KB8

I had Morgan at 44 in 2016, one spot higher than our good friend elliot. A couple things I think Pirata Morgan easily goes into the all-time elite tier for are a) bumping like a complete maniac, and b) bleeding like a truly demented bastard. Combining both of those things went a decent way to making him an amazing brawler who was involved in a few amazing brawls. The Infernales were also one of the best trios in lucha history, so he has that small thing going for him. It's been over a decade since I watched the Brazo de Oro title match, but I though that was pretty great, so he has at least one title match feather in his cap. I'd agree that he doesn't really have the longevity of your absolute top level lucha candidates, and there's more than a small sample of old man Pirata Morgan not being particularly good, but his peak is absolutely exceptional and the '93 hair match with Satanico is something I can't wait to watch (one day, whenever that'll be). PIRATA MORGAN YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/El Satanico & MS-1 v El Egipcio, La Fiera & El Faraon (EMLL, 3/29/85) v El Dandy (EMLL, 9/23/88) v Brazo de Oro (EMLL, 11/18/89) v El Faraon (CMLL, 11/18/90) v Masakre (CMLL, 2/28/92)

I had Austin at 45 in 2016 and I'm pretty much fine with that. I'm not sure he got properly GOOD good until ~mid-1992 (when he cut his hair short), but he still had plenty of decent stuff before that point, which is nothing else demonstrates an ability to be led and at least hold up his end of things. Once he put it together he was mostly really good and he has a nice resume of WCW work to go with it. He hit his stride in '96 and from then on out I thought he was pretty great as a guy working in the exact way I'd have expected his character to work. I won't bother getting into the semantics of brawling or whatever style you thought he actually worked, but there was a frenetic energy to everything he did as Stone Cole that I absolutely love. Was he as strong a brawler (sorry) as Hansen or Funk? Probably not, especially if the Hansen and Funk sort of brawling is what you're looking for (and why wouldn't you, I guess). But even when WWF brawling was at its most basic or Attitudey I thought he was worth watching more often than not. He had an organic craziness about him, something that I bought completely in a way that made me forget I was watching a performance. It's especially evident in tag matches because he would usually do something amazing out of nowhere just because he's Stone Cold and it made perfect sense for a person like that to do it. One of my favourite moments ever in an Austin match is during the team Austin against team DX match from No Way Out 1998, where Billy Gunn tries to come in to interfere and Austin chucks a trash can off his head from the opposite apron. Your mileage will vary on those Attitude Era smoke and mirrors matches but I don't know if there was anybody who got more out of them than Austin (maybe McMahon?), and of course the match with Dude Love is the shining example of it. The 2001 run still holds up as well, I think. He was an unbelievable psychopath for stretches of that and things like the Angle match from Summerslam and the Benoit match from Smackdown! are incredible, with incredible Austin performances. I don't think there's anything left for me to learn about Austin, but I've never been bored by him and I doubt I ever will be. STEVE AUSTIN YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Brian Pillman v Marcus Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio (WCW WorldWide, 5/8/93) v Bret Hart (WWF Wrestlemania 13, 3/23/97) v Dude Love (WWF Over the Edge, 5/31/98) v Chris Benoit (WWF Smackdown!, 5/31/01) v Kurt Angle (WWF Summerslam, 8/19/01)

I absolutely love the Spring Stampede match. Like, top 20 match in WCW history love. And I could watch those two smash each other to bits for days. But even I wouldn't be going to bat for Bossman being a better Vader opponent than Sting. Bossman was really good, though. I wonder if anyone's done a comparison with DiBiase.

