GWE 2026 Reaction Thread

[Tetsujin]

10 minutes ago, donsem43 said:

Maybe this is me being nitpicky, but should Asuka and Iyo be considered modern Joshi? Asuka has spent about half her career in WWE/NXT. Iyo has spent about two fifths of her career there and a longer time than what she spent in Stardom.

Anyway, since a couple of people haven't checked them out I'll link to the YouTube playlist that I've made. Both of these have pretty much everything that has been uploaded by official WWE channels plus whatever matches I could find from their time in Japan.

Asuka:

 

Iyo Sky/Io Shirai:

 

This rules so much!

[Matt D]

Talking this through, aura or whatever else aside, the biggest beneficiaries past some modern New Japan and Joshi people are not just babyfaces (for Tito and others fell) but babyface Aces:

Sato, Jaguar, Chigusa, Cena (to be seen), Sting, Hogan, Dusty, Bruno, Mistico, etc. 

Everyone's holding out for a hero.

[Grimmas]

2 minutes ago, Matt D said:

Talking this through, aura or whatever else aside, the biggest beneficiaries past some modern New Japan and Joshi people are not just babyfaces (for Tito and others fell) but babyface Aces:

Sato, Jaguar, Chigusa, Cena (to be seen), Sting, Hogan, Dusty, Bruno, Mistico, etc. 

Everyone's holding out for a hero.

Isn't holding out for a hero what wrestling is all about?

[Tetsujin]

4 minutes ago, Matt D said:

Talking this through, aura or whatever else aside, the biggest beneficiaries past some modern New Japan and Joshi people are not just babyfaces (for Tito and others fell) but babyface Aces:

Sato, Jaguar, Chigusa, Cena (to be seen), Sting, Hogan, Dusty, Bruno, Mistico, etc. 

Everyone's holding out for a hero.

I'd bet Tanahashi will finish REALLY high, so this sounds accurate.

[ohtani's jacket]

I like a lot of stuff Hogan did early in his career before Vince took wrestling out of the bingo halls. The early Andre matches are slobber knockers. Even after he developed his formula, he mostly brought his working boots. He moved fairly well for a guy his size. I dunno. It's hard to hate on 80s Hogan. When I think of bad Hogan, it's monster trucks, Thunder in Paradise, and Dungeon of Doom. 

[Ma Stump Puller]

41 minutes ago, Boss Rock said:

I had Mutoh at 76. A later entry on my list but I couldn't really deny him. Another guy who was really good for a long time and when he wrestled as Muta, he actually wrestled differently. In fact, he would be downright diabolical. Too many folks take this for granted with a gimmick change (stares at Demon Finn Balor).

I recall his retirement match* against Naito was very good.

His Naito match was solid and his Kaito series of matches the two had were pretty entertaining. Looking back on it Old Man Muto in NOAH as much as some people memed on it (and it was at some points quite the meme) was quite an endearing long term story all about battling against his limits and needing every little trick to survive against a never-ending torrent of challengers. That's honestly one of the main reasons why I had him so low on my list, his ability to consistently reinvent his offence/presentation to adapt to the zeitgeist is almost unrivalled. 

 

[Tetsujin]

Yeah Mutoh is what Jericho fans believe Jericho is.

[gungan]

Regal: my number 8. Best TV worker ever and super consistent except for that period when he was fucked up on drugs. Impressive versatility in that he could be thrown into just about any situation and make it work. And I've never vibed with the criticism that he lacks high end work. afaic his body of work has a fair bit of depth in that respect (Moxley FCW matches, various Finlay matches, vs Hero, vs Claudio, vs Arn, Zbyszko series, Christian series).

Mercedes: my number 71. She was always the best of the Horsewomen and second place was never close. Awesome big match worker, awesome bumper, awesome charisma.

KENTA: didn't make my list, but in terms of post-2016 output I remember really liking his 2019 G1 run, especially that ZSJ match (brutal war).

Ishikawa: my number 2. There's very little distance between his floor and ceiling, which is super impressive given that his ceiling involves some of the absolute best matches in wrestling history. Also, I found it super impressive that he looked like the best wrestler in the world when he was doing those wXw matches so deep into his career. I mean, I hold Thatcher's work from that period in very high regard, but Ishikawa was still the better performer in their two matches.

Asuka: my number 52. I love her run in Japan and her WWE run has been fantastic. Her WWE stuff doesn't hit the same heights as her best Japan stuff (particularly the Satomura series), but it's more impressive from a legacy perspective. The WWE house style could've neutered her, but instead she worked around those limitations and excelled. Out of this world charisma, too. Total aura farmer.

[SirSam]

57 minutes ago, Tetsujin said:

I'd bet Tanahashi will finish REALLY high, so this sounds accurate.

As he should

[Boss Rock]

As unpredictable as this rollout has been, I would still be surprised if Tanahashi did not make the top 20. I don't think he makes the top 10, but not completely ruling that out either.

[El Boricua]

Tanahashi strikes me as the least polarizing of the recent New Japan top stars, I'd expect him to be the highest finisher of that bunch.

[WingedEagle]

36 minutes ago, Boss Rock said:

As unpredictable as this rollout has been, I would still be surprised if Tanahashi did not make the top 20. I don't think he makes the top 10, but not completely ruling that out either.

He should be behind Bryan Danielson. Probably. Everyone else should be bending the knee.

[Microstatistics]

#62

"The Great Muta" Keiji Muto

#61

Hulk Hogan

My #69 and #66, respectively. They just HAD to be back-to-back; I actively disliked them a decade ago and while a few flaws persist (idiosyncratic selling and the laziness of the hulk-up, respectively), I've mainly come around based on their distinct charm and great matches across multiple decades.

