Grimmas

30 - John Cena 2006 Ranking: unranked Points: 7502 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 1 Top 10 Votes: 8 # of Ballots: 126 Average Vote: 41.70 High Vote: 3 (James Derbyshire) Low Vote: 95 Discussion Thread "Is he booked right down our throats? Sure. But the big goof can go, and clearly takes an immeasurable amount of pride in his work. Big time main event performer, too. " Jon Burr "The best working WWE ace ever, he was made for the big time and has a ridiculous laundry list of great main events with basically everyone who has walked through the doors. He knows how to work big but also adds a million little touches. Insane charisma, great selling, great timing, great everything. I love this man, he'll always be my favourite wrestler." Jimmy Redman "John Cena is the single name that I'm the most interested in seeing where they finish on the final list. If someone were to put him at number one, I wouldn't argue. John Cena might just be the greatest wrestler of all-time. If we look at body of work, great matches, promos, drawing power/merch sales, longevity, popularity, etc. I mean... he's been really good, for a really long time, on top in the biggest promotion in the world & having great matches with many different wrestlers. I often can't see the forest from the trees but I realize I'm watching greatness with John Cena. Sure, he's had some stinkers & cringe-worthy one-liners but as an overall package, for someone that we can pretty much see the entirety of his career (all in good quality even), Cena is pretty damn great. He's also been booked like a mammoth too and I could see some holding that against him." Coffey Recommended Matches: John Cena vs Umaga (Last Man Standing, WWE Royal Rumble, 1/28/2007) John Cena vs CM Punk (WWE Money in the Bank, 7/17/2011) John Cena vs Brock Lesnar (Extreme Rules, WWE Extreme Rules, 4/29/2012)

So if it has nothing to do with outside voters or criticizing the list, why all the whining and posting it over and over again? It's weird to say it's more conservative when Buddy Rose and Jerry Lawler both make the top 40? There seems to be more luchadors than the previous list too.

Does Goldust work in a mainstream company? Yes. Goldust is highly regarded among mainstream fans? No. Claiming this is a ballot where mainstream fans highly influenced it seems silly to me.

31 - Shawn Michaels 2006 Ranking: 46 Points: 7187 #1 Votes: 2 #2 Votes: 4 #3 Votes: 3 Top 10 Votes: 13 # of Ballots: 111 Average Vote: 38.11 High Vote: 1 (Jimmy Redman & ElHijodeGorgeousGeorge) Low Vote: 100 Discussion Thread "Since I'm probably one of the bigger Shawn defenders turning in a ballot, I feel obligated to fill this part out for him. Even with a 4 year gap in his career, he has over 15 years where I think he was a great performer. Shawn is phenomenal at selling who he is through his mannerisms. His post-Rockers heel run he's great at being self absorbed, in his 90's DX heel run he's great at being completely obnoxious. Where his biggest case lies however in my opinion is when he was working as a face. To me he's the best "face in peril" performer of all time in both a tag setting and a singles setting and possibly the best "big match" wrestler of all time. Had this ability to bump ridiculously, but also sell the actual beatdown and the wear and tear on his body better than anyone else. The way he would completely collapse after being bloodied, try to mount offense, but get cut off and go right back to selling, perfectly timed comebacks and a sequence that's as enjoyable to watch as anyone out there, his facial expressions are among the best of all time. He has moments where he conveys immense pain in his back or leg or is selling a concussion and looks like he could actually needs to be helped out of the arena because he won't make it with how damaged his head is. Shawn is the absolute best at selling you his struggle to stay alive. The fact that he came back after not wrestling for 4 years and to have as great a run as he did is mind blowing. Part of one of the greatest tag teams of all time in The Rockers and worked great as either the FIP or hot tag. Execution may not be the best, but he makes up for that in knowing how to add drama to every single match he's in no matter the situation. Whether it's retirement matches like Ric Flair's, working the monster heel (Umaga in 2006, Batista in 2003), or his own or when he's working a ridiculous angle with the McMahon's, he brings the needed drama to it. Great sense of how to escalate a feud. I'm not a defender of the Triple H feud, but the way they kept raising the feud until they reached a very definable crescendo is undeniable. The Chris Jericho feud in 2008 is his best feud ever and where Shawn did most of his great selling in facial expressions where you saw nothing, but pure rage in his eyes and ends with a very fitting and highly dramatic ladder match. He's also very underrated in his ability as a TV worker. Very reliable for at the very least a decent TV match dating back to the early RAW's and he has several great matches on RAW as well. I get why people don't like him. Him putting the focus on himself too much during the match is a valid criticism, but if you're someone that values babyface wrestling and what that entails, I don't see how you could say Shawn doesn't have as great a resume as anyone else in that field." Quentin Skinner "The Rockers are one of the 10 greatest tag teams ever. Shawn's singles stuff was really good too most of the time." stunning_grover "He was the first person to come to mind when I heard the question, "Who is the greatest wrestler ever?", and to me that means something." Steven White "I always thought he was the greatest, and after 18 months of this project that hasn't changed. He has 25+ years of quality work in three distinct runs of The Rockers, his 90s singles run and the post-comeback run. He has a gargantuan list of great matches and genre-defining gimmick matches. He reached for the stars like few others ever did - athletically as well as in terms of storytelling and match building - and I think he totally landed it. " Jimmy Redman "Michaels was definitely one of the wrestlers I started watching near the beginning of my wrestling fandom. He is one of the main ones that I can go back to watching at any time and get even more fond of his style. " mprice "Shawn is one the greatest all around wrestlers of all time. He can grapple, fly, suplex, and wrestle. He was the ace when no one else could be and that gets some mad respect. " Danny Kuchler "While Michaels may be a flawed wrestler, his pure entertainment value overwhelms the criticisms for me." Moonsault Marvin "When at the top of his game, Few could come close. Tons of great matches." TheU_2001 Recommended Matches: Team Austin vs Team Bischoff (WWE Survivor Series, 11/16/2003) Shawn Michaels vs John Cena (WWE, 4/23/2007) Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker (WWE WrestleMania, 4/5/2009)

