|
 Miyu Yamashita - 2019 Position: #53 (+23 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 Masaaki Mochizuki - 2019 Position: #49 (+19 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 The 25-year-old "Ace" of Tokyo Joshi Pro and the 51-year-old veteran of Dragon Gate both managed the same amount of points, and got their relatively high ranking despite not being voted the #1 pick of any goon who submitted a Top Ten list. Despite COVID, Yamashita managed a busy 2020 for TJPW, competing in the Spring Beautiful One Day Tournament, making it to the Semi-Final of the Tokyo Princess Cup and wrapping up her year with a victory in the aptly named "I Hope There Are Lots of Fun And Happy Things To Do Next Year" show. Mochizuki also managed a heavy schedule in 2020 despite COVID (and his age!), though his experience in tournaments this year didn't net him the results he might have liked, he did win the GHC Heavyweight Tag belts with Marufuji even if his attempt to win the Open The Twin Gate Title with Don Fujii ended in a loss. Still, I Hope There Are Lots of Fun And Happy Things To Do Next Year. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 13:26 on Jan 25, 2021 |
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 04:39
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 23:30 |
|
|
I think we should just give Mizuki an extra point for the Whirling Candy and let her be in the same tier as Nick Gage MDK, Popping Sugar Rabbit
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 04:41
|
|
|
i only started reading and posting in here during the pandemic and jerusalem your effort here is awesome and this is super cool and fun to read. thanks!
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 04:48
|
|
|
I'm honestly curious who the per capita best wrestler in the thread is, as in the wrestler who got the most points with the fewest eyes on them. If I cared I'd get the list and figure out a multiplicative factor based on promotion, so promotions like NJPW and AEW, forum favorites, would be .3, WWE, incredibly visible but not forum favorite, would be like .35, and promotions like TJPW or IMPACT, favorites of a much smaller portion of the forums would be like .5-.6 or something.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 04:50
|
|
|
 Riho - 2019 Position: #55 (+26 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 Penta El Zero M - 2019 Position: #10 (-19 places drop) | Times Voted #1: 0 Evil Uno - 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 0 It was no surprise to see Riho do well, with the knowledge that if it wasn't for COVID she probably would have made more AEW appearances and likely ranked even higher. As it was, her 2020 in STARDOM didn't set the world on fire, with claims that AEW had made requests that she not lose too often to keep her looking strong for her eventual return. Whether there is any merit to that is unknown, but the lack of visibility in America and the hampered booking in Japan means despite a big improvement from her 2019 ranking, it still feels like she could be doing better. The same could be said for Penta El Zero M, who had to miss a chunk of time in AEW due to COVID, which also stymied an ongoing feud with The Best Friends (which later shifted to Best Friends/Proud 'N' Powerful, and it loving ruled). Luckily upon their return they got wrapped up first in the Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston feud on Eddie's side, then ended up escaping Eddie's manipulations to instead side with PAC to finally get their Triangulo de la Muerte stable back up and running. In the meantime though, Penta has largely been in the background or a supporting character to either his stable leader or his brother Fenix. He's very good in the role, but we also all know he could be easily going strong as a singles wrestler himself. Finally, Evil Uno takes a giant leap up from nothing to within the top 30 thanks to the huge strides The Dark Order has taken, and his own leadership role within it. Becoming more of a bumbling Mr. Smithers type during Mr. Brodie Lee's sadly too short time, he stepped back up to a more authoritative role as needs arose and has knocked it out of the park, and his ranking reflects what his fans have been saying for a long time: Evil Uno rules!
