Board 8 > Scarlet Ranks 150 User-Nominated Wrestlers

(+) Yeah! (+)

#77 - Toru Yano Nominated by: JONA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDkR5_S_Nwk" data-time="

Again, JONA knows that I utterly adore Toru Yano's character and have really grown to like him since I started watching New Japan regularly over a year ago. Yano is the perfect comedy character for an American audience; unlike a WWE comedy character which is generally reliant on the writing to not screw up backstage vignettes, Yano can perform entirely in the ring and make it entertaining. Whether he's working a mismatch with a guy like Ishii or he's getting the upper hands on the more dastardly heels in New Japan with his BREAKS, Yano seemingly bumbles his way to success despite himself. I firmly believe that wrestling is supposed to be fun, and Toru Yano makes it fun. Sure, he's not a "great" wrestler in any sense of the word, but I never cease to be amused by his antics in and out of the ring. There are a lot of different memorable characters in NJPW, and it always intrigues me as to how Yano's opponents will deal with his antics. Sometimes, they simply won't be able to - Yano has had several upset victories over some of the top talent, and not knowing the outcome with Yano matches makes them all the more interesting.

Few workers in wrestling have a better sense of comedic timing than Yano, and while Yano could never reach the heights of successful versatile stars with tons of charisma like the Rock, he certainly gets over with his tried and true character.
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The next three rankings are going to cause everyone to get extremely angry at me for different reasons.
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AJ Lee is one of them I'm sure.

I disagree. Yano is a great wrestler. That level of mastery of in ring comedy is something great.

I do find he got a bit repetitive with his stuff in RoH (tended to overuse a gimmick of whacking a dude with a turnbuckle pad) though where he never did in the NJPW matches I'd seen. I assume he can't speak English and so they sorta just do the same kinda stuff since he can't discuss the matches in depth.

Course it's possible he gets a bit repetitive in NJPW if I'd seen more but for the dozen or so matches of his I've seen there he's been awesome in a totally unique way.
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#76 - Triple H Nominated by: trdl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvMOf3hsGA" data-time="

Triple H, a wrestler from 1995-2001 and a perpetual source of anesthesia from 2002-2016, is perhaps best remembered for his unmitigated politicking that turned RAW into a show I didn't watch and Smackdown into a show I did. Triple H is interesting in that, for many people, quantity comes in over quality. The days where Triple H hogged entire episodes of WWE television bored me to tears. And his legacy, opening promos that last 20 minutes, are rarely enjoyable. Triple H would talk longer than an episode of Arrested Development. Think about that. How much content did Triple H actually have? Very little. And yet, somehow, he was able to use up the same length of time on the mic that an Emmy-winning comedy did in its entirety and say approximately one-fifth the number of words as said show. This is the reason, quite honestly, that I don't like Triple H. For too long, the archaic style of ploddingly slow speech patterns and ploddingly slow matches made me completely disinterested in Triple H.

Of course, Triple H's "methodical" style worked with many of his opponents. Hell, there was a time when that style was just a smidge faster and it worked great. I think of the phenomenal feud with Mick Foley and fondly recall how their styles meshed so well. Hell, Hunter carried the company on his back for the year 2000. But after his return from injury in 2002, he quickly (a novel concept for him) became a dullard, a lumbering oaf without any real penetrating insight that deserved an hour of TV every week.

So why does he rank highly? Well, quite honestly, the overall Triple H experience is a little better in hindsight. Furthermore, his current role as future ruler of the world is pretty great. I love the complete disconnect between NXT Dad Haitch and Old Man Douchebag Hunter that we currently get. His interactions with Braun and Ronda have actually been pretty rewarding. So as of late, I'm more of a fan than before.

