Alright folks, we have come - I believe - to an amendment to the process that might free up some of the constraints people are feeling (or not, who knows). Here is what we are going to do.

 

First, over the next week or so (hopefully) we are going to move all of the matches that have been nominated to the match discussion section and break everything into subforums for individual years. Please be patient with this because it is going to be a chore to do all at once while keeping track of everything for a single index thread. This will put all matches directly into the discussion process.

 

There are now two ways to nominate a match. First, anyone can directly nominate a match by writing a 2-3 paragraph argument for the matches inclusion and ensuring that there is some verifiable confirmation that the match exists. That doesn't mean that you have to provide a video or a link or anything, but it can't just be some random match that only you saw that has no other record. As long as the match is recorded in a reputable database or a verifiable matchlist... basically ANYTHING, you may directly nominate it with a strong 2-3 paragraph argument for the match. If you do not want to write