KB8

What are the 70s recs, if you have any? I don't think I've seen any of that stuff and now I'm in the mood to watch some Saito again.

I had Kandori at 81 in 2016 and that was at least 50 spots too low. It's too early to say for certain, but she might end up as my highest ranked woman in 2026. I think the fact she's not a "traditional" joshi candidate helps her case with me - much like it did in 2016 - in that some of the stuff that I struggle with in joshi at large isn't as prevalent with her. That's not me saying she's better than your Hokutos or Kongs or Jaguars because she works more like William Regal than Manami Toyota (I'm not even sure that's true anyway), but she's different enough from the norm that it's noticeable to me. She channels that badass aura as well as anyone, and believably so. I never realised in the past how insanely charismatic she was, but holy shit did she have stuuuupid amounts of charisma. There are times where she feels like a Fujiwara trainee as she'll lackadaisically apply an armbar just to see how her opponent will react, which is especially fun when it's some girl down the totem pole and Kandori KNOWS she can't get out of it, because that usually leads to someone at ringside or the opponent's tag partner throwing a fit and Kandori laughing at everyone because, fuck it, what is anybody realistically going to do to her? She's my favourite seller in joshi and her KO selling is phenomenal. She has a grasp of hierarchy that she'll work into matches in amazingly compelling ways that'll make me care more about Kyoko Inoue than I ever could've imagined. An absolute artist when it comes to the inter-promotional wrestling, which is really the best kind of wrestling. She has the input and she has the output and there still seems to be out of nowhere incredible stuff trickling down from whoever (Jetlag) is grabbing these JWP or LLPW shows hardly anybody has ever talked about before (like the Kandori/Endo v Hotta/Maekawa tag from 8/15/97, or really just anything with Hotta). She was phenomenal and she gets 10 recs because why not. SHINOBU KANDORI YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Harley Saito (JWP, 7/19/90) w/Harley Saito v Dynamite Kansai & The Scorpion (JWP, 8/4/91) v Akira Hokuto (AJW, 4/2/93) w/Eagle Sawai v Aja Kong & Akira Hokuto (AJW, 4/11/93) v Kyoko Inoue (AJW, 8/25/93) v Akira Hokuto (AJW, 12/6/93) w/Utazo Hozumi v Bull Nakano & Takako Inoue (LLPW, 11/9/93) w/Mizuki Endo v Yumiko Hotta & Kimiko Maekawa (LLPW, 8/15/97) v Yumiko Hotta (LLPW, 3/21/98) v Manami Toyota (AJW, 8/23/98)

I had Hennig at number 82 in 2016 and, to quote myself from about a week ago in this very threat, just to reaffirm that time truly is a flat circle: "I'm not sure he'll make the cut next time, and I've rewatched a lot of the Bockwinkel feud since then (which is still great, in fairness)." I've sort of gone back and forth with Hennig over the years. Was super low on him about fifteen years ago and would've said he was a better version of Dolph Ziggler. That is obviously wild disrespectful and I'll take my hundred lashes for it. When the AWA set dropped he shot way up in my estimation, and even revisiting some of the WWF stuff for a best WWF/E matches poll around that time gave him another boost. I watched one of the Bockwinkel matches waaaaay back but never properly registered how strong a mat worker he was, which the AWA set/Bockwinkel feud highlighted. I think Hennig was really good, basically, even if I don't really care for him as a heel in the WWF. He has the high-level output. He has the long technical bouts and the short brawls. I don't really feel compelled to vote for him, though. Maybe the Portland stuff will change my mind. CURT HENNIG YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Stan Hansen (AWA, 5/31/86) v Nick Bockwinkel (AWA, 11/15/86) v Nick Bockwinkel (AWA, 5/2/87) v Jerry Lawler (Memphis, 5/9/88) v Bret Hart (WWF King of the Ring, 6/13/93)

