TravJ1979

Had Vol. 1, Issue 1 of this. Sold it for $25 bucks. Probably should have kept it.

Jimmy Valiant may be the worst wrestler in the history of wrestling ... but outside bell-to-bell I find him entertaining.

"no, no no" "yes, yes, yes" Real fun match I was glad to find during my "purchase every Foley comp that exists" phase in the late 1990's (pre-internet).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the guy with Jimmy Valiant during his promo looks like a blonde, Kenny Bolin from OVW. I know he and Cornette were childhood friends so it's entirely possible.

My February Match of the Month. Flair is far and away the Wrestler of the year for the first Q of 1990. Something I didn't notice until watching this, Lex Luger wore Roo wrestling boots. Or he at least had a Roos sticker on them. Very funny.

I called this numerous times as a kid and it was a complete ripoff. One question I remember was "Shawn Michaels once went by which name" and the "correct" answer was Sean Royal. Ugh. My friend's grandpa won $1,000 on a scratch off around this time and he bought my friend a power glove. It sucked. The movie "the wizard" made it look cool. In reality, the AVGN pretty much summed up our experience with that piece of crap

Okay, so what am I missing. Cornette is doing the Louisville Slugger while Funk's Grill is on. Funk gives up the grill and gives it to Cornette who calls it the Louisville Slugger. Was he just adding a Slugger to another weekend show or am I screwy with the timeline?

Worst on Interviews for first Q of 1990: Kerry Von Erich, Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan Although the first two are entertaining in the wrong way.

Best on Interviews for first Q of 1990: Ole, Ric, Arn, Lawler

There is an awesome article somewhat wrote recapping this feud, and if I find it, I'll post a link. Anyway, knowing the history and build up to this match just makes it an even better all-time classic. Match of the Month for sure, likely MOTY.

A question I don't really want answered as although curious, I've long forgot and am looking forward to a possible surprise. Is this the beginning of Miss Texas or does this go nowhere?

I've decided, as a side project, to transcribe each Warrior promo in this set. Painful yes, but I have a feeling it will be rewarding in the end. I'll probably do two versions of each: What I "think" he said and what it "sounds" like he said. Have mercy on my soul.

While I can determine Lucha I like and don't like, I really have a hard time expressing it in relation to other Lucha. With that said, this was a great match since all guys are great and can go. Was it ever determined where in the year this actually took place? Just curious.

This will surely bare repeating throughout this yearbook, but since this is her first appearance I will limit it to just this post. Sherri is amazing. Everything I've seen of her, from AJW to WCW she truly is an all-time great performer.

My quote read differently than what I meant. I meant that they were delighted that the chance of him beating the Undertaker at WrestleMania is now officially 0.00% vs. a 0.01% chance. Also, I still stand by the angle. I would have no problem if it played out the way I fantasy booked. I don't think it's bad or even the worst thing I booked in that whole silly post.

So nearly five months later, lets look at this again. Ohno Push So Ohno gets released, much to the delight of the smark army that overwhelmingly met the Undertaker defeat with negativity. I still find it odd that such a smart group got so negative at the ending of a kayfabed, meaningless streak. Anyway ... Big Show/Mary Henry Tag Team This actually happened for a short time before Mark's injury. Title Unification So this is happening albeit earlier and with different participants. Also, they did the "line of former champions" idea although with a terrible group to represent it, of which Stephanie called HHH the best (CM Punk laughing, lol). So with the current state, the rest of my angle has approximately 0% chance of happening which is what I figured would happen. Nice to see I got a couple things right though.

Okay, so I've watched everything through the end of 2002. As I was sorting my rankings into locks and rewatches, I noticed the following 5 matches that are bolded, but aren't even on my radar of making Top 100 for the decade (or Top 10 for the year it occured). Just wondering, am I missing something [context] with these? Liger, Tanaka & Makabe vs Delfin, Murahama & Tsubasa, New Japan December 14th, 2000 Tenryu & Fuchi vs Kawada & Araya, All Japan June 30th, 2001 Tenzan & Kojima vs Barton & Steele, New Japan December 11th, 2001 Kikuchi & Kanemaru vs Liger & Inoue, NOAH February 17th, 2002 Liger & Tanaka vs Kikuchi & Kanemaru, New Japan August 29th, 2002 - I have the April NOAH match making the first cut, but not this one

I don't remember a ton about this period but Rick Steiner & Animal join Flair's group to form the Magnificent 7. Some time after this there's a really great segment where I think a Rick Steiner vs Hugh Morris match morphs into a big brawl leading to one of the greatest "better then it looks on paper" tags ever in Scott Steiner/Buff/Lex vs DDP/Cat/Booker T. That six-man is coming up in February and is one of the best matches in the last two or so years of WCW. Everyone is motivated, Booker T returns, and Ric Flair on commentary doing an off-screen version of his "manic, elbow drop on a sports coat" promos. Fun stuff.