[PaoloReaper]

Quote

On 5/30/2021 at 5:14 PM, elliott said:
I was surprised to see Muto ranked 66th in 2016. I feel like theres no chance he gets that high again.

This made me chuckle, and one of the reason I'm loving this unpredictable reveal.

About Místico: Last September I traveled to México for work, and had a little scapade in between rehearsals to a CMLL show at Arena México. Místico was there, and although I left off actually thinking he was one of the weakest parts "mechanically" or whatever of the whole show, his aura, charisma and connection to the crowd was one of the most impressive and beautiful things I've ever witnessed. After that experience I started training to be a pro-wrestler, and I know that maybe, in part, that's because of the impact he had on me. I'm glad he gets his flowers. 

[NotJayTabb]

Io fully deserves her place as the highest ranked of the WWE affiliated women. Obviously she came in as a big deal, but the impressive thing is that, without promo time and any particularly big storylines, she's become one of the most popular women on the roster just through ringwork and immense physical charisma. Also on a personal level, her match with Kay Lee Ray in a small pub in Tooting is one of the 3 best matches I've seen live. 

Talking of immense physical charisma, I love seeing Dusty rank so high. When I was first getting online, people seemed to hate Dusty, the likes of Scott Keith would always be ripping him for his weight or implied laziness. Whereas for me, he immediately grabbed me from the first match I saw him in. Dusty understood how to be a babyface, how to illicit the response he wanted through his ringwork, and how to make a fired up comeback work. So glad to see him in the 100

[EnviousStupid]

2 hours ago, NotJayTabb said:

Io fully deserves her place as the highest ranked of the WWE affiliated women. Obviously she came in as a big deal, but the impressive thing is that, without promo time and any particularly big storylines, she's become one of the most popular women on the roster just through ringwork and immense physical charisma. Also on a personal level, her match with Kay Lee Ray in a small pub in Tooting is one of the 3 best matches I've seen live. 

Have also seen this, can vouch that it's really great, and that it's still available to watch on YouTube

[MoS]

Bit surprised that Hogan didn't just rise, but he reamined higher than Dusty this time also. Going by Matt's theory of babyface aces doing much better this time around, both Hogan and Dusty fit that bill, but Dusty's name was a part of Cody's story in both AEW and WWE main events as well as the rise of NXT, while Hogan in his last few appearances got booed by the audience who once considered him their God. Now, that was obviously because of out-of-ring reasons, but the point is that I had thought Dusty's rep amongst younger voters would be far stronger than Hogan's rep, because neither has ever been pushed or treated like some scientific genius at wrestling.  

This list is full of surprises. Very interesting list! 

[El-P]

Hulk Hogan making it to the top 100 :

[ohtani's jacket]

Arn pins Hogan again!

That's a classic picture of Double A. 

[Boss Rock]

I had Gunther at 54 (I also nominated him). Was a rather obscure indy name who had an absolutely massive breakout year in 2017, immediately establishing himself as one of the best in the world. His 2018 was even better and is one of the best individual years for any wrestler I've seen. I was worried that WWE wouldn't "get" him and I was initially offput by his dramatic weight loss. But he's absolutely thrived and has kept that final boss energy while continuing to deliver high-end matches. He's easily been the best wrestler in WWE for the last few years.

[Boss Rock]

Huge jump for the Rock and I have to wonder if the Final Boss stuff with Cody played a part. I used to be a huge Rock fan when I was younger, but I don't really think I see a case with him as an in-ring worker. 2001-2002 he could be really smooth and his selling was always over-the-top and dramatic, but I struggle to think of any true classics he had under his belt. Especially when his career was so short in the grand scheme of things.

[ohtani's jacket]

Folks really like Gunther, huh? That's an extremely high debut.

Don't really care about The Rock's placement. 

[Makai Club #1]

I've never been so happy for someone's success as Gunther's. Even with the weight loss, WWE could've botched him completely but clearly everyone in that company loves him and his work and pushed him too the moon and he produced the goods in the ring to reward it. 

[Tetsujin]

1 hour ago, Boss Rock said:

I had Gunther at 54 (I also nominated him). Was a rather obscure indy name who had an absolutely massive breakout year in 2017, immediately establishing himself as one of the best in the world. His 2018 was even better and is one of the best individual years for any wrestler I've seen. I was worried that WWE wouldn't "get" him and I was initially offput by his dramatic weight loss. But he's absolutely thrived and has kept that final boss energy while continuing to deliver high-end matches. He's easily been the best wrestler in WWE for the last few years.

Same thoughts here. Had him a bit lower but the sky is the limit for him. At this point he's having nine straight years being one of the best, sometimes THE absolute best (2018) in the world. Generational talent.

I didn't vote for The Rock but I totally get the appeal. He's probably the most magnetic pro wrestler ever, every mannerism, every reaction, every "living in the moment" thing he does, it's just so much fun. Underrated striker and seller too. Ridiculously talented for how young he was. Just too short of a career overall (let alone peak) for me.

Arn is fucking awesome and I believe somewhere at the middle of the list is the perfect spot for him. One of the best "input over output" wrestlers ever, for sure. Every Arn performance feels stellar. I guess he shares that with The Rock.

[cad]

My biggest issue with Rocky is that for a guy who trades on spectacle and drama, I can't really remember that many individual moments from his matches. Like, all I can recall from the HHH iron man are some of the finishes, and that was a genuinely great match. Mechanically, he was much better than Hogan, but Hogan was a lot better at creating lasting images. That's actually the most enduring Rock match, Rock vs Hogan. Rock no doubt carried the action. Hogan's the one who made it iconic.