 Votes: 0 # of Ballots: 128 Average Vote: 41.39 High Vote: 13 (Matt D & ???) Low Vote: 92 Discussion Thread "Great tag team wrestler. He was part of two of the top 25 tag teams ever (two versions of the Midnight Express)." stunning_grover "Eaton's in-ring timing was so good and usually so spot-on that he was able to get great reactions regardless of whether or not he had charisma in the more "traditional" sense. The way he'd take a perfectly timed, right-sized bump off of Lane for a mis-communication spot or the way he'd hit a cutoff move at the precise right time to get a big reaction were almost unparalleled, particularly by tag workers. Charisma in wrestling is more than just facial expressions, big movements, and emotion. Strong timing and smoothness, for example, are two qualities that can help a wrestler connect with a crowd and Eaton had those in spades." stomperspc Recommended Matches: The Midnight Express vs The Fantastics (NWA Clash of the Champions, 3/27/1988) The Midnight Express vs The Southern Boys (WCW Great American Bash, 7/7/1990) Bobby Eaton vs Terry Taylor (WCW Halloween Havoc, 10/27/1991) NOTE: The highest ranking wrestler who did not receive a top ten vote.

I feel the opposite. Shawn is not in Bret's league. I'll give you Rockers over Hart Foundation though, easily. The entire post-comeback does not bolster his case though, it's the opposite.

What about now?

29 - El Hijo del Santo 2006 Ranking: 20 Points: 7579 #1 Votes: 1 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 2 Top 10 Votes: 24 # of Ballots: 95 Average Vote: 22.52 High Vote: 1 (Jetlag) Low Vote: 98 Discussion Thread "I did not have time to look at a lot of lucha, but he and Casas were the two who impressed me the most. " MoS "While Santito lacks the variety that I think a number one candidate needs he has a long list of great matches over the course of twenty plus years. I think he is the best babyface wrestler of all time with a match formula that really works. His spectacular high flying is perfect babyface offense and he has a tremendous charisma that makes every one of his matches (and by extension, his opponents) seem important." A Stock "Best luchadore, babyface, high flyer ever. Best formula wrestler ever. " Elliott " definite contender for the best luchador in history. I wouldn't laugh at a ballot that had him number one overall either. To be fair though, I think people who complain about Flair formula should check out some Santo singles matches, because they're going to notice a lot of patterns in those. His best stuff is as good as just about anyone's in wrestling. Outstanding mat worker, to the point I'd even rank him ahead of guys for whom that's a supposed calling card like Blue Panther. When trios matches weren't really storyline-driven, I found that he often ended up falling into the background. He probably has a higher quantity of great matches than anyone in lucha libre (or most outside of it), but that number is also slightly misleading because he has the benefit of being in some fabulous trios matches where he mostly hugs the apron. I say all that and he'll probably end up my #1 overall among the Mexican candidates. He's neck and neck with Casas, so that could flip based on a compelling argument. There are guys like Dandy and Satanico who peaked much higher for short periods of time, but I'd probably put them below Santo because they weren't really consistently great." Loss Recommended Matches: El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (CMLL, 7/18/1987) El Hijo del Santo & Octagon vs Eddie Guerrero & Love Machine (AAA, 11/6/1994) El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (CMLL, 9/19/1997)

Remember not to get mad at me, I am just the messenger. Especially with what is to come for the rest of today.

Cena never gives up though.

Three reasons I changed around the reveal schedule. 1) I was tired and busy. 2) I wanted to have a day end with top 25 in tact. 3) I wanted to post HBK followed by Cena on the same day!