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I feel bad about not having any female wrestlers on my list, I must admit that I lost 10. Will Ospreay (AEW) I don't have a ton to say yet, but I have seen enough to know that his style is very much my thing. 09. Samoa Joe (AEW) Compared to other big indie wrestlers of his generation Joe was someone that took me a while to appreciate. The first time I saw him was when he signed to TNA and his debut was a squash match against Delirious, I came out not overtly impressed with Joe, but became a fan of Delirious and from there Chikara. But like a fine cheese my appreciation of Joe has grown with time. 08. Claudio Castagnoli (AEW) I feel like the giant swing has almost limited Claudio, everyone looks at him doing this unique move and then forgets that everything else he does in the ring is really good too. 07. Christian Cage (AEW) Throughout his career in WWE he constantly took a backseat to his best friend, Adam Copeland, and was forced to retire without even an acknowledgement on air. His run in AEW just confirms that he is just as good as Adam. 06. Zack Sabre Jr. (New Japan) I first watched Zack Sabre Jr. when he was in the WWE cruiserweight tournament, the next time I saw him wrestle was 7 years later in AEW. While I admire his work a great deal, I have no interest in japanese wrestling, so it will probably be a good while before I see his work again. But if he ever signs with AEW, oh boy! 05. Chuck Taylor (AEW) Good 'ol Chuckie T. I can't name any significant wrestling from him, unless trying to cut Wardlow in half with a chainsaw counts. But I do like him. 04. Dalton Castle (AEW) 2023 made me a Dalton Castle fan, I want to see more Dalton Castle on my tv. 03. Colt Cabana (AEW) 2023 was not a good year for Boom Boom. CM Punk could not go five seconds without creating controversy or assaulting someone and everyone talked about it. And because of that they talked about Colt too, and the only one who wasn't talking was Colt. Once again he just wanted to wrestle and not deal with a madman. I hope 2024 is when we finally get some more Colt in our lives. 02. Orange Cassidy (AEW) After an amazing run OC lost the international title, but he regained it, so it's ok. I still want to see him challenge for the world title sometime. I just love me some OC. 01. Bryan Danielson (AEW) When Bryan isn't busy murdering helpless clams he is also the best professional wrestler ever. Not only is he amazing in the ring, but I don't know if there is a wrestler who knows their character better than DB. It's crazy to think that he used to be bad at promos. The only bad thing I have to say is that The Final Countdown should be his entrance song all the time, just fire a few people and make it happen, TK! Oasx fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Jan 19, 2024 |
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Jan 19, 2024 18:19
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Bumping back to page 1 and reminding everybody there are only 4 days left to get in your lists!
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Jan 20, 2024 09:19
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1. Bryan Danielson 2. Christian Cage 3. Okada 4. Orange Cassidy 5. Jamie Hayter 6. Swerve 7. Hangman 8. Toni Storm 9. ZSJ 10. Ospreay
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Jan 20, 2024 10:59
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Could possibly do a list
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Jan 20, 2024 11:10
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Rarity posted:Could possibly do a list https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0YIJQ1jgEI
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Jan 20, 2024 11:20
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Rarity posted:Could possibly do a list https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbuq3vTy2IY&t=27s
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Jan 20, 2024 11:34
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10) Miu Watanabe - Watched much less TJPW last year than I did the year previous, but when I did Miu was always sick so she's on the list 9) Mei Suruga - Also didn't watch as much Gatoh Move/ChocoPro as I have previously but Mei is always a joy to watch so she's on here 8) Yota Tsuji - Seems to have a good grasp of his own persona already. Basically like a wolf-man, always smiling in a mocking way. It's cool. It looks like he's deliberately moulding himself in the style of guys like Omega and Ospreay. Very intricate choreographed sequences that look cool. I think so far he relies on these spots a bit too much, but his match against Gabe Kidd and his last one against SANADA show he can sell and portray a struggle as well. I remember his match against Hikuleo being surprisingly awesome, too 7) Shota Umino - His NJC match with ZSJ and his last match against Ospreay put him ahead of the other musketeers for me, both of those matches in particular telling very complete and sensical stories. His character