Lurker > Maniac64

The List so far

50 Curt Hennig / Mr. Perfect
51 Randy Orton
52 Asuka/Kana
53 Atlantis
54 Samoa Joe
54 Seth Rollins
56 Will Ospreay
57 Bruno Sammartino
57 Orange Cassidy
57 Tomohiro Ishii
60 Tetsuya Naito
61 Kota Ibushi
62 Konnan
63 Booker T
63 Ricky Steamboat
63 Scott Steiner
66 Nigel McGuinness
66 Roddy Piper
68 Kevin Nash
69 Zack Sabre Jr.
70 Katsuyori Shibata
70 Scott Hall/Razor Ramon
70 Shinsuke Nakamura
73 Matt Jackson
74 Dr Wagner Jr.
75 Minoru Suzuki
76 Drew McIntyre
76 LA Park
76 Lioness Asuka
79 Jeff Hardy
80 Claudio Castagnoli/Cesaro
80 Tommaso Ciampa
82 Goldberg
83 Tiger Mask
84 Shinya Hashimoto
85 Iron Sheik
86 Ultimo Dragon
87 Chris Benoit
87 Ronda Rousey
87 Ultimate Warrior
90 Genichiro Tenryu
91 Big Van Vader
91 Hiromu Takahashi
91 Nick Jackson
94 Harley Race
94 Keith Lee
96 David Starr
96 Great Khali
96 Riki Choshu
99 Jon Moxley
100 Lou Thesz

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

We are back and making it to the Top 50!

52. Asuka / Kana
Score: 35
# of Lists: 3

The first joshi to be signed to NXT, Asuka has been one of the best workers in the entire company since day 1. Her NXT title run alone is more success than I could have imagined for a joshi in WWE, and now a few years in to her main roster run it seems like she may actually start being treated as a big deal there too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO_GeYiRjw4; Kana vs. Sara Del Rey (October 8, 2011)

51. Randy Orton
Score: 36
# of Lists: 2

Orton is as close to a purely WWE wrestler as there is, wrestling 2 matches before entering the WWE system in that OVW class and 20 years later it's hard to imagine him doing anything else. Orton is what WWE wanted you to think Bryan was in 2013 - a B+ player, but his longevity and the fact he's been a star for so long elevates him in the eyes of WWE fans.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x151y2f; Randy Orton vs. Cactus Jack (April 18, 2004)

50. Curt Hennig / Mr. Perfect
Score: 36
# of Lists: 3

Known to WWF fans as Mr. Perfect, Hennig was another in the series of WWF signing the best workers in the country in the 80s and giving them the larger than life characters many fans would remember their careers by - but perhaps none suited their gimmick as well as Hennig, who really was an incredible natural talent.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1nwwgy; Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel (November 15, 1986)

That seems like a good place to stop as we ease back into it.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

That's what I thought. For a moment I thought I mixed it up somehow.

Oh man, we just put Picard under a Berserkers control.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Wasnt Ruby in the last one? Or am I misremembering something.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

IfGodCouldDie posted...

Damn, I'm slowly just dropping.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

I'm giving Steiner a little time to do write-ups and giving us a little distance from the mass of wrestlers getting in trouble atm.

Will start up this week sometime.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Yay chapter 1!

I'll try and find time to read this soon

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

john Quincy adams

Dang I missed an election.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

2

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Not gonna be able to post any today. Sorry.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

3

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Yeah I thought the same thing reading that line.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Weird time to be ranking wrestlers. Write-ups today thanks to Steiner and Eddv!