But Triple H spent so long as the enemy of entertainment that I can't really redeem him that much.
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Glad he's this far down the list. One of my least favourites for sure.
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The Top 75:

Adrian Neville
AJ Lee
AJ Styles
Arn Anderson
Asuka
Awesome Kong
Becky Lynch
Big Show
Billy Graham
Bobby Heenan
Braun Strowman
Bret Hart
Brian Pillman
Brock Lesnar
Bruiser Brody
Chavo Guerrero
Chris Jericho
CM Punk
Daffney
Dan Lambert
Daniel Bryan
Dave Meltzer
Dean Malenko
Diamond Dallas Page
Eddie Guerrero
Edge
Eric Bischoff
Ethan Carter III
EVIL
Finn Balor
Hiromu Takahashi
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Hulk Hogan
Hurricane
Jake Roberts
Jeff Hardy
Jesse Ventura
John Cena
Jushin Liger
Kairi Sane
Kazuchika Okada
Kenny Omega
Kevin Nash
Kota Ibushi
Kurt Angle
KUSHIDA
Lex Luger
Matt Hardy
Mick Foley
Mickie James
Minoru Suzuki
Mister Perfect
Miz
Naomichi Marufuji
Pentagon
Perry Saturn
Randy Savage
Rey Mysterio
Ric Flair
Roderick Strong
Scott Steiner
Seth Rollins
Shawn Michaels
Shinsuke Nakamura
Sid Vicious
Steve Austin
Ted DiBiase
Terry Funk
Tetsuya Naito
Tomohiro Ishii
Trish Stratus
Ultimo Dragon
Undertaker
Will Ospreay
William Regal

The Remaining Nominations by User:
Anagram - 2
charon - 2
CybrMonkey - 9
Eddv - 4
Girugamesh - 2
GOGZero - 3
gravy - 1
IHateThisCPU - 1
Inviso - 7
Johnbobb - 5
JONA - 6
Lopen - 6
Mega Mana - 4
NFUN - 1
paulg - 2
Preston - 1
Snake - 4
Tom Bombadil - 4
trdl - 2
voltch - 3
ZeroSignal - 6
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HHH has grown a lot on me in the periods where he's only been a special attraction
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Triple H would probably be bottom quarter on any of my lists. He's a guy that successfully fooled large portions of the world into thinking he was any good by being consistently near the guys that were great, being booked strong and given a lot of exposure.

Funny thing is back when Triple H used to be that plodding guy who sponged way more TV time than he was worth that was cool to hate on, I didn't really hate on him all that much, because he's never really been offensively awful at any moment. He's just soured on me more and more as time has gone on. WWE's propaganda machine trying to shove it down our throats how great he is probably did a lot of the work on this too.

Also hurts that as time has gone on I can't get into any match he's in. It almost always boils down to one of two scenarios. 1. Triple H takes 90% of the match and wins. His offense is plodding and it's a snooze to watch. 2. Triple H gets beat up 90% of the match and wins. He's poor at eliciting sympathy through his mannerisms, and he generally wins by just hitting the Pedigree out of nowhere, which is annoying as hell because it's not a move that has shock factor and requires and an elaborate setup, and he was being beat up 90% of the match.

If you want a great example of how sleeping your way to the top can work for you, Triple H is your blueprint. Thorughly average, but made to be a star by making friends with the right people at the right times-- from Shawn Michaels to Stephanie McMahon.
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Lopen posted...

he generally wins by just hitting the Pedigree out of nowhere, which is annoying as hell because it's not a move that has shock factor and requires and an elaborate setup, and he was being beat up 90% of the match.

Could be worse

Could be the Codebreaker
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Lopen posted...

If you want a great example of how sleeping your way to the top can work for you, Triple H is your blueprint. Thorughly average, but made to be a star by making friends with the right people at the right times-- from Shawn Michaels to Stephanie McMahon.

Isnt that the entire point of his character though? Hes always been a lying, sniveling, cheating bastard, but he has these delusions of grandeur that make him feel like hes a true badass, even though he only ended up where he is through treachery and not skill.

Not saying hes fun to watch (he isnt) but he plays his gimmick so well that it isnt even a gimmick anymore; now its just who he is.
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That hasn't really been his gimmick no. Like in his early career you could maybe argue that he was going that way, but like from 1999 or so on he's booked far too strong to honestly claim that's his character. He's more a super strong genius who uses every advantage he can but can also kick everyone's ass without the cheating and sniveling when push comes to shove.

