Phil Schneider Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 Five years is a long time, who are some guys who might make it with five more years of output? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Schneider Posted April 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 I am interested to see what Matt Makowski will do in the next five years, he is already one of the indy guys I most look forward to watching and has only really been at it for a couple of years. The Chris Dickinson matches are highlights so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 I said it in their threads, but Takuya Nomura and Fuminori Abe are two names I can totally see putting in my ballot with more chances to show what they are made of in the next 5 years. Shit, I might just need 1 or 2 years to be convinced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corwo Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 Sareee/Sarray is someone I could see making lists pending a good WWE run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadaveri Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 Zack Sabre Junior is a borderline case at the moment but I think he's making it. His big advantage is he works such a different style to everyone else that he'll basically always be pushed to some extent and his matches will always stand out. I don't like how finisher-centric almost all modern wrestling is so he's near-automatically bumped up for me by working in this environment without really any established finisher, or at the very least he's gotten over like 6 or 7 moves that can all believably end a match depending on context. It makes his matches so much more engaging than the usual NJPW style where you know no matter how many insane moves these guys are gonna pull out the match which always still end with a guy hitting their regular finish for the 1 2 3. He's also the only guy right now who manages to rein in Will Ospreay. Fred Yehi has been one the consistently good and 'different' wrestlers of the last 5 years for me. If he can keep that up and deliver a real classic at some point (he has nothing at 4.5 Stars or above atm) then I'm gonna be considering him. Kairi Hojo/Sane may be retired. She's super-talented and her favourite wrestler is Kenta Kobashi, which fits so much as she's so charismatic and incredibly likeable, but at the moment she just doesn't have enough quality stuff to make a Top 100. She didn't really get great until 2015. IF however, and I may be getting carried away here, she's just waiting for her WWE contract to expire so she can wrestle in Japan then that's exciting, because you know she's gonna get booked in main events with all the best talent there for as long as she wants to. I predict if she comes back she's gonna make a good Top 100 case by 2026. Takumi Iroha. She isn't nominated and cannot possible make a Top 100 list at the moment... but she's so good. She had a match with Mayu Iwatani in Stardom last year on a day's notice because Mayu's opponent got sick and it was pretty widely regarded (including by me) as the best Stardom match of 2020. A lot of newer Western fans literally didn't even know who she was until seeing that match and were blown away. In just wrestling ability I think she's better than anyone in Stardom. She has the best looking strikes in Joshi, sick powerbombs that makes crowds audibly gasp, she can work the mat really well and she's one of the few Joshi workers who'll make an effort to sell a damaged limb for more than 30 seconds (she's not a great seller really but better than most around her). But the output isn't there because she's only the Ace of the 8th biggest Joshi promotion with a roster of teenagers. Let's see how the next five years play out, the GAEA revival may mean bigger opportunities are coming for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Kadaveri said: Kairi Hojo/Sane may be retired. She's super-talented and her favourite wrestler is Kenta Kobashi, which fits so much as she's so charismatic and incredibly likeable, but at the moment she just doesn't have enough quality stuff to make a Top 100. She didn't really get great until 2015. IF however, and I may be getting carried away here, she's just waiting for her WWE contract to expire so she can wrestle in Japan then that's exciting, because you know she's gonna get booked in main events with all the best talent there for as long as she wants to. I predict if she comes back she's gonna make a good Top 100 case by 2026. Hojo is essentially on my list. 5 years being that great is pretty list worthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King of Debt Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 Yu Iizuka immediately jumps to my mind and I'm extremely excited to see what he gets up to in GLEAT, VENY/ASUKA also, perhaps Takahiro Tababa if more of that ultra-sleaze-indy stiff son of a gun output pops up (I know he does mail-order for his IMPACT shows so there's always that at least). I could imagine some of the newer joshi upstarts being in the discussion as well but I don't know who I would make the call for yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reel Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 Co-sign on ASUKA. Arez, Aramis, Villano III Jr, and Demonio Infernal are all guys in Mexico I can see contending in 2026 if things keep going the way they're going. CMLL is so weird, so who knows if anybody in that promotion will have a chance to put together matches, but Templario and Soberano Jr might have a shot. The DDT guys, Takeshita and Ueno, seem like their going to get a lot of chances to have great matches in the next 5 years, and have been pretty good so far. One of the great disappointments of the last few years has been Shinya Aoki devolving from one of the best booked wrestlers in the world into a DDT comedy wrestler, so who knows with people in that promotion. Shotaro Ashino in AJPW, and Kaito Kiyomiya in NOAH fall into that same bucket. There are U.S. Indie guys I like, like Garrini, Josh Bishop, Thomas Shire, but they're gonna need great years for me to really think about them seriously. Ilja Dragunov is a guy I really like and could see putting together a top 100 resume by the time 2026 rolls around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dragon Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 Gonna throw Daniel Makabe on this list as he’s someone I always enjoy watching work.5 more years of really good output would do