KB8

I had Yoshida at 69 in 2016, and I've said it already but she'll be a good bit higher than that next time. I don't really have much more to say about her right now, because I sort of covered it up the page a bit already, but one of the most exciting things is that I have three or four of her most highly-regarded matches still to watch. So there's scope there for her to keep shooting up the ballot. Probably my favourite female wrestler ever, and definitely someone I imagine even non-joshi fans would be able to get into without much problem. Yoshida was amazing. MARIKO YOSHIDA YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Takako Inoue v Debbie Malenko & Sakie Hasegawa (AJW, 4/25/92) v Mikiko Futagami (ARSION, 5/5/98) v Yumi Fukawa (ARSION, 9/26/99) v Carlos Amano (GAEA, 4/30/04) v Yoshiko Tamura (NEO, 11/3/06)

There was indeed no way I wasn't not voting for Koko in 2016, but having him at number 70 was definitely too high. Koko ruled, he just didn't have the resume to really justify that. Still, he was awesome in Memphis and I'm planning on running through every Eaton/Koko tag I can find, because those guys were the Midnight Express we never had. Like basically every Memphis guy he was an incredible puncher, but the dropkicks might've been even better. Was responsible for the best scaffold match ever, which I actually put a ton of stock in because that is not a very easy gimmick to do well (Bill Dundee (his dance partner on the night), Chicky Starr and Invader III being the only other guys I'd want to see work several scaffold matches), and also responsible for maybe the best squash match of all-time when he took alllllll the liberties and just obliterated some racist jobber on tv. The tag with Eaton against Mantell/King Cobra and the Flair match are a couple matches that I think hit that absolute top tier, so he has the high-end output as well, even if there's not much volume (maybe PYT v Rich/Gilbert as well, but I haven't watched that recently enough). I can't justify having him so high next time though, even if he is one of my personal favourites. KOKO WARE YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Bill Dundee (Memphis, 6/21/82) w/Bobby Eaton v Dutch Mantell & King Cobra (Memphis, 7/19/82) w/Bobby Eaton, Rick McGraw & Sabu v Jerry Lawler, Bill Dundee, Dutch Mantell & Terry Taylor (Memphis, 12/4/82) w/Norvell Austin v Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert (Memphis, 5/18/84) v Ric Flair (11/18/85)

La Fiera was my number 71 in 2016 and I'm pretty happy with that for now. He could move up though, because there's still some gaps I need to hit, chief among them the Casas and Dandy apuestas. What I have seen, at least, is the lead-in trios (or some of them anyway) to those hair matches, and man was Fiera an extraordinary sleazeball maniac in the early 90s. Just a supremely gritty brawler who'd routinely try and murder someone/garrotte them with a chain, drink their blood and revel in spectators' horror. The Estrada match from Monterrey is one of the best matches ever of its ilk, the Babe Face feud is great (and I don't *love* love the hair match, surprisingly) and the trio of Fiera/Chicana/Cota is scumbag perfection. He has a sneaky deep list of awesome trios and regularly stands out in them whether he's the main main or in a supporting role. That stretch in early '92 where he was hanging about with Estrada and Bestia Salvaje and making Hijo del Solitario's life a living nightmare was unbelievable, but he was capable of being a wonderful tecnico as well. And he has the fun stuff from Japan. Does he have anything in the 00s or was he actually retired then? Or maybe in jail again? LA FIERA YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Tiger Mask II (All Japan, 8/26/84) w/El Faraon & El Egipcio v Los Infernales (EMLL, 3/29/85) v Babe Face (EMLL, 8/15/86) v Jerry Estrada (Monterrey, 1991) w/El Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr. v El Dandy, Atlantis & Pierroth Jr. (CMLL, 11/13/92)

I had Christian at number 72 in 2016, and it's one of the placements that felt crazy high going over my list recently, but reading through the thread again maybe I never had him too high after all. If I'm honest he probably falls off in 2026, as I'm kind of whatever on the period he was great in. That said, he was GREAT for a minute there and worked as veteran gatekeeper about as well as anybody, producing awesome stuff on a weekly basis. Actually, fuck it, he might get back on after all because he was having those great tv matches built around amazing body part work/body part selling that nobody else in the company was, so they usually felt unique and I don't think there's any question he put a ton of thought into laying out those matches. Like, I'm a nerd who places a lot of value on strong transitions and nobody was working better transitions into their matches week to week than Christian. The tag run with Edge is more fun than great - or even particularly good - but I can still throw on one of the ladder/TLC matches and enjoy it for a wild propfest. I also liked that Taka match from Judgment Day 1998 that I haven't seen in about twenty years. Don't know anything about the TNA run. I'd say I might check some of it out but I respect each and every one of you too much to lie straight to your faces like that. CHRISTIAN YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Edge v The Dudley Boys v The Hardy Boys v Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho (WWF Smackdown!, 5/24/01) v Jack Swagger (WWECW, 2/24/09) v William Regal (WWE Breaking Point, 9/13/09) v Drew McIntyre (WWE Smackdown!, 7/30/10) v Randy Orton (WWE Over the Limit, 5/22/11)

