GWE 2026 Reaction Thread

[El Dragon]

I feel good for predicting that Junior Heavyweights from the 90's were about to die a death in this, but man, don't feel good about that Sano drop at all. 

[Makai Club #1]

49 minutes ago, Boss Rock said:

I didn't really come around on Taichi until 2020 but there's one spot that he did that I never forgot: during a multi-man tag before he could do his pants removal spot, Yano ripped them off. Because he didn't have the opportunity to do the spot, Taichi covered himself in embarrassment and Yano rolled him up for the pin. Kind of a brilliant bit of comedy.

I came around to Taichi when he got a really awesome match out of a young Yuma Ayoagi at All Japan's last Ryogoku show. Taichi finally began to embrace his comedic chops and slowly developed that into serious work. It's one of the greatest turn arounds in wrestling for me.

And on that note: YAMATO showing up means my top 100 has finally began to make an apperance. Based on the other DG wrestlers showing up, I didn't expect them to do very well. YAMATO (a heel YAMATO too) could rock the world on his day. His legacy might be hurt by DG's Post CIMA fall from permanant #2 spot but the work is still there for me. Had YAMATO at 47

[El Dragon]

God, we need to get people into WoS something bad.

[Ma Stump Puller]

Carlos Amano being #360 is great, big thanks to all 21 other people who found her as awesome as I did 

 

[Control21]

13 minutes ago, El Dragon said:

God, we need to get people into WoS something bad.

Yeah, these downward trends compared to 2016 are depressing

[club]

20 hours ago, ohtani's jacket said:

It's quintessentially British, so if you didn't grow up exposed to that culture then yeah, it can be a tough sell. I grew up in New Zealand, so we were exposed to a steady diet of British television shows. There wasn't a single element of WoS that was a culture shock to me, even if some of the finer regional nuances may have been lost on me. Perhaps I'm a pessimist, but I doubt it will ever have the reach that other styles do. It's never going to have the appeal that Japanese culture holds for young people online. It will remain a niche genre like lucha, shoot style and French Catch. Maybe that's why those are my three favorite styles. 

Definitely agree with the culture element. I'm from the North West of England where you'd find a Jim Breaks or Brian Maxine type in every pub. Watching WoS with Brits, the harder bit to grasp is the differences in logic between it and most US or Japanese wrestling. For example the way wrestlers flip and roll to "go with the hold", or generally taking a bump off the turnbuckle rather than sticking to the corner. I think this is the biggest reason it struggles to garner a stronger following.

[Matt D]

6 minutes ago, club said:

Definitely agree with the culture element. I'm from the North West of England where you'd find a Jim Breaks or Brian Maxine type in every pub. Watching WoS with Brits, the harder bit to grasp is the differences in logic between it and most US or Japanese wrestling. For example the way wrestlers flip and roll to "go with the hold", or generally taking a bump off the turnbuckle rather than sticking to the corner. I think this is the biggest reason it struggles to garner a stronger following.

I think the bigger issue is that there’s less of a progression. You can go through a feud between Hansen and Colon or Bret and Austin or Dump and Chigusa or Misawa and Kawada or Kingston and Hero and there are videos and podcasts and guides to take you though it but with WoS that underpinning doesn’t really exist. It feels like a sporting event which is part of its strength but it’s like watching a random Cubs vs Dodgers game from 1980 without context. 

[El-P]

Naoki Sano. Oh yeah. When you bought bootleg tapes in the late 90's, that's what you got. Super J Cup, IWA King of the Deathmatch, Onita comp, Liger comp. The latest had the Sano feud. What an odd career this guy had too, from awesome NJPW junior to adapting to shoot style like a king to grumpy foot-stomping aging NOAH midcarder.

Demolition Ax. He would have gotten higher if he had been Masked Superstar.

Abyss. Well, at least he got higher than Kane. Lifetime achievement here. If Sabu made the table spot a regular part of the menu for decades, Abyss made thumbtacks a regular part of the menu in the last 5-6 years or so. Make of that what you will. Joseph Park is probably the highlight of his career. Lowlights ? There have been many. Funniest part ? That coffin match against Sting in TNA that had the infamous "Fire Russo" chants. Yeah, it was THAT bad.

Mark Henry. Oh boy. Took him about 15 years to finally be decent (not great, not very good, decent) at the easiest role in pro-wrestling ever. For about two years. The infamous "Mark Henry is better than Shawn Micheals" argument is most possibly the dumbest point even made on a pro-wrestling board. It's as dumb as... well... anytime Mark Henry opens his mouth.

Kaori Yoneyama. One day I'll take the time to try and figure out what the hell is Fukigen-death about.

Adam Cole. Yeah, He IS a great worker. He ALWAYS gets over (but he will never get credit for this from the crowd who credit shitty workers for "having the know-how to get over", ya see). And he's apparently the nicest guy in pro-wrestling. And it was heartbreaking to see him at All In last year. But I gotta admit. Man, the Panama Sunrise really is a dumb finisher.