I had Blackwell at 83 in 2016 and I feel fine with that, but, like most candidates, if I went and re-watched a handful of the best Jerry Blackwell matches right now I'd feel like an idiot for having him so low. Blackwell was an absolute treasure on the AWA set and one of the biggest discoveries to me personally over the last 10 years. Coming out of the AWA set I would've considered having him higher than Vader as my #1 big portly wrestler ever. With hindsight that's sort of wild (he was not higher than Vader on my 2016 list and I very much doubt he will be in 2026), but I think he did a number of things equally as well as Vader and a couple even better than him. A morbidly obese man should not be able to bump the way he does and I question the sanity of him even doing it despite the fact he could. Blackwell was the absolute god king of lunatic cage match bumps; maybe the god king of cage matches in general because he has like five that are fucking awesome. elliot is also right about his versatility -- worked well as a babyface, as a heel, in singles, in tags, in wild brawls, in lengthy traditional rules matches, cage matches, ladder matches, more cage matches. I think he milked the pop with his seesaw "will he go down here?" selling before taking a bump as well as anyone ever, though I actually do partly agree with the knock that as a babyface his dead-stare comebacks could be a bit iffy. I don't think they were no-selly as such, but it did border on it a little. There are instances of this in early 80s All Japan where it looks like he can't be bothered with the selling at times. It's not a huge issue, nor is it something I'll ding him for particularly, but I can understand that criticism of him. But really, Blackwell ruled. Putting together a recommended match list for him also reinforces how many fucking spelling variations we have for Sheik Adnan Kaissey so that's cool as well. JERRY BLACKWELL YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie v High Flyers (AWA, 4/18/82) v Butch Reed (St. Louis, 11/28/82) w/Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie v Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke (3/13/83) v Mad Dog Vachon (AWA, 5/22/83) w/Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie v Da Crusher & Greg Gagne (AWA, 3/25/84)

FWIW I redid my ballot in 2019 and had Juvi on it and you better believe I'll consider him again for 2026.

I had it stupid high on my New Japan 80s ballot, IIRC. I never mentioned this in my last post, but basically those sort of wild spectacles are something I put a ton of stock into and Saito gets a shit load of points for that one (Inoki is pretty much a master of them, coincidentally). The Martel match is pretty great, yeah. I don't remember where I ranked it on my AWA 80s ballot but I'm sure it did well.

I had to watch it again and was not disappointed.

I had Slaughter at 84 in 2016, and I'm still not sure if I undersold him or oversold him. He's a hard guy to rate, even though he maybe shouldn't be. His resume of high-end stuff is exceptional - the Sheik feud, Final Conflict, the alley fight with Patterson, the best stuff with Backlund (I thought the Philly cage match was maybe the best WWF/E cage match ever when I last watched it). I thought the desert storm match with Hogan was more good than great, but it's a point in his favour as a post-prime recommendation. He's an amazing bumper and will bleed like a psychopath, but the way he actually sells that blood loss is brilliant, especially in the alley fight with Patterson. I found AWA Sarge sort of disappointing, but the cage match with Blackwell against Kaissey, Masked Superstar and King Tonga was great. I just really wish there was a Slaughter/Hansen match that lives up to its promise. Dylan makes the case that he has the peaks but not a ton of the mid-level stuff to go along with it, and on the surface I think I'd agree with that, but then Parv makes the counter case and I guess it depends on how much time I set aside to watch weekly 1981 WWF before I settle on one side of the fence. I've been meaning to rewatch the Final Conflict for years so I guess we'll see where that leads us. SARGEANT SLAUGHTER YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Bob Backlund (WWF, 3/21/81) v Pat Patterson (WWF, 5/4/81) w/Don Kernodle v Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood (JCP, 3/12/83) v Iron Sheik (WWF, 6/16/84) w/Jerry Blackwell v Sheik Adnan Kaissey, Masked Superstar & King Tonga (AWA, 4/21/85)

