2026 Nomination Thread

[Clayton Jones]

Ha Barnes was also on my short list of potential nominations. Love it.

[GOTNW]

Chris Markoff

[1969-05-16-JWA] Antonio Inoki vs Chris Markoff

[1969-4-16 JWA] Chris Markoff & Bobo Brazil vs Giant Baba & Kintaro Oki

[1973-5-15 CWF] Chris Markoff & Buddy Colt vs Paul Jones & Eddie Graham

 

Speaking of Southeastern European greats! Chris Markoff is a man of mystery. He is supposed to have been born in Yugoslavia, from where his family had migrated to Minneapolis. Where in Yugoslavia? Both Serbia and North Macedonia are cited. Since North Macedonia used to be a part of Serbia before WWII, this would make it more likely he was from Vardar than Serbia proper. No data on his birth name is available online. My detective work also led me to strangers on social media claiming to be related to him and their surnames and social media profiles would point to him being a Pole instead of a south Slav. Since anyone can write anything on the internet and I didn't manage to find proof strangers online were actually related to him, we'll have to go with what's in the books.

How is this relevant for the career of Chris Markoff and the case for him being one of the best wrestlers? His case is basically completely dependent on the Inoki match. For my money, it's an absolute classic in the "brutal, bloody brawls" genre, a cousin of Sangre Chicana vs MS-1, Lawler vs Dundee and so on. Why then do I insist on bringing his ethnicity and origin into this? Well, Northern Macedonia is a land where more than 4 wars took place in the span of about 40 years, and they traumatized the local population so bad it resulted in an identity crisis where they now think they're descendants of Greeks who never even stepped foot on today's territory of Northern Macedonia. Excuse to talk about historical Balkan geopolitics? No, this post is about Chris Markoff. Markoff was either from this area (and with his family fleeing to the US in the 40s, it's a safe bet they were fascist collaborators) or was willing to lie and make it his entire gimmick that he was from there, only to be redirected to being an evil Russian due to pragmatic reasons.

Point being. This dude was clearly out there. And you can sense it. When he stomps on Inoki's head and punches it, yeah it looks great, but he's really being a prick about it, you can feel the hate flowing through him. He ramps the crowd up and makes Inoki look like the mythical warrior hero your grandfather would tell you about, except it's every bit as good as his memory made him to be. This is the epic spectacle of violence a film director imagines for his main scene, except it's come to life, live, with Markoff smacking Inoki's head into the announce table.

We also have a very good performance from him in the Baba/Oki tag, where we get some quality stooging mixed in with the compact and crisp offence. And the Paul Jones tag is really good. There is more Markoff footage but unfortunately it seems to be mostly be him as an old guy in AWA and what I've seen isn't bad, but it's not exactly spectacular either. One amazing match might not be enough to make it even for his biggest advocates, but he is someone whom I'd really like to learn more about and look into (if it is even possible to do so with how much footage has survived).

 

[Ricky Jackson]

On 1/25/2024 at 7:56 AM, GOTNW said:

Chris Markoff

[1969-05-16-JWA] Antonio Inoki vs Chris Markoff

[1969-4-16 JWA] Chris Markoff & Bobo Brazil vs Giant Baba & Kintaro Oki

[1973-5-15 CWF] Chris Markoff & Buddy Colt vs Paul Jones & Eddie Graham

 

Speaking of Southeastern European greats! Chris Markoff is a man of mystery. He is supposed to have been born in Yugoslavia, from where his family had migrated to Minneapolis. Where in Yugoslavia? Both Serbia and North Macedonia are cited. Since North Macedonia used to be a part of Serbia before WWII, this would make it more likely he was from Vardar than Serbia proper. No data on his birth name is available online. My detective work also led me to strangers on social media claiming to be related to him and their surnames and social media profiles would point to him being a Pole instead of a south Slav. Since anyone can write anything on the internet and I didn't manage to find proof strangers online were actually related to him, we'll have to go with what's in the books.

How is this relevant for the career of Chris Markoff and the case for him being one of the best wrestlers? His case is basically completely dependent on the Inoki match. For my money, it's an absolute classic in the "brutal, bloody brawls" genre, a cousin of Sangre Chicana vs MS-1, Lawler vs Dundee and so on. Why then do I insist on bringing his ethnicity and origin into this? Well, Northern Macedonia is a land where more than 4 wars took place in the span of about 40 years, and they traumatized the local population so bad it resulted in an identity crisis where they now think they're descendants of Greeks who never even stepped foot on today's territory of Northern Macedonia. Excuse to talk about historical Balkan geopolitics? No, this post is about Chris Markoff. Markoff was either from this area (and with his family fleeing to the US in the 40s, it's a safe bet they were fascist collaborators) or was willing to lie and make it his entire gimmick that he was from there, only to be redirected to being an evil Russian due to pragmatic reasons.

