Justify Your Favourites

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

This thread is inspired by a post from Kevin Wilson in one of the AEW threads. He wrote: "God I hope no one ever drills me on why my favorite wrestlers are my favorite. Some connections are intangible and no two people are going to have those same connections. And honestly its not really anyone else's concern anyway, like who you like. Unless you like Akira Taue or something, then you should do better. (I'm kidding, please don't ban me)." Now, Kevin isn't entirely wrong in his thinking there. Personal tastes are mysterious and sometimes genuinely inexplicable. (for example, some people like Muto more than Taue. Crazy,right?) Perhaps as a kid you were running to get a hotdog and fell and skinned your knee. and now as an adult you say you don't like hotdogs because of the nitrates or whatever but in fact it's the memory of that childhood trauma... HOWEVER it seems like a weird take to me. In my opinion, this is a pro wrestling discussion board and I don't think it was in any way unreasonable for one poster (I think it was Dog,but being unable to flip pages on this site makes it difficult to go back and check) to ask another poster (it was definitely Casey) to explain why they like a particular wrestler. Also: Hey, Casey! Casey! Would an empty can be OK? (This w/r/t a coffe can with a different Casey favourite wrestler on it, as discussed on the merch thread). I am writing this up on Firefox because I was hoping I'd be able to tag people using this browser, but: Nope. I, very weirdly, can't make paragraph breaks on Firefox  but I can post pics and videos. I may go back later and edit in paragraphs in Chrome. Or I might just leave this as a DEAN style wall of text. Why do I keep posting here if it's such a pain in the ass? Because the DVDVR boards are still THE BEST PLACE on the internet for pro wrestling discussion. Maybe for me the peak of all time for such discussion was the SmarksChoice GWE discussion. That was almost 100% people justifying their favourites as if opinions were objective truth and it was A BLAST! I still have internet friends (like for example The Natural) who I met arguing and discussing over there. Hopefully there is still room for and enough interest for a thread where all we do is explain why we like certain wrestlers. Allow me to begin. I like BRYAN Danielson the most because I met him several times in the early/mid 2000s when he regularly popped up to Vancouver because Vancouver All Star/ECCW had given him work back when work was hard to comd by and he always remembered that. He's a genuinely good dude, humble and friendly, and obviously great at every important aspect of pro wrestling and also able and willing to adapt to many different styles and also he always makes the other wrestlers in there with him look good. I like KUUGA/AZIAN COOGER because he's my real-life friend and because he loves pro wrestling SO MUCH and because he'll do a senton atomico onto a pile of chairs in front of literally twelve people. I love Zeus and Bodyguard and Mihara and Kotoge and Harada and Black Bufallo and Tadasuke and Tigers Mask and Spider and Apple and Ran-chan and Billyken and Fuke and Matsuyama and Ebessu and Kuishin... I LOVE OSAKA PRO because that was my second family for a few years and they were all in various ways kind and friendly and helpful to me and made me feel welcime and like I belonged. And they still do if I see them now. I love Ebessan/Kikutaro and Kuishinbou Kamen in particular because watchung their legendary 2/3 falls match literally (literally!) changed my life. Then meeting Ebessan (3) and Kuishin changed it again by convincing me (and also convincing the woman who has now been my wife for over 15 years) that I was MEANT TO live here.  I love BIG JOHN TENTA because him agreeing to be interviewed by me was the key that opened the door to the at-that-time extremely secretive a d insular world of pro wrestling. I love VERNE and I-TON for being my senpai and my closest friend in wrestling in the 80s and I live BRUISER JOE and SALTY THE SEAMAN because they are STILL wrestling and sometimes they come over here to hang out and drink with Kuuga and me. I love MISAWA because he was the mosr exciting guy on those blurry tapes I traded for and later I loved him more because almost everyone else was divided into Camp Kawada or Camp Kobashi which made being Camp Misawa seem more interesting to me at that time. LYGER obviously stood out on those old comps,too! And of all the Japanese wrestlers I got into back then they are the ones whose "body of work" best stood up under repeated scrutiny. And their LOVE of wrestling is crystal clear. I more or less picked NAKANISHI at random to be my "Late 90s through  2000s NJPW guy" and I have never regretted it. It was the hour match against Blue Justice that spurred that random decision, but as a result I got to REALLY enjoy (for example) seeing him as champ in front of a white hot Furitsu Taikukaikan crowd, and being there for his last match in Osaka. I love JAGUAR for being the best at being mean, and because she was  very nice to me when we met in person. HOKUTO, too! She's the second-best at being mean, and she was if anything even nicer than Jaguar. Also the whole "body of work" thing works in their favour. Chono, Abdullah, Dump (!), Devitt, Riicky Marvin, Dick Togo, Tajiri, Kikuchi, Ishimori, Akiyama, Delphin, Joe Doering, Suwama, Atsushi Onita and SO MANY other great wrestlers have all  been nice to me at one time or another (I am one lucky prick) and I am more positively predisposed to all of them because of it but only DUMP and KIKUCHI make my favourites list. So, it takes more than just being nice to me once Dump and Kukuchi had, essentially, opposite roles to play but both were PERFECT in those roles. I like BRET so much not because he's great as because he's Western Canadian and because I was able to follow his journey from Stampede youngster through WWF IC champ, then resume watching that journey at WM 13. I could go on (oh boy could I ever) but I am OFF TO WORK now. Gee whiz I hope other peolle wanna play. I can't wait to read other people's takes.