Fuerza was my number 46 in 2016 and I don't think there's any way he doesn't land top half again in 2026. If this was a question of favourites, Fuerza would be in my top 5. Even in matches where he has a minimal role, or even matches that are otherwise not good, there'll pretty much always be a Fuerza moment that I get a kick out of. Just one of the absolute greatest shtick workers of all time and someone who will never, ever have any qualms about looking like a complete moron at least once during a match. It's been a long time since I've watched a Fuerza title match, but I think he's a bit underrated as a mat worker at this point, maybe in part because his name first and foremost makes you think of the shtick or the legendary performances against Octagon. Consistently fun (at worst) in trios matches, and easily one of the best performers in 90s AAA (where a lot of great wrestlers could be disappointing relative to their stuff elsewhere). I watched enough 2000s Fuerza a while back to know that I still think he's entertaining after his peak, but I guess OJ's point about him not necessarily having the crazy longevity is worth considering. Even still he'll do well on my ballot. Fuerza forever. FUERZA GUERRERA YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Lobo Rubio v El Hijo del Santo & Atlantis (EMLL, 11/25/83) v Pantera II (CMLL, 5/13/90) v Octagon (CMLL, 11/1/91) w/Blue Panther & Psicosis v Rey Misterio Jr., Octagon & El Hijo del Santo (AAA, 3/16/95) w/Psicosis, Jerry Estrada & Pentagon v El Hijo del Santo, Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr. & La Parka (AAA, 7/8/95)

I had Sano at 47 in 2016 and that still feels too low. Sano was unbelievable and I think there's a really strong argument that he was the second best wrestler ever at working shoot style and pro style. Not even hybrid styles, I mean full pro style and full shoot style. Although with that said, one of my very favourite things about Sano is his ability to believably integrate pro style moves or submissions into his shoot style bouts. The Shamrock fight from PWFG is jaw-droppingly great and the moment where he hits a dragon suplex is mad wild and mad awesome. The Liger feud is iconic and basically all of it holds up, from the rapid workrate sprints to the climax built around Sano trying to take Liger's whole entire soul. I feel like there are decent parts of the NOAH run that I haven't seen yet either. The guy was truly amazing. NAOKI SANO YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Jushin Liger (New Japan, 8/10/89) v Jushin Liger (New Japan, 1/31/90) v Wayne Shamrock (PWFG, 5/19/91) v Yoji Anjoh (UWFi, 5/13/93) v Mitsuharu Misawa (NOAH, 4/28/07)

I had Regal at number 48 in 2016, right next to Finlay which I guess maybe felt fitting for whatever reason. When I rejigged my ballot a couple years ago I had him down the list a bit, but I've watched some later career Regal since then and he's back to being a top half guy. I'm probably a bit of a low voter on him, but it's Regal, he fucked ruled and there's no way I couldn't have him somewhere. Over the years I maybe lost sight of how much good-to-great stuff he has. I don't know if the pre-WCW run is something that'll really bolster his case, but '93-'96 is a brilliant run. I'll say that there were matches where I thought he maybe took a wee bit too much of the match, but it's a small quibble and it's not like he wasn't great working from above anyway. He has a sort of extended down period after that - albeit with some badass stuff sprinkled in, like the Austin strap match in 2001, any of the Benoit matches, at least one tag match when he was pairing with Eugene - but then in 2006 he finds his footing again and pretty much rules it consistently for as long as he made tape. Like Finlay, Regal is another amazing input candidate, where I can watch pretty much any match he's in, against pretty much any opponent, whether it's thirty seconds or thirty minutes, and find something to enjoy about the performance. WILLIAM REGAL YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Larry Zbyszko (WCW Saturday Night, 5/28/94) v Shinya Hashimoto (New Japan, 4/16/95) v Fit Finlay (WCW Uncensored, 3/24/96) v Chris Benoit (WWE No Mercy, 10/8/06) v Antonio Cesaro (NXT, 12/25/13)

Finlay was my number 49 in 2016, and while he wouldn't be quite as high on my list of straight up favourites as Eric's, Finlay at his most Finlayish is pretty close to my perfect idea of a pro wrestler. I actually don't love his WCW run as much as I feel like I should and I've found the European stuff to be more fun or good than great, but from his WWE comeback in 2006 and everything after that I love pretty much everything to death. Granted, that peak is short - and he was older than most people when they'd have their in-ring peak as a wrestler - but I thought he was the best wrestler in the world in 2006 and I didn't think he took much of a step down in the following few years, even if his opportunities to showcase it dwindled. I can see people thinking he doesn't have a deep enough resume, but to me he's a perfect "input over output" candidate. Put him in the ring against anybody from 2006 onwards and I want to watch it. Could be Matt Hardy, Rey Mysterio or Christ Benoit. Could be Gunner Scott, the Great Khali or Kenny Dykstra. Could be William Regal or Kane or Mr. Kennedy. Then there's the indie excursion where he gets to match up with all sorts of random folk from Sami Callihan to Tajiri to Murat Bosporus. 49 might be too high given my favourite stretch of his career is relatively short, but I'm struggling to think of any Finlay matches from that run that I'd say are actively bad and even the two-minute ones are fun because of him. So maybe it's not high enough. FIT FINLAY YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Steven Regal (WCW Uncensored, 3/24/96) v Chris Benoit (WWE Judgment Day, 5/21/06) v Rey Mysterio (WWE Smackdown!, 3/24/06) v Matt Hardy (WWE Smackdown!, 6/19/07) v Sami Callihan (EVOLVE, 7/26/11)