Point being. This dude was clearly out there. And you can sense it. When he stomps on Inoki's head and punches it, yeah it looks great, but he's really being a prick about it, you can feel the hate flowing through him. He ramps the crowd up and makes Inoki look like the mythical warrior hero your grandfather would tell you about, except it's every bit as good as his memory made him to be. This is the epic spectacle of violence a film director imagines for his main scene, except it's come to life, live, with Markoff smacking Inoki's head into the announce table.

We also have a very good performance from him in the Baba/Oki tag, where we get some quality stooging mixed in with the compact and crisp offence. And the Paul Jones tag is really good. There is more Markoff footage but unfortunately it seems to be mostly be him as an old guy in AWA and what I've seen isn't bad, but it's not exactly spectacular either. One amazing match might not be enough to make it even for his biggest advocates, but he is someone whom I'd really like to learn more about and look into (if it is even possible to do so with how much footage has survived).

 

Markoff passed away yesterday. Just watched that Inoki match a few days ago based on your recommendation. It was great. Let's nominate this guy!

[Control21]

Titan

One of the most promising wrestlers to come out of CMLL during the 2010s, Titan has become a mainstay in both his home promotion and NJPW. He is one of the most exciting and explosive wrestlers around in terms of pure athleticism. He is also able to build a sound match structure around these abilities, which is often a skill that other athletically gifted wrestlers lack or ignore. Titan is also an incredible seller and utilizes believable selling with good ring psychology to make his matches feel emotionally real. He is quickly becoming one of CMLL’s top stars and has become a fan favorite in Japan as well. With the resume that he is building, I think a deeper discussion about his career is worthwhile.

Recommended matches –

vs Master Wato (5/28/2023)

vs Barbaro Cavernario (2/22/2019)

vs Soberano Jr (2/27/2023)

vs Polvora (1/1/2013)

vs Virus (1/28/2014)

vs Mascara Dorada (9/29/2023)

vs El Desperado (5/26/2023)

Seichi Ikemoto

Ikemoto is primarily a MMA competitor, but he has done his fair share of wrestling matches as well, most notably in U-Style and GLEAT. He has also worked AJPW, NOAH, and Hard Hit. His output has been very consistent and his grappling skills make him stand out just about every time he steps into the ring. One of the more unheralded deep Puro wrestlers that might benefit from a closer look if people enjoy more technically proficient wrestling.

vs Crafter M (3/13/2004)

vs Ryuki Ueyama (10/9/2004)

w/Ryuki Ueyama vs Kiyoshi Tamura & Takaku Fuke (12/7/2004)

w/Takanori Ito vs Minoru Tanaka & Yu Iizuka (6/11/2022)

vs Tetsuya Izuchi (8/20/2022)

vs Yu Iizuka (9/4/2022)

w/Tetsuya Izuchi vs Shinya Aoki & Yu Iizuka (3/21/2023)

Daisuke Nakamura

Daisuke Nakamura has earned a reputation in MMA circles for being an incredible and flashy grappler, having great bouts with the likes of Hideo Tokoro and several others. On the wrestling side, he approaches things in a similar way, relying on his speed and athleticism to work the mat in a very smooth fashion. Nakamura got his start in U-Style, and had a great match with Frank Shamrock. He has bounced around the Japan indies scene for a while, and has recently found a home in Kyushu Pro, where he had a great match with Hitamaru Sasaki in 2021.

vs Kazuki Okubo (12/7/2004)

vs Frank Shamrock (11/23/2005)

w/Yu Kobayashi vs Takatoshi Matsumoto & Tsuyoshi Okada (9/21/2019)

vs Hitamaru Sasaki (9/6/2021)

Hitamaru Sasaki

Hitamaru Sasaki, aka Kyosuke Sasaki, was a U-FILE dojo trainee, who studied under the tutelage of Kiyoshi Tamura and debuted in Tamura’s promotion, U-STYLE. Since then, Sasaki has traveled the Japanese indie scene and has built himself a solid resume over the years. Not strictly a shoot-style guy as he has worked regular matches as well. Similar to some of the other former shoot-style guys, he’s a great technician and can have a good-to-great match occasionally.

