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 CM Punk - 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 1 The impossible happened in 2021. After a 7 year absence (that he would later claim was really a 16-year-absence, because he wasn't in wrestling while he was in WWE) CM Punk returned.... and the place went BANANA! Appearing at Rampage's "The First Dance" in Chicago which sold out it's 15000 seats on just the idea that Punk might be there, Punk immediately made most forget about his prior reputation for being sour, and even some of the lovely things he did around the likes of Colt Cabana while he fought a WWE lawsuit. Because CM Punk reminded everybody just why he was such a fan favorite for so long, his incredible ability to talk, his charisma and his mastery of psychology overshadowing any limitations he might have in the ring on top of ring rust and and being in early 40s now. Punk made a point of not wanting to be like those same wrestlers he once complained about, the old stars who returned to get wins at the expense of the young guys or take their spot (ahem, Keiji Mutoh!). He wanted to help the young guys, to aid their growth and development as wrestlers. But he also had to wrestle, and people were thrilled when it turned out that... yep, he's still got it! His first match against Darby Allin at All Out assuaged any fears, and since then he has been true to his word and worked matches against a wide variety of AEW's lower or midcard guys, as well as a too-short feud against Eddie Kingston. What has really been the driving force of his return to regularly wrestling though has been his ongoing feud with MJF, in which the latter has managed to deftly avoid fighting or even taking any physical punishment all while lambasting Punk for being a phony, a hypocrite, and an out-of-touch old man. Clearly the posters of Punch Sport Pagoda don't think that way, because after 7 (16?) years away from wrestling, CM Punk is back, and they ranked him collectively high in their current favorite active wrestlers. Just.... not quite Top 20 high. Not yet.
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Jan 30, 2022 01:46
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We're into the Top 20 now, this is going to creep into the Royal Rumble unfortunately, when I'd hoped to be through them all by then (next year I'll add an extra hour to my planned time) - I'm happy to keep posting away, even if nobody is paying attention!
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Jan 30, 2022 01:48
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Maki Itoh over Britt is violence against me
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Jan 30, 2022 01:48
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God the buzz around the First Dance was just unreal. I can't remember anything like that day in my entire time as a wrestling fan
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Jan 30, 2022 01:48
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Jerusalem posted:We're into the Top 20 now, this is going to creep into the Royal Rumble unfortunately, when I'd hoped to be through them all by then (next year I'll add an extra hour to my planned time) - I'm happy to keep posting away, even if nobody is paying attention! This way more interesting than the Rumble
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Jan 30, 2022 01:49
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Well, it's getting down to the crunch now. We've seen ranks 63-21 but now we're into the Top Twenty. Let's see who made the list, and how close those just outside of it were from making it in if just ONE more person who ranked them on their list or put them just ONE spot higher: MJF - 2020 Position: 14 | 2019 Position: 55 | Times Voted #1: 0 1 point. One. freaking. point. That's how MJF did it, that's how he made the Top 20, and absolutely perfectly at the expense of his current hated rival CM Punk. If I told him this, he'd laugh.... not at the 1 point, but at me, personally, and he'd make fun of me for being a loser.... so maybe I won't tell him. But yes, MJF drops from his 2020 ranking but still keeps in the Top 20, and ruined CM Punk's chance for the same. It's like poetry, it rhymes. But it's not like Punk is MJF's only hated rival, no far from it. MJF manages to piss off EVERYBODY (including Tony Schiavone!) and what's the most remarkable is that he does it so efficiently! MJF only actually had 17 matches in 2021, and a bunch of them were multi-man clusterfucks! But in all that time, MJF managed to pack a ton in. At the start of 2021 he was still part of the Inner Circle, teaming with Chris Jericho and pissing off Sammy Guevara. By the mid-point of the year he was in wild blood feud against Jericho and the Inner Circle, forming his own faction of The Pinnacle to wrestle a crazy Blood and Guts match as well as the second ever Stadium Stampede. He forced Jericho through The Labours of Jericho, retained the Dynamite Diamond Ring yet again, added increasing pressure on WARDLOW knowing he had the safety of an ironclad contract with his employee.... and managed to fit in being an absolute dick to CM Punk during all that. Yes, the astonishingly young MJF continues to show everybody how to do it at the highest level, and he makes it look easy. Because, as he says, he's better than you... and you know it.
