El-P

He went too far into the headdropping at one point. And it killed him, litteraly. For that reason, I'll drop him down one spot, and put Tenryu above him. #6 or 7

I've seen Mid-South arena footage too. Nothing special.

Awful comparison, really. Necro was a freak show garbage guy in US indys. Kudo only did deathmatches in the last few years of her career mostly after Onita retired because someone had to take the abuse, and she did it in big arenas and stadiums because she was a bit time draw.

The energizer bunny of beating the shit out of you. #2.

After hearing again and again how good Duggan was in Mid-south, I was absolutely underwhelmed by his work there as I went through TV seasons. Yes, he was better than he was in WWF and WCW, but that wasn't too hard, but he really wasn't anything special. By the end of his run, he was just as goofy as he was in WWF. The only feud I really thought was actually great down there was against Buzz Sawyer. He never caught that fire again until he fought Vader in WCW.

Yeah that's what I thought. Thanks for correcting my failing memory (age… or alcohol. Or both).

I don't even hate the Demos. They were a decent team all things considered (and by that I mean, Barry Darsow was half the team, so hat's off to Ax for keeping the level above complete suckiness, although Ivan Koloff he wasn't). But I always hear that Masked Supertar was that much better than cartoony WWF Eadie, but to me what I've seen of his work is totally uninspiring. It's kinda like the idea that Duggan was so good in Mid-south and that he only sucked in WWF and WCW. And then I went through Mid-south entire TV seasons and… ok, that's for another thread.

I've been a pro-wrestling fan for 25 years. I never really got lucha, and never got into it. Too late now.

Yep. The best looking-like-nothing worker ever. He looked old even when he was younger. Not really old but… never young. But yeah, delivered the goods for so long.

From what I saw, he was just as bland and boring as Masked Superstar as he was as Ax. No idea how that gimmick ever worked in the 80's actually. Really, "Masked Superstar" sounds like something that would get over in the 50's or 60's (it's like Super Strong Machine. What the hell is this supposed to mean ?).

Probably the 93 version, because the first one I saw was 92 and it didn't had any actual Survivor Series match. So it was cool to see that gimmick for the first time. Plus you had the Owen turn, step one, which was totally awesome and unexpected to me. And Savage as a surprise member. And the Quebecers in the main event. And life was easy.

Excellent gimmick match worker.

I think Eddie is one of those guys people really got bored of talking about since he was such an internet darling in pre-Benoit Workrate Guilt era. He had his share of brillant stuff and his share of not so good stuff too. It's sad he got mentally at his best when his body fell apart. Ill take a dive in this poll I'm pretty sure.

I loved the pirate gimmick. Yeah. Oulette was a bit of a spot monkey although a very impressive one, but he was still green when he showed up as a Quebecer. Never got the opportunities he should have to me.

Going through WCW TV, Pillman looked like one of the most underrated guy ever. From 89 to 95, he was easily a top 10 US worker on average. The injuries really destroyed him, it's sad to watch him after that point. As far as character goes, the Loose Cannon stuff was a bit too forced, although it had its moments, but slimy working heel Pillman in 92/93 was excellent.

Two MOTYC : G1 Climax final vs Mutoh in 91 (I think. Or was it 90 ?) G1 Climax final vs Rude in 92. (what the hell was I thinking ?) Chono in the very early 90's was a terrific worker. Didn't last, but hey, there's still a bunch of stuff to enjoy.

Of course, people are gonna think first and foremost about the Montreal screwjob, but I was watching the entire Big Van Vader debut in New Japan thingy, and man, what a complete booking debacle. I have litteraly no idea what was planned and what wasn't, as everything seems so fucked up. People starting throwing shit in the ring as soon as they announce Vader won't be part of the tag match, then Choshu getting them back by challenging Inoki, then the Hase run-in and the shit finish, then of course the quicky Inoki job to Vader, getting a very negative reaction from the crowd (although you don't really get the feeling of a riot at this point, unlike earlier during the tag match, it looks like it killed the crowd more than anything else, and they seem to leave rather quietly). What a mess. People are gonna throw out the infamous "We want Flair" Great American Bash 91, or the last two years Royal Rumble (especially this year where they managed to have the Rock booed out of the building), but what are some of the most infamous debacles in pro-wrestling history ?

Stephy.

First thing I think about when this name pops up is : most emotional retirement ceremony ever. Then super cool comeback in ARSION. Then she got kinda goofy and retired. Super little worker when she was on.

Nominated more than one year ago, and no pimping. Again, old favourites of mine. Solid worker, underrated, but not great. Could play sympathetic hot babyface and more edgy bitchy veteran too. One of the anchor of JWP, so she was always dear to my heart. Was part of tons of great matches, and she was a better worker than Kerry von Erich.

My favourite wrestler ever from 99 to 01. Then I pretty stopped watching current joshi. The female Volk Han, with the added bonus of hot spider outfit. Classiest of them all, really.

Coolest gimmick ever. The most graceful wrestler I've seen this side of Barry Windham. A personnal favourite of mine. His best stuff is in FMW actually. That Gannosuke match, oh man...

Sad times, no one care about Megumi Kudo anymore. Terrific worker who could have coasted and relied on looks, yet had it tough working in the godforsaken FMW with awful opposition, becoming one of the best wrestlers in the world in the mid 90's. The "female Onita" part of her career is incredible.

Watching post-prime Morton both in WCW and SMW in the last few years convinced me that he was one of the best worker ever indeed when you add it to the Rock'n Roll Express prime in the 80's. Should have saved some money though.

One of the best wrestler anywhere in the world from 88 to the time he went into semi-retirement. Amazing as a junior, as a tag guy, as a heavyweight taking on NJ's opposition, amazing pretty much in any kind of role (not to mention assistant booker to Choshu during NJ's hottest period ever). And he's the Minister of culture and communication of Japan now. Certainly beat everybody on the political field.