Well shit, I also had Akiyama at number 50 in 2016! I have similarly little to say about him right now, but part of that is because I want to make a concerted effort to watch more Akiyama for the next deadline before I figure out where I'm at on him (I mean, broadly, where I'm at right now is that he was great, or I wouldn't have had him at #50). I watched a bit of his 2010 stuff before 2016 and liked it, but I feel like I should go a bit deeper, and to be honest he's one of the only guys who've been prominent in Japan for the last 10 years that I feel that way about. I wouldn't need to watch another match of Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, Taue, Kikuchi, Fuchi, Jumbo...basically any of the 90s All Japan crew to know where I stand on them. But Akiyama sort of has a whole entire OTHER career that I'm not nearly as familiar with, and enough people whose opinions I value have been banging the drum for him for long enough that I probably shouldn't ignore it. So yeah, I don't know where he'll land in 2026, but even if I'm lukewarm on stuff from the last 10 years he still feels like solid top half candidate. JUN AKIYAMA YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Mitsuharu Misawa v Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (All Japan, 12/6/96) w/Kenta Kobashi v Vader & Stan Hansen (All Japan, 12/5/98) v Mitsuharu Misawa (All Japan, 2/27/00) v Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestle-One, 8/4/05) w/Genichiro Tenryu v Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue (NOAH, 9/18/05)

I don't think they're better than the RnRs, Fantastics or the Fabs. I certainly don't think it would nuts if someone did, though.

Pretty much the perfect midcard trios. This had a little bit of everything -- comedy, matwork, some tetchiness, some brawling, and an amazing fatboy tope. The primera almost felt like something from World of Sport. It got about twelve minutes and every match-up worked. Emilio and Ringo Mendoza decided to skip the bullshit and had a great little exchange, but before long the rudos started to pick on Popitekus. He and Herodes must've had been coming in because Herodes was not for going at him one on one. Some of the comedy was great and Herodes continues to be one of my favourites. He's always a blast in these matches, always willing to be as much of a dipshit as possible, but all you need to do is look at a guy like that to know he can turn loose when he absolutely needs to. He challenged Kung Fu to try and apply a full nelson, but he and everyone else knew fine well Kung Fu wouldn't be able to. Both attempts ended with Herodes elbowing him in the mouth. On the third attempt, behind Herodes' back, Kung Fu switched out with Popitekus and Herodes' reaction when he realised it wasn't Kung Fu who had a hold of him was perfect. Popitekus had one amazing bit with Espectro as well, with Espectro fully on his bullshit and challenging the big man to knock him off his feet. Espectro standing with his biceps flexed as Popitekus literally bounced him clean out the ring was sublime. Herodes hitting a tope at the end was completely awesome and I don't think the commentators or spectators figured he'd actually do it. This was a total blast.

I had Tito at 51 in 2016, and in hindsight that might be a bit high, but I don't regret it either. Like with many candidates proximity matters, and I watched a stack of Tito (and talked about it in this thread) before the last deadline, so he was fresh in the memory. I haven't watched much since then, but I'm not about to forget how good he was. I stand by the idea that he was better at showing a palpable sense of hatred or "babyface fire" (sort of a nebulous term, I know, but I think most people get the gist of what I mean) than many/just about all of his contemporaries. I said it five years ago, but I would have him above Martel and Steamboat in that regard without too much thought. He was a really good tag wrestler and pretty great in a brawl, which the Valentine matches KIND OF were even when they technically weren't (i.e. they kicked fuck out each other) and a couple of the Savage matches definitely were. I'm hyped about finally watching the Bockwinkel match from Houston and I should probably check to see if any substantial AWA stuff has surfaced since the DVDVR set. Tito ruled, man. TITO SANTANA YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Rick Martel v High Flyers (AWA, 8/29/82) v Greg Valentine (WWF 1/21/85) w/Ricky Steamboat v Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake (WWF, 4/21/85) v Randy Savage (WWF 4/21/86) v Mr. Perfect (WWF Saturday Night's Main Event, 7/28/90)

