Suwama

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[GOTNW]

I figured he's the kind of guy that might end up as #91 on someone's list if they're super high on modern puro and he has definitely achieved and been acclaimed enough to at least merit discussion. He has good offence and a lot of good matches but is terribly inconsistent and needs a better worker (e.g. Akiyama, Takayama) to reel him in to produce something great. Him vs Sekimoto is probably the dullest match I've ever seen but he'll also go and have matches vs Go Shiozaki that are way better than they should be. Maybe Akiyama's had a hands-on approach to All Japan's ringwork since taking over.

[Ma Stump Puller]

Unfortunately Suwama's prime comes during AJPW's least known era: if he was in his prime today I think people would be talking a lot more about him. The issue about him needing to be carried to be great, for me, isn't really a actual issue; I've seen Suwama kick ass against a wide variety of opponents. He's great in brawls, great as a underdog, can play a ace role perfectly, can get good heat in matches, etc. The one chink in his armor is that he's bad in long, extended matches: he has a 60 minute match with Taiyo Kea that's just the shits, literally nothing happens. It's half inconsistent limb work that actually goes nowhere (not even regular Puro limb work where it at LEAST plays into the match for the beginning and middle) and the other half is padding via shitty strike exchanges, leading to a ending where Suwama takes all of Kea's offence, springs up like nothing happened, and then wins after some moves.

In those situations, yes: he's a guy who needs to be carried to something better, because he's hopeless in long matches. He can't carry mediocre acts to great bouts (beyond some matches with Yoshitatsu) but he can balance the books and make people look good in more balanced bouts, namely when he's playing the bigger threat. He's also unironically a amazing tag specialist and has had a lot of success in that regard, especially in Evolution, Violent Giants, and even the really recent RUNAWAY SUPLEX duo, which have all been fun runs and have added a lot of legitimacy to a top 100 run, especially with Suwama's longevity. While he has slowed down a fair bit and seems to be finally being phased out of the Triple Crown running after a big final run, he's still a super essential part of AJPW and a damn good act at present. I doubt he'll get on here given there's so much more popular talent but I'd definitely consider him having a position given he's taken a while to get truly great (his early work up to maybe 2009 or whatnot isn't consistently there for me) but he has stayed there for a very long while.