The deadline

[BillThompson]

As I said on Twitter, I really don't see where you're coming from Charles. I respect you, a lot, and you are one of the handful of people whose opinions on wrestling I actively seek out. But, on this issue I think you're so far off field that you've moved past the parking lot and into the Walmart five blocks away from the field.

 

There are going to be gaps, there always will be. There are going to be large gaps at that. Take Super Dragon for instance, or PWG as a whole if you will. Dragon is a guy I will most likely end up nominating and he will end up in my top 100. PWG will be a focus for me moving forward because there are a lot of guys who have spent time there that I can see making my list. This may mean that I don't see some great matches that were pimped by Kunze, Keller, etc. That doesn't invalidate my list, just like it wouldn't invalidate those guys lists just because they haven't seen a lot of Dragon or PWG. I used the Roger Ebert analogy on Twitter and I think it holds true. I know for a fact that South Korea, Thailand, China, and pretty much any Asian country not named Japan represented large gaps in Ebert's film viewing. Is Ebert's opinion in the various Sight & Sound and AFI, etc. polls throughout the years diminished because of this fact? No, it's not, because he watched what he could watch and he delivered an informed opinion based on what he watched. That's what we are asking people to do for this project and if they do as such they are doing their part.

 

There's too much great wrestling for us to see it all, so we prioritize and watch what we can. That's the way life is for wrestling fans, I'm not expecting Parv to watch everything I pimp as great, just like I'm sure Ohtani isn't expecting me to watch every British match he pimps as great. We'll all make efforts to watch a lot of great wrestling, but the gaps will remain. And that will hold true for now, five years from now, ten years from now, and so on and so forth into the future. No one can make you vote Charles, but I think you are creating standards that are impossible, foolhardy, and irrational. Even if we were given unlimited time to watch wrestling there's no way we could watch every match that everyone on this board (and the sources you also mentioned) considers great. So, like I said, we watch what we can and we deliver informed opinions based on that. This is a great project, with a clear destination and a process to get to said destination that is sound and true. Without your voice in the final vote I feel as if this project will suffer somewhat, but maybe that's just me.

[JerryvonKramer]

I also think we can afford to be strategic in viewing and to take necessary sample sizes.

 

I don't expect anyone else to watch 10 hours of Jack Brisco matches just to get a measure of the guy, maybe others can just watch the highlights I recommend. Sure, it's not a complete view but none of us have unlimited time. In a sense, I'm going long on the 70s guys so that a lot of others don't have to sit through it all. For example, last night I just mentioned in passing to watch the Dory Jr vs. Mike Graham match from 81 Florida again and he gave it another look and gave his take.

Likewise, I'm not going to watch every single WoS match out there, but probably just OJ's edited highlights. I'll watch Loss's edited highlights for Joshi and so on.

I'm not watching every 90s AJ match with Grimmas for the podcast, just the cream.

I know that Low Ki is probably not making my top 100 after watching 7 pimped matches of his -- I will probably watch another 7 just to give him a fair shake. But that viewing has opened the door to guys like AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan who I do give a shot to, and who I will watch more of. Again, not EVERYTHING but I'll watch enough to make a call.

We all have areas we specialise in more than others, and can help to provide "highlights" for others. I realize it's not perfect, but that's as good as we can get.

[Dylan Waco]

Loss taking on the role of 2006 JDW is bizarre to me. I mean...I get the point. But I'm not sure what value there is in expressing it at this point, nor do I think finality is even possible with something like this. I love PWO, but reading this line from the sites owner makes me wonder if this project should even be hosted here and that in and of itself just makes me...sad?

[DR Ackermann]

Using that logic does it make any sense for you to keep making the claim that Ric Flair is the best wrestler of all time? Why would you even argue it, you have too many gaps. I don't mean this to sound like I'm attacking you, I just feel like you're over thinking the whole thing. You should definitely take part in the project. The whole point of this website is to talk about wrestling and the poll process/results will only enhance the conversations.

 

Should someone not keep a journal because of the fact that they know whatever they write down in the moment might not be how they'll feel in 20 years?

[Matt D]

We do our best. It'll probably be some functional progress from 2006. More footage is more easily available. More is known. Our best will be enough.*

 

*I hope it will be in case I have Misawa at #76.

[Dylan Waco]

How much Shaun Tempers do modern indie fans watch? How much Puerto Rico made the yearbooks? How many people have seen every ecw Fancam allowing for more informed opinions on guys like Little Guido or Bigelow.

 

I think I've found another reason to hate Great Match Theory

[shoe]

To me if anyone wants to do the ballot or not do it that's their prerogative . Of course I want Charles involved. I feel that there is a handful of posters that bring a certain impact that Charles brings to the table. I hope he changes his mind. If not that's his choice. Didn't think an announcement needed to be made though because this has people talking.(I'm guilty) Instead of talking about great wrestlers.

[Loss]

If this is distracting people from focusing on the project itself, then I should lock this thread. Especially when the posts are starting to become more about me and less about my point.