Edited December 23, 2022 by Gordlow

[DEAN]

Asian Cougar fucking RULED.  I love Lioness Asuka because she started off as the WORKER of the Crush Gals and transitioned into the greatest ass stomper in the history of Pro Wrestling.  Her runs in J'd and GAEA are the greatest lost runs in history of pro wrestling.  I love Johnny Valentine because he was conditioning me to love stiff hard-edged wrestling when I was SEVEN years old and didn't realize it.  He came to Mid-Atlantic when I was SIX.  I watched him every week until the plane crash.  Then I got to watch some of his stuff when I was much older and truly appreciated the greatness of his wrestling.  LA PARK when he is on is everything I love about Lucha Libre- horrible violence.  

[SirSmUgly]

Bret Hart: I talked strategy to the screen during his matches as a kid and will occasionally do so as an adult. Best guy at making me forget I'm watching a semi-scripted athletic event. The Sharpshooter rules, as do all the biggest wrestlers who used it as a regular finish (Bret, Sting, Choshu).

Booker T: Loved watching him with my Grandma, did cool kicks and awesome spots for such a big dude, low-key elite shit talker.

Bayley: Best fiery babyface ever? Rhetorical question, the answer is yes. I wanted oxygen, three meals a day, and for her to win the NXT Women's Championship in 2014. Haven't seen her as a heel except for her exquisite "Gen-X woman who WILL call your manager" hair cut.

Randy Savage: Does cool elbow smashes; is a sexist protective psycho, but also still cool somehow; dragged Hogan and Warrior to their best ever matches.

Jim Breaks: The Breaks Special rules. How can one guy throw a temper tantrum in one second, then look like he might rip your limbs out of their joints in the next and pull it off? I don't know, but Breaks does.

Human Tornado: Solid dunker, gave hope to tall skinny dudes like me that we could wrestle if we really wanted to

[The Natural]

Bryan Danielson: A true all rounder. Can do everything: wrestle, promos, face, heel, comedy, brawl, authority figure, hot tag. I got into Bryan Danielson through the quality of his matches first and everything after I mentioned he went on to do. Insane back catalogue of matches. I love Bryan Danielson and would love to meet him. Comes across as such a great guy. Glad you got to meet him, Gordi.

Bret Hart: Before Sting was Bret Hart, the first wrestler I truly liked as a kid with his storytelling, his distinct look wearing pink/black. The way Bret treat the fans during his entrances and post match as well. As I've grown older, the quality of his matches. Excellence of Execution is such a fitting name, nobody touches the way Bret executes moves. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin at WWF WrestleMania 13 is the best match in wrestling history.

Kenta Kobashi: The first Japanese wrestler I got into when Pro Wrestling NOAH from 2004-2005 was shown in the UK. The fiery babyface, the moves he used. That led me to seek out his AJPW back catalogue which was even better: him teaming up with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue on the 9th June 1995 is my runner up for the best match in wrestling history. The matches with Mitsuharu Misawa specifically 31st October 1998 and 20th January 1997.

Mick Foley: I was 11 when Mick Foley debuted as Mankind in WWF, 1996 and he became the first heel I ever liked. Where I'm from, you don't get to meet wrestlers but I had a once in a lifetime chance in 2003 meeting Mick who was so nice to me. My body was so fucked queuing for so long. Many years later, I got to thank Foley on Facebook and he thanked me.

Kazuchika Okada: I got to see Okada's rise in real time so he's my guy there following NJPW properly for the first time in January 2012. Nobody expected Okada to cleanly beat Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. When a wrestler gets a big out of nowhere push, it's swim or sink. Okada proved worthy of it unlike EVIL and Jinder Mahal. I love the Rainmaker finisher and how he made a dropkick important again. Best dropkick ever.

Hiroshi Tanahashi: Feels like the John Cena/Sting of NJPW. The man who brought NJPW back. The white tights. The match with Minoru Suzuki at NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2012, the chemistry and all time rivalry with Kazuchika Okada. The High Fly Flow, Sling Blade and Dragon Screw Leg Whip.

Sting: Bret Hart and Sting were my go to wrestlers as a kid. Sting with the bright colours and charisma. Crow Sting from September 1996-December 1997 is my favourite iteration. What a transition from Surfer Sting to Crow Sting. Fuck Hogan and Bischoff for Starrcade 1997. Wolfpac Sting fucking sucks. Great seeing Sting's AEW run getting treat right unlike WWE.

Gordlow: How about the opposite for a topic, Justify Your Least Favourites?

Edited December 23, 2022 by The Natural

[DangerMark]

It seems to me that is not a thread for the All Time Greats, this is a thread for the John Tentas and the Asian Cougars of the world.

