Your Current Fav Five

[goodhelmet]

OK, to spread the holiday cheer, I wanted to create a positive thread for once This isn't a GOAT thread so no need to argue about who sold out more stadiums or has more 5 star matches. This is a thread for those wrestlers you are actively excited to see more matches from. If you are one of those guys who love the shootstyle, list away! If you're a joshi creeper, list the women. If you're an old school guy who hates John Cena, list the old school guys. The only thing I ask is you give a brief explanation on why they are your favorite. If you dislike someone's favorite wrestler, we have a "Wrestlers You Hate" thread. If you see a guy on a list you want to discuss in detail, create a thread about that wrestler.

 

Two wrestlers who would be in my Top 5-10 of all time who are currently not in my Fav Five are Kawada and Flair. I made a 50+ disc set of Kawada but I am no longer actively seeking out his matches. If I see Kawada on my screen, I will watch a match but I am not stuck in a time warp and need to just watch his matches over and over again. For Flair, the 80s project and Yearbook project has helped me realize I would defend his status as a GOAT until I am blue in the face but I am not actively seeking out Flair matches or looking for some rare Flair rarity under a rock. I felt these examples were needed to illustrate that I am not looking for GOAT's or even all-time favorites... just guys you are currently digging or looking forward to seeing more footage from.

 

Anyway, my current Fav Five

 

1. Jerry Lawler - I am currently working on a Super-Mega-Ultra Jerry Lawler complete career set. He is also the guy I get most excited about when finding new matches... from any of his decades of wrestling!!! Phil Schneider will call me up randomly and say "Will, there is a new Lawler match on youtube"! I know then that Phil and I are going to spend the next 20 minutes watching Jerry Lawler. Add finding cool feuds like Lawler vs. Snowman and Lawler vs. WWF from 1994. I am also going to make an argument for him as the GOAT on a future podcast. Look for it!!!

 

2. Tommy Rich - I would never call Rich a GOAT but I actively look for more Rich matches. I have tried to make a Tommy Rich set but the footage isn't there to give his career justice. Even with that said, when the Tommy Rich story commercial tape surfaced, the entire tape was awesome! During the ECW run, Rich made the FBI. I couldn't get enough of that stuff. During the yearbook projects, I am looking to find room to include more Tommy Rich WCW matches. Rich also does the things I love in wrestling... punches, bleeds and cuts a believable promo.

 

3. Dick Murdoch - After making a nice long post about why Dick Murdoch is awesome, I did something I almost never do. I grabbed some discs from the comp I made and watched a bunch of Dick Murdoch matches. I don't know where I will find more Dick Murdoch matches but I am holding out hope some tape dealer somewhere will have a case of undiscovered Dick Murdoch matches.

 

4. Mark Henry - I know from the "Wrestlers You Hate" thread, there are some Mark Henry haters. Whatever. His 2011 Reign of Terror was awesome and he was THE highlight of the 2nd half of the year when Punk was stuck in HHH/Kevin Nash Hell. I was also there live for the Big Show match where they broke the ring. A dead crowd came alive as the monsters delivered a great match. Also, over the last year, I realize I really miss Mark Henry on TV. If he returns and gets half the push he had before the injury, he may be the reason I tune in to Smackdown again since I have long given up on that show.

 

5. Jamie Dundee - I could have put Bill Dundee here but I am more excited about finding more Jamie Dundee matches. Working on the ECW set and yearbooks renewed my interest in PG-13 and I am hoping I can get enough matches to make a PG 13 set one day. I wonder if there are any hidden WWF handhelds with PG-13 working tags. I love the PG-13 comedy they incorporate into their matches. I love how Jamie Dundee stalled through a Tracy Smothers match in IWA-MS and drove the bloodthirsty crowd nuts for ten minutes. I love watching yearbook segments and how they could go from heel to face with the snap off a finger and you accept them in both roles. I loved how Dylan Waco created a PG-13 thread and had incredulous wrestling fans who knew in their hearts that PG-13 wasn't one of the Greatest tag teams they have ever seen question his sanity.

 

 

This is my current Fav Five. A year ago, it would have been different and in a year, it will change again.

[Matt D]

Current Guys Who I am Looking Forward to Seeing More Of (in the stuff I am watching now):

 

Nick Bockwinkel: The AWA set really opened my eyes. He basically does almost everything I like in wrestling. He works smart AND hard. There's consequence to just about everything he does and reason behind just about everything. No two Bock matches are the same. When he needs to be intense, he can be intense. When he needs to stooge, he stooges. When he needs to sell, he sells. Just a brilliant worker and there are still so many matches of his I haven't seen yet.

 

Bret Hart: I've seen a ton of Bret, but very little from 93-96. I'm midway through 93 now and he's had SUCH a year. Three Bam Bam matches. The Perfect vs Luger/Ramon tag. The surprisingly good Flair ironman. The Luger singles. The Perfect match. The Yoko cage. The Backlund match. Etc. etc. Great year so far, and there are some Lawler fancams and unaired matches upcoming that I can't wait to see. Bret is really a wrestler I take for granted.