I had DiBiase at number 73 in 2016 and I feel like I've written enough about him in this thread/on this page. I may vote for him again, I may not vote for him again. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, who can tell what the future holds? TED DIBIASE YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Matt Borne v Junkyard Dog & Mr. Olympia (Mid-South, 10/27/82) v Hacksaw Duggan (Houston, 3/22/85) v Ric Flair (Mid-South, 11/6/85) v Dick Murdoch (Houston, 12/27/85) w/Stan Hansen v Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (All Japan, 12/12/86)

Tajiri was my number 74 in 2016 and he almost certainly won't land that high again, but I'd like to keep him on somewhere. The ECW run is tremendous as he morphs from a super slick kickpad junior doing amazing extended sequences with Super Crazy into a deranged psychopath trying to pull his teeth out with pliers. Really can't think of another wrestler who came across as such a dangerous maniac despite having no size whatsoever. Gets ten thousand bonus points for being able to make indie parity/standoff exchanges not feel cliche, and he's also the master of the low blow. Seriously, there are about ten matches in the ECW run where he blasts someone in the balls in different and vicious ways. The WWE run has more fun or good than truly great, but the short-lived tag team with Eddie was brilliant and their match with Haas and Benjamin is one of my favourite WWF/E tag matches ever. I feel like there's way more stuff from the last ten years that I should watch because the match with Finlay was the bomb. TAJIRI YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Shinjiro Ohtani (New Japan, 5/20/97) v Super Crazy (ECW on TNN, 1/15/00) v Steve Corino (ECW Hardcore Heaven, 5/14/00) w/Eddie Guerrero v World's Greatest Tag Team (WWE Smackdown!, 5/22/03) v Finlay (SMASH, 2/19/12)

I had Hector as my 75 in 2016 and that's probably too high, but at the same time it could be 50 spots too low. Who can really say for sure? Look, he got the Favourite Bump. He's my avatar, fer cripes! I watched as much Hector as I could find on the run up to the deadline and there was never any chance I wasn't voting for him, but everything I watched was fun and he kept leapfrogging people on his way to that #75 spot. I'll tell you what, though -- Hector Guerrero fucking ruled. He was basically Eddie before Eddie. Seriously, this was 1997 Eddie Guerrero plucked out of time and dropped into the 1980s. I don't even know if Eddie's talked about who he emulated before, and I guess it would be a safe bet that he'd be emulating one of his brothers anyway, but watch enough Hector and it's clear as day where he borrowed his shtick. The way he moves, how he scoots across the mat on his knees to the safety of his corner, how he stooges, how he bumps, everything -- it's Hector Guerrero. That all sounds like I voted for Hector because he reminds me of my all-time favourite wrestler. That's not the case because that would be stupid (but then again it might've been the case. How well can one truly know their own mind?). What I'm trying to say is that Hector at his best was pretty damn similar to Eddie at his best and that is ridiculously high praise. The Guerreros team was awesome and the Mid-South/Houston footage gives us a lengthy look at that. As heels and babyfaces, they were great in both roles. Could work straight tags or stipulation tags and they brought tonnes of nifty offence to everything. Not only that, you could tell they were all about variety, because just about every Guerreros match, whether it's a four minute studio match against Mike Jackson and a teenage Shawn Michaels or a showcase arena match against the Fantastics, has SOMETHING unique, SOME play on the norm. And the feud with Jose Lothario is just the greatest thing ever and the Mexican Death Match is honest to god one of my five favourite matches of the 80s. If we get some Florida arena footage at some point over the next five years then he might end up top 5. HECTOR GUERRERO YOU SHOULD WATCH: w/Adrian Adonis, Ron Starr & George Wells v Buddy Rose, Ed Wiskowski, Roddy Piper & Killer Brooks (Portland, 4/7/79) v Jose Lothario (Houston, 6/8/84) w/Chavo Guerrero v Rock n Roll Express (Mid-South, 2/13/85) w/Chavo Guerrero v The Fantastics (Houston, 1/24/86) w/Chavo Guerrero v The Sheepherders (Houston, 3/14/86)