I'm more talking about the man and not the character though. You can't really claim the character has ever been presented as "thoroughly average"

Also I'll have no ill speak of the Codebreaker.
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I like Jericho a lot in most respects, but the Codebreaker sucks.
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I'm still trying to find out who the code is.
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Nobody knows anymore, considering how many times its been broken.
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trdl23 posted...

I like Jericho a lot in most respects, but the Codebreaker sucks.

Useless fact: Jericho originally wanted to call that move the Boomstick when preparing for his return in 2007, but didn't go through with it after not getting Lance Storm's approval.
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There are a lot of finishers I dislike but the Codebreaker isn't even on the radar. It's a move I could buy working in a real fight-- getting your face mashed into knees sucks let me tell ya-- which is enough for me to not hate it.

Heck it might even be my favorite finisher of Jericho's if we're using the post crisis Walls of Jericho rather than the pre-crisis/JTG Only Walls of Jericho.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

I'm still trying to find out who the code is.

BOBBY LASHLEY THAT'S IT I'LL BE A SON OF A BITCH
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JONALEON1 posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

I'm still trying to find out who the code is.

BOBBY LASHLEY THAT'S IT I'LL BE A SON OF A BITCH

@SBAllen can I get an upvote button?
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Triple H would have been bottom 5 for me.

It's not just that his matches are bad, it's that he inserts himself into feuds with guys who have better opponents right there.

He's also involved in the most Mania moments that make me roll my eyes.

Cringe entrances, the booker match, the sting match, the Lesnar mania match, requiring two boring Taker matches, the dumb fatal 4 way.

So many of his high profile moments are just bleh. Heck that feud with HBK was really meh, that hell in a cell match was offensively bad.
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FCBD means no write-ups. Guess you'll just have to wait in suspense for the next two bad rankings!
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I dunno what fcbd is but okay!
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Free Comic Book Day.

Today I spent writing a term paper. More tomorrow!
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#75 - Braun Strowman Nominated by: Inviso

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXTOH9jhbOg" data-time="

Braun is extremely entertaining. Except when he's in the ring. And when he's working with someone. And when he's a face. And when he makes social media posts that defeat the point of the monster he portrays in WWE. And when he's booked like other people.

That said, one of my favorite wrestling moments in recent years was Braun just opening an ambulance door and letting Roman clown himself. Little things like that define what is enjoyable about Braun Strowman. Here are things that aren't interesting about Braun Strowman. Running powerslams in the ring. Waiting for a hot tag. Cheeky jokes that geeks should make (ie: Brains Strowman). Going for Tag championships.

Is any of this making sense yet? Braun is the definition of sports entertainment. Keep him in stip matches, keep him clobbering people in a way that continues to build his legend, and keep him the hell away from the stuff normal guys do.
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Mostly agree. Can't even necessarily argue with the ranking. Like, I'm sure there are others I'd put below him that are higher but dead center in a list doesn't seem inherently wrong.

I will disagree and say that Braun going for the tag championships could've been fine though they just ruined it by adding a literal child to the mix. I'd rather his partner have been a low card guy that Braun is shamelessly carrying. It would've buried the tag division less since at least he has a token partner and could've helped get said token partner over too.
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#74 - Kevin Nash Nominated by: Lopen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HDWsLr1LBk" data-time="

Kevin Nash, notably the worst draw in WWF history, is best known for tearing his quads at multiple inopportune moments. He's also well known for almost being Sabretooth and actually being Bass Armstrong.

Sure, I could tell you how Nash is one of the major creative forces that led to the Death of WCW. And the Fingerpoke of Doom would definitely be a big part in why WCW lost a ton of momentum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUoSZrxxksE" data-time="

Sure, I could remind you of how the Kliq used its stranglehold on WWF to keep it in a state of creative stagnation. Or I could talk about the Curtain Call and how it was an example of exposing the business in a time in which WWF needed to maintain an air of realism.