basically seems to be a pure-hearted white meat baby face uncomfortably trying to portray himself as an edgelord, out of respect for Jon Moxley. I don't even know if that's the intent but that's how it comes across, and I like it 6) Saki Akai - Wanted to throw her in here because she's always been awesome and had a great string of matches for her retirement. Sad to see her go but she's left behind a treasure trove of comedy wrestling for me to go back to forever 5) Sakura Hirota - Basically fell down the rabbit hole with this lady last year, watching a lot of her old matches as well as checking out her new ones. She's pretty much a genius. Right up there with Les Kellett for me as the comedy wrestling GOAT. Her backstage epic against Miyuki Takase in WAVE, which spanned the length of an entire wrestling show while other matches were going on, was a highlight of my wrestling year 4) Yuki Kamifuku - Has always been good but was really given a chance to show just how good she's gotten last year in the Princess Cup. She's sort of quietly improved bit by bit over the last few years - a glamour model mean girl character with offense based on how long her legs are has always been a winner, but it seems like she now has the chops (as in ability, not actual chops (but that too)) to fully deliver on it. She has really solid fundamentals and understanding of how to lay out a match, great selling, and is able to put together creative and flashy spots 3) Gabe Kidd - A massive surprise to me. Guy wasn't on my radar at all prior to last year, but was so fantastic in the G1 that it blew me away. Someone who has an almost perfectly formed heel character straight out of the gate. An unhinged, obnoxious gobshite wannabe roadman, and everything he does in the ring embodies this. Has a stripped-back brutal brawling style that's a great mix-up for the current NJPW roster, and a really fantastic seller. Guy has so much potential 2) Zack Sabre Jr. - NJPW finally gave him a good run with a singles belt and the guy delivered. He's been consistently amazing for the last couple of years - someone who used to be a fairly one-note World of Sport tribute act that transformed himself into one of the most well-rounded and entertaining wrestlers going. Seeing his showings in America really hammered this home, the guy is able to adjust his poo poo according to the audience (in particular he seems to play up his swaggering arrogant character to great affect while over there). If he doesn't get strapped to a rocket in 2024 I will seriously question the NJPW office (even more than I have over the last four years) 1) Will Ospreay - Always thought he was good but this year in particular he stepped up massively. Showed he can acclimate superbly to more American-style matches with his Forbidden Door joint, and his match against Naito is already loaded in my head as an all-time classic. Think the secret ingredient he's discovered is emotion. His selling improved dramatically... the guy's just very good
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Jan 20, 2024 12:04
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I tried to get Prag to put this thread in the monthly announcements post and I was denied...anti-PSP bias strikes yet again  I hope we get more lists because I like reading Reasons for why people like various wrestlers. I'm already convinced I need to seek out as many Kento Miyahara matches as possible. Admittedly, I am surprised I'm the one of the few rating Saki Akai so highly, even among people with all-TJPW lists, but I won't judge people too harshly no matter how wrong they may be... 
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Jan 20, 2024 12:08
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Erin M. Fiasco posted:I tried to get Prag to put this thread in the monthly announcements post and I was denied...anti-PSP bias strikes yet again I just checked the recent announcement post and this thread is there. Unless you're referring to something else!
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Jan 20, 2024 12:18
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Hey look at that, the announcement is in there, that's nice of them  I considered Saki Akai for my own list, just based on that lovely retirement show they did for her as well as her final run with Eruption, but in the end it would have meant dropping Hyper Misao and I couldn't let down a hero like that!
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Jan 20, 2024 12:32
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I somehow forgot about that badass Misao produced show, sort of wish I put her on my list now but I've made my bed and I'll lie in it
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Jan 20, 2024 12:37
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duckdealer posted:I just checked the recent announcement post and this thread is there. Unless you're referring to something else! Oh poo poo!! I must have missed it last night! To be fair it's a flood of links. Or maybe it was edited in later just to make me look bad. 