[Matt D]

Counterpoint. 
Paul Wight is clearly better than Adam Cole.

[Makai Club #1]

Adam Cole gets credit for being a great catchphrase haver. But boy is he one of the most boring main eventers in recent history. Pretty much any main event run he has had in any promotion has coincided with a total drop of interest in that promotion *for me. However, he did have a good match with Pat McAfee. Credit where credit is due. 

 

*I meant for me

[El Dragon]

I’ve always described Adam Cole as this generations RVD. Have a good crowd interaction catchphrase, do the dumbest shit imaginable in the ring but have it be unique, have very few actually good complete matches, but still be beloved. 
 

That said, Cole only getting to 350 I think is very encouraging that the silent majority ballots aren’t going to completely torpedo this thing. I was really worried he’d get way higher.

[Matt D]

3 hours ago, Matt D said:

Adam Cole and Kofi Kingston are still on the board. Rhea's still on the board, right? Those are three of the more surprising ones for me, given who else have dropped. 

Ok, now where’s Rhea.

[Boon]

5 minutes ago, El Dragon said:

That said, Cole only getting to 350 I think is very encouraging that the silent majority ballots aren’t going to completely torpedo this thing. I was really worried he’d get way higher.

There is hope in this statement. Wrong of me to disregard people who have done lists, but seeing Matt Hardy in someone’s top 25 is wild to say the least. 

[Makai Club #1]

3 minutes ago, Matt D said:

Ok, now where’s Rhea.

You mean the 2nd of two good women wrestlers in WWE. In the top 100 where she belongs. 

[highflyflow]

37 minutes ago, Boon said:

There is hope in this statement. Wrong of me to disregard people who have done lists, but seeing Matt Hardy in someone’s top 25 is wild to say the least. 

Honestly that’s a throwback to the 2016 process more than anything 

[Reel]

I don’t think that’s the right Carl Malenko picture 

[Grimmas]

Just now, Reel said:

I don’t think that’s the right Carl Malenko pucture 

Someone told me. It's staying now!

[Boon]

16 minutes ago, highflyflow said:

Honestly that’s a throwback to the 2016 process more than anything 

Don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing 

[KB8]

We're getting #1 votes now! A Russian deathmatch wrestler, a giant pencil (I assume) and Mr. Wrestling II would be a hell of a top 5 in some order or another. 

 

Spoiler

#530

Johnny Blackcraft Caballero Downunder Elite Consejo Impact Morrison Mundo Nitro Onyx TV

MNM were pretty good. 

 

 

#529

James Storm

Likes beer. I assume. 

 

#528

Kintaro Oki

The Inoki match is wonderful stuff. I should watch more. 

 

#527

Don Leo Jonathan

The mutton chops were badass. 

 

#526

El Hijo de Fishman

Kind of surprised his dad never got a vote. Hijo de Fishman roaming around Tultitlan junkyards as a deeply unpleasant little brute whose head is too big for his own mask - a physical manifestation of his uncontrollable malice, perhaps - is pretty special. Will pick up a full crate of beer and throw it fully at someone's head. The Demus match from last year is wonderful violence. 

 

 

#525

Biff Busick

I'm still not sure I could pass Biff Busick in the street and know who he is. 

 

 

#524

"TNT" Savio Vega

Last TNT match I watched he had to chase Terry Funk up and down and around some scaffolding and you could tell it wasn't a planned part of the match and it may have been more of a case-builder for Funk than TNT now that I think about it. But I liked TNT just fine. 

 

 

#523

Dutch Mantell

Yeah, this feels like the biggest sign that a lot of the 80s set guys are going to plummet. 

 

 

#522

Earthquake

Sure, Earthquake is okay. I like his weeble-wobble selling. The Hogan match from Summerslam 90 is fun. 

 

 

#521

Robert Gibson

One half of arguably the best tag team ever. Not Ricky Morton but not a scrub either. 

 

 

#520

El Samurai

A very solid pro wrestler. Has one of the best 90s New Japan juniors matches and it wasn't against Liger. 

 

 

#519

Jamie Noble

I haven't thought about the WWE run in forever but did watch some of his 2005 ROH stint in recent years and it was pretty good.

 

 

#518

Road Warrior Animal

Not as good as Hawk apparently. 

 

 

#517

Takashi Sasaki

Once kicked out of a death valley driver off a scaffolding through a glass table so very resilient. 

 

#516

Megumi Fujii

Pretty nice showing for someone who's had about as many professional wrestling matches as me. 

 

 

#515

Combat Toyoda

The retirement match against Kudo still feels like it might be the best deathmatch ever. 

 

 

#514

Chikayo Nagashima

I think I've seen one Chikayo Nagashima match. 

 

#513

Bárbaro Cavernario

Actually watched some current Cavernario recently and he's still really fun. 

 

 

#512

Brad Armstrong

"Brad Armstrong was a really solid hand," as my great grandmother would always say. 

 

 

#511

PCO

Still haven't watched anything from that resurgence run. 

