|
 Rhea Ripley - 2022 Position: Did Not Rank | 2021 Position: Did Not Rank | 2020 Position: 41/43 | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 1 | Total Times Listed: 8
At only 27-years-old, she has plenty of room for improvement too, and has already had the longest title reign as Women's Champion (for her particular belt anyway, I can't keep track of all the changes) since Bayley in 2019/2020. These accomplishments are reflected in her high ranking this year, fighting against the very understandable distaste for WWE as a promotion she still manages an almost Top 20 finish. It's also her highest ever ranking, she hasn't managed to even rank 3 of the last four versions of this thread, and her sole ranking in 2020 put her near the bottom of the pile. Not in 2023 though, when she wasn't just the highest ranked Australian wrestler of the year in the eyes of Punch Sport Pagoda, but the best women's wrestler in WWE to boot.
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 15:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 5, 2024 01:22 |
|
|
 Willow Nightingale - 2022 Position: 43/43 | 2021 Position: 58/63 | 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 0 | Total Times Listed: 8 There was a very real sense that AEW either didn't realize or didn't appreciate what they have in Willow Nightingale, a feeling that has thankfully been reduced somewhat across the length of 2023. But everybody else could plainly see what a talent she is, and though it was likely down to an unexpected injury, AEW really didn't capitalize as much as it should have on Willow winning the New Japan STRONG Women's Title, beating the hottest free agent in wrestling at the time: Mercedes Moné. Perhaps that is unfair? She did win the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament Final shortly after that, but she largely seemed left to her own devices after that until she was paired up with Kris Statlander and they worked together in a war of attrition with Julia Hart and (sometimes) Skye Blue, with the tension between them based around nobody quite knowing what the hell Skye Blue was thinking, because she's a 14-year-old teenage girl. But through it all Willow kept smiling and laughing and beating rear end when she had to, always a pleasure to watch and with some signs that something is going on storyline wise going into 2024, though that is a matter for next year's thread. This year though, Willow managed her best ever finish, after ranking near the bottom or not ranking at all in prior versions of this thread. Good for her. Nothing matters, smile anyway!
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 15:45
|
|
|
Enjoying the "begrudgingly, there are things about WWE that are shining despite WWE being almost uniformly-terrible by most metrics" posts  I hope by next year Willow will have risen higher up the rankings as she deserves. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 15:45
|
|
|
Erin M. Fiasco posted:Enjoying the "begrudgingly, there are things about WWE that are shining despite WWE being almost uniformly-terrible by most metrics" posts Hey, people put them on their list, there must be SOMETHING to them! 
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 15:46
|
|
|
This brings us to the Top 20. What was the difference between 21 and 20? What ranking/s would Willow Nightingale have needed to get into the Top 20? What's the difference between 20 and 11? How much would even one more list have made a difference? The only way to find out is to read what comes next... or break into my house and go through my files... why would you want to do that? 
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 15:46
|
|
|
Jerusalem posted:EVERY LIST MAKES A DIFFERENCE! 
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 15:49
|
|
|
CombineThresher posted:The guy never stops working, it seems, and is rounding out his in-ring game without blunting what makes him special. ChrisBTY posted:This generation of high fliers keep upping the ante of what's possible. graph posted:do all that crazy poo poo no one else can do Pinwiz11 posted:defies gravity in such unexpected ways achillesforever6 posted:seeing him in a lovely casino in North Vegas at a GCW show was worth it.  El Hijo del Vikingo - 2022 Position: 60/63 | 2021 Position: 55/63 | 2020 Position: 37/43 | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 0 | Total Times Listed: 11
Like some other prodigies on this list, he's somehow managed to pack a decade+ career in while still in his mid-20s. He's made multiple appearances in AEW and ROH this year, but his home promotion is AAA in Mexico where he has held the AAA Mega Title since late 2021, winning the vacant belt after Kenny Omega had to give it up. But while Kenny managed 5 defenses across his 765 days as Champion, Vikingo has been an utter workhorse and managed 24, with 17 of those coming in 2023 alone! He's defended the belt at Triplemania in Mexico, at Warrior Wrestling and at Wrestlecon, in AAA and at GCW, and even in ROH. Watching him wrestle is spectacular, his high flying moves are spectacular and well-timed, he has a great look, and he's young! Hopefully this increased exposure will lead to more people catching him in more things, and those days of him appearing near the bottom of the rankings for these threads are in the past.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 15:50
|
|
|
Jerusalem posted:The only way to find out is to read what comes next... or break into my house and go through my files... why would you want to do that? To get the results early!
