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  1. Did a lot of people get worked? Or did they shoot themselves into a work (brother)? They seem to be retconning last Friday so I'm not sure if this was actually the original intention but, nevertheless, the pivot was pretty solid. Cody back in the main event to "finish the story", corporate heel Rock, seeds for a Rock vs. Roman match with an actually compelling character dynamic: Things seem to have fallen into place (by design or not).
  2. I would be really surprised if the dirtsheets don't backtrack on Roman's schedule, like they did last year (initially, it was reported he was not scheduled to work Elimination Chamber and a bunch of other PPVs as well). Hard to imagine Reigns not having a match at the big Perth stadium, leading into Wrestlemania no less. It's not gonna be the Rock (they aren't gonna sacrifice the US market that would result from the Western Australia time difference) but it'll be someone. I hope they don't bump Cody for the Rock at WM, that sounds extremely unappealing. A triple threat (Reigns. Rock vs. Cody) sounds like a solid compromise and seems like a win-win: You get the Rock in for the eyeballs and cash grab and you put the title on Cody as the big payoff. Moreover, it would be in keeping with the main event trend of WM20 and 30.
  3. A few rough thoughts on the return: Yeah, the Rollins reaction was definitely a work. I doubt the WWE talent care, they are PR machines and can easily separate professional from personal. I didn't really comment during the whole AEW debacle, where I thought there was blame on both sides (Punk's nature being incompatible with AEW's "The inmates run the asylum" approach). Of course the WWE stans on r/scjerk have done a complete 180 on Punk in anticipation of this return (after trashing him for two years before the termination) and lay the blame solely on TK for the fallout. I'm guessing Punk will be on a much tighter leash in WWE and will probably fare better under a more structured and regimented administration. The hypocrisy of the return is hard to ignore, especially after the wellness and Saudi Arabia comments, but the temptation to spite (plus the financial incentive) was probably too great. I thought he looked really good in-ring wise during his AEW run so am interested in seeing how he pushes on in a more controlled environment. Finally, I sort of admire the "no permanent exiles or enmities" sentiment of WWE. If they can bring back Bret and hire Bischoff, this one is rather tame.
  4. The best ace in WWE history (not counting Austin whose tenure was too short). The Shield is one of the great modern factions and so he already had an enviable tag match/trios resume early into his career. Late 2014-Early 2018 was his athletic peak as a singles wrestler and he was a Top 10 worker in the world in that period in spite of the noxious crowd engagement. Perhaps the Tribal Chief era matches have been less than the sum of their parts due to the dawdling starts and monotonous interference-laden finishes but I appreciate the overarching storytelling elements. The quality of his offense and in-ring attention to detail put him miles ahead of someone like Cena. He possesses generational charisma as well and you can understand why he was the chosen one from pretty much Day 1, even if the process of consolidating that was an ugly and sometimes misguided one. Still, taken cumulatively, he is Top 50 contender.
  5. Potentially the best "joshi for people who don't like joshi" wrestler, alongside maybe Kana/Asuka. A wonderful technician, on par with the BattlARTs guys, as well as a selfless seller. She is also one of the ultimate peak candidates, with the bulk of her case residing in the 1998-2001 period, even if there was good stuff in 2003-2004 as well. Her 1999 is stuff of folklore even if it falls short of a GOAT-level year for me. The Yagi 2/18/1999 match is her magnum opus but nothing else really reached that level, making a bottom half inclusion much more likely than a top half one.
  6. Omega is a tricky one. I agree with the predictions above regarding the polarized placements. He seems to embody many of the faults of modern pro wrestling, particularly the flagrant emphasis on generating "bangers", further unconcealed by his "best bout machine" moniker. Having said that, I would counter by saying his fundamentals are far stronger than a lot of his peers, on both the offense and selling fronts. That, alongside his admirably ambitious match layouts, makes him more likely to actually meet that objective. The three matches below are amongst the best of the past 10 years. vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 8/13/2016) vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 8/12/2017) vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW, 1/4/2023) The facial expressions don't bother me and are no different than those of William Regal and Devil Masami. My issue lies in the wild inconsistency. No wrestler nails every big match but the drop-off for when he misses the mark is remarkable, even if it's not exclusively his fault. The Tanahashi 1/2019, Ishii 8/2018, and Takeshita 8/2023 matches, for instance, are genuinely poor to mediocre. His best output is probably enough to secure a Top 50 spot, with a shot at the Top 25, but the hit-or-miss nature of his work likely keeps him below the top tier of past greats.