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Jan 30, 2022 01:49
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Jerusalem posted:We're into the Top 20 now, this is going to creep into the Royal Rumble unfortunately, when I'd hoped to be through them all by then (next year I'll add an extra hour to my planned time) - I'm happy to keep posting away, even if nobody is paying attention! you should keep posting BECAUSE nobody is paying attention to the rumble
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Jan 30, 2022 01:51
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BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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Jan 30, 2022 01:51
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 Serena Deeb - 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 1 Holy poo poo is this woman cool. Not the coolest women in the Top 20, but perhaps the most vicious. After a quiet few years Deeb returned to more regular in-ring wrestling in 2020 and 2021. She wasn't on enough people's radars in 2020 to make a ranking, but in 2021 she blasts all the way into the Top 20 and with good reason... because holy gently caress is she a great wrestler! Holding the NWA Women's title through most of the first half of the year, it was arguably in October that she hit critical mass, as her feud with Hikaru Shida kicked off and would run through the rest of the year and presumably well into the future. The two just clicked in a perfect way, with Deeb's vicious, aggressive attitude being matched by the usually cool Shida also going ham as their hatred for each other grew. The year ended with Shida technically on top of their feud with a 2-1 advantage, but it was clear that Deeb wasn't satisfied with that ending, and it would continue on into 2022 in enthralling fashion. All the while, Deeb was making a name for herself (all over again), her in-ring skills always undeniable but now perfectly married with a mean streak and a willingness to take things way over the line to get what she wants. There's something Bret Hart-ish about her, and that's about as big a compliment as you can get.
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Jan 30, 2022 01:53
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DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEB
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Jan 30, 2022 01:54
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Rarity posted:All y'all sleeping on Serena here I loving told you
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Jan 30, 2022 01:55
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Even before the heel turn, Deeb just had an incredible sense for working/laying out a match that totally captivated me even though more grounded/limb work-y wrestling isn't usually my favorite. Very glad to see they've been able to channel her in-ring skill into some solid character work and she better hold gold in 2022
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Jan 30, 2022 01:56
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 Malakai Black - 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: 38 | Times Voted #1: 0 Tommy End was so badly, awfully used in WWE's main roster that he didn't even rank at all in 2020, despite being such a popular wrestler when he was in NXT. So when he arrived in AEW people were hopeful that we'd see a return to form. The odd make-up on his eye and seemingly wanting to continue his late "Tales from the Dark Father" character in WWE gave people brief pause, as well as the decision to still not go by Tommy End but adopt a name similar to his NXT one. Turns out there was nothing to worry about, without the CREAAAAAAAK or stupid poo poo like sticking him in a room for a year, Malakai Black reminded everybody that he's incredibly loving cool. With incredible theme music, a bad-rear end entrance outfit, and the second best kicks of any wrestler in this Top 20, Malakai Black blew past his 2019 ranking and largely erased the embarrassment of his time as Aleister Black in main roster WWE. One of the few wrestlers capable of seemingly easily navigating the dangerous waters of the Codyverse, Malakai has only been in AEW for four months and yet has immediately made himself an established star there. loving with Cody Rhodes, teasing bringing in Brody King, harassing the Varsity Blondes, and oddly enough being really nice and respectful to Dante Martin, Malakai Black reminded goons in 2021 what WWE almost made us forget: Tommy End is really loving cool!
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Jan 30, 2022 01:57
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One day Deeb will wrestle Mercedes and it will loving own
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Jan 30, 2022 01:57
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Malakai Black is awesome and I'm so happy he gets to go wild with all his lore bullshit
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Jan 30, 2022 01:58
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HAIL SATAN
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Jan 30, 2022 01:59
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This forum is not MDK very upsetting.