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Jan 20, 2024 12:46
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OK, let's do this 10. Alex Coughlin (NJPW) - just a big strong bully with a great attitude, a great look, a sense of humour, and the ability to throw around huge guys like they were pillows 9. Miu Watanabe (TJPW) - Just above Strong Guy is Strong Girl. The dramatic tension between "cute wholesome miu" and "Miu just threw you through a goddamn window" is amazing 8. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW) - Big Tam. Tough And Hard. Bite U. Best seller in the business, impeccable ring psychology, cool as gently caress. 7. Miyu Yamashita (TJPW) - Speaking of cool as gently caress. Nobody is cooler than Miyu. Almost nobody wrestles better. 6. Kenoh (NOAH) - Big man he's a big boy man. Big boy man he's a big boy man. Big man's cool. 5. Billie Starkz (AEW / ROH) - Rookie of the year. Incredible growth as a performer. Is going to be one of the biggest stars in wrestling. 4. Willow Nightingale (AEW / ROH) - I just feel happy any time Willow is on screen. She's so cute and so good and so enthusiastic. 3. Athena (ROH) - I would like to revise my earlier statement about nobody being cooler than Miyu. Athena has had a dominant year as a dominant champion and looked fantastic in each and every moment of it. 2. Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH / NJPW) - It is a loving crime that Kiyo is not pushed to the moon. Astounding wrestler, great at character, booked like a chump. Breaks my heart to see how he's booked but I'll watch anyway. 1. Konosuke Takeshita (DDT / AEW) - The best professional wrestler in the world. A natural red meat babyface working as a despicable heel. I want to see him wrestle everyone. I want to see him beat everyone.
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Jan 20, 2024 13:04
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Current circumstances mean, regrettably, I do not have time to be sat at a computer for long, so I won't go into the full detail I usually would. As usual I basically only watched AEW + very select highlights from Japan. This is the first year no comedy jobbers have made my list. RIP Dark and Elevation. Yes, I know they're still populating ROH; I'm not paying $9.99 a month for one show. #10 Miyu Yamashita. She kicked people in the head; I smiled. #9 Tomohiro Ishii. I used to be a huge Rhyno fan. Show me a squat lad with no neck and I'm very happy. #8 - Hikaru Shida. I didn't feel she was used to the fullest extent she could have been, so she's dropped down my list compared to last year, but an under-utilised Shida is still enjoyable and preferable to many others. #7 - Konosuke Takeshita. Kind of ditto. I think he's wasted as Don's enforcer or whatever—I'm totally burnt out on the whole Callis family thing—and would rather he just wrestled good for the sake of wrestling good. Still, when he does wrestle good he wrestles good enough to make the cut. #6 - Julia Hart. Great character, wrestling is slowly improving. I always enjoy when she shows up, even when the matches themselves are mediocre. #5 - Sting. It's Sting. Sorry, I meant IT'S STIIIIIIIIIIING! #4 - Eddie Kingston. 2023 was the year he finally got the (well, a) big win. Easily the kayfabe feel-good story of the year. #3 - Orange Cassidy. Dude simply puts on great match after great match. #2 - Timeless Toni Storm. "Wendi Richter! I'm going to gently caress you up!" #1 - Kris Statlander. Any year she's not injured, she's going to be my #1. In my 25-ish years of watching wrestling, Kris is my favourite wrestler, ever. I didn't like how AEW pulled the trigger on her beating Jade, but at least it was finally done and Jade came back for one last proper match. From then on, everything Kris did in 2023 was great. Honourable mentions: Stokely Hathaway. I hope he hangs around for a long, long time. Skye Blue. It's nice to see someone start to put stuff together. Penta El Zero. In thirty years, Excalibur will probably be saying IT'S PEEEEENTA! Samoa Joe. Always love Joe, he just didn't do enough until too late in the year. Jon Cruz. For that one dive.
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Jan 20, 2024 13:46
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Erin M. Fiasco posted:Oh poo poo!! I must have missed it last night! To be fair it's a flood of links. Or maybe it was edited in later just to make me look bad. The admins are looking for your aunt's jewels, don't let them get the best of you! Lamuella posted:6. Kenoh (NOAH) - Big man he's a big boy man. Big boy man he's a big boy man. Big man's cool. Imagining Shooting Stars with Vic & Bob, and starring Kenoh as George Dawes. 
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Jan 20, 2024 13:47
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needing my list changed before this wraps up
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Jan 20, 2024 14:40
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Just got back into wrestling 2023 rumble, and started AEW at forbidden door so forgive me if I'm missing some choices as I've not seen all the top talent. 10. Orange Cassidy. 9. Samoa Joe. 8. Drew McIntyre 7. Swerve. 6. Eddie Kingston 5. Cody Rhodes. What is with the dumb neck tattoo. 4. Gunther. 3. Kenny Omega. 2. Rhea Ripley. 1. Will Ospreay.