  7. WALTER/Gunther seems like one of the major contenders from the grouping of wrestlers who debuted this century. He sticks out since he didn't follow the conventional major US promotion/Japan route during the initial phase of his career but instead wrestled across comparatively smaller promotions in Germany, England, and the US . This indie run could suffer from a slight lack of focus, with matches often being less than sum of their parts. On the other hand, while his ceiling might have been near ***3/4 (though the Thatcher 1/28/2018 match broke through), he rarely delivered a sub-par match and that too against a wide assortment of opponents. I feel he matured once he joined WWE/NXT and has started to hit higher highs more consistently, without sacrificing his basal level. For instance, the McIntyre match from Summerslam this month was the most generic Gunther match possible and was still quite serviceable. The shift to Smackdown/Raw also demonstrated his ability to construct effective television matches against essentially anyone. I am also a big fan of his character's philosophy: A no-nonsense approach to pro wrestling where it is like a respectable sport built around winning and defending championships, ensured by brutalization of opponents. It's a breath of fresh air, particularly in the contemporary era where wrestler priorities can be blatantly telegraphed (i.e., garner "critical acclaim"). His commanding aura is also something no one aside from Brock Lesnar can match. He does have signature stuff he incorporates into virtually every match but so did Santo & Misawa & Flair to some extent. Furthermore, most of the offense looks good so you can't knock him too much for it. So you have a great big-match wrestler AND a great TV worker, a very high floor, high-end output (particularly in the last 5-6 years), strong fundamentals, an atypical career trajectory and a refreshing outlook and style. Top 25 is ambitious but doesn't seem too outlandish.
  8. He carries himself well and has become quite the star but the fact that he wasn't even nominated till very recently is telling. His actual in-ring work isn't something to write home about.
  9. If this poll had been done a couple of years ago, I would have gone with Hashimoto without a second thought. I still picked him but it is fairly close. Similar aura and big-match output. Inoki had greater longevity and variety but Hashimoto has him beat with it comes to consistency and reliability.
  10. Anton Tejero To me, the most impressive wrestler from all of the French footage. Great as the technically gifted stooging heel who could big bump AND violently rough up opponents. w/Inca Peruano vs. Gilbert Cesca/Ben Chemoil, 3/12/1965 vs. Walter Borders, 8/29/1967 vs. Jon Guil Don, 4/18/1976
  11. Now I would actually put Styles and Kobashi ahead of Joe for 2005. No doubt a very strong individual year but his 2004 was better. Also Triple H probably completes the Top 5 for the NYR Elimination Chamber, the Batista HIAC, and the Flair blood feud.
  12. This was really good but fell short of WK. First, the positives: I really liked the role reversal with Ospreay as the belligerent heel and Omega working from underneath. There was plenty of aggression and many of the sequences/spots (the smashing of heads into surfaces, Omega knee to the back of the head counter) were compelling. The Tiger Driver 91 was vile but well incorporated. Omega got a weak kickout but was all but done after it and the next move finished him off, which is exactly how you should employ dangerous endgame moves if you choose to incorporate them. But this was not nearly as well put together as WK. Awkward pacing and many lulls in action (perhaps because Omega was not the one driving it) and a few dull transitions, not helped by an ill-advised suplex no-selling sequence. ***1/2
  13. 1. Yoshiaki Fujiwara 2. Jumbo Tsuruta 3. Jushin Liger 4. Vader 5. El Satanico
  14. Comebacks: Mitsuharu Misawa Charisma: Yoshiaki Fujiwara Being a face: Steve Grey Being a heel: Jim Breaks Brawling: El Satanico Athleticism: Kiyoshi Tamura On the mic: Scott Steiner Ring IQ: Eddie Guerrero Highest floor: Kiyoshi Tamura Highest ceiling: Kenta Kobashi Big matches: Kenta Kobashi Bumping: Mick Foley Best punches: El Satanico Best knees: Jun Akiyama Best kicks: Nobuhiko Takada
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