56. Will Ospreay
Score: 31
# of Lists: 5 (first person on more than 3 lists!)

Ospreay is a super difficult to discuss right now, in my opinion, as he's currently the best wrestler in the world, has been great for a few years, but is STILL getting better and hasn't reached the main events he's clearly destined for yet. That said, I couldn't in good faith leave him off my own list - for my money he's already the best British wrestler of all time (reflected by this list!) and is still getting better. If we redo this list in 10 years and Ospreay isn't a top 10 contender, something went horribly wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPTemrD73-w; Will Ospreay vs. WALTER, October 13 2018

54 (tie). Seth Rollins
Score: 33
# of Lists: 3

One of the only stars WWE has managed to make in the past decade, for all the criticism Seth gets now there's no denying he was one of the few people carrying wwe's in ring product for a few years there. Like Ambrose/Moxley earlier, his WWE high points may be the Shield tags - but he also has one of the better WWE title matches in recent memory (the Cena/Lesnar triple threat) and a memorable Wrestlemania ending moment to his name. Personally I'll always rate Tyler Black higher than Seth Rollins - his run in ROH was maybe at the peak of my own fandom, and I was desperate for him to win the title in the first shot at Nigel.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kvpmh; Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena

54 (tie). Samoa Joe
Score: 33
# of Lists: 3

American Wrestling outside of WWE in the 00s was two promotions; TNA and ROH. To me, Joe was the best in each of those promotions for a time. His ROH title run, specifically the Punk series, is what first switched me onto independent wresting (shoutout @PepsiPlunge), and he brought a sense of toughness and legitimacy that was far from the norm for indie wrestling at that point. Then he went to TNA, where he is a part of both of the most beloved matches in TNA history - the three way with AJ and Daniels, and the cage match with Angle. His NXT run was a little disappointing but he at least got a few great moments on Raw eventually when he got the Brock program.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7n1q2q; Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi, October 1 2005

53. Atlantis
Score: 34
# of Lists: 2

(Guest writeup by Eddv): CMLL's standard bearer for more or less the entire period it has existed under that name, Atlantis is the prototypical tecnico/masked babyface. His run on top will remind cynical onlookers of Hogan and Cena but with one important caveat - he has never ever lost the support of the Mexico City crowds. He debuted in 1983, held his first middleweight title in 84 and was the undisputed top star by 1990 and has only temporarily relinquished the role since then

Other stars have risen and fallen but Atlantis has reigned eternal only slowing down somewhat when the 2010s hit. Even in his 50s he is still a staple of CMLLs shows with high profile, high drama Mask matches highlighting his late career, to include a pair of incredible matches where he took Ultimo Guerreros mask in 2014 and immediately took La Sombras mask prior to La Sombra leaving for WWE the next year in 2015

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

bump

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

To be clear that was not meant as a criticism of your weight classes. Just commenting on how funny that was to me.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Smash just has such a crazy range of weights.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Smash weight classes are weird. Hero and Bowser in the same class.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

LiquidOshawott posted...

I think if theres a decent chunk of backwards compatibility at launch its worth just waiting on a PS5. Itll be more expensive, but a lot of the PS4 games are in the 10-20 dollar range right now so itll be easy to stock up while simultaneously getting in on next gen.

Do we know how BC will work? Only digital or will you be able to play your ps4 discs?

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Hero vs the champ for their first defense.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Its fine. worse case they get posted with minimal weiteups and you can post one for them later if you want.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Steiner posted...

i was being lazy like orange!

I really should have realized that.

Oops

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

So was Orange Cassidy actually running a camera all main event?

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Eddv posted...

I voted Konnan, again if for no other reason than his incredible influence in spreading the Lucha style.

I'm the other Konnan voter btw.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

2

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

One of these things is not like the others...

62. Konnan
Score: 28
# of Lists: 2

A big star in Mexico, Konnan's great legacy will be as a key part of the introduction of luchadors to American television in WCW. He's long been the mediator between the American and Mexican wrestling scenes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_YjX6KePOo; Konnan vs. Juventuud Guerrera, September 15 1996

61. Kota Ibushi
Score: 28
# of Lists: 3

Perhaps the most freakish athlete of an era known for freakish athletes, Ibushi can do it all. For several years in the late 00s he was known as the best high flier in wrestling - since then he's developed an incredible striking game to go along with that. Few wrestlers in history are as capable of big fireworks displays as Kota.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxrcim; KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs. Kota Ibushi & Naomichi Marufuji, July 15 2007

60. Tetsuya Naito
Score: 29
# of Lists: 2
First place votes: 1

Our first entrant on the list to receive a first place vote! Naito certainly had some shaky years early in his New Japan push, but ever since the fans rejected him at WK10 and he adopted his new Ingobernables persona, he's become the most popular wrestler in Japan. While he did hold the IWGP belt before, he finally had his career defining Tokyo Dome main event win over Kazuchika Okada to kick off his current reign in what is sure to be the high point of 2020 (considering its current trajectory!)

