GWE 2026 Reaction Thread

[Microstatistics]

#6

Genichiro Tenryu

Someone I was happy to see make the Top 10 but now I'm just disappointed he missed the Top 5. A former favorite who I'm not quite as high on as I used to be and so had him at *only* #22 but that doesn't mean he wasn't brilliant. Infinitely watchable, gelled perfectly in every setting,  and thanks to that wonderful retirement match with Okada, one of the handful of wrestlers to have great matches across 4 decades. That points per vote is absurd, to the point of being inconceivable. 

#5

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin

I understand the charisma and magnetism argument, but I solidly lean towards the crowd who think he is way too high for a cumulative poll. He was my #39 so it's not like I'm not a big fan of the solid WCW run, the 1996-97 peak, the reliable Attitude Era stuff, and that insane 2001, but the case lacks the weight for such a high finish. Rey and Funk I might not agree with but I understand the respective argument at least. I suppose the coalition proclivities really did align for him.

#4

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair

My #24, though I probably should have gone higher. He was always gonna be dethroned here but this is still a respectable performance. Someone I always thought was great but whose estimation has gone up in the last ten years. Might still lean Satanico or Fujinami but Flair was, at worst, Top 3 wrestler of the 1980s. Proficient at the classic title match but an even superior brawler. Always watchable.

[Stephen-]

I am pretty surprised Austin and Flair lasted so long, since I was not sure there was just enough public support for the two in 2026, but I am pleased to be wrong. I had them in the exact spots they landed, so I can't be upset, though I do prefer them both to the final three. 

[ZubazKid]

2 hours ago, TRMD said:

You already know people are gonna be pissy about the blurbs from the 1 voters because they bring up promos and drawing ability and how over he was.

Honestly, the results could’ve been much worse with some portion of the voters clearly not understanding the assignment, and stated as much in their write-ups. 
 

I had Tenryu at 6 & Flair at 4 giving me 4 wrestlers I matched their spot on the final list, with a shot at 2 more. I have Danielson 1, Kobashi 2 & Funk 7. 

[Tetsujin]

That amount of Austin votes is surprising even for one of the most popular wrestlers ever like he is, holy. And the fact that almost everyone who voted for Tenryu voted SUPER high for him is also tremendous. Yet the fact that other four wrestlers ranked ahead of them, with one of them being the last Pillar remaining in an edition where the Pillars aren't that voted compared to the rest of high ranked guys, man, that's incredible.

I honestly believe the last three remaining are one of the best combinations for a consensual top three ever possible. Funk, Kobashi and Danielson are three wrestlers whose PASSION for profesional wrestling is very clear at everything they did on that ring, maybe more than anyone else ever. Funk is a perfect old school full package, Bryan is a perfect modern full package, and Kobashi is the ultimate heart and soul guy.

[TRMD]

Let’s be real here, I get the everyone has different tastes argument, but everyone in the top 15 should have been in 100% of the ballots. Where you put them, whatever. But there aren’t 100 wrestlers to grace this earth who are better than this top 15.

i think Danielson is probably number one, because I can’t imagine he’s not on 95%+ of the ballots.

[Boss Rock]

Happy with the top 3 which I think many of us predicted, but Flair crept closer than I thought. I had him at number 11. I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said, but one of the best wrestlers of the 80's (I would probably put Hansen Tenryu, Funk, and possibly Jumbo ahead of him). The ideal territory heel champion who could make anyone he worked with look good. His '89 speaks for itself but perhaps proves he was an even better face than he was heel. The Great American Bash Funk match is my pick for greatest match to take place in North America.

[Tetsujin]

Didn't Grimmas said Danielson was "only" the fourth with most votes? That really surprised me a few days ago. And it is true that I've seen a lot of ballots on Twitter either without Bryan, or with Bryan outside the top 50. So maybe he's not as unanimous as we all thought (I mean he's still top 3). Again, both Kobashi and Funk also have fans sectors where they're not really present, neither is on the radar of the WWE voters, Funk is mostly an 80s guy and those suffered the most this time (but he's also a hardcore guy and those got a bump, so...), while Kobashi is a Pillar, and we all know the recent relative push against the idea of the Pillars being the absolute best, and they're not having as many voters as the rest of the upper part of the list (1/5 didn't vote for Misawa at all!).

I guess what I'm trying to say is the cases of the last three have pros and cons. I believe it's far more open than we realize, even if a lot of people (myself included) predicted the same three guys on the podium a couple of months ago. Or maybe I'm wrong again like every time I write something in this thread, and indeed Danielson wins by a huge margin.

If Bryan drops now at #3, I believe that would be the most interesting result. A Funk/Kobashi final sounds more unpredictable than any option with Bryan tomorrow, I would say. But, again, any order would be reasonable between these three.