Even Bayley. I am a great fan of my esteemed colleague's Nitro Review Thread, yet I feel compelled to tell him to GTFO with that Bayley Talk. she's the best of the NXT Four Horsewomen by miles as either a face or a heel and while she may well be my favourite WWE wrestler of the last ten years - mainly for the reasons advanced by my esteemed colleague - I don't think she belongs in this thread.

With that in mind, Peter Avalon is my contribution to this thread. At a time where the OOC drama of CM Punk vs. the Elite and rumblings of MJF talking for more than two consecutive minutes have worn my interest in Pro Wrestling away, something about Pretty Peter cheers me up immensely. He's got a ridiculous face, a ridiculous body and a ridiclous gimmick but since he has more charisma in one of his nose hairs than the the current World Champion, he brightens my day up just by thinking about him.

Edited December 23, 2022 by DangerMark

[porksweats]

Virgil: I'm not kidding, going through and giffing alot of the WWF/WCW B/C shows on Gifapalooza, meant I watched alot of Virgil and Vincent, and I've come to enjoy it. He's a singular talent who knows what he does good. Stooging (and he has a sick finisher in WCW).

Bryan Danielson: I mean, he's talented yes but I did see him win the ROH Heavyweight title live at one of the first wrestling shows I ever went to so that carries alot of weight.

QT Marshall: Doing my AEW rewatch has really increased my opinion of him, at first it seems like he falls into the void of the Cody-Verse but he really has a good head on his shoulders in-ring, I'm excited to see how The Factory actually came to be as I was off and on when it happened originally.

[StuntmanCrowley]

Someone jokingly said it in the other thread, but I'm here to say it with all seriousness.

 

R-Truth.  Everything that man does is comedic gold to me and before he was a comedy wrestler, he was putting on good to great matches.  I love R-Truth and before Sami/Bloodline, his segment with Brock was one of the my favorite segments of all time and probably at the top for me.

[For Great Justice]

Sid: S tier physical charisma, fist bumps, insane promos, incredible squashes, one of the best looks ever

Big Daddy V: Best squash match wrestler of the 2000’s. Looked and wrestled like a killer.

Paul Roma: All his shit looked great. Crisp as hell. Every tag team he was ever in ruled.

Roadblock: Was there anything more WCWSN than Roadblock? Just this fat dude seemingly off the street, carries a literal road block to the ring, has the stupid ass backflip over the ropes finish. I mean come on, this rules.

[DMJ]

Cobra vs. Sgt. Pittman from Fall Brawl 95'.

Its ridiculous. Its awesome. Its stupid. Its brilliant. 

If you've never seen the match, I'm not going to spoil any of it, but its a "must see" match/segment to me. Neither guy was ever going to light the world on fire with their wrestling ability or even their gimmicks - which, by 95', military gimmicks had been done to death - but kudos to whoever produced and booked this (maybe Kevin Sullivan?) because it is just so, so entertaining.

[SirSmUgly]

6 hours ago, DangerMark said:

It seems to me that is not a thread for the All Time Greats, this is a thread for the John Tentas and the Asian Cougars of the world.

Even Bayley. I am a great fan of my esteemed colleague's Nitro Review Thread, yet I feel compelled to tell him to GTFO with that Bayley Talk. she's the best of the NXT Four Horsewomen by miles as either a face or a heel and while she may well be my favourite WWE wrestler of the last ten years - mainly for the reasons advanced by my esteemed colleague - I don't think she belongs in this thread.

 

I feel you. In my defense, I went back and checked and this thread was sparked by a discussion around CM Punk, who is generally regarded as a Very Good Wrestler. Not by me, but that's for another thread.

But allow me to revise my initial post with this follow-up:

John Tenta - I don't think he belongs here either because he has too many fun matches not to rule hard. I saw the UWFi tags that apparently everyone saw before me and he's super-great in those, but he also found a way to have a fun match with a broken down Big Bubba on a WCW PPV while he was also broken down, and while I think clever road agents and Jimmy Hart also rule and maybe do belong on this list from a wrestling standpoint, come on, my man Tenta is great just for that. 

Catweazle - I like it when, in a sea of legit athletes and regular dudes who hit the pub in Bristol six nights a week and drink a few pints, some weird dude can get Kent Walton's voice to raise in timbre slightly on a regular basis. I think this explains, if not all of the magic of Catweazle, most of it. 

KroniK - First of all, let me say that both Brian Adams and Bryan Clarke are awesome on their own, dammit. The Cranium Crunch? Rules. Adams awkwardly calling someone a PENCIL-NECKED GEEK?! in his promo on the WCW Nitro video game? Rules. Clarke doing a slightly-cooler-looking uranage? Rules. Adam Bomb walking around with different colored contacts in his eyes because he's a radioactive Spiderman Harvey Wippleman client? Rules. So these two together coming out and killing geeks also rules. Made even cooler by the contrast to the Harris Twins/Creative Control doing the same thing, but shittily, in the same company at roughly the same time. 

