50. Al "Leif Cassidy" Snow (#164)- Out of all the wrestlers on my list Al Snow is the one I have the least amount of time for today. His stuff aged very poorly. Yet I was such a huge Al Snow fan from late 95 through 98 that I couldn't in good conscience leave him off entirely. So I threw him in at #50.

I was an Al Snow fan before I even knew who Al Snow was. See, my friends, The Three Brothers, had this copy of WWF Magazine hyping Survivor Series 95. A wrestler I had never seen or heard of called Avatar (cool name!) was pictured on the Underdogs team. He just looked so cool in his Hayabusa mask and ninja outfit. Avatar was basically a Mortal Kombat character come to pro wrestling months before WCW did the same thing with Glacier.

Yet I missed the one time Avatar appeared on Raw. He didn't appear at Survivor Series either, being replaced by (I think) Bob Holly with no explanation. Years later I would discover why. His Raw debut match was a botchtastic mess and he was pulled from tv because of it.

For a month or two I kept hoping the mythical Avatar, who apparently existed only in magazine form, would one day show up on my beloved WWF television. And then he did! Once teaming with Aldo in a squash loss to Sid & The Kid, and them again in another squash loss to Isaac Yankem. Avatar was a huge disappointment.

By this point I had gotten hooked on reading the Apter Mags. I would frequently read about this guy named Al Snow who the writers kept referring to as "The Best Kept Secret In Professional Wrestling." This guy was supposedly as good as Bret & Shawn in the ring! And he had recently signed with WWF! I couldn't wait to see this guy!

Around the same time WWF was hyping a New Rockers team with Marty Jannetty and a Mystery Partner. Not being a fan of the original Rockers, I had zero interest in this. But did assume they were in line for a big push. The tag titles were vacant. I was fairly certain the New Rockers were going to win the tournament for the vacant belts as an old school 80s pretty boy babyface team.

Swerve! Not only did the New Rockers fail to win the tag titles, they were also not a generic 80s pretty boy babyface team, but a parody of such things. Before long I became a huge New Rockers fan. Loved those guys. They were basically a pair of Wayne Campbell's with the dickishness turned up. Marty's mystery partner was this clueless putz with movez for days named Leif Cassidy. The New Rockers were a hoot on promos and a blast to watch in the ring, Leif in particular. Leif was doing all these fancy bombs, suplexes, and dives that nobody else in WWF was doing. I viewed him as nothing less than WWF's answer to WCW's New Style Wrestlers like Benoit, Malenko & Guerrero. But even better! Because Leif actually had overt charisma.

And then I found out my new hero Leif Cassidy was also my magazine hero Al Snow and he was also Avatar! So these three wrestlers I liked separately turned out to all be the same guy. Mind blown!

Sadly, the New Rockers never got much of a push, but Leif remained one of my absolute favorites to watch in the ring. He was also hilarious on promos as Marty's "dumber than a box of rocks" (a common JRism in regards to Leif) partner.

Marty left and Leif became a rarely used JTTS. Yet he did get a chance to showcase his talents on PPV against Mero & Scorpio in WWF's answer to WCW's undercard PPV workrate matches. I would tell anybody who would listen (and many who wouldn't) that Leif Cassidy was one of the best pure wrestlers out there.

Fast forward through a year of barely used jobberdom. Now Leif is in ECW as Al Snow. He's still going nowhere quick. Then he starts talking to a mannequin head and gets INSANELY over. It was just the weirdest/dumbest thing. Even in real time I thought it was dumb. I mean, it was basically a throwaway Beavis & Butthead-style joke that they beat into the ground. Joey Styles once said something like "The BWO was the dumbest gimmick to ever get over." Wrong! Al Snow w/ Head was the dumbest gimmick to ever get over.

But I didn't care because LEIF CASSIDY IS FINALLY GETTING A PUSH, BABY! I was soooooooo into ECW Al Snow that it was ridiculous. And I couldn't wait to see him take the title from the hated "French Fries" Shane Douglas. That honestly might be the most hyped I ever was for an ECW match....

And then Snow lost. I was devastated. Snow was like my "Daniel Bryan." So imagine Bryan failing at Wrestlemania 30. That was how I felt. 

Yet I got over it pretty quickly because 8 days later Snow returned to WWF and I was there! YES! Now I'd get to watch my man Al Snow every week on WWF TV! 

Turns out that was actually a bad thing. Snow w/ Head was only good in small doses in front of a crowd willing to gulp down the Kool Aid. WWF Al Snow sucked. His gimmick was stupid. He wasn't funny. He wasn't even that hardcore. And it was like he gave up even trying to be a good wrestler. The kewl movez were long gone. Now it was just a bunch of bad comedy interspersed with the laziest sort of hardcore wrestling. 

I still stuck with him through '98, and tried forcing myself to like The JOB Squad (it did give Meanie & Scorp something to do, in addition to Al), but eventually I gave up and had to admit Al Snow sucked now. He continued to suck for years. Never even came close to liking/caring about him again.

And even "good" Al Snow wasn't all that good in hindsight. I revisited a bunch of those "awesome" New Rockers squashes to write about them in the old PW Match Review thread. Most of them were actually botchfests with Cassidy trying this complicated stuff he wasn't capable of pulling off. Still a fun gimmick though. And The Head stuff ALWAYS sucked. I was just into it because "Yay! Leif is finally getting a push!"

Also, Snow was kind of a dick to me the time I met him at the lone autograph signing I ever attended. I was all hyped to tell him how much I loved his run as Leif Cassidy. He pretty much instantly blows me off by saying "Leif for life" in the most bored voice imaginable while quickly signing his name as his handler whisks me away with a brusque "NEXT!".

Still, we'll always have 95-98. Leif 4 Life indeed, you bastard.

#26 Ricochet - He was one of the early stand-outs of the early 2010s indie scene. I wish Twitter was more prominent back then because Ricochet would hit some of the most incredible spots you could think of, it really was like discovering Rey Mysterio and Sabu all over again. I thought he really matured over the years and was able to position his matches better so he wasn't just some insanely athletic guy hitting all these crazy spots.

He was a big draw card for Lucha Underground and he was a big part in making them one of the must-see shows of 2014-15 despite the campy theme they had going. I was always a big proponent behind him becoming a big star in NJPW and thought he deserved better than just being a tag guy.

He's since gone to the WWE where I just think he's a bad fit. I usually don't get caught up in the negativity but I was really disappointed in Brock-Ricochet. That was something of a dream bout and Brock completely just took his pay cheque and went home.

#32 Tomohiro Ishii - When I first started watching Ishii he was just a prelim guy struggling to get onto the show. Despite his spot, Ishii managed to stick out in those matches and NJPW took notice when they threw him into the G-1 tournament. Before 2013, the G-1 was just a rock solid tournament and any quality match was the exception rather than the rule. However Ishii made the most of his opportunity and got the fans into his tough underdog matches and helped turn the G-1 into the biggest three week event on the calender. His matches against Tanahashi and Shibata especially were stand-outs.

A lot of the NJPW style has become homogenized over the years but Ishii managed to stick out with his strong style matches. It's usually not my cup of tea, but Ishii carries himself like such a badass, I enjoy watching him endure and return serve ten-fold.

#44 Alex Shelley - When TNA finally hit Australian airwaves in March of 2008 the Motor City Machine Guns were the team I gravitated towards. I'd been starved of good Cruiserweight Wrestling and the MCMG happened to be the best high flying tag team I'd seen since the Hardys. What really sold me on them was their attitude, they had an edge to them that made them cooler than the nerdy or kooky junior tag teams.

