Watching the Top 100

[ohtani's jacket]

#81 Kevin Steen

Kevin Owens Steen has a 9.23 rating on cagematch, so clearly you people failed to recognize that he is one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time voting him at a mere 81.

El Generico vs. Kevin Steen (ROH, 12/18/10)

This was a fight without honor match, and also mask vs. career. I watched these guys not so long ago tagging against the Briscoe Brothers. Spoiler alert, but they had a big falling out and a length singles feud. Watching the blow off to a feud without the build up is never a good idea, but basically this was a mish mash of generic hardcore wrestling, lucha apuestas wrestling, Puerto RIco, and Attitude Era main events. In other words, a perfect representation of the shit we were dissecting in 2010. It's a decent enough match. I was basically entertained despite the fact that it wore its influences on its sleeve. I kind of wish that ROH had better commentary. It's hard to take the big emotional moments seriously when it sounds like two guys doing a podcast together. I kind of hate how they point out all the call backs. I also hated the finish. First of all, they did a shitty Attitude Era type scenario where there are run-ins and the refs keep getting taken out. Then they had the big Shawn Michaels style moment at the end where Generico is looking at his old mask and weighing up whether to hit Steen with a chair, which was the same action that started the feud and would end Steen's career. I get that they thought it was poignant, but you can't rag on the WWE for their melodramatic shit and then pull the same crap in your own ring. You might as well be auditioning for a WWE spot by that point.

I don't have anything against Steen as a worker, mind you. He wasn't the most gifted athlete of the day, but he found a way to forge a career for himself. So not a terrible pick. 

[ohtani's jacket]

#80 Jay Briscoe

Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe (ROH, 12/10/22)

The Briscoes look considerably different from the 2007 matches I've been watching. I guess they lived a little. This was a brutal, old-school collar match. One of the bloodiest bouts you'll see. It loses some charm due to modern production values, but the commitment to working a career ending brawl was outstanding. Probably the best thing I've watched so far. This was my first time seeing FTR. I've got to say I approve of Dax Harwood's Terry Rudge look. They had some kind of old-school Andersons thing going on. Pretty cool. 

This was great. 

[ohtani's jacket]

#79 Jaguar Yokota

I voted Jaguar #1 back in 2006, so I'm glad to see she's still hanging in there. Her cagematch situation is a hot mess, though. She has a 9.60 rating, but nobody can be bothered to watch or rank any of her matches. So, I get this:

Jaguar Yokota, Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe, Starlight Kid & Yuu (Stardom, 8/19/23)

I wasn't expecting to watch a match with Jaguar as an obasan, but she literally has five matches at 8 or above. Granted, she's pretty badass for an obasan. The cigarettes and booze have taken their toll, but she still has the same fire. This was an exhibition match so it was never going to be great, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse. It overstayed its welcome and should have been shorter, however it was fun watching Momoe wrestling like she hadn't skipped a beat after eighteen years. This was another first for me -- my first Stardom match. Not for me. I'll keep my memories of old-school Joshi, thanks. I'm glad there's an avenue for women to become Joshi pro-wrestlers, though, as it was looking pretty dire for a while there.

Jaguar is top 50 at the least, but '79 isn't bad. At least she made the top 100.