 

Daniel Bryan: Speaking of great years. He's hit that point where he's practically bulletproof. He gets over in comedy segments. He can be put into a match against anyone on the roster and be legitimate. The crowd loves him and he has bits that are completely interactive. Everything he did all year turned to gold. They can do almost anything with him and it'll be great, so yeah, i can't wait to see what 2013 looks like for him.

 

Buddy Rose: Alright, I'm not really at a point where I'm regularly watching Buddy matches but it's great to know there's so much out there I haven't seen yet and I loved him so much on the AWA set. So at some point soon I'll more actively seek them out. Probably more Jumbo matches too, but that's beside the point.

 

Matt Borne: There are a few stories of 1993 WWF, but one of them is absolutely Borne as Doink. The Perfect series, the two Jannetty Matches, The quick Backlund Match. The MSG Waltman match. The really fun Money Inc/Doink vs Steiners/Tatanka tag. I've seen my share of Big Josh but I've never seen any Borne in Texas and I mean to check out some of that at some point.

[soup23]

As of right now:

 

1. Lex Luger - Someone who my perception was really hindered by his reputation among most internet wrestling fans. Watching his stuff for the podcast as well as the 1990 yearbook shows that he was a very good wrestler early on his career and utilized power moves and selling in his matches effectively.

 

2. Ric Flair - About a year ago, I was burned out on Flair. In fact, the only match that really hit me on the All Japan set was the 83 match with Jumbo. I just thought I had seen too much of the guy and couldn't appreciate new wrinkles he brought to the table. Again my podcast watching rekindled my love for Flair especially the Starrcade Garvin match which I think is just wonderful and intense as hell. The 1990 and 1994 yearbook glimpses of Flair as a babyface give great depth to Flair characters you are traditionally unaccustomed to but fit Flair wonderfully. He also in 1990 had many very good matches with a variety of opponents and styles.

 

3. Bull Nakano - Honestly, maybe the best worker I have seen the least amount of footage from. Her 1994 was really good and I can't wait to see her in 1990-1992 era as the true ace of the promotion.

 

4. Jerry Lawler- Lawler is captivating to me in 1990 having great interactions with Snowman, Jimmy Valiant, Ben Jordan, and Nate the Rat. While we haven't seen a traditional classic match from him in 1990 his elevation of interviews and promos has me contending him as a WOTYC for the year 6 months in.

 

5. Mitsuharu Misawa- For a while I would call him the GOAT. Now, after seeing him struggle in his early years, I am backing off. However, I did love his performances in the 5/1990 Jumbo six man and the 6/8/90 match with Jumbo. No one right now makes me think and ponder more than Misawa matches.

[soup23]

Matt - For sure check out the 1990 Texas Borne stuff and I will check out 1993 Doink as Borne has really opened my eyes so far in 1990. I had been really indifferent to him but his Maniac character and intense brawling and promos has been fantastic so far.

[goodhelmet]

I was going to put Buddy Rose on the list but I think I have seen the best of Buddy Rose and I don't think anything else will pop up for the Portland set or AWA errata. I am also not currently popping in my Buddy Rose set to watch random Buddy matches. Still... love Buddy Rose!!!

[Dylan Waco]

I am pinning this thread for now. I want to see everyone who post here contribute. Not that it's mandatory, but it would be nice. I'll post my five (if not ten) later.

[Childs]

1. El Dandy - I have loved him ever since Will's set came out however many years ago. But I've been going through the 1990 yearbook, which features an absolute prime Dandy. And I look forward to every match that pops up, singles, tag or trios. I don't know that I've ever seen a guy move more fluidly between all types of wrestling -- from matwork to brawling to flying to comedy.

 

2. Bobby Eaton - Another 1990 yearbook choice. He started the year with a rare but awesome singles performance against Flair. And he's been the best performer on the best tag team in the world as the MX close out their run with a superb string of matches.

 

3. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi - As I watch the '90s generation of All-Japan take center stage, no one puts a bigger grin on my face. Kikuchi vs. Jumbo is one of my favorite six-man pairings of all-time, and he was also sensational in his 7/12/90 singles challenge against Fuchi.

 

4. Ikeda vs. Ishikawa - A bit of a cheat here, but a couple months back, I decided to watch every match-up between them that I have on tape (singles, tag and multi-man). And boy did that make for a fun couple of weeks of late-night viewing. I've had this conversation with Phil before, but I wish these guys lived in the U.S. and spoke English, because I'd love to write a profile about them as two guys wedded throughout their adult lives by low-rent violence. Are they like the kind of brothers who only see each other a few times a year but share a connection that can't be understood by anyone else? I want to know.