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 04:50
|
|
|
 Utami Hayashishita - 2019 Position: #52 (+24 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 1 Switchblade Jay White - 2019 Position: #21 (-8 places drop) | Times Voted #1: 0 Asuka/Veny - 2019 Position: #46 (+18 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 It was a very, very good year for STARDOM's Utami Hayashishita. Starting the year with losses of the SWA Undisputed Women's title and the Artist of Stardom title, she managed to win the vacant Goddesses of Stardom Tag titles with Saya Hamitani and put in impressive performances in the 5Star Grand Prix. Everything culminated in November though, when she defeated Mayu Iwatani to become the World of Stardom Champion, a title she successfully ended the year holding thanks to defeating Momo Watanabe... oh yeah, all that and she's only 22 years old  . Meanwhile the other Asuka, ASUKA (also known as Veny) continued to work as a largely Independent wrestler through 2020, becoming the Independent World Junior Heavyweight Champion at DDT Ganbare Pro Heaven's Door AND the World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana World Title in August. She lost the latter in October and the former in late December, but it was still a successful year that was reflected in her high ranking in 2020... and she is also only 22! . And then there's the detestable knife pervert, Switchblade Jay White. Failing to make the final of the G1 this year, he stole Kota Ibushi's Championship briefcase HE STOLE IT HE HAD HIS FOOT ON THE ROPES HE...AHHH! ARRGHHHHH!!!  - an absolute master of being a despicable piece of poo poo, Switchblade ended 2020 smugly declaring that he was gonna sit back, let IWGP Champion Tetsuya Naito wear himself out on Night 1 of Wrestle Kingdom and then waltz in and take advantage on Night 2. We all know how it turned out now, but that's a story for 2021.
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Jan 25, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:03
|
|
|
Senerio posted:I'm honestly curious who the per capita best wrestler in the thread is, as in the wrestler who got the most points with the fewest eyes on them. If I cared I'd get the list and figure out a multiplicative factor based on promotion, so promotions like NJPW and AEW, forum favorites, would be .3, WWE, incredibly visible but not forum favorite, would be like .35, and promotions like TJPW or IMPACT, favorites of a much smaller portion of the forums would be like .5-.6 or something. Nevermind, found her. Jerusalem posted:Asuka/Veny - 2019 Position: #46 (+18 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:06
|
|
|
It bears mentioning Asuka is also only 22.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:07
|
|
|
 Kazuchika Okada - 2019 Position: #1 (-26 places drop!) | Times Voted #1: 1 A shocking fall down the rankings, Kazuchika Okada easily won the 2019 rankings with over 500 points, but this year managed only 17. Part of the issue was due to him taking a lengthy absence from the title picture in favor of Tetsuya Naito's run. Part of the issue was the long period where New Japan didn't run any shows due to COVID-19. Part of the issue was that he became obsessed with getting over his lovely submission THE WORLD FAMOUS MONEY CLIP. But perhaps the largest part was that after all these years, we finally saw what the "weakness" in Okada's seemingly inpenetrable game was: he needs crowds. The empty arena shows were a difficult thing for many wrestlers to deal with (not Minoru Suzuki and Yuji Nagata, who realized they now had freedom to try and murder each other), but Okada REALLY struggled without crowds to feed off, to work up into a frenzy, to set the atmosphere for the story he was trying to tell etc. Things slowly improved as crowds were allowed back in, even if they could only clap or stomp their feet, and as the year rolled on the old magic came creeping back in too and Okada delivered some truly great matches. But it was too little, too late for 2020, and what would be a respectable ranking for anybody else feels like a shocking indictment for The Rainmaker.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:09
|
|
|
frankenfreak posted:It bears mentioning Asuka is also only 22. Very good point, added that in as well.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:10
|
|
|
Man, if I hadn't waffled on having too much joshi on my list, Asuka would've scored over Okada. Now I'm sad.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:11
|
|
|
Her one lighttube match opened my eyes to her. I really hope she gets more exposure this year.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:25
|
|
|
