GWE 2026 Reaction Thread

[Boss Rock]

Kandori was my 47. In hindsight maybe a little high, but she really is great. Like many others, my introduction to her was the Hokuto and Queendom tag matches. Even beyond those matches, she was a terrific bruiser and I honestly really like her business casual death match run as well.

I remember in her thread someone mentioned there was a narrative years ago that Kandori was bad and that Hokuto carried her. I don't know if there's any truth to that, but it's wild to consider.

[tcg91]

5 hours ago, El McKell said:

Nobody who voted for Regal is doing so thinking of him as a WoS wrestler. They're doing so because they see him as a top tier worker in WCW from 92-96 and in WWE from like 05-10. I didn't vote for Regal and I did vote for Steve Grey and Clive Myers so I might not be the best person to talk, but Regal's best work is all in the USA, it doesn't affect his case that he wasn't close to being a high level performer on WoS.

I see your point. I was mostly commenting on the top 100 featuring a lot of modern talents at the expense of others, as clearly the voters are friendly with the current product. I am not being critical, it is completely normal. My top 100 wouldn't feature much Joshi or 2020s wrestlers, for instance.

Regal was a fitting example, because according to the top 100 he's in contention with Ospreay for the accolade of best UK wrestler ever (and one between them, Claudio and WALTER will be the best European wrestler). It's not a surprise that 3 of these guys are current stars and that the other has been on American TV for the last 30 years.

[Robert S]

So Claudio is the guy who made the top 100 without being top 10 on any single ballot. Actually, he was on 211 ballots and only made top 25 on 9 of those.

[NotJayTabb]

Quite surprised to see Cesaro placing lower than 2016, thought he'd have a big rise 

[Grimmas]

2 minutes ago, Robert S said:

So Claudio is the guy who made the top 100 without being top 10 on any single ballot. Actually, he was on 211 ballots and only made top 25 on 9 of those.

Someone is higher.

[Makai Club #1]

95. Eddie Kingston
More interesting than great. Although I haven’t really explored his years in CZW or CHIKARA, so I’m still sort of unfamiliar with Peak Kingston. However, in recent years I’m not that big of a fan. He has charm and a bit of an edge to him, but the Pillar Cosplay routine runs thin with me. It’s endearing to an extent, but Kingston’s physically pretty shot. But to keep this positive, I think Kingston is capable of still having really strong performances with the right opponents, such as Danielson and Moxley. And he essentially worked himself into a job in AEW when he was in his last months before he was set to retire, so all’s credit to him. 

94. Claudio Castagnoli
I wasn’t going to vote for him, largely because I don’t really connect with him as a wrestler and think he, like Roderick Strong, can just get by with being pushed while being strong bell to bell. However, he does has a sneakily great resume against a wide variety of opponents. He’s got some absurdly quality bouts against Kofi Kingston, which is crazy. I guess I felt that I couldn’t ignore him further, so I voted for him. And he isn’t undeserved to be fair. Voted him #74. Maybe too high.

93. Necro Butcher
What can I say about the legend that is Necro Butcher? I believe I have seen him have a toaster thrown at him in a match. A unique moment in my fandom. And Necro is one of the few wrestlers to have multiple MOTYCs on one night, but usually they are in tournament format, but not Necro. On the same night as the famed Samoa Joe classic, he’d have another classic teaming with Toby Klein against the H8 Club, which is just as equally sick. Whatever you say about Necro, you can’t take that away from him. 
 

-

Is this the 2000s Indie section for GWE? 

[Tetsujin]

Eddie Kingston ranking just one spot below Claudio is hilarious. Someone please share it with him.

I also thought Claudio would be higher. It's a shame he didn't improve since last time, considering he added another ten years of really good work week after week. Incredibly consistent and a heavy underrated versatile wrestler too. I guess the fact that a lot of people (is he the first one with +200 ballots?) voted for him but almost nobody put him near the top is a good allegory of his career and how crazy underrated he still is, even by people who acknowledge his talent.

[Childs]

Just now, Tetsujin said:

Eddie Kingston ranking just one spot below Claudio is hilarious. Someone please share it with him.

 

A little GWE poetry right there.

[Matt D]

We need someone to find a way to ask Eddie about this and tell him all the Japanese guys he's above and hear how annoyed he gets about all of it.

[urbanecowboy]

I’m very interested to see who is the lowest ranked wrestler with 50% of the vote. 

[SirSam]

34 minutes ago, Tetsujin said:

Eddie Kingston ranking just one spot below Claudio is hilarious.

That was my immediate thoughts too. Nasty work by the voting Gods.

[DR Ackermann]

A few years ago I probably would have voted for Eddie, he was doing some of my favorite stuff in the world. But he's wildly inconsistent. Love him as an underdog, Funk influenced brawler. Hate his wannabe king's road tribute act. Claudio's AEW has been unkind to him in my eyes. He's fairly generic and uninteresting compared to what he seemed to be when he first started getting praise during his WWE run. Can't stand his European uppercuts. He is so bad at them. 

[Boon]

The 90s = CZW 

[DR Ackermann]

I probably overrated Windham a bit this time at 23 and in 2016 at 15 but the guy was so good. He could embody the platonic ideal of so many different wrestling archetypes in his prime. Even if he didn't sustain that level of quality it seems silly to see his name placed below so many guys that are going to rank ahead of him.

[Boss Rock]

I had Eddie at 80 and feel pretty comfortable with that. I imagine his AEW work is what made his case for a lot of folks and indeed it was pretty great until his injury, but he was really good before that too (particularly the Hero series). Can be a real dick as a heel but is even better as an everyman babyface. I can see why his King's Road tribute could be grating, but I think he pulls it off more often than not.