 

5. Riki Choshu - Because as a rule, I'm always going to enjoy a match with Choshu more than I would've enjoyed it without him.

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

1. Terry Funk. I love Terry Funk, but feel like I've only seen a fraction of Terry Funk stuff that's out there. He's one of those of those guys that I already enjoy, but it would sill feel like a revelation if I really sat down and dove into watching more Terry Funk matches.

 

2. Kawada. Most of my Kawada viewing has come from the the 80s AJ set. He was great, and now I feel like I need more Kawada.

 

3. Jerry Lawler. I watched the Memphis set a few years ago and haven't seen much Lawler since. That needs to change.

 

4. Ric Flair. My first three picks are guys that I feel I haven't seen enough of and want to see more. My last two are guys that I have seen a lot of and will always want to watch no matter what. Flair is an obvious choice, but c'mon, it's Flair. I'm always going to want to watch Flair. And he's got so much stuff that it's fun to discover new wrinkles to his work every now and then.

 

5. Kamala. Kamala will always be in my top 5. He cracks me up. I split a gut whenever Kamala is on my TV or iPad screen. When I was in high school, I wanted to be an NFL defensive lineman just so I could make Kamala's "tummy pat" my sack-the-QB dance.

 

My top 3 will change frequently. I don't see Flair and Kamala ever losing their spots.

[Dylan Waco]

1. "No Class" Bobby Bass - If you listen to the Wrestling Culture Podcast you know that I tend to think this guy is the best guy that never got a real break anywhere. He's a guy I enjoy so much I will scour the internet and random dvds I have for the feint hope of him popping up on the jobber end of a competitive squash match. Totally sleezy looking guy, who is great on the mic and extremely entertaining in the ring. Everything he does is theatric but in an engaging way as he will jaw with the crowd, scream in pain from holds, take wild big bumps where the impact is milked to death, taunt the shit out of his opponents, et. Him waiving an American flag in the face of Sunny War Cloud during ring introductions is probably the funniest thing I've ever seen in wrestling. There is no one I would rather find a random match of moe.

 

2. Jim Breaks - I had allowed my love of WoS to fall by the wayside, but watching some recently I was reminded how much I love Breaks and I now want to watch ever match of his committed to tape. I know some people seem to think he's a one trick pony, but I don't really buy it. Yes he has a schtick but he incorporates it well into his matches and things always seem a bit different depending on opponent. Viewing his gimmick as being just the crybaby guy is short sighted. I see him more as the legitimately good athlete who thinks he's a lot better than he actually is and acts like an asshole when someone is up to the challenge. I love all of his little touches and if we were ever to do another GOAT poll I could see him doing really well on my ballot.

 

3. "Crusher" Jerry Blackwell - When I first started researching and looking into Blackwell I just saw him as a good worker, who was really over and didn't seem to be getting his historical due. Now I see him as an all time great wrestler, good in virtually any environment, against virtually anybody. Despite the fact that his peak run was from a relatively short period of time, if you pay attention to youtube you'll see more and more Blackwell trickling out. He is obviously a major presence on the AWA Set and I think he acquits himself well there as both a brilliant babyface and a big bumping maniac heel. But watching smaller samples online recently - little stuff like undercard WWF matches, tag team matches from Japan, a match v. Harley Race from St. Louis, the really good tv match v. Mulligan from MACW in 78, garbage tape matches, et. - you can see this is a guy who has much more in the vault than we originally thought. I could honestly see him as a top forty guy of all time.

 

4. Negro Casas - Very possibly the best wrestler in the world right this second and a guy who I have really enjoyed immensely as I have gotten more and more into Lucha over the last few years. Casas is possibly my all time favorite douchebag, as his jig dancing and shit eating grins are about as "I wanna fucking murder this guy" inducing as you can get. Like all the great Lucha workers he is someone who can brawl with the best of them, work really smooth athletic spots, and work give and take with the crowd. I also think Casas is about as good at carrying weak or poor workers as anyone I have ever seen. One of the more charismatic wrestlers I've ever seen and someone who even now will surprise you with some incredibly sharp exchange or spot you wouldn't necessarily expect. Can't wait for the Guerrero Maya Jr. match that takes place today to show up on tape. It's him or Sami Callihan for best in the world this year IMO.

 

5. Kantaro Hoshino - The ultimate of the "lost great workers" finds. The NJPW Set is my favorite of the 80's sets and Hoshino is a huge part of the reason why. What is not to love about a guy that looks like the hybrid, mutant child of Elvin from the Cosby Show and Gran Hamada, running around and throwing these short, nasty, cruel intentions little punches while holding his body in this crazed T-Rexish posture? The guy was great in every possible setting you could have put him in on that set, whether it be working comedy spots with Andre, nasty old bastard beating down Liger, or holding up his end with spots/energy in one of the elimination tags. Despite being such a small guy he was totally credible against anyone and capable of playing any number of roles. I will still occasionally youtube him and see what else is out there and I've never seen him with a performance that I thought was less than fun.