I had Atlantis at 85 in 2016, and while I won't have him as high as elliot in 2026 I also feel like I shafted him last time. Outside of El Hijo del Santo he feels like maybe THE classic masked tecnico to me. It's been said in here already, but he was an excellent trios worker...the only problem is that I can't actually think of a trios match he was involved in that hops off the page. To be honest, that's something I could say about a lot of luchadores, but of the candidates from Mexico I'd put ahead of him they almost all have at least one trios that I could point to. Still, that's not a massive criticism because his consistency there basically makes up for it. Early Atlantis was really hammy and some of the selling could be sort of comical, but the Satanico match is great, and even if Satanico was unbelievable at that point in time there's something to be said for knowing how to be led to greatness (prolly). I thought both of the Panther singles matches were great the last time I saw them, so he has the bloody brawls, the technical showcases and of course the high-stakes apuestas. I'm not even as huge on the Villano III match as most, but it's a hell of a thing and one of the greatest complete packages in wrestling history. ATLANTIS YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Satanico (EMLL, 1/20/84) v Blue Panther (CMLL, 8/9/91) v Blue Panther (CMLL, 12/5/97) v Villano III (CMLL, 3/17/00) v Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL, 9/19/14)

I had Cota at 86 in 2016 and I can see why I did that at the time, but five years down the line I definitely sold him short. Part of that is simply because I've watched more Mocho Cota footage since then. The other part is because I've watched a couple trios from 1984 this week and he's fresh in the memory. My takeaway is that, if the title matches with Americo Rocca weren't proof enough, I think it's safe to say Cota was one of the best wrestlers on the planet in 1984. The trio of him, Chicana and Fiera is just god tier scumbaggery and in one of the matches Cota turned in an absolutely sensational stooge performance. This was Fuerza levels of dedication to being an irredeemable prick, and if anything he leaned even further into it than Fuerza would have. The tag with Silver King v Casas and Dandy mentioned in this thread isn't an amazing match, but it's an amazing shithead Cota performance and it made me want to see every second of him and Casas matching up (I still haven't actually watched the hair match yet). Every new piece of Mocho Cota footage I come across is a treasure just because I get to see him work. MOCHO COTA YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Sangre Chicana & La Fiera v MS-1, Satanico & Espectro Jr. (EMLL, 9/30/83) v Americo Rocca (EMLL, 1/27/84) v Americo Rocca (EMLL, 2/3/84) w/Fishman & Tony Bennetto v Gran Cochisse, Villano III & Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (EMLL, 11/30/84) w/Sangre Chicana & La Fiera v Cien Caras, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. & Atlantis (EMLL, 1984)

I had Saito at 87 in 2016. Looking back on my ballot from then there are some names that feel like "in the moment" picks, where they were probably fresh in the memory after watching some of their stuff in close proximity to the 2016 deadline. I think Saito was one of those guys, so there's a chance he falls into that 100-150 range next time, but that shouldn't be read as a knock on him at all because Masa Saito was the fucking bomb. His AWA run is badass and it felt like he got to be more or less the same Masa Saito he was in Japan. There was less "dastardly individual from the orient" nonsense with Saito than other Japanese wrestlers coming into territories during the 80s. He cheated and took shortcuts because he was a heel, not because he was from Japan and needed the same weapons as every other wrestler from Japan (the spike, the powder in the eyes...though he probably did that as well, tbf), so he could believably swing other wrestlers around the place on the regular. The tag team with Bockwinkel was a blast and I'll always favour wrestlers who have strong tag runs. Saito was also an awesome bumper who had real snap to otherwise simple bumps (armdrags, hip tosses, etc.), which was super impressive considering he looked a bag of cement with a bowling ball for a neck. He was also a straight up shit-kicker of the highest order in Japan, who could bleed like a maniac when required, so his versatility was pretty strong. He might not make it onto my 2026 list, but he remains a favourite and maybe I'll change my mind if I rewatch some of that New Japan run. MASA SAITO YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Curt Hennig (AWA, 3/28/85) v Antonio Inoki (New Japan, 4/22/87) w/Antonio Inoki, Dick Murdoch, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Seiji Sakaguchi v Tatsumi Fujinami, Nobuhiko Takada, Riki Choshu, Akira Maeda & Super Strong Machine (New Japan, 9/17/87) w/Riki Choshu, Hiro Saito, Kuniaki Kobayashi & Super Strong Machine v Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiichi Yamada, Shiro Koshinaka, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura (New Japan, 9/12/88) w/Riki Choshu v George Takano & Super Strong Machine (New Japan, 3/16/89)