They were easily the highlight of TNA up until 2011 when Sabin had his injury problems and Shelley got lost in the shuffle. Shelley would then make his way to NJPW just as that promotion was getting red hot and for me personally that junior tag team division was a gateway to get into the promotion. There was a lot of NJPW I couldn't get into, but the junior tag team division was ultra consistent and it was a style I could easily watch.

I was getting over ROH when they joined, but the one thing I liked was how they used their clout to get some of the young up and coming guys over. Guys like Lio Rush, Jonathan Gresham and Jay White received some much needed direction aligning themselves with the MCMG. I remember really wanting a proper Alex Shelley vs. Jay Lethal program but it wasn't to be and Shelley retired gracefully as he completed his Physio Bachelors.

Then last year, he did the impossible - he got me to check out a Matt Taven match. It reminded me of how much I enjoyed his work in the late 2000s-early 2010s and I was happy to finally see him in the WWE working alongside KUSHIDA.

#46 Kofi Kingston - Putting together my Top 50 and it turns out I'm a Kingston fan. Instantly liked him day one when he came to ECW and started doing his 'Trouble In Paradise' shtick and I thought he did a great job of playing the plucky rookie. I was completely into his 2009 push and was pretty disappointed when they had Edge replace him the Chamber and never really gave him an opportunity in the main event scene again. It never really got off the ground, but I enjoyed his tag team with Evan Borne and every now and then he'd have a really good television match against the likes of The Miz and Cesaro.

The New Day came along and I really grew to like that crew. They were clearly having fun with it which on such a dry show is pretty infectuous and they did an excellent job of setting themselves apart. I came extremely close to including Xavier Woods on my list, so I decided to throw his good-will in with Kofi and give Kofi a bump for his involvement in UpUpDownDown. I really enjoy that channel and typically come away liking the wrestlers a lot more than I would.

As ham-fisted as it was, Kofi's Wrestlemania win was genuinely a touching moment and one of my favourite Wrestlemania matches of all-time. I thought Kofi really brought his A game and it was a wonderful reward for all that hard work.

And of course, he's usually one of the highlights in my favourite match the Royal Rumble. I never really thought of it before, but yeah I dig Kofi.

Just gonna burn through a few more things real quick. Then I'll drop the next batch of names in an hour or so.

Wrestlers On My 51-200 List In Order From Near Misses To Further Misses

Dr. Death Steve Williams- Biggest badass in wrestling for years. Sort of a proto-Taz. I always bought into Doc as a tough guy. He was my favorite good guy when I first got into wrestling as a cast-wielding badass out for vengeance in 1987 UWF. Also dug him in the highly underrated Varsity Club stable. I'll second Emperor on the brutality of the Backdrop Driver. Sickest non-botched move I've ever seen.

Alex Shelley- Kilgore is correct in calling Shelley a massive missed opportunity. I rated him as the 2nd best total package (behind Punk) out of all those 2000s indie boom guys. Yet he achieved just about the least amount of success. A shame. He could have been the next Jericho. Shelley could do it all. Liked him a lot as the leader of Generation Next. Loved him in The Embassy. Also loved his odd couple pairing with Nash in TNA. They were a hilarious pair of snarkers. He looked sharp as ever when I saw him live at an ROH show a few months back. So there's still hope he can snag the fat payday he has long deserved.

Vince McMahon- 🤯 did a great job in covering the reason we are all here. He unsurprisingly got pro wrestling better than just anybody to ever do it. Also has a high batting average in terms of match quality as another poster stated. 

Santino- An all time great in the underappreciated genre of comedy wrestling. A master of antics who was also hilarious on the mic. His stuff with Austin in particular was gold. What I liked about the Austin stuff is it showed Santino had surprisingly big balls. He didn't back down from Stone Cold. He'd insult him right to his face even when he knew it was going lead to Austin opening up a can of whoop ass on him. He also did great work alongside Maria & Beth. Honkameter~! Trumpet taunt~! THAT diving headbutt~!

Kevin "Diesel" Nash- Umm...because I needed 200 names to fill out my list  :lol:  All joking aside, while it's true I disliked Nash far more than I liked him, I did dig him as HBK's badass bodyguard in 1994. The aforementioned TNA stuff with Shelley was also gold. Then he did some GOAT level commentary work as "Chet Lemon" on one of the most memorable episodes of TNA Impact. I even kinda liked Vinnie Vegas in an 'annoying' midcard heel sort of way. Speaking of Vinnie Vegas, how can I forget the GOAT arm wrestling contest with Van Hammer (even if it was pretty much a Hammer carry job)? Probably does have a better Top 10 match list than Hall, too. Even if it's only because he wrestled Bret on PPV 4x more than Hall did.
==========================
More Hard Falls: Wrestlers Who Dropped Out Of The Top 100 from last time to this time

Road Warriors (#22 as a tag team to #143 & #144 individually)
Seth Rollins (#46 to #152)
Alberto Del Rio (#65 to #236)
Luke Harper (#75 to #183)
Kevin Nash (#76 to #146)
Vince McMahon (#81 to #147)
Dr. Death Steve Williams (#85 to #149)

#131-#140

131. Sid: 4-49
132. Dusty Rhodes: 4-49
133. Nigel McGuinness: 2-49
134. Zack Ryder: 3-48
135. Steve Corino: 3-48
136. Yuji Nagata: 1-48
136. TAICHI: 1-48
138. Cody Rhodes: 3-47
139. Andre The Giant: 2-47
140. Madison Rayne: 1-47

Just look at my avatar...it's him as Mr. Wrestling 3

135. Steve Corino: 3-48

I was on the Steve Corino train in ECW, but what really solidified him for me was when he was doing his "Lists" gimmick back in ROH circa '04-'05.  It was great.  Bobby Cruise was his personal ring announcer and his intros would take forever...5-7 minutes easy.  If someone started booing, he'd stop Cruise until he heard silence and then have him continue.  I'm it inspired Jericho's list a decade or so later.  I like his old school approach, he can go scientific, but he's really a classic brawler.  He doesn't mind getting bloody.  He's won all the "old" titles.  Gone to Japan a thousand times...with a mask, without a mask...etc.  I find him highly entertaining and funny, in and out of the ring.


At least Dusty Rhodes beat Cody...on no f'n planet does Cody deserve to be that close to Dusty.  Then again, I think I forgot Dusty myself...so don't listen to me.

132. Dusty Rhodes: 4-49

Dusty feels very low here even for a career as old as his. Oozed charisma, possibly relied on his charisma more than any wrestler in the history of the business. His career depended on it. Unbelievable babyface promo, and truly larger-than-life. While he wasn't the most refined worker, his list of outstanding matches cannot be denied. He knew how to work the crowd into a frenzy.

138. Cody: 3-47
Cody was a big favourite of mine when his career first started in WWE. While we all had our 'this guy could be a main eventer if they ever pushed him' candidate, Cody was mine. I feel pretty smug about it now. His AEW gimmick to me is fantastic, a real throwback to the classic days of champions driven in limousines and dressing in tailored suits. He's an unbelievable promo, in AEW already he had two classic promos that I've rewatched numerous times. Underrated in the ring, probably because his style is from a bygone era.

Considered:

151. Pete Dunne: 2-44
Great worker, inventive and believable despite his size. May be a bit of a one-trick pony. But it's a good trick, I eat it up. Could climb if successful.

Stephanie McMahon has had one great match her entire career, she's a surprising inclusion. Vince I can understand.