vs Takehiro Murahama (4/6/2003)

vs Dokonjonosuke Mishima (6/29/2003)

vs Hiroyuki Ito (10/6/2003)

vs Kiyoshi Tamura (3/13/2004)

vs Kensuke Sasaki (8/18/2004)

vs White Moriyama (10/1/2022)

vs Hikaru Sato (1/3/2023)

Dennis Koslowski

Dennis Koslowski was a Greco-Roman wrestler who won the bronze at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the Silver at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He didn’t have that many matches, but his work in UWFi was usually solid and had some moments of brilliance, such as his matches against Kiyoshi Tamura and Kazuo Yamazaki. He didn’t have too much trouble adjusting to UWFi’s style. Not a particularly flashy name, but he’s another name that could be considered by people who enjoy “purity” in their pro wrestling.

vs Kazuo Yamazaki (2/14/1993)

vs Yuko Miyato (8/13/1993)

vs Masahito Kakihara (10/4/1993)

vs Kiyoshi Tamura (12/5/1993)

Duane Koslowski

The brother of Dennis Koslowski, Duane Koslowski competed in the Olympics as well but never medaled. He worked for more promotions in Japan than Dennis did, appearing in a match for UWF Newborn at U-COSMOS against Nobuhiko Takada before jumping to PWFG where he had a handful of matches. Duane Koslowski was more of a power suplex and throws wrestler, whereas his brother Dennis was more focused on finesse. Duane became a solid wrestler over time and even earned a nomination in the Wrestling Observer for the Rookie of the Year award in 1993.

vs Nobuhiko Takada (11/29/1989)

vs Wayne Shamrock (7/26/1991)

vs Kazuo Takahashi (8/23/1991)

vs Yuki Ishikawa (8/29/1993)

[Control21]

Salman Hashimikov

Salman Hashimikov arrived on the scene with his compatriot Victor Zangiev in 1989, when Antonio Inoki was able to secure their services from the Soviet Union in a bilateral partnership. While not as famous in terms of cultural impact as Victor Zangiev, Hashimikov was a solid wrestler and was briefly the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. At the time, his legitimate skills were seen as a thrilling addition to a promotion that had built itself on the “strong style” idea and where Inoki was still bringing in competitors with backgrounds in legitimate combat sports. Like Victor Zangiev, his legacy perhaps merits more consideration.

w/Vladimir Berkovich vs Gary Albright & Dan Severn (12/5/1993)

vs Riki Choshu (7/12/1989)

vs Steve Williams (2/10/1990)

vs Nobuhiko Takada (/7/18/1993)

Mascara Sagrada

The original “Mascara Sagrada” has been lost in the shuffle due to disputes over the rights to his name/gimmick, but he was a solid worker during the 1990s, being one of the original AAA stars who joined the promotion when Antonio Pena split from CMLL. Since leaving AAA, he has bounced around the Mexican indie scene and appeared occasionally for CMLL. Most of his well known matches occurred in the 1990s. I think Mascara Sagrada is one of the more underappreciated names in Lucha Libre.

vs Black Cat (5/8/1994)

vs Black Cat (5/15/1994) (clipped)

w/ El Hijo del Santo & Octagon vs Fuerza Guerrera/Heavy Metal/Jerry Estrada (11/12/1993)

vs Universo 2000 (8/2/1992)

vs Pierroth Jr (9/20/1996)

SANADA

SANADA has become a bit of a divisive wrestler in recent years. While he has become one of the established names in NJPW since his arrival several years ago and was recently the IWGP world champion, there are still a good number of people who aren’t sold on him. Still, SANADA’s output has been consistent, and he often has good-to-great matches with people who mesh with his style. He probably isn’t someone I would have nominated in 2018 or 2019, but in 2024, I think he has done enough where it is worthwhile to look at his overall body of work.

w/Manabu Soya vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (10/23/2011)

vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (11/5/2016)

vs Kenny Omega (7/28/2018)

vs Kota Ibushi (7/26/2018)

vs Kazuchika Okada (2/10/2018)

vs Kazuchika Okada (3/24/2019)

vs Kazuchika Okada (8/3/2019)

vs Yota Tsuji (6/4/2023)

vs Kaito Kiyomiya (7/25/2023)

vs Tetsuya Naito (1/4/2024)

Kaito Kiyomiya

The “Supernova” of NOAH, Kaito Kiyomiya has made a name for himself in recent years. Seen as the next “ace” of the promotion, Kiyomiya has continued his journey to establish himself as the clear #1 in NOAH. While he hasn’t been entirely successful, his quality of work has improved with each passing year since his debut in 2015. Recently, he has also worked with NJPW more often, adding to the list of opponents and styles he has worked with. The one thing I appreciate the most about Kiyomiya is that he is a very smooth wrestler, similar to SANADA, but has the flair to spice things up when needed. Nine years into his career, I think he has done enough that make his resume worth looking into.