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4p33wy; Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega, August 13 2016

57 (tie). Tomohiro Ishii
Score: 30
# of Lists: 3

Ishii is the embodiment of the modern brawler. Like Suzuki earlier, Ishii is another wrestler more beloved by Western fans than their home crowd - there's something that appeals to us about a tough guy, and nobody portrays toughness more than Big Tom. The man is 44 years old, about 5 foot tall and has basically no charisma to speak of - but delivers in the ring as consistently as anybody ever has in wrestling.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av28537024/; Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kenny Omega, August 4 2018

57 (tie). Orange Cassidy / Fire Ant
Score: 30
# of Lists: 3

Steiner: Funny
[Don't worry Steiner, I got this one]
Maniac: Orange Cassidy is a truly unique character even in the wild world of pro wrestling. Playing a non-chalant guy who doesn't actually like or care about wrestling, he is a talented comedy act who truly works his gimmick into his matches. Most of the time he is slow to move or act, but once he gets going he can really go. CHIKARA fans know full well how talented of a high flyer he is, and like most Wrestle Factory grads he is also a skilled technical wrestler. Orange started his career as a masked wrestler and still wrestles as two very different characters, but its his recent time on AEW that has launched Orange into the wrestling spotlight and made him one of the most popular wrestlers on a stacked roster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A32sT1c-btU; Orange Cassidy vs. Kylie Rae, April 17 2019

57 (tie). Bruno Sammartino
Score: 30
# of Lists: 3

Bruno established the WWWF - I can probably stop there. The biggest draw in the history of the most iconic building in wrestling, nobody has more MSG sellouts to their name than Bruno.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXRSIQ1i9Qk; Bruno Sammartino vs. Stan Hansen, August 7 1976

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Well crap Drak I didnt put that together. That's a saber I dont want to fight.

1

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

1 while backing away lol

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Two very different batches of names today.

68: Kevin Nash / Diesel
Score: 26
# of Lists: 3

Big Sexy's run on top of WWF may have been one of their worst eras ever, but that can be forgiven to an extent when you're one half of one of the biggest angles of all time. Nash may have been lazy, injury prone, and responsible for holding back a lot of younger talent (especially once given the book) - but that's what being a Pro Wrestler was back then, would be unfair to hold that against him really. Had a good match with Michaels one time.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xlms0k; Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels, April 28 1996

66 (tie). Roddy Piper
Score: 27
# of Lists: 2

While Hogan was WWF's biggest babyface star in the 80s, the heel side was ruled in large part by Roddy Piper. One of the best at delivering a promo, even if he never made a lick of sense, and responsible for the first "talk show" segment in wrestling.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7iwcil; Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart, April 5 1992

66 (tie). Nigel McGuinness
Score: 27
# of Lists: 2

Before the BritWres boom of the 2010s, I think Nigel had pretty firmly established himself as the best British wrestler of all time - owing entirely to his work in Ring of Honor (ok, there was good Desmond Wolfe stuff but it was so short lived). Rising to prominence as the only person to really make the Pure Title rules work, he'd establish himself as a top name in ROH in the Pure/World title unification match with Bryan Danielson in the UK, before eventually capturing the title from Takeshi Morishima and having his own excellent title reign. SIgned to WWE the same day as Bryan Danielson, and in the process revealed the medical issues which would cut short his in ring career - who knows how much higher he could have ended up.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av45830703/; Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black, March 16 2008