Taichi is one of NJPW's better and more fresher talents in the upper midcard scene. I prefer him to the likes of EVIL and SANADA, but I don't find him consistent enough to rank on my top 50. Funnily enough, my favourite Taichi matches against Ishii. Perhaps this is the best example of Ishii bringing out the best in someone. Taichi often wrestles quite a laid back style, content to break the rules and relax a bit too much. He has bursts of energy during which he looks amazing, but they rarely last. Against Ishii, Taichi wrestles full on strong style and it's incredible.

The beauty is that their kayfabe rivalry is based around Ishii calling out Taichi for being a lazy wrestler, and Taichi taking the bait and wrestling Ishii's match against him. It's exactly what Ishii wants because Ishii always wants a hard fight, but maybe it's the best thing for Taichi to do as well?

35. Dusty Rhodes

Always a favorite I took to him early because he stood out as as not your typical wrestler looks wise, much like Jake The Snake around the same time. Also like Jake his promos drew me in with his trademark lisp and delivery. In ring was one of the best at working the crowd and behind the scenes a truly brilliant mind. I wasn't even really mad at Vince for putting him in polka dots as I new Dusty would take the ball and run with it. His feuds with Ted DiBiase and Randy Savage were missed opportunities for the WWF. If they had shed the Sapphire stuff in both and been more serious it really would have been memorable TV instead of the footnote it became.

Andre The Giant

Still in my estimation number 2 behind Hogan when it comes to a greatest list discussion. Before Hogan he was the name in wrestling appearing on talk shows, rubbing elbows with Muhammad Ali and being guaranteed money for every territory he worked in (and that was nearly all of them I made add.) In his prime was incredibly athletic and had some of the best facials and selling of any big man in history. How big a deal Wrestlemania III was just shows how huge Andre was in the conscience of wrestling fans at that time. I would say he has sadly become one of the most underrated of all time as I see his name totally left off of wrestling Mount Rushmores and other GOAT discussions. He deserves better.

Sid

Actually a late cut for myself he was the prototype for a huge star in the 80's and 90's. Unfortunately his in ring work left something to be desired but he had all the other qualities in spades. Botched promos aside he was so intense on the mic and had that "it" factor, just an intimidating aura. His coordination was off but I will give credit for his power moves, great powerbombs and chokelsams galore. I was right there with Baker as a massive fan of the Masters Of The Powerbomb team with Vader, great cheesy pro wrestling at it's best. Thinking about it now all of his flaws actually made him a huge cult favorite, his legacy occupies a unique corner in the pro wrestling world.

Andre the Giant: Everyone loves Andre, but he's no one's favorite, as this countdown, and every countdown makes abundantly clear. The idea of Andre is always better than what he actually was in the ring, which of course has to do with the fact that most of us saw him by the time he could barely walk, but still, it feels unfortunate. Like he deserves better, but also, he doesn't. 

Cody: I have tried to get into Cody, he seems like a good dude, but something just does not connect. It always seem like he's cosplaying a wrestler, cosplaying whatever character he's doing, it never feels natural. I don't know how to explain it. Seeing him wear suits and coming out of limousines it's just like, "Yes, I like 80s wrestling too, dude." It's not him, but I don't know what is. Really respect the balls to leave the 'E and help build what he has, though, although it must be said that SON OF DUSTY RHODES, I'm sure, helped with that confidence. Someone who grew up poor, made it in the WWE would probably take that WWE paycheck until Vince fired them for being injured, or some evil shit.

Steve Corino: THE MAN. "Deserve" is such a weird thing, does anyone deserve anything? I don't know. But it feels like Corino deserved a better career post-ECW. So great on the mic, his '90s version of Piper as the Manger/Wrestler was one of the best things going while ECW was collapsing, and his rise from scrawny weasel manager to champion was pretty spectacular when you think about not only how short of a time it was, but that everyone was pretty much okay with it. It seemed right. It was better than the alternatives, anyway. The absolute definitive example of "Needed WCW to exist," because to come into your own as an NWA model champion the exact moment Vince monopolized the business is all time bad luck.

Dusty: Kind of like Andre, I love the idea of Dusty more than anything I've ever seen him do (minus a promo or two). Dusty is a human paradox, like he was both good and bad, his booking could be good, it could be worst of all time, his commentary is the same. I saw Cornette doing commentary on an old found footage match of Dusty from like the late '60s and I think this is also a case of an unfortunate great wrestler coming into prominence towards the end of his career. But I say that, and yet there are people that REALLY love Dusty, so Dusty did alright regardless. 

Sid: The oddest SMARK favorite of all time, checks every box for things (that era of) SMARKS absolutely hated, he couldn't wrestle, he couldn't cut a promo, he was a punch and kick wrestler that couldn't punch and broke his own leg trying to kick, and yet, SID WAS BELOVED. I loved Sid! Talking about Nash I said something like "Looking like a badass is basically 80% of being an awesome wrestler," and goddamn, does Sid make that even truer. This very wet lunatic stalking towards to the ring, veins popping out of his neck, head on a very jerky swivel, shouting things barely more comprehensible than the Ultimate Warrior, and it was a collective reaction of "FUCK YES SID IS IN THE BUILDING. HE'S ABOUT TO MURDER A MAN." Shout out to Paul E. for understanding that Sid works best as a squasher, have him obliterate people with chokeslams and powerbombs while firing up the crowd, then get him the fuck out of there because that should have been Sid's entire career. No one wants a real Sid match. Sid, great at just being Sid, and it inexplicably working better than anyone can put into words.

131. Sid: 4-49

I somehow missed he was on that list.  Sid was a late addition for me.  Simply for the reason of when my brother first saw him on TV...it went a little like..."Who the hell, what the hell, whoa he's big."  My brother was 11 at the time and yes, we are a potty mouthed family and this may or may not be cleaned up for TV.  I had never seen a guy that big, with that much muscle.  Sid looks the perfect nightmare and Vince McMahon's wet dream of a pro wrestler....however, he wrestles like a fart in church.  He's also inherently injury prone and usually at the worst possible moments during a storyline.  Who knew his replacement in the Skyscrapers a very green Undertaker would be an all-timer.  Sid also doesn't like to travel, loves his time off, hates kids, puppy dogs and guys named Steve on alternating Tuesdays in June.  He's painful to work with for lack of a better term.  The short version is, he's a $5.50 wrestler wrapped up in a million dollar body with a ten cent head.

Love seeing all this Sid love!

Probably not posting my thoughts on my picks from this latest batch until my morning coffee constitutional tomorrow morning.

132. Dusty Rhodes: 4-49
The man had an amazing wrestling mind and made what some say were his limitations work FOR him instead of against him.

134. Zack Ryder: 3-48
I will forever be a Zack Ryder fan much to UT's disgust. He was enjoyable and made Bro cool before Riddle. He also used the social media platform long before anyone else and WWE owe him a debt for some of the ideas he practically served up to them. Hope he remains on as a trainer in the back ground because I think he's solid in ring and has fresh ideas.

138. Cody Rhodes: 3-47
I always enjoyed Cody Rhodes. No matter what shitty gimmick they gave him, he always made it work. I've actually enjoyed his stuff post WWE much more because then you can REALLY see what he is capable of.