 Katsuhiko Nakajima - 2019 Position: #61 (+35 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 Hyper Misao - 2019 Position: #60 (+34 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 1 Hiroshi Tanahashi - 2019 Position: #14 (-12 places drop) | Times Voted #1: 1 Bayley - 2019 Position: #55 (+29 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 NOAH's Katushiko Nakajima won and lost the Wrestle-1 Title at the start of 2020, but then moved on to bigger things as he won the GHC National Championship from Takashi Sugiura in May, defending it multiple times before losing it in August to Kenou. After an unsuccessful attempt at the vacant tag titles, Nakajima moved back to singles competition where he successfully managed to win the N1-Victory Tournament, which got him a shot at arguably the most outstanding wrestler of 2020: GHC Champion Go Shiozaki. He was unsuccessful in his effort there, but he had successfully made the shift from mid-card to main event, and 2021 seems bright. TJPW's Hyper Misao meanwhile had a rough start to the year after losing her name for a month in a match and having to go by Akemi Daredasore. She did make it to the Quarterfinals of the Tokyo Princess Cup, but other than that failed to reach the highest levels of the promotion... she did however go into 2021 with her eye on some measure of revenge for losing her name. Like Hyper Misao, the "Ace" of New Japan Hiroshi Tanahashi got voted this high up NOT because of his win/loss record. If anything, it was a miserable year for Tanahashi who not only lost a number of matches but also began openly questioning whether he was still viable as a top level competitor, causing friction with tag partner Kota Ibushi. But while that's the story they're telling with Tanahashi, there's no getting around he's still one of the most beloved figures in New Japan, and people aren't entirely ready for him to step down to "New Japan Dad" status just yet... plus his abs look great! On the flip side is Bayley (her abs are also great, to be fair), who had an exceptional year up until she lost the Women's Tag Titles and the Smackdown Women's Championship. One of the few shining lights of WWE's COVID-19 era empty arena shows, she reveled in her heel character, and her work with long-time friend Sasha Banks both as allies and rivals was exceptional stuff that deserved far more accolades and actual crowds to play off. Like Nakajima and Misao, she saw a gigantic improvement in her placing from 2019, and it was well-deserved.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:26
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1HqlbgFffc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0FY2UHIhWc HERO! HERO NI NARU TOKI AH HA SORE WA IMA! Also, Watch the Fans make the rules match from Wrestle Princess. It was one of the top two matches of November 7th, behind the main event, Yuka Sakazaki vs Mizuki.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:26
|
|
|
Now that Katsu's on the list, i've only got Despy and Taichi left to cheer for. My favourite wrestlers should be more popular, dammit
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:28
|
|
|
Serious question, though: (t/n: No Kicks) IS a Big Boot a kick? Also while I was looking for that I found this:  (t/n: The wrestler must spin around a bat 10 times or a pinfall won't be counted, if they kick out you must spin around the bat again)
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:31
|
|
|
Senerio posted:IS a Big Boot a kick? A Big Boot is not, a Yakuza Kick totally is
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:35
|
|
|
For me, a Big Boot is just holding up your foot for the opponent to run into while a kick includes some sort of motion of the foot towards the opponent.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:36
|
|
|
Even ignoring any animosity that Hyper Misao has with a fuckin french wrestler who looks a lot like Saki Akai (that you can learn about in the second video I posted), the Hyper Misao vs Saki Akai match is probably the best comedy match of 2020. I would change a lot about my list, but Hyper Misao at #1 was 100% true and still not even close.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:40
|
|
|
 Trent? - 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 0 Mayu Iwatani - 2019 Position: #54 (+29 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 While their planned feud with Triangulo de la Muerte was dashed due to COVID-19, Trent? and his best friends in The Best Friends spun gold from straw as they proved to be MVPs of the COVID era for AEW. With many wrestlers unable to be there, they got given the ball and they ran with it, culminating in an absolutely incredible Parking Lot Brawl with Proud 'N' Powerful that was one easily one of the Matches of the Year for 2020. Coupled with their antics on Being The Elite as they tried to work out how to murder Brandon Cutler so they wouldn't need to keep coming up with bits for the show, they were an entertainment powerhouse. Trent? also served as the conduit for one of the character finds of 2020: Trent?'s mom Sue, and her mini-van. It's just a drat shame that he has suffered an injury to his pectoral muscle that is likely to keep him off the air for quite some time