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 15:50
|
|
|
Taffy Torpedo posted:Just the absolute coolest person on the planet. Tampa Bae posted:She oozes that quiet killer charisma pressedbunny posted:She kicked people in the head; I smiled. The Taxman posted:the coolest, got to meet her! karmicknight posted:I now have a framed and signed photo of her to point at every time she kills a jabron.  Miyu Yamashita - 2022 Position: 24/63 | 2021 Position: 13/63 | 2020 Position: 30/43 | 2019 Position: 53/63 | Times Voted #1: 1 | Total Times Listed: 9
She traveled to America multiple times, unsuccessfully challenging Athena for the ROH Women's Title and Masha Slamovich and Vert Vixen for the West Coast Pro and DEFY Women's Titles respectively, but winning the inaugural SPARK Joshi World Title. She hel onto the EVE Title until November when she lost it in England to Safire Reed, and lost the SPARK Joshi Title to Athena's protege Billie Starkz. But she ended 2023 as still the Princess of Princess Champion, with a chance for revenge against Masha Slamovich upcoming in her first defense in 2024. Yamashita is in high demand and it isn't hard to see why, she has incredible presence, hits hard, looks like a total badass, and travels the world having cool wrestling matches against a wide variety of opponents, some of whom she is bringing into TJPW to broaden the variety in title defenses so it isn't just a constant interchange of herself, Yuka Sakazaki (now gone from the promotion), Mizuki, Maki Itoh and Rika Tatsumi. It would be good to see her bringing up some mid-card talent as well, especially Miu Watanabe, but no matter who is in the mix, there's a good chance Yamashita will be as well, she is an obvious huge asset to the promotion and welcome in any wrestling ring in the world.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 15:54
|
|
|
Taffy Torpedo posted:Women’s wrestling needs more big hosses Kvantum posted:More powerhouse hoss fights in the Women's division, Tony. More! Outlaw Mailman posted:Solid worker, and I love her awkward, nerdy energy. On The Internet posted:She's rad. pressedbunny posted:Any year she's not injured, she's going to be my #1  Kris Statlander - 2022 Position: 52/63 | 2021 Position: 9/63 | 2020 Position: 33/63 | 2019 Position: 52/63 | Times Voted #1: 1 | Total Times Listed: 15 After a Top Ten finish in 2021 where she was the highest ranked women's wrestler for that year, Statlander dropped low in the rankings in 2022 due to an injury absence. She came back with a force in 2023 though, returning to not only end Jade Cargill's unbeaten streak but to win the TBS Title from her too, becoming only the second ever TBS Champion. She threw herself back into her work with a vengeance, managing 16 title defenses in 6 months before she finally lost it to Julia Hart at Full Gear, in a Triple Threat involving Skye Blue who had been "corrupted" by Julia Hart's black mist she had developed as a weapon following her own mist-corruption that lead her to change from a preppy Cheerleader into Julia Ghoulia the Goth Witch-Queen of the House of Black. God I love pro-wrestling. Statlander's return was a welcome one, and while Jade Cargill (unranked for this year) departed to WWE soon after, it was good that Stat didn't just beat her for the title but followed it up with a second defense against her in September when Jade was completely fresh (and in fact Statlander was the one worn down by constant defenses) and beat her definitively there too to showcase that Stat wasn't just a consolation prize with Jade leaving, she was THE top hoss women's wrestler in AEW. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 07:51 on Feb 11, 2024 |
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 15:57
|
|
|
Sandman McMahon posted:absolutely deserves credit for the work he put in Carver posted:Still had a hell of a year despite the last half being really bumbling. fez_machine posted:Loved his in-ring work pretty much straight through the year even if the pre-tapes and promos got worse and worse as the year went on. Captain Foo posted:recency bias dragging him down but the man can fuckin go and when his promos are on, he's on ChrisBTY posted:Time will vindicate him.  MJF - 2022 Position: 30/63 | 2021 Position: 20/63 | 2020 Position: 14/43 | 2019 Position: 55/63 | Times Voted #1: 1 | Total Times Listed: 14 There were a lot of words written in 2023 around how badly MJF's storylines and time as Champion were handled. After entering 2023 as Champion, he held onto it right through till ALMOST the end of the year, finally losing to Samoa Joe. There were loud sighs of relief, as the Devil was finally revealed, the friendship with Adam Cole came to a cruel end, and MJF's own growing list of injuries were given a chance to heal. One thing everybody could agree on was that a little of MJF went a long way, but too much was, well... it was too much! He just ranked the 2nd highest he has ever ranked in one of these threads. So I guess the lesson here is something was working right! I know personally I enjoyed a lot of what MJF did in 2023, but there were certainly a number of problems, with most of them caused by Adam Cole's sudden injury throwing what was presumably months of planned storylines out of whack. That didn't excuse the baffling decision to have MJF defend the ROH Tag Titles by himself, but it was endearing to see him navigating the idea of just friendship as this wholesome thing where two people liked each other without having to exploit the other person!?! I do think his year started stronger than it finished though, his Iron Man match with Bryan Danielson was incredible, as was his title match against Adam Cole at All In. Seeing him happily whisper threats in Kenny Omega's ear about surpassing his record length as Champion was fun, and I dug that he was able to really, really get over ridiculous but safe spots like the Double Clothesline or the Kangaroo Kick. The angle between him and Switchblade Jay White went to some weird places however, though thankfully they quickly threw away the TERRIBLE angle with Juice Robinson and the roll of quarters calling back to MJF being taunted with anti-Semitic remarks in High School. In the end, enough people dug MJF this year that he ranked in the Top 20 of Punch Sport Pagoda's favorite active Pro-Wrestlers. A lot of people had enough of him in 2023, and that's entirely their right to do so. But as a consensus view for Punch Sport Pagoda? He's still a big favorite, and that's democracy for you!
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:01
|
|
|
One of my only regrets of 2023 was not realizing until the show was on top of me that Miyu Yamashita was booked for Revolver just down the road. Would have loved to see her live  Glad to see her placing so highly.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:04
|
|
|
Fish Of Doom posted:Big dude hits hard and has good matches. Dancing Peasant posted:Sometimes simple and clean is what's needed. SamuraiFoochs posted:The number of bangers this man has had, simultaneously looking indomitable and giving his opponents enough that they're boosted even in defeat is just...transcendent. Erin M. Fiasco posted:a rare spark in a company that hates when people stand out. Pillowpants posted:Best worker in WWE at the moment.  GUNTHER - 2022 Position: 56/63 | 2021 Position: 43/63 | 2020 Position: 43/43 | 2019 Position: 30/63 | Times Voted #1: 0 | Total Times Listed: 11
Heading up the Imperium faction, GUNTHER's big story in 2023 was beating the Honky Tonk Man's long-standing record as the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. Honky held it for 454 days and GUNTHER has well surpassed that, being deep into the 500s by the time 2023 ended. He wouldn't have had an easy time of it either, the list of his opponents is a Who's Who of incredibly talented wrestlers, hard-hitters and The Miz. He defeated Braun Strowman, bested Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a Triple Threat at Wrestlemania, beat Matt Riddle, Drew McIntyre (one-on-one this time), Chad Gable, Tommaso Ciampa, Bronson Reed and then wrapped up the year against The Miz. Last year he was near the bottom of the rankings, and that has generally been his place in these threads. In 2023 however, GUNTHER was Punch Sport Pagoda's favorite active WWE Wrestler for the year. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 07:53 on Feb 11, 2024 |
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:05
|
|
|
Erin M. Fiasco posted:One of my only regrets of 2023 was not realizing until the show was on top of me that Miyu Yamashita was booked for Revolver just down the road. Would have loved to see her live Ouch, yeah in a situation like that I'd actually prefer to find out AFTER the show had been, so at least I could justify that there was no way I could have seen it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:06
|
|
|
Catching up with the lists, very cool that Kento made top 25 despite nobody watching All Japan and he wrestling in outside promotions so rarely
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:07
|
|
|
I wonder if I had voted in 2019 if Ishii would've won. Maybe one list really CAN make a difference...