wonders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rah Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 Charles Lucero. It might sound strange to list a 61 year old on this list but, for whatever reason, he's slowly gaining steam on the Mexican indy circuit. In the past couple years he's been given some really nifty matches to shine in (running alongside the other maestros) while also working the "younger" talent (20+ minute mat-based match with Trauma 2). There's also a Virus/Lucero match I'm trying to track down that looks amazing in clip form. The more traction he's getting, the more it seems his older stuff is making it online (via Youtube and Facebook). He's someone I'm probably rooting for the most because that pair of matches with Hechicero was bonkers good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 If Hiromu Takahashi stays healthy I think he's got a shot. The Dragon Lee series is one of the best this century and he's frequently delivered in title and tournament matches. When he's been healthy he's always been a top 10 in the world and last year he had a very strong argument for number 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted April 29, 2021 Report Share Posted April 29, 2021 On 4/28/2021 at 6:26 AM, Reel said: One of the great disappointments of the last few years has been Shinya Aoki devolving from one of the best booked wrestlers in the world into a DDT comedy wrestler, so who knows with people in that promotion. It's a shame that someone who broke a guy's arm and flipped him off immediately afterwards wasn't made the top heel of a promotion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makai Club #1 Posted April 29, 2021 Report Share Posted April 29, 2021 His serious matches with Takeshita and HARASHIMA have been really good. I have really enjoyed the comedy matches myself, but they are usually never going to win points with the mass majority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed. Posted April 29, 2021 Report Share Posted April 29, 2021 Riddle is someone who could make my list if he now goes on to be one of the best tv wrestlers for the next 5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Schneider Posted May 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2021 Dominic Garrini has been improving a lot, and has been doing some really fun stuff as both a stiff brawler and a shootstyle worker. His match with Kingston last weekend was a classic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brockobama Posted May 19, 2021 Report Share Posted May 19, 2021 I've actually got a big list of what I've labeled "ongoing cases", numbering about 30 in all. About half of those are people who would have a good chance at making my list if we voted now but could either shoot up the thing or fall off entirely depending on how the next few years go. As for the folks who will make or break their case in the coming years, Barbaro Cavernario, Roman Reigns, Trevor Lee, Sasha Banks, La Sombra, Bayley, Yuji Okabayashi, and Shayna Baszler seem the most likely picks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reel Posted July 25, 2021 Report Share Posted July 25, 2021 I don't think I'm the person to nominate her because I'm a sporadic Joshi viewer at best, but I think Chihiro Hashimoto deserves some discussion. She debuted in 2015, so she didn't have a shot at 2016's list, but in my limited viewing she's been one of the best workers in Japan almost from her first match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetlag Posted October 14, 2021 Report Share Posted October 14, 2021 Keita Yano feels like he's going to be an Ian Rotten tier contender in a decade or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kas Posted November 19, 2021 Report Share Posted November 19, 2021 I think that Momo Watanabe has the highest ceiling out of any young wrestler today. Her White belt run was amazing, and she was only 18 when she won it! Ever since then, whenever she's been given a big match she's killed it, and she's been incredibly consistent when working in the undercard. There's not quite enough to justify her being on a list, but give her 5 years and I have no doubt she'd get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ma Stump Puller Posted December 21, 2022 Report Share Posted December 21, 2022 On 4/28/2021 at 11:26 AM, Reel said: One of the great disappointments of the last few years has been Shinya Aoki devolving from one of the best booked wrestlers in the world into a DDT comedy wrestler, so who knows with people in that promotion. Shotaro Ashino in AJPW, and Kaito Kiyomiya in NOAH fall into that same bucket. It's sad that it's been a full year since this was stated and it's still the case right now, only Kaito instead of being a good wrestler is now a good wrestler doing a bad Muto impression. Every title defence since winning the GHC has felt like his opponent was more prominent than him. Keeping with the NOAH theme and trying to add something new, I'll say Yoshiki Inamura with five years of the quality of matches he's been having over the year or so definitely is a contender, awesomely energised hoss with a lot of potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnviousStupid Posted December 21, 2022 Report Share Posted December 21, 2022 Fred Yehi if he can get signed anywhere would almost certainly be in the conversation. If Cameron Grimes/Trevor Lee can get himself out of NXT, he's also a guy I expect to get nominated. Guys like Kevin Ku, Dominic Garrini, Adam Priest & Anthony Henry I could also see nominated in the next 4 years if they continue building their cases and getting more noticed. It's still early days but considering how much AEW is featuring him, Daniel Garcia could find himself on a few lists. Same with an Utami or AZM in Stardom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reel Posted April 29, 2023 Report Share Posted April 29, 2023 Noam Dar has turned into a really great wrestler. I doubt that in 3 years he'll be one of the 100 greatest of all-time, and having gone back and watched some of his early stuff I don't think he's a hidden gem really, but I'd say given his current output he's one of my guys to keep an eye on in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr JMML Posted May 1, 2023 Report Share Posted May 1, 2023 Anthony Henry in 5 to 10 years could be a contender and the same could be said about Damian Priest in the perceivable future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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