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Jan 20, 2024 15:50
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faantastic posted:5. Cody Rhodes. What is with the dumb neck tattoo. Scientists and historians gonna be arguing about this one for centuries.
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Jan 20, 2024 16:08
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faantastic posted:Just got back into wrestling 2023 rumble, and started AEW at forbidden door so forgive me if I'm missing some choices as I've not seen all the top talent. No such thing as missing choices. This is about who you saw and who you liked, and that's a pretty solid list.
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Jan 20, 2024 16:18
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Lamuella posted:No such thing as missing choices. This is about who you saw and who you liked, and that's a pretty solid list. This is true but also missing Kento Miyahara is a capital crime, I am pro-life and take no pleasure in reporting this.
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Jan 20, 2024 17:01
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10. Will Ospreay 9. Swerve 8. Toni Storm (CHIN UP!, TITS UP! AND WATCH FOR THE...) 7. Christian Cage (Father, example of greatness and benevolence) 6. Brian Danielson (CLAMDIGGER) 5. Zack Sabre Jr 4. Eddie Kingston 3. Konosuke Takeshita 2. Orange Cassidy 1. Samoa Joe I think that's a list. I'd do a few honorable mentions like my always great to watch Penta el ZEEEERO MIEDOOOOOO, Miyu Yamashita being great at kicking heads off (I do need to watch more TPJW), Athena being amazing in RoH or Kenny being amazing at everything. Others like Tomoshiro Ishii, Shibata, Okada, Kris Statlander, Jay White, Daniel Garcia, Jordynne Grace, Deona Purrazzo, Speedball Mike Bailey, Dalton Castle... so many that would be in that list.
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Jan 20, 2024 17:43
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forkboy84 posted:This is true but also missing Kento Miyahara is a capital crime, I am pro-life and take no pleasure in reporting this. I haven't been tracking the lists but there's always a chance the small AJPW watching contingent somehow forces Kento into the top 20 because he's on every one of our top 10s
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Jan 20, 2024 17:54
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faantastic posted:Just got back into wrestling 2023 rumble, and started AEW at forbidden door so forgive me if I'm missing some choices as I've not seen all the top talent. Good list, as others have said. Makes sense... unlike Cody's tattoo. I mean, the design itself isn't hideous, but the placement and the execution are just as awful as they could possibly be, other than getting it directly on his face.
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Jan 20, 2024 17:59
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1. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW) 2. Gunther (WWE) 3. Bryan Danielson (AEW) 4. Eddie Kingston (AEW) 5. Christian Cage (AEW) 6. Kevin Owens (WWE) 7. Sami Zayn (WWE) 8. Orange Cassidy (AEW) 9. Samoa Joe (AEW) 10. Swerve Strickland (AEW) Was very hard to get it down to 10.