to come, as everything had been set-up for an ongoing feud between The Best Friends and Kip Sabian & Miro, a feud that is now continuing without him. Stardom's 27-year-old Champion ran through most of 2020 with the title, defending it multiple times as well as taking part in the 5Star Grand Prix and the Goddesses of Stardom Tag League. She met her match finally though in November against the 22-year-old Utami Hayashishita, who defeated her in a highly lauded 25 minute match. Despite the loss though, Mayu remains one of the obvious ambassadors/selling points of the Stardom promotion. She has been chosen two years in a row now to represent Stardom in the (sadly unaired) special attraction pre-show matches at New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom, and she has been called one of the best female wrestlers in the world. Considering her young age (only a little younger that Kagetsu, who acturally retired in 2020!) there is a chance that the best is yet to come from her, which is frankly a little intimidating. She already jumped 29 places in her ranking from 2019, who knows what 2021 might bring. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Jan 29, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:41
|
|
|
If Kota Ibushi was slightly better at wrestling, he'd be the male Mayu Iwatani.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:43
|
|
|
Senerio posted:If Kota Ibushi was slightly better at wrestling, he'd be the male Mayu Iwatani.  (And/or made of rubber like Mayu)
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:49
|
|
|
 Toru Yano - 2019 Position: #29 (+5 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 2 Matt Jackson - 2019 Position: #56 (+32 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 Lulu Pencil - 2019 Position: #57 (+33 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 If you love Toru Yano, you REALLY love him, as the Sublime Master Thief managed to sneak 2 #1 picks to lift him up into the Top 25. The COVID era was a mixed bag from Yano, as on the one hand he didn't have the crowds to react to his antics, but on the other he was given a lot more freedom to be weird. This probably stands out most in his co-opting of the King of Pro-Wrestling championship, an idea touted by CHAOS Leader Kazuchika Okada that Yano ended up winning for himself. He may not be for everybody (which is sad, because he's great!) but when it works, it REALLY works, as his ranking demonstrates. Matt Jackson meanwhile got by on the strength of his in-ring and character work as one half of the Young Bucks, who really lived up to the hype in 2020 of being arguably the greatest Tag Team in the world. Almost every match they had was superb, and Matt really stepped up his game to help make up for the weakened condition of his brother Nick as he recovered from COVID. In addition, their material on Being The Elite was always good for a laugh, and the build to their brother vs. brother match on that Youtube show was a sheer delight. Then, of course, there's Lulu Pencil, who tries so, so hard and does her best God bless her. An integral part of Gatoh Move, which wisely eschewed pushing for more money and instead went for maximum convenience to get as wide an audience as possible, Lulu Pencil frequently appears in the MOTY thread because whatever shortfalls she has in technical ability she more than makes up for in personality and character work.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:51
|
|
|
frankenfreak posted:(And/or made of rubber like Mayu) I was being realistic. Kota Ibushi could theoretically improve his skills to Mayu's level. He can't reconstitute his entire body to be made of the same material as Mayu.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:51
|
|
|
Lulupencil canonically 10x the wrestler that Will Ospreay is.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 05:52
|
|
|
 Nyla Rose - 2019 Position: #62 (+39 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 El Desperado - 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 1 Daniel Bryan - 2019 Position: #3 (-20 places drop) | Times Voted #1: 2 Shitposter extraordinaire, Nyla Rose won the AEW Women's Title in February in a fantastic match against Riho, who she has always had incredible chemistry with. Sadly COVID impacted on her title reign as it did so many others, and she managed to get in only one successful defense against Kris Statlander before losing the title to Hikaru Shida in May. She got another shot at it in November but couldn't beat Shida, and in the meantime she's largely been coasting around backstage with Vickie Guerrero and doing bits on Being The Elite. So why such a high ranking? Because she's got an incredible personality, a fantastic look, and every single time she shows up the viewer knows that poo poo is going to do down. El Desperado didn't rank at all in 2019, largely an also-ran in New Japan who would occasionally have a really good match with BUSHI of all people