Considered but alas did not make the cut
133. Nigel McGuinness: 2-49

42. Steve Corino (#135)- Much like Al Snow, I was a Steve Corino fan before I ever saw him wrestle. The very first Apter Mag I ever read (Christmas 1995) featured an "Introducing" profile on Corino. It was accompanied by a pic of a guy who could have passed for 1-2-3 Kid's twin brother and a great kayfabe(?) story about the formerly happy-go-lucky good guy Corino being lead to the darkside by Jeff Jarrett & The Heavenly Bodies when the young rookie jumped at the chance to sit under the learning tree of those well-traveled WWF superstars by volunteering to drive them around Pennsylvania when WWF was touring that great state. 

Corino was the first indie guy I ever followed, albeit just in the Apter Mags. Hell, I'm pretty sure he was the first "no name" indie wrestler I ever knew of, period. For a few years I kept tabs on his career in the "Results" section of those Apter Mags.

I soon discovered he frequently worked the local indies in my home state of Maryland alongside a bunch of ECW wrestlers. I wanted to attend one of those shows so bad. But it would be 3 years before I finally would. For starters, I had no idea when and where they took place in this pre-internet age. And even if I had known, I had no way of getting to these shows. It wouldn't be until October 1998 that I finally attended a local indie show (MCW). By then Corino was on the cusp of bigger and better things.

He also appeared on WWF tv from time to time in a jobber role. He even worked an angle with "Jailbird" Crush one time. Around that time, he was rumored to be brought in alongside Fake Razor & Fake Diesel as the Fake 1-2-3 Kid. A believable rumor. The Crush angle showed he was at least on WWF's radar. And he certainly looked the part. But the Fakes flopped and the idea was scrapped before Corino ever had a chance to do the gimmick.

Fast forward to early 1999. Corino had just joined ECW. I was obviously predisposed to being a Corino fan after 3+ years of following him in the Apter Mags. But there was always a chance he could have sucked. Turns out he did not suck. Corino solidified his Baker Guy status very early on. Literally the first or second time I saw him in ECW. It was either the first ECW Arena show I attended in March 1999 or the Living Dangerously PPV 8 days later. Corino spit fire on the mic doing his anti-hardcore thing and took a hellacious beating from some beloved ECW fan favorite.

In hindsight Corino's anti-hardcore gimmick was just a rehash of what Cactus did a few years earlier. But it was brand new to me. I hadn't seen any of Cactus Jack's anti-hardcore stuff yet, and don't even think I knew it existed at this point. So I found Corino's gimmick new and fresh and exciting.

Corino was a lot like peak Santino in that, yeah, he was a wimp. But he was a wimp with huge balls. He'd insult the baddest dudes in the promotion right to their faces even when he had to have known a brutal beating would follow. He even insulted TAZ right to his face! "Catch me if you can. Keep the title if I let you!" ECW Arena crowd- "Ooooh!" The man clearly had a death wish. Corino invading the Limp Bizkit concert was an awesome and underrated segment that has sadly been forgotten due to the ravages of time.

As Kilgore mentioned he did the Piper/Eddie Gilbert manager/wrestler thing and was awesome at it. Great on the mic. Great 'wimp' heel. Definitely one of my Top 10 favorite wrestlers in 1999.

And he would get even better in 2000. Ironically the "anti-hardcore" guy quickly became one of the most hardcore guys in the most hardcore promotion I followed. He took hellacious beatings and bled buckets. Good god could that man bleed! The Jerry Lynn and Tajiri PPV matches are SO GOOD! I'm probably the high vote on the Lynn match (DIE!) while the Tajiri match has crawled out of relative obscurity to become one of the most famous latter day ECW bouts. Then there was the cool Dusty feud. 

All this hard work soon won over the ECW faithful. Corino became an unlikely babyface. It was all building to Corino vs. ECW Champ Justin Credible in August 2000. This was a very hyped match for an ECW house show. It was also the last ECW match I ever really cared about. Credible's reign of doom as ECW Champ was my version of what other people would feel about HHH & JJ hogging the belts a few years later. Just the worst. But the long nightmare was about to be over at the hands of the hottest "new" guy ECW had in years. I remember going to all the sites that night and refreshing pages like a madman.

Only to discover Credible won. Dammit! That's it. I was done with ECW. It was functionally dead to me. All that was left was for somebody to mercifully pull the plug.

ECW may be dead but Corino's career was only just beginning. He was the next great heel. Destined for a decade of greatness. It was obvious. 

Only it never happened. WCW & ECW dying (for real) in 2001 severely limited Corino's options.  

BUT! Something had to fill the void. The demise of WCW & ECW actually opened up a whole new world of possibilities. I was really into fanfic stuff in the year or so following the back to back demise of WWF's main competitors. Corino was a Top 2 "draft pick" (right up there with Double J!) for all my fantasy feds.

In reality Corino did get screwed by circumstances beyond his control. No doubt about it. But he also made some.....odd career choices. He spent most of his time working for the Zero One promotion in Japan. Z1 was "only" the #4 or #5 fed in Japan. He seemed to have a spot for life in ROH (more on that in a bit). Yet he seemed to prefer working no names in rinky dink indie feds even the most hardcore fans had never even heard of. TNA (allegedly) offered him a spot early on. He politely declined. It's too bad there was no NWA Powerrr in 2002. Corino would have been the ideal top guy for such a thing.

Corino also ran his own indie promotion- the Pennsylvania-based PWF. I supported my boy by making the 2 hour drive north of Philly to attend 2 or 3 of these shows. They sucked! It's where good wrestlers went to dog it. The only guy who tried was Chris Hamrick, who bumped like a maniac. Well, I guess Quiet Storm & Chris Divine technically tried as well. It's just that they're trying proved how awful they were. One time I inadvertently "snuck in" before the doors opened to fans. I just bought my ticket and walked in. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be there! Talked to Frankie Kazarian for a while. He was really cool! Another time Corino's asshole toady, some nobody named Rob Dimension, pissed me off by making fun of a 10 year old boy for the "crime" of buying a Razor Ramon tape rather than some herpaderp indie tape. 

Anyway, Corino was still great in ROH....when he bothered to be there. @ck is spot on about his overblown entrances/lists being a hoot. He smoked 95% of the roster in terms of presence and mic skills while still being able to brawl with the best of them. He had a great feud with Homicide highlighted by their epic FIGHT in August 2003, which is a Top 10 ROH match for me. Even in later years he got me hyped for a match with BJ Whitmer, of all people. That and the big Lethal/J. Briscoe match were the only 2 matches I was really interested in when I started watching ROH again on occasion in the mid 2010s.

Anyway, Corino had a long and productive career. He was great. But he could/should have been even greater. 

EDIT: Been thinking about it and Corino should have been....at least 7 spots higher on my list. Maybe next time! He definitely passes The Edge Test with flying colors. 

238. D-Von Dudley: 1-15

This jabroni is only good for getting tables.

Normally I look the other way on your asinine posts, but this one has caused me to roll up my sleeves.

As the only vote for D-Von Dudley, I would like to remind you of a few things.

I'd like to remind you of Hall & Oates. Bert & Ernie. Keenan & Kel. Han Solo & Chewbacca. Wile E. Coyote & The Roadrunner.

Sure, on their own they were fine. Even had some high points that people enjoyed. But you could not beat them when they were together. They needed one another and every single time they were together, it was fireworks. It was perfection. It was the greatest tag team of all-time.

I could not vote for Bubba Ray Dudley without voting for his brother from another mother D-Von. And I wouldn't even think of voting for one without the other. Because they complimented one another better than any tag team I've ever seen in my 35 years on this planet.

Testify.

Apr 11, 2020 3:12:23 GMT RT said:

238. D-Von Dudley: 1-15

This jabroni is only good for getting tables.