I had Rude at 88 in 2016 and I'll try to keep him there in 2026. It probably goes without saying that he's absolutely a peak candidate. I think he has good stuff outside of that peak run, like some stuff from Memphis and the tag team with Manny, but if you're voting for Rude then you're primarily voting for him based on that WCW run. You can count '89 as part of the peak as well if you want. He was outstanding in the best Warrior match and there's fun stuff against Piper in there as well. It's a shame he did next to nothing for much of 1991. Still, it's the year he had in 1992 (and those couple months at the end of '91 when he jumps ship) where he makes any sort of case. In an incredibly stacked year worldwide he was probably my favourite wrestler in the world, and besides that he's a personal favourite in general. I wouldn't spend any time arguing with someone who thinks Rude doesn't have the longevity to make a list. During the last poll I realised that if someone has a short peak that's awesome but not a whole lot of longevity then I'll consider them, because I guess ultimately that means a lot to me. And Rude's peak was evidently enough for me to put him on the list in 2016. He also has the best signature sell of a move in history and if you have a twitter account dedicated to that specific thing then I guess I'll at least take a look at your case. RICK RUDE YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Manny Fernandez v Rock n Roll Express (JCP World Championship Wrestling, 12/6/86) v Ultimate Warrior (WWF Summerslam, 8/28/89) v Dustin Rhodes (WCW Worldwide, 5/30/92) w/Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko v Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes & Nikita Koloff (WCW WrestleWar, 5/17/92) v Ricky Steamboat (WCW Beach Blast, 6/20/92)

I had Duggan at 89 in 2016 and he'd probably be about there again, if not a few spots higher. If you don't care for the peak Mid-South/Houston run (~'83-'86) then he has no shot, but I flat out love that run and he's sort of a perfect example of a wrestler who made it onto my ballot because of their peak. Some of the WWF stuff might be okay, but honestly I don't care about watching any of it, so even if it's not actively detrimental to his case then it's certainly not something I'd use to bolster it. Haven't had the urge to run through WCW Duggan, though the Vader match is great and there's one squash from a Saturday Night that should be watched just for Schiavone making a comment about Duggan being intelligent and Heenan spending the rest of the match laughing uncontrollably (to the point where it sets off Schiavone as well). But the Mid-South and Houston stuff is top banana. Walking tall caveman Duggan is a blast and one of the best straight up brawlers of the era, with a pretty damn strong resume of awesome matches. The DiBiase feud is all-time level and the Sawyer feud is incredible in its own right. Some of the Gordy matches from '86 kind of blend together at this point, but there's at least one that I thought was great. And I can't think of too many people who had better babyface timing than Hacksaw. JIM DUGGAN YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Ted DiBiase (Houston, 8/26/83) w/Rock n Roll Express v Midnight Express & Ernie Ladd (Houston, 6/8/84) v Ted DiBiase (Houston, 3/22/85) v Buzz Sawyer (Mid-South, 11/11/85) v Terry Gordy (Mid-South, 8/3/86)

