GWE 2026 Reaction Thread

[ohtani's jacket]

I don't think people preferring Kobashi to Misawa is anything new. It's always been difficult for people to appreciate what made Misawa such a phenomenal ace because the traits are typically viewed as boring in an American wrestler. 

[El-P]

Where's that "Jumbo was Kurosawa, Misawa was Ozu" (or something) analogy when you need it. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Amusingly, the closest analogy to Misawa just dropped. 

[El-P]

So Bret was *really* my first favorite. I liked some wrestlers before (Tito, Perfect, Valentine), but I think I really became aware of what great pro-wrestling was with Bret Hart in 1991/92. Then came Flair and Micheals (and Savage coming back in the middle of this). Yeah, no shit I like what I like to this day.

[Control21]

1 minute ago, El-P said:

So Bret was *really* my first favorite. I liked some wrestlers before (Tito, Perfect, Valentine), but I think I really became aware of what great pro-wrestling was with Bret Hart in 1991/92. Then came Flair and Micheals. Yeah, no shit I like what I like to this day.

I think I see something similar when I look back at the first two wrestlers I fell in love with as a kid....Bret Hart and Blue Panther.

[MidasGloves]

The only thing that I'd wish for the Top 10 to make it "less boring" is Kong making it to put a bow on the rebound of women compared to 2016 (and also because she's incredible, I put her in 3rd and she's still building a case). I'd personally swap Bret or Misawa for her and lo and behold, she came pretty close to both of them.

I've enjoyed Kobashi more than Misawa since I found King's Road AJPW/NOAH uploads over a decade ago. I've always just liked big hosses, and Kobashi manages to pull off everything I like about that style while also being a super sympathetic face. Misawa's more stoic demeanor that occasionally lets emotion shine through which harkens all the way back to Rikidozan has its place and does explain how well he connected with his audience, I just prefer Kobashi's approach.

[ZubazKid]

We’ve seen a trend where U.S. based wrestlers are getting more votes, are on a higher percentage of ballots. I thought it would even itself out when we got near the top but Misawa falling at 10- below Austin & Bret- makes me wonder. Maybe Kobashi still finishes top 5, but I’m starting to wonder. I think it looks good for Danielson as #1, and I think Rey will fare better than I expected.

I had Misawa #3, just behind Kobashi. I was blown away by the constant barrage of all-time matches the 4 Pillars had. Those matches still hold up today, even if some of them slipped a bit in the last GME. 

Anyway, Misawa’s great & the final order might be more interesting than I thought.

[El-P]

Austin has to drop next. Plus, it would be poetic just after Bret. 

Top 5 is gonna be Rey, Kobashi, Danielson, Funk and Flair (not in that order).

[ohtani's jacket]

I can't see the argument for Aja being better than Misawa, but I'm sure many people would agree. 

[Microstatistics]

#10

Mitsuharu Misawa

My #11. Ok he came dangerously close to falling out there. Nobody was better at embodying the concept of a wrestling "ace" than him. He is hurt by a lack of variety in opponents but he was exponentially better against the corners than they were against each other in singles bouts.

#9

Bret "Hitman" Hart

My #15. Glad he made it this time. There was discussion about the 91-97 peak being his main case and while that's probably true, it's one of the greatest peaks in history so no qualms about it.

 

I ranked Austin Top 50 but there's no way he should be above these two on an aggregate list.

[TRMD]

4 minutes ago, Microstatistics said:

#10

Mitsuharu Misawa

My #11. Ok he came dangerously close to falling out there. Nobody was better at embodying the concept of a wrestling "ace" than him. He is hurt by a lack of variety in opponents but he was exponentially better against the corners than they were against each other in singles bouts.

#9

Bret "Hitman" Hart

My #15. Glad he made it this time. There was discussion about the 91-97 peak being his main case and while that's probably true, it's one of the greatest peaks in history so no qualms about it.

 

I ranked Austin Top 50 but there's no way he should be above these two on an aggregate list.

Misawa was an incredible pro wrestler. Bret Hart was an incredible pro wrestler.

if you wrung every ounce of charisma out of Misawa, and then wrung every ounce of charisma out of Bret, and you poured all that charisma into a glass, you could sit that glass on the beach next to Austin’s ocean of charisma. And that would probably explain why he’s ranked higher.