DITCH, Two links in 2002 are bad (including latest excel sheet) Takayama vs Sasaki, New Japan August 3rd This is a dead link. It seems DNS can't find ditch.biz at all. Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga, NOAH October 19th This is a mediashare download, but it is linked to the 11/1/03 KENTAFuji v. Guerrera/Marvin NOAH match instead of 10/19/02

I think the only way to approach this list is by realizing there is, and never will be a fool proof, undisputable method of determining an actual G.O.A.T. With that said, all criticisms about discussing such a list such as "Does anyone really care?" are invalid. GOAT discussions and lists created thereof are strictly for entertainment purposes. A dedicated thread void of said criticism consisting of posters who enjoy the debate and comparing/contrasting aspect of something like this could be great. After a while, once enough interest, and people, are invested, a GOAT list 2.0 could possibly be the result. If such a poll were to be attempted again, I think a lot of questions need to be asked and parameters established from those questions to avoid any confusion. The term GOAT itself means "From the first pro wrestler ever to the present." The problem with this right off the bat is nobody knows who the first pro wrestler is. If someone was so bold as to make a statement as to who it was, that would open a whole other can of worms as to when exactly did "pro wrestler" separate from "collegiate, shoot style wrestling." Were "pro" matches’ ever pure shoots or do we establish the beginning of pro wrestling with the first promoted bouts that were obviously and knowingly worked? In short, defining a starting point is as problematic as picking a GOAT. Moreso, if by some miracle a consensus starting point was established, would it even be relevant? That depends on what your definition of GOAT is. This is where parameters play a big part. On what criteria is a GOAT candidate judged? Drawing Power? Purely in-ring ability? Promos/Charisma/Character? Drawing Power I think this should not be considered when discussing a GOAT candidate and is best reserved for a Hall of Fame discussion. Unless the money the wrestler was drawing as benefiting me financially, I have less than zero interest on how much money they brought in. I look to be entertained while watching professional wrestling and I simply am not entertained by how much money the promoter acquired. In-Ring When discussing GOAT candidates, this is largely what most people base their picks on. At the end of the day, it's all about how well a wrestler can perform. Is it a turd or a work of art? What is the ratio of turd/art? Regardless of quality are you entertained? Promos/Charisma/Character This is the traditional entertainment aspect of pro wrestling comes into play. While most hardcore fans can watch a match between to bland competitors who work an amazing match and be fully entertained, casual to moderate fans would probably require a large dose of the theatrics to be fully engaged. So for arguments sake, let us say that in-ring is most important followed by promos/charisma. Both of those require being able to see the wrestler in action, which before the 1950's is largely not possible. Therefore the first 60-70 years of "pro wrestling" cannot be considered and thus GOAT becomes, at best, Greatest Wrestler (post World War II). This is important to establish to eliminate votes for such wrestlers as Frank Gotch, Jim Londos, etc. as were seen in the SmarksChoice poll. It isn't to say that they couldn't possibly be GOAT, but it simply cannot be judged simply by legend. Another question to ask is if footage does exist of a wrestler, how much is needed to fairly critique his/her work for candidacy to the GOAT list? This is a tricky one as it drastically hurts consideration for wrestlers whose prime was in the 1950's, 60's, and maybe even the early 70's. So in discussing a GOAT candidate, if a poll is ever