I had Tama at 90 in 2016 and I'd do it again tomorrow, in 2026 and in 2056. Fire me, I'm already fired! Honestly, he got the favourite bump because I absolutely love him. I watched as much of his stuff as I could find right before the deadline and it was fresh in my mind come ranking time, so he had that going for him as well. Maybe 90 was too high, but at a certain point there's basically no difference between 90 and 97 or whatever. Anyhow, I know his run was a cup of coffee but Tama was awesome for a minute there. The Islanders are my favourite WWF tag team of the 80s just behind the Rockers, but they had great stuff as both a babyface team and a heel team. As part of that team Tama could be an amazing sympathetic face in peril and bring tonnes of energy during the shine, or an amazing bump freak shithead heel running distractions and cheapshots while Haku brought the seriousness. The Hart Foundation tag is one of my favourite WWF matches of the 80s and the Strike Force feud is better than, I don't know, every other WWF tag feud of that decade? He had a couple bonkers signature bumps, with his slingshot from the apron into the ring (landing face first) being the best of its kind. He'd also regularly take a bump over the top rope to the floor and just careen himself into the barricade like a nutjob. Even during the Islanders run he got to have some really good singles stuff and the MSG match with Martel is legit awesome. I don't actually remember too much of the Samoan SWAT Team run in WCW, but he probably deserves a spot on the list just because that might be the best name for a team ever. I also wish some of his run in Mexico was out there because Tama against the Villanos is a dream match if there ever was one. Tama ruled. I regret nothing. TAMA YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Roddy Piper (WWF, 11/26/84) w/Haku v The Hart Foundation (WWF, 11/16/86) v Rick Martel (WWF, 7/25/87) w/Haku v Strike Force (WWF, 9/21/87) w/Haku v Strike Force (WWF, 12/5/87)

I've come around a bit on Koshinaka over the years. Honestly, my memory of the Takada series is probably skewed at this point and I likely didn't hate it as much as I've let myself think, but either way I didn't really enjoy him at all on the 80s set. He's reliably fun in the NJ/WAR feud, though (then again "reliably fun" was the floor for just about everybody in that feud). The Heisei Ishingun run in the 90s is regularly pretty great and some of the hottest midcard stuff you'll see, especially the feud with Aoyagi and Saito in the early 90s. The 5/90 New Japan multi-man is amazing and he's maybe the second best guy in it behind Kurisu. Agreed with elliot on the '96 G1 run. The team with Tenryu was fun and as he got older he leaned nicely into the cantankerousness. Plus he has the awesome Satanico hair match. I'd never vote for him, but I certainly don't dread watching him at this point.

I had Yamamoto at number 91 in 2016 and that feels a bit too low, but in my defence I hadn't yet deep-dived RINGS before the first GWE. At that point as well I think shoot-style was probably only my second or third favourite style of wrestling as opposed to my first (or just, you know, my favourite). Yamamoto was awesome and one of the best shoot-style underdogs ever. Obviously the Tamura fights are the business, but the Han bouts are tremendous as well and it was cool as hell getting to see him start out in 1992 and track his journey towards becoming the Yamamoto we know and love throughout those first few years. A real feather in his cap as a youngster was his ability to get a really exciting contest out of Nobuaki Kakuta, who was all over the first couple years' worth of RINGS shows but despite being crazy over for whatever reason was never actually any good. I actually haven't even seen Yamamoto's '99 fight with Tamura, which is one of those "save it for a special occasion" matches that I don't really know why I have but here we are and these are the choices I've made with my life. YOSHIHISA YAMAMOTO YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Nobuaki Kakuta (RINGS, 12/19/92) v Volk Han (RINGS, 1/24/94) v Volk Han (RINGS, 12/29/95) v Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS, 4/4/97) v Kiyoshi Tamura (RINGS, 9/21/98)

I think I had that Lawler tag top 25 when we did the Memphis set. The concession stand brawl was for sure in my top 10.

