GWE 2026 Reaction Thread

[El-P]

Lulu Pencil triggering a meltdown wasn't on my bingo card. Still kinda beautiful. In a way.

Now I wanna find that Dark episode where Eddie Kingston is guest announcing and is loving Lulu Pencil (as Emi Sakura's valet mind you).

[El McKell]

6 hours ago, ohheylook said:

Need to see the Lulu biglav score

I'm a big fan of engaging with jokes sincerely. So I'm gonna go for it.

 

Base Rating (offense, selling, psychology): 0/3 2/3 2/3  = 4

Intangibles: 7

Great matches: 0

Length of Peak: never a top worker no peak = 0

 

+1 ability to work as an underdog babyface 
Never works any other roles

Ability to work different styles / roles = 1

Variety of Opponents: 1: Only had good matches with Chris Brooks

I give Lulu Pencil a BIGLAV score of 13. That might be a lower score than anyone Parv rated in 2016.

[ohtani's jacket]

Has anyone asked Sandman what he thinks of Lulu Pencil?

[NotJayTabb]

19 minutes ago, El McKell said:

I'm a big fan of engaging with jokes sincerely. So I'm gonna go for it.

 

Base Rating (offense, selling, psychology): 0/3 2/3 2/3  = 4

Intangibles: 7

Great matches: 0

Length of Peak: never a top worker no peak = 0

 

+1 ability to work as an underdog babyface 
Never works any other roles

Ability to work different styles / roles = 1

Variety of Opponents: 1: Only had good matches with Chris Brooks

I give Lulu Pencil a BIGLAV score of 13. That might be a lower score than anyone Parv rated in 2016.

This peaked my interest, so I checked. He gave Alex Wright an 8 and The Barbarian an 11 

[El McKell]

Well Alex Wright is terrible, so he was right about that.

[El-P]

Biglav is so 2015. It was the dumbest shit then, but come one now. Gotta live with your time.

SO.

I just asked this question to Gemini : Is Lulu Pencil one of the greatest wrestler or all time.

I SWEAR that's all I did. I did not prep the AI with any other stuff before (I never use AI).

Here's the answer (copy/paste) :

 

If you measure greatness by championship gold, five-star technical clinics, or massive stadium buy-rates, then no, Lulu Pencil is objectively not one of the greatest of all time.

However, if you measure greatness by pure storytelling, the emotional investment of a cult audience, and redefining what a babyface under-dog looks like, then to a very passionate corner of the wrestling world, she is an absolute legend.

Here is a breakdown of why Lulu Pencil holds such a unique, beloved status in modern wrestling history.

---

The Ultimate Underdog (Literally)

Lulu Pencil—a freelance writer for IGN Japan in her day job—debuted for Emi Sakura's Gatoh Move/ChocoPro promotion in 2019. Standing at 5'4" and barely weighing 100 pounds, she didn't look like a wrestler, and kayfabe-wise, she wasn't good at it.

 

 

• Her signature forearm strikes often hurt her own arm more than her opponent.

   

   

• She would frequently trip over the environment or get herself stuck in her own submission holds.

• She wrestled in pink overalls and a cap rather than traditional gear.

   

   

Because she lacked any natural physical advantages, her entire character arc was built around a singular question: Is passion enough to make you a pro wrestler?

The Pencil War vs. Chris Brookes

What elevated Lulu Pencil from a fun comedy act into a legendary character was her 2020–2021 rivalry with British indie star Chris Brookes.

Brookes played a sadistic, towering bully who despised Lulu because he felt her weakness insulted the sport. The storytelling was incredible. He stole her favorite hat, mocked her dreams, and repeatedly destroyed her in the ring. Yet, no matter how badly she was beaten, Lulu refused to quit.

 

 

This culminated in an iconic 30-Minute Iron Man Match in July 2021. While Brookes won the overall match 3 falls to 1, Lulu managed to score a single, desperate pinfall against him in the final seconds. It was her 115th career match and the very first pinfall of her career. Afterward, a bloodied Brookes handed her back her hat and finally admitted: “Yes, you are a professional wrestler.” It remains one of the most emotionally gripping story arcs in modern indie wrestling.

 

 

The Paradoxical Greatness of #500

In 2021, Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked Lulu Pencil as #500 on their annual PWI 500 list—the absolute bottom. Instead of a slight, it was celebrated. The "Pencil Army" fan base rallied so hard that PWI actually printed a special, official alternative magazine cover featuring Lulu, turning the lowest rank into a badge of honor.

 

 

---

The Verdict

Is she Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin, or Mitsuharu Misawa?

No. She quietly stepped away from the ring to focus on her journalism career, never winning a single singles match or a championship title.

Is she a masterclass in professional wrestling psychology?