But there are two things that elevate Nash in my estimation. The first is the NWO. While originally the brainchild of Eric Bischoff (despite what many others say), Nash was the most key component in its success. While Hogan provide initial eyeballs, it was Nash who used an irreverent devil-may-care performance to really get the gimmick over. Hall was virtually the same character he always played, Hogan was simply the Hogan he had always been (right down to heel Heenan even admitting such), but Nash was the lynchpin. At its height, the NWO was about breaking just enough kayfabe to make things seem different, edgier, grittier. Nash was the key piece. When Nash would take over the commentary table, he was phenomenally funny but at the same time menacing. He was the bad guy, but you kind of liked him. Nash was from 1996-1998 one of the best characters in the business and it really was the work of Nash that helped make Sting the top babyface in wrestling for a period of time. It was Nash that made DDP the champion of the people. It was Nash that made the Steiners the hottest tag commodity in 1997 once again.

Of course, over time, power become key in WCW (just as it had been in WWF). Here, Nash had carefully earned the respect of the locker room without truly putting over other talent, and so over time it became clear that with everyone else angling for better positions, Nash was both a top guy onscreen and backstage. This allowed him to take over the booking position in WCW and from there, the company began to truly descend into anarchy. Still, when Nash was simply one of the stars on screen, he functioned admirably.

The other great aspect of Kevin Nash that makes me love the guy is his ability to deliver an entertaining shoot interview. Nash is an unfiltered but highly intelligent interviewee, and I can't stress enough how enjoyable it is to watch him accept his role as a bad guy and then explain why exactly it's totally okay for him to be a villain in wrestling history. The way in which he relishes his career is pretty fantastic, and I truly enjoy his ballsy demeanor.
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Lopen posted...

I will disagree and say that Braun going for the tag championships could've been fine though they just ruined it by adding a literal child to the mix. I'd rather his partner have been a low card guy that Braun is shamelessly carrying.

I wanted to see either that or multiple defenses involving "random" audience members. Have him pick a different guy from the crowd every week for a month or two, then use it to debut somebody by having them actually fight and/or turn on Braun
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Kevin Nash is one of the guys I nominated just because he "should be nominated" and I wanted to hear thoughts on him more than having a particular fondness for him. I will say I think he's pretty underrated as an in ring guy pre-tearing his quad 9 times. Diesel is involved in probably the majority of my top 10 of matches involving big men-- you know, if I had such a list anyway.
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Oh, you mean a list of 2 and a half star matches?
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Nah. He's got a lot of legit good matches with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels in the 1994-1995 timeframe

Which I mean, yes it's Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels but I do think Diesel added a lot to them

Really fond of his match with Hart at the 1995 Rumble. A legit 4*+ match there.
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Didn't Kevin Nash pretty much do NOTHING from 2004-2008?

PrestonStarry2 posted...

Didn't Kevin Nash pretty much do NOTHING from 2004-2008?

So did most of your nominations, and they were technically active wrestlers.
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#73 - Sid Vicious Nominated by: Eddv

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOSYcM4AJ8k" data-time="

Quite simply put, the legend of Sid outweighs the true story of his wrestling skills. Only an icon could provide us with moments like these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhGF4C_GjQY" data-time="

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CClCi34zqfU" data-time="

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ULG7_0HFHQ" data-time="

Sid's promos were so good they were good, so bad they were good, so bad they were bad... he was the utmost in wrestling ridiculousness. No one will ever reduplicate the meatheaded foolishness of Sid.
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#72 - EVIL Nominated by: CybrMonkey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Coe5lLWTXM" data-time="

Everything about EVIL is constantly improving. From his in-ring work to his mic skills to his general presence, EVIL has been on a constant uphill trend for years. I feel that, had EVIL started a couple years earlier, he would be the New Japan equivalent of the Undertaker. As it is, EVIL has proven extremely competent in his role as the #2 LIJ member (sometimes #3). I don't have a ton to say about EVIL that I wouldn't find extremely boring to reiterate, so I'm just going to leave it at that.
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72 places too low!