Kevin Nash - Can I put this guy here? Everyone thinks he sucks when he's not being dragged to a good match by Bret or Shawn, but a) I just want to see him powerbomb dudes and crack jokes, and he does that for me, and b) his propensity for proving that he reads the papers/is a guy with a robust RSS feed whenever he talks is endlessly entertaining to me. Plus, he was one-half of TNA's best ever commentator duo with a guy I put on my first list. Wait, did I say "TNA?" I mean "wrestling in general's best ever commentator duo," sorry. 

EDIT: Roadblock - Roadblock is great. You can't convince me otherwise. He does about four moves (elbow drop, leg drop, clothesline, body slam), and the first three look great. Also, I love the whole dirty scumbag fat guy who gets into bar fights look this dude rocks.

Stevie Ray is great, too. IT'S ON LIKE NECKBONES, SUCKA. Remember how Moneyball profiled Billy Beane and showed how OBP was vastly undervalued by the baseball market? I would like to posit that Michael Lewis write about Harlem Heat, Meltzer as a tastemaker, and the general undervaluation of SWEET CLUBBERING. 

Edited December 23, 2022 by SirSmellingtonofCascadia

[Just Dave]

I second the KroniK love. I can't think of too many better examples of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. If you told me in 1994 that Crush and Adam Bomb would be a tag team, I'd have thought it would rule. That was good shit. They appealed to me as a kid. I also loved late WCW Konnan. Those promos were off the chain. I used to only button the top button of my shirts at school just to pop my friends. Stevie Ray was a source of great joy for us in high school. Me and my friends got a ton of mileage out of calling each other, "sad, sack ass fruit booties" and referring to girls as "yaks." We were exactly as cool as we sound. 

 

Here lately I've hitched my wagon to Wheeler Yuta. The babyface energy. I love it. 

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

16 hours ago, DangerMark said:

It seems to me that is not a thread for the All Time Greats, this is a thread for the John Tentas and the Asian Cougars of the world.
.

.

Not really sure how you'd get that idea, considering the first post includes obvious picks like BRYAN DANIELSON, MISAWA,  LIGER, JAGUAR, HOKUTO, and BRET. That being said, it's totally fine by me if folks want to leave consensus GREAT wrestlers off their list of FAVOURITES. Certainly not necessary to do so, though.

I am definitely enjoying the WIDE range of choices and the interesting "justifications" of everyone's picks. It makes me feel vindicated in thinking that it is by no means unreasonable to ask someone "why" they like someone or something. Seems like a fine way to generate some thought and discussion.

22 hours ago, The Natural said:

Gordlow: How about the opposite for a topic, Justify Your Least Favourites?

Sounds good! Have at 'er, everyone! Probably no need for a seperate thread. Allow me to begin: the reason I FUCKING HATE seeing JEFF JARRETT in AEW goes back to when I first came back to Canada from Europe. I got in touch with my old pro wrestling senpai Vicious Verne and he hooked me up with an absolute ton of wrestling tapes so I could catch up on some of what I'd missed in my seven years overseas. Among the tapes were the first few weekly TNA PPVs. That was the worst crap I had ever laid my eyes upon. It was worse because of the anticipation. (I felt the same way about new episodes of The Simpsons). Not sure if it was in those first few weekly PPVs or something I watched with Verne later at his place(or both) but there were also SEVERAL instances of Jeff Jarret booking himself as the ultimate badass asskicking stand-alone babyface ala Stone Cold Steve Austin. It laid absolutely bare how much of a mark for himself this passable midcard southern heel was. It was deeply embarrassing to watch. Mortifying. I have never gotten over that. I feel legitimately bad inside every time I see or hear the guy. Him emphasising "slapnuts" every time he says it, as if expecting to get a massive pop, makes pity and sadness well up in my bosom. That's not generally how I wanna feel watching AEW. To wash that taste outa my mouth: The first lucha match I REALLY got into in my tape-trading days was the somewhat legendary multi-man (tourneo cyberbetico?) match won by FELINO. He's been my main 90s lucha guy ever since. I always mark out when he shows up. The standard hipster response to that is to say "I prefer his brother" so if you were mentally loading up that response you just might be a standard hipster.  I love EDDIE KINGSTON because when he came over to Osaka Pro I NEVER saw him break character. I saw ATSUSHI ONITA break character there. I saw FUJIWARA break charcter there. Kingston was.ALWAYS surly and unpleasant. And we LOVED him for it. And when he got himself over on AEW he became a symbol for all the great indie character workers (like Arik Cannon for example) who never got the chance...  and then he proved himself to be so much more than even that. To take it a step further, LUTHER stands in my mind as a symbol for all the dudes who aren't necessarily gifted with a great look and/or exceptional athleticism but who love wrestling and tour the world putting their bodies on the line for minimal reward and recognition  (like for example Tony Myers). Hats off to those dudes. Love seeing any travelling indie veteran on Dark or Elevation! Goes a LONG WAY toward making up for putting Jarrett back on TV. That dude had his shot, and blew it. Completely.  Catastrophically. Irredeemably and irrevocably, in my book. Hey! TAKUMI IROHA was the best new-to-me wrestler I saw live in the 2020s. She hits BattlArts hard and sparkles with joy in the the ring. FUMINORI ABE was the best new-to-me guy I saw this year. He hits BattlArts hard and radiates a grim seriousness  of purpose, but also  sometimes appears on Choco Pro. LULU PENCIL is the greatest pro wrestler who has ever lived. Yes, even better than KroniK and I stand by that controversial opinion.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Gordlow