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:08
|
|
|
Vandar posted:one of the best drat gimmicks in the industry right now Artelier posted:Fun gimmick, good wrestler. Pinwiz11 posted:has taken the events of this year and transformed herself into one of the best characters in AEW. kalensc posted:simply inspired theatre nonsense pressedbunny posted:"Wendi Richter! I'm going to gently caress you up!"  Timeless Toni Storm - 2022 Position: 57/63 | 2021 Position: Did Not Rank | 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 0 | Total Times Listed: 20
After defeating Jamie Hayter to win the title at Double or Nothing, she lost it 3 months later to Hikaru Shida on the 200th episode of Dynamite. Struggling with her Outcast teammates Saraya and Ruby Soho, Storm became more unhinged until a chance comment by a perplexed RJ City that she was still young and hot made her grasp that she was truly "Timeless". Everything escalated from there, as her slightly deranged shoe-throwing antics converted into full black-and-white vignettes and the adoption of a Transatlantic Accent. It would be easy for this to be a one-note gimmick, and some have complained it is, but obviously enough people disagree that she has shot up the rankings from a 57th place finish in 2022 (and not ranking in any other version of the thread) to #15 this year. Her antics on television have been unhinged to put it lightly, dripping with wild sexual innuendo, causing the commentary team to break down into laughter, making Renee Paquette corpse during backstage interviews, and bewildering and enraging her opponents. This included Hikaru Shida, who lost her title back to Timeless Toni Storm, which just added to the derangement as she added a Butler (Luther!) and an obsessed fan (Mariah May!) to her entourage, suggesting some All About Eve is going along with the initial Sunset Boulevard and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? homages. Who knows where this will eventually lead, if the Timeless Toni Storm gimmick will remain "timeless" or wear out its welcome. But in 2023, it was embraced and enjoyed, and her high ranking reflects that.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:09
|
|
|
Taffy Torpedo posted:Maybe one list really CAN make a difference... 
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:10
|
|
|
I really like Statlander, but I feel like she lost something by trying to be a more serious wrestler.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:11
|
|
|
Oasx posted:I really like Statlander, but I feel like she lost something by trying to be a more serious wrestler. Adding Stokley to the mix with her and Willow is definitely a step in the right direction to get back to the goofy stuff.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:12
|
|
|
Burn Down Canberra posted:the best big match wrestler of all time. Taffy Torpedo posted:Probably the best ever in my book. Kvantum posted:The greatest pro wrestler from Japan this century. Bard Maddox posted:what else can you say about this man Rick posted:God  Kazuchika Okada - 2022 Position: 16/63 | 2021 Position: 7/63 | 2020 Position: 27/43 | 2019 Position: 1/63 | Times Voted #1: 3 | Total Times Listed: 18 Kazuchika "gently caress them kids" Okada ranks a little higher this year than last, but less than he managed in 2021. 2020 of course was the nadir of his career, he was NOT suited to the pandemic era of wrestling at all and it demonstrated one of the few weaknesses in his game. Of course, in 2019 he was THE guy, Punch Sport Pagoda's favorite active Pro-Wrestler with a points total that was only bested by Bryan Danielson in the 2021 version of the thread. Okada is done with New Japan Wrestling after a final few appearances in early 2024, having learned through the Forbidden Door shows just how much American wrestlers can make and seeing that - though he is paid EXCEPTIONALLY well for a Japanese pro-wrestler - he is very underpaid considering his already legendary status. We don't know as of this writing where he will end up (please AEW, please don't go to prison  ) but he went out on a high note in New Japan regardless of that. 2023 was all about the year of Okada - who is only 36-years-old! - playing a grumpy old man. Continually bothered by younger wrestlers who wanted a shot at him, he sneered and mocked and taunted them, having absolutely no time for them, pissed off at their audacity, fuming over a perceived lack of respect. Nowhere was this on greater display than the absolute Big Brothering he delivered to NOAH's Ace wrestler Kaito Kiyomiya, when they wrestled on Keiji Muto's Farewell show and Okada absolutely obliterated him in just over 15 minutes, making a mockery of Kiyomiya's request for a longer time limit than normal as he went in expecting to take Okada to the absolute limit and didn't want a time limit draw. But while Kiyomiya suffered one of many humiliations doled out to him by his own home promotion this year, Okada was having trouble with more young stars in New Japan: especially Kosei Fujita, the "Young Boy" of TMDK who had bypassed the normal excursion process to "graduate" under the tutelage of Okada's old rival Zack Sabre Jr. It's a shame we won't really get to see a proper storyline ending to the angles being built out of this new variation of Okada's character, at least not specifically in New Japan. But we haven't seen the last of Okada unless he goes to prison, and he's sure to appear again in future versions of this thread. How successful will he be in America? Well based on what we've seen of his appearances in AEW (and yes, in TNA of all places too) he's got nothing to worry about... so long as he stays out of prison.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:13
|
|
|
TheWorstAmy posted:This loving monster. Erin M. Fiasco posted:God, what a superstar. Consistently part of some of my favorite moments and matches last year. Incredible every time he stepped into the ring, the perfect Babyface and the perfect Heel. SamuraiFoochs posted:A living legend-to-be in his formative stages, I reckon. super macho dude posted:He has the proverbial IT Factor fez_machine posted:my god how good is he!  Konosuke Takeshita - 2022 Position: 7/63 | 2021 Position: 59/63 | 2020 Position: 42/43 | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 1 | Total Times Listed: 23