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Jan 30, 2022 02:01
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 Orange Cassidy - 2020 Position: 8 | 2019 Position: 16 | Times Voted #1: 3 I could do some low effort meta thing here where I say OC is cool and then move on.... but gently caress that, being lazy is HIS gimmick, and I want to rave about how great he is! People knew it for years on the indies, and after the first year of AEW it became increasingly clear that he didn't have limited mainstream appeal like so many feared (or hoped, in some cases) he would. No, people LOVE Orange Cassidy, and isn't hard to see why. His laidback, lazy persona is masterfully crafted, and part of what makes it work so well is that he's always keeping it fresh. Yes he wears the (fake) denim, the sunglasses, does the little half-thumbs up etc. But he's so much more than that, his mastery of timing and his body control is sublime. His hands-in-pockets spot, which should be dumb, gets a massive pop not just because it infuriates his opponents but because it means we're going to see OC pull off moves seemingly effortlessly that other wrestlers would struggle to do well even with their hands free! Plus, he knows exactly when and where to actually put in effort (or to dial it back to even lazier levels) for maximum effect. In 2021 he had feuds with Miro and Kip Sabian, got into the title picture against Kenny Omega and alongside the always enraged PAC, found himself accidentally and unknowingly in a blood feud with Matt Hardy that saw Jack Evans get his head shaved, and found himself promptly in another heated feud he was largely indifferent about against Adam Cole. But as noted, when it's time for him to "try", he does, and it always leads to incredible moments. Whether it was him suddenly firing up to egg on Kris Statlander in her bid for the title, or those moments in matches where he suddenly just starts firing on all cylinders, it's always timed exactly right to get the crowd losing their minds... and then when the time is right, he settles back down, he throws some of his little tap kicks, and the crowd is right there along with him, enjoying him at either pace. Because Orange Cassidy is a superb professional wrestler, and never let anybody tell you any different. He is far from just a gimmick, and his repeated appearances in the Top 20 of these threads reflects that.
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Jan 30, 2022 02:01
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Cool
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Jan 30, 2022 02:02
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Rarity posted:Malakai Black is awesome and I'm so happy he gets to go wild with all his lore bullshit https://twitter.com/WrestlePurists/status/1487473099662667778?s=20&t=wUl1710PXX7JG5D72ZqhJg
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Jan 30, 2022 02:03
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 Tomohiro Ishii - 2020 Position: 7 | 2019 Position: 2 | Times Voted #1: 4 By far the lowest we've ever seen the Stone Pitbull fall in these rankings, he's still in the Top 20 because even when Ishii has a year where he's just there but not doing anything remarkable... he's still one of the best wrestlers in the world! As part of "The Lads", he, Goto and YOSHI-HASHI revitalized the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Division as they held the titles for over a year, eventually losing the belts to.... sigh.... the House of Torture. He also took the NEVER Openweight Title back from Switchblade Jay White at the Battle in the Valley in San Jose after White forced the stipulation that Ishii could NEVER challenge for the NEVER Openweight belt again if he lost. Unfortunately, he then lost that belt to.... sigh.... House of Torture's EVIL. He put in his usual excellent but ultimately failed effort at the G1, earning 10 points, and ended the year a title short but still in roughly the same position on the card as always. That's Ishii for you, eternally consistent, which sounds middle-of-the-road but is anything but, given that what he consistently delivers are some of the best, most exciting matches you'll ever see wrestle. I love this fire hydrant of a man, and hope he continues to deliver at that same level for many years to come.
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Jan 30, 2022 02:07
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At least Ishii's 2022 is looking better now that's he feuding with- hang on, let me check my notes here...
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Jan 30, 2022 02:08
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Rarity posted:At least Ishii's 2022 is looking better now that's he feuding with- hang on, let me check my notes here... 