Normally I look the other way on your asinine posts, but this one has caused me to roll up my sleeves.

As the only vote for D-Von Dudley, I would like to remind you of a few things.

I'd like to remind you of Hall & Oates. Bert & Ernie. Keenan & Kel. Han Solo & Chewbacca. Wile E. Coyote & The Roadrunner.

Sure, on their own they were fine. Even had some high points that people enjoyed. But you could not beat them when they were together. They needed one another and every single time they were together, it was fireworks. It was perfection. It was the greatest tag team of all-time.

I could not vote for Bubba Ray Dudley without voting for his brother from another mother D-Von. And I wouldn't even think of voting for one without the other. Because they complimented one another better than any tag team I've ever seen in my 35 years on this planet.

Testify.

I just said that as a cheap joke. The Dudleys are pretty damn cool and I know them no other way than as a collective force of greatness.

Their stuff against Edge & Christian are some of my favorite matches and they were solid consistent entertainment back when I watched TNA as well.

Shootist That angry Jeff Jarrett ranter with the Roddy Piper wannabe delivery is atrocious. What a jabroni! Please tell me his gimmick extends beyond something so niche as "Jeff Jarrett hater" 

@ck Thanks for clarifying your avatar. I had been curious. My guess was an old school luchador. Now I know the truth.

Several big names dropped in this last batch. I expected 4 or 5 of them to clear 50 points. Let's talk about them.

Wrestlers On My 51-200 List

Andre- One of my favorites during the first two years of my wrestling fandom. I totally bought into The Myth of Andre. He was a true giant with a King Kong or Godzilla-like presence. Was super into the Hogan feud. Unfortunately I then went through a decades long "lol Andre sucks" period. I have since come back around on one of my early wrestling heroes.

Sid- Even though he (barely) made my Top 200 list I seem to be the low voter on Sid. He was the first wrestler who I ever thought sucked at wrestling regardless of push. I never liked him as a singles wrestler. Sid main eventing was a kiss of death for my interest. HATED his ECW run. Like it actually offended me to see the ECW fans cheer for this hack. With that being said, I LOVE Sid in tag teams. His teams with Spivey, Vader, and Kid all ruled. It's the weirdest thing. Sid is an enigma. GOAT level powerbomb and leg drop. Great look and presence. Terrible at everything else.
=====================
Dusty Rhodes failed to make my 200 list on a technicality since I was never a fan of his in real time*. Only caught the tail end of his NWA run as a young fan. I didn't get it. Loathed his "polka dots" WWF run. Thought he was just a goofy, out of shape jabroni. For nearly a decade I basically rated him as a poor man's Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. Even when I started renting NWA tapes every weekend in the mid 90s Dusty being a primary Flair challenger was a "lol NWA" moment. But Dusty grew on me over time and now I kind of love him (except the WWF run in polkadots. That still sucks). Great on the mic. Tons of charisma. Huge presence. Smart in the ring. Quicker and more athletic than you might think. Everybody talks about the "Hard Times" promo, but "The Cold Blooded Sausage Maker" was my brother's all time favorite promo. And it's up there for me too. Bonus points for being hilarious on commentary. 

*I actually did like/love Dusty's run as the mysterious masked Midnight Rider in 1988. Should have put him on my Top 200 list based on that.

Cody Rhodes- Much like his daddy, I thought he was terrible for the longest time. "Legacy" Cody was one of the most boring wrestlers to ever exist. For years I dismissed him based on that run.

When I first joined PW I went back and caught some of his "Bagger" run. It was pretty cool in a "Model" Rick Martel midcard heel sort of way. Back in real time he had grown a mustache and formed the awesomely named "Rhodes Scholars" tag team with my man Damien Sandow. I dug them. A year after that he would form an even cooler tag team with my other boy Goldust. Their awesome feud with The Shield actually had me paying attention to modern WWE for a month or so.

So Cody grew on me, albeit in specially selected sample sizes. He had become a darn good "character wrestler" and a damn fine Marty Jannetty. 

Yet never could I have predicted that Cody Rhodes, damn fine Marty Jannetty though he may be, would go on to become the most important WWE defector since (at least) Hall & Nash some 24 years ago. Not enough people talk about this.

With that being said, I don't have much time for post-WWE Cody. I thought he mostly sucked when I’d occasionally see him in ROH. I don't like The Elite. I have little to no interest in AEW. I personally think Cody has become a try hard geek. But he must doing something right. So, good for him.

Apr 11, 2020 3:46:47 GMT Baker said:

With that being said, I don't have much time for post-WWE Cody. I thought he mostly sucked in ROH. I don't like The Elite. I have little to no interest in AEW. I personally think Cody has become a tryhard geek. But he must doing something right. So, good for him.

I really enjoyed Cody in WWE. I don’t know what happened, but I absolutely hate him in AEW. He started using a bunch of Dustin’s moves which all suck and prances around the ring doing one poor looking move after another with some badly done imitation Bucks superkicks thrown in that barely seem to connect instead of wrestling like he actually used to.

The Bucks are also amazingly talented but often decide to do the same spotty bullshit every match instead of wrestling as well. Their matches are still entertaining but I have to cringe through some parts often.

So I dislike “The Elite”. That being said, I love AEW. There is just so much good talent there and it maintains a pretty high match quality throughout every episode. Omega and Pac alone are reason enough to watch because they are so damn talented.

It doesn’t feel like the whole show is “The Elite” at all. They’re just an annoying stable on the show.

Apr 11, 2020 3:46:47 GMT Baker said:

Shootist That angry Jeff Jarrett ranter with the Roddy Piper wannabe delivery is atrocious. What a jabroni! Please tell me his gimmick extends beyond something so niche as "Jeff Jarrett hater" 

@ck Thanks for clarifying your avatar. I had been curious. My guess was an old school luchador. Now I know the truth.

Several big names dropped in this last batch. I expected 4 or 5 of them to clear 50 points. Let's talk about them.

Wrestlers On My 51-200 List

Andre- One of my favorites during the first two years of my wrestling fandom. I totally bought into The Myth of Andre. He was a true giant with a King Kong or Godzilla-like presence. Was super into the Hogan feud. Unfortunately I then went through a decades long "lol Andre sucks" period. I have since come back around on one of my early wrestling heroes.

Sid- Even though he (barely) made my Top 200 list I seem to be the low voter on Sid. He was the first wrestler who I ever thought sucked at wrestling regardless of push. I never liked him as a singles wrestler. Sid main eventing was a kiss of death for my interest. HATED his ECW run. Like it actually offended me to see the ECW fans cheer for this hack. With that being said, I LOVE Sid in tag teams. His teams with Spivey, Vader, and Kid all ruled. It's the weirdest thing. Sid is an enigma. GOAT level powerbomb and leg drop. Great look and presence. Terrible at everything else.
=====================
Dusty Rhodes failed to make my 200 list on a technicality since I was never a fan of his in real time*. Only caught the tail end of his NWA run as a young fan. I didn't get it. Loathed his "polka dots" WWF run. Thought he was just a goofy, out of shape jabroni. For nearly a decade I basically rated him as a poor man's Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. Even when I started renting NWA tapes every weekend in the mid 90s Dusty being a primary Flair challenger was a "lol NWA" moment. But Dusty grew on me over time and now I kind of love him (except the WWF run in polkadots. That still sucks). Great on the mic. Tons of charisma. Huge presence. Smart in the ring. Quicker and more athletic than you might think. Everybody talks about the "Hard Times" promo, but "The Cold Blooded Sausage Maker" was my brother's all time favorite promo. And it's up there for me too. Bonus points for being hilarious on commentary. 