63 (tie). Scott Steiner
Score: 27
# of Lists: 3

While many may know Scott in 2020 for his nonsensical promos and his last 20 years or so of mailing it in, early in his career Scott and his brother Rick were one of the great tag teams of their day, working in both America and Japan, WWF and WCW. Scott in particular was a freak athlete - lending to his ability to create and perfect the Frankensteiner in a way nobody has ever come close to.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3aej73; Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Lex Luger & Sting

63 (tie). Ricky Steamboat
Score: 27
# of Lists: 3

There aren't many workers from his day who could fit in today's era of wrestling with the increased focus on workrate, but you don't even have to watch old Steamboat to figure it out - in 2009 he had 3 televised matches in WWE and was one of the best workers in the company then. A timeless babyface, Steamboat was perhaps at his best when the heel did all the talking - but with heels like Flair and Savage opposite him, there was no shortage of great programs for him in the 80s, and it led to him being part of some of the best matches of all time.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz7ctr; Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair, February 20 1989

63 (tie). Booker T
Score: 27
# of Lists: 3

One of WCW's most decorated champions, Booker was perhaps the biggest beneficiary from WWF buying WCW, as due to the nature of the contracts of all the real top stars, Booker ended up being the face of WCW through the invasion. Strangely his WWE tenure hit its greatest success working the King of the Ring gimmick - which nobody else in history has ever gotten over with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGqx9iXvFTQ; Booker T vs. Steve Austin, December 13 2001

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Thanks for the reminder

Heavyweight Tournament (+100 points apiece)

Donkey Kong
Piranha Plant
Ken Masters
Terry Bogard
Ganondorf

Middleweight Tournament (+100 points apiece)

Lucas
Pac-Man
Joker
Mario
Pit

Lightweight Tournament (+100 points apiece)

Zero Suit Samus
Kirby
Rosalina & Luma
Isabelle

Tag Team Tournament (+100 points apiece)

Ridley/King K. Rool
Ike/Byleth
Zero Suit Samus/Bayonetta
Meta Knight/King Dedede
Villager/Isabelle

Free For All Tournament (+100 points for each correct placement, -25 for each incorrect placement)

Marth > Link > Bowser Jr. > Palutena

Ridley > Dark Samus > Mewtwo > Yoshi

Dark Pit > PT > Pikachu > Lucario

Mii Gunner > Falcon > Hero > Corrin

Incineroar > Wolf O'Donnell > Piranha Plant > Princess Peach

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Depends on how much shit and threats he gets from people who now believe he is an antifa plant because of that tweet

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Yeah I think I like that list more as well honestly. Especially since my Meiko vote then counts for something.

73: Matt Jackson
Score: 24
# of Lists: 3

One extra person found space on their list for Matt, so we see quite a disparity of ranking for two guys so inexorably linked. While I argued Nick has the better singles output, the Bucks "greatest ever" case will be made on tag matches - and Matt and his perenially injured back are the glue holding every Bucks tag together.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1tW411K7fh; Young Bucks vs. Golden Lovers, March 25 2018

70 (tie): Shinsuke Nakamura
Score: 25
# of Lists: 2

So great that even coasting 95% of the time is enough to get him to this spot. Nakamura's early career is largely Inoki having real shooters beat him up so it's no wonder he tries to take it easy in the twilight - but his run in the mid-10s is as great as they come, establishing the IC title as on-par with the World title (or even above it, to Naito fans' chagrin...). His matches with Ibushi and AJ at Wrestle Kingdoms 9 and 10 were banner moments in Western fans getting into NJPW, and his retirement match with Sami Zayn in the US was an incredible end to his career.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6e8ozb; Kota Ibushi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, January 4 2015