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Jan 20, 2024 18:42
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10: Dalton Castle - pure joy to watch, in or out of the ring 9: Kazuki Hirata - the funniest wrestler alive 8: Miyu Yamashita - the coolest, got to meet her! 7: Zack Sabre Jr. - technical wrestling rules 6: Miu Watanabe - 100% L O V E, also got to meet her and buy a shirt with one of her insane drawings 5: Swerve Strickland - the next AEW champ (all things willing), somehow less real than Eddie 4: Athena - What a badass wrestler, maintains being a heel and getting cheered seamlessly. MJF take notes! 3: Eddie Kingston - couldn't be happier for the realest wrestler in AEW 2: Konosuke Takeshita - I couldn't be happier to see soup boy getting his laurels, though he should get some AEW gold! 1: Bryan Danielson - Simply the best. I don't think I need to explain any more. gently caress, doing these is hard. HM to Penta, Daniel Garcia, Tam Nakano, Hangman, Endo Arisu, Chris Brookes, Natsupoi (literally edged out by Dalton as I was making this HM list), Syuri, Mayu Iwatani, Mike Bailey, Saki Akai, Mizuki, Yuka Sakazaki, Will Ospreay, many others I cannot summon to mind at the moment
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Jan 20, 2024 19:15
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pressedbunny posted:
hahah YES
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Jan 20, 2024 20:00
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My list is AEW guys 'cause that's what I watch: 1. Will Ospreay This guy is the best in the world. He had me watching a TNA match this week! I don't even have time for that, bro! But every singles match this guy does is a must-watch. His Forbidden Door match with Kenny Omega this year was my top match for 2023, and Ospreay was the better wrestler in that match. I can't wait for him to be an AEW regular, he was far and away the top free-agent signing of the year. 2. Bryan Danielson I never saw one minute of Danielson in ROH or WWE, but his arrival in AEW coincided with me getting back into wrestling, and that is not a coincidence. He had a huge year this year despite all the injuries. Matches with Starks, Sabre Jr., Okada, and MJF were all standouts. I'm sad that he is (mostly) retiring but based just on his AEW work he is one of the best ever. 3. MJF MJF was the hottest thing going in AEW for most of the year. To watch him transition into a face because the fans refused to boo him at last was a huge test that he passed with flying colors, in my book. His first title run was hampered by injuries (his own and Cole's), Punk leaving, bad comedy, and just its general LENGTH, but he shone throughout and carried everything week after week. He main-evented the company's biggest show ever. Can't wait for him to return to fresh matchups. 4. Swerve Strickland Swerve was a fave of mine as soon as he started in AEW, and his rise has been unstoppable ever since. There is zero doubt he will be AEW's first black world champ and he has more than earned it with his great matches, especially the gnarliest Texas Death Match I ever hope to see. He also put Prince Nana on TV a lot, which ruled. 5. Samoa Joe Samoa Joe was a rock for AEW this year, and he earned his spot taking the title off MJF. His promos were top notch and he proved he has more than gas left in the tank, he can steal the show on any given night. Just rock solid and totally believable in the ring and on the mic. 6. Orange Cassidy Nothing short of a legendary run with a title that was essentially considered a throwaway by most AEW fans. He turned in the best match of the night virtually every week against opponents who ranged from great to fairly middling. They eventually had to pair him up with Moxley because no other challenger was credible! This guy was a comedy wrestler! 7. El Hijo del Vikingo I was incredibly excited when this guy showed up in AEW in March. His match with Kenny is one of my favorites from the year, and the lucha poo poo he does is simply on a level above anybody else I've seen. He is bonkers and as he continues to adapt to the AEW style (and maybe learns some English) he is going to be a top guy just like he already is in Mexico. 8. Kenny Omega I'm not a big fan of Kenny's character work, but Jesus, he was in like half of my favorite matches of the year, and it sure wasn't by accident. Bouts with MJF, Vikingo, and Ospreay ruled so hard, and he kneed Moxley through a cage! He had a hosed-up year with the injuries and whatnot, but when he got in the ring, he still delivered unmissable matches. 9. Dax Harwood The better half of the world's greatest tag team in 2023. FTR vs. Bullet Club Gold was the tag match of the year, as far as I'm concerned, and I'm sure I'm not alone on that. He was also a great foil for MJF. Real solid stuff, and I'm glad he resigned with AEW. 10. Hangman Adam Page Established himself as the absolute king of Texas Death Matches in 2023, if he wasn't already. You knew the bouts with Mox and Swerve were going to be gruesome, but Jesus, did he still find ways to shock. I will never forget him drinking Swerve's blood, which is one of the most disgusting and hardcore things I've ever seen in wrestling. Honorable Mention: STIIIIIIIIIIIING! It is so wild that I guy whose pictures I had on my wall when I was 10 years old is still ACTUALLY ENTERTAINING ME in wrestling matches! I'm loving 43 now! Can there even BE pro wrestling without Sting around? I'm sad I'll have to find out soon. But he has been an AEW treasure. Token Lady: RIP Jade Cargill. I loved her in AEW and was sorry to see her go, even if I understood her reasons. She may be the only person who could get me to check out a WWE clip or two, since she's such a fave, but of course they haven't even let her wrestle yet because they are dedicated as a business enterprise to never catering to me as a fan, ever, EVER. I hope she comes home someday soon. Integrated Houston fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Jan 20, 2024 |