Absolutely. Lulu Pencil proved that you don't need to do 450 splashes or weigh 250 pounds to make an audience weep, cheer, and care. In the realm of experimental, character-driven storytelling, she is an all-time great.

(I AM DYING LAUGHING)

[ohtani's jacket]

When are we getting another drop so that we can stop talking about pencils.

[El McKell]

I assume Grimmas is still in bed, it's only 7am for him rn

[Grimmas]

I just dropped 1/3 today, which will get us to 100 starting tomorrow.

[Matt D]

Given some of the other drops, some of these guys staying so close to the 100 is pretty impressive.

[Tetsujin]

Kudo finally dropped. Really surprising showcase, and I dare to say a good indicator of how the biggest joshi names will do.

Backlund and Togo not in the top 100 certainly take some flavour out of it, but I'm not unhappy. Togo I assume has harmed his reputation by House of Torture association, I personally haven't heard anything worth checking out for him since 2020.

[MidasGloves]

Kudo, Sasaki, Christian & Togo all dropping before 110 really hurts but I suppose they had an amazing run. Christian seemed to be the victim of a lot of people putting him in the middle or lower because over a third of voters had him in their 100.

[Grimmas]

wrestlers commenting on GWE is so fun!

 

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Thank god Kudo dropped. I dunno where all these FMW fans emerged from, but they've been by far the most successful pool of voters. I wouldn't put Kudo in a top 250, but she did well in the previous polls so  clearly not a viewpoint that others share.  

[Makai Club #1]

Kudo benefits from the joshi fans liking her as well. She is just an extention of those fans. 

[Jetlag]

The curious thing about Megumi Kudo is that she gets all the praise and attention for those deathmatches, while her opponents Combat Toyoda and Shark Tsuchiya usually get none at all.

[Grimmas]

Just now, Jetlag said:

The curious thing about Megumi Kudo is that she gets all the praise and attention for those deathmatches, while her opponents Combat Toyoda and Shark Tsuchiya usually get none at all.

Combat is goodish, Shark not so much.

Kudo also has great straight matches, like the Kong match, so she's just not death matches.

[Boss Rock]

Togo is the first one to fall that actually hurts a bit, ha. Like I had Colon higher but I never really expected him to make the top 100. Still, I suppose with the higher voter pool and most only knowing Togo because of House of Torture, I guess it's not too bad.

Kudo was my 82, so pleasantly surprised she made it this far.

Folks I think are most likely to drop next: Bruno, Rock, Hero, Kingston, KENTA, Nakamura, Sabu, Strong, Takayama, Abdullah, Mistico, Ikeda, Ishikawa, Inoki, Baba, Nagata.

[Jetlag]

Yeah, like the Kong match, and, uh... some brawls with Kandori and Ozaki? That Dream Rush tag? That Combat is also apart of? Combat has some pretty decent non-deathmatch work of her own. I'm not gonna say Tsuchiya is a superworker but she was a pretty effective heel and I've found her a lot better than many have given her credit for.

[ohheylook]

Togo should be top 50

[El Dragon]

Dammit, Christian falling short again. My #12. Just consistent, quiet great work whenever he’s been around for almost 30 years, all undercut because Vince just decided he didn’t like how his face looked.

[Microstatistics]

#118

Megumi Kudo

#114

Bob Backlund

My #72 and #71, respectively, so amusing they dropped near each other.

Yes, I'm stunned Kudo lasted so long. Just a fundamentally great wrestler who translated those elements seamlessly into the death match scene. I don't believe there's a better retirement match in history than the Toyoda one.

Shame Backlund couldn't stay in the Top 100. The miscellaneous US guys falling out is sort of understandable, but Backlund was different, the uber-over lynchpin between Bruno and Hogan and a wonderfully versatile and sound worker.

[Tetsujin]

15 minutes ago, Boss Rock said:

Folks I think are most likely to drop next: Bruno, Rock, Hero, Kingston, KENTA, Nakamura, Sabu, Strong, Takayama, Abdullah, Mistico, Ikeda, Ishikawa, Inoki, Baba, Nagata.

I would be really surprised if Inoki doesn't make it. Like, it would be the biggest surprise for me thus far, by a lot. I feel he has regained a lot of support.

[Matt D]

I’m rooting for Eddie Kingston. I don’t think he’s a top 100 wrestler of all time but I still have a heart, you know. King of the Bums just has to survive the rest of the day.

[Grimmas]

28 minutes ago, Jetlag said:

Yeah, like the Kong match, and, uh... some brawls with Kandori and Ozaki? That Dream Rush tag? That Combat is also apart of? Combat has some pretty decent non-deathmatch work of her own. I'm not gonna say Tsuchiya is a superworker but she was a pretty effective heel and I've found her a lot better than many have given her credit for.

The Nagayo match rules from GAEA.