April 17, 20214 yr comment_5948306 If you want to see a very fit 60-something watch his retirement match. The Destroyer is easily one of the best wrestlers I've ever seen - versatile, very clever on the mat, tremendously vocal wrestler, great as a heel, great as a face, does great comedy ... enough footage from Japan exists where I can comfortably rank him really really high. If more prime Destroyer footage shows up he could be top 10 on a GWE list. He'll always be really high on my personal favourites list. He's a very emotive worker. Superb technician. In baseball terms he's a five-tool player, although obviously he wasn't a flashy high flyer.
April 18, 20214 yr comment_5948361 Top 10 sounds reasonable to me. Another one of those folks who just got it.
April 18, 20214 yr comment_5948366 10 hours ago, Clayton Jones said: I thought the Rikidozan match added quite a bit to his resume since it makes the case he was flat out great for at least a decade+. I am curious to explore what Dr X footage we have and I've honestly never actively watched any of his later AJPW legend stuff, I'd skip over him and Baba on tapes if they showed up when I was younger. So I guess that stuff could potentially really cool me off on him, but after my first round of viewing and already loving a few of his matches coming into this, I'm curious what the argument is against him? Not as a candidate, which I think is undeniable, but as a top level one? Is it just footage? It seems to me that's not really that much of an issue all things considered. I think the main reason Destroyer might not show up in the top 25 of many people's lists is either 1) some of the voter pool decide for whatever reason not to watch enough of the available footage; or 2) some of the voters who do appreciate his career mark him down a bit for lack of footage compared to other top candidates. Personally I think it's undeniable that Destroyer has both the peak and the longevity to be a top candidate. It becomes a bit of an issue of extrapolation and how comfortable you are using some judgment in making a final call on how high you can rank him.
April 18, 20214 yr comment_5948370 I hemmed and hawed about Destroyer last time around and I ultimately felt like I hadn't seen enough to be sure and I left him off. I will watch and likely at least capsule review everything this time around.
April 18, 20214 yr comment_5948424 I'd recommend this tag match from 1959 to get a taste of his work pre-mask. His hot tag in this match is something to behold!
April 28, 20214 yr comment_5950047 I ranked The Destroyer 47th in 2016 and I fucking blew that one. Destroyer is someone I think of as a top 5 contender but when it comes time to make a list I sort of expect him more in that 7-15 range. But I think about him on that level. Literal genius who understood pro wrestling as well as anybody.
April 28, 20214 yr comment_5950077 The Destroyer might be the great wrestler I missed the train on more than any other. He was good. I understand, intellectually, what others are pointing to when they praise him lavishly. But he has never moved me in the least.
April 28, 20214 yr comment_5950081 I think that's fair, we all have people like that. I have a vivid memory of being pulled in within minutes of hitting play on my first tape of his matches and that feeling that I was watching a uniquely brilliant performer never left me. Just the other day I thought "I wonder whats the best Destroyer vs Abdullah match" and I found and watched 3 of them and I liked all 3 and thought one of them was terrific. I also watched that tag match from Buffalo from the 50s against the Gallagher brothers for the first time and dug him there. I've never been disappointed by Destroyer.
April 29, 20214 yr comment_5950186 @elliott I remember this from the old tOA boards from 2001-2002. God we're old.
August 11, 20223 yr comment_5987818 Been on a Destroyer kick the past few weeks, and - from what I’ve seen - the guy is a top 20 contender. He’s great technically, charismatic, and quite the lovable rouge. He's versatile as well. He works his shithouse antics in brilliantly in his 63 match with Rikidozan and Baba in 69. He works a very compelling straight competitive style with Mil Mascaras in 73 and 74 and Hiro Matsuda in 75. He plays off his heel antics schtick to great effect against The Spirit in 75. And he has some good brawls with Abby in 74 and 75.
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