[Just Dave]

Jeff Jarrett's an interesting case to me. I despised him in WWE in every stint he had in the 90's, and his first WCW stint as not a Horseman was dogshit, too. But that second WCW run as "the chosen one..." I kinda dug that. Also fuck Mike Graham. Jarrett was a genuine bright spot in that era. The TNA stuff (outside Double J Double MMA) largely sucked ass, but this litle late career renaissance he's having is pretty fascinating to me. He generates heat like a laptop with a broken fan, and has such a great approach. He put on a master class in stalling and heating an audience in Ric Flair's Last Match (I think I owe Conrad a dollar for having typed that out) and he gets the reaction he's trying to get. In a world where MJF gets cheered while telling the audience how much he genuinely hates them, that's a valuable skill. 

[BloodyChamp]

What great spin here on an old, endless topic. It’s such a great spin because it’s not even a spin. One word - justify. It reminds me of that awesome Jim Cornette promo which was 1 of those billion post threads on the old board.

My brain isn’t in overdrive gear right now so instead of coming up with a good write up here I’ll expand on Bret Hart. It needed doing anyway since the Bret Hart thread was locked. 

Bret Hart is 1 of my favorites because he sold everything. Huh lots of wrestlers sell everything...not really. Watch a Bret Hart wrist lock then a Ric Flair wrist lock. Ric Flair of course is a GOAT seller, but even he didn’t sell everything. Bret Hart did. If he did a wrist lock he grabbed that wrist as tight as he could every time and made a facial expression like he was straining to hold it. If he did a rest hold on the mat he wasn’t resting as easy as the other guy because he was first being sure to sell the hold. If it was that face/head lock down on 1 knee that they always used, he made sure there was no daylight between his arms and that guy’s head or face. That took effort, more than it looked like, especially when you were also trying to rest. Other wrestlers didn’t always do that. Some never did, including some who otherwise busted their asses out there.

[DangerMark]

6 hours ago, Gordlow said:

20 hours ago, DangerMark said:

 

Not really sure how you'd get that idea, considering the first post includes obvious picks like BRYAN DANIELSON, MISAWA,  LIGER, JAGUAR, HOKUTO, and BRET.

While I take your point, it certainly seems to me that nobody needs to justify any of those picks in any great depth, because approximately anyone should be able to appreciate the people in this list. Even the people who only liked wrestling for five seconds back when they were kids can get on board with Akira Hokuto bleeding everywhere and dropping Shinobu Kandori on her head. Trust me on that.

For my own part, I'm way more interested in why some bloke I might have accidently saw on grainy-ass VHS footage and forgot about is actually awesome and how I was a fool for forgetting about him.

Edited December 24, 2022 by DangerMark

[AxB]

So, Death Samurai Akira, representing Kill or Be Killed, from the Motherfuckin' USA. In terms of American Death Match wrestlers, he's probably the best technician. His hybrid Catch Death style brings a whole different flavour... where a lot of the guys working GCW or ICW: NHB are more about your walk and brawl, punch kick styles, he can have a great match with just about anyone. He's very good at straight wrestling without the blood and plunder, but when it's time to bleed, he'll bleed better than anyone. It's just he'll then do a perfect high forehead bridging German suplex, on a mat covered in broken glass or thumbtacks.

Now, as far as WARHORSE goes, yes, it's an over the top cartoony character. By design. He was a solid wrestler when he was just Jake Parnell from St Louis, but he was going through the motions, a generic indie guy. He re-thought his approach, asked himself what his favourite wrestlers when he was 14 years old has been like, and emulated that style. Now, the fact that his gimmick currently seems to override him in terms of being a talented wrestler, that's a positive too. You think he's going to be a gimmick wrestler who just does a handful of comedy spots, and then he's suddenly having this great, hard hitting (in person, his stuff is stiff as hell; doesn't always translate on camera) compelling, dramatic match. WARHORSE: The most American Wrestler.

[tbarrie]

Luchasaurus is one of my favourites because he's a Goddamned dinosaur who knows lucha libre.

[Shartnado]

37 minutes ago, tbarrie said:

Luchasaurus is one of my favourites because he's a Goddamned dinosaur who knows lucha libre.

Until he turned on Jungle Boy, I totally agreed with you! That is awesome! An evil Luchasaurus is danger to the planet and needs to go extinct, however!

[Shartnado]

Look, I'm not justifying shit! But: I love Player One like video game good guys that are strong and fast.

This is why guys like PAC, Buddy Matthews and Killer McMurderface and Dynamite Shithead have been my favourites.