 

 

Really a ton of guys could make this list. Honorable mentions off hand would be Buddy Rose, Greg Valentine, Terry Funk, Barry Windham and Virus

[Exposer]

1. Negro Casas - I've seen a handful Casas in late 80's/early 90's lucha and a handful of his recent work from the last two or three years. I think he has an incredible ability to have good matches with almost anybody. He's been touted as a GOAT candidate and I want to discover more of him so I can see if that's the case.

 

2. Buddy Rose - I've got his comp from Will and his run as a top worker is one of the best ever. He ruled the Pacific Northwest and had one of the better short-lived tag teams. I hope that one day footage will suddenly appear and I can enjoy more of "The Playboy."

 

3. Mark Henry - Was he always this good? I kind of doubt it but I wonder if their are any hidden gems of him in late 90's WWF or that short-lived RAW run with Teddy Long in 03-04. 2006 was his breakout year in terms of in ring work yet I still need to find some of that as well. I'm a firm believer that he was arguably the best worker in the company during his ECW Title run in 08 and of course in 2011 with the "Hall of Pain" Title run on Smackdown.

 

4. Brad Armstrong - I've been looking up Brad Armstrong matches for years. I've yet to find a bad one. His untimely death has made me even more interested in his work. I would love to have a place where all of his WCW T.V. matches were available to watch and enjoy.

 

5. Jerry Lawler - I need to be educated more in Memphis and "The King." I once went on YouTube and listed every Lawler match on their from the 70's through the 90's. Maybe I should go back and find that list.

 

 

This will of course change frequently.

[Death From Above]

Jumbo Tsuruta - I can't think of any other wrestler that did more to make me *care* about wrestling one way or the other. Was the most immensely solid heavyweight in the world for an absurd amount of time, where you could just put any random person in the ring with him and out would pop something watchable. Also: I never watch best of's built around any one worker, as I find them generally repetitive and tedious. This is probably the one guy I could make an exception for. On top of having a great ability to work all the style changes All Japan went through from the 70's - early 90's, he's also the dude who could just bust out his formula match and I actually want to see it.

 

Stan Hansen - This is probably as good a summary as any: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?showtopic=12350 Basic condensing: When Stan Hansen does anything, even goofy shit that happens in wrestling, I can actually believe in it.

 

Mitsuharu Misawa - When he died I pretty much quit wrestling cold turkey for a year. I don't know if he's the best, but he is probably involved in the most "matches that I thought were great".

 

Terry Funk - Versatility is the name of the game. Funk does some of everything, and does it well. Anywhere I've seen the guy, he fit in, and I enjoyed him. I also liked how his promos often sounded like "a somewhat exaggerated version of Terry Funk" and not "HURRRR WE SHOUT LIKE WRESTLERS" which covers like 90% of American promo work from similar periods.

 

Ric Flair - He's done plenty of shit that bothers me, but when you start weighing it against all the stuff I've enjoyed...

 

I guess if I must name 5 it's pretty hard to go wrong with those. Will admit I was tempted to throw in Vader, though I get why some have quit on that bandwagon.

[shoe]

1.Ricky Steamboat

 

I have always enjoyed watching Steamer perform. His matches always made sense to me. He would work hard for veterans, he would work hard for up and comers.

 

2 Ric Flair

 

He was always entertaining one way or the other. He was awesome on the stick. The master of making chicken salad out of chicken shit.

 

3. Stan Hansen

 

The greatest brawler. You would always cringe because his stuff was so tight.

 

4. Jerry Lawler

 

The king of versatility . Great as a heel or face. Just an amazing talker. He might be the best ever at getting angles over .

Just amazing schtick

 

5. Bobby Eaton

 

He was the most underrated ever superstar when it comes to work. Just amazing bumper who wants to always have a great match.

[FLIK]

In no particular order, based mostly on stuff i've been watching in the past month or so.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto - I think hands down he's been the best currently active wrestler walking the planet for the past 3 years minimum. Don't think anyone comes close as far as delivering in big matches goes. Glad he's finally started to catch on & gain popularity with a wider audiance but he's been awesome for the last decade, just no one was paying attention earlier.

 

Timothy Thatcher - My pick for best guy in the Nor Cal indy sceen. Always go out of my way to watch his stuff. Great technical wrestler, great brawler. Can have good to great matches with any type of wrestler, from Finlay to Drake Younger to Mustafa Saeed. Starting to break out a little beyond the local sceen, just did a short tour for WxW in Germany but still not 1/10 as well known as he deserves to be. Would be huge if he was a East Coast indy guy instead of a West Coast.

 

Genki Misae - On the joshi front i've been watching a lot of 2008 NEO lately & she's stolen the show on every DVD.

 

Sheamus - Haven't been keeping up like I hoped but i've gotten back into watching WWE again the last few months and he's been one of the biggest highlights. Show/Sheamus was the best match at HIAC & Survivor Series and 3rd best on TLC.