vs Takashi Sugiura (6/9/2019)

vs Kenoh (1/6/2019)

vs Go Shiozaki (1/4/2020)

w/Yoshiki Inamura vs Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno (6/6/2021)

vs Keiji Muto (7/16/2022)

vs Kenoh (1/1/2023)

vs Kazuchika Okada (2/21/2023)

w/ Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kento Miyahara vs Kazuchika Okada, Kenoh, & Yuma Aoyagi (6/9/2023)

vs Shota Umino (7/21/2023)

[Control21]

Bas Rutten

Bas Rutten’s fame comes from his days in Pancrase, where he became one of the best shootfighters in the world and had memorable bouts with the likes of Masakatsu Funaki and Ken Shamrock. Beyond that, Bas Rutten had a brief run as a professional wrestler appearing for promotions like BattlArts and New Japan. Bas was a solid worker for both promotions and added legitimacy to both when they were seeking it. He was a solid worker who understood the basics of wrestling and usually had quality bouts to pad the work-shoot spectrum of his resume.

vs Osamu Nishimura (10/14/2022)

vs Koji Kanemoto (10/26/2002)

vs Yuji Nagata (7/20/2002)

vs Carl Malenko (10/14/2001)

w/ Amir vs Alexander Otsuka & Carl Malenko (10/26/2001)

Yusuke Fuke

Yusuke Fuke started his career towards the end of UWF Newborn’s run in 1990. He then made the jump to Fujiwara’s PWFG promotion for a brief time and then was a founding member of Pancrase. After his Pancrase days, he has worked for a variety of Japanese indie promotions with occasional stops at bigger names like AJPW, NOAH, and BJW along the way.  He has had a relatively interesting career and his longevity might make him someone worth considering.

w/Hitamaru Sasaki vs Minoru Suzuki & Takanori Ito (4/16/2022)

vs Hikaru Sato (2/12/2022)

vs GENTARO (3/12/2009)

vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (2/24/1992)

Shinya Aoki

Aoki is probably more of an outside-the-box nominee, but he has had a very solid run in the past couple of years as a former MMA guy who can work both solid shoot-style matches and entertaining comedy stuff. Like Daisuke Nakamura, he is an extremely talented grappler and his technical skills are easily translated inside a wrestling ring. He is quite consistent as well and usually avoids putting on bad matches just because his fundamentals are really good.

vs Kazusada Higuchi (10/12/2022)

vs Takanori Ito (12/30/2022)

vs Tetsuya Izuchi (3/7/2023)

vs Masakatsu Funaki (6/2/2017)

vs HARASHIMA (2/17/2019)

vs HARASHIMA (10/28/2018)

Volador Jr

Volador Jr has been one of CMLL’s mainstays since the 2000s, becoming one of the top wrestlers in the world with his athleticism and ability to convey great matches through pacing and psychology. In terms of Lucha Libre, Volador Jr grasps the nuances of in-ring storytelling with the best of them. He has had tremendous feuds with the likes of Barbaro Cavernario, Mistico, Ultimo Guerrero, and Rocky Romero. At 40 years old, he is still going strong and has become one of the standard bearers for CMLL.

vs Barbaro Cavernario (10/7/2016)

vs Ultimo Guerrero (7/14/2017)

vs Angel de Oro (9/16/2023)

vs Rocky Romero (6/30/2023)

vs Rocky Romero (1/20/2023)

vs Caristico (1/21/2019)

Dragon Lee

Dragon Lee was something of a prodigy when he got his start in CMLL, and quickly ascended the promotion’s ranks as a thrilling wrestler who could combine athleticism and skill. The feud with Hiromu Takahashi, then Kamaitachi, put him on the map internationally and he eventually became one of the icons of NJPW’s junior heavyweight division during the 2010s. He has had an endless amount of good-to-great matches with the likes of Will Ospreay, Shingo Takagi, Taiji Ishimori, Mistico, and Titan. While his WWE run hasn’t captured the same heights of his work in the 2010s, he has still shown he is a great wrestler in the confines of WWE’s style.

vs Hiromu Takahashi (2/11/2017)

vs Will Ospreay (6/9/2019)

vs Hiromu Takahashi (2/9/2020)

vs Shingo Takagi (5/23/2019)

vs Taiji Ishimori (5/3/2019)

[Jetlag]

