Left Out in the Cold - Who will NOT make your list?

[Dylan Waco]

This "I'm taking my ball and going home" gimmick is getting old.

[Matt D]

From what I've seen from the shoot stuff so far, I like the more grappling-heavy stuff, the whole "building off openings that the other person lets me" to create counters and what not, but I have a long way to go. I've seen very little strike heavy matches.

[El-P]

When well done, shoot-style wrestling was one of the most fun and beautiful thing ever in pro-wrestling. And it was probably a lot safer than taking a billion simple bumps too most of the time.

[soup23]

I think the shoot style and joshi discussions in here show that in a lot of ways it is more of a style preference than a worker one. I have thought about this topic some in the past few days and couldn't come up with an answer. I feel most of the usual suspects will make my list. Sure someone like Owen Hart or Tracy Smothers or Gordy might not but is that really controversial or vastly different from the norm? I am inclined to say no.

[Badlittlekitten]

Tito Santana won't make my list. Martel and Hennig will likely be left in the cold too.

[Matt D]

Tito Santana won't make my list. Martel and Hennig will likely be left in the cold too.

100 heels.

[TRMD]

I don't agree with any of that really, mainly because wrestling is a performance art not an athletic event. Even if I were to go down that route your argument doesn't hold water with me. Take Serena Williams and Andy Roddick as examples. If they faced each other Roddick would wipe the floor with Serena. However, that's a shortsighted assessment of their place in their sport. Serena is a better tennis player than Roddick, doesn't matter if she doesn't match up physically.

 

I've read very few things in my life that made less sense. So, if the 76ers went and played the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the 76ers would beat them by at least 50. But since the Mercury won the WNBA championship, they are better at basketball than the Sixers? That makes absolutely no sense.

[BillThompson]

 

I don't agree with any of that really, mainly because wrestling is a performance art not an athletic event. Even if I were to go down that route your argument doesn't hold water with me. Take Serena Williams and Andy Roddick as examples. If they faced each other Roddick would wipe the floor with Serena. However, that's a shortsighted assessment of their place in their sport. Serena is a better tennis player than Roddick, doesn't matter if she doesn't match up physically.

I've read very few things in my life that made less sense. So, if the 76ers went and played the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the 76ers would beat them by at least 50. But since the Mercury won the WNBA championship, they are better at basketball than the Sixers? That makes absolutely no sense.

 

 

It all comes down to the application of skill. Athleticism is great, it can mask and make up for a lot of flaws. In the case of someone like a Sue Bird, she is a great basketball player. Of course she would be smoked by the men, but that's because she lacks their level of athleticism. However, being great at one's sport should not be denied, and she is great at her sport. Athleticism is given too much weight in pretty much everything, because skill is skill, regardless of gender.

[Badlittlekitten]

 

Tito Santana won't make my list. Martel and Hennig will likely be left in the cold too.

100 heels.

 

 

 

(I may take it easy on Bret, Cena and Chigusa. So 97 actually).

[concrete1992]

Okay, sports is a shitty example unless the idea is "Well Tamika Catchings would be more suitable for a basketball HOF than a Latrell Spreewell".

[BillThompson]

I don't think sports ever translates well to pro wrestling, because it's very much not a sport. It's a performance art, and that entails subjectivity and a completely different skillset (wherein athleticism is not much of a factor) than if it were an actual sporting endeavor.

[Matt D]

In general, I'm much more impressed by someone who uses limited athletic ability to great effect than someone who uses a lot of athletic ability to pretty good effect.

[BillThompson]

In general, I'm much more impressed by someone who uses limited athletic ability to great effect than someone who uses a lot of athletic ability to pretty good effect.

 

This is me as well, although I think we are part of a smallish group who thinks that way.

[El McKell]

 

In general, I'm much more impressed by someone who uses limited athletic ability to great effect than someone who uses a lot of athletic ability to pretty good effect.

 

This is me as well, although I think we are part of a smallish group who thinks that way.

I think that the way that Matt's post is phrased almost all wrestling fans would agree with him, because the 'effect' is all anybody really is impressed by, it's just that what using your ability to great effect is means very different things to different people

[concrete1992]

I don't think sports ever translates well to pro wrestling, because it's very much not a sport. It's a performance art, and that entails subjectivity and a completely different skillset (wherein athleticism is not much of a factor) than if it were an actual sporting endeavor.

Then don't continue using sports as a point of reference

[BillThompson]

I respond to analogy with similar analogy, it's how I roll.

[TRMD]

 

In general, I'm much more impressed by someone who uses limited athletic ability to great effect than someone who uses a lot of athletic ability to pretty good effect.

 

This is me as well, although I think we are part of a smallish group who thinks that way.

 

 

This is a perfectly acceptable line of thinking, and I'm actually in the same boat. But just because I'm more appreciative of someone making the most of their skill and not depending on athletic abilities, it doesn't make them better. That's not how in works in sports. If you're better, you're better. Doesn't matter if you're more athlete than skilled, it's how it is.

 

Wrestling doesn't fit into this. You don't have to be athletic to be a great pro wrestler. Although, it certainly helps.

[Matt D]

According to Jim Ross, Brian Pillman is pound for pound the best athlete in 1991 WCW!

[dawho5]

I have one thing to say about all this talk of getting more out of less.

 

Akira Taue will do very well on my list. Probably better than he does on most people's lists. So I would count myself among those who think that way.

 

As far as people who may not make my list, depending on how much stuff I find that I really like going forward, I can see not having Samurai or Ohtani on my list despite how much I do love both of them. That's in no way a lock though.

[Matt D]

The Taue Revolution

[Childs]

Taue finished No. 26 in the SC poll. Does he really need a revolution?

[NintendoLogic]

Using Taue as an example of doing more with less is pretty funny. He was a legit high-level athlete who competed in sumo's second-highest division. Just because someone looks physically awkward doesn't mean he's unathletic. Peyton Manning is another example.

[JazeUSA]

 

No women will make my list. I personally think it's silly to rank men & women together.

Why?

 

Just curios if you were doing greatest actors or musicians would it include women? What about figure skaters or dancers?

 

Even sports. Say, greatest track and field stars would include women on it. I'm confused by your statement there.

 

I have to agree with W2BTD here, no woman will make my list either, I personally feel that the women should have there own top 25 category like the tag teams but that's just my opinion, its just silly imo to try to compare Akiro Hokuto, MadUSA, or Sherri Martel to Rick Martel, Roddy Piper or AJ Styles, maybe its just me, maybe I'm not as open minded as some but either way it's just not gonna happen for me

[dawho5]

I always look at him as more with less due to who his peers were. Regardless of his prior qualifications, he was consistently on the level of Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi for over a decade. For a guy with the limitations that he did have, Taue did a pretty incredible job.

[Steenalized]

Using Taue as an example of doing more with less is pretty funny. He was a legit high-level athlete who competed in sumo's second-highest division. Just because someone looks physically awkward doesn't mean he's unathletic. Peyton Manning is another example.

Luger gets it too. Taue and Luger had long torsos an short legs that make them look kinda unathletic, but they're very clearly excellent athletes. Taue has ungodly long arms too.