goodhelmet Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 You know, this year, I have really been excited about watching currrent wrestling. From ROH, select Japan shows, CMLL, and the 2005 WWE Comps EJ has made me. So what wrestler do you genuinely get hyped up for, whether it is a match announced for a future show, a match you see on a tape or DVD, or someone you will watch regardless of who they are wrestling? Who is keeping your interest in wrestling right now? This year, there have been a few... James Gibson --- His ROH/indy work has been phenomonal for the most part. Tim sent me a few DVDs and now I usually just buy a show that has him featured in one form or another. This can't be the same guy who was stinking it up with Tajiri a couple of years back, can it? Samoa Joe --- Joe has been a monster for a good year now. WhenI see Samoa Joes name on the bill, I want to watch the match. Hell, I'll probably pick up the GBH show because of his match with Liger. I am kicking myself in the ass for not finding a way to see im face off against Kobashi... on my birthday no less!!! Mistico --- My jaw drops everytime I watch this guy. God, I hope he does not go to WWE. Mysterio-Mistico has me hopeful but I don't know if he would succeed or thrive in that atmosphere. Eddie Guerrero --- My Smackdown comps outnumber my Raw comps 7-4 right now. Eddie is the main reason. After seeing him have career matches against guys like the Big Show and JBL, I have faith that Eddie will make the most of ANY situation adn he is one of few WWE guys I genuinely care to watch. I can't even say that about Benoit anymore. Benoit would have been on this list for the last 5 years. In 2005, I don't know if he is in my Top 20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dangerous A Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Agree with those goodhelmet and while staying on some lucha... You've got to include Ultimo Guerrero. Guy just owns CMLL (along with Mistico) right now. Just a shame that Galavision looks to be putting on AAA for awhile now after a hot summer of straight CMLL shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Abyss The best big man in wrestling right now. I've been trying to sell people on his skills for the last 6 months and thankfully more people are catching on. He even drug Lance Hoyt to a good match this summer. Hiroshi Tanahashi He hasn't had a great year but I see a lot of potential in the guy. I really hope New Japan gives him the ball in the next few years. I'm a little down on wrestling overall so I'm only listing two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted October 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Just keep in mind this isn't an argument over who is the best. This is really about personal favorites for whatever reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dangerous A Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Agreed with Mad Dog about Abyss. If they only could've come up with a gimmick that wasnt' so reminiscent of Kane/Mankind. His in ring work is fantastic. Also, I dug Austin Aries run as ROH champ more than others. You could really see where the Joe rub had it's effects and Aries had some very good matches this year with Cabana, Spanky, Dragon, and Punk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 After seeing Turning Point, Abyss should never take his shirt off ever again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World's Worst Man Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 I second the love for Samoa Joe. The guy's just fantastic in the ring, and I really think he needs to get a shot at being the top gaijin with NOAH or NJPW. And to think, he's probably got another good 12-15 years in him. I really, really hope he gets a shot to be a big time player in a large promotion, while making tons of coin along the way. I also second the love for Tanahashi. He's terribly charismatic, and is fairly good in the ring despite not having a ton of experience. I'm liking Nakamura too, especially after the 1 hour Kojima draw. A guy with 2-3 years of pro wrestling experience had no business being in a 1 hour draw that was that good. Kenta Kobashi of course. The guy has no knees and is still a top 5 worker. He'll probably go down as a top 10 worker of all time when all is said and done. Just an incredible amount of pure wrestling ability and charisma. The only thing that annoys me, is the no-selling/fighting spirit goofiness that he helped pioneer. It's ironic, because when he's actually selling, he's one of the best sellers I've ever seen. But watching him wrestle is always greatly entertaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted October 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Hiroshi Tanahashi He hasn't had a great year but I see a lot of potential in the guy. I really hope New Japan gives him the ball in the next few years. I also second the love for Tanahashi. He's terribly charismatic, and is fairly good in the ring despite not having a ton of experience. Are there any matches or shows I need to look out for with this guy on them because I have never heard anyone really sing his praises? