Dylan Waco Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Discuss Here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetlag Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 He looks good in the little footage we have, but ultimately he's a guy who's legendary for his influence and vision rather than legendary matches. If you want to put him on your list based on him being a fun old man technician there's a lot of competition for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Lack of footage is a really tough obstacle to surmount on this one. Looking around, I could only find a grand total of two full unedited Gotch matches online. The rest are all short clipjobs, and there's not even many of those, maybe four or five at most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 It was interesting watching the Yoshimura match that GOTNW posted as it seems all you ever read about Gotch is people debating how tough he really was or claiming he couldn't work the type of matches that draw. He looked pretty good on the mat though he was taking it kind of easy on Yoshimura. I would have liked to have seen the Japanese worker fight a bit harder to get a limb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laney Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 This is someone that I wish we had a lot more footage of. I thought he looked awesome in the 1973 NJPW tag match, but there is no way I could rank him when there is so very little footage out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTNW Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 Gotch is hard for me. He looks good in what we have of him but we have so little. Obviously he gets more attention from me than he would if he wasn't such a legendary and influential figure but that's exactly why he is problematic for me. Pretty much all my favourite wrestling can be traced directly back to Gotch and his influence in both shaping the traditional New Japan style and training wrestlers is enormous. As I've said before influence is something I sometimes I take into account and with Gotch it's so significant that I have a hard time leaving him off because of it. I could see making him my #100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control21 Posted December 21, 2021 Report Share Posted December 21, 2021 Has this video been around for a while? First time I've seen it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1bUGi-wGaI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted December 21, 2021 Report Share Posted December 21, 2021 2 hours ago, Control21 said: Has this video been around for a while? First time I've seen it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1bUGi-wGaI That turned up on Hidden Gems back when that was a thing. Though the clips of the Russians' entrance appeared on The Biggest, the Smallest, the Strangest, & the Strongest Coliseum Video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control21 Posted December 21, 2021 Report Share Posted December 21, 2021 6 minutes ago, PeteF3 said: That turned up on Hidden Gems back when that was a thing. Though the clips of the Russians' entrance appeared on The Biggest, the Smallest, the Strangest, & the Strongest Coliseum Video. Ahh, I couldn't find it on Peacock so I suppose it's nice to have it on Youtube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr JMML Posted June 11, 2023 Report Share Posted June 11, 2023 I love what we have but the lack of footage is difficult to ignore. We don't have enough footage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control21 Posted June 11, 2023 Report Share Posted June 11, 2023 It's a shame we don't have more footage of him, but we have shows why he was so highly regarded. My personal belief is that if someone wants to rank him high based on available footage + historical documentation + his lineage of trainees and his influence on the development of the industry in Japan, they should feel comfortable doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr JMML Posted June 11, 2023 Report Share Posted June 11, 2023 14 minutes ago, Control21 said: It's a shame we don't have more footage of him, but we have shows why he was so highly regarded. My personal belief is that if someone wants to rank him high based on available footage + historical documentation + his lineage of trainees and his influence on the development of the industry in Japan, they should feel comfortable doing so. I think so too, I have Thesz at number 13 so I wouldn't have a problem with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted June 12, 2023 Report Share Posted June 12, 2023 If nothing else, we have the sheer variety of the "Rugged Russians" WWWF match and his Japan work. That gives you a sense of potential breadth. Still, I get the sense he was absolutely great. Unquestionably great. He is one of the greatest wrestlers ever. I just don't think I have enough to rate him relative to other wrestlers or figure out where he'd be on a list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTNW Posted March 31 Report Share Posted March 31 Getting new Karl Gotch footage certainly wasn't something I was expecting during the last poll. The Gotch/Goulet vs Rugged Russians tag really is quite fascinating. Gotch basically works somewhere between Fujiwara and Hulk Hogan. It's a total blast. Gotch is in for me. I rated him #100 last time. I'll see where I'll place him this time. After watching the aforementioned tag and re-watching the Yoshimura and Inoki matches (both of which I thought were phenomenal and even better than I had remembered), I think I can make some general conclusions about his ability as a worker and not just rate him as a nod to his incredibly legacy and vision of pro wrestling. Obviously that's something which matters a great deal to me and was the motivation for his ranking last time, but I think we have just enough that I can fill in some gaps so that I at least don't have to put him on the bottom spot. That I have a willingness to watch every bit of his footage several times also helps. Still probably won't be where he should place, but what can you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control21 Posted March 31 Report Share Posted March 31 As it stands, he's in my top 40. I think people who want to rank him high shouldn't sweat it. We have limited footage, but he's a tremendous worker in what we have and it's clear why his legacy is what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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