*I actually did like/love Dusty's run as the mysterious masked Midnight Rider in 1988. Should have put him on my Top 200 list based on that.

Cody Rhodes- Much like his daddy, I thought he was terrible for the longest time. "Legacy" Cody was one of the most boring wrestlers to ever exist. For years I dismissed him based on that run.

When I first joined PW I went back and caught his "Bagger" run. It was pretty cool in a "Model" Rick Martel midcard heel sort of way. Back in real time he had grown a mustache and formed the awesomely named "Rhodes Scholars" tag team with my man Damien Sandow. I dug them. A year after that he would form an even cooler tag team with my other boy Goldust. Their awesome feud with The Shield actually had me paying attention to modern WWE for a month or so.

So Cody grew on me, albeit in specially selected sample sizes. He had become a darn good "character wrestler" and a damn fine Marty Jannetty. 

Yet never could I have predicted that Cody Rhodes, damn fine Marty Jannetty though he may be, would go on to become the most important WWE defector since (at least) Hall & Nash some 24 years ago. Not enough people talk about this.

With that being said, I don't have much time for post-WWE Cody. I thought he mostly sucked when I’d occasionally see him in ROH. I don't like The Elite. I have little to no interest in AEW. I personally think Cody has become a try hard geek. But he must doing something right. So, good for him.

His name is Jeff Schlegl-something I can't remember, hence the nickname Schlegdaddy. His channel is OTRS (Off The Top RopeS) Central that used to be a network of guys who reviewed WWE/TNA and had roundtables about other wrestling topics. I got started viewing his stuff in late 2014 and I find him to be pretty spot on with his takes on wrestling, and very entertaining in promo/rant mode. His buddies have since lost interest in wrestling and he's the only one left. OTRS is also down to pretty much bi-weekly videos with more general commentary whenever something interesting pops up. He has way more shticks than that, his passive aggressiveness/facetious praise towards the "Breakfast Club" (HHH aka GOD UGGAH!, Cena, Orton, Batista), love of black women (namely Brandi Rhodes), his Twitter war with Cody Rhodes, and yes assuming the Jeff Jarrett position. Jeff also has a separate channel for more real sports oriented material. I dunno, I find him to be a hoot but there are many as well on your side of the fence who find him annoying.

Big Nige is the only one from my list this time. Nigel vs. Bryan at Unified in 2006 dramatically changed my life when it came to pro wrestling. I thought I was pretty well versed because I watched TNA as well as WWE and had downloaded the Joe/Punk series off Limewire. But that match was being hyped up so much I had to watch it, and it was so brutal, so visceral and yet told such a clear story, with an incredibly hot crowd, it enthralled me, and I instantly became so much more open to watching non-WWE stuff. I subsequently went back and watched lots more McGuinness and while I never liked that he carried an iron, I loved how he carried himself as Pure champion. As far as he was concerned, being pure champion made him the best wrestler in the world, and he would do whatever it took to win. The rules of the pure championship also meant that he had to be super creative to be a heel on a long winning streak that people still hated - and he did that beautifully.

He came into TNA with a terrible name, but a better look and his first few months were incredible. Russo (of all people) booked him as a really serious, really vicious, and really credible contender to Kurt Angle's World Title. It looked like he was heading for the superstardom he deserved. Then Hogan/Bischoff came in, ruined TNA forever, and Nigel got so injured he had to retire early. I was hugely invested in his retirement tour, backed his documentary on kickstarter and still have the signed copy of the DVD.

If this was all he did, he's easily make my top 50. But on top of all this, he came to the WWE and became one of the best commentars in the game such is his love and enthusiasm for wrestling. He's wonderful and I'm glad I'm not his only vote.

34. Nigel McGuinness
40. Sheamus
42. Kofi Kingston
46. Ronda Rousey
49. Jeff Jarrett

I imagine Dusty would make my list if I had seen more of him. Everything I've seen I love.

Cody was close. I've talked before how when everyone was on the Ted DiBiase hype train I was team Cody. The reaction he got when they teased him turning on Randy Orton was one of the hottest crowds I've ever seen. Legacy could have been amazing had they pulled the trigger on either guy during the breakup instead of having Orton bury them and send them back down to the bottom of the card. I remember writing for Cody in fan fic and getting reviews saying things like 'There's no way Cody could work as a heel in a suit with a talk segment' or even 'why are you having Cody Rhodes do a moonsault?' I feel pretty vindicated. Ultimately I just don't love enough of his post-WWE stuff to call him a favourite. His promo the a month or two ago was incredible, but The Elite stuff just isn't for me and he went and got the worst tattoo of all time.

Big Madison Rayne fan, but just not enough stand out moments to be a favourite of mine. I feel like she was usually wasted.

I wanted to write about Cody, but all I could think to say was that everything he does is good, but I don't really like watching the guy, and I don't know why. Then Kilgore posted and I knew the reason why.

Apr 10, 2020 21:32:21 GMT Kilgore said:

Cody: I have tried to get into Cody, he seems like a good dude, but something just does not connect. It always seem like he's cosplaying a wrestler, cosplaying whatever character he's doing, it never feels natural. I don't know how to explain it. Seeing him wear suits and coming out of limousines it's just like, "Yes, I like 80s wrestling too, dude."

The peak of his "cosplaying" was that promo he did in AEW where he threw his jacket off and did lots of crazy stuff. That was such a blatant Ric Flair ripoff I could barely watch it. Cosplaying is a great word. He's simply inauthentic to me.

Apr 11, 2020 10:31:04 GMT Emperor said:

I wanted to write about Cody, but all I could think to say was that everything he does is good, but I don't really like watching the guy, and I don't know why. Then Kilgore posted and I knew the reason why.

Apr 10, 2020 21:32:21 GMT Kilgore said:

Cody: I have tried to get into Cody, he seems like a good dude, but something just does not connect. It always seem like he's cosplaying a wrestler, cosplaying whatever character he's doing, it never feels natural. I don't know how to explain it. Seeing him wear suits and coming out of limousines it's just like, "Yes, I like 80s wrestling too, dude."

The peak of his "cosplaying" was that promo he did in AEW where he threw his jacket off and did lots of crazy stuff. That was such a blatant Ric Flair ripoff I could barely watch it. Cosplaying is a great word. He's simply inauthentic to me.

This is the exact same thing my wife said seconds after seeing him the first time and every time she has seen him since. Inauthentic. Seems like a phony.

He was not like that in WWE.

Apr 11, 2020 14:39:05 GMT Lionheart said:

Apr 11, 2020 10:31:04 GMT Emperor said:

I wanted to write about Cody, but all I could think to say was that everything he does is good, but I don't really like watching the guy, and I don't know why. Then Kilgore posted and I knew the reason why.

The peak of his "cosplaying" was that promo he did in AEW where he threw his jacket off and did lots of crazy stuff. That was such a blatant Ric Flair ripoff I could barely watch it. Cosplaying is a great word. He's simply inauthentic to me.

This is the exact same thing my wife said seconds after seeing him the first time and every time she has seen him since. Inauthentic. Seems like a phony.

He was not like that in WWE.

Yeah, I think you're right. Nothing felt more real than the Rhodes Brothers vs. The Shield. I think he's so determined to prove himself outside of WWE that he comes off a little try-hard and inauthentic. But when he's good, he's still damn good.

Damn, I am absolutely loving this thread. Thread of the year so far and it probably won’t get beat.

This is exactly why I don’t like Cody and I could never put my finger on it either.

