LogFAQs > #941263188

49. El Generico / Sami Zayn
Score: 36
# of Lists: 4

El Generico is the greatest babyface wrestler of his generation. Nobody I've ever seen is as enjoyable to watch sell and struggle to make a comeback, or has the same babyface fire as Generico. There was a several year period at the end of his indie run - in fact, dating back as far as BOLA 2006 - where you would hear "El Generico always has the best match of the night". Now, that might not be a 100% fact - but it's closer to than not, and when you consider the 2000s indies, that's no small feat.

Of course, it wasn't just the amazing matches that define Generico's career - it's also, in large part, the relationship with Kevin Steen/Owens. Breaking into the US scene together, they wrestled each other and wrestled as a team in every company in the states for a few years, but it's ROH where they would have the most prominence - both as a tag team and then feuding in the Observer Feud of the Year 2010 - one of the best feuds in wrestling history.

Generico would also find international success, holding titles in both wXw in Germany and DDT in Japan, before eventually signing with WWE and being largely responsible for putting NXT on the map - between his series with Cesaro and subsequent NXT Title programs, a lot of people may not remember now but in 2014, these were the things convincing hardcores to check out NXT, before it was established as the workrate darlings show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hosPimK8rQM; El Generico vs. Kevin Steen (December 18, 2010)

47 (tie). Lex Luger
Score: 37
# of Lists: 2

(Guest writeup; War) Few wrestlers had the career run Lex Luger did in the 1990s. A main event star in WCW, he would leave for WWF when he became unhappy at the heel turn right as he was positioned to be made the top babyface. He would rise to main event status in WWF before again a company decided at the last minute not to make him the top babyface, giving him his win at the end of the infamous Lex Express run by count out rather than winning the WWF Title. He would leave to return to WCW a few years later, being a surprise debut on the first Nitro. Again, he would rise to being a top star, culminating in winning the WCW Title, as a hero, at the 100th Nitro, before again having the rug pulled out from him, losing the title 5 days later. Many fans deride him for lack of effort, but the companies he stopped working hard for arguably stopped working hard for him first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v-vSfCAF0Y; Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna, July 5 1993

47 (tie). Johnny Gargano
Score: 37
# of Lists: 2

(Guest Writeup: NBIceman) To me, as one of the first and most prominent indie stars to really wear his lifelong wrestling fanhood on his sleeve, Gargano will always be representative of a transitional era in professional wrestling. After starting young and spending a decade working in almost every popular indie in America being recognized only in small circles as one of the best, he finally got the chance to prove that he was more than just a big fish in a small pond with his great success in NXT.

For my money, he'll always be most tightly linked to the WWN family of promotions. He was the face of EVOLVE for a long time, especially when the company was a particular darling of hardcore fans, and his two-and-a-half year reign as the champion of Dragon Gate USA is one of the best indie title reigns ever. In five or ten years when those libraries have become more accessible, he could be thought of even more highly than he already is.

Opinions on his most recent work are mixed, but that doesn't take away from everything that came before. Face or heel, singles or tag, Johnny Wrestling can do (and has done) it all.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6duae1; Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas, January 27th 2018

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