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Chad's Big Board of Brainstorming


soup23

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With a slow work day, I filtered all the candidates and took a stab at my first list. Here is what came up:

 

 

  1. Misawa
  2. Kobashi
  3. Flair
  4. Jumbo
  5. Satanico
  6. Tenryu
  7. Funk
  8. Casas
  9. Daniel Bryan
  10. Liger
  11. Kawada
  12. Lawler
  13. Tamura
  14. Hashimoto
  15. Rey Mysterio Jr.
  16. El Hijo Del Santo
  17. Aja Kong
  18. Bock
  19. Steamboat
  20. Buddy Rose
  21. Jim Breaks
  22. Chris Benoit
  23. Billy Robinson
  24. El Dandy
  25. Bull Nakano
  26. Volk Han
  27. Jun Akiyama
  28. Rick Martel
  29. Ricky Morton
  30. Bobby Eaton
  31. Tatsumi Fujinami
  32. Vader
  33. Fujiwara
  34. Arn Anderson
  35. Tully Blanchard
  36. Jack Brisco
  37. Giant Baba
  38. Eddie Guerrero
  39. Shawn Michaels
  40. Bret Hart
  41. Jaguar Yokota
  42. Atlantis
  43. Akira Taue
  44. Randy Savage
  45. Riki Choshu
  46. Sangre Chicano
  47. Sgt. Slaughter
  48. Steve Regal
  49. Virus
  50. Barry Windham
  51. Yuki Ishikawa
  52. Blue Panther
  53. Pirata Morgan
  54. Ron Garvin
  55. Chigusa Nagayo
  56. Onita
  57. The Destroyer
  58. Akira Hokuto
  59. Greg Valentine
  60. Bill Dundee
  61. Naoki Sano
  62. John Cena
  63. Ted Dibiase
  64. Devil Masami
  65. Perro Aguayo
  66. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
  67. Fit Finlay
  68. Dick Murdoch
  69. Masa Saito
  70. Manami Toyota
  71. Chris Hero
  72. Meiko Satomura
  73. Tito Santana
  74. Yatsu
  75. Tanahashi
  76. Emilio Charles jr
  77. La Fiera
  78. Ohtani
  79. Nakamura
  80. Terry Gordy
  81. MS-1
  82. Hiroshi Hase
  83. Dynamite Kansai
  84. Dick Togo
  85. Takyama
  86. Steve Austin
  87. Sinobu Kandori
  88. CM Punk
  89. Black Terry
  90. Dump Matsummoto
  91. Daisuke Ikea
  92. Tajiri
  93. Super Dragon
  94. Toshiyo Yamada
  95. Larry Zbyszko
  96. Ricky Fuyuki
  97. Yoshihisa Yamamoto
  98. Tracy Smothers
  99. Lex Luger
  100. Hulk Hogan

 

I found the bottom 30 or so guys to be really tough to decipher. Anyway, I thought it would be fun if monthly, I updated this with who is rising up/down my rankings and why.

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No clue how Hansen was omitted. He is Yellow on my excel sheet which is a top 10 contender. Right now I would have him at #5.

 

 

Tanahashi is the one that I kept creeping up as I formed the list on the back half. It became a war of attrition where I had to keep asking myself if someone like Fuyuki is better than Tanahashi, etc. I also am in post G-1 glaze from him so he may be dropping as we go along. Before forming the list, I had initially at #100.

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No clue how Hansen was omitted. He is Yellow on my excel sheet which is a top 10 contender. Right now I would have him at #5.

 

 

Tanahashi is the one that I kept creeping up as I formed the list on the back half. It became a war of attrition where I had to keep asking myself if someone like Fuyuki is better than Tanahashi, etc. I also am in post G-1 glaze from him so he may be dropping as we go along. Before forming the list, I had initially at #100.

I hope he drops off completely.

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It's gonna be really funny when I have Tracy Smothers in my top 25.

 

Also Chad going all in on Tanahashi is tragic.