I had Ono at 92 in 2016 and I don't know what nonsense I was smoking at the time. Ono is one of my five favourite wrestlers in Japanese wrestling history, but I think that might've worked against him and I may have wound up shafting him in some daft pursuit of objectivity. Battlarts is also pretty niche and so maybe I thought having Ono just outside my top 50 would've been too much of a hipster pick (even though that still would've been about 25 spots too low but whatever). I guess his body of work isn't substantial, so that might've hurt him then as well. That said, and Jetlag basically covered it five years ago anyway, he has a deeper resume than people usually think, and at this point I feel like I have a pretty good handle on that. I guess I'd argue that he had two peaks. The first being in '97-'99 might sound silly considering he only debuted in 1994, but I've watched this stuff and he's looked like one of the best wrestlers alive as early as 1996. He was routinely awesome over the next couple years, not just when he got to be involved in main events (usually with Ikeda), but when he and Orihara were dossing around like a pair of absolute shitheads (though your mileage will very much vary on the latter). He had a frustrating lack of opportunity to showcase how good he was in the early parts of the 00s, but when he did have 10 minutes to stretch out he'd go and have one of the best 10-minute matches ever against Ishikawa just for the fuck of it. His second peak from around 2009-2012 is possibly even better and I think he has a genuine case as the best wrestler in the world in 2010. FUTEN was on a roll and everything he touched turned to gold, including the best 5-minute match in history versus Ikeda, maybe the best match of Mitsuya Nagai's career, the awesome 6-man tag from April, and then the Ono/Ishikawa v Ikeda/Usuda tag to round out the year. FUTEN being FUTEN means we don't get a ton of chances to see him after that, but the Team Taco v Mashimo/Sato tag from 1/22/12 is another absolute corker. Over the course of his career he has the absolute superclassics, the very good midcard stuff, the fun lower card stuff, and way more volume than even I gave him credit for in the past. If you're not too high on the style he works then Takeshi One being a top 25 candidate will seem like sheer lunacy, but to me he's pretty much everything I'd want in that particular style, which happens to possibly be my favourite style of wrestling, period. Incredible striker, brilliant grappler, amazing seller (this idea that he doesn't sell is wild to me), unbelievable bastard when he wanted to be, great at working as bantamweight underdog against the heavyweights, equally great as dominant force showing vulnerability...I don't know, man. He was 92 in 2016 but he'll be at least 60 spots higher in 2026. TAKESHI ONO YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Daisuke Ikeda v Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka (Battlarts, 10/30/96) w/Yuki Ishikawa v Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda (Battlarts, 1/21/97) v Daisuke Ikeda (FUTEN, 9/26/10) v White Moriyama (FUTEN, 1/30/11) w/Daisuke Ikeda v Kengo Mashimo & Hikaru Sato (FUTEN, 1/22/12)

I had Condrey as my number 93 in 2016 and I'm happy with that. Condrey was fucking awesome and I agree with Dylan that he was every bit as good as Eaton in one of the best tag teams there's ever been. I said it five years ago, but his kneedrops are some of the greatest kneedrops you'll see and I love how he'd stomp someone in the nastiest ways possible. This wasn't your regular stomps to the chest, Condrey would stomp on a guy's instep or wrist or clavicle and they'd never look anything short of brutal. Obviously an amazing stooge, but another one of those guys who shifted from stooge to killer seamlessly and believably. I loved that dynamic of the Condrey/Eaton MX -- Eaton was the flash and had amazing offence, but while Condrey might've been a lover boy he was the last person you wanted to pick a fight with. I also give him bonus points for wrestling squash matches while still wearing his little dickie bow. On the rare occasion he got rid of it during a studio match it was effectively a rub for whichever ham n egger pushed him to that point. Condrey also has scope to move up because I've seen next to nothing of him outside the MX run with Eaton. Dennis Condrey ruled. DENNIS CONDREY YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Bobby Eaton v Bill Watts & Stagger Lee (Mid-South, 4/22/84) w/Bobby Eaton & Ernie Ladd v Rock n Roll Express & Jim Duggan (Houston, 6/8/84) w/Bobby Eaton v The Fantastics (Mid-South, 8/9/84) w/Bobby Eaton v Rock n Roll Express (JCP, 2/7/86) w/Bobby Eaton v The Road Warriors (JCP, 4/18/86)

