Everything posted by Timbo Slice
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Kerry Von Erich
I think he'll make my list. I liked what he brought to the table in the big matches. I'm leaning a lot on performing well in big matches for this list and Kerry in the 80's definitely did that.
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Osamu Nishimura
Another one of those personal favorites where I can see him getting on my list. There was a stretch in the early 2000s where I thought he could do no wrong. He had the best Akiyama match in the 2003 G-1 Climax, was great in the 2002 Climax, as well.
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Arn Anderson
I'm gonna find some room for him on my list, I think. Up there in the discussion for best tag wrestler ever, great psychology, snug work, great timing, great talker. If he isn't on my list, I'll be surprised.
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Dick Murdoch
I haven't watched nearly enough Murdoch. One of the guys where I'm happy I have 18 months to catch up on stuff.
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Fit Finlay
Maybe the most fungible wrestler in this whole thing. He works whatever style is needed and is great regardless. The Irish Swiss Army Knife. Truly one of the all-time greats. Easy Top 50, probably 25.
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Mick Foley
That is always my point when talking about Hokuto/Kandori 4/2/93, too. First near fall in that match doesn't come until 18 minutes in. Sometimes, you just know how to get the crowd into it without the need for kicking out of stuff.
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Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat
Well, that's because all the guys you mentioned could work heel. Steamboat was a perpetual face and All Japan was not used to a face touring Japan like that. I know there were other guys who ended up working face, but I think that has to do with the crowd more than Steamboat.
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Mick Foley
I think he's a completely underrated worker. One of the things he did better than almost anybody was lay out matches in a way to grab the crowd's attention, regardless of what you thought of his nutty spots. I think he has a shot at making this list for me.
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2014 Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame thread
Nice work, Chad. Really good stuff.
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Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat
Probably the best baby face ever. Resume speaks for itself, but I wish he didn't get hurt when he did. He could have made a run at a #1-type career if that was the case. Don't see him falling out of the Top 50 for me, maybe even Top 25.
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Jaguar Yokota
Probably the only female worker I'll consider for my Top 10. When I went back and started going through the AJW Classics, she stood out heads and shoulders above everyone else. Didn't like much of her stuff in Jd', but there were few wrestlers better than her in her prime. She'll be way up there for me.
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Bret Hart
Bret and Punk are similar to me in a lot of ways. You could tell when he gave a damn, when he really wanted to put on a good match, all that. So when he did give a damn, he was great. But there was also a lot of time where he didn't give a damn that drags him down in my eyes. I'll have him in the bottom half of my list, I'm pretty sure.
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Koji Kanemoto
I'll have him on the bubble. Liked his 2000s stuff better than his 90s stuff. Him teaming with Lyger in 2003 was one of my favorite things in wrestling at the time. Liked him as the gatekeeper of the BOSJ, as well. For his later stuff, the Hayato Fujita matches he had were great. Good longevity probably gets him on in the end.
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Shinya Hashimoto
One of my favorite wrestlers ever. Easy Top 50, maybe Top 25. Best big match wrestler I've ever seen. Not even a question. He adds something to a match that few others can match.
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Virus
Haven't seen him as much as other people but I love what I've seen. I have him in the bottom part of my list but trending up the more I see him.
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Nobuhiko Takada
Not seeing it. In the big matches I've seen him in, he was always the lesser guy, and I never saw anything from him that made me think he was on the level of his other shoot-style contemporaries.
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Chris Hero
Don't think I can put him on there. He'll be in the mix, but off the top of my head, he's not a shoe-in.
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Cesaro
He was my WOTY for 2013 and it was by quite a wide margin so I'm as big on him as anyone. Definitely interested to see where he'll land a few years from now, but his work on the indies wasn't as god as Bryan's and while I think he's better right now, I'm not sure he's gonna get the chances we hope he'll get for a while.
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Cien Caras
Don't know him well enough to put him on the ballot. Anyone got a starting point at all? Or a couple matches of his to check out?
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Tomoaki Honma
Can't do it. Fun to watch, though.
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Kazuo Yamazaki
He'll be close, if not just making the bottom part of the list. If anybody hasn't seen the 6/12/96 tag with him and Iizuka vs. Hashimoto and Hirata, go see it right now. One of his great non-UWF performances.
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Dick Murdoch
Easy addition to the list. Probably in the 50-75 range.
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Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
I think he has to be in my Top 100. The Garvin series basically did it for me on him, and I got a chance to see some of his Mid-Atlantic stuff, too. He'll be in there.
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Toshiaki Kawada
I'm gonna have him in the Top 10-15 range, and chances are he and Misawa will be back-to-back. As much as I've grown to appreciate Misawa more over the years, I'm not sure if I can put him above Kawada. Will be the toughest decision I make on my ballot, probably.
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Pirata Morgan
I can definitely see him making my list. Fantastic brawler, fantastic rudo, but I want to see a bit more of him before making him a definitive part of my list.