I love Jungle Boy. If he looked more younger PAC (circa 2014) he'd be the perfect wrestler! I really like Brian Cage because he does crazy shit for such a huge guy!

And Pete Dunne was booked like this insanely fearless badass, who will fight anyone. I'm a wuss who won't fight anyone, so I respect the shit out of that.

Also, Paul Roma has the gift of being perfect Player One! Dropkick, running powerslam, leap onto the top rope into a cross body! Crisp as all fuck! Body, million F'n bucks! Even through out the testing years!

Edited December 24, 2022 by Shartnado
Paul Roma stuff!

[The Natural]

On 12/23/2022 at 6:00 AM, The Natural said:

Gordlow: How about the opposite for a topic, Justify Your Least Favourites?

 

14 hours ago, Gordlow said:

Sounds good! Have at 'er, everyone! Probably no need for a seperate thread. Allow me to begin: the reason I FUCKING HATE seeing JEFF JARRETT in AEW goes back to when I first came back to Canada from Europe. I got in touch with my old pro wrestling senpai Vicious Verne and he hooked me up with an absolute ton of wrestling tapes so I could catch up on some of what I'd missed in my seven years overseas. Among the tapes were the first few weekly TNA PPVs. That was the worst crap I had ever laid my eyes upon. It was worse because of the anticipation. (I felt the same way about new episodes of The Simpsons). Not sure if it was in those first few weekly PPVs or something I watched with Verne later at his place(or both) but there were also SEVERAL instances of Jeff Jarret booking himself as the ultimate badass asskicking stand-alone babyface ala Stone Cold Steve Austin. It laid absolutely bare how much of a mark for himself this passable midcard southern heel was. It was deeply embarrassing to watch. Mortifying. I have never gotten over that. I feel legitimately bad inside every time I see or hear the guy. Him emphasising "slapnuts" every time he says it, as if expecting to get a massive pop, makes pity and sadness well up in my bosom. That's not generally how I wanna feel watching AEW. To wash that taste outa my mouth: The first lucha match I REALLY got into in my tape-trading days was the somewhat legendary multi-man (tourneo cyberbetico?) match won by FELINO. He's been my main 90s lucha guy ever since. I always mark out when he shows up. The standard hipster response to that is to say "I prefer his brother" so if you were mentally loading up that response you just might be a standard hipster.  I love EDDIE KINGSTON because when he came over to Osaka Pro I NEVER saw him break character. I saw ATSUSHI ONITA break character there. I saw FUJIWARA break charcter there. Kingston was.ALWAYS surly and unpleasant. And we LOVED him for it. And when he got himself over on AEW he became a symbol for all the great indie character workers (like Arik Cannon for example) who never got the chance...  and then he proved himself to be so much more than even that. To take it a step further, LUTHER stands in my mind as a symbol for all the dudes who aren't necessarily gifted with a great look and/or exceptional athleticism but who love wrestling and tour the world putting their bodies on the line for minimal reward and recognition  (like for example Tony Myers). Hats off to those dudes. Love seeing any travelling indie veteran on Dark or Elevation! Goes a LONG WAY toward making up for putting Jarrett back on TV. That dude had his shot, and blew it. Completely.  Catastrophically. Irredeemably and irrevocably, in my book. Hey! TAKUMI IROHA was the best new-to-me wrestler I saw live in the 2020s. She hits BattlArts hard and sparkles with joy in the the ring. FUMINORI ABE was the best new-to-me guy I saw this year. He hits BattlArts hard and radiates a grim seriousness  of purpose, but also  sometimes appears on Choco Pro. LULU PENCIL is the greatest pro wrestler who has ever lived. Yes, even better than KroniK and I stand by that controversial opinion.

Rant time:

Hulk Hogan by far. Hated Hulk Hogan since a kid for always winning, a sore loser when beat fairly, his repeated backstage politics especially vs. Sting at WCW Starrcade 1997, how selfish a main eventer he was and worse of all, he's a racist piece of fucking shit. I have utter contempt for the Hulkster. Fuck you, Hulk Hogan.

Jeff Jarrett. All the NWA World Heavyweight Champion reigns on terror in TNA. Seeing him in AEW is such a massive ugh. Only three things I like: him vs. Shawn Michaels at WWF In Your House 3, My World and Jeff Jarrett MMA iteration. Rest can get to fuck.

Adam Cole. A walking catchphrase, never done anything for me. Part of my least favourite matches in recent times, the NXT trilogy with Johnny Gargano in 2019.

Marty Scurll. Long before what came out about Scurll and more ever since. Shit Crossface Chicken Wing. Overrated look.

Pentagon: I want to slap the piss out of that fucking taunt spammer. Christ, I think I'd rather watch Adam Cole.

Will Ospreay. Overrated, bruv. Stormbreaker's shit. Only thing going for him is the Hidden Blade finisher.

Brock Lesnar. Suplex City shit. Same old boring suplexes and match format.

Ric Flair. Wrestler on repeat. Matches with Sting the prime example. Never shared in the Greatest Wrestler of All Time talk.