I had Kikuchi at 94 in 2016 and I'm okay with that. 90s All Japan isn't my favourite style/era/whatever, and I don't have a ton of interest in going back and watching much of it, but any time I do and Kikuchi's thrown into the mix I'm almost guaranteed to see an incredible beatdown and awesome face-in-peril performance. A great FIP/underdog in general and makes me wish All Japan put more of a spotlight on the juniors division during the 90s, because he would've been a brilliant anchor. Still, my favourite Kikuchi might be later career Kikuchi where he was a snarling wee lizard maniac holding the microphone to his opponent's head while he'd clonk it with his own head. Every exchange with Liger is what the pro-wrestling is all about. I have no idea whether or not he actually has brain damage, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does, unfortunately. TSUYOSHI KIKUCHI YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada v Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (All Japan, 1/27/91) w/Kenta Kobashi v Akira Taue & Jumbo Tsuruta (All Japan, 1/26/92) w/Kenta Kobashi v Cam-Am Express (All Japan, 5/25/92) w/Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi v Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa (All Japan, 6/3/93) w/Yoshinobu Kanemaru v Jushin Liger & Wataro Inoue (NOAH, 2/17/02)

I had Takayama at 95 in 2016, and when I look at his body of work and what I actually value in wrestling, that feels stuuuupid low. The fact his peak is short doesn't bother me, because wrestlers with short peaks that also happen to be completely awesome peaks did well on my list then, and will do well on it in 2026. The UWFi run has been mentioned already but it really was a bunch of fun, especially his tag team with Yoji Anjoh (they were called Golden Cups!) where they'd wrestle WAR lumpies like Kodo Fuyuki and spend half the match mocking them for being fat and having scraggly ring gear. The 2000-2004 stretch is an all-timer. I don't actually love the NOAH match with Kobashi but the 2000 All Japan match is terrific. One of the greatest ever at just flicking the switch and absolutely whomping motherfuckers. The Nagata match where he about knees him to the moon is still the best Nagata match I've ever seen. He was still a wrecking ball after coming back from the stroke, with the KENTA matches that are a couple of the best ever monster v belligerent underdog matches, and the amazing Zero-1 tag with Sato against Ohtani and Omori where he's basically Godzilla and everyone in Korakuen Hall is petrified that they get caught up in his rampage. My god he was amazing. Why did I have him at 95, fer chrissakes? YOSHIHIRO TAKAYAMA YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Kenta Kobashi (All Japan, 5/26/00) v Yuji Nagata (New Japan, 5/2/02) v Mitsuharu Misawa (NOAH, 9/23/02) v Kenta Kobashi (NOAH, 4/25/04) w/Kohei Sato v Shinjiro Ohtani & Takao Omori (Zero-1, 218/07)

I had Hayes at 96 in 2016, and I'm fine with that but could easily have him higher. Elliot is right about Hayes' major strength: the sub-10 minute bar fight. He was tremendous at that particular aspect of pro-wrestling, and the fact that particular aspect of pro-wrestling is also one of my FAVOURITE aspects of pro-wrestling, there was no chance I could leave Hayes off. Obviously the Von Erichs feud ruled, but Hayes and the Freebirds had fun to awesome stuff in Memphis, Georgia, Mid-South, Houston and Crockett. Some may even argue his most famous post-Freebirds run as a tag wrestler is the best post-Freebirds tag run of the three, though Michael P.S. Hayes and Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin and their magnificent hair being a better tag team than the vaunted Miracle Violence Connection may be a take too CONTROVERSIAL at this stage of GWE 2026. I actually think Hayes was the best Freebird even at their peak as a trio and he was my MVP of the DVDVR Texas set. His late-decade babyface run there ruled as well btw, especially the match with Buddy Roberts (it was a short and wild brawl, because of course it was). There's the DiBiase match that came with the Houston footage that I still need to see (and some other stuff there into the bargain), so his case might be bolstered for next time. MICHAEL HAYES YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Terry Gordy v Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee (Memphis, 7/14/79) w/Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts v The Von Erichs (WCCW, 7/4/83) v Kerry Von Erich (WCCW, 11/24/83) w/Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts v Bill Watts, Chavo Guerrero & Terry Taylor (Houston, 8/8/86) v Buddy Roberts (WCCW, 5/13/88)

