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Favorite 3 -5 year peak from a worker?


Sean Liska

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Apologies if this thread has been done before, I know a lot of ground has been covered here. But I'm watching 88 AJPW now and thinking about the level Jumbo worked at from 88-92 and trying to think of better peaks in wrestling history. Obvious possibilities that come to mind:

 

Negro Casas - 93-97 (just because it's what we have on tape)

Any of the AJPW guys from 90-96ish

Any couple of years you want to take from Flair in the 80s

Tenryu 88-93

Lawler 79-84

Let's throw in a modern one - Bryan Danielson 2004-2008

 

Underrated possibility: Bobby Eaton 83-88

 

Obviously tons of other options too, Fujinami, Satanico, etc - what's your favorite couple year peak from a wrestler? What peaks are underrated?

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Love the topic. I'd argue Danielson/Bryan with a second, arguably superior peak from 10/11-14/15, depending if you're willing to include periods where he was a part timer. A very different run from the ROH peak, but no less impressive.

 

My latest pick would be Io Shirai from probably 15-17.

 

That's just what immediately comes to mind without reflecting for a few.

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Easy answer for me. Misawa from June 1990 up until the AJPW/NOAH split, really.

 

An argument could be made that his peak was pretty much over up by 98, not to mention that I think it was around 97 when the match style in AJPW started to shift into an over-reliance on head drops...so if pressed I could scale it back to June 1990 - November 1998.

 

I know, that is 8 years not 3-5...but this is Misawa we're talking about.

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Bret Hart 92-97

 

This. The period of me being a "mark", and Bret was my favourite pro-wrestler and a big reason why I was following the WWF (despite Duke Droese, King Mabel, Taker vs fake Taker etc…). The 1997 Bret vs Austin feud really capped off this period of my life and still remains I believe a highlight of pro-wrestling in general.

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Gotta second the Danielson love both for his ROH run as well as a second fantastic run in the WWE. How about some Samoa Joe love too for his 04-06 run in ROH and TNA? Crazy over, dominating performances in the ring, and a wide variety of high level matches with a lot of different people. Huge ROH mark so these are the first few that come to mind.

 

Kenny Omega is on quite a run starting from last year. Given some polishing and proper booking, he could be putting on crazy classics soon. Really looking forward to his third Okada match with the 30 minute time limit.

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Joe's run from 04-06 played a huge role in me maintaining my passion for wrestling during a rough period for the industry. I'm still internally debating flying to Dallas for Joe-Lesnar just because that run did mean so much to me, but it's a lot of money and work for a match I don't expect to exceed 10 minutes

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The Eaton / Lane incarnation of the Midnight Express. Just wonderful from start to finish.

 

Their best year was also their last, which was a shame in a way, although I suppose they went out before their legacy diminished in any way, which is good.

 

Shame they never had even a brief run in the WWF like Tully and Arn, just for those dream matches with the Rockers, Harts, etc.

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Joe's run from 04-06 played a huge role in me maintaining my passion for wrestling during a rough period for the industry. I'm still internally debating flying to Dallas for Joe-Lesnar just because that run did mean so much to me, but it's a lot of money and work for a match I don't expect to exceed 10 minutes

 

I peaked in here to see if anyone had mentioned this and am very glad someone did.

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Toshiaki Kawada '92-'96

 

One could argue '90-'95 and I'd be cool with that too. '92 is when I felt the Dangerous K persona really took hold as a character/in-ring style and who we associate with Kawada.

 

I feel like Terry Funk AJPW '76-'80 would be a favorite of mine as well. Plenty of classic matches (singles and tags) plus iconic moments that helped AJ take shape early on.

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Cena '07-'13

I was just finishing off running through his '07 when a thread like this was last made, and it still seemed incredible. And with me watching a lot of his '08-'10 stuff a while ago that I missed I feel he was still great during these years as well. I've kinda soured on him the last few years but he can still make me give a program a chance with his promo work and general charisma. Maybe a Strowman feud or a Reigns match....

 

Misawa '94-'97

I know OJ likes the Jordan comparison, but around '95 he feels like the closest thing I've seen in wrestling to current Steph Curry. Just the energy, the places he can take a crowd with his selling and ability to work his comebacks is amazing.

 

Reigns '15-Present

Feels embarrassing that not even 10 years later and people are really doing the Cena situation again because of how they perceived his push. Oh well, he just keeps churning out great matches and easily is the best way to establish a guy as a real main event player (Finn, Strowman, Joe, Rollins).

 

Hashimoto '93-'98

When the WAR feud hits he just takes it up another gear. Then he has that crazy '94 where NJPW just throws everybody at him and he's getting nothing but quality out of them. One more basketball comparison but he really reminds me of LeBron during this period, just in his versatility (especially at his size) and how he feels central to everything important in NJPW at the time.

 

Rey '05-'10

Anytime I randomly throw on a match from this period the GOAT TV worker talk still seems like the correct assessment. He seemed guaranteed to turn in a great summer feud no matter the opponent. '06 may be my favorite year from him just because of the amount of different people he got to work with in such a short time.

 

I'll also cosign that Casas '93-'97 peak but probably just add on the year '92 as well. Wish he'd talk more about the Choshu worship.

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Was waiting to see those two names pop up. Along with Austin.

 

I always liked super athletic 90s Rey more than bulkier 00s Rey. Natural inclination is to say he was a smarter worker in the 00s because of experience but his style had plenty of smarts to it in the 90s too.

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Great call on Roman Reigns '15- present. The same can be said for Styles, although that may extend even further back for those familiar with his TNA work.

 

I neglected to mention the AJ crew with it being accepted a a given that their work during the 90s is at an all time level for all four.

 

How about Akiyama? What's the peak period for him?

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