Jay Lethal. Fine impressionist of Randy Savage and Ric Flair. That's it. Dull as fuck otherwise. Hate the Lethal Injection and all who use the handstand cutter requiring the opponent to sell like a fucking Mortal Kombat fighter waiting for the Fatality.

Charlotte Flair. Out of the NXT Four Horsewomen, she has the biggest push but she's by far the worst. Should have lost at WWE WrestleMania XXXII in the Triple Threat to Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, at WWE WrestleMania XXXIV to Asuka and Rhea Ripley at WWE WrestleMania XXXVI.

EVIL. Oof. More so Gedo booking Tetsuya Naito to drop the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship to him.

Jinder Mahal. The worst world champion ever. Still pissed Jinder Mahal went over Shinsuke fucking Nakamura to defend the WWE Championship at WWE SummerSlam 2017.

Edited December 24, 2022 by The Natural

[Octopus]

Welcome to the OCTO-Favs Justification Station:

 

Starting with…

 

CHILDHOOD HEROES

 

Ken Shamrock - as a tiny spaz growing up, he was the best. He could beat anyone up and he was super tough. He’s rage up and lick you up in a move while yelling. You couldn’t even put him in a straight jacket, you stupid guitar playing bitch Jeff Jarret. Fuck you Double J. Suck my B to the A to the double L to the S. Take this ankle lock from the fucking king, Ken Shamrock. Fuck you.

Mankind/ Mic Foley - how can a child not like him. He could be silly but he’d also never give up. He looked like a normal man but deranged at the same time. He was either a crazed mortal against gods or your looney uncle you lived but had to look out for. 

The Rock - if Jim Carey and James Dean had a baby.

 

TEENAGE ANGST

 

Chris Benoit - I’m not defending him and can’t watch his matches anymore. But at the time, he’s who I would point to as to why I loved wrestling when people would say it was fake. I wish his mental deterioration could have been caught early and lives would have been saved.

RVD - the Five Star Frog Splash and the kicking of chairs into people’s heads was sweet as fuck.

Rhyno - He fucking Gored people

Tajiri - He fucking kicked people after spitting on them.

Stevie Richards and Val Venis - I made them a tag team in Here Comes the Pain called the Sex Pistols and I beat my friend with them. 

 

PRETENTIOUS LATE TEEN EARLY TWENTIES 

 

Mike Quackenbush - He’s been cringy recently and probably a carny. But during CHIKARA he was a nerdy and likable good guy HHH amongst silly gimmicks and super heroes before it was cool. I saw him live against Claudio and at the time I was a big Quackenbush mark and he was very friendly. I’m sure he was manipulative and is a bad people person according to stories people tell. I do think he has a unique mind for the business and would be interested to hear more of his wrestling theories.

Super Dragon - a hard to explain but perfect Indy gimmick. Just the essence of cool and illusive. 

Low Ki - Him vs KENTA was my new favorite match ever when I first saw it and watched it so many times and showed so many people it. The double stomps blew my mind. In wrestling it is important to have a sense of legitimacy and he had it. Too bad his personality was his own worst enemy, he could have been so much more.

 

I’M A MAN, DAMN IT

 

Bryan Danielson - Everything @The Natural said. Plus: it wasn’t until a few years ago that I’ve GOATed him as my All-Time favorite. I was talking with friends at a get together. We were deep into drinking and wrestling came up, they were super casual lapsed fans but roughly kept up with stuff on like Facebook or YouTube that would pop up. Going over current favorites, I thought about it and I said Daniel Bryan. I would have said Samoa Joe but he was hurt at the time so I gave it to Dragon on a technicality. Honestly, I’m fuzzy on timelines so maybe that part isn’t accurate. But thinking on it, his run in WWE (this was pre-New Daniel Bryan even) was fun, but adding it with his amazing ROH run, it’s a great career. Then adding the heel act during Kofimania AND his list of spectacular AEW matches, I truly believe that I have him slated as GOAT. It’s dynamic and could change with more thorough research, but playing so many different roles so fantastically and maintaining the sense of it still being within the same character leaves me in awe with him. Add to this, I’m a big mark for long matches. It can be tough to have the time now in life, but they are a real treat for me when done well. 

Naomi - She got me back into wrestling. I’ve told this story a lot. My wife (gf at the time) was watching Total Divas and the wedding episode where Rikishi didn’t show up to their wedding made me cry. I love her and will always cheer for her. I feel the GLOW! 

Kenta Kobashi - his GHC title run era is my ideal wrestler. He just feels important and awe inspiring, yet can be vulnerable when earned by an opponent. I enjoyed his underdog character during the time of the Pillars, but it’s when he is a chopping man that I love him with all of my heart. 

Katsuhiko Nakajima - Most things I said about Low Ki here. Jeez he kicks hard. Maybe it isn’t safe but hot dang he’s crazy.

Daisuke Sekimoto - my ideal wrestling. Have BJ Strong tag match with other brutes and watch perfect grappling struggles. I want to watch him while drinking a scotch.