before just kind of fading away into the background again. Like several other members of the New Japan roster who saw their chance to shine and took it though, during the COVID era he really stepped up in presence and in-ring work. Going after Shingo Takagi's Never Openweight Title unsuccessfully, he moved back into tags for awhile and managed to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag titles. But it was his performance in the Best of the Super Junior tournament, and an absolutely incredible final match against Hiromu Takahashi that really showcased just what he is capable of. In one of the coolest moments of the year, while having his mask torn at by Hiromu, he simply stood and tore it off himself before proceeding to go to town on a thrilled Hiromu who gave as good as he got. While he lost the match, he opened a lot of people's eyes and validated his most vocal supporters who have been telling all of us for years that he really is just that good. Daniel Bryan returned to great fanfare and excitement from an enforced retirement, only to see - as always - WWE screw it all up as they continued the same trajectory from before his retirement, of largely using him to get other people over or sticking him in go-nowhere feuds with people a lot less talented than himself. In 2020, that included feuds with The Miz and The Fiend, failed attempts to win the Intercontinental Title against Sami Zayn (who rules) and AJ Styles (who is very good in the ring) before slumming it again in a 50/50 mini-feud with Jey Uso that looked like it was setting up a match against Roman Reigns and then... just didn't. Bryan is evidently very much of the mindset that he SHOULD be putting people over and that his own in-ring career is winding down, and in some ways that is laudable... but it's also such a waste of a phenomenal talent. Think of everything I have written here about his 2020, and then consider that even if he did drop a large amount from his 2019 ranking, he's still within the Top 25 favorite active wrestlers in Punchsport Pagoda. He really is just that good, that beloved, and sadly yes also that wasted. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 02:09 on Jan 29, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:06
|
|
|
 Roman Reigns - 2019 Position: #56 (+34 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 The Big Dog! The Head of the Table! The Tribal Chief. For years fans wanted Roman to turn heel because he was, in practice, just that very thing. For years it was resisted just like it had been with John Cena for all those years he was the Chosen One at the top. Then something strange happened... Roman Reigns decided to stay home and not wrestle for WWE during the early weeks/months of the COVID-era, given that he is a cancer survivor and thus immuno-compromised and more at risk. When he finally returned, Vince McMahon had clearly come to a decision: the guy who chose his health and thought of his family first during a GLOBAL loving PANDEMIC was a bad guy, and thus the heel turn finally happened. And thank God it did. Because Roman Reigns is fantastic as a bad guy, just like everybody thought he would be. Arrogant, smug and entitled, he cheats and takes shortcuts and refuses to participate until he can make sure everything is to his benefit. Best of all, when he finally DOES have to fight, it's not like he's a pathetic weakling, he still kicks an enormous amount of rear end, it's just that he doesn't feel like he should have to because he's "The Guy" and everybody should just acknowledge that and get on with their lives. He is accomplishing what WWE thinks they are doing with Randy Orton, and the fact it is the same company doing both makes this all the more baffling. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Jan 29, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:13
|
|
|
 Nick Jackson - 2019 Position: #62 (+41 places improvement) | Times Voted #1: 0 Maki Itoh - 2019 Position: Did Not Rank (the disrespect!) | Times Voted #1: 1 Britt Baker - 2019 Position: Did Not Rank (TONY!) | Times Voted #1: 0 You can't really talk about Nick Jackson without talking about his brother Matt, as even when they're not tagging together they're mostly involved with each other in some respect. So why does Nick rank (slightly) higher than brother Matt? Especially considering in 2019 it was the other way around? It is a mystery, maybe people think he's the more impressive of the two, better in-ring, a better talker? Maybe they were super-impressed that he suffered through COVID, recovered and came back to have one of the best tag matches of all time while he was still trying to recover his cardio? There are lots of reasons it could be, and though he was never voted anybody's #1 pick, he did manage enough extra votes to be considered the better of the two brothers... for this year. Former Idol Maki Itoh started 2020 on a high that immediately fell to a low when she successfully defended but then