It’s the same reason I didn’t like Charlotte for the longest time. Her gimmick was “I’m Ric Flair’s daughter,” and Cody has been the same thing since AEW started. “I’m Dusty Rhodes’ son,” was his entire persona. The only difference was that Charlotte is very talented in the ring while Cody is meh. Charlotte would wrestle someone and make you forget that you didn’t like her. Cody can’t do that because he’s not good enough. AND he constantly books himself over people. WHY THE FUCK DOES HE KEEP BEATING SHAWN SPEARS!?

Cosplaying is the perfect description. He’s like a rich kid that got his parents to buy him a wrestling ring and he invites his friends over for a gauntlet match and throws a fit if one of them actually beats him.

PW's take on Cody is maybe the most fascinating revelation so far. Everybody who has commented preferred him in WWE. I'd wager it's the complete opposite most everywhere else. Fwiw Cody finished #92 the last time we did this. I expected him to skyrocket this time around. Instead he fell 46 spots to #138.

PB Nigel is another one of my big blind spots. I did see him a bunch of times but it was before he "got good." I was getting out of ROH/indie wrestling right around the time he blew up and never bothered to check out his critically acclaimed stuff. Same story for his TNA run.

#125 Nikki Bella
2 Votes- 54 Points
High Vote: #5

#126 D'Lo Brown
2 Votes- 52 Points
High Vote: #2

#127 Jay White
2 Votes- 51 Points
High Vote: #19

#128 Bayley
2 Votes- 51 Points
High Vote: #24

#129 Wade Barrett
3 Votes- 50 Points
High Vote: #18
Last Time: #86

#130 Dolph Ziggler
2 Votes- 50 Points
High Vote: #5
Last Time: #87

I'd imagine SM voted last time, otherwise I'm just as baffled as you Bake.

Cody was my pick as Pro Wrestler of the Year since he had a career year and checked all the boxes. He had competition from the usual suspects - guys like Okada, Jericho etc. and you could certainly make a case for them but I don't think their 2019s stood out as much as Codys.

What sticks out about Cody is that in this promotion where 80% of the talent treat it as this big inside jokes the fans are in on, Cody sheds blood, sweat and tears for this promotion. I don't buy any arguments about him being disingenous, you don't get a bad tattoo like his unless you're crazy passionate and you put your skin in the game.

I see a lot of parrallels between him and Dreamer. Cody is not the most talented guy, but he's clearly passionate and he's dangerously close to getting to the heart of what makes a good Pro.

The whipping segment between him and MJF is a great example. It's a great scenario on paper and it helped guys like Dreamer and Foley get over big time in their respective careers. However Cody made himself look like a dummy because the set up was all wrong. That should have been a stipulation for after the match, not before it.

Even if they wanted to use it as a way to bluff Cody out of the match, the focus should have been whether AEW, MJF and Cody would go through with it. Who would buckle first - go all Black Mirror Season 1 Episode 1 and place all the build up in the suspense, not in the actual pay off.

PB Nigel is another one of my big blind spots. I did see him a bunch of times but it was before he "got good." I was getting out of ROH/indie wrestling right around the time he blew up and never bothered to check out his critically acclaimed stuff. Same story for his TNA run.

His TNA run was basically his two matches against Kurt. You could skip the rest and not be missing out on much.

Outside of those matches with Kurt, the one memory I have is TNA introducing this ranking system where fans would get to decide the top contenders. Nigel won easily so they proceeded to scrap the system and make their own rankings with Mr. Anderson, Matt Morgan, Jeff Hardy and Rob Terry on top.

Double batch attack!

Been particularly loving the posts on Sid and Cody so far. One hundred million percent agree with both trains of thought on both guys.

From My List:

131. Sid: 4-49 (14)
There's really nothing I can add that hasn't already been stated better, so I'll just quote the posts I want to echo:

This...

Apr 10, 2020 20:45:59 GMT Shootist said:

Sid

Actually a late cut for myself he was the prototype for a huge star in the 80's and 90's. Unfortunately his in ring work left something to be desired but he had all the other qualities in spades. Botched promos aside he was so intense on the mic and had that "it" factor, just an intimidating aura. His coordination was off but I will give credit for his power moves, great powerbombs and chokelsams galore. I was right there with Baker as a massive fan of the Masters Of The Powerbomb team with Vader, great cheesy pro wrestling at it's best. Thinking about it now all of his flaws actually made him a huge cult favorite, his legacy occupies a unique corner in the pro wrestling world.

And this...

Apr 10, 2020 21:32:21 GMT Kilgore said:

Sid: The oddest SMARK favorite of all time, checks every box for things (that era of) SMARKS absolutely hated, he couldn't wrestle, he couldn't cut a promo, he was a punch and kick wrestler that couldn't punch and broke his own leg trying to kick, and yet, SID WAS BELOVED. I loved Sid! Talking about Nash I said something like "Looking like a badass is basically 80% of being an awesome wrestler," and goddamn, does Sid make that even truer. This very wet lunatic stalking towards to the ring, veins popping out of his neck, head on a very jerky swivel, shouting things barely more comprehensible than the Ultimate Warrior, and it was a collective reaction of "FUCK YES SID IS IN THE BUILDING. HE'S ABOUT TO MURDER A MAN." Shout out to Paul E. for understanding that Sid works best as a squasher, have him obliterate people with chokeslams and powerbombs while firing up the crowd, then get him the fuck out of there because that should have been Sid's entire career. No one wants a real Sid match. Sid, great at just being Sid, and it inexplicably working better than anyone can put into words.

And this...

Apr 10, 2020 21:37:12 GMT @ck said:

131. Sid: 4-49

I somehow missed he was on that list.  Sid was a late addition for me.  Simply for the reason of when my brother first saw him on TV...it went a little like..."Who the hell, what the hell, whoa he's big."  My brother was 11 at the time and yes, we are a potty mouthed family and this may or may not be cleaned up for TV.  I had never seen a guy that big, with that much muscle.  Sid looks the perfect nightmare and Vince McMahon's wet dream of a pro wrestler....however, he wrestles like a fart in church.  He's also inherently injury prone and usually at the worst possible moments during a storyline.  Who knew his replacement in the Skyscrapers a very green Undertaker would be an all-timer.  Sid also doesn't like to travel, loves his time off, hates kids, puppy dogs and guys named Steve on alternating Tuesdays in June.  He's painful to work with for lack of a better term.  The short version is, he's a $5.50 wrestler wrapped up in a million dollar body with a ten cent head.

And this...

Apr 11, 2020 3:46:47 GMT Baker said:

Sid- Even though he (barely) made my Top 200 list I seem to be the low voter on Sid. He was the first wrestler who I ever thought sucked at wrestling regardless of push. I never liked him as a singles wrestler. Sid main eventing was a kiss of death for my interest. HATED his ECW run. Like it actually offended me to see the ECW fans cheer for this hack. With that being said, I LOVE Sid in tag teams. His teams with Spivey, Vader, and Kid all ruled. It's the weirdest thing. Sid is an enigma. GOAT level powerbomb and leg drop. Great look and presence. Terrible at everything else.

136. Yuji Nagata: 1-48 (3)
Just gonna divulge some of my PMs with Baker-man for Yooj.

Mar 25, 2020 21:17:51 GMT Baker said:

Had no idea you were such a big Yuji Nagata fan.

Mar 25, 2020 22:23:01 GMT 🤯 said:

I have no idea how I first randomly stumbled on Yuji, but he resonated for whatever reason right away.