William Regal - what I said about Daisuke Sekimoto oddly enough works here.

Colt Cabana - I admire his hustle working through the independent scene. He’s been on so many local shows and is always beloved by the fans. He plays his act well and comes across as a nice guy. I started listening a few episodes of his podcast and he seems alright enough. 

Arik Cannon - He’s kind of The Godfather of the local scene in Minneapolis. Seems like a cool guy too. Good for him.

Nick Bockwinkel, Terry Funk and Negro Casas - I shouldn’t combine them but honestly what I’ll say fits both. I’m interested in every little thing they do in the ring. So fun to watch and keep your eyes on them. 

DaParty - best thing in wrestling isn’t even wrestling. 

Ramps that lead up to the ring - they look sweet. I like that AEW mixes it up, but it’s cool to see that they’ll occasionally do that.

Athena - I predict big things for her. She has a fantastic personality that can be a great mean and cockily viscous heel. Not saying she’s a mean person, but in UUDD she can tease and be petty lol.

King’s Road - For better or worse, the Citizen Kane of wrestling. 

Penta taunting - wrestling is better with at least one overly taunting Chad OchoCinco type. If everyone did it, it would be annoying. But mainly just him? Neat! Sorry Paul!!

[StuntmanCrowley]

Mikey Whipwreck-  Mikey will always be the quintessential underdog for me.  I loved almost all of his work in ECW, especially the feud with Sandman and Steve Austin(one of which matches Mikey took a brutal beating with a guardrail that still sticks with me to this day).  His late career resurgence when he started teaming with Tajiri led to some of the most innovative and creative tag team offense I had seen up to then.  plus, underdog Mikey and his dragon shirts?  Next level haha.

 

Jun Kasai - I had the pleasure of seeing Jun Kasai wrestle live once at a firehouse in Delaware.  It was at a CZW event called Un F'N Believable where he teamed with Nick Mondo against Justice Pain an Johnny Kashmere.  The match was batshit insane.  I am friends with Mondo, and driving him down, I drove, him and some of our other friends constructed weapons in the car, including a massive lighttube club, and a putter with regular lightbulbs on it, and on the lightbulbs had thumbtacks glued onto them.  It was just a bloody, violent spectacle at which Kasai was in the middle of.  The man was deranged in the absolute best way and i was a fan of his for life since then.  It's also so cool to see what a normal, family man sort of guy he is when you get to see him away from the death match scene.  He's honestly in my top 10 of all time.

[BloodyChamp]

11 hours ago, The Natural said:

 

Rant time:

Hulk Hogan by far. Hated Hulk Hogan since a kid for always winning, a sore loser when beat fairly, his repeated backstage politics especially vs. Sting at WCW Starrcade 1997, how selfish a main eventer he was and worse of all, he's a racist piece of fucking shit. I have utter contempt for the Hulkster. Fuck you, Hulk Hogan. 

He’s who I hate most. He such a shitass that I would go as far as to say that the worst thing he ever did was something besides being a racist. He was worse that a racist piece of shit. He RUINED WCW and by extension the NWA, and just wrestling as we knew it. He had turning heel, which involved the work of alot of other people also, to thank for very long career resurrection. His thanks was pulling out of doing business the day he was supposed to. He’s never met halfway on any of it let alone came clean. I could hit him with a baseball bat in the head for that alone, without even getting into him being a racist or saying that God made Nick crash so that he could give the person he fucked all up what he deserved. 

[Octopus]

12 hours ago, BloodyChamp said:

He’s who I hate most. He such a shitass that I would go as far as to say that the worst thing he ever did was something besides being a racist. He was worse that a racist piece of shit. He RUINED WCW and by extension the NWA, and just wrestling as we knew it. He had turning heel, which involved the work of alot of other people also, to thank for very long career resurrection. His thanks was pulling out of doing business the day he was supposed to. He’s never met halfway on any of it let alone came clean. I could hit him with a baseball bat in the head for that alone, without even getting into him being a racist or saying that God made Nick crash so that he could give the person he fucked all up what he deserved. 

A wise man once said, “I have strong opinions about former WWF/WCW/WWE Champion Terry Bollea which you should PM me about. But I wanted to express them here too because I can't help myself.”

Edited December 25, 2022 by Octopus
Wow, beautiful mod edit. Well done

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

Fuck I love Sid.

He looks like an 80s movie villain. He has the verbiage of an 80s movie villain. He beats people up like one. And he fucking commits to all of it. It's all believable as believable can be in a wrestling context. This big jericurled motherfucker would totally menace you over a parking spot. I love that his taunts and crowd engagement just seem so appropriate for his character - Survivor Series 96. He genuinely looks shocked that MSG are losing their shit for him over Shawn. He looks like and he should, be asking the crowd whether to destroy this old man with a giant camera. Is he gonna club this fucker in the back of the neck? Yes he will, and he's going to make sure you know he's going to do it for you. 

Kids taking a fistbump from Sid look as overjoyed as Bret giving them his sunglasses.

The guy is one of the most giving top guys in history - he put over so many guys clean. Some unnecessarily.