Claudio was my 39. I would wager the greatest tag worker ever. Kings of Wrestling, Real Americans, Brass Ring Club, the Bar, and the Death Riders. No matter who he's partnered with, he knocks it out of the park. Quite possibly the greatest utilitarian/TV worker as well. Plays a solid babyface but honestly a bullying heel is where he thrives.

I did not vote for Necro. Not sure if there are gaps I haven't seen or if he just had too short a peak. But it's a tremendous peak and his matches with Joe and Super Dragon are among the greatest I've ever seen. Excellent stuff with Low Ki and Toby Imada too. That being said, I'm curious if there is much beyond that because I haven't seen it.

[DR Ackermann]

I will say that back in 2020, Eddie got me back into current wrestling when he showed up in AEW to wrestle Cody Rhodes. I forgot about that until just now. Really liked his tag team with Mox and wish that it had lasted longer.

[ohtani's jacket]

I voted for Ikeda. I actually like his late 90s BattlARTS work more than his Futen stuff, and I don't think he's particularly good at pro-style, but he was a great BattlARTS worker.

Windham may seem like a massive drop, but it's interesting to me that he still made the top 100. I'm wondering if he still has matches that resonate with folks or if he simply made it on rep. Presuming he received votes from the Young Turks that is.

Kandori... so underrated she's become overrated? She's almost like the Joshi version of Taue. If this is based on people deep diving her JWP/LLPW work, then great, but I suspect not. 

I've barely seen any Kingston but I can see how he has his fans. Claudio seems far too high, but he probably has a bunch of great stuff I haven't seen. 

I liked the few Necro matches I've seen, but not sure he's as good as great apuestas guys like Pirata Mogan. At least not in my mind. 

 

 

 

[Tetsujin]

Ozaki is gone. She did awesome, but #91 still feels kinda low. I wonder if there's gonna be a big gap between the usual big joshi names like Toyota or Aja and these Kandori/Ozaki/new joshi top 100 members.

Finally Nakamura dropped. One of the undeserving ones. But at the end of the day, I understand the appeal. Those ~4 years are among the biggest peak any wrestler has ever gotten.

[BackToBionic]

It does seem crazy that Nakamura would actually rise when he's had a stagnant last decade but maybe just the exposure he's gotten in that time has shined a light on what he was doing pre-2016? 

Barry Windham is now the highest wrestler from my list that I've lost. I had him at 14. Just a guy who was good at everything. I'm currently re-watching 1992 and he's a real American highlight.

[ohtani's jacket]

Ozaki is one of the best actors that I've seen in professional wrestling. I was gonna say that she was the least physically gifted wrestler in the top 100, but we've already seen a few wrestlers drop who aren't that great. I know she couldn't keep being 90s Ozaki forever, but I can't say I loved the choices she made in the 00s and beyond. They kind of leaned into the hardcore side of her work, which was never a big selling point for me, but I get it. 

[Matt D]

3 minutes ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Ozaki is one of the best actors that I've seen in professional wrestling. I was gonna say that she was the least physically gifted wrestler in the top 100, but we've already seen a few wrestlers drop who aren't that great. I know she couldn't keep being 90s Ozaki forever, but I can't say I loved the choices she made in the 00s and beyond. They kind of leaned into the hardcore side of her work, which was never a big selling point for me, but I get it. 

There’s an interesting parallel between her Policeman shtick and LA Park’s rudo ref shtick but I’m not quite well versed enough to make it.

[ohtani's jacket]

4 minutes ago, Matt D said:

There’s an interesting parallel between her Policeman shtick and LA Park’s rudo ref shtick but I’m not quite well versed enough to make it.

Actually, LA Park is a good comp for Ozaki. The only difference is that Park had high end brawls post-prime whereas Ozaki fell off sharply in terms of match quality. 

[Boss Rock]

Ozaki was my 34. Was hoping she'd hold on a bit longer. Joshi getting more representation now than in 2016 is certainly a victory, but I'm hoping we get at least a few in the top 50. Anywho, Ozaki could pretty much do it all: singles, tags, death matches. And her heel work could be downright evil. Finding her street fights with Kansai and her '94 match with Nagayo are some of my favorite gems this last decade of diving. 

Nakamura finishing higher almost defies explanation unless everyone decided to ignore the last 10 years. And considering how there are less than 10 active WWE wrestlers in the top 100, I don't think it's due to more Fed-centric voters. He's still a top 150 guy for me because of how good his peak was and how his pre-2011 work is still solid. But definitely a headscratcher.

[Microstatistics]

#100

Chris Hero

#95

"Last of a Dying Breed" Eddie Kingston

Gotta bite my tongue here. Let's just say Regal and Jericho orchestrated their career bouts with them, respectively, so that's something. 

#99

Tully Blanchard

My #98 so pretty spot on. Great territory heel.

#98

Daisuke Ikeda

I honestly didn't even expect him to remain on the list so the fact that he gained 2 spots is just a bonus. The greatest practitioner of the hybrid style IMO. My #17.

#96

Shinobu Kandori

Her case is rather Hokuto-centric for me but still like her a lot. 

#94

Claudio Castagnoli

I thought he'd rise after the AEW run but not bad.

#93

Necro Butcher

Very compelling 2000s death match brawler. Great punches and psychotic bumping. 

#92

Mayumi Ozaki

Glad she made it this time. #85 for me.

#91

Shinsuke Nakamura

Him gaining 3 points after the WWE decade is funny. The Sakuraba match is great.

 

[Kadaveri]

1 hour ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Actually, LA Park is a good comp for Ozaki. The only difference is that Park had high end brawls post-prime whereas Ozaki fell off sharply in terms of match quality. 

Ozaki does have some high end brawls post-prime, as recently as the Mio Momono matches in 2023-24 anyway. But yes those rare high points are surrounded by a lot of crap.