Nominating Taro Yamada

Taro Yamada has had an odd career. He works all kinds of undercard gigs on the Japanese indies, mostly short tags in promotions like 666 where he barely gets to do anything. Then Mutoha comes around and puts him into 20-30 minute long technical wrestling epics and he turns into an absolute monster wrestler. He along with Hiroshi Watanabe and Yasushi Sato really owes it to that promotion. Oh and he had a bunch of awesome matches with Keita Yano too. But yeah. When Taro Yamada is allowed to do stuff he absolutely is one of the best wrestlers of the 2010s-2020s. Great matworker, and beyond that has a really vicious side. His matches with Konaka, Keita Yano, Yasushi Sato, Hideya Iso etc. absolutely have some of the best wrestling you'll see and he also has some gems that go into a completely different direction like his bout with Takahiro Tababa. Fascinating wrestler and another case of someone who is completely out of nowhere great that we discovered mostly thanks to the Mutoha organizers being gentlemen and unveiling their footage to a wide audience.

Recommended matches:

vs Konaka, Mutoha 7/5/2015

Terrific match, Mutoha at its very best. It’s a rounds match that begins in a fashion inspired by World of Sport matches, with both guys displaying slick counters and moving in and out of holds very swiftly, but it quickly becomes a tangled nightmare as both guys would tie each other up in increasingly esoteric ways. Yamada was an absolute monster here, he looked like a true master of the llave style, and he just does things that nobody else does. He was tying up Konaka in so many different ways here, but also putting lots of creativity into his set ups and escapes, it was an absolute onslaught. Yamada is very much the driving force for most of the match, just tying Konaka in knots, and it seems Konaka only survives because Konaka is a flexibility demon and he can be put into contortions that not many other wrestlers could stand being put in. Although Konaka has a few moments where he really catches Yamada and it feels like a big victory each time. Not only were the submissions mind blowing, but so were their escapes from them. It was a display of mat wizardry in the truest sense. They do 20 minutes of outstanding grappling before the fifth round of 5, at which point Yamada loses his cool and finally nails Konaka with that curb stomp he likes to use. After that the time was running out and each moment felt frantic. Really edge of your seat stuff with both guys displaying incredible technical proficiency and body control while maintaining a competitive aura. I have been watching technical matches from Europe, Japan, Mexico, America for 15 years now and this was as good as any that I’ve seen.

 

vs Hideya Iso 1/13/2020

Another really good match from Mumejuku. Very mat based as you expect. Iso has that Osamu Kido-like vibe, he’s a dumpy technician who doesn’t look like much and doesn’t do fancy moves but he has that easily overlooked kind of charisma and he can pull out some cool crafty stuff. This was Isos best performance that I’ve seen and Yamada looked like one of the best wrestlers in the world. It was pretty much Isos traditional, basic skillset vs. Yamadas llave holds. Several really good mat exchanges here, I especially liked Yamada pulling off a Paradise Hold in plausible fashion. They just went out and wrestled so there wasn’t some kind of exceptional story although I was rooting for Iso to upset his opponent. Sometimes you just want to watch two guys wrestle for 20 minutes and they delivered. Gnarly finish. This stuff is why Mumei was maybe the most important promotion in the world during that time period.

vs Keita Yano, Wallabee 6/14/2012

Damn great match, I imagine if Yano had never stunk up BattlARTS and instead was only known for doing weird technical matches while wearing his joker makeup and clown singlet in a tiny gym we’d all be Yano superfans. Taro Yamada is the last guy in Japan still holding up the T2P style matwork and one of the most underrated grapplers on the independent scene. This was 25 minutes of matwork that was like a great IWRG style title match. It was a mix of Yamadas llave holds with Yano going along and some cool RINGs-like leglock work thrown in, with both guys doing a great job escaping and transitioning between holds. Whole match felt fresh and competitive and never was like a derivative or weird LARP, these guys were trying to pop each others shoulders and/or ankles the whole time. There were one or two geeky moments where Yano did some “rope running” although it was more like a comedy spot with Yano hooting like an owl, and both these moments lead to cool spots, one where Yamada actually trips Keita with a drop down and another where Yano tricks Yamada into his special hold. There wasn’t some kind of story if you are into that but there were a few great nearfalls and I deeply respect these two for just grappling it out for 25 minutes without slowing down, and never throwing a strike or even a body slam, it was all submissions and funky cradle pins (especially loved Yamadas weird Delfin Clutch variation), just really tightly worked stuff that wouldn’t look out of place in a WoS or lucha title match. I did love Yanos dickish knee slide across Yamadas face and the moment where Yano had enough of the llave holds and challenged Yamada to an amateur match was really cool. Finish was great aswell. Best Yano match I’ve seen by far and actively a great match, which is a major shocker. Yamada played a huge part too but I’ll be damned if Yano wasn’t feeling it that night. Apparently there have been a few matches between these two and I look forward to checking them all out but as it stands this is the best I’ve seen from Yano by a mile.