 

Young David (Davey Boy Smith) - Haven't talked about it much lately but i'm still training to actually become a wrestler. Because of the holiday season ppl are out of town so training is currently on hold and during the break our trainer told us to go watch a bunch of matches with great chain/technical wrestling so of course I decided that'd be a great opportunity to get back into WoS again, especially after the latest WC podcast. Of the batch of stuff i've watched so far, Yound David vs Jim Breaks stood out as a true "holy shit this is great" type match. Then I discovered there's a 2nd (earlier) Breaks/David match and I came across 2 Finlay/David matches so those 3 are at the top of my list of things I need to see ASAP.

 

Honorable mentions to Tanahashi, Okada, Togi Makabe, Manabu Nakanshi, Takashi Izuka, Mayumi Oazki, Nanae Takahashi, Kyoko Kimura, Natsuki Taiyo, Ray, Arisa Nakajima, Sweet Saraya, Cheerleader Melissa, Atsushi Onita, Sir Samurai, Jim Breaks, Johnny Saint, The Dangerous Alliance, Great Kabuki, Killer Khan, Osamu Nishimura, Tajiri, Masa Fuchi, Tenryu, Jun Kasai, CM Punk, The Shield & Daniel Bryan for others i'm really digging from recent viewing OR am looking forward to watching a lot more of in the immediate near future.

[ohtani's jacket]

1. Tibor Szakacs -- when I think of WoS guys I wish there was more footage of, Adrian Street, Alan Sarjeant, Abe Ginsberg, Peter Szacaks, Billy Robinson and Jackie Pallo all come to mind. But if I was only allowed to choose one guy it wouldn't be a McManus or a Masambula, it would be Tibor Szakacs. To me he's almost like a WoS Volk Han in the sense that even though Hungary isn't that far removed from England there's something really foreign about his grappling style and the way he throws strikes that makes him seem exotic to the audience. I don't know if he was the best mat wrestler in the history of British wrestling but he was surely one of the toughest.

 

2. Carl Greco -- I'm of the firm belief that shoot style should look like a shoot. I tend to hate anything that looks too juniorish or too much like pro-wrestling (within reason.) I'm not a huge fan of the hybrid BattlArts style but I like the main core of workers and I like it when they wrestle Carl Greco. I don't know much about his background and I've never been interested in finding out really. All I know is that this American guy who featured on and off again on BattlArts cards over the years is probably (no shit) one of the five best American mat workers of all time. I would even go so far to say that he's probably the best American mat worker of the past 20 odd years. I love his short matches with the likes of Ikeda and Ishikawa more than any celebrated BattlArts match ever with the possible exception of the '98 and '99 Ikeda/Ishikawa matches.

 

3. Rocky Moran -- I'm on a bit of a non-watching cycle lately though the upswing in discussion the past few days has got me all itchy. Moran was my most recent WoS discovery. The Belfast Brawler no one's ever heard of. There aren't too many of the other Irish lads who get too much play outside of Finlay, but Moran could go. He's not blow away great like some of the 70s workers, but when the All Star split occurs and the 80s down period begins he's consistently one of the best performing talents on TV. His title match with Cullen is a certified classic by WoS standards and he's a guy who is now squarely on my radar.

 

4. Billy Robinson & Nick Bockwinkel -- cheating, I know, but like I said above I'm on a bit of a non-watching cycle and I had a bit of a kick start by searching for these guys on youtube. I've always liked both guys without being obssessive compulsive about it, and I'm slowly starting to chip away at their matches on youtube.

 

5. Sangre Chicana -- I was going to choose Hogan for the last spot since before I stopped watching wrestling and got caught up in my other hobbies the most fun I was having was watching Hogan's brawling sprints against the likes of Orndorff and Race, but then I realised that it was actually Hogan's opponents I liked since so many of Hogan's other 80s matches suck ass. So I'm going with Chicana since that was the last lucha I watched. To me the quintessential wrestler is one of the great actors and performers like Satanico or Fujiwara, but there's another argument that the quintessential wrestler is a brawler and in that respect to me Chicana is completely unique. There are brawlers like Murdoch and Hansen and Aguayo who brawl. That's what they do. Then there's Chicana, who looks like he goes from town to town, getting drunk, sleeping in the street, getting into some sort of dispute with a local and winds up being one of the great gunslingers of all time instead of just a wino. I mean, on some level we're supposed to suspend our disbelief that these guys get paid to wrestle and that they do it for a living. Chicana doesn't look like he does it for a living. He looks like he wound up in the ring because he fucked the wrong person's daughter and there's a posse waiting for him if he makes it out alive. One of the most sympathetic babyfaces ever and one of the most despicable heels and probably the sleaziest worker I can think of.