I had Otsuka at 52 in 2016 and he'll likely move into that top half in 2026. Probably my least favourite of the four Battlarts godkings (Ishikawa/Ikeda/Otsuka/Ono), but then that's like saying he's the least favourite of my four children (I have no children but I assume I would love them all very much and in actual fact probably wouldn't have a "least favourite" at all?). He's probably one of the most unique wrestlers ever, and while I get that some people might find him sort of kooky, especially for a shoot style or shoot style hybrid promotion, there's something about him in Battlarts that just feels right. I'm still not sure I've actually seen that Matsunaga match. ALEXANDER OTSUKA YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Yuki Ishikawa v Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono (Battlarts, 10/30/96) v Daisuke Ikeda (Battlarts, 11/5/97) v Yuki Ishikawa (Battlarts, 1/20/98) v Naoyuki Taira (Battlarts, 5/11/00) w/Yuki Ishikawa & Munenori Sawa v Daisuke Ikeda, Super Tiger II & Katsumi Usuda (Battlarts, 7/26/08)

I had Benoit at number 53 in 2016. I voted for him because I thought he was a great wrestler for parts of his career, and great at a number of aspects of pro wrestling. I don't really have a ton of interest in revisiting much of that stuff, though, and I certainly have no objection to people not voting for him on moral grounds. I don't really have a whole lot else to say about him at this point.

I'm glad you brought Reed up, because he was my number 54 in 2016 and if anything I'd vote him even higher next time. Cards on the table, Reed is one of my three favourite wrestlers of all time. I probably voted him lower in 2016 than I wanted to but at the same time didn't want to give him too much of a favourite bump. I've re-watched most of the stuff from the Mid-South set since the last poll and there's been plenty of stuff from the Houston footage to bolster his case. He was also really fun as far back as 1981 working studio matches in Georgia, which I'd never seen prior to 2016 either. Same goes for that Flair match from Florida. Then there are things like the Blackwell match from St. Louis, the Doom run, one or two high points during an admittedly disappointing WWF run (and I wouldn't argue with anyone who dings him for that run as a whole) and he has a pretty strong resume of quality work. To elliot's point as well, he has versatility to his case. He'll have a 45-minute traditional NWA Title style bout with Murdoch, an ACTUAL 60-minute NWA Title match with Flair (that I don't love but I know some do), a dog collar with with Buzz Sawyer, an established heel powerhouse v plucky babyface underdog match against Skip Young, work as big bully heel in a tag or babyface house o' fire, can brawl, work in and out of holds, bump like a motherfucker, etc. Reed was the business. Here's ten recs because fuck it. BUTCH REED YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Jerry Blackwell (St. Louis, 11/28/82) w/Jim Neidhart v Magnum TA & Mr. Wrestling II (Mid-South, 12/25/83) v Tito Santana (Houston, 1/13/84) v Junkyard Dog (Houston, 6/22/84) v Dick Murdoch (Mid-South, 9/22/85) v Dick Murdoch (Mid-South, 10/14/85) v Dick Slater (Houston, 11/22/85) v Buzz Sawyer (Houston, 12/31/85) w/Ron Simmons (WCW Clash of the Champions 10, 2/6/90) w/Ron Simmons v Arn Anderson & Barry Windham (WCW Starrcade, 12/16/90)