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Jan 20, 2024 20:39
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-- This was really tough, I enjoyed a ton of wrestlers and narrowing it down to ten, let alone ranking them was really hard. The top 3 were a breeze for me, that was no competition but everyone else was tough and I honestly feel bad about a lot of the names I left off. This was also the least amount of wrestling I've had the chance to watch in any year since probably 2012, I wanted to see a lot of Stardom and All Japan matches that I never found time for unfortunately that I'm sure I would have loved. 10. Atlantis Jr. (Consejo de Mundial Lucha Libre, New Japan) 9. Soberano Jr. (Consejo de Mundial Lucha Libre, New Japan) - Feels like CMLL kind of exploded this year, most I’ve enjoyed the company since 2002. There were a lot of really cool workers in CMLL but these two gentlemen tick all the boxes on what I love about lucha. They had loads of cool matches in various permutations capped off by an incredible singles match last month that feels like the first chapter in what may very probably be a feud that goes on for the next few decades. Atlantis Sr. is one of my all time favourites and has the honour of being the single nicest wrestler I’ve ever met anywhere in the world, I’m very glad to see his son stepping into the shoes to start the dynasty as the legend deserves to continue. 8. Rush – (All Elite Wrestling) -this was the year he got paid. I love that he’s sort of turned into this Stan Hansen type persona in AEW where he’s become a test for other people in the ring, he’ll put you over but he’s going to make you work for it. In the way Moxley’s kind of a test for the main event scene, he’s a test of heart for a lot of guys. On the one hand I think a lot of that carny machismo sociopath bullshit is best forgotten, on the other hand, I love Rush. 7. Athena – (Ring of Honor ) -I knew almost nothing about her before this year though I think I saw some Ember Moon matches when I was occasionally watching NXT in 2016? Maybe? I do remember hearing about an Asuka match she had but don’t remember if I saw it. I don't mean that as a dig, I don't remember much, period. Anyway, ROH ended up being the American promotion I enjoyed watching the most this year, though I only watch it and AEW in that regard. Every match I saw of her this year really impressed me, but especially the fact that she’s masterful at leading less experienced opponents into good matches. That’s something I really appreciate, don’t see as much of as I’d like in wrestling and it was a joy watching her work. 6. Gabe Kidd – (New Japan Pro Wrestling) -this geezer really reinvented himself as a crazy motherfucker who don’t mind dying. When he first tried this out in the g1 press conference I wasn’t buying it at all and initially felt he was trying too hard with all the swear words. But within a week he had me signed up, he backed up the promos with insane levels of violence in the g1. I mean he wasn’t doing like Born to be Wired part 2 or anything but he didn’t have to, his personality and intensity meant he just came across as the most viciously insane brawler in the world. Think this years going to be big for him too. 5. Titan (CMLL, New Japan) – this lad was ridiculous all year, had top shelf singles matches in two different companies including a five star match with master wato and then had just as many great tags. There are a lot of wrestlers I really love based on moments or even promos as much as matches, Titan was a guy who I really loved something about almost everything I saw him do. 4. Jon Moxley (AEW, New Japan, ROH) – the ace of American wrestling. 3. Sanada – (New Japan) -IWGP champion for half the year which should make you at the very least top 3 wrestler in the world. Great G1, a real life superhero. 2. Naito – (New Japan) -still the greatest, my favourite persona in all of wrestling. Had an all time legendary 24 hours in the g1 vs ospreay and okada. Retired his hero. Most importantly made his American ppv debut in T-SHIRT MODE. 1. Tanahashi –(New Japan) -Now as it have been every year for the last ten years, he’s the person I’ve enjoyed watching most. The only time Dave Meltzer ever made me angry was back in January of 2016 on WOR he said words to the effect of “The tanahshi era is over” and I got black out drunk and trashed the house as well as vandalizing nearby places of worship. It should be noted over two years after these incendiary remarks were broadcast Tanahshi had the match of the century in the g1 with ibushi. In the years after those comments meltzer finally got to see the Ace live and readily understood why he’s the greatest wrestler on earth. Earlier