[Control21]

Frank Shamrock

This is admittedly a very unorthodox nomination. Frank Shamrock only has one traditional pro-wrestling match under his belt against Daisuke Nakamura in U-Style. Albeit, I think that was a very good match. In order to push his nomination to meet the threshold, I will throw in a few of his matches in Pancrase and RINGS that were shoots, but I think they are close enough to pro-wrestling to where considering them wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Frank Shamrock had two really great matches against Kiyoshi Tamura and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in RINGS that were technically brilliant and took place under a pro-wrestling setting with nominally pro-wrestling rules. His Pancrase work also mostly took place under Pancrase’s pro-wrestling ruleset. So why nominate him? If you consider solely in-ring work and performance, Shamrock is a technician on Tamura’s or Kohsaka’s level and could entertain while fighting for real. It’s a nebulous concept, but consider it a trial balloon for the idea that Pancrase work and other shootfights in a pro-wrestling setting should be considered. I think if you take the fact that Pancrase was a concept to take pro-wrestling back to its competitive catch roots while not abandoning the idea of entertainment value, Frank Shamrock ends up as a guy very much worth considering. FWIW, there’s some discussion about whether or not some or all of Frank Shamrock’s early Pancrase stuff was worked, although this is hearsay that occasionally pops up in the discourse about Pancrase.

vs Allan Goes (5/13/1995)

vs Minoru Suzuki (1/28/1996)

vs Osami Shibuya (4/8/1996)

vs Bas Rutten (5/16/1996)

vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (9/26/1997)

vs Kiyoshi Tamura (4/23/1999)

vs Daisuke Nakamura (11/23/2005)

[fxnj]

Muhammad Ali

Obviously not a serious candidate, but I think he should be nominated so he can be considered for a 100/99 shoutout spot. He drew heavy inspiration from pro wrestling in crafting his boxing persona, and he then fed that boxing fame back into helping create some of the biggest moments in wrestling history. The most famous one is the Inoki match, which played a huge role in creating Inoki's aura through the rest of his career, and Inoki would reference his strategy in that fight numerous times in later matches. He was also one of the top name celebs in Wrestlemania 1 and was involved in one of the most memorable moments in the main event as the guest enforcer. He was also brought in for WCW's Collision in Korea event and there's a story in the DSOTR episode about how he helped cheer up the boys during what was a very scary time. In the ring, he's had 3 matches which have been advertised as pro wrestling. The first one with Kenny Jay is a quick squash with the presumptive goal of getting Ali comfortable working with a wrestler and doing some wrestling moves. The Wolfe match is much more ambitious and is one I'd rate as one of the better wrestler vs. boxer matches. The Inoki one is a legendary moment which I've written a lengthy review for in the MDA.

vs. Kenny Jay 6/10/1976

vs. Buddy Wolfe 6/12/1976

vs. Antonio Inoki 6/26/1976

[elliott]

Mad Dog Connelly

It takes a lot to live up to the Mad Dog nickname in pro-wrestling but Connelly managed to earn the moniker before their 30th birthday. Connelly is a tremendous brawler who brings a genuine aura, authenticity, naturalism & sense of ferociousness to his matches. He has the timeless ability to make a 10 minute match feel like an epic war. A strong grappler on the mat & an ability to bump & sell while maintaining a dangerous aura makes Mad Dog a more well rounded performer than just a typical crazed brawler. The sky is the limit for this guy. 

 

vs Gary Jay 5/7/22

vs Manders Dog Collar Match 1/26/24

vs Demus Dog Collar Match 4/4/24

 

[Ma Stump Puller]

Keita Yano

It had to happen at some point!

Insanely innovative with his unique blend of IIave/shoot-style, Keita Yano has pushed the envelope of what constitutes a wrestling match for about a decade+ at this point. He's had NWA-style 60 minute features, battles in garages and local gyms, fought on playmats for an audience of a couple dozen at best, wrestled every single major Japanese indie name you can probably list off using Google and then some, in doing so got the attention of even legends like Tenryu who have made him mainstays of his promotion to this very day.

