GWE 2026 Reaction Thread

[Boss Rock]

32 of my top 50 are still alive, 19 of my top 20, and all of my top 10.

Co-sign that this is a pretty cool top 50. Certainly don't agree with everything, but I like that it's a diverse mix of styles as well as modern and classic. Park and Onita are especially cool to see this high.

[Tetsujin]

45/50 for me. 33 of them are in my top 50. The highest ranked guys I lost in this first half were Benoit (#13), Devil (#21) and Angle (#22). The lowest I have still alive is Bull (#99), followed by Cena (#90) and Panther (#87).

[Matt D]

One thing about the list I always love is how confusing it is to people not following along. I think we've been sort of pulling and prodding at it at as we go. It pretty much makes sense to us with a few surprises, but to most people it's going to be bizarre. So mission accomplished.

[El Boricua]

39 of the top 50 were on my ballot, let's see where they drop.

[DMJ]

35 of the top 50 made my ballot.

Most that didn't make it were "ineligible" to me based on my own personal "rules", specifically that I didn't vote for anyone who I had not reviewed a minimum of 20 matches of. (Which meant no Tanahashi for me, no Meiko, no Fujiwara, no Fujinami, no Volk Han, no Onita, no Inoki, no Blue Panther, no Negro Casas.)

Considering my 2016 ballot was probably 95% WWE and WCW workers from 88' on, I'm proud that I expanded my viewing over the past 10 years beyond mainstream US wrestling and I'm excited about seemingly all the great wrestling I still need to see in the future.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Disappointed that Devil, Satanico and Tamura didn't make the top 50. I can understand voters having cold feet over those styles of wrestling, but other wrestlers from those styles finished higher.

[MasterJonBurr]

OJ not doing a #1 blurb for Satanico is a bigger heel turn than Mantaur shooting on everyone. 

[ohtani's jacket]

4 minutes ago, MasterJonBurr said:

OJ not doing a #1 blurb for Satanico is a bigger heel turn than Mantaur shooting on everyone. 

I'm old. I had a hard enough time using the google form. 

[Mattsdmf]

I think at this point, the only high vote I'll have on is my #1, Terry Funk.

I'm really loving how this roll out is shaping up.  A very diverse and surprising list in many ways.

[Control21]

10 minutes ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Disappointed that Devil, Satanico and Tamura didn't make the top 50. I can understand voters having cold feet over those styles of wrestling, but other wrestlers from those styles finished higher.

Tamura was a tough one, but it's his best result yet too. Glass half full and all 

[Microstatistics]

The 50s were harsh on my Top 10 with Gunther, Tamura, and now Satanico out. I voted for 37 out of the 50 (33 in my Top 50 and 18 in my Top 25). I agree with the general consensus about the stylistic and era variety even if I'm not a fan of some of the individual selections. Great to see Moxley, Inoki, and Piper there though.

 

#52

El Satánico

My #6. I've waxed poetic about Satanico in the past so don't have much to add but the lack of a Top 50 spot is indeed disappointing. That #1 vote from @ohtani's jacket is great though.

#51

Dump Matsumoto

Huh, didn't do as well as I thought she would. A case where I understand the abstract appeal but feel she really needed someone providing the actual match structure to be there at the other end (mainly Chigusa) for the whole package to work.

[ohtani's jacket]

21 minutes ago, Control21 said:

Tamura was a tough one, but it's his best result yet too. Glass half full and all 

Shoot style is a tough sell. If Tamura had a G-1 run, he'd probably fare better, but then he wouldn't be Tamura. 

[Control21]

7 minutes ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Shoot style is a tough sell. If Tamura had a G-1 run, he'd probably fare better, but then he wouldn't be Tamura. 

If Volk Han and Kiyoshi Tamura had AEW runs, they would probably be in the Top 25 

[Boss Rock]

I remember first following the 2016 rollout and how much disappointment there was that only 1 woman made the top 50. It's nice that there's 6 this time around, with Hokuto and Kong being potential top 20 contenders.

[TheBean]

I was looking at the 2006 poll and the top 25 then had 3 women in the top 25 with Hokuto, Aja & Jaguar. This time around seems more similar to the 2006 poll in other ways too.

[Childs]

Shibata brought an edge to New Japan's most recent golden age that was missed after his injury. He produced some great matches in his earlier run. But I look at the guys right above and right below him, and I just don't think he did enough to be in that company.  

[HowtobeaMark]

39 of my Top 100 remain.

30 of my Top 50

19 of my Top 20 (Just Windham at 20 gone)

All of my Top 10

[Grimmas]

I have 31 remaining, higher than I thought.

[Boss Rock]

Overall I still have 43.

[Matt D]

Ha. I have 20. 

[Childs]

41 of my top 100 still standing

33 of my top 50

18 of my top 20 (pour them out for Buddy Rose and Satanico)

Difficult to complain too much about that, even though I'm part of the badly outnumbered "started watching in the '80s" cohort.

[rudowood]

37 out of top 50.

20 out of top 25.

9 out of top 10. My love for Barry Windham be damned.