taken a few questions need to be answered with a consensus answer. Define the "AT" in "GOAT". Personally I would define it as 1970-present. Even though footage is hit and miss in the 70's, it does exist enough to help in discussion. How much footage of a wrestler, in terms of hours or matches should a wrestler have available to accurately judge their overall career? In looking over the SmarksChoice list, there were 137 wrestlers who received a Highest Ballot position of 25 or higher. I note 25 as I think Top 100 is excessive as can a #100 positioned wrestler ever have a legitimate case made of being a GOAT? There were 64 wrestlers who received a highest ballot position of 10 or higher with 16 of those voted as #1. My Question is this: Are there any on this list that should be removed from a Top 25 consideration for GOAT and are any names missing: JOSHI Akira Hokuto Jaguar Yokota Aja Kong Manami Toyota Chigusa Nagayo Devil Masami Mariko Yoshida Bull Nakano Mayumi Ozaki Kyoko Inoue US BASED Eddie Guerrero Ric Flair Bret Hart Jerry Lawler Ricky Steamboat Steve Austin Dusty Rhodes Gorgeous George Jim Londos Rock Mick Foley Randy Savage Shawn Michaels JAPAN BASED Jumbo Tsuruta Toshiaki Kawada Jushin Liger Kenta Kobashi Mitsuharu Misawa Nobuhiko Takada Hayabusa Yoshiaki Fujiwara Kintaro Kanemura Rikidozan Genichiro Tenryu Antonio Inoki Shinya Hashimoto Tatsumi Fujinami Kazuo Yamazaki Kiyoshi Tamura MEXICO BASED Negro Casas El Dandy El Hijo del Santo Blue Panther MS1 Satanico Pirata Morgan OTHER (Significant Work in More than One Country) Dynamite Kid Harley Race Ted Dibiase Fit Finlay Chris Benoit Terry Funk Volk Han Stan Hansen The Destroyer Terry Gordy Rey Mysterio Jr Jack Brisco Lou Thesz Dick Murdoch Dory Funk Jr. Steve Wright Vader Masato Tanaka Without even thinking about it, I see names I would immediately eliminate: Masato Tanaka, Hayabsua, Gorgeous George, and Jim Londos. There are more I would take out if I put some thought into it. ================================================== P.S. - Here is a list I dug up compiled by EvilClown in 1999 for comparison to the SmarksChoice Poll. Wrestlers are ranked after careful consideration of three factors: 1. In-Ring Work 2. Drawing power 3. Intangibles 1. Frank Gotch 2. Antonio Inoki 3. Ed “Strangler” Lewis 4. Rikidozan 5. Ric Flair 6. Lou Thesz 7. Bruno Sammartino 8. El Santo 9. Hulk Hogan 10. Andre the Giant 11. Shohei Baba 12. George Hackenschmidt 13. Stan Hansen 14. Dory Funk Jr. 15. Joe Stecher 16. Jumbo Tsuruta 17. Jim Londos 18. Mitsaharu Misawa 19. Riki Choshu 20. El Canek 21. Randy Savage 22. Bruiser Brody 23. Atsuhito Onita 24. Gorgeous George 25. Nobuhiko Takada 26. Terry Funk 27. The Shiek 28. Tatsumi Fujinami 29. Akira Maeda 30. Shinya Hashimoto 31. Vader 32. Jack Brisco 33. Roddy Piper 34. Harley Race 35. Vern Gagne 36. Antonino Rocca 37. Destroyer 38. Bronko Nagurski 39. Gory Guerrero 40. Genchiro Tenryu 41. Masahiko Kimura 42. Buddy Rogers 43. Edouard Carpentier 44-45. Crusher + Dick the Bruiser 46. Jushin Liger 47. Steve Austin 48. Shawn Micheals 49. Jerry Lawler 50. Mil Mascaras 51. Bob Backlund 52. Toshiaki Kawada 53. Stanislaus Zbysko 54. Dusty Rhodes 55. Billy Watson 56. Gene Kiniski 57. Cactus Jack 58. Great Muta 59. Bret Hart 60. Ricky Steamboat 61. El Hijo del Santo 62. Freddy Blassie 63. Danny Hodge 64. Jesse Ventura 65. Michiaki Yoshimura 66. Bobo Brazil 67. Ray Stevens 68-69. RW Hawk+RW Animal 70. Perro Aguayo 71. Ed Don George 72. Abdullah the Butcher 73. Seiji Sakaguchi 74. El Solitario 75. Kenta Kobashi 76. Fritz Von Erich 77. Nick Bockwinkel 78. Pedro Morales 79. Billy Graham 80. Killer Kowlaski 81. Karl Gotch 82. Mr. Wrestling II 83. Shozo Kobayashi 84. Rusher Kimura 85. Tiger Mask 86. El Rayo de Jalisco 87. Toyonorabi 88-89. Ben + Mike Sharpe 90. Ultimo Dragon 91. Jackie Fargo 92. Ray Mendoza 93. Dynamite Kid 94. Hiro Hase 95. Konnan 96. Arn Anderson 97. Chris Benoit 98. Great Sasuke 99. Wahoo McDaniel 100. Cien Caras