[Tim Evans]

1. Jerry Lawler- I can never watch too much Jerry Lawler matches and angles. I agree with Will about Lawler being a GOAT candidate. I've been watching a lot of late 90's Lawler lately and the Lawler vs Randy Hales and Dutch Mantel feuds are really underrated. The Hales feud is basically a indy version of Austin vs Mcmahon with guys like Billy Travis, Rex King, Bart Gunn and Road Warrior Hawk being Randy's version of the Corporation. Looking forward to getting into 1999 Lawler seeing if there are any gems.

 

2. Ray Gonzalez- He's currently a top 10 guy in the world imo. His feud with Carlito has actually made me like heel Carlito. Now that he's dropped his hair, he's feuding with Savio Vega who has kinda turned back into TNT. I've also been watching some of his 90's stuff in CMLL and in the WWC vs Dutch Mantel and Carlos Colon.

 

3. Billy Joe Travis: I became a fan of his after watching 1992 USWA when he had a short feud with Jerry Lawler that included him getting burned and his car destroyed by Lawler and threatening to kill Lawler on live tv. I really enjoyed him in 1990 when watching the Evansville feed feuding and teaming with Bill Dundee and Jarrett. Plus I just watched his great feud with Brian Christoper in 1997 which included his legit arrest in the studio. I need to get the 1990 year book to see more of his run. Not the best wrestler but he's fun as hell to watch.

 

4 Cancerbero- One of my favorite guys in CMLL right now. Just a big dude who is a good base and bumps well. Not much out there of his pre Cancerbero days so it will probably take some digging.

 

5- Tyson Kidd - I've been going to a lot of NXT tv tapings lately and Kidd continues to have the best matches on the show. The Cesaro/Sandow vs Kidd/Gabriel match that should air next year was really fun to watch. I'm hoping he continues the streak in 2013.

[Dylan Waco]

5. Sangre Chicana -- I was going to choose Hogan for the last spot since before I stopped watching wrestling and got caught up in my other hobbies the most fun I was having was watching Hogan's brawling sprints against the likes of Orndorff and Race, but then I realised that it was actually Hogan's opponents I liked since so many of Hogan's other 80s matches suck ass. So I'm going with Chicana since that was the last lucha I watched. To me the quintessential wrestler is one of the great actors and performers like Satanico or Fujiwara, but there's another argument that the quintessential wrestler is a brawler and in that respect to me Chicana is completely unique. There are brawlers like Murdoch and Hansen and Aguayo who brawl. That's what they do. Then there's Chicana, who looks like he goes from town to town, getting drunk, sleeping in the street, getting into some sort of dispute with a local and winds up being one of the great gunslingers of all time instead of just a wino. I mean, on some level we're supposed to suspend our disbelief that these guys get paid to wrestle and that they do it for a living. Chicana doesn't look like he does it for a living. He looks like he wound up in the ring because he fucked the wrong person's daughter and there's a posse waiting for him if he makes it out alive. One of the most sympathetic babyfaces ever and one of the most despicable heels and probably the sleaziest worker I can think of.

 

I agree with all of this and this is easily one of the best things written on this board.

[KrisZ]

This is who I'm currently digging since all I've been watching lately other than WWE is 1987 JCP.

 

1. Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane.....these guys were coming into their own as a team at the end of 1987 and were having some of the greatest squash matches ever plus you had Big Bubba Rogers then Dick Murdoch as their muscle in their feud with Dusty & Nikita. I just watched Eaton & Chris Champion have a really damn good TV match tonight and it was easy to say that Eaton was a top 20 guy in the world with Lane being solid as well.

 

2. Ronnie Garvin.....Ronnie was just an awesome worker who did so many different things in matches where sure you had similar moves but it never felt like the same match.

 

3. Dr. Death.........Doc was transitioning over from UWF to JCP and came in suplexing guys all over the ring. Doc was getting screwed by the booking here but was having fun matches.

 

4. Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard.....these guys were so great as the new champs here working all kinds of teams while starting to feud with Luger. They were having near MX level TV squash matches as well. Tully was peaking as a worker while Arn was coming into his own and they were just below the MX as a team.

 

5. The New Breed......This team had so much potential it wasn't funny as both men were young and raw but Champion was becoming a damn good worker and Royal had the potential where when he added the right weight he would've been a top big man. They were doing double team moves that no one has really done since and their promos were awesome as well.

[Tim Cooke]

1. Keiji Muto - I recently started going through New Japan 1990's heavyweight matches that I had neglected for so long. Muto's best efforts are really strong, especially the 8/91 matches vs Norton, Vader, and Chono. The 8/15/95 G-1 Final against Hashimoto is currently my favorite match that I haven't watched too many times. On his lazy days, he is fairly useless, but at his best, he did a lot of cool stuff with a variety of opponents.