What really gets the guy over is not just his sheer versatility; it's his ability to make any format of match seem impressive quality-wise. Even when he has to do more sanitized conventional "epic" main event outings he clearly proves that being in a actual wrestling ring doesn't hurt his quality one bit. It's the truly weird stuff that really consolidates his GWE case though, and it really helps that even with all of my extensive footage watching of the guy I still don't think everything's been covered yet.

Vs Fujita Hayato (Battlarts 06.08.2008)

Vs GENTARO (Apache Pro 04.17.2009)

Vs Fugo Fugo Yumeji (EXIT 11.28.2010)

Vs Taro Yamada (Wallabee Pro 6.14.2012)

Vs Manabu Hara (Wallabee Pro 07.28.2013)

Vs Iori Sugawara (Taiheiyo Pro 02.16.2014)

Vs 326 (Taihieiyo Pro 11.30.2014)

Vs Taro Yamada (Kani KING 01.25.2015)

Vs Hideaki Sumi (Wallabee Pro 11.29.2015)

Vs Great Zako (Unemployment 10.21.2018)

Hikaru Sato trilogy (Tenryu Project 13/08/2021/09.19.2022/11.13.2022) 

 

[cad]

I gotta ask, if someone gets nominated and never gets added to the list, do they count? Can you vote for them or no? We're at half a year and over twenty wrestlers since this was updated.

[El McKell]

1 hour ago, cad said:

I gotta ask, if someone gets nominated and never gets added to the list, do they count? Can you vote for them or no? We're at half a year and over twenty wrestlers since this was updated.

I can’t imagine if that happened Grimmas & Co wouldn’t include the wrestler that got votes and was nominated just because there wasn’t a thread. But hopefully that won’t happen that everyone will get a thread in the months before voting at the latest.
 

I do wish all these nominated wrestlers could have threads I 100% would not mind making the threads if I had the permission 

[Grimmas]

I will do all the updates this weekend. Sorry for all the delays.

[Grimmas]

On 5/2/2024 at 2:06 AM, cad said:

I gotta ask, if someone gets nominated and never gets added to the list, do they count? Can you vote for them or no? We're at half a year and over twenty wrestlers since this was updated.

That won't happen! Nominations deadline will be before voting starts, so the thread will be updated. Sorry for the delays. UPDATED NOW!

[highflyflow]

Cash Wheeler

It's always been somewhat baffling to me that Dax Harwood is nominated but not his tag partner, so I'll seek to rectify that now. Cash Wheeler has been a part of one of the most popular tag teams in the world over the last decade, and arguably THE best tag team over the same timespan. Wheeler admittedly hasn't gotten the same singles opportunities as Harwood, but he's consistently brung it in their tag team epics, and input wise I think he may be the best member of the unit over the past couple years.

as Dash Wilder w/ Scott Dawson vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa (WWE 11/19/16)

w/ Dax Harwood vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe (ROH 4/1/22)

w/ Dax Harwood vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe (ROH 12/10/22)

Athena

Admittedly I'm not too familiar with her work pre-NXT, but she had great matches there with the likes of Asuka, then signed with AEW and became the centerpiece of Khan's ROH. She was one of the best wrestlers anywhere in the world last year; she was able to be a dominating heel, a sympathetic heel, a stooging heel, able to work straight matches, able to work plunder brawls, able to work long matches and absolutely killed it in squash matches. If she keeps up the pace she's been at, in 2026 I think her resume will undoubtedly be strong enough to merit consideration.

vs. Mercedes Martinez (SHIMMER 3/17/12)

as Ember Moon vs. Asuka (WWE 4/1/17)

as Ember Moon vs. Asuka (WWE 8/19/17)

vs. Willow Nightingale (ROH 3/9/23)

vs. Willow Nightingale (ROH 7/21/23)

[cad]

16 hours ago, Grimmas said:

That won't happen! Nominations deadline will be before voting starts, so the thread will be updated. Sorry for the delays. UPDATED NOW!

Thanks, I worry about these things. It's a message board in the year 2024. Sometimes people go away and don't say anything, you know?

[GOTNW]

Gus Sonnenberg

Historical candidate here, you know what comes with the territory.

Sonnenberg is someone who became one of my favourites almost instantaneously. Football player turned pro wrestler is a well known trope well alive to this day, and here is one of the first guys to have done it. Like many of his stylistic descendants, his special technique is something between a Running Tackle and a blast Double Leg. It's absolutely beautiful, I could watch him just tackle someone forever. But it's not just the execution. When you watch his matches, it's treated as a big deal - the threat of it is sold huge by his opponents, and the quick nature of it allows him to constantly threaten it, adding another dynamic of excitement to the matches. However, Sonnenberg isn't just a specimen of an explosive athlete - his matches are mostly built around intricate matwork of the time that are a pastiche of amateur style, catch and the creativity of the first workers. And he's really good at both working it and adding authentic intensity to it. For my money, his match vs Count George Zarynoff is the first wrestling classic we have on tape.