He's only 28-years-old. Takeshita is the kind of wrestler that promoters drool over and other wrestlers desperately want to wrestle. He's... perfect. Young, handsome, tall, well-built, excellent in the ring, agile, able to work face or heel, able to work high level technical wrestling and silly comedy. The only question really is why nobody ever picked him up earlier, everybody can see from the moment he appears on screen that he oozes charisma, and from the moment he steps into the ring they can see the quality of his work. He actually finished higher last year with a Top 10 finish, but just missed out in 2023. Why? Perhaps because he simply wasn't used as much as he should have been, due to a number of reasons including injury or drama affecting his prospective opponents. Everything in 2023 was set to culminate or at least lead into 2024 for a big feud between Takeshita and Kenny Omega, orchestrated by the despicable Don Callis who pulled a Gedo and betrayed his perfect son. But Omega's diverticulitis put paid to that, and while Chris Jericho was also part of the same angle, some very confusing controversy (note that Jericho is entirely unranked this year) probably paid a part in keeping that from getting any focus either. But it's important to note that Takeshita isn't "just" an AEW wrestler. On top of his duties there, he still makes appearances for DDT and in early 2024 (so, not part of the period this thread covers) is also appearing in All Japan. This is good, more people need to see him, more promotions need to book him, more wrestlers need the chance to face him. We got to see him face off against former DDT-Ace Kota Ibushi in 2023 (him being the only one unfazed by Ibushi's "Violence Kota" persona was fantastic) and the prospect of seeing him face the likes of Will Ospreay and ( ) Kazuchika Okada is a delightful one. There's plenty of time to see all this, of course, because seriously... he's only 28-years-old.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:16
|
|
|
Take  So cool to see him doing well after years of the puro freaks saying "this dude is the future"
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:19
|
|
|
STONE COLD 64 posted:has had a tragically great run that most people haven't gotten to see. Lamuella posted:has had a dominant year as a dominant champion and looked fantastic in each and every moment of it. Tampa Bae posted:She is easily the best women's wrestler from America in 2023 by miles graph posted:she crushed 2023 Sooper Gila posted: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.  Athena - 2022 Position: 42/63 | 2021 Position: Did Not Rank | 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: 58/63 | Times Voted #1: 1 | Total Times Listed: 24
Some say that Athena has been "relegated" to ROH. That she should be appearing on AEW more often or that she should be fighting for the AEW Women's Title rather than being satisfied with "just" the ROH Women's Title. To them I say... you are fully entitled to your opinion! But it cannot be denied that Athena absolutely shone in ROH, that she has been lauded and booked as a monster, that she is getting main events. It doesn't appear to have affected her popularity at all, given that this is her highest ever result for one of these threads which includes her time as Ember Moon in NXT struggling and failing to get the big win she wanted over Asuka. Now SHE is in the Asuka position, beating everybody, her own protege willing to take a shot but not able to put her down yet. 2023 was a great year for Athena, with her best ever result in addition to being Punch Sport Pagoda's Highest Ranked Women's Wrestler for the year.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:20
|
|
|
IcePhoenix posted:His promos and his matches all have an unmatched intensity. Warthur posted:Continues to be one of the most credibly dangerous-seeming men in wrestling even this deep into his career A Real Horse posted:can give one promo and instantly be a credible threat to anyone. BodyMassageMachine posted:has settled into a nice elder statesman role while still maintaining all his terror and malice. Outlaw Mailman posted:how was he not a megastar for the last 20 years?  Samoa Joe - 2022 Position: 27/63 | 2021 Position: Did Not Rank | 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: 24/63 | Times Voted #1: 3 | Total Times Listed: 31
But at World's End at the very end of 2023, Samoa Joe won the AEW World Title, and capped off a great year in which he continually reminded everybody again why people had been chanting,"JOE'S GONNA KILL YA!" for 20+ years. He looks as dangerous as ever, as mean as ever, and moves with a rapidity that was surprising in his prime and even more surprising now as he approaches his mid-40s weighing 280 lbs. He can still cut a hell of a promo, look utterly terrifying, yes when he is screaming and enraged but even moreso when he's quiet and sinister, or smiling and whispering all the horrible things he's going to do to his opponent. This is his best ever ranking, twice he's managed to make it into the 20s while the other two times he didn't rank at all, and here we find him just outside of the Top Ten. By how much? Let's find out!
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:24
|
|
|
Here we are, we've made it. The Top Ten. The following wrestlers are Punch Sport Pagoda's consensus favorite wrestlers of 2023, as chosen by YOU. Let there be no doubt, there was nobody more popular than these wrestlers, for better or worse... if there were, they'd be here on the list instead! Let's see who ranks at the top of the top... you've probably already largely figured out WHO is in this Top 10, just not necessarily where.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:26
|
|
|
