Shuji Kondo

[Grimmas]

Jom said:

The closest thing to a video game pro wrestler we've ever gotten, but I mean that in a good way. Maybe the only scenario in which a man could be built like an action figure and hit shooting star presses and still come off as one of the best wrestlers in the world. Stellar as a base for smaller juniors while doing a damn good job as a junior himself when placed against larger opponents, although he almost always relied on his freakish power. His early Toryumon and Dragon Gate runs are wonderful, and his exit from that world leads him to being maybe the best part of the 2000s AJPW junior division, hovering around that spot with Kaz Hayashi and Ryuji Hijikata. Simply put, one of the best juniors of 21st century Japan.

vs. Dragon Kid (Toryumon, 07/04/2004)

w/ Kinya Oyanagi vs. KAGETORA & Kota Ibushi (El Dorado, 02/27/2008)

vs. Kaz Hayashi (AJPW, 08/30/2009)

[Ma Stump Puller]

I had Shuji Kondo at #55 on my ballot. My general understanding was that I'd pick people who I thought were sick, and Kondo is the pinnacle of SICK wrestling. He's this little meathouse of a brute who can do seemingly everything and look great doing it. As Jom states above he has a well-tracked career of balancing being a bully to Jr's while also being able to work an underdog David-lite act against even bigger fish like Takayama or Kojima and not seem out of place doing either. He fits in very well with the style set at the time but I think he takes it to the limit with just his sheer physicality, some matches he's throwing himself around at ridiculous speeds that simply seem impossible. He truly makes it seem like he's one of the few guys justified in no-selling a huge bomb or spot because he's just that crazy-looking normally that staying still seems unnatural.

Huge peak in the late 2000's to early 2010's while also having I'd say a very strong post-peak career, partly down to DG's structure letting him preserve himself so he basically stays at a great level of quality for pretty much almost 2 decades? Even today at nearly 50 he's still capable of having good enough matches with people half his age which is commendable.