We'll see how high Waltman and Tajiri get on my list too.

 

Personal favourites are going to be fun to watch to see where they get placed.

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Hero above Punk is fairly easy for me but I have never been that into Punk as others.

 

Indy Scene: Hero had the Ian 2002 match and Mark Wolf 2003 series which is great. Also, MIchael Todd Stratton and Danny Daniels Feuds. 2004 has the Joe vs. Punk matches but the Hero vs. Punk match is also great and he was already having some very good stuff with Claudio. 2005 shows him branch out even more with the Arik Cannon feud and him turning full rudo there and in Chikara. Punk is in OVW and WWE which is honestly a down period for him in my eyes from a performance perspective.

 

Fast forward to where Punk really shines in 2010-2012 and he is ahead of Hero but Hero was still really good with the KOW stuff and again working with a variety of guys. I have been critical of Punk in 2013 and think he was pretty inconsistent overall. Hero in 2014-2015 has been pretty great whether he is fat or not and worked a variety of styles with Thatcher, Bailey, Kongo Kong, AJ STyles that have all produced very good results.

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Is Michael Hayes someone you would consider? Also, what about Dr. Death? I'm just curious where you think they stand.

 

 

Michael Hayes is someone I like a bunch and think for sure most everyone that has watched a chunk of his work is on board with dismissing the "he was good only on the mic" claim, but I don't see him rising on a list like this. Luger is really the only person I would call a fanboy selection and with Hansen omitted, he probably won't make it. I would lump Hayes with DDP in that they are my favorites and I would like to find a spot for them but can't see them as better workers above Adrian Street, Sean Waltman, Minoru Suzuki, etc.

 

Dr. Death is really hindered by his U.S. run. He feels more inconsistent to me than almost any wrestler I can think of as they are very few performers that I can claim he is a legit WOTYC in one year (1994) whereas three years before, I thought he adequate at best on the footage I have seen and three years later produced the same result. Doc's window of greatness was too short for consideration.

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Hero above Punk is fairly easy for me but I have never been that into Punk as others.

 

Indy Scene: Hero had the Ian 2002 match and Mark Wolf 2003 series which is great. Also, MIchael Todd Stratton and Danny Daniels Feuds. 2004 has the Joe vs. Punk matches but the Hero vs. Punk match is also great and he was already having some very good stuff with Claudio. 2005 shows him branch out even more with the Arik Cannon feud and him turning full rudo there and in Chikara. Punk is in OVW and WWE which is honestly a down period for him in my eyes from a performance perspective.

 

Fast forward to where Punk really shines in 2010-2012 and he is ahead of Hero but Hero was still really good with the KOW stuff and again working with a variety of guys. I have been critical of Punk in 2013 and think he was pretty inconsistent overall. Hero in 2014-2015 has been pretty great whether he is fat or not and worked a variety of styles with Thatcher, Bailey, Kongo Kong, AJ STyles that have all produced very good results.

Good analysis.

 

I prefer Punk basically from the start until late 2013-14, then Hero over takes from there. It's close at points, but I can see it. Just a surprise to see how much higher he got.

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That is one that I have been formulating for a while, essentially since I started going through the All Japan 80's and yearbook sets. Kobashi was very good early on for me as evidenced by his 7/15/89 role and his stuff in 90-91. By 92-93, I think you can make a strong claim to him being top 10 in the world where he would be throughout 1997. 1998 he is neck and neck with Tamura for my WOTY and in 1999, he is a strong contender for WOTY 7 months in and at worst, top 3.

 

The one thing I want to watch is his 2000's NOAH run. I did Ditch's 2004 run through and thought Kobashi was fabulous thorughout that year and I liked the 2008-2009 stuff in real time when I started watching footage in the same critical landscape I do now. if his 2000, 2002-2007 can be at that level, then I see Kobashi having 20 strong years of amazing output.

 

My top 5 overall will be something I mull over until I submit my final ballot.

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