yea ok posted:constantly evolving and innovating. Taffy Torpedo posted:One of the consistently best wrestlers in the world for like a decade now. More than deserves to be in the Heavyweight Title picture. Oasx posted:if he ever signs with AEW, oh boy! this kid is nuts posted:transformed himself into one of the most well-rounded and entertaining wrestlers going. apophenium posted:wrestles an exquisite technical style that is just a joy to behold.  Zack Sabre Jr. 2022 Position: 12/63 | 2021 Position: 29/63 | 2020 Position: 12/43 | 2019 Position: 12/63 | Times Voted #1: 2 | Total Times Listed: 22 Breaking a habit, ZSJ finally shook off his frequent 12th place ranking (3 times out of the last 4 threads!) to rank the highest he ever has in one of these threads, making the Top Ten for the first time. This may be down to the increased exposure he had in 2023, not just in New Japan but in AEW too. With Suzuki-Gun disbanding and JONAH going to prison for 3-5 years, TMDK was in need of a new leader and Zack was in need of a new faction, and the two combined to elevate both to higher levels. TMDK actually feels like a real faction now, reborn at New Year Dash and even getting their own Young Boy in Kosei Fujita, who they quickly elevated to full member status as Zack took him under his wing much like Jon Moxley once did with Shota Umino. Zack became the first ever NJPW Television Champion, a title with matches locked into 15 minute time limits, which caused them to be faster paced and creted a showcase for both Zack's prodigious technical skills as well as giving a wide variety of talent a chance to showcase their own abilities in a sprint rather than the slower, longer (but excellent) normal New Japan style of matches. He defended against the likes of Tomohiro Ishii, Clark Connors, Blake Christian, Shota Umino, Filthy Tam Lawlor, Jeff Cobb, AR Fox, Rocky Romero, Christopher Daniels, Metalik, Ryohei Oiwa, Satoshi Kojima, Oleg Boltin and Speedball Mike Bailey. Some of these were in Japan, some for New Japan in the United States, but some in Ring of Honor as well, and that wasn't his only exposure to US Audiences. For years people had been pondering the dream match potential of Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Bryan Danielson, the chance to see who was really the best technical wrestler in the world (It's Zack  ), but different promotions, a seeming retirement, then injury all conspired to keep them apart. It FINALLY happened in 2023, with the two wrestling at Wrestle Dream where Danielson prevailed... but only by knocking ZSJ out. Zack complained that "Bryan Bollocks" had done so because he knew he couldn't tap him, and thus it didn't answer the question of who the best technicain was. It seems inevitable the two must meet again for another singles match before Bryan's next semi-retirement, but even a dream match like that is just one of many that fans of ZSJ drool over seeing. He's the most astonishingly gifted technical wrestler I have ever seen, the speed and smoothness of his transitions boggle the mind, and it certainly helps that he accompanies all this incredible wrestling with a non-stop stream of absolute poo poo-talk whether in backstage promos or even during matches. He's always been a Top Ten talent, and it's great to see that reflected at last in 2023.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:27
|
|
|
IcePhoenix posted:Even in what felt like a down year for him in 2023 I still always popped when his music hit and I loved every match and promo he delivered. Carver posted:always has a match or two every year right now that will stick with me forever. BodyMassageMachine posted:incredibly sick and nasty in all the best ways. Integrated Houston posted:one of the most disgusting and hardcore things I've ever seen in wrestling. Visual Basic Bitch posted:the absolute nicest boy who will drink your blood and loving murder you if you piss him off  Hangman Adam Page 2022 Position: 8/63 | 2021 Position: 3/63 | 2020 Position: 1/43 | 2019 Position: 63/63 | Times Voted #1: 2 | Total Times Listed: 24 The anxious Millennial Cowboy had grown hugely into his role in AEW since the frankly premature efforts to make him a top star from the very start of the promotion, and nobody (who counts) doubts his status as one of the top wrestlers for the promotion anymore. Indeed, you could argue he is one of the top wrestlers in the world, and at 32-years-old he still has a hell of a lot of gas left in the tank. While he is nowhere near the high status he enjoyed in the 2020 version of this thread, when he was ranked #1 for the year, he has managed to keep in the Top Ten every year including this one, truly showcasing how far he's come since 2019 when he was ranked LAST for the year. Having largely kept quiet and tried his best to stay uninvolved in the ridiculous CM Punk drama that he "instigated" in a standard promo-off with Punk back in 2022, he has come back into his own in 2023 in reunions with the Elite, some acrimony with his once rock-solid support unit of The Dark Order, and driven Jon Moxley insane by proving to be as tough if not tougher than the toughest man in AEW. But the BIG story of Hangman's 2023 was a rivalry that looks like it might define the careers of two men going forward into the future. His war with Swerve Strickland was some of the most compelling television of the year, though it started somewhat wobbly with Hangman seemingly blase response to Swerve's home invasion before things FINALLY kicked into high gear and culminated in Texas Death in November. One of the sickest, most hosed up and insane matches I think I have ever seen, with Hangman at one point literally drinking the blood pouring from Swerve's head. Hangman lost both his matches with Swerve, but both wrestlers came out of Texas Death bigger stars than ever, and in Hangman's case he's a former World Champion! Though he accepted that he lost, he has also refused to forgive or look past Swerve's actions (understandable!) and vowed to make his life and career a misery, which in turn is going to make our viewing experience as fans a joy. Hangman, for a guy who affects a very reserved and semi-depressed ironic detachment, heightens emotions to a ridiculous degree when it comes to his wrestling feuds... which are the best kind of wrestling feuds! May 2024 bring more Cowboy poo poo. Yeehaw.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:31
|
|
|
STONE COLD 64 posted:im almost always happy with how his matches turn out A Fancy Hat posted:Great matches, constantly changing up his style, and he just has that aura of being a big deal. ChrisBTY posted:has shown he's still the ace in defeat as well as victory. apophenium posted:He also moves like a big toddler, all fluid and wobbly and weird which is just kinda fun. SamuraiFoochs posted:Ace Of The World, bitch.  