I had Michaels - ol' HBK, the ol' Showstopper and Main Event and Mr. Wrestlemania and all that other carry on - at number 55 in 2016, which will either be about 300 spots too high or 54 spots too low depending on who you ask. I like Michaels. I said it, I meant it, I'm here to represent it. I became a wrestling fan in the early 90s and the first proper event I have vivid memories of watching is the 1992 Royal Rumble. Maybe my earliest memory, period, is Shawn launching Marty Jannetty through a window, and from then on out I was a stupid huge dork for Shawn Michaels. I watched the ladder match at Wrestlemania 10 that my grandfather taped for me and I flipped at what I was seeing. I watched the Royal Rumble 1995 the morning after it happened, with no sound because our video recorder was a bucket of shit, and I flipped when he won the whole thing from number 1. I ran home from school to watch Wrestlemania 12 and I flipped when he won the belt. He was my favourite wrestler as a kid and even if I didn't want to be a stripper I absolutely wanted to be the WWF champion. Plus the superkick was just cool as fuck. But then scant few of you give a shit about any of that and that time he kipped up without selling 40 minutes of back work is enough for you to disregard my childhood memories. And as I head towards my mid-30s and impending decrepitude I can't say I blame you. I wouldn't really consider him a favourite anymore. I understood the criticisms of him even as a wide-eyed youngster posting on message boards for the first time, and many of those criticisms I've agreed with for a long time now, even if they don't really bother me. The kip up doesn't really bother me. His insufferable persona throughout the 90s doesn't really bother me. His knife edge chops were kind of crummy but they don't really bother me. Most of the post-comeback run I can sort of do without, to be honest. In fact, one of the things I'd like to do before the next deadline is give that stuff a shot again. But I voted for him the last time because he has a bunch of matches I love - including my favourite match ever, against Mankind at In Your House - and I think for all the sticks you can beat him with, he was an outstanding tag wrestler and a part of my favourite tag team ever. He was a lunatic bumper, even into his 70s or whatever age he was when he did that screwball moonsault into the table at Wrestlemania 24. His terrible (so terrible) acting at least made me laugh a few times. But mostly he had the matches that I love and he was my favourite as a kid. So he gets on the list and stays on the list. Thank you for your time. SHAWN MICHAELS YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Marty Jannetty v Buddy Rose & Doug Somers (AWA, 8/30/86) w/Marty Jannetty v Buddy Rose & Doug Somers (AWA, 12/25/86) w/Marty Jannetty v Power of Pain (WWF, 1/15/90) w/Marty Jannetty v The Orient Express (WWF Royal Rumble, 1/19/91) w/Diesel v Razor Ramon & 123 Kid (WWF Action Zone, 10/30/94) v Jeff Jarrett (WWF In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks, 7/23/95) v Diesel (WWF In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies, 4/28/96) w/Steve Austin v Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (WWF RAW, 5/26/97) v Mankind (WWF In Your House 10: Mind Games, 9/22/96) v Shelton Benjamin (WWE RAW, 5/2/05)

I had Fuchi at number 56 in 2016. He probably won't be as high next time, but he won't drop off the list just because he brings so much of what I love in wrestling even within a style I'm sort of over at this stage of the game. Basically, Fuchi brings the greatest aspects of angry disgruntled torturous lumpy wee old bastard WAR to the pristine All Japan. It's obviously a shame that he never had much of a singles run during the 90s, but I'm okay with the trade-off of having him in those tags and six-mans in the early part of the decade. You could always rely on Fuchi to be the one to just punch someone with the point of his knuckles dead in the nose, then mash those knuckles into that nose just to make sure it's properly broken. A spectacular cheapshotting prick of a man, and as he grew older and the younger heavyweights started to pass him by I love that he almost turned that into a means of generating sympathy. What else could he do against Kobashi BUT punch him in the eye or kick him in the throat? The run after the All Japan exodus is one of my favourite returns to form ever, as he more or less comes out of retirement to fight for the honour of All Japan against Chono, Nagata and any other New Japan folk thrown at him. I don't even like that 12/00 tag all that much but Fuchi coming in and standing on Nagata's face was one of the best moments of the decade. No matter how outmatched, Fuchi was the definition of first man into the breach. He's also involved in a couple Tenryu tags early in the 00s and at least one is sensational (I'll rec it down below). Part of me selfishly wishes he left All Japan with Tenryu to form SWS, as even though he wouldn't have been there for those aforementioned All Japan tags and six-mans, he WOULD have been there for WAR v New Japan and I can say with decent confidence that he would've been unbelievable in something like that. And yeah, the Memphis run was a hoot. Actually fuck it, 56 might've been too low. MASA FUCHI YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Mitsuo Momota (All Japan, 3/29/89) w/Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura v Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (All Japan, 9/24/89) w/Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue v Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi (All Japan, 10/19/90) w/Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue v Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi (All Japan, 4/20/91) v Genichiro Tenryu v Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya (All Japan, 6/30/01)