70 (tie): Scott Hall / Razor Ramon
Score: 25
# of Lists: 2

One of the few shining lights of WWF's roughest years, before moving on to be central of one of the most important angles in wrestling history as the first member of the New World Order, Hall's biggest claims lay in the "influence/fame" category. But it's not all bad in the ring - in his WWF run, he was responsible for a couple of the rare high points of 93-95 WWF - first off, the 1-2-3 Kid match which is one of the most memorable segments in Raw history, and then the two ladder matches with Shawn over the IC title. He may not have much work to shout about once he leaves for WCW, but Hall is one of the most recognizable faces of one of the most popular eras of wrestling.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1227i4; Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs. 1-2-3 Kid & Razor Ramon, October 30 1994

70 (tie): Katsuyori Shibata
Score: 25
# of Lists: 2

Tying here with one of his 2nd generation musketeer peers, Shibata is the only one of either group to never win the IWGP championship, and with his career being tragically cut short at Sakura Genesis 2017 that doesn't appear like it will change. Unlike his peers in Nakamura and Tanahashi, Shibata foregoes the showmanship and presents himself as The Wrestler, and in his 17 year career there were few better at introducing touches of realism to any fight he was involved in. The final match of his career is one of the greatest of all time, and as sad as the end of Shibata's career in it is, the lengths he would go to and sacrifice he would make to defeat Okada in that match only adds to the story of the match and legacy of Shibata.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x481a7o; Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohori Ishii, August 4 2013
(Steiner's note: If you don't watch anything else I post, or if you don't know this match, stop reading the topic and watch this match now. the greatest sprint of all time, and one of the best matches of all time in only 11 minutes)

69: Zack Sabre Jr.
Score: 25
# of Lists: 3

Winner of the "Best Technical Wrestler/Bryan Danielson Award" award from the Wrestling Observer 6 years running now (coming up on the eponymous Bryan's 9), Zack rose to prominence through his unique style of old school grappling and the most effective use of submission holds in modern wrestling. Luckily for all of us, he's one of two wrestlers from WWE's Cruiserweight Classic who told them to kick rocks and returned to NJPW, where he's been a highlight of the past few years.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av19712863/; Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong, July 10 2015

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

paulg235 posted...

It's strategic view. You can toggle it on ingame clicking one of the icons next to the mini map.

Got it thanks.

I must have forgotten about that in one of my long gaps between playing.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

No your picture is fine.

I mean when I am playing and using that view I don't get the images showing nearby luxury resources like what is shown in your screenshot.

Like I can only know a resource is there by scrolling over/clicking the tile or just recognizing what the tile would look like. The little gold ring/sheep/orange/etc icons aren't there.

Your view seems way more helpful.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

3

Man we are on our way to one of those "everyone kills each other without us meeting anyone" victories!

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Probably a dumb question but how do you get the luxury resource pics to show up on that view?

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Yep, another guy that would have probably made a top 30 list for me along with his former partner Cesaro.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Since there has been interest in what the list would be without the 1-list people here it is. From this point on the lists are the same of course.

74. Minoru Suzuki - 23 points, 3 lists
75. Jeff Hardy - 22 points, 3 lists
76. Claudio Castagnoli / Cesaro - 22 points, 2 lists
76. Tommaso Ciampa - 22 points, 2 lists
78. Bill Goldberg - 21 points, 3 lists
79. Ultimo Dragon - 19 points, 3 lists
80. Genichiro Tenryu - 18 points, 3 lists
81. Big Van Vader - 18 points, 2 lists
81. Hiromu Takahashi - 18 points, 2 lists
81. Nick Jackson - 18 points, 2 lists
84. Shinya Hashimoto - 20 points, 2 lists
85. Jon Moxley - 16 points, 3 lists
86. Lou Thesz - 16 points, 2 lists

87. Kane - 15 points, 3 lists
88. Jaguar Yokota - 15 points, 2 lists
88. Satoshi Kojima - 15 points, 2 lists
90. Big Show - 12 points, 2 lists
91. Chris Hero - 11 points, 2 lists
92. Diamond Dallas Page - 10 points, 2 lists
92. Fenix - 10 points, 2 lists
92. Shingo Takagi - 10 points, 2 lists
95. William Regal - 9 points, 2 lists
96. Adam Cole - 8 points, 2 lists
97. Meiko Satomura - 7 points, 2 lists
98. The Miz - 6 points, 2 lists
99. Rob Van Dam - 4 points, 3 lists
100. Akira Taue - 3 points, 2 lists