 

 

#510

Kaito Kiyomiya

I liked the Okada match from a few years ago. 

 

#509

Hideki Suzuki

Suzuki rules. Working as a sort of Billy Robinson clone was fun for a while back like 10 years ago. Haven't seen him in the 10 years since.

 

 

#508

Katsumi Usuda

Probably my fifth favourite of the Battlarts guys yet still totally awesome. 

 

#507

Héctor Garza

I should watch more 00s Garza. 

 

 

#506

Dragon Lee

I haven't watched Dragon Lee in years but he looked like a potential superstar for a little while about a decade ago. 

 

 

#505

Tyler Bate

I've barely seen anything from Bate but it feels like he's been around any time I've dipped in to check out any WWE for five minutes over the last 10 years or so. 

 

#504

Kaz Hayashi

Shiryu ruled. My friend and I loved Hayashi back in WCW. Great in matches where Tenryu would throw a bottle at him. 

 

 

#503

Koko B. Ware

My #85. I love Koko and I'll watch anything from the Memphis run. Amazing studio wrestler as heel or babyface, throwing the best dropkicks and punches you could want from someone who cut his teeth in Memphis. Brilliant tag wrestler and there really are only a few guys I can think of who'll just absolutely swarm someone as the ref' is distracted and put the boots to them, scoot out the ring, run another distraction so his partner can pick up the slack, then position himself to get back in there and unleash more fury. Him and Eaton are the best Midnight Express there never was. Has the awesome Flair match and there's one Tito Santana match from 1991 WWF that's tremendous, where both start out working pure babyface and as the match progresses Koko turns into a shithousing bastard. Has the regular matches and the brawls and then maybe the best scaffold match ever as the cherry on top. Koko was awesome and he'll be on my list again in 2036. 

 

 

#502

Monster Ripper

Yeah Ripper has some fun stuff. 

 

 

#501

Natsuki Taiyo

I've actually seen a couple Taiyo matches!  

 

[ohtani's jacket]

What a random list of wrestlers. I don't know who half these people are.

[ohtani's jacket]

1 hour ago, Matt D said:

I think the bigger issue is that there’s less of a progression. You can go through a feud between Hansen and Colon or Bret and Austin or Dump and Chigusa or Misawa and Kawada or Kingston and Hero and there are videos and podcasts and guides to take you though it but with WoS that underpinning doesn’t really exist. It feels like a sporting event which is part of its strength but it’s like watching a random Cubs vs Dodgers game from 1980 without context. 

Well, essentially it was filmed house shows. You get some progression at times, such as the Breaks vs. Young David trilogy that led into the Breaks vs. Dennison feud. Sometimes you see repeat matches that lead to either a title match or some sort of gimmick bout, but it's only the backbone of what fans would traditionally associate with television booking, and we're often missing pieces of the puzzle. The randomness didn't see to bother you with French catch. I should add that Daddy is a different story, but aside from Daddy vs. Haystacks and Quinn, I was never interested in following his stuff.

I think it's more useful to break WoS into eras -- 60s, 70s and 80s, each with its unique set of circumstances, weight classes -- lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight, comedy/gimmick wrestlers vs. serious grapplers (there are a ton of comedy guys in WoS), and heels vs. faces (very clearly defined and recognizable for viewers.) The stylistic quirks and rules you can figure out as you go along. Walton does most of the heavy lifting there. 

We never got an 80s set, not that the influence of such a set would be felt these days, but  I think it's the reason why you don't see any votes for Skull Murphy, Keith Haward, Marvelous Mike Bennett, etc. 

[Matt D]

9 minutes ago, ohtani's jacket said:

The randomness didn't see to bother you with French catch

Let’s figure out a viewing path/process/guide for people less insane than me.

[El-P]

36 minutes ago, KB8 said:

Koko B. Ware

(...)

there's one Tito Santana match from 1991 WWF that's tremendous, where both start out working pure babyface and as the match progresses Koko turns into a shithousing bastard.

I actually *remember* that match. Because back then the French version of Superstars or Wrestling Challenge (depending of the week, it seems) was a hodge podge of legit TV tapings with squash matches and sometimes cool house show matches with dim lights and such. And yeah, I remember loving it, because *something different happened*. Plus it was probably 6 months/ 1 year in me watching pro-wrestling. Koko was indeed great. 

[El-P]

30 minutes ago, ohtani's jacket said:

What a random list of wrestlers. I don't know who half these people are.

😅

I can't say I'm familiar with all of these names, much less say I watched their stuff, but I know way too many of them to really ask myself what the hell have I done with my life. Which is a question I also asked myself 10 years ago, except the underlining mood was a whole lot darker then. Today it's more like, fuck me, I'm such a geek. Oh well.

[ohtani's jacket]

1 minute ago, Matt D said:

Let’s figure out a viewing path/process/guide for people less insane than me.

I would imagine the pathway is great matches/workers you like. To be honest, the overwhelming majority of TV wrestling is random filler. At least WoS is in English.