 

2. Shinya Hashimoto - more of the 90's NJPW heavyweight viewing. His 8/10/91 match against Choshu is 9:00 of criminally under rated action. The Muto match from 8/15/95, plus the 8/2/96 G-1 Choshu match are all excellent as well. I wish the Kawada match from 2/22/04 would have happened 8-10 years earlier. Still, an excellent battle based around limb selling, not something you would expect to see in an All Japan main event in Budokan.

 

3. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - been watching all of his RINGS works recently and while not as flashy as Tamura, he brings a lot of substance to the table. He even had the better match with Yoshihisa Yamamoto (4/4/97). Very much a pioneer in taking the worked shoot as far as it could go before the all shoot format had to take over.

 

4. Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid 1990-1992 feud - lots of heat throughout the bodies of these matches, something that got lose even when New Japan started promoting the juniors on the level of the heavyweights. It's not wonder Benoit was fucked in the head; he did a missile dropkick from the top turnbuckle to the floor on 11/1/90, a super powerbomb to Liger on 8/12/92 (even though he wasn't on the receiving end, there isn't a good way to protect either guy) and the ridiculous diving headbutt from the top turnbuckle to the floor on against Liger in August of 1993.

 

5. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi - the 7/12/90 match vs. Fuchi and his awesome selling in the 10/15/91 trios match skyrocket him up the list for me. Both matches occur in Korakuen Hall which is always a plus.

[Log]

I don't really get a chance to watch as much wrestling as most of you, but these are the dudes I've been trying to fit in when I do get time...

 

1. Nick Bockwinkel. I've been very slowly working my way through the AWA set. I've mostly looked forward to Bock's stuff. Interesting to see him work with a variety of people over the course of the decade. I watch him and miss a heel who could make the face look like a legit threat, yet still make himself seem dangerous.

 

2. Fit Finlay. Just watched the documentary on his family. I haven't seen a lot of his indy run from the last couple of years. Made me get out my motyc sets and watch some stuff. Don't not like anything he does.

 

3. Big Show. I just realized a few weeks ago, that his segments are one of the few times I stop fast-forwarding through WWE programming. I just like the way he wrestles as a guy his size should. He really should have been just ruined and washed up years ago. The fact that he's a champion and still delivering in the ring, let alone even still wrestling, is pretty impressive.

 

4. Sgt. Slaughter. I'm looking forward to his stuff on the AWA set. Recently watched the first (I think) Shieky brawl online. Always loved the character as a kid, just getting into him as a wrestler.

 

5. Antonio Cesaro. One of the other few reasons I stop fast-forwarding. It sounds really lame, but I've just gotten back into working out heavily and he's kind of an inspiration. I'm a lanky guy, so I'll never be a Cena or anything, but I think I can get close to Cesaro. I like his "feats of strength" spots. He also wrestles like his character should. Roughhouse with some good execution on the side. Glad to see him doing pretty well in WWE.

[Jingus]

Cesaro and Sandow are a couple of really neat additions to the WWE, cool old-school throwbacks. Aside from them: let's say Stan Hansen, Terry Funk, and Sakura Hirota. I hope I don't have to explain them... sadly probably except for Hirota, just cuz I find her hilarious and she's also way better at being an actual wrestler than most comedy workers ever have to be.

[JerryvonKramer]

Wow, Chad, was genuinely shocked to see Luger at the top of your list there. Always got the impression that the man-love was mainly coming from me on Luger and you were lower on him.

 

I think I need two different lists here. A list of my all-time faves and a list of guys I am keen to see more of right now. I guess "flavours of the month".

 

All-time faves:

 

1. Ted DiBiase. Most of you know this already, but he's always been my favourite wrestler. I could pretend that's because he was a great worker, and he was, but it's mostly because I dug and still dig the character in the WWF. I always loved heels and it seemed to me that DiBiase was like the most heelish of all the heels. Numerous guys were able to turn face or turn heel through The Million Dollar Man. I love a mastermind heel character and for me that was a the coolest of them -- the most evil of all the heels. I do love his in-ring work too though: convinced, for example, that he has the best powerslam of any wrestler. Love his suplex, his piledriver -- feels like a classical professional wrestler.

 

2. Ric Flair. Impossible in my view not to love Flair. Again, I could pretend that I love him because he was such a great wrestler and I'll argue till I'm blue in the face that he's The GOAT (or close), but the real reason I love him is because he's the greatest promo of all time, because he's probably the greatest character of all time, because watching Flair in his pomp just gives me joy. Still think it's too easy for a lot of people to take him for granted because we're so used to him.

 

3. Jumbo Tsuruta. The chief result of watching the All Japan set is that I just feel in love with Jumbo. As I've argued from late 85 onwards he just feels like "The Man". For someone who grew up watching Hulk Hogan and the likes of Sting, the idea that a company Ace could be THIS kick ass, this good as a worker, this great at many different aspects of wrestling, was somewhat alien. There is nothing I'm looking forward to more on the Yearbooks than watching Jumbo's pimped 90-92 period. Everything I'd want in a main event wrestler.