The fact anyone is surprised Bret is still in this shocks me. HBK hopefully comes soon though.

32 - Dustin Rhodes 2006 Ranking: honourable mention (137) Points: 6861 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 0 Top 10 Votes: 2 # of Ballots: 124 Average Vote: 45.69 High Vote: 7 (jackwebb) Low Vote: 98 Discussion Thread "Even better than his legendary father. Could play almost any role, which got taken to extremes by Vince & Co. Amazing tag worker. In the brightest timeline, he got a run on top in WCW." Jon Burr "He was my favorite wrestler in the early 90s. I thought he was great for a lot of his run as Goldust. It is absolutely his 2013-2014 run that puts him on my list." Dave Musgrave "Dustin has primarily worked in an era where pulp TV matches that are meant to be disposable have become commonplace. He peaked early in 90s WCW which had too much television. He peaked late in 10s WWE which has too much television. So he's the master of the good match to fill television time. I think there's an argument that he's the most consistent TV match wrestler of the past quarter century, which sounds like hyperbole until you really think about it. The knock on him would be that there's no classic 30-minute world title match epic on his resume, but it's hard for me to come down too hard on him for that because he's never been asked to fill that role at all. Still, I think it's a feather that the other contenders will likely have in their cap that he won't." Loss Recommended Matches: Dustin Rhodes vs Vader (WCW Clash of the Champions, 11/16/1994) Goldust vs William Regal (WWE Superstars, 5/17/2010) Goldust vs Randy Orton (WWE Raw, 9/9/2013)

33 - Ricky Morton 2006 Ranking: 75 Points: 6613 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 0 Top 10 Votes: 0 # of Ballots: 116 Average Vote: 43.99 High Vote: 13 Low Vote: 92 Discussion Thread "I respect Robert Gibson's spot in the Rock N Roll Express but Morton truly defined his role." Dave Musgrave "but Ricky Morton got pro wrestling in a way very few have. He deserves all the praise for his classic babyface tag work and his great series with Flair (one of Ric's five best opponents for my money), but I was impressed by how seamlessly he made the transition to heel with the York Foundation. He delivered a fantastic heel performance in his match with Robert Gibson from Bash '91, even if shitty booking and a stale promotion made it feel meaningless. The guy just knew what he was doing." Childs Recommended Matches: Ricky Morton & Eddie Gilbert vs Atsushi Onita & Masa Fuchi (Tupelo Concession Brawl, Memphis, 9/4/1981) The Rock 'n' Roll Express vs Arn & Ole Anderson (Cage, NWA Starrcade, 11/27/1986) Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton (Cage, NWA Great AM

It's missing a lot though. Yes Buddy is a US guy, but he is also a niche candidate. Lawler getting where he is, is not due to mainstream voting, etc...