I had Aja at number 57 in 2016, which is probably too low, but I wouldn't put too much stock in any of my joshi picks from five years ago, because as a style (broad, I know) it'll be represented waaaaay differently in five years. Aja was always one of the joshi candidates that resonated most with me - as someone who had struggled a bit with joshi for over a decade - just because she did a number of things that I guess you'd call "outliers" stylistically. I've watched more joshi over the last year than I had in probably the previous twelve combined, and at this stage I'm not even sure how accurate that is, but I do think she's more accessible to people who otherwise don't love joshi at large. It's not even that I love joshi myself, I just feel like Aja stands out less now than she did before. All the things I liked about Aja before are still there, though. She's a wrecking ball and her peak was great. She has a shit load of good-to-great matches. She's more versatile than I think some would give her credit for. She's Aja Kong and I don't think there's a whole lot more than needs to be said about her. AJA KONG YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Bison Kimura v Manami Toyota & Esther Moreno (AJW, 4/29/91) v Yumiko Hotta (AJW, 1/24/94) v Manami Toyota (AJW, 11/20/94) v Meiko Satomura (GAEA, 9/15/99) v KAORU (GAEA, 2/13/00)

Anjoh was my number 58 in 2016 and honestly, I've watched enough new Anjoh in the last five years to put him higher next time. I absolutely love Anjoh and he's probably a top half guy for me at this point. In terms of shoot style workers who are great in a pro style setting he's not Fujiwara. He's not Maeda or maybe even Yamazaki, and if you're a Takada fan then there's another name. But he's a brilliant shoot style worker and even if he doesn't necessarily have a litany of amazing pro style matches, he certainly had all the tools to be great against guys like Chono and Tenryu. He was pretty much perfect for an inter-promotional feud, like has been mentioned already. Basically every time he was involved in something like that there would be rabid heat. His douchebag charisma is practically second to none and he had some of the best obnoxious pouty facial expressions ever. With Anjoh there was also always that lingering sense that he might get pissed off about something innocuous and the match would take a turn for the unpleasant. It helps that he has a handful of shoot style matches that are some of the best ever in the style. YOJI ANJOH YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Masakatsu Funaki (UWF, 6/14/89) v Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFi, 7/3/91) w/Kazuo Yamazaki v Gary Albright & Jim Boss (UWFi, 1/9/92) v Naoki Sano (UWFi, 8/13/93) v Genichiro Tenryu (WAR, 7/21/96)

I had the Hitman at number 59 in 2016. I'll probably have him lower in 2026, but he was very good at the professional wrestling and has lots of very good professional wrestling matches. He had excellent stompy punches and his backbreaker was very tidy. I like the pink and black colour scheme. I've long since felt the need to type many words about Bret Hart. BRET HART YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Owen Hart (WWF Wrestlemania 10, 3/20/94) v 123 Kid (WWF RAW, 7/11/94) v Steve Austin (WWF Survivor Series, 11/17/96) v Steve Austin (WWF Wrestlemania 13, 3/29/97) w/Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, Jim Neidhart & Davey Boy Smith v Steve Austin, Goldust, Ken Shamrock, Hawk & Animal (WWF In Your House: Canadian Stampede, 7/6/97)

Park was my number 60 in 2016, and like elliot that feels low to me now. He's bolstered his case since the last deadline as well by being the best brawler on earth for a minute there, working insane bloodbath spectacles with Rush in arenas where nobody is allowed to work insane bloodbath spectacles anymore (including them, which made it even better). His versatility is a huge plus for him, going from being a wonderful shtick-heavy rudo to the brawler we know him as today, all while finding time in the middle to work title matches with Dandy (what's the date on the Ultimo Guerrero match mentioned in this thread, btw? Their September '04 match is fun but it's pretty short and left me wanting something more). An exceptional trios worker and the stint in WCW is really enjoyable, even if you watch it thinking they should've done way more with him. One of the all-time great apuestas match workers ever. And the cool thing about Park from a personal standpoint is that there's still a decent handful of his highly regarded work that I need to see. Also he has like three matches that I could be talked into calling the best AAA match ever. So that's pretty neat. LA PARK YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr. & El Hijo del Santo v Pentagon, Blue Panther, Psicosis & Fuerza Guerrera (AAA, 6/18/95) v El Hijo del Santo (Monterrey, 12/23/01) v El Mesias (AAA, 6/18/11) v Dr. Wagner Jr. (TXT, 5/11/13) v Rush (Liga Elite, 7/14/16)