[1929-03-15-Boston, MA]  vs Joe Malcewicz

[1930-04-24-Boston, MA]  vs Count George Zarynoff

[1938-08-03-Los Angeles, CA] vs Bronko Nagurski

[Ricky Jackson]

Was really impressed with Sonnenberg's performance in the Nagurski match. Definitely felt like I was warching someone who was very good at the pro wrestling 

[Microstatistics]

Melina

Contender for best WWE/US women's wrestler. Very reliable worker who was effective both as a fighting, sympathetic underdog and a vicious, underhanded heel. Bought a lot of intensity and aggression to her matches, which was particularly impressive in an environment of sub-10 minute matches and cringy commentary. Even with the supposed revolution of 2014-15, the I Quit match vs. Beth Phoenix still might hold up as the best women's match in the history of the company.

vs. Mickie James (WWE, 4/29/2007)

vs. Beth Phoenix (WWE, 6/1/2008)

vs. Michelle McCool (WWE, 7/26/2009)

 

 

[Microstatistics]

MJF

Up there with Darby Allin as one of the best post-2015 debutantes. At first glance, he seems like purely a mic guy with limited chops in the ring. Until you actually watch the big matches, which deliver in spades. He does well to combine old-school psychology with hyper-modern offense. Charismatic, particularly as the heel, though his unshakable kayfabe bit could be over-the-top. His commitment to long-term limb selling is also admirable, even if not everyone is going to be a fan of that particular style of selling I suspect.

vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 11/13/2021) 

vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 3/5/2023)

vs. Jay White (AEW, 11/18/2023)

[Grimmas]

UPDATED!

[HowtobeaMark]

Gabe Kidd

Premature? Probably. 

Since joining The Bullet Club, Kidd has become of the highlights of NJPW for me. In 2024 it has not become unusual for Kidd to have the best match on the show and his aggressive character has added an edge of unpredictablity and danger to the company. He may turn out to be a one year wonder but by nominating him here I am gambling that he won't be.

 

Recommended matches: 

 

Vs Henare - 4 February 2024

With Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors, David Finlay and Drilla Maloney vs Will Ospreay, TJP, Henare, Jeff Cobb and Francisco Akira - 11 February 2024

Vs Shingo Takagi - 4 May 2024

Vs Kaito Kiyomiya - 16 June 2024

[club]

Sid Cooper

God I love Sid Cooper. An ugly, mean spirited, caveman dunderhead in the best way.

 

There’s a simple but great morality tale subtext to his matches; he’s a talented technical wrestler who cuts corners wherever he can. Thing is, this reliance on cheap shots never works. As Kent Walton’s reminds us, if he’d just stick to the technical wrestling he’d get somewhere. As it is he almost always loses. And we love seeing this idiot getting his comeuppance again and again.

 

When he’s not cheating, he makes for a fantastic buffoon, trying to hang with a more athletic opponent and failing miserably. See his matches against Sammy Lee/Sayama for the best example of this. I very much get Les Dawson “it takes real talent to play a piano that badly” vibes from these performances. Not sure what an equivalent reference would be for anyone who isn’t a 40+ Brit. The Washington Generals perhaps?

 

Recommended matches, all from World of Sport:

Vs. Clive Myers, 1975 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgAu4Uh0qsA

 

Vs. Kung Fu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jno3tW9YZq4

 

Vs. Steve Grey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDEBM-Ki7aU&t=13s

 

Vs. Dave Barrie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSXemeAyods

 

Vs. Sammy Lee, 1980 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehRX4YvSx6c

 

I’ll find proper dates for these later.

 

[Microstatistics]

Toni Storm

One of the standout women wrestlers post-2015. She has an extensively diverse catalog of work, having worked in virtually all the main wrestling regions (Japan, USA, UK, Germany, Mexico), and hence has incorporated different stylistic elements into her arsenal. In the ring, she is generally reliable with decent fundamentals and an ability to work both serious notes as well as comedy spots.

Her current "Timeless" run is probably her most compelling, dripping with eccentricity and charm, and the Mariah May feud is likely a career best, culminating in one of the best non-Joshi women's matches in history at Wembley. 

vs. Io Shirai (Stardom, 5/14/2017)

vs. Meiko Satomura (WWE, 8/9/2018)

vs. Mariah May (AEW, 8/25/2024)