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

79: Jeff Hardy
Score: 22
# of Lists: 3

While the Hardys are unquestionably one of WWE's greatest tag teams, there's no doubt the singles part of Jeff's career adds a lot of weight here too - his ladder match with The Undertaker stands as one of the most memorable matches in Raw history, and his 2008/9 run saw him become the most over act in wrestling for a brief time. That said, his daredevil spots in the early TLC matches are what most will remember Jeff for, and a big part of the reason those matches are legendary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_ANV_KiB9Q; Jeff Hardy vs. The Undertaker, July 1 2002

76 (tie): Lioness Asuka
Score: 23
# of Lists: 1

Not to be confused with WWE's Asuka/Kana [Maniac's Note: I did that. Oops] , Lioness Asuka was one half of The Crush Gals, alongside Chigusa Nagayo. The Crush Gals are one of the most popular teams in Japanese history, with their popularity even translating to other media as the would release a number of singles which would chart in the top 10.

https://vimeo.com/265671868; Jaguar Yokota vs. Lioness Asuka, August 21 1985

76 (tie): LA Park
Score: 23
# of Lists: 1

Many American fans will know Park(a) from his time in WCW, but while he got over there based on his charisma and some comedy spots, in Mexico he is a true legend and still one of the wildest brawlers around at age 54. His feud with Rush became one of the biggest feuds in lucha in the 2010s, producing wild lucha brawls in promotions all over Mexico spanning a number of years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Mfx7cOh1c; LA Park vs. Rush, July 14 2016

76 (tie): Drew McIntyre
Score: 23
# of Lists: 1

The WWE Champion at the time of writing, McIntyre has certainly had an up and down career but he's making the most of his current opportunity. His time outside WWE really benefitted him, as you saw him grow into the babyface ass kicker role he is now portraying on TV, as well as really getting his worker boots on unlike WWE ever enables.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av11115934/; Drew Galloway vs 'Speedball' Mike Bailey, August 29 2015

75: Minoru Suzuki
Score: 23
# of Lists: 3

It's easy for Minoru Suzuki to make his character of "legitimate badass" continue to work into his 50s - because it's no character. As one of the co-founders of Pancrase, Suzuki is one of the forefathers of MMA as we know it, including helping to train Ken Shamrock. He would mostly focus on MMA in the 90s, but in 2003 he returned to puro, and ever since has brought his unique legitimacy and aura to all the major Japanese promotions, but is best known for his late career (I'm guessing... who knows with this man) work with NJPW, including the match with Tanahashi which can really be pointed to as the beginning of the rise of NJPW in the West, and his 2014 Match of the Year with AJ Styles which solidified AJ as an NJPW main eventer.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x54ybdi; Minoru Suzuki vs. Aj Styles, August 1 2014

74: Dr Wagner Jr.
Score: 24
# of Lists: 1

The final entrant on the list to only receive a single vote, Wagner is part of the long history of lucha guys being awesome into their 50s, putting on a hammer filled wild main event of TripleMania with Blue Demon Jr. last year.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7fi8uo; Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Koji Kanemoto, June 3 1998

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

junk_funk posted...

Good for Cesaro to make this list. He's somewhere in the 26-35 range for me.

Would love for him to get a push or find AEW.

Same. He was a late cut for me so I was really glad to see him get on there.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

I feel like I can tell when Steiner doesn't agree with someone being on the list...

85: Iron Sheik
Score: 20
# of Lists: 1

Won Wrestlemania X-7's gimmick battle royal because he couldn't take the required bump to be eliminated at that point (2001).