I had Navarro at 76 in 2016 and I'm fine with that, though I think with more footage his ceiling is probably about 30 spots higher. Watching that Black Terry Jr.-shot IWRG stuff in 2009-2010 was such a blast and Navarro was having good-to-awesome stuff basically every other week. Obviously he's an amazing mat worker. If you're not so hot on the type of hold-release-hold stuff they were doing in IWRG around the start of the last decade then he might not always be for you, but then again I don't know if any of that stuff is even available anymore so I guess we'll just say you had to be there. He made Angelico compelling! The Dandy feud is maybe a more accessible version of him working the mat at his best, and to me the title match from 2001 is a low-end MOTDC. That 12/11/04 old guys trios is the perfect representation of him going in the complete opposite direction and having a proper blood-and-guts-fest where by the end all six guys are crawling around like a building fell on them. I haven't watched any Navarro in a few years now (2017 was the last time I checked in and he ruled then) and I still don't know if we've gotten any peak Misioneros that will blow anybody away, but he's too good to leave off. And Jetlag already covered the match recs but I'll retread that ground for the sake of consistency (and throw in a later rec for originality). NEGRO NAVARRO YOU SHOULD WATCH: v El Dandy (IWRG, 8/11/01) w/El Texano & El Signo v Los Villanos (IWRG, 12/11/04) w/Villano IV & Villano V v Solar I, Dos Caras Jr. & Heavy Metal (AULL, 2/11/06) w/Black Terry & & Dr. Cerebro v Solar I, Zatura & Suicida (IWRG, 1/28/10) w/Caifan v Hechicero & Solar I (AULL, 2/4/17)

I had Joe at number 77 in 2016 and that feels okay to me. It might even be a little low, as last year I went back and watched some of his peak run and it held up much better than I would've expected. Running through my list up to this point I've mentioned a few times that I'll favour a strong peak over a relative lack of longevity, and if I'm voting for Rick Rude then I'm voting for Samoa Joe. I don't know if he was the flat out best wrestler in the world in any of the years he was at his peak, but he was at least close and I think he has a solid case for being the #1 over that cumulative 2-3 year period (~'04-'06). I don't really have much interest in going back to the Punk broadways, but I did watch the hour-long match with Danielson from 2006 (Fight of the Century) a while back and thought it was shockingly great. He came off like a legit badass with genuine star power in the ROH/CZW feud and he might've been the star of the wild six-man from The 100th Show, which is just about the best match in ROH history. And then there's stuff like the Necro match where he feels like a Terminator set loose in a crack den, which sort of speaks to a broader skill of being an indie invader rolling into IWA-MS or PWG as modern day touring attraction (or modern day for the mid-2000s). I haven't watched much of the TNA run after he left ROH and I can't see myself changing that any time soon, but he has some stuff from the WWE run that bolsters his case. He probably stays on the list in 2026. SAMOA JOE YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Jay Briscoe (ROH At Our Best, 3/13/04) v Necro Butcher (IWA-MS, 6/11/05) v Kenta Kobashi (ROH Joe vs. Kobashi, 10/1/05) w/Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer v Chris Hero, Super Dragon & Necro Butcher (ROH The 100th Show, 4/22/06) v Bryan Danielson (ROH Fight of the Century, 8/5/06)

I had Tully at 78 in 2016 and gee willikers Batman did I fuck up on that one. For context, I don't think I've watched more footage of a single wrestler over the last five years than I have of Tully Blanchard. I've watched as much as I could find of his 1985 and I'm halfway through watching his 1986, and I'm not sure there's ever been a better studio match wrestler than Tully. Of course he has the classics to his name as well, both in singles and tag environments, multi-man environments, regular match and stipulation environments, the whole lot. I hadn't watched much of the Houston stuff before the last vote either, and shockingly enough Tully was awesome at least as far back as 1981. That team with Gino was a hoot and I can honestly see a case for it being on par with the BrainBusters run. Obviously people think of Tully as a conniving little weasel, and he was, and he was amazing at being that, but I think it's way underrated how great he is at flipping the switch and turning into a rabid maniac. It's the old adage about cornering a wild animal. Tully's first instinct might be to flee, or to at least look for ways of navigating around potentially harmful altercations, but when pushed to the brink he can border on the psychotic and I don't know if there's ever been anyone better at portraying that. It's a real shame we never got much 90s Tully because that '94 match with Funk at Slamboree is an absolute treasure, so I figure he could still go at a high level, but as it is there's about 10 years of killer stuff for his case in terms of output. I love Tully and he might make my top 25 next time. TULLY BLANCHARD YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Tiger Conway Jr. (Houston, 1/9/81) w/Gino Hernandez v Mil Mascaras & Tito Santana (Houston, 12/18/81) v Wahoo McDaniel (Houston, 5/14/82) v Ricky Steamboat (JCP Starrcade, 11/22/84) v Magnum TA (JCP Starrcade, 11/28/85) w/Arn Anderson v Dusty Rhodes & Wahoo McDaniel (JCP, 3/29/86) v Ron Garvin (JCP WorldWide, 5/3/86) w/Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger & JJ Dillon v The Road Warriors, Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff & Paul Ellering (JCP Great American Bash, 7/4/87) w/Arn Anderson v Lex Luger & Barry Windham (JCP World Championship Wrestling, 4/23/88) w/Arn Anderson v The Rockers (WWF, 1/23/89)