in 2023 Meltz started talking about how Tanahashi was broken down. Last month I heard him mention how the current Okada/Ishii/Tana team is probably the greatest trio in wrestling history. I’m not saying this to mock Meltzer, who I think is a fairly intelligent fellow. My point is to NEVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER count Tanahashi out. There’s no doubt he’s hurting. I will say something in my non doctorly opinion here though, but with the informed guesswork of someone who has been in chronic daily pain for over 30 years in most of the same parts of their body as wrestlers get hurt in. When I look at the way Tanahashi moves in the ring especially in the first half of the year, he looks more like someone with hip pain to me more than it being his bad knee. This is just a guess on my part, but my entire waking life actively involves using certain parts of my body to pick up the slack of whatever random part decided to be agonizing and that looks more like how he’s compensating to me. Whereas some of the more harsh poo poo he does to that arthritic knee, he’s still doing without relent. I am not stating this as fact or insider knowledge or any silliness like that on my part, my point in all this is actually just one of desperate hopes… that it’s something different he’s working through as opposed to the arthritis in his knee becoming crippling. Because now more than ever, we really need him. HONORABLE MENTIONS MASAHIRO loving CHONO -retirement match at the Tokyo dome, first match in over a decade and managed to avenge the loss from his debut match 39 years prior. Kaito Kiyomiya - for not quitting the business after the way he was treated this year. I loving love professional wrestling and all but if it had been me after g1 I'd have been on the phone with Mum talking about going back to university. Sooper Gila fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Jan 20, 2024 |
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Jan 20, 2024 20:51
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10. R-Truth - Funny 9. Tanahashi - Go ace 8. Sanada - Enjoyed his elevation and I buy him as a top guy now. 7. John Cena - Short but sweet comeback. 6. Zack Saber Jr - Extremely entertaining wrestling style. 5. Cody Rhodes - I enjoy his promos a lot and how much he draws from the crowd. 4. Sami Zayne - Storyline I liked the most in wrestling last year, good matches. 3. Naito - He finished the story. Moved around a lot better this year and reminded me why he's one of the best in NJPW. 1. Okada - God Rick fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Jan 21, 2024 |
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Jan 20, 2024 21:53
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Still not enough Rush votes
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Jan 20, 2024 21:58
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Possibly going to do a list
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Jan 20, 2024 22:03
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Rarity posted:Possibly going to do a list Juuuuuuuust do it already. I can’t take all this buzz.
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Jan 20, 2024 22:07
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Sandman McMahon posted:Juuuuuuuust do it already. I can’t take all this buzz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSh2s_lmthI
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Jan 20, 2024 22:37
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Sooper Gila posted:-- This was really tough, I enjoyed a ton of wrestlers and narrowing it down to ten, let alone ranking them was really hard. The top 3 were a breeze for me, that was no competition but everyone else was tough and I honestly feel bad about a lot of the names I left off. This was also the least amount of wrestling I've had the chance to watch in any year since probably 2012, I wanted to see a lot of Stardom and All Japan matches that I never found time for unfortunately that I'm sure I would have loved. This is a helluva list
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Jan 21, 2024 00:06
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1) Beepie 2)Lexis King 3) Roman Reigns 4) the Big Dog 5) the Tribal Chief 6) the Acknowledged One 7) The Samoan Superman 8) The Head of the Table 9) Dominic Mysterio And 10) Rhea Ripley Cody Rhodes did not make the top ten except for losers but the Rubber Chicken is #11
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Jan 21, 2024 00:20
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This was a hard list to put together this year. Some of my mainstays (the Lucha Bros) didn’t make the list, I hadn’t watched much of non-AEW content, and I’m not sure what my criteria would be for this list. I decided on two keys: - How excited would I be to see a match announcement that they were in, and - How good was the year’s story? So, I present my Top 10 (plus 1) Wrestlers of 2023: 10. Stokely Hathaway – Stokely Hathaway should have been in my Top 10 last year, but SOMEONE said that he didn’t wrestle and therefore wasn’t eligible. Now that Stokely went into the ring, it’s time to give him some flowers. Also… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4lS_ryUCc8 9. Hijo del Vikingo – Vikingo defies gravity in such unexpected ways, that I would post “WHAT” in gdts regularly when I wasn’t on my self-imposed sabbatical from them. I’m hoping that he’s freed from AAA booking soon so that we can get some more content on the resume. 