lost the International Princess title on consecutive days. She did however make it all the way to the Semi Final of the Tokyo Princess Cup where she lost to former Itoh Respect Army partner Mizuki. She ended the year with a Time Limit Draw against Miyu Yamashita which she avenged with a win in an 8-person 2-out-of-3 Falls tag at the I Hope There Are Lots Of Fun And Happy Things To Do Next Year show. So all in all, 2020 kind of evened out for Itoh... so why does she rank so highly? Because Itoh fans absolutely loving love Itoh, one goon (you can probably guess who) only bothered to put one other wrestler on their list at all behind putting her in top place. Her fans are extremely dedicated, which I'm sure she thinks is only appropriate. Britt Baker also expects outright dedication and unwavering support from her fans, and she also gets it. A bit of a disaster when she first started up in AEW, her improvement has been out of sight. Her in-ring work has improved, but it is her character work where she really shines, becoming a high point of any show she happens to be on, especially with her ongoing antagonistic relationship with AEW commentator Tony Schiavone. Running her own talk show now, accompanied everywhere by "Reba" her hapless assistant, Britt is one more example of how sometimes letting a wrestler work on developing their character instead of sticking them with a script and insisting they never deviate from it can really pay off in spades. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Jan 29, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:29
|
|
|
I'm sorry this is taking so long and we're only into the Top 20 now, I had intended to start this a couple hours earlier and be done by this point, but I got unavoidably delayed. I'll continue on and if people aren't up, I guess at least they can read it all in one go tomorrow!
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:30
|
|
|
Maki was robbed. I say this as someone who took her off his list for Eddie Kingston.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:31
|
|
|
Also Maki wrestled the best match in her career at the Jan 4 Kouraken show, against coolest wrestler in the world by a comfortable margin Miyu Yamashita. If you have DDT Universe absolutely go watch that match. Even if you already saw it live or later. Just go watch it again. And on Feb 11, she will be taking on the fuckin French with her teammate... ALSO the coolest wrestler in the world by a comfortable margin Miyu Yamashita. https://twitter.com/miyu_tjp/status/1350362148245893120 
Senerio fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Jan 25, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:34
|
|
|
I'm honestly surprised Maki topped only one list.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:45
|
|
|
 Tetsuya Naito - 2019 Position: #13 (-7 places drop) | Times Voted #1: 0 Cody Rhodes - 2019 Position: #15 (-5 places drop) | Times Voted #1: 0 Naito started off 2020 with an incredible high, as he won the Intercontinental and then Heavyweight Championships on consecutive nights at Wrestle Kingdom 14. It was the culmination of a years long storyline, with Naito finally getting his Wrestle Kingdom main event AND winning it, and doing so against the man who ruined those dreams twice in the past: Kazuchika Okada. Sadly things took a downward turn after that, as his first defense against KENTA didn't really set the world on fire, and then New Japan suspended shows for a lengthy period due to COVID-19. When it returned, Naito lost the title in shocking fashion to LIJ squadmate EVIL who joined up with the Bullet Club, and took a backwards seat for a month or so before declaring he was coming for the title back and... won it. After that however things really stepped up as he took part in the G1 as the Reigning Champion and delivered consistently high level performances against a wide variety of opponents. Though he did not make it to the final of the G1, he had established once again his dominance and cemented that with one more decisive victory over EVIL to secure his position at Wrestle Kingdom 15, where he would face another wrestler looking to correct a failure to attain his destiny: Kota Ibushi. After FINALLY getting a match against hated enemy MJF (and having to suffer through multiple brutal lashes just to get the match) Cody lost his chance for revenge and seemed lost himself: he couldn't challenge for the World Title anymore, and the vile MJF had cheated out a victory over him. Luckily, the arrival of a new belt in AEW gave him the chance to get back on top. After winning the brand new TNT Title at Double or Nothing, Cody proceeded to really make the title mean something with a series of excellent matches against a wide variety of largely midcard opponents. None of these were easy beats, and the title reign simultaneously elevated them in the eyes of fans while giving the TNT title prestige AND making Cody look like a million bucks. This culminated