I had Jerry Estrada at number 61 in 2016, and on the surface that feels nonsensically high, but I'm not about to make a liar of myself and say I regret that for a single second, or that I won't just end up talking myself into having him this high again in 2026. I'm also not about to sit and tell you a story of how Estrada, along with Eddie Guerrero, El Dandy and El Hijo del Santo, is one of the people who became my proper gateway to lucha. I could tell that story and it would be true, because he was every bit as important as the other three in that, but I don't want it to sound like I only voted Estrada so high because of some nostalgia factor. Really I just love watching Jerry Estrada and his brand of absolute horse shit nonsense. He's a man who clearly gave not one fuck about anything, and I find that level of wanton disregard to be damn near inspirational. There are clearly times where he's stumbled into the arena already wearing his ring gear from the night or week before, clearly unfit for purpose, can barely run the ropes, and yet I find it mesmerising. Maybe that says more about me than I'd like to admit, but there are enough Estrada matches that I love for me to spend too much time arguing with myself over it. I love him in trios, whether he's the lead player or a bit part player, because inevitably he'll leave his scummy mark on everything and the match will usually be seedier (better) for it. When he hasn't pumped himself full of cocaine or whatever else he pumps himself full of he's even capable of having an awesome traditional title match. And I know OJ loves his apuesta matches, but I think I might love them even more, even if Estrada is probably too fucked up during every single one of them to actually register what's at stake. Maybe the greatest deliverer of a whiskey-fuelled tope outside of Sangre Chicana. Also, my favourite spot in wrestling is when Estrada tries to walk along the apron and falls flat on his face on the floor, and part of the reason why is because I'm never actually sure if he means it. Jerry Estrada is not for everyone, but by god Jerry Estrada is for me. JERRY ESTRADA YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Ultraman (EMLL, 3/2/84) v Javier Cruz (EMLL, 11/5/89) v La Fiera (Monterrey, 1991) w/La Parka & El Satanico v Lizmark, Octagon & Mascara Sagrada (AAA, 6/4/93) v Lizmark (AAA, 6/18/93)

This was building to the Remo Banda/Comando Ruso hair match, and I can say they all did their job splendidly. It's actually been a fun feud whenever it's been showcased up to now, going from something in January I wouldn't have been immediately interested in to something I now want to see the climax to. The whole match itself was one big tease of Ruso getting his comeuppance. He wanted no part of Banda to start with and refused to engage, immediately tagging when they wound up in the ring together. A couple times he just left the ring and scurried up the ramp. Of course he threw his cheapshots and was fine to step on Banda's neck whenever the latter was mid-exchange with someone else. Banda got more and more pissed, but the coolest part of this was how they flipped the payoff. Banda did get some measure of revenge, except he took it too early and by the end the rudos had coordinated a total mugging. They went after the arm hard and I thought Banda sold it remarkably well. Long-term limb selling isn't necessarily something I associate with lucha, but Banda would even switch up submission attempts because he couldn't use the bad arm properly, and he at least drew attention to the fact it was bothering him right until the finish. Maybe he needs to pick better partners next time because he was a man on an island by the end and the rudos couldn't have been any more emphatic in putting him away. It was a cool way to book things and I'm interested in where they go with him and Ruso next. Fuerza was Fuerza here. Where Ruso was determined to avoid Banda, Fuerza was similarly opposed to any interaction with Mogur. He got humiliated more than once and more than once it ended with him Fuerza Flopping in the corner (the evolution of the Flair Flop, if you will). At one point he also got bounced off the ropes from the apron and it pretty much reinforces how you can't not watch him at any point in a match. Hijo del Gladiator probably deserves a bit more talk as an awesome rudo stooge. He was a hoot in this and absolutely did not take a backseat to Fuerza in the shithead sweepstakes. I hope he gets a singles showcase at some point during the year.