Jon Moxley 2022 Position: 2/63 | 2021 Position: 11/63 | 2020 Position: 2/43 | 2019 Position: 6/63 | Times Voted #1: 1 | Total Times Listed: 27 After what felt like should have been his year in 2022, Jon Moxley falls to his second worst ever result in one of these threads, which still keeps him in the Top Ten - something he's only failed to do in 2021 where he still ended up ranked 11th for the year. It's no surprise, Mox is a workhorse on top of being a fantastic promo, with a passion for wrestling that will see him travel the world, equally at home wrestling in front of giant crowds or in tiny little indies. The idea that he was a miserable person who just couldn't be happy has been proved wrong time and again since he left WWE, and his current run in AEW as one of the founders of the Blackpool Combat Club has given him free reign to explore being face, heel, fighting friends and foes, getting bloody, getting technical and most of all getting over. While he didn't quite have the astonishing workload of 2022, he still had a hell of a busy year. He started with a feud against Hangman Adam Page that basically drove him insane as he realized the "anxious Millennial Cowboy" was actually as tough and bloodthirsty as he was (Hangman similarly broke Bryan Danielson's brain too). His attempts to goad and mock Hangman ended in him taking a loss top him in a Texas Death match at Revolution to wrap up their feud for now, and Moxley and the BCC got more vicious as a result, leading to a Steel Cage match against Kenny Omega after he and Claudio obliterated the Elite's support crew of Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa. Mox won that match as well as the Anarchy in the Arena match against the full elite (including Hangman) at Double or Nothing. He traveled to Japan, taking Claudio Castagnoli with him and reuniting with Shota Umino as they took an unsuccessful shot at the NEVER Openweight Six Man Titles at Dominion for New Japan. Shota was included in their Forbidden Door match against The Elite and Tomohiro Ishii, before they added PAC and Konosuke Takeshita to the team for a special Blood and Guts edition of Dynamite against The Golden Elite. That marked the soft end of the BCC heel turn, though they remained as vicious, with Mox and Claudio beating The Best Friends in a Parking Lot Brawl which lead into a Stadium Stampede match at All In in London. He seconded Shota during the biggest match of his career, which in turn lead to a confrontation with Will Ospreay (and David Finlay  ), while also going on a singles run: he beat Orange Cassidy for the AEW International Title to take the load of AEW's 2023 workhorse. But a sudden injury saw him quickly drop the title to Fénix before he returned and lost to Orange Cassidy when he attempted to regain the title he felt he hadn't "really" lost. He ended the year on another high note, making it all the way to the final of the inaugural Continental Classic, losing to old friend Eddie Kingston in a hell of a match at World's End to wrap up his 2023. All of which is to say, Mox is a busy, busy, busy man and he doesn't show any signs of slowing down. Almost every week you can rely on seeing him coming stomping down to the ring, talking mad poo poo, backing it up in the ring, getting mean and vicious and expecting just as much in return from his opponents. He has been an MVP for AEW, some might say THE MVP for the promotion, and that doesn't show any signs of stopping.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:35
|
|
|
ChrisBTY posted:this was one hell of an off year apophenium posted:never fails to bring that big match feel. Integrated Houston posted:he was in like half of my favorite matches of the year, and it sure wasn't by accident. STONE COLD 64 posted:literally wrestled until the wheels fell off, or in this case the poop fell through the intestines.  Kenny Omega 2022 Position: 3/63 | 2021 Position: 2/63 | 2020 Position: 3/43 | 2019 Position: 7/63 | Times Voted #1: 4 | Total Times Listed: 25
And it was a rough year. He only managed to get in 29 matches throughout the year, many of them Trios matches or multi-man events peppered through with some standout individual matches. Everything was building up to a big feud against the Don Callis family, with Callis having betrayed the wunderkind who he had been associated with for so long after finding a new prodigy to get his hooks into instead: Konosuke Takeshita. Unfortunately, Omega was suffering from a terrible case of diverticulitis, putting him on the shelf into 2024 with it still unclear at the time of this writing whether he will need surgery or they can get the swelling down without it. So the fact he did so well despite that just goes to show how incredible it is when Omega is in the ring, especially considering all the foolishness reverberating around due to CM Punk's return/subsequent firing with cause for starting ANOTHER fight during the massive All In show which couldn't help but bring back to mind the disaster of the "Brawl Out" backstage fight involving Omega. He is one of the all-time great wrestlers, whether as a face or a heel, in singles or tags, multi-mans or crazy hardcore gimmick matches. He and the Young Bucks ended their Best of 7 series with Triangulo de la Muerte (we miss ya, PAC!), winning the Trios Titles and defending them till March when they lost to House of Black. He opened 2023 with an incredible singles match at Wrestle Kingdom against Will Ospreay, where his Sephiroth inspired (well, I mean, it was straight up just Sephiroth!) entrance was perhaps the most mundane part of the match! He wrestled for the AAA Mega Title in Mexico, beat the Blackpool Combat Club in a Blood and Guts match, reunited again with Kota Ibushi, took a shot at the AEW Title again in a bid to both win the title and protect his record as longest reigning champion (both unsuccessful) and even took away his now heel former teammates the Young Bucks' next title shot when he teamed with old rival Chris Jericho. But it was Don Callis who loomed large over his year, and the opportunities it gave for us to see him wrestle against one of the few wrestlers in the world who could claim to be a match for him on every level... and at such a young age: Konosuke Takeshita. Takeshita, former Ace of Omega's beloved DDT promotion, is the centerpiece of Callis' new "family", and the chance to see the two wrestle a singles match is something we've only seen them do as 3 times... and two of those were a decade+ ago! The third was at All Out, where Omega lost to Takeshita, but if anything sums up Kenny Omega it is the fact that when Callis and Takeshita cut a fiery anti-Kenny promo on the streets of Japan as part of the feud... a candid street snap showed that the one filming that promo with his phone for AEW was, of course... Kenny Omega! Whether heel or face, Omega gives everything his all, which unfortunately perhaps is why we see him having to work harder to push past injuries and recover. But in the ring he's always at his best, he always gives his all, and it's always extraordinary. I can't wait to see what spot in the Top Ten he ends up in for 2024!