[Kadaveri]

42 minutes ago, ohtani's jacket said:

I can't see the argument for Aja being better than Misawa, but I'm sure many people would agree. 

Well there is the obvious point that Aja mastered a style that enabled her to still be putting out good matches in 2026.

[El-P]

1 minute ago, Kadaveri said:

Well there is the obvious point that Aja mastered a style that enabled her to still be putting out good matches in 2026.

I kinda made that point about Masata Tanaka way earlier in the thread, but people weren't convinced about it... (in jest, somewhat, mostly. Wait, was I ?)

[Kadaveri]

I also think that because his best matches with the usual suspects are so tip-top great, Misawa gets a bit of pass for having quite a lot of disappointing matches with really great wrestlers. 3 of the guys who've made the Top 10 have had very dull matches with Misawa when you would have expected much better, to say the least. 

[El-P]

The one thing about Misawa is that he had exceptional matches with the 4-5 same people. And when he was working against different kind of workers, especially later on, he was basically Randy Savage in 1996. 

I do have a soft spot for old-ass Misawa with bad facial hair and beer gut, moving like a cat still and dropping people with mean elbows.

[Microstatistics]

#8

Rey Mysterio Jr.

My second biggest omission and looking at that % of ballots, I'm a real exception here. The guy could have a good match in his sleep regardless of opponent and setting, but was found to be lackluster when it came to my main criteria (high-end matches vs. a variety of opponents) and so was one of the final cuts. Still, I get his case and understand this placement.

[TRMD]

When I first came to PWO in 2014, Rey was the biggest “why does everyone love this guy so much?” wrestler for me.  Not that I didn’t think Rey was good, because it’s probably borderline impossible to think he’s not. But I couldn’t understand why he was seen as a top 10 of all time level guy.

but I understand now. I do. Longevity, admittedly, doesn’t mean as much to me in wrestling as it does to others. But I think it’s pretty hard to deny someone like Rey who has been really good, against every style of wrestler, every skill level, every match length, etc, for pretty much 30 years straight.

He’s the Willie Nelson of wrestling. Just consistently very good since the very moment he started. Everything changed around Rey, but Rey stayed Rey.

[Boss Rock]

2 hours ago, Matt D said:

I think it fits the trend. Misawa is an ace but Kobashi is more open and effusive. Maybe more accessible as well. Easier to drop in on. All Japan fell overall, even the other two pillars. While he got a big chunk of the vote, I don't see him as big of a coalition candidate as someone like Rey. 

I've been sharing these results with friends of mine in a Slack and one of them literally said the same thing about Kobashi.

[El-P]

For the longest time I was annoyed by the 619 spot, which I found absolutely stupid. I don't care anymore (haven't for a long while). I also don't care about Rey Rey's career post WCW apart from the few times he showed up in LU because the guy spent 25 years in WWE, so him being a great TV worker in the worst pro-wrestling TV ever means nothing to me. I would not have voted for him this high, but I understand he made the top 10.

[Boss Rock]

Misawa was my number 2. There were times I considered putting Kawada ahead because he had a bit more variety. I wouldn't call Misawa formulaic, but he often stuck to his guns a bit too much. But on his absolute best day, I don't think there was a single wrestler better than him.

[NotJayTabb]

Bret and Rey dropping means my #1 and #2 fell in quick succession. Happy Bret made the top 10 this time, surprised Rey isn't higher.

[Childs]

Bret was my favorite wrestler in the '90s, and Misawa was never my guy among the AJPW elite, but I can't think of a single thing Bret did better than Misawa. That said, happy to see them both near the top.

[El-P]

One of the most telling stat for me is Liger getting on only 72% of ballots while Rey is on almost 90%. 

[Boss Rock]

I had Rey at 17 which in retrospect might have been too low. He was a top 10 contender for me for the longest time but apart from a few exceptions, I dont think he has the highest ceiling. But without a doubt has the highest floor. Ultimate TV and utilitarian worker without a bad match to his name. Also easily the greatest high-flier.

[Kadaveri]

36 minutes ago, El-P said:

One of the most telling stat for me is Liger getting on only 72% of ballots while Rey is on almost 90%. 

Liger might have done better if sharing 2 seconds of New Japan footage on social media didn't get your account nuked.