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Jan 30, 2022 02:10
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 Dante Martin - 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 0 Some wrestlers are forgotten by gravity, some defy it, and some just seem utterly unaware it exists at all. Throughout 2021, Dante Martin drew plenty of attention with his spectacular high-flying moves, not just from fans but many wrestlers as well. In fact, that was Dante's major storyline of 2021, as wrestler after wrestler decided to hitch their wagon to his star and try to take advantage of the young man and his exciting style for their own benefit, or because they genuinely wanted to help him develop and avoid some of the mistakes they made when they were his age. With his brother Darius out injured, Dante was going it alone, and first Matt Sydal and then Lio Rush showed up to help him out, though in Lio's case it was never entirely clear if he was prepping for a con he never quite got to pull off. It was when Team Taz got involved, however, that the fun really began, as Dante briefly sided and signed with the group, only to betray them in his (failed) bid to get his hands on the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Taz was apoplectic, blaming his terrible lawyers in ongoing rants that are still happening on commentary in 2022 even when Dante isn't around. Meanwhile, Taz's top star Ricky Starks took it personally, seeking to take it out on Dante and teach him a lesson he hasn't quite managed to pull off just yet. All the while, Dante just keeps on doing what he's doing, which is being an incredible high flyer that keeps blowing people away with his exciting matches... and even got the nod of approval from Malakai Black!
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Jan 30, 2022 02:11
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Hell yeah, great result for Dante!
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Jan 30, 2022 02:12
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Jerusalem posted:I'm happy to keep posting away, even if nobody is paying attention! im paying attention, op
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Jan 30, 2022 02:15
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 Miro - 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 2 It's hard to believe that at the start of 2021, we were still in "happy friendly Best Man Miro" mode. Because while that was fun in its own way, it was nothing compared to the complete transformation that came about in the wake of Arcade Anarchy. After losing a match that he never actually wanted to compete in, Miro set about looking for partner Kip Sabian for "a word" about Kip's decision to put them in the match and costing them the victory. When he finally found him, Miro brutalized him, then gently took his battered body and and simply told him,"I forgive you." After that it was off to the races, as Miro became increasingly unhinged and began referring to himself as God's chosen warrior, inbetween talking about how hot his wife was! Winning the TNT title by basically beating Darby Allin to death, Miro seemed unstoppable. But then wrestlers began to highlight his previously injured neck as a potential weakspot, and after eating devastating DDT after devastating DDT, including in an incredible feud with Eddie Kingston, Miro finally lost his title to Sammy Guevara and then went even FURTHER off the deep end. Now he added God to his list of enemies, blaming him for giving him a body of stone but a neck of sand, insisting that he couldn't go home to pleasure his wife until he redeemed his loss, demanding God get him his title back or he would be coming for him next! After losing a World Title Eliminator match to Bryan Danielson in November, Miro has been out of action presumably rehabbing actual injuries, but everybody is excited to see his return and what terrifyingly insane promo he will cut next as he seeks revenge on... well.... everybody, everything up to and including God!
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Jan 30, 2022 02:18
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I’m paying attention j-ru
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Jan 30, 2022 02:19
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The man who would dethrone God 
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Jan 30, 2022 02:19
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Rarity posted:The man who would dethrone God Miro vs Okada when?
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Jan 30, 2022 02:20
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 Miyu Yamashita - 2020 Position: 30 | 2019 Position: 53 | Times Voted #1: 0 Here she is, the coolest woman on the planet. If Serena Deeb gives Bret Hart as a heel vibes, then Yamashita gives Bret Hart as the cool dude with the boss jacket striding to the ring in the 80s/90s vibe. She's not just incredibly cool though, she's a certifiable badass, and while she looks cool as gently caress coming to the ring she must also looking terrifying to her opponents... and perhaps even to her teammates! This year she defeated Rika Tatsumi to win the Princess of Princess Title for a record 3rd time, and she's held onto the belt ever since. Defeating evil djinn Yuka Sakazaki, French aristocrat Sakisama, and even best friend Maki Itoh, Miyu's in-ring style consists of arguably the best kicks in the business today (her closest competitor, Malakai Black, agrees, raving about her spin kicks when he saw them) and she carries herself with a demeanor that screams all business, and danger for her opponents. Which makes it all the better that... well, she's kind of a huge dork! Sometimes nervous on the mic, frequently squabbling with Maki Itoh, forgetting her gear and having to wear somebody else's, she is refreshingly sincere about the fact that outside of the actual wrestling where she's an absolute killer, she's an actual person who gets awkward at times but largely just wants to hang out and have fun with her friends. She's also, unsurprisingly, Punch Sport Pagoda's Top TJPW wrestler for 2021!