Just halfway through the DVDR show. Its soo great. Just the most fun of the reveal shows yet. Maybe not the most informative, but damn hilarious. I missed Dean on pods.

Reveal schedule change. Stopping here tonight. Then: Mon, April 25: 33-26 Tue, April 26: 25-18 Wed, April 27: 17-11 Thu, April 28: 10-6 Fri, April 29: 5-3 Sat, April 30: 2-1

34 - Chris Benoit 2006 Ranking: 3 Points: 6396 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 2 #3 Votes: 0 Top 10 Votes: 10 # of Ballots: 93 Average Vote: 32.88 High Vote: 2 (anarchistxx & Mrzfn) Low Vote: 100 Discussion Thread "I find it strange how people say he did not have charisma. His intensity always made for great viewing, and his actions had a lot of physical charisma." MoS "An unstoppable buzzsaw of a wrestler for many, many years. Could tell a fast-paced story better than anyone." Jon Burr "Non-wrestling stuff aside, he really was a tremendous worker for a long time. He was great at so many things: mechanics, impactful offense, intensity, grit, selling, and was really great at constructing matches to be both epic and a struggle. So many great matches, and could drag something good out of anyone on Earth." Jimmy Redman "This is one time when controversy did not seem to leave a black mark on my list. Benoit has always and will always be one of the best wrestlers I have ever seen. His promos were always lacking but he could show off in the ring nearly better than anyone." mprice "Benoit had beautiful technique and a long run of good matches." Moonsault Marvin Recommended Matches: Chris Benoit vs Eddie Guerrero (WCW Nitro, 10/16/1995) Royal Rumble Match (WWE, 1/25/2004) Chris Benoit vs Shawn Michaels (WWE Raw, 5/3/2004)

And isn't that kind of frustrating? a little, but the improvement he's made on reputation over the last decade is great. I'm sure it will continue to rise and in 2026 he can take his place in the top 20 where he belongs.

I refuse for people to think of El Dandy like that. Someone used it as a comment, but I cut it out. I want that association to go away.

The thing about Buddy is, he was on 61% of the ballots and the average vote for him was 34.7. I would gather a et that the remaining 39% hadn't watched anything of him outside of maybe the AWA.

35 - El Dandy 2006 Ranking: 67 Points: 6368 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 0 Top 10 Votes: 6 # of Ballots: 96 Average Vote: 34.70 High Vote: 7 (Tim Evans) Low Vote: 88 Discussion Thread "Without a doubt, one of the best mat workers in lucha. While inconsistent at times, he never lets you down when it's time to blow off one of his many classic feuds. To my eye, the most technically sound luchador, as well." Jon Burr "The dude is one of the more well rounded wrestlers ever. He does have some footage issues, but man what we have is mostly pretty damn great. 90 Dandy alone is a contender for my top 100. Add in a decent portion of other good to great stuff and he's solidified a spot. Guy can sell, bump, work the mat, and throw a mean punch." Exposer Recommended Matches: El Dandy vs Angel Azteca (EMLL, 6//1/1990) El Dandy vs El Satanico (EMLL, 12/14/1990) El Dandy vs El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (CMLL, 12/6/1996)