No worries. I already did. TNA 2002 2003 Part 1 2003 Part 2 2004 (Up Until Victory Road / End of Weekly PPV's) This was also part of my project of rewatching EVERYTHING POSSIBLE from the 2000's. I have Top 10 lists, per year, per company in the protected forum for US 2000-2004, and I'm currently working on 2005-2009 finalization and 2000-2009 Japan using Ditch's project for this and to submit a ballot for his poll. To keep it nice and tidy, here is what I had for TNA. NOTE: NWA-TNA has seven matches for 2002 due to lack of quality matches. ALL Lists are in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER NWA-TNA Top 10's (6/19/02 - 12/31/04) 2002 1. Low-Ki v. AJ Styles v. Psicosis v. Jerry Lynn - Double Elimination, X Division Title; 6/19/02; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 2 (aired 6/26) 2. Low-Ki v. AJ Styles v. Jerry Lynn - X Division Title; 8/7/02; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 8 3. Low-Ki v. Ron Killings - NWA Title; 10/2/02; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 14 4. AJ Styles v. Syxx-Pac - No DQ, X Division Title; 10/23/02; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 17 5. AJ Styles v. Amazing Red - X Division Title; 10/30/02; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 18 6. AJ Styles v. Jerry Lynn - X Division Title; 11/6/02; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 19 7. Low-Ki/Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper v. Amazing Red/Jose Maximo/Joel Maximo; 12/18/02; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 25 8. * 9. * 10. * NWA-TNA Wrestler of the Year 2002: AJ Styles 2003 1. Chris Harris/James Storm v. Sinn/Brian Lee - NWA Tag Titles; 1/8/03; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 26 2. Jerry Lynn v. Juventud Guerrera; 2/26/03; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 33 3. Chris Harris/James Storm v. Low-Ki/Christopher Daniels - NWA Tag Titles; 3/12/03; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 35 4. Jerry Lynn/Amazing Red v. Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper - NWA Tag Titles; 4/16/03; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 40 5. AJ Styles v. Raven v. Jeff Jarrett - NWA Title; 6/11/03; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 48 6. Chris Harris/James Storm v. Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper - NWA Tag Titles; 6/18/03; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 49 7. Chris Harris/James Storm v. Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper - NWA Tag Titles, Cage Match; 6/25/03; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 50 8. Chris Harris/James Storm v. Simon Diamond/Johnny Swinger - Non-Title, Bullrope Match; 8/20/03; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 58 9. Chris Sabin v. Juventud Guerrera - Super X Cup Finals; 8/27/03; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 60 (aired 9/3) 10. Low-Ki v. Christopher Daniels; 11/12/03; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 69 NWA-TNA Wrestler of the Year 2003: James Storm 2004 1. Chris Sabin v. Juventud Guerrera - First Round America's X Cup; 2/4/04; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 80 (aired 2/11) 2. Team Mexico v. Team TNA - Finals of America's X Cup, Elimination Match; 2/4/04; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 80 (aired 2/11) 3. Chris Harris v. Jeff Jarrett - NWA Title; 3/17/04; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 85 4. Chris Harris v. Raven - Winner gets NWA Title shot in Steel Cage; 4/14/04; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 89 5. AJ Styles v. Jeff Jarrett v. Raven v. Chris Harris v. Ron Killings - KOTM, NWA Title; 6/2/04; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 96 6. AJ Styles v. Frankie Kazarian - X Division Title; 6/9/04; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 97 7. AJ Styles v. F. Kazarian v. C. Sabin v. A. Red v. M. Shane v. E. Skipper - X Division Title; 6/30/04; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 100 8. Chris Harris/James Storm v. Andy Douglas/Chase Stevens - NWA Tag Titles, Steel Cage; 7/21/04; TNA Weekly Pay-Per-View # 103 9. Petey Williams v. Chris Sabin - X Division Title; 12/5/04; Turning Point Pay-Per-View 10. Chris Harris/James Storm v. Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper - Losers Split, Six-Sides Steel Cage; 12/5/04; Turning Point Pay-Per-View NWA-TNA Wrestler of the Year 2004: AJ Styles