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Jan 30, 2022 02:23
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SG Bamboo posted:Miro vs Okada when? I ask myself that every single second of every single day. People are starting to complain.
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Jan 30, 2022 02:23
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MIYU  So close to the top ten, she definitely deseerved it
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Jan 30, 2022 02:24
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Just in case any non-TJPW watchers are worried J-Ru is understating Miyu's coolness let me reassure you. She is really loving cool
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Jan 30, 2022 02:25
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awesome lol
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Jan 30, 2022 02:26
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 PAC - 2020 Position: 15 | 2019 Position: 17 | Times Voted #1: 4 PAC doesn't really have friends, more alignments with people of shared interests.... which is generally a shared interest in beating the poo poo out of fools who get in their way. So it's no real surprise that for the most part the only people he really gets on with are the Lucha Bros as part of Triangulo de la Muerte, and there's a suspicion that Fénix came as a package deal with his insane skeleton man of a brother in that deal. Everybody else is an enemy or an enemy-to-be, particularly Malakai Black but PARTICULARLY anybody who gets in his way. PAC is an angry little goblin-man made out of muscle who destroys all in his path... and if he can't destroy them? He retreats back under his bridge and seethes and plans his revenge, ready to come back and try and destroy them again. Frequently in and around the main event scene when he needs to be, PAC also works tags, six-mans and multi-mans with ease, because he's an exceptionally good wrestler who is powered by pure hatred, and it's just the best. He's currently blind and plotting revenge against Malakai Black, but to be fair even if he wasn't blind he'd probably still be plotting revenge on somebody. Even when he can see he's constantly blinded by rage, and our lives are all the better for it.
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Jan 30, 2022 02:30
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I'm gonna have to tap out, let's go Hanger/Eddie!
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Jan 30, 2022 02:31
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Rarity posted:I'm gonna have to tap out, let's go Hanger/Eddie! Sorry I couldn't get it done before you went to sleep, enjoy catching up tomorrow!
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Jan 30, 2022 02:34
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 Jon Moxley - 2020 Position: 2 | 2019 Position: 6 | Times Voted #1: 3 A top ten finalist in the last two years, Mox drops just outside of the Top Ten this year, agonizingly close to a 10th place finish but not quite making it. Why the drop? Was it the Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch that ended on a wet fart of an "explosion"? Maybe, but he did turn chickenshit into chicken salad by using this failure as a delivery mechanism for a reunion with Eddie Kingston, which also eventually lead to a Lights Out match against Minoru Suzuki and Lance Archer later that year as well as a Street Fight against them on New Japan Strong!. He also held onto and regularly defended the IWGP US Heavyweight Title this year, beating KENTA, Yuji Nagata and Karl Anderson before finally losing it to Lance Archer in a Texas Death Match. He won the GCW title from Matt Cardona seemingly out of nowhere at The Art of War Games, and defended it against Nick Gage. Yes, it was a very busy year for Mox, on top of all that he had a baby with wife Renee, moved back to Cincinnati, AND wrote a best-selling book! But.... he also was nowhere to be seen for the last two months of the year, albeit for very good reason as he made the decision to check himself into alcohol rehab and get himself healthy for his wife, his child and himself. Often these threads can have recency bias, and it's perhaps indicative of just how popular Moxley is that despite being nowhere to be seen for the last two months of the year, he still almost made the Top Ten for the third time in a row. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 12:45 on Feb 10, 2022 |
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Jan 30, 2022 02:34
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It's time at last for the Top 10, a little later than planned, but it's time for the consensus view on Punch Sport Pagoda's Top Ten Favorite Active Wrestlers to be revealed!
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Jan 30, 2022 02:38
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