36 - "Playboy" Buddy Rose 2006 Ranking: honourable mention (239) Points: 6142 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 1 #3 Votes: 1 Top 10 Votes: 12 # of Ballots: 92 Average Vote: 34.66 High Vote: 2 (Devon Hales) Low Vote: 92 Discussion Thread "Everyone told me he was one of the best of all time. I watched his matches and saw they were right." Dave Musgrave "Only held back by health issues. Relatively short career keeps him from being a contender for #1. Other than Funk & Satanico probably understood wrestling better than anyone." Elliott "Buddy Rose was Mr. Variation, with every match different to an unusual extent in wrestling." Moonsault Marvin "One thing worth noting about Buddy is that we have a fair amount of footage of him going back to 77. This is relevant because as soon as he starts popping up he is great, and he is great through the end of his AWA run in early 87. So despite being someone who many might identify as having a short peak, I actually think his peak/years as a really strong worker are well documented, diverse and much longer lasting than is usually assumed. I don't think I could rate him in the top five or anything like that, but I also don't think it would be weird at all for someone to rate him that highly." Dylan Waco "Genuine top 10 contender, possibly top 5. Such a talented wrestler. Great at working the mat. Has lots of longer matches with a lot of working holds, and what I really like about Rose is that he never just sits in a hold. Whether he's applying the hold, or the recipient of the hold, he's always working, selling, mugging, grabbing for some hair, wrenching, looking for an out. The guy had an abundant supply of shit he could do to fill a match. He could stall, play to the crowd, beg off, primp and pose, and my favourite, the challenge his opponent to a contest of athletic feats spot (here's a nip-up, can you do a nip-up?). Buddy Rose doing athletic spots even when the pounds really starting to pile on is one of my favourite things in wrestling. Only Porky is a more entertaining fat guy doing athletic things. Rose has great comedy spots, and was a great stooge, but he could turn it on and get serious, had a great mean streak, and was really effective targeting an injured body part or a cut, and just looking like a real dangerous guy. Could brawl. Excellent tag worker. I've never seen Buddy shit the bed, and it's not like he was in there with great talents a lot of the time. To me, Buddy is the quintessential territory heel, the guy you love to hate who can have a good match with just about anyone. The only possible knock against him is I don't know how well he worked as a babyface, but if you're an all-time great heel, it maybe doesn't matter that much." Yo-Yo's Roomie Recommended Matches: Buddy Rose vs Matt Borne (Lumberjack, Portland, 6/12/1982) Buddy Rose vs Curt Hennig (Portland, 3/26/1983) Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs Midnight Rockers (AWA, 8/30/1986)

37 - El Satanico 2006 Ranking: 89 Points: 6041 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 3 #3 Votes: 2 Top 10 Votes: 16 # of Ballots: 83 Average Vote: 29.73 High Vote: 2 (Elliott, A Stock, & Microstatistics) Low Vote: 97 Discussion Thread "My reason for Satanico at number two is pretty similar to my thoughts about Fujiwara at number one. His catalog of matches shows immense variety, he brings out the best in his opponents, and always fills his matches with details worth your attention. The only reason Fujiwara is higher is that I like his five best matches more than Satanico but it's pretty close." A Stock El Satanico's great argument by Elliott Recommended Matches: El Satanico vs Gran Cochise (EMLL, 9/14/1984) El Satanico vs El Dandy (CMLL, 12/14/1990) El Satanico vs Pirata Morgan (AAA, 11/26/1993)

There is no crime in Canada, so I wouldn't worry. One big "sorry" and the cops let you go.

38 - Mick Foley 2006 Ranking: 70 Points: 6003 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 0 Top 10 Votes: 2 # of Ballots: 121 Average Vote: 51.44 High Vote: 5 (Beast) Low Vote: 96 Discussion Thread "Mick Foley is one my five favorite wrestlers of all time. He was not only better than he should have been, he was better than he needed to be. The best brawler off all time in my opinion." Dave Musgrave "The ultimate ambitious storyteller in wrestling. When it all comes together he can create some magic, and magic that nobody else would think or dare to create. Has some all time brawls, garbage matches and WWE main events to his name." Jimmy Redman "He had plenty of great matches and before his body started letting him down he was the kind of wrestler you could count on to give an all out performance regardless of venue, opponent, or placement on the card. What really makes Mick shine is his ability to have different types of matches with different wrestlers where his base approach remained much the same. As Dude Love he had some great comedy matches, of particular note is his MOTYC against HHH at One Night Only, where he was able to generate great crowd interest through comedy spots. As Mankind he was the crazy bumper and madman who then turned into a beloved sympathy machine. Finally there's his Cactus Jack persona, which is my favorite, and the forebearer to his time as plain Mick Foley, where he was all three personas at the same time encompassing a very complete pro wrestler." Bill Thompson Recommended Matches: Cactus Jack vs Sting (WCW, 6/20/1992) Mankind vs Shawn Michaels (WWF Mind Games, 9/22/1996) Mick Foley vs Randy Orton (WWE Backlash, 4/18/2004)

I had the same top three in the same order as Dylan!