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:38
|
|
|
I have said it before, Jon Moxley will never be on any list of my favorite wrestlers, what he excels at are not really the things I look for in a wrestler, but I appreciate just how great he is, and I’m happy that he is in AEW
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:39
|
|
|
On The Internet posted:He's rad IcePhoenix posted:has been on fire for going on what, seven months now? Longer? It's incredible. NutShellBill posted:Everything that Punk pretended to be in AEW. CombineThresher posted:He's gone far out of his way to make himself as unlikable as possible super macho dude posted:when he put on that black turtleneck, I finally saw the light.  Christian Cage 2022 Position: 61/63 | 2021 Position: 37/63 | 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 0 | Total Times Listed: 40
But why did people like him so much in 2023? Probably because it's where everything he'd been building to since seething over a "slight" from Jungle Boy upon his arrival in AEW came to fruition. The slow development of his "Patriarchy" faction has been amazing to see unfold, almost as amazing as Christian's ability to not only ignore reality but insist upon his own so consistently and without the slightest air of insecurity that people start to just kind of go along with it, even if only from exhaustion from trying to get him to admit the truth.\ He turned Nick Wayne against Darby Allin (Darby casually forgiving AR Fox for that home invasion/beatdown on Nick Wayne probably didn't help!), he forced Luchasaurus to change his name to Killswitch, he taunted and eventually "won over" Nick Wayne's mom, and he did it all with hilariously infuriating utterly "sincere" belief that what he was doing was completely right, justified and that everybody else was the problem, not him. When Adam Copeland arrived in AEW however it seemed like the ride might finally be over, as Christian faced the prospect of once again suffering the same fate he had most of his career: being an extremely talented and well-respected wrestler who gets overshadowed by his "brother" Edge. Indeed, at World's End when Copeland pinned him and won the TNT title, it seemed that Christian had to face reality at last. But then history repeated in another way, as "Killswitch" arrived to cash in the TNT Title shot he'd won earlier that night only for Christian to force him to give it to him instead. The former Luchasaurus had already in the past been relegated to standing in the background while Christian called himself the TNT Champion despite it being Luchasaurus' belt, then done the hard work in the three-way where Christian had actually won the belt against he and Darby Allin. Now, after a harsh whispered reminder of something in his ear, he had to stand and watch as Christian took his hard-won title shot and used it to IMMEDIATELY get the win back over Copeland. Christian is the best kind of heel, the kind who is utterly convinced he is right and who is going to face an extraordinary reckoning... some day. It just wasn't in 2023, as he continued to win and rub it in the faces of everybody who was convinced they could get the best of him, that they had his number, that they had figured out a workaround for all his bullshit. They haven't, not yet, and "Chris-Tee-An Cage" as Nigel McGuinness so wonderfully puts it is going into 2024 prepared to keep his title, exploit his underlings, and keep an eye out for more wrestlers without dads to target. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Feb 4, 2024 |
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:42
|
|
|
Oasx posted:I have said it before, Jon Moxley will never be on any list of my favorite wrestlers, what he excels at are not really the things I look for in a wrestler, but I appreciate just how great he is, and I’m happy that he is in AEW One of the things I love about Mox is that I can't really see him being put into any kind of wrestling match where he's not gonna take to it like a duck to water. Yes I'm including Hyper Misao and Kazuki Hirata matches in there. Go wrestle in DDT, Mox!
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:44
|
|
|
yea ok posted:yawn another year of being the best wrestler alive SamuraiFoochs posted:often comes off dumb as hell, but he's legitimately a guy who just exists to wrestle, wrestling makes him happy, and that comes across in absolutely everything he does. apophenium posted:Sells like mad, great facial expressions, and can cut a hell of a promo when he has to Crapple! posted:He found the pro wrestling cheat code. Never, ever misses in the ring. The most exciting wrestler in the world to watch. STONE COLD 64 posted:is going to be one of the biggest difference makers for AEW if he stays healthy in 2024.  Will Ospreay 2022 Position: 10/63 | 2021 Position: 51/63 | 2020 Position: 42/43 | 2019 Position: 9/63 | Times Voted #1: 7 | Total Times Listed: 35
Regardless of the promotion though, what an incredible in-ring year for Ospreay, holy poo poo! He started the year setting a high watermark for the rest of the wrestling world to have to try and live up to with his US Title match against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom, which was some superhuman poo poo from both wrestlers. It took until the Forbidden Door show in June for him to win it back from Kenny Omega in another incredible match, arguably the match of the night, and then went on to make it to the Semi-Final of the G1 where he managed to not only have another Match of the Year, but one in which he literally carried his opponent at points as Tetsuya Naito appeared to suffer a bad concussion and had no idea what was really going on. That Ospreay was able to make the match as engaging and flow seemingly as naturally as he did despite that was an incredible accomplishment (albeit one that I'd really rather not see again!). He managed a personal highlight when he wrestled at All In at Wembley Stadium in front of 70,000+ fans (with 82,000+ sold, making it the biggest paid wrestling show in history), defeating Chris Jericho as part of a semi-flirtation with the Don Callis Family. But he has his own faction to worry about, and he lead United Kingdom through the year as well, with his upcoming departure from New Japan raising questions over who will run things with him gone (it should be Jeff Cobb). Ospreay has always been very vocal about wanting to give back and help build up other wrestlers/promotions, and perhaps this was most clearly on display in his match against Shota Umino at Power Struggle. Though he won the match, it was a star-making performance for Umino who has long been earmarked as a future star but demonstrated he could be something extraordinary, and a big part of that was everything that Ospreay gave to him. He ended the year going into Wrestle Kingdom ready to wrestle against Jon Moxley, with David Finlay interjecting himself to help keep people from being too excited about the match, and his US Title (re-Christened the UK Title by him) about to be turned into the "Global" Title. But all year long he was all around the globe, wrestling everywhere, having incredible matches against stars, upcoming new guys and established indy talent. For any other faults he might have, Ospreay is one of the world's most exciting and fascinating people to watch wrestle, and this 5th place ranking demonstrates that Punch Sport Pagoda agrees, as it is his highest ranking in one of these threads to date. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 16:48 on Feb 4, 2024 |
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:46
|
|
|
I was catching up after going out for a bracing walk & got to Takeshita & saw he was the #1 Japanese guy & me rolling my eyes out of my head because of course the number 1 Japanese guy on this forum is a guy who wrestles in AEW aside, I was baffled, because where was Nakajima? Turns out #42 is where he was & I had just missed him. So #1 Miyahara & my #9 Okada are the only ones to feature in the top 25, & the only ones to have gotten more than 3 votes. Also glad to see that Fuminori Abe made it on to someone's list, seeing as he was #11 on mine. (Fuminori Abe is Deathworm )Still intrigued to see the top 5 though, even though it's wrong.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:48