If I had to guess, I'd guesstimate I first discovered him in 2004ish with early days of Japanese wrestling exploration via LimeWire or torrent downloads?

Feel like everyone was still big time sucking AJPW dicks all over IWC at the time, and back then my spite monster raged even more than it does now (thanks teenage testosterone levels!) so I'm sure part of me loved Yuj as this sleeper solid wrestler with cool submissions and suplexes that everyone else seemed to be sleeping on and overlooking.

Then I realized he was playable in WCW vs. nWo Revenge, and that sealed the deal. He was my man.

Similar-ish thing happened a little while later with Katsuyori Shibata, who I can thank holzhammer for exposing me to via torrent tape trading.

I was Team NJPW way before it was cool to be Team NJPW! And now that Team NJPW is all the rage, I'm totally out. :lol:

Mar 25, 2020 23:03:38 GMT Baker said:

When I first delved into Japanese wrestling in the late 90s All Japan heavyweights and New Japan juniors were all the rage. So of course I became a Michinoku Pro Guy  :lol:  That's where Kaientai and the Great Sasuke first became "big." I was into movez and flippy shit back then, though admittedly not as much as most people. The M-Pro guys had movez and flippy shit out the wazoo. Plus Kaientai were good, fun, entertaining heels. Pretty sure the All Japan stuff went over my head and the New Japan juniors were pretty much lesser versions of the Michinoku Pro guys to late 90s me. 

Anyway, I always kept tabs on Japanese wrestling without watching all that much. Like I could have told you who the big stars over there were from 1996 all the way through the 2000s. Yet I never even heard of Shibata until he returned(?) a few years ago. 

Mar 26, 2020 1:28:08 GMT 🤯 said:

I had no clue Michinoku Pro was a part of or spun out of NJPW. I always associated it with FMW at most. Fucking LOVE Taka, Funaki, Dick Togo, and Men's Teioh! But that might be due as much if not more so to their personalities than their move!!~

I feel like Tajiri definitely and maybe even Hakushi came from a similar school of thought and wrestling territory? Hence why I loved them so much too.

Mar 26, 2020 1:37:36 GMT Baker said:

I think you misunderstood my probably unclear writing. Michinoku Pro did not spawn from New Japan (as far as I know). It was it’s own thing.

I too lumped it in more with FMW rather than All or New Japan. Michinoku Pro and FMW couldn’t have been more different, but they were both considered “Japanese indie” to Western fans back in the day. Fun Fact: I’ve seen less than 5 FMW matches in my life.

You make a good point about Kaientai being (at least) as much about the personalities as the moves. That’s likely Another reason I gravitated more towards M-Pro than New &All Japan. Dick Togo 4 Life

Mar 26, 2020 1:41:16 GMT Baker said:

Hakushi was definitely a Michinoku Pro guy. He wrestled for them regularly both before and after his WWF run.

Tajiri actually first came to fame in Big Japan, which was primarily a death match promotion with the reputation of being a poor man’s FMW.

Mar 26, 2020 2:33:46 GMT 🤯 said:

To be fair, probably not so much unclear writing as much as my AD(H?)D and also a borderline racist tendency to blur All Japanese wrestling promotions together in my mind.

While we're on the topic, confession time... Strangley or not (who am I to say?) was never into Ultimo, Liger, Hayabusa, or Sasuke. I've only seen maybe two or three at the most Tiger Mask matches in my life, and I'd take him every day over those other four legends/IWC faves.

And I'd take Masato Tanaka every day over Tiger Mask.

Also, Shinsuke does nothing for me.

Meanwhile, on the ladies side... While I love Bull and Dump and Aja Kong and especially the Jumping Bomb Angels, I've had like zero to negative interest in Asuka or the other Japanese girls WWE has signed at the moment.

I have to assume something about the talent transcends, regardless of language barrier or not. Some of the Japanese guys and gals just connect for some reason. Others get Vince McMahon'd in my head as bland-ish tokens maybe?

Mar 26, 2020 3:26:40 GMT Baker said:

Dammit PI! Now you have me wanting to write thousands of words about Japanese wrestling. But I’m not really in the mood right now. In the middle of something else. But tomorrow....

I’ll probably send you an enormous message about Japanese wrestling. Likes (Yano! Tanahashi! Michinoku Pro!) and Dislikes (that damn Shinsuke Nakamura and Others) + recommendations and a storytime about why I never got hardcore into Japanese wrestling.

Mar 26, 2020 12:53:59 GMT 🤯 said:

YES! Looking forward to it, brudda. Maybe make it a thread? Would be curious to see it open up broader conversation, especially with the likes of Emperor and Strobe who seem to be Japanese wrestling connoisseurs.

Still waiting on this thread to pop up eventually, Baker-man!

* * * * *

Considered and/or Regret Forgetting:
134. Zack Ryder: 3-48
- More so for his Long Island Iced Z stuff.

125. Nikki Bella: 2-54
- Love her. So underrated. Missed my list because I didn't really know how to separate the twins, and where to rank each. One of my bigger regrets, TBH.

129. Wade Barrett: 3-50
- From the original NXT, to the debut of the Nexus, to Bad News Barrett, to King Barrett, to his involvement with #NWAPOWERRR... fucking love this guy.

None from my list but let's talk about them.

I thought extremely little of the Bellas during their initial run with the company, but then they appeared on an RF Shoot video and I was taken by their opennes and while they were never my cup of tea, they were the lynchpin behind Total Divas which I think is an important chapter in the WWE's recent history. I also appreciated how much she improved as an in-ring competitor and thought for all the flack she copped she was never bad in the ring.

D'Lo was like the WWE's answer to Mike Awesome. Another big dude who was surprisingly athletic and when you put him in the ring with an X-Pac, Val Venis or Jeff Jarrett he's going to give you a good match. I came to really like him through my time with No Mercy but by the time I started watching the WWE regularly he was just another job guy.

Jay White has come along way and has done extremely well not to become Gedo's Erik Watts. I actually his work in ROH but they treated him like a scrub and his initial year in NJPW was rough. He's come along leaps and bounds since and has the opportunity to forge a strong decade for himself.

I really enjoyed the Bayley character and she's still one of the best to come through NXT. She struggled to find her feet in the extremely fast paced and repetitive grind of the main roster but her character development in recent times has allowed her to gain her bearings.

Barrett should have been bigger than what he was. Vince nearly pulled off a miracle by salvaging that awful original run of NXT only to completely take the sting out of the rivalry by having Cena go over at SummerSlam despite all odds. Came back with Bad News Barrett which they killed by making him into a King and doing all that silly King Harley Race and King Haku stuff from the 80s.

Dolph was a late cut. I became a fan of his after his SummerSlam match against Rey and I'd keep an eye out for his matches even though he wasn't doing anything particularly brilliant. I thought he had made it in 2013 and thought his double turn with Del Rio was brilliant. Then the WWE gave up on him and turned him into a utility guy who would work with every call-up. He basically became the 2010s version of X-Pac, you couldn't have a bad match against Dolph. Unfortunately it's been four years since the last great Ziggler match and really six years since he had any chance of making it as a star. I thought his 2014 Survivor Series performance was brilliant but the WWE did nothing with it.

Of the last 2 batches, only one from my list.

50. Zack Ryder

Getting past the daft 'Woo Woo Woo' gimmick, he's a very capable wrestler, solid mid-card guy who deserves more recognition than he got. Unfortunately he made the cardinal sin of getting himself over and WWE and Vince wouldn't have it, so he got buried. Shame, he's quite entertaining.