Josh Barnett

[Grimmas]

Elliott said: 

Josh Barnett vs Kiyoshi Tamura (U-Style - 11/23/05)

Josh Barnett vs Hideki Suzuki (IGF  - 12/31/11)

Josh Barnett vs Jon Moxley (Bloodsport - 4/8/21)

Pretty surprised Barnett hasn't been nominated. Big burly shoot style worker who can work the mat and strike & suplex with the best of them. The 3 matches I've put forward to go with the nomination I honestly see as MOTDC for each of their decades. If someone has 3 MOTDC in 3 different decades, they deserve a look. Someone I definitely plan on watching more (or ALL) of during this project. His highs are as impressive as pretty much anyone from the last 20 years.

[Jetlag]

If this were a list based on raw talent he'd have a good shot. Really good shootstylist when he came into his own. He doesn't really have the kind of superclassics I want a margin candidate to have (the Tamura match is good but a little overrated, the Suzuki match is also good but wouldn't make a Top 50 of the decade probably). I could see him making it if he keeps having 1-2 matches a year for the next 5 years like he does now. Other than that I welcome anyone to go back and watch all his IGF and NJPW work. I recall him feeling very much like an awkward MMA guy trying to not hurt anybody in his earliest matches, and he was in some shitty IGF main events.

[Reel]

I think he's one of the least self-aware wrestlers ever. Portrays himself as this Robinson/Gotch shootstyle purist guy, and then in his recent stuff he goes out and has a match with ref bumps and weapons against Minoru Suzuki, or stands in the ring and allows himself to be elbowed in the neck by Moxley.  His stuff before that is mostly just kind of boring. I don't think his grappling is all that compelling, and sure the Tamura match is good, but there are no bad Tamura matches. 

[Rah]

Barnett is a weird one. He has the Moxley match which is undeniable but he also has actively awful performances like the one vs Thatcher from a couple years back.

He obviously warrants more discussion and viewing but I'm not sure where he'll land up because his output range is so wild. 

[Tetsujin]

I just watched the Tamura and Hideki matches for the first time ever and I'm hyped as fuck for watching more of his stuff. The MiSu and Moxley matches are amazing as well. Hell, the Hideki match might be the true 2011 MOTY. At his best, Barnett seems like one of the most talented ever. But gotta watch more, how many pro wrestling did he do?

[Jetlag]

On 12/28/2021 at 1:35 AM, Reel said:

I think he's one of the least self-aware wrestlers ever. Portrays himself as this Robinson/Gotch shootstyle purist guy, and then in his recent stuff he goes out and has a match with ref bumps and weapons against Minoru Suzuki, or stands in the ring and allows himself to be elbowed in the neck by Moxley.  His stuff before that is mostly just kind of boring. I don't think his grappling is all that compelling, and sure the Tamura match is good, but there are no bad Tamura matches. 

If anything, he should get bonus points for doing all that while continueing to make people buy into his carny catch wrestling gimmick.

[Control21]

7 hours ago, Tetsujin said:

I just watched the Tamura and Hideki matches for the first time ever and I'm hyped as fuck for watching more of his stuff. The MiSu and Moxley matches are amazing as well. Hell, the Hideki match might be the true 2011 MOTY. At his best, Barnett seems like one of the most talented ever. But gotta watch more, how many pro wrestling did he do?

He did some stuff in early 2000s NJPW. He doesn't have the most prolific resume but I remember his match(es) against Nagata being good.

[Ma Stump Puller]

Bro this guy was a godsend on the IGF cards, Christ. One of the few guys who was having consistently good matches with whoever Inoki wanted to have one, even random lads like the (fairly limited at the time) Tadao Yasuda, a old Tank Abbott or lads like the unfortunately named Predator or Jerome Le Banner, he's at least getting a decent or entertaining match out of those guys. Frankly I'd stick him on purely for handling that but I can acknowledge his wasted potential as well, but that's mostly because he was overpushed and wasn't really challenged much because Inoki kept sticking him in Goldberg-style streaks for the most part.