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x26wdeb; Gimmick Battle Royal, April 1 2001

84: Shinya Hashimoto
Score: 20
# of Lists: 2

Of NJPW's Three Musketeers that would carry them through the 90s, Hashimoto is the least known to Western fans, with both Mutoh and Chono appearing in WCW. Hashimoto however was busy holding the IWGP championship in Japan and never made it over to the WCW shows - probably a blessing for him. In Japan he would be one of the most popular wrestlers of the 90s, and is one of the names most associated with "Strong Style".

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9a8ci; Shinya Hashimoto vs. Lord Steven Regal, April 16 1995

83: Tiger Mask
Score: 21
# of Lists: 1

One of the most influential wrestlers ever in the Light Heavyweight division, the work he was doing in the early 80s would still blow many minds today and his matches with Dynamite Kid in particular put the style of wrestling on the map with hardcore fans.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7gsqrs; Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid, April 21 1983

82: Bill Goldberg
Score: 21
# of Lists: 3

There is a great lesson that can be learned from Bill Goldberg - a great squash match is one of the most entertaining things you can see in pro wrestling. Goldberg didn't work in longer matches, and that right there is the argument against every match being long - because Goldberg could still have some of the most enteraining matches on your show if you booked him right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8DcBibsj5w; Goldberg vs. Raven, April 20 1998

80 (tie): Tommaso Ciampa
Score: 22
# of Lists: 2

Ciampa is in some ways one of NXT's greatest success stories - while the history of NXT is littered with the top guys from the independent scene, Ciampa was not that - but has definitely become one of the biggest names in NXT. Tying his NXT career to Gargano from the offset definitely worked out for both - from a great match in the CWC to becoming a tag team and having some of the greatest tag matches in North American history, before moving on to an era defining feud between themselves.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x60rh7x; Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson, November 19 2016

80 (tie): Claudio Castagnoli / Cesaro
Score: 22
# of Lists: 2

In the early 2000s era of independent wrestling there weren't many big men, so Cesaro's size and power offense set him apart from peers. His size and strength, combined with an undersized and flippy talent pool to work with, set him up to be one of the greatest bases of all time. He rarely gets to show that off in WWE, but he did manage to bring his fantastic matches with El Generico/Sami Zayn over to WWE and those matches were a huge part of establishing NXT as a hardcore favourite early on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwCx6U-tEo8; Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush, September 30 2006

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

1

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

This batch might get an interesting reaction.

87 (tie): Ultimate Warrior
Score: 19
# of Lists: 1

he shook the ropes pretty good

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjsmjc; The Ultimate Warrior vs. Macho Man Randy Savage, March 24 1991

87 (tie): Ronda Rousey
Score: 19
# of Lists: 1

Maybe the best one year career you'll ever see in wrestling - in one full year in the WWE she delivered every time out, until the final match underwhelmed. Nobody could have predicted how good she'd be up until that point though, from one of the best debut appearances in wrestling history through a tremendous women's title reign that truly helped make a star for the first time in WWE in years in Becky Lynch

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x77ki8h; Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks, January 27 2019

87 (tie): Chris Benoit
Score: 19
# of Lists: 1

One of the internet's first darlings, as tape trading was in its heyday Benoit was the star of many, notably the 94 Super J Cup which may have been the most sought after tape of its day. He'd continue to be known as one of the most intense and technically sound workers of the 90s and 2000s. One of wrestling's biggest tragedies.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x26na8w; Wild Pegasus vs. The Great Sasuke, April 16 1994

86: Ultimo Dragon
Score: 19
# of Lists: 3

While the Lucharesu style was first popularized by Gran Hamada, Ultimo Dragon is the man who would make it his legacy, forming Toryumon in 1997 which would form the basis of Dragon Gate, for that alone Ultimo is in part responsible for advancing the lightning quick, hard hitting style that would become the hallmark of high end independent wrestling in the modern era.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x23pugz; Ultimo Dragon vs. Dean Malenko, December 29 1996

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Let's do another batch to get some discussion going.