8. Speedball Mike Bailey – I’ll put it this way: When they announced Ospreay vs Speedball, I was marking out that Mike Bailey was going to be in the match. That’s enough to warrant inclusion on the list. 7. Hyper Misao – CHANGE THE CHANNEL THE MISAO MATCH IS ON! I like my wrestling wacky, and Misao is the epicenter of silliness. I can watch her get taken out by her own tricks forever. NA – Prince Nana – This doesn’t count as a ranking, but honestly Nana deserves a spot on the list. I wasn’t familiar with Prince Nana when he arrived, but I thought he was fun. And then the dance started and I realized everything he did was golden. To me, Prince Nana has taken enough bumps during/before/after matches this year to warrant some points but SOMEONE won’t let it happen… That’s fine, I’ll just be over her all  in protest.6. Toni Storm – Much like Nana, Toni Storm has taken the events of this year and transformed herself into one of the best characters in AEW. Let’s see what she did: Won the belt off of a severely injured Jamie Hayter, surprisingly lost it to Shida to start the fracture, and transformed into Timeless Toni Storm and never looked back. We’ve had: The throwing of shoes, throwing to commercial during matches, random black and white filters, Luther the butler, the start of All About Toni, silent films during Picture-in-Picture, and so many belly laughs in the last half of the year. How will this end? I’m not sure but  5. Christian Cage – I was wrong about Christian Cage, I thought he was a perfectly cromulent addition to the roster when he came over but everything he does is magical. Corrupting Nick Wayne AND HIS MOTHER, somehow able to keep Killswitch under his spell, winning the TNT championship through completely clean methods (obviously)… If Christian is going to have a segment, I will be there to watch. 4. Eddie Kingston – The reason he’s this far down is that the story didn’t get started until later in the year. Eddie Kingston, King of the Bums, Triple Crown Champion, had to fight his way through hell to win 2023 and I was there every step of the way. And now that he has three belts, there’s plenty of things to keep him front and center for 2024. 3. Athena – I admit I don’t watch as much ROH as I should, but I’ll always try to catch up on the latest piece of the Athena story. There’s something to be said for main eventing the last two ROH PPVs, being an outstanding Minion Leader, helping showcase Billie Starkz, and calling out the rest of the ROH belt holders to get with the program. Athena rules, case closed. 2. Swerve Strickland – My number one wrestling wish in 2024 is for Swerve Strickland to win the AEW World Championship. Swerve has it all: insane wrestling talent, charisma for days, and has the backing of the fans even as a heel. I knew Swerve was good from the indies, and it took a little bit for him to get going, but 2023 was the year of SWERVE’S HOUSE and I’m willing to sublet. 1. Bryan Danielson - And yet, Bryan is my #1 wrestler for the year. The reason? He’s retiring from full-time wrestling next year and he’s making the most of the remaining weeks. Wrestling strap match a few weeks after an arm fracture? Being killer on commentary? Playing his role in the Continental Classic to perfection? “EDDIE IS A BUM”? When I went to All Out, and “The Final Countdown” started playing I cried. We don’t have long left, he’s one of the best to ever do it, and it’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster in 2024. Thank you, Dragon.
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Jan 21, 2024 00:31
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Some great new lists, thanks everybody! To my great relief, with 70 entries so far we have passed the 2020 total of 65 submissions which has been the lowest for one of these threads so far. Every other year we've had 100+ so I am still hoping we get a late rush of lists before midnight on the 24th of January!
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Jan 21, 2024 02:08
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OH MY GOD I FORGOT TONI STORM I don't know if it's legal, but if possible please replace ZSJ with Toni in my rankings. I am shamed
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Jan 21, 2024 02:33
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The Taxman posted:OH MY GOD I FORGOT TONI STORM Too late I'm sorry, once I've recorded the lists it changes up the math and if I allow changes it drastically increases the amount of time I have to make sure everything is recorded/accounted for and up to date.
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Jan 21, 2024 02:39
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Jerusalem posted:Too late I'm sorry, once I've recorded the lists it changes up the math and if I allow changes it drastically increases the amount of time I have to make sure everything is recorded/accounted for and up to date. My shame will be recorded for all time; it's what I deserve for forgetting the brilliance of the starlet of our time, Timeless Toni Storm!
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Jan 21, 2024 03:09
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