|
Here's my list, as someone who always lurks the discussion threads and keeps up to date with NJPW, AEW, and WWE news, but only picks matches/shows that seem interesting (shout outs to the MOTY thread) 1 - Okada Absolute greatest at creating drama, which to me is what's so great about wrestling. I've thinking about what makes him excellent at this and I think I've figured it out; it's the Rainmaker. It's not the flashiest move, or the craziest move, or even the most popping move, but it is a very recognisable and very counter-able move. Like you can get countered at the hip lock, the rip cord, the pull in, even taking the lariat itself, it just lends things to well to drama. And since the opponent is from the back, standing face to face, being pulled in (running), and being hit by a strike, it lends itself to many, many, many, many wrestler's moves. 2 - Jon Moxley Hasn't done much, but what's been done is compelling. Always been my fave in the SHIELD, which is probably my favourite stable too. Really surprised me when they first broke up and he became the face, and then I realised he had this grungy, idgaf feel that resonates so well. Absolute killer promos too, and great riffer. More than anything, when he's allowed to let loose, it seems like he has so much fun, and that's infectious. 3 - Daniel Bryan A guy who can work. Only seen him in WWE, and despite all the crippling storylines he's had, he's had my attention through all of it. Much better talker than he's given credit for, since he just seems to throw himself into everything 100%, for better or worse. Still feel like when him winning the title at Wrestlemania could absolutely have been a series finale for all of wrestling. 4 - Chris Jericho Possibly GOAT, always relevant, always reinventing himself. Even when the stuff he does isn't clicking, he knows how to reevaluate and get himself to where he needs to go. Isn't higher on the list because match-wise, he's not really cutting it for me, but that's more due to age, wear and tear, and that his new finisher doesn't...look great. Another great promo. 5 - SANADA I got on board when I saw h im do the interview before his title challenge vs Okada last year (or was it two years ago?). Like, I knew he didn't talk much, but it was then I realised that he's soft spoken, quietly confident, and introverted wrestler. Absolutely smooth moves, huge variation, can do lots of styles. Really dig his vibe. 6 - Taichi I'm really invested in this absolute scheming, shortcutting villain who seems to be naturally hot blooded. It's like two ends of the spectrum in one wrestler. Abe Miho's absolute faith in him adds so much to his matches too, there's a dichotomy that just works. It's like, he knows he can go, but he chooses not to, but also recognises that he seems to be at his best when he does go. Absolutely fascinating. 7 - Ishii Can drag a great match out of anybody. Absolute badass. The only reason he's not higher is that he doesn't seem to get much to do besides Have Great Matches. I do hope we see a bigger title run with him someday, whether it's intercontinental or, hopefully, IWGP world champion. 8 - ZSJ Love how unique his style comes across. The living embodiment of a glass cannon, it's like you know how he distributed his stats. Another great one for creating drama, as in NJPW all of his submissions are portrayed as possible finishers. Also does great, highly amusing promos. 9 - Velveteen Dream A cheesy gimmick that just works, with incredible entrances to boot. Also has consistently good to great matches, at least on Takeovers, and that counts for something. Right now probably the character I look forward to the most in WWE...but that could be the result of a "PPV only, sometimes" bias. 10 - Minoru Suzuki Meanness personified in a wrestler. I love how nasty he makes everything look, and how surprisingly crisp he is, despite his age. Only reason he's not higher is that he's not having enough high profile matches for the level of work he's putting in. My list for easy referencing: 1 - Okada 2 - Jon Moxley 3 - Daniel Bryan 4 - Chris Jericho 5 - SANADA 6 - Taichi 7 - Ishii 8 - ZSJ 9 - Velveteen Dream 10 - Minoru Suzuki
|
#
¿
Sep 8, 2019 20:51
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 22, 2024 10:22 |
|
|
Thank you so much for the wonderful tournament and writeup J-Ru! I thoroughly enjoyed all the writeups and the stats updates, and am pleasantly surprised I got Just for fun, I counted up Okada's total number votes, and he placed 63 times in the top 10, which is 55% of the total voting population! And of those 63, a good 45 of those votes were for top 3. Ishii got 56 votes total, 49%, just shy of half, but only 35 were for top 3. And it's dinnertime so I stopped there. I was just curious about the exact numbers since I don't think J-Ru mentioned the total, but I might have skimmed them. Thank you again for all your hard work, this is a blast, and I can't wait to play again if it ever comes round. PS - That GameFAQs like quiz-menu a few pages back was also great. I did it at a family dinner and forgot to screencap, but I do remember that my top 4 was in the exact same order but everything else was messed up from then on.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 14, 2019 12:23
|
|