I had Emilio at 62 in 2016 and I'm happy with that. I guess you can ding him for not having a bunch of high-end singles matches, but as far as rudo trios workers go I'm not sure you'll find anyone more more consistent. Plus he has his share of singles matches that I'd call at least really good (with a couple that are awesome), so he's not there based on the trios output alone. I think he's more an input guy, anyway. Whether he's leading a team (doesn't feel like that was the case very often, honestly) or the third man, he was almost always worth watching for one reason or another. He had the amazing stooging and shtick, but he could go when the situation called for a bit more decorum. He'd almost inevitably slip into habit, sometimes subtly, sometimes blatantly, but the moment he did was never a let-down. It's legit been over a decade since I watched any of his 1989 stuff, but I remember that being arguably his best year and I really should watch everything he did with Dandy all over again. He was still having decent stuff up to at least 2000, so he has a nice longevity case there even if it might be a little short by the real high-end lucha candidates' standards. EMILIO CHARLES JR. YOU SHOULD WATCH: v El Dandy (EMLL, 7/28/89) v El Dandy (EMLL, 12/1/89) v Angel Azteca (CMLL, 1/12/90) w/Jerry Estrada & Pirata Morgan v Salomon Grundy, Super Astro & El Satanico (CMLL, 3/9/90) v Atlantis (CMLL, 8/11/92)

I had the Hammer at number 63 in 2016 and I'm happy enough with that. That said, while we haven't had a TON of new Valentine footage over the last five years, some of what we've gotten has been amazing and could probably bump him a few spaces. The Piper feud is just incredible and the July '83 match is a legit classic to add to his resume. I've also re-watched the Starrcade match since the last poll and its gone from a top 50 match in US history to a top 10 match in US history so that as well might bump him up. The Slater cage match is a cool look at him as a babyface (and another great match into the bargain). None of the singles matches against babyface Flair from 1980 have blown me away, but there's a tag match with Valentine and Hussein Arab/Iron Sheik against Flair and Angelo Mosca from Toronto that's completely fucking awesome (though Flair was the star of it). Obviously the Tito feud is outstanding. Him and Wahoo shredding each other to bits is everything I could've hoped for from reading DEAN gush about it in the old DVDVRs. Awesome mid-80s WWF tag wrestler and made Brutus Beefcake sort of compelling for a while there. Surly as the surliest bastard you've ever seen, strong hold worker, has the elite matches to his name...the Hammer ruled. GREG VALENTINE YOU SHOULD WATCH v Bob Backlund (WWWF, 2/19/79) v Roddy Piper (JCP, 7/9/83) v Roddy Piper (JCP Starrcade, 11/24/83) v Dick Slater (JCP Boogie Jam, 3/17/84) v Tito Santana (WWF, 1/21/85)

I had Cena at 64 in 2016, and honestly, at this point I have no real idea what to do with that. I don't think I could ever drop him off the list, but he's not really an exciting candidate to me in the year 2021 and I feel like that book has closed (the pendulum might swing back by 2026, I suppose). He certainly has the output. His matches regularly feel huge just by virtue of his participation, and even in the more homogenised modern WWE he would stand out as being a legit attraction unto himself. His execution on stuff isn't the best and his strikes don't always look great, but for a guy who had the label of being a Superman bulldozer who'd run through opponents, it was always his selling and ability to take a shit-kicking that was most impressive. I think his selling could be sort of inconsistent, but at its best he was super compelling and his limb selling especially was great (and at this point I'm not as bothered by someone dropping limb selling as I used to be). He's a pretty great "little things" wrestler. Like in the Punk match from MitB, where he's getting progressively frustrated and at one point nearly gets in the ref's face before restraining himself. It wasn't a huge moment, but it was a character moment that doesn't really happen often in WWE today (or for a while). I guess he has a lot of dreck over the years as well and you couldn't pay me to re-watch at least a dozen of the Orton matches, but outside of his experimental PWG run for a minute there you could probably drop me into any period of his career and I'd find SOMETHING to enjoy. I should revisit some of his best stuff. He wasn't half bad. JOHN CENA YOU SHOULD WATCH: v JBL (WWE Judgment Day, 5/22/05) v Umaga (WWE Royal Rumble, 1/28/07) v Randy Orton (WWE RAW, 8/26/07) v CM Punk (WWE Money in the Bank, 7/17/11) v Brock Lesnar (WWE Extreme Rules, 4/29/12)