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sass Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 I'll watch any match that has Eddy, Rey or Bradshaw in it. Samoa Joe is one of the best signings TNA could have made and I'll watch every match he's in. Bradshaw and Batista should have had a better feud over the title than they really did. RAW's dead to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dangerous A Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 For this year and Tanahashi's work, I can't really say because I've only seen the Dome match vs Rikio, which wasnt' bad btw. I heard Tanahashi had a killer 1/4/05 Dome show match with Nakamura, but I haven't seen it yet. I'd say get the G-1 Finals vs Tenzan. Excellent match. Irrelevant to the point of this year, but still good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WidowsPeak Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Samoa Joe, Chris Daniels, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Mistico, Jushin Thunder Liger, AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, Kurt Angle, Ultimo Guerrero... Do I really have to pick just one? My favourite of all-time is Benoit anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 I'd go with his two Dome Show appearances this year. It'll give you an idea of what he's liked. His G-1 Final against Tenzan in 2004 is a good one as well. Also his U-30 defense on 1/4/04 is probably the best match Yoshie has ever had. I forgot to add Osamu Nishimura. Something about his bland appearance and ringstyle has really grown on me over the last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World's Worst Man Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Hiroshi Tanahashi He hasn't had a great year but I see a lot of potential in the guy. I really hope New Japan gives him the ball in the next few years. I also second the love for Tanahashi. He's terribly charismatic, and is fairly good in the ring despite not having a ton of experience. Are there any matches or shows I need to look out for with this guy on them because I have never heard anyone really sing his praises? As was mentioned earlier, the Tenzan G1 2004 Finals was just great. Tanahashi/Nakamura vs. Nagata/Tenzan 1/30/05 was really good. Makai Mask IV & Makai Mask V vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi 7/9/03 was shockingly excellent. A bloodbath brawl in NJPW, wooha. Tanahashi vs. Nagata 4/19/05 (Round 1 of NJ Cup) was supposed to have been great. I can let you know for sure in about an hour or so, hehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Has anyone seen his U-30 defense against Bryan Danielson? I've been wanting to pick it up but not sure if it's good or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World's Worst Man Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Has anyone seen his U-30 defense against Bryan Danielson? I've been wanting to pick it up but not sure if it's good or not. Only like 9:24 of 16:16 aired, so unless it's in full on a comm. tape somewhere, it's probably not worth going out of your way to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Bah, clip jobs. I used to love how Turner Video would butcher their undercards on released tapes. Nothing like seeing the guys come out, the screen to flip or something and then see one guy pinning the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World's Worst Man Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Tell me about it. I got a big NJ junior comp from Lynch a few years ago. I realized too late that it was all coming from the shitty NJPW network TV show. For some of those matches, less than half was actually aired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted October 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Did you ever get those shows/matches replaced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World's Worst Man Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Nope. I'm going to try to replace all of the clipped stuff with the NJ Classics versions, since I believe they all air in full on that show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World's Worst Man Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Tanahashi vs. Nagata wasn't as great as I'd been led to believe, but it was very good. The hijinx at the end of the match were really fun too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Homicide: I love everything about him. His entrance music, his look, his gimmick, his promos, his wrestling, his tattoo on his arm, his finishers, etc. He's the reason that I have fifteen gigs of ROH on my computer. He's the only wrestler that I can think of that I actually go out of my way to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Leena Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Randall Orton: He's just so damn sexy. And if it wasn't for the stupid rushed face turn, I think smarks would finally be warming to him. Ah, no, you wouldn't. Because YOU'RE ALL JEALOUS. Kurt Angle: Just because he's always entertaining. Wrestling, speaking, acting. He's great. Monte Brown: I can't explain my guilty pleasure of him. I guess I just love his intensity, and his look. Plus, he's a former Bill. Although, just a special teams scrub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Evil Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Favourite wrestler currently is Benoit. Nobody's really that close either. I'm forever a mark for intensity. Kobashi is 2nd KENTA, Rey, Eddie, Benjamin and Angle fill out the rest. Regal would be here if they used him properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 I will say that in 2005, I've gone from loathing JBL to admitting that he can be carried to liking him as a standalone talent and being a big fan of his. The guy has worked unbelievably hard to become really good in the ring, and he's probably the best interview in all of wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Spaceman Spiff Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 James Gibson --- His ROH/indy work has been phenomonal for the most part. Tim sent me a few DVDs and now I usually just buy a show that has him featured in one form or another. This can't be the same guy who was stinking it up with Tajiri a couple of years back, can it? James Gibson for me, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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