[TRMD]

18 minutes ago, Tetsujin said:

That amount of Austin votes is surprising even for one of the most popular wrestlers ever like he is, holy. And the fact that almost everyone who voted for Tenryu voted SUPER high for him is also tremendous. Yet the fact that other four wrestlers ranked ahead of them, with one of them being the last Pillar remaining in an edition where the Pillars aren't that voted compared to the rest of high ranked guys, man, that's incredible.

I honestly believe the last three remaining are one of the best combinations for a consensual top three ever possible. Funk, Kobashi and Danielson are three wrestlers whose PASSION for profesional wrestling is very clear at everything they did on that ring, maybe more than anyone else ever. Funk is a perfect old school full package, Bryan is a perfect modern full package, and Kobashi is the ultimate heart and soul guy.

I agree. If you’re factoring every single thing you possibly can in, this is pretty close to a perfect top 3.

[TRMD]

3 minutes ago, Tetsujin said:

Didn't Grimmas said Danielson vas "only" the fourth with most votes? That really surprised me a few days ago. And it is true that I've seen a lot of ballots on Twitter either without Bryan, or with Bryan outside the top 50. So maybe he's not as unanimous as we all thought (I mean he's still top 3). Again, both Kobashi and Funk also have fans sectors where they're not really present, neither is on the radar of the WWE voters, Funk is mostly an 80s guy and those suffered the most this time (but he's also a hardcore guy on those got a bump, so...), while Kobashi is a Pillar, and we all know the recent relative push against the idea of the Pillars being the absolute best, and they're not having as many voters as the rest of the upper part of the list (1/5 didn't vote for Misawa at all!).

I guess what I'm trying to say is the cases of the last three have pros and cons. I believe it's far more open that we realize, even if a lot of people (myself included) predicted the same three guys on the podium a couple of months ago. Or maybe I'm wrong again like every time I write something in this thread, and indeed Danielson wins by a huge margin.

If Bryan drops now at #3, I believe that would be the most interesting result. A Funk/Kobashi final sounds more unpredictable than any option with Bryan tomorrow, I would say. But, again, any order would be reasonable between these three.

There is certainly a sect of wrestling fans, perhaps the majority, that see Funk as Chainsaw Charlie and the guy who could barely move in ECW. Heartbreaking stuff.

But if you’re coming to PWO and voting in a big boy top 100 wrestlers ever list, that can be the case when you come here for the first time, but it better not be by the time you vote.

[MoS]

I think Danielson will be as comfortably number 1 as Flair was in 2016. 

[Boss Rock]

5 minutes ago, TRMD said:

There is certainly a sect of wrestling fans, perhaps the majority, that see Funk as Chainsaw Charlie and the guy who could barely move in ECW. Heartbreaking stuff.

But if you’re coming to PWO and voting in a big boy top 100 wrestlers ever list, that can be the case when you come here for the first time, but it better not be by the time you vote.

I was one of those in 2016. Then I watched more of Funk and realized that was only one part of a pretty huge career. This site and the 2016 vote really opened my eyes to how much wrestling there truly is.

[Makai Club #1]

I'm thinking Danielson is too high now. 🫣

[TRMD]

8 minutes ago, Boss Rock said:

I was one of those in 2016. Then I watched more of Funk and realized that was only one part of a pretty huge career. This site and the 2016 vote really opened my eyes to how much wrestling there truly is.

This site changed my life so much that I literally stopped watching modern wrestling regularly because it sickened me so much. It showed me what wrestling could (and should) be.

[Tetsujin]

And Kobashi just dropped. He had far more voters that I expected compared to the other Pillars (as he should). He's also the list's best japanese wrestler ever, and by some margin too (as he should).

What can I say about him. He's my favourite. There's no other wrestler that makes me FEEL the most, and to me that's the most important thing. The ability to make me care about him, always wanting him to win, always making me nervous or emotional. I could say he makes me feel that way because he's my favourite, but in reality it's the other way around: because he's making me feel this way, he became my favourite. And how did he manage to do that to me as a distant fan in time and space? It's obviously subjective, but I believe you can see his effort in any match he's in, and you can understand it. The guy wrestles like nothing is more important in that moment. It's do or die. Wheter as a lowcarder destined to always lose but always making you believe, to a midcarder on the rise who slowly but surely got to the top, to the undisputed ace of puroresu with his legendary title reign, to a broken man giving his all to retire with dignity. He's the one with the best attitude possible to make me suspend my disbelief the most, there's no other wrestling as sincere as he is. It's clear, based on his showcase this year compared to the rest of the Pillars and contemporaries of his, that this appeal of his, this aura as we say today, is universal. His passion for being the best just overwhelms and charms people.

So glad for the top 3 result (#8 ten years ago always felt wrong for a guy like him). Also, he's one of the only four that never left the top 10 in any GWE edition (Misawa, Hansen and Flair as well).