I think, instead of nomination process you can only vote for people you posted about and a general idea if where you'll vote for them

He just dropped as you posted this.

39 - AJ Styles 2006 Ranking: honourable mention (301) Points: 5759 #1 Votes: 0 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 0 Top 10 Votes: 4 # of Ballots: 109 Average Vote: 48.20 High Vote: 6 (Hasan Mulla) Low Vote: 98 Discussion Thread "I can't believe Republican Hoot has made his way into my top half, but here we are. His latest runs have cemented it. Whether it's at Royal Rumble or a bingo hall in rural Georgia, AJ always gives his all." Jon Burr "He has always been great and has shown us in the past couple years what TNA was missing. He has not only had one of the best runs for his time, it has been one of the best runs in decades." Dave Musgrave "AJ to me is a perfect example of a statement that has been tossed around recently - wrestling isn't a zero sum game. There's sometimes a false dichotomy that says that a wrestler is either spot-heavy and mindless, or less-is-more with excellent psychology. It doesn't have to be one or the other, and AJ is a guy who has both sides to his game: a fast pace and cool highspots, as well as babyface selling and neat psychology. Portrayals of him as a spot monkey (which have been tempered by his stint in a more fashionable company in NJPW) are really missing the mark. He stands out from a crowd of his peers precisely because of his babyface fire, timing of big spots, his selling. He adds a certain...gravitas to matches that you wouldn't expect. He's great as a babyface ace of a division, great as an underdog against a bigger dude, great in workratey stuff, great in spotty exhibitions, great as a bumping heel, great as a fired up face in a grudge match, great as a tag worker, great jumping off high places." Jimmy Redman Recommended Matches: AJ Styles vs Abyss (Cage, TNA, 4/24/2005) AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe (TNA, 12/11/2005) AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki (NJPW, 8/1/2014)

40 - Yoshiaki Fujiwara 2006 Ranking: honourable mention (119) Points: 5647 #1 Votes: 1 #2 Votes: 0 #3 Votes: 3 Top 10 Votes: 14 # of Ballots: 81 Average Vote: 32.64 High Vote: 1 (A Stock) Low Vote: 100 Discussion Thread "Fujiwara was/is a wrestling genius. He's incredibly skilled at making his opponents look great whether they are the focus of the match or not. He is great as a supporting player in a tag and fantastic when pushed into the spotlight. His selling is incredible. Probably some of the most realistic selling I've ever seen. He is capable of a wild violent brawl, strategic mat wrestling, and even comedy." A Stock "I know many consider him a strong GOAT contender. I won’t go that far though. He is one of the best mat workers ever. He could make shoot style matches more entertaining than almost every other shoot style worker. He could work regular puroresu matches, mat-based puroresu matches, shoot style puroresu matches and he could even incorporate some comedy into his matches from time to time." stunning_grover "One of the most unique and charismatic workers. Unpredictable, but in a good way. The only thing I expect from a Fujiwara match is greatness." Jon Burr "He's the one wrestler I've seen who really made defense feel like a vital, exciting thing. In a way, his signature is shielding his body in the corner, eating strikes and waiting to snare his overly aggressive opponent. But yeah, the NJPW stuff showcases how good he was in a more traditional setting, just with facial expressions, ramping up the aggression of a match, etc. As I recall, he was unbelievable in the 1986 5-on-5 gauntlet. His '87 match with Choshu is one of the great brawls of all time." Childs Recommended Matches: Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger (UWF, 9/7/1984) Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Riki Choshu (NJPW, 6/9/1987) Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Shinay Hashimoto (NJPW, 6/1/19940

Having 38 of top 40 is perfectly fine with me, since the two are Benoit and HBK.