Henry was my number 79 in 2016 and I'm pretty much fine with that. I can't say with any certainty if he'll make it back there in 2026, but then I could say the same about a goodly amount of people in that 75-100 range considering I have about 60 candidates for 25 slots. One of the common knocks on Henry was that he didn't get really good until about 2006, or some would even ague 2011, but with the Network I think it's pretty easy to refute that and I wouldn't argue with anyone who wanted to go as far back as 1998 to point to him starting to get at least decent. He was certainly good by 2002, it just feels like they never really spotlighted him until the Smackdown! run in 2006 as MNM's bodyguard (enforcer, muscle, whatever). I honestly think as well that some of the pushback he gets is because of that "Mark Henry is a better worker than Shawn Michaels" talking point (was it TomK?) a while back. I was talking pretty regularly with people on other forums back then who thought the idea was ludicrous, but after a while it became pretty clear that, hey, Mark Henry fucking rules, guys! And maybe the notion that he's better than Shawn Michaels isn't insanity after all! Matt has brought up the negative space thing before and if that just means he's great at filling the time between moves or whatever then yeah, he can do that as well as anyone. Amazing in-match shit-talker and it's really an extension of how well he portrays his character in the ring. I saw him live at a house show in Newcastle 15 years ago and he spent most of the match verbally abusing Kurt Angle really loudly and it was very amusing. He's also great at showing progressive vulnerability while maintaining the aura of a brick wall. A brick wall who will squash you dead. I still haven't deep dived the ECW run and I really should at some point. In fairness I completely understand why he's not for everyone, but I think he rules and he'll be in contention again next time. MARK HENRY YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Rey Mysterio (WWE Smackdown!, 1/20/06) v The Undertaker (WWE Smackdown!, 2/10/06) v Randy Orton (WWE Night of Champions, 9/18/11) v CM Punk (WWE RAW, 4/2/12) v John Cena (WWE Money in the Bank, 7/14/13)

I literally just watched their match from May '79, and it's not in the same stratosphere but it's a super fun accompanying piece. The dynamic is actually flipped and Hansen works overtly heelish, even loading up the elbow pad and lariating Andre right in the forehead, which leads to Andre bleeding and Hansen biting the cut. Hansen's mouth and moustache are covered in blood afterwards so he looks like some zombie redneck unleashed upon the world. The post-match is exactly what you think as Hansen launches furniture and Andre stalks him down with a chair and Blassie shouts along waving his cane like a crazy puppeteer. What a match-up.

Andre was my number 80 in 2016, and as of right now I'm okay with that. I didn't have him at 80 rather than 60 or 50 or 30 because I watched a bunch of shitty Andre matches from Vince Sr. era WWWF and decided to penalise him. I'm not saying those matches don't exist, it's just that running through that stuff is not and has never been particularly high on my list of priorities, so I can't exactly scrutinise Andre with those shows in mind. Maybe in the interest of being thorough I SHOULD watch them...but then who the fuck has time to watch everything of everyone and stay even remotely sane? On the other hand, I didn't have Andre higher because I just haven't seen a lot of the footage that would build THAT case. That's not me saying it's not out there - I'm saying I just haven't watched it yet (and I have a pretty good idea of the stuff I need to see). So for the time being 80 is a spot for Andre I'm content with. He was awesome, of course. Maybe the most impressive aura of anyone in history and how he projected that was amazing. Early 80s Andre on the New Japan set was mind-blowing holy shit level great and his highest highs are just crazy. A terrifying presence as a heel but could garner a ton of sympathy as a babyface, which is quite astonishing when you consider the fact people believed he'd rip just about anybody's head off given the impetus. And yeah, I'm one of those weirdos who has a soft spot for broken down damn near immobile Andre. ANDRE THE GIANT YOU SHOULD WATCH: v Franz Van Buyten (French Catch, 1/20/68) v Harley Race (Houston, 1/7/79) v Stan Hansen (New Japan, 9/23/81) v Killer Khan (New Japan, 4/1/82) w/Hulk Hogan v Nick Bockwinkel, Bobby Heenan, Bobby Duncam & Ken Patera (AWA, 11/7/82)

This was pretty nifty. I watched it late last night when I was half asleep, but for 6 minutes they got to look slick and it was nice to see Espectro in that sort of match. No shithousery, no nonsense. I dug it.

Shit, I didn't even know the Fujinami match was a thing! I also subscribed to NJPW World for a month and the tag is on there as well, so that's cool.

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)