[Microstatistics]

#3

Kenta Kobashi

I'm fairly content with my Top 5, but #2-#5 felt pretty interchangeable. But I was certain Kobashi has gonna be my #1.  From the early work with Hansen and in tags/trios to the athletic peak of the mid/late 90s to the greatest title run in history (2003-2004 GHC vs. a plethora of opponents), and finally the legend bouts of the mid/late-2000s, there is no one who comes close to his resume. Moreover, his mastery of the basic elements of wrestling (selling, execution of offense from the most basic level to the most sophisticated moves, emoting & crowd control) is also probably second to none. Sure, he has flaws like the machismo nonsense and Chopbashi, but that's just noise because if you focus on the stuff that matters, the case is crystal clear. Bryan and Funk were always gonna be stiff competition but I am thrilled with this placement.

[El-P]

1 hour ago, Stephen- said:

Rey was great in spite of these limitations. Maybe he shone brighter because everything around him was dross. But his wrestling was not the typical WWE wrestling you'd get a few minutes later when it was Booker T vs Carlito.

Oh yeah, I know, I watched a bunch for the first two GWE projects. But my days of watching (or listening) anything for "evaluation purposes" are way behind me now, and whatever happens in WWE is irrelevant to me. I would probably have voted him way lower than before because of this, but like I said, I do get why he's this high. He's obviously one of the GOAT workers.

Austin & Flair being so close is very ironic, for more than one reason, the most basic and "pro-wrestling only" being Stunning Steve was always that "what if ?" worker in WCW where if Hogans doesn't show up, Flair probably pushes him hard to be kind of his successor. Then cuts him off at the knees when he gets too over of course... There are also other reasons why it's very ironic, on many, MANY levels... Anywoo. Two of my all time favorites (yeah, no shit). I stand by the fact Austin's rise and the Bret feud in 1997 is the apex of WWF wrestling.

Tenryu being above all pillars except Kobashi is exactly where I would have had him. In the top 10 too. He's really one of those guy, like Terry Funk or Kenny Omega, where you go "whoever he faces, I'm interested and it's at worst gonna be fucking fun to watch, at best it's gonna be great." It was great more often than not. (that doesn't go for him & Kitao vs New Demolition at Mania 7. Holy fuck imagine this being your first picture of a Tenryu match. And in retrospect, how crazy this match even happened. SWS, more like WTF)

Kobashi at 3. Of course.

Danielson is gonna win, like I said as soon as GWE 2016 ended. I don't see Terry making it to the top, although he would deserve it. Well, both deserve it, really. A bunch of them in this top 25 do. 

[Boss Rock]

Kinda expected Kobashi to drop next, but was really pulling for a top 2 finish. Kobashi was my number 1 as you can tell by my blurb, ha.

That being said, Funk and Bryan are incredibly deserving top 2 candidates.

[Tetsujin]

The top 2 is very deserving in the sense that I can't think of two more versatile wrestlers ever. Liger, maybe. But Funk and Danielson feel like the two guys that managed to master absolutely every single facet of pro wrestling available.

[Microstatistics]

So the most predictable outcome for a while now does transpire: Bryan Danielson and Terry Funk are the Top 2. Before the unveiling, I predicted Funk to win but now would be stunned if Bryan doesn't win, potentially in a landslide.

[El-P]

Yeah, all things considered, this top 3 is pretty much impeccable.

[Kadaveri]

So Tenryu has 19 #1 votes, Austin has 12, Flair has 25 and Kobashi 22.

I kept count and noticed we've only got 2 wrestlers left to reveal but there are still 180 #1 votes hanging around. Is that right? Well I asked Grimmas, and he revealed that my count was correct, the final 2 wrestlers have got 89 and 91 #1 votes respectively.

Whichever order they come in, I think the real result is Danielson and Funk collectively won this in a landslide.

[DR Ackermann]

Tenryu had 97.1 votes per point. I think the highest so far. You love him or you don't rate him. He was my number 2. 

[Tetsujin]

22 minutes ago, Kadaveri said:

So Tenryu has 19 #1 votes, Austin has 12, Flair has 25 and Kobashi 22.

I kept count and noticed we've only got 2 wrestlers left to reveal but there are still 180 #1 votes hanging around. Is that right? Well I asked Grimmas, and he revealed that my count was correct, the final 2 wrestlers have got 89 and 91 #1 votes respectively.

Whichever order they come in, I think the real result is Danielson and Funk collectively won this in a landslide.

Holy fucking shit.

[Boss Rock]

36 minutes ago, Kadaveri said:

So Tenryu has 19 #1 votes, Austin has 12, Flair has 25 and Kobashi 22.

I kept count and noticed we've only got 2 wrestlers left to reveal but there are still 180 #1 votes hanging around. Is that right? Well I asked Grimmas, and he revealed that my count was correct, the final 2 wrestlers have got 89 and 91 #1 votes respectively.

Whichever order they come in, I think the real result is Danielson and Funk collectively won this in a landslide.

Holy crap. I do recall Grimmas saying the top 4 had been pretty much locked from the get-go.

[MoS]

@Grimmas posted this on Twitter - 

Whoever won has won convincingly