94 (tie): Keith Lee
Score: 18
# of Lists: 1

One of the big names of the peak of the US indie boom of the mid 2010s, his matches with Dijak got both nationwide buzz on the indies, and Lee has continued having big man flippy doo matches on a bigger stage in NXT since

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av60191569/; Keith Lee vs. Tomohiro Ishii, November 9 2017

94 (tie): Harley Race
Score: 18
# of Lists: 1

The original King of Wrestling, and maybe the last "shooter" of the NWA Champions - important in that tangling with Flair gave Flair the legitimacy to carry the torch even though he was no shooter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDWD_fjreo8; Harley Race vs. Terry Funk, July 1 1977

91 (tie): Nick Jackson
Score: 18
# of Lists: 2

One half of one of the defining tag teams of the 21st century, Nick is the one responsible for what Excalibur will always let you know is the greatest hot tag in wrestling. For my money he also has the slightly stronger singles catalogue, which is why I'm throwing one of those matches in for Nick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XesuznnHaA; Nick Jackson vs. El Generico vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Jigsaw, March 28 2009

91 (tie): Hiromu Takahashi
Score: 18
# of Lists: 2

While on excursion began an in ring rivalry with Dragon/Ryu Lee that will keep the two interwoven through their career, and since returning to New Japan has been one of the centerpiece stars of the Junior Heavyweight division, becoming one of the most popular wrestlers in all of Japan.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6l1003; Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori, June 4 2018

91 (tie): Big Van Vader
Score: 18
# of Lists: 2

Vader wrestled everywhere, and was awesome everywhere. Changed what it meant to be a big man in wrestling, and his influence in that regard is still felt today in terms of a much more athletic style. But even still, Vader was at his best beating the shit out of people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y5JkZmxOjE; Super Vader vs. Kiyoshi Tamura, June 10 1994

90: Genichiro Tenryu
Score: 18
# of Lists: 3

While WWF fans might know him best for being part of the crew ambushing Undertaker on Yokozuna's behalf at Royal Rumble 1994, Tenryu is one of the most famous names in Japanese wrestling. In particular his match with Jumbo Tsuruta can be pointed to as the beginning of the King's Road style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfJyL-dJf_M; Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu, June 5 1989


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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Dropping down the rankings lol

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Let's get this started then! Thanks to Steiner for the write-ups and links.

100. Lou Thesz
Score: 16
# of lists: 2

The man who defined what it meant to be a World Champion, dominating the world of wrestling in the 50s and 60s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqIHV0m29FU; Lou Thesz vs. Buddy Rogers, June 21 1950

99. Jon Moxley / Dean Ambrose
Score: 16
# of Lists: 3

As part of The Shield he had some of WWE's most memorable matches in his first few years, but probably doesn't make this list without his awesome work in New Japan and AEW since.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x479znu; The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family, February 23 2014

96 (tie): Riki Choshu
Score: 17
# of Lists: 1

One of the earliest holders of the IWGP title and a legend of New Japan Pro Wrestling - Choshu is notale for being the first native to turn heel in a Japanese promotion, with puro up to that point being entirely a story of Japanese heroes fighting off foreign (American) menaces

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ibxb2; Riki Choshu vs. Antonio Inoki, May 18 1984

96 (tie): Great Khali
Score: 17
# of Lists: 1

People were told they could use any criteria for this list. I'm unsure which qualify Khali. He's definitely tall!

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8gdfw; Giant Singh (Great Khali) and Giant Silva vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi

96 (tie): David Starr
Score: 17
# of Lists: 1

After wrestling for a few years in the States, especially CZW, Starr really found success moving to Europe, where his feud with WALTER which evolved into a feud with Jordan Devlin became the high point of independent wrestling for the past couple of years.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x74ilml; David Starr vs. WALTER, March 8 2019

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Sorry Tom.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Yeah basically its that WWE withheld and lied about the state of their deals in the Middle East and during the time they were lying Vince sold hundreds of millions of dollars in stock and they tanked their stock all while not disclosing that they had no more middle east deals.

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Jaguar had 2
Kane had 3
Meng had 1

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

Here are the people who just missed the cut:
Kane
Jaguar Yokota
Meng

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78774080

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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris