Nominees

Control21 said: “The Real Baki the Grappler,” Naoyuki Taira was a talented shootboxer that eventually tried his hand at pro-wrestling, and was quite good at it. Taira spent most of his time in BattlArts, but also appeared in RINGS for a handful of shoot matches. Taira distinguished himself with flair and style and often appeared quite competent in terms of building match structure. Perhaps he falls in a Kohsaka-esque category of wrestlers who were just really good with a small body of work. vs Alexander Otsuka (5/11/2000) vs Carl Malenko (7/20/2000) w/Kazunari Murakami vs Yuki Ishikawa & Carl Malenko (9/7/2000)

Control21 said: Making his debut in Kiyoshi Tamura’s U-Style, Hiroyuki Ito was a talented grappler and shoot-style underdog. He was quite decent and had several worthwhile matches with Kiyoshi Tamura, Kyosuske Sasaki, and Ryuki Ueyama. After U-Style’s closure, Ito would go on to further ply his trade in NJPW, Futen, Battlarts, and Big Mouth Loud. His output remained consistent and is probably worth a closer look. vs Kiyoshi Tamura (8/18/2004) vs Manabu Hara (4/24/2005) vs Yuki Ishikawa (4/19/2006) vs Ryuki Ueyama 10/6/2003)

Control21 said: Ueyama was one of the last UWFi dojo trainees along with Daijiro Matsui. Both would become JMMA-focused guys but Ueyama had some runs in the squared circle as well. After the end of UWFi, Ueyama would try his luck in KINGDOM, RINGS (although most of these matches were probably shoots), U-Style, DDT, HEAT-UP, and even a match in AJPW! As you would expect from someone who was trained in the UWFi dojo, Ueyama was technically proficient and capable of working a sound match. Another guy who I think deserves some examination here. vs Seichi Ikemoto (10/9/2004) vs Hiroyuki Ito (2/15/2003) w/Seichi Ikemoto vs Kiyoshi Tamura & Takaku Fuke (1…

Control21 said: Sakata was a RINGS dojo product and spent most of his career in shoot-style before working Zero-1 and HUSTLE in the 2000s. He wasn’t the flashiest of wrestlers but was a solid hand for the RINGS undercard for several years before becoming a similar roster member for more diverse promotions. He went from facing the likes of Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Nikolai Zouev, and Kiyoshi Tamura to going face-to-face with CW Anderson, Jun Kasai, Tenryu, and Super Crazy. Certainly a colorful career worth examining. Recommended matches – vs Hiromitsu Kanehara (6/20/1998) vs Kiyoshi Tamura (7/20/1998) vs Masayuki Naruse (12/13/1997) vs Naohiro Hoshika…

Control21 said: Dokon only had a brief run in U-Style, but he delivered in almost all of them. One of the most unique JMMA fighters also proved why he could have been one of the most unique wrestlers in the 2000s if he had continued his career. He’s a bit like Megumi Fujii in the sense that he deserves a nomination based on how unreal he was in a worked format. His matches against Tamura, Manabu Hara, and Kyosuke Sasaki are worth checking out. Recommended matches – vs Kiyoshi Tamura (4/6/2003) vs Manabu Hara (2/4/2004) vs Kyosuke Sasaki (6/29/2003) vs Kiyoshi Tamura (8/7/2004) vs Crafter M (12/7/2004)

NotJayTabb said: I mean, we've got both Nasty Boys listed, but not arguably the best tag team in WWF/E history. To survive over 13yrs in a company that is notoriously not a tag team territory, never breaking up, constantly staying fresh to the point that they're arguably the most over they've ever been, is an incredible achievement. Work superbly as a face team or a heel team, a ton of great matches, and there's still potential for either to have a solo run if needed. Jey has already had a well-received main event slot against Roman Reigns, he could well get there again. There are other nominees who are arguably mainly tag guys, but the Usos are better than most, if …

Elliott said: I've been watching some Don Frye matches and my goodness what an awesome wrestler. Super charismatic shootstyle heel ass kicker who will punch people in the groin or bite them in the knee if that's what it takes. I kind of figured I was in for a charismatic ass kicker and he has delivered in that regard. I've watched ~15 matches and he is a lot more well rounded than I was expecting. The charisma & aura are there & he brings the violence as you would expect. But what has stood out as a pleasant surprise is his bumping, selling & willingness to completely put over his opponent on the way to beating them. He will absolutely let Yuji Nagata bea…

HowtobeaMark said: Perhaps a little early for him but he has carried Impact as the man for over a year now. Has produced great matches in that time and has felt like the company's most important home grown talent for years. His matches feel like they mean something and he has elevated the Impact title by wearing it around his waist. Tenure will hurt him, but lets look at him. Josh Alexander & The Besties in the World vs British Strong Style - 24 June 2018 Josh Alexander vs TJP - 3 June 2021 Josh Alexander vs Mike Bailey - 19 November 2022

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Matt D said: "Ah, for what we don't have. From what we do have, it's a tale of two wrestlers, the young, defiant, indomitable babyface working in France just absolutely crushing guys like a mix between Bob Backlund and Brock Lesnar, and then the crafty and cruel heel wrestling Steve Veidor almost 20 years later, all punctuated by the manager vs manager match with Heenan where he's a de facto face that the crowd loved to hate or hated to love. Is it enough? Probably not for me but maybe for someone, because he's incredibly dynamic in the 50s footage and awesome and despicable in 75. His team with Ray Hunter felt like the best babyace team in the world from the few long mat…

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