I'm actually up to Stalemate on the 2005 stuff so I should get to their first match soon (I'm not watching EVERYTHING, because I'm not a maniac, just the stuff that interests me and that did interest me).

I had Jose at 97 in 2016 and he could just as easily finish 96 spots higher in 2026. Or like, 10 spots higher, so I guess I'm mostly fine with where I had him. I don't know, I have about 50 wrestlers I want to vote for in my bottom 20 so 97 shouldn't be taken as a slight, it's just that you watch him at 50 years old on that Houston footage and you can't help but think he'd be top 30 if we had him in his prime. One of the all-time great punchers with maybe the best uppercut in the history of the fake fighting. Had those Houston fans in the palm of his hand every time out -- almost Lawler-in-Memphis type reverence. The Guerreros feud is also amazing, so he has top tier matches to go with the top tier old man Clint Eastwood performances. Lothario was great. They should've given him the belt in '96 and made Michaels carry HIS bags. JOSE LOTHARIO YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Killer Karl Krupp (Houston, 3/24/78) v Gino Hernandez (Houston, 1/19/79) v Hector Guerrero (Houston, 5/25/84) v Hector Guerrero (Houston, 6/8/84) w/Hacksaw Duggan v Chavo & Hector Guerrero (Houston, 7/6/84)

I had AJ at 98 in 2016 and I'm not really sure what to do with him next time. I don't, like, LIKE Styles that much, but I went and watched some of the New Japan run just before the 2016 deadline and some of that stuff was great, which got him onto my list. I have no use for Tetsuya Naito one way or the other but the Styles match ruled and Styles was awesome in it. The Suzuki match was fantastic. I've since gone back and watched some 00s ROH-era Styles and he was really good there as well, which will sound redundant to people who are already a fan of his but I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. The Rave feud when he came back in 2005 has been a blast and Styles working surly as a bastard is amazing and I'm hyped about watching the Fight Without Honour (or whatever stipulation it is). Clearly very good in 2003 and the triple threat with Low-Ki and Paul London still holds up as being a spectacular spotfest almost 20 years later, which is sort of nuts when you think about it. That also highlights his longevity because he was involved in that Bryan match from the end of 2018 that was also great. TNA has become less of a joke now that some have revisited it, but honestly, I really don't have any interest in doing that myself, so I guess that particular stretch of his career in that particular wrestling promotion will always be a mystery to me (well, outside of 2005, which I watched in real time, but I doubt I'll go back to that either). The WWE run is fine and I should watch the Reigns series, I guess. Honestly, Styles could just as easily finish 98 again as he could 81 as he could off my list entirely. I have absolutely no affinity to him though, so if it comes down to picking him or a favourite like Herodes or Espectrito then I'm afraid he's out on his arse. AJ STYLES YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Paul London v Low-Ki (ROH One Year Anniversary Show, 2/8/03) v Jimmy Rave (ROH Third Anniversary Celebration - Night 2, 2/25/05) v Samoa Joe (TNA Turning Point, 12/11/05) v Minoru Suzuki (New Japan, 8/1/14) v Daniel Bryan (WWE TLC 12/16/18)