 

4. Arn Anderson. Like I was saying that DiBiase sometimes feels like a "classical professional wrestler" to me, Arn is basically the epitome of that. I never tire of watching Arn. I love everything he does (aside from the drunk punching). Amazing selling, amazing offense, the spinebuster might be my all-time favourite move. Arn in the Dangerous Alliance and around that period might just be my favourite guy in any promotion and at any time. One of the best and most intelligent promo men. One of the best tag wrestlers. One of the best wrestlers period. And I'd say from 1988 to his retirement one of the most consistently excellent performers in the US. Doing the podcast, Arn in 88 feels like Arn in 92 or even Arn in 96. Arn in 85-7 is a slightly different beast, still good, but not the Double A I know and love. But those are his ROOKIE years.

 

5. Tully Blanchard. Any type of match, any context, any opponent, Tully can make it work and probably give you the best match on the card. I'll be honest, doing the podcasts I'm slightly dreading the moment that Arn and Tully leave for the WWF because I know it means there'll be no more Tully period aside from the cameo at Slamboree. Tully is actually someone who I don't think was great on the mic. He was solid, don't get me wrong, but nowhere near an Arn or Flair. But he was so good in the ring that it doesn't really matter. Consumate heel as well.

 

Want to see more of in the next few months:

 

1. Buzz Sawyer - I really thought he was good in January of 1990 and need to dig out my Mid South set. I can see him just being amazing in that setting.

 

2. Al Perez - Only seen two of his matches from early 88 in JCP but noone talks about this guy and I've liked everything he's done.

 

3. Tenryu from the 90s - only because Jesus Christ he's a psychopath in January 1990 and I already like him more than the 89 incarnation. I leave open now scope for a U-turn from me on him.

 

4. Stan Hansen - a lot of his stuff on the All Japan set was GREAT but I did think to myself a few times that it was also a bit samey, that Hansen might be something of a one-trick pony, even if that trick is one of the best tricks ever performed. I want to see him in more settings, and am pumped for the Slaughter matches on the AWA set.

 

5. Tito Santana from 84-85. My watching of TNT and Primetime is VERY sporadic but I was very impressed by the Tito vs. Adrian Adonis match from the 05/29/84 edition of TNT and several people here have talked up Tito from that period.

[soup23]

Wow, Chad, was genuinely shocked to see Luger at the top of your list there. Always got the impression that the man-love was mainly coming from me on Luger and you were lower on him.

Enjoyed the Luger stuff we have seen from him on the podcast a good deal watching his development. As we will discuss soon enough I think him in GAB 88 is his crowning achievement so far. What really pushed me over the top is his 1990 stuff though. Him and Flair have one classic match and his performance at Capital Combat was really gutsy. You hear about how selfish Luger was and we just aren't see that so far. I really look forward to 1989 which most would call his best year.

[Graham Crackers]

1. Nick Bockwinkel - I just finished up the AWA set a few weeks ago and he was my favorite guy to watch on that set and someone I'm starting to think is a top 5 best American wrestler of all time. I don't feel 100% confident saying that yet. I think I might seek out some of his 70s matches soon.

 

2. Jerry Blackwell - The other guy who I loved to watch on that set. I'm watching his match against Butch Reed from St. Louis right now and it's awesome. Top 3 best fat guy wrestler of all time?

 

3. Yuki Ishikawa - One of my all time favorite wrestlers. I'm trying to fill in some blanks on my Battlarts knowledge at the moment. Just had a marathon of 2007-2008 Battlarts with a friend a few weeks ago.

 

4. Daniel Bryan - I've watched his most pimped matches of this last year and it's just so damn cool that this guy who was so nice to talk to in a diner after an ROH show way back when is now this star on TV who is really over with the audience. He's been involved in some great matches this last year and when I ordered TLC with some friends we were all freaking out while watching him trying to fight off the Shield by himself.

 

5. Fabulous Freebirds - I've been slowly watching the Texas set for a while now and I made a big dent in it on a bus ride from NYC to Toronto this past weekend. Obviously they're a great unit but I'm surprised at how little I like them as individuals compared to how much I like them together. I don't want to be negative though as they are fucking great together, at least in WCCW. The Freebirds vs Von Erichs matches haven't disappointed me yet and I really enjoyed them as kind of babyfaces against Kamala, Missing Link, and a Super Destroyer.

[goodhelmet]

Jerry Blackwell - The other guy who I loved to watch on that set. I'm watching his match against Butch Reed from St. Louis right now and it's awesome. Top 3 best fat guy wrestler of all time?

What 2 fat guys would you have above him? Are you including Vader? Yokozuna?

[KrisZ]

Luger almost made my list as he had just turned babyface in December 1987 and was cutting the promos of his life but I haven't seen many matches just the promos. His first babyface promo at TBS studios had that place so quiet and attentive that David Crockett even noted that he had never heard that place that quiet before.