in perhaps the most perfect squash match of all time, as an exhausted Cody Rhodes went up against The Dark Order's Exalted One, Mr. Brodie Lee, and was utterly obliterated in a shocking 3 minute sprint. Cody disappeared for a time, and then returned for revenge, defeating Mr. Brodie Lee and regaining the title in a Dog Collar match. After that he briefly feuded with Orange Cassidy and then lost the title to Darby Allin, and wrapped up 2020 in a quasi-feud with Shaq (yes, the basketball player!). What most people will remember Cody's 2020 for though is the way he turned a brand new belt into something to be coveted, and the way he used his position to improve a large number of wrestler's careers... including one Eddie Kingston's, which would have massive knock-on effects for AEW as a whole. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Jan 4, 2022 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:47
|
|
|
Jerusalem posted:I'm sorry this is taking so long and we're only into the Top 20 now, I had intended to start this a couple hours earlier and be done by this point, but I got unavoidably delayed. I'll continue on and if people aren't up, I guess at least they can read it all in one go tomorrow! Oh hurray I just woke up and I'm here for the good stuff 
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:52
|
|
|
Writing up Cody's 2020 without even mentioning the MJF feud (especially the lashes) smh
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:54
|
|
|
A lot of these writeups miss out on the actual highlights of each wrestler's year tbh
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 06:55
|
|
|
Senerio posted:A lot of these writeups miss out on the actual highlights of each wrestler's year tbh Feel free to bring up anything that doesn't get mentioned! Remind people of things they might have missed or forgotten about in 2020... hell, I honestly 100% thought that the Cody/MJF lashes stuff was in 2019, it feels so long ago.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 07:00
|
|
|
 Drew McIntyre - 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 1 When he first came to WWE he was called "The Chosen One", a young, tall, good-looking Scotsman who Vince McMahon salivated over both in character and in real life. Things didn't work out so well, unfortunately, and after a lengthy stint where the highlight of his time was loving about with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal in 3-Man Bad, he was let go by the company. He proceeded to set the Independent scene abuzz, and it was obviously only a matter of time before he would return. He did, and after a stint as Shane McMahon's muscle (  ) finally realized in 2020 the potential seen in him as a young man. Winning the Royal Rumble, he went to Wrestlemania and defeated Brock Lesnar in relatively quick time, becoming the WWE Champion at last. He would go on to beat the likes of Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, Randy Orton again, Keith Lee, Randy Orton again again, before finally losing the title to... Randy Orton. He then won it back from Randy Orton and successfully kept The Miz from cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase during a match against AJ Styles at the TLC PPV. On paper it was great stuff, with the only unfortunate caveat being that his entire reign(s) has been in front of nobody. Drew was absolutely working with crowds fully behind him in the build to his title shot against Brock. But COVID hit and the best he has been able to get in terms of crowd reaction since then is the faked or heavily stage-managed crowd noise of the "Thunderdome". Nobody really knows how over Drew is or isn't, and it puts an asterisk on what would otherwise be considered a strong run as champion. Still, it was good enough to get him from no ranking at all in 2019 to a Top 20 finish in 2020... hell, one goon put ONLY Drew on their list, so obviously SOMETHING is working!
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 07:00
|
|
|
Jerusalem posted:Feel free to bring up anything that doesn't get mentioned! Remind people of things they might have missed or forgotten about in 2020... hell, I honestly 100% thought that the Cody/MJF lashes stuff was in 2019, it feels so long ago. This whole results show has gone very far without mentioning the best wrestling show of 2020, Wrestle Princess, once, despite it being the biggest show in TJPW history, and also the biggest show of the year, supplanting the Jan 4 Kouraken shows (which also has only gotten one aside, in Hyper Misao's writeup)
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 07:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 23:30 |
|
|
Jerusalem posted:I honestly 100% thought that the Cody/MJF lashes stuff was in 2019, it feels so long ago. 2020 is a gently caress Anyway, wrestlers from my list I'm still waiting on: PAC, Eddie, MiSu, Hangman, ZSJ, Taichi 
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2021 07:04
|
|