Sid was the fucking man, I dont think I will ever like another wrestler quite as much.
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#71 - Perry Saturn Nominated by: GOGZero

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVIwMrsSiPg" data-time="

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huGfljEq19E" data-time="

Perry Saturn deserves some credit for working hard, putting up with some awful gimmicks and ultimately not making it to the top of the mountain. Suffice to say he carved a decent legacy, winning midcard titles in ECW, WCW and WWE. As part of the Eliminators, he was a component of a fantastic tag team that complimented each other with different personalities. In the Radicals, he was seen as the Ringo Starr of the group, but he was still incredibly skilled in the ring. His best work was in WCW as part of the phenomenal midcard scene. Saturn worked well in the Flock and was a crucial skilled worker in that group. It's unfortunate that he lost some of his potentially best years due to a crystal meth addiction, but I'm glad to hear he was able to get clean and even return to wrestling part time. I was not a fan at first of Saturn, but he quickly won me over with his in-ring abilities and very unique look. Ultimately, I look back fondly on those Radicalz and other Monday Night Wars journeyman who put out the really exciting in-ring content from the late 90s and early 00s. Saturn is definitely a piece of that puzzle, and a wrestler for which I will always have an inordinate amount of appreciation.
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Eddv posted...

72 places too low!

Sid was the fucking man, I dont think I will ever like another wrestler quite as much.

Let's not get into the game of saying someone should be my subjective #1 or I will shut this shit down. This is why I like Lopen's posts; he shares his own personal views and doesn't backseat rank.
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If Sid was everyone's subjective #1 wrestling would probably be a better place
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IDK I just kinda expect everybody to say their fave should be #1 and nobody take it too personally
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One can just hope that Big EVIL isnt wrestling well into his 60s like Taker.
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Eddv posted...

One can just hope that Big EVIL isnt wrestling well into his 60s like Taker.

Oh god.
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#70 - Daffney Nominated by: Lopen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UxD6GPdkkw" data-time="

Daffney is yet another midcard-type player that I greatly enjoyed. However, unlike in Saturn's case, Daffney ranks highly because she simply was a phenomenal character player. It was clear from the beginning that Daffney had a niche in which she flourished, and both WCW and TNA catered to that niche well. She began extremely green in the business, but unlike so many of her female colleagues foisted into a position of success, she consistently worked to improve her skills and abilities.

Very few women in the business have created a character that's as fleshed out and intriguing as Daffney. Of course, we're still coming off of an era that apparently people like Preston admire - one of mediocrity and catering to a misogynistic and sexually frustrated teen demographic. Characters of the current era, such as Rosemary, owe their success to the strong work of someone like a Daffney.

The way her TNA tenure ended is inexcusable, by the way.
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Dammit you had a chance for me to not hate you for your AJ Lee ranking quite so much

And you lost it by ranking my 3d waifu below her.

I guess I can be grateful that she was rated in the top half though since I think a lot of people, particularly people who are highly valuing ring work in their ranking, would rank her pretty low. I always thought Daffney was actually really underrated in the ring. Like, she comes off as clumsy and stuff but I legitimately think that's her character acting in the match than her actually being clumsy-- I mean she does some pretty good suplexes at random from time to time and to my knowledge she never really ever injured anyone, so she can't really be that clumsy. I always appreciated her ability to get beat up too. I mean, perhaps you can say that she shouldn't have been put in situations where, Abyss is throwing her through a barbed wire table or whatever, but I think it's pretty badass that she was willing to take that kinda stuff, even if it did get her hurt from time to time. I kinda like Taya more than I would normally for the same reason.

Also she's the hottest woman wrestler out there aside from maybe Saki Akai. Come at me bro.

... but uh, yes, inexcusable. I honestly think I lost a ton of my enthusiasm for hopes of TNA being successful when that happened. Ironic that it was literally just a botch by someone who had no clue that screwed her up when she was getting hurled through tables by Abyss and stuff. Freakin Rosie Lottalove, man. She'd be a lock for last place if anyone ever nominated her, let me tell ya.
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I agree; her in-ring style worked for her. I never had a problem with it in the slightest.
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Heel Saki Akai is on another level of hotness.
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I think in general that character matters more than anything for wrestling - this is mainly being reinforced by the current era of WWE where everyone is a ring general and the product still generally sucks because the character work is so lacking (in ring moreso than on the mic admittedly).

It makes the Sids and Daffneys of the world stick out more because of it honestly.
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This is why Daffney ranks so highly. We're into the pretty great tier of stuff.
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Awesome Kong is still in!