|
|
|
On The Internet posted:He's rad CombineThresher posted:one of the best all-around workers in AEW and probably wrestling as a whole. NutShellBill posted:The best face in wrestling. Erin M. Fiasco posted:You'll never find more creative finishes in a single run than you saw during his title run. super macho dude posted:one of the TRUE 4 Pillars of AEW  Orange Cassidy 2022 Position: 5/63 2021 Position: 17/63 | 2020 Position: 8/43 | 2019 Position: 16/63 | Times Voted #1: 10 | Total Times Listed: 50 The absolute workhorse of AEW in 2023, Orange Cassidy stepped up to the plate to take over from Jon Moxley's similarly packed 2022 and made it into a hell of a story, including a feud with the man himself. For somebody whose gimmick is "incredibly lazy and reluctant to do anything", OC managed to be one of the most active, constantly involved and reliable performers on the roster. The All-Atlantic title, an interesting but somewhat confusing new creation, became a highly valuable and sort-after title thanks to the sheer weight of defenses that Cassidy stacked up defending it. When it was "leveled up" to the International Title by Tony Khan as part of some weird marketing tie-in the promotion was doing, it finally seemed to come into its own, thanks almost entirely to the huge amount of work Cassidy had put into it. But it wasn't just the quality of the wrestling (which was high!) that did it, but the storyline that went along with it. Every week, OC was a little more banged up, struggling just a little harder, finding it more difficult to hit his signature moves like the Orange Punch thanks to the amount of abuse he was taking. When he finally fell to Jon Moxley at All Out, it was more like his body had finally given out on him. What was even more remarkable however was that due to an unexpected injury first to Jon Moxley and then Rey Fénix, Cassidy found himself with the title again only a month later. He turned that into a story too, going straight back to the heavy schedule he'd started but admitting that something felt "off", admitting that it was because he needed to beat the man who actually beat him for the title to feel it was truly his again. And he did! At Full Gear, OC defeated a returned Jon Moxley to reaffirm his status as THE International Champion, with no asterisks or footnotes to get in the way. Of course, he was utterly exhausted again and perhaps wondering why he went straight back to the thing that exhausted him in the first place... but that's fine, because it means we all get to see him continue to wrestle great matches every week against a staggeringly large variety of wrestlers. For a man once dismissed as a one-note gimmick who could never survive above the Indy level, Orange Cassidy has proven time and again that he is a star at any level. That's why in 2023 he hit the highest ranking he's ever managed in one of these threads - and he ALWAYS does well in them! - and often as the thread was progressing and the Top Tens were coming in, he was up there in the Top 3... he just couldn't QUITE get there in the end. This year, at least.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:50
|
|
|
It makes me so happy to see Christian Cage place so highly. I've said it time and time again, he's being allowed to shine like he did in TNA, but on a much bigger stage and with the benefit of years of experience, culminating in an absolute monster of a run. I think it's a testament to both him and Copeland that Adam coming to AEW only made Christian hotter with one of my favorite feuds of the year. So great.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:50
|
|
|
forkboy84 posted:(Fuminori Abe is Deathworm That seems unlikely, forkboy. Fuminori Abe is a human man, and Deathworm is a.... death... worm! You probably feel pretty foolish right now 
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:51
|
|
|
Erin M. Fiasco posted:It makes me so happy to see Christian Cage place so highly. I've said it time and time again, he's being allowed to shine like he did in TNA, but on a much bigger stage and with the benefit of years of experience, culminating in an absolute monster of a run. I think it's a testament to both him and Copeland that Adam coming to AEW only made Christian hotter with one of my favorite feuds of the year. So great. I remember back around 2005 or so when people were raving about "Captain Charisma" and how he should obviously be one of the top guys in WWE, and how the closest we ever got was when he came back from TNA, Edge had to retire and he got a brief run as champ in a feud with Orton (which was very good, to be fair!). It's so great that all these years later, especially after the concussion scare that seemingly ended his career, that he's back and showing that everybody who supported him back in 2005 was absolutely in the right.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 5, 2024 01:22 |
|
|
PlasticAutomaton posted:So goddamned cool. Twin Cinema posted:I remember seeing people hyping him up when he first came to AEW, and I didn't see it at first because I am a moron. Tampa Bae posted:has had one of the best years for a rising star I've seen in a long time. STONE COLD 64 posted:its been a treat to see him really come into his own here and for other people to finally see him at the level he should be at. Artelier posted:Everything he does feels like it matters due to how he holds himself, and his entourage helps juxtapose just how horrible this man is.  Swerve Strickland 2022 Position: 11/63 2021 Position: Did Not Rank | 2020 Position: Did Not Rank | 2019 Position: Did Not Rank | Times Voted #1: 3 | Total Times Listed: 59
Swerve Strickland had a very, very, very violent year. It didn't start well for him, having lost the tag titles in 2022, then the DEFY World Title early in the year to young prodigy Nick Wayne, and failing in his efforts to win the International Title. His initial formation of the Mogul Affiliates left a little to be desired, and an initial angle taking on AR Fox as a henchmen fell apart when the latter couldn't go to London for All In and Swerve had to sub in Christian Cage instead. But the violence had begun even then, with Swerve and Fox invading Nick Wayne's home and putting a beating on him before forcing him to call Darby Allin so they could taunt him. That in turn lead to another home invasion angle when Swerve - now working with Prince Nana and turning the Embassy into The Mogul Embassy - broke into Hangman Adam Page's home on-the-air and went into his baby's room (no, the baby was NOT there). That's when things got bloody. Swerve and Page's Texas Death at Full Gear was an unbelievably bloody affair that ended with Swerve taking the win, and by this point the momentum from earlier in the year had finally hit full steam. Everybody was talking about Swerve as a future champion, and Swerve himself was busy making media appearances, getting his name out there, talking passionately at media scrums about the importance of media focus including smaller promotions like DEFY where he had made his name initially and not just the big boys like AEW and WWE. He made it to the Semi-Finals of the Continental Classic, a three-way match due to points total seeing him face off against Jon Moxley and Switchblade Jay White. He didn't win that, and a planned belated continuation of his feud with Keith Lee was suddenly scrapped right at the end of the year due to injury, meaning he faced Dustin Rhodes instead. Swerve was vocal in the aftermath that he wasn't about having his time wasted anymore. His momentum was there and he wasn't going to let himself fall back into the mix again. 2024 already looks set to have big things in store for Strickland, who managed to best even his impressive 11th place finish in 2022 (after failing to rank the previous three years that I could find under any of his other ring-names), and it'll be interesting to see where he is this time next year. For 2023 though, he hits third place after a lengthy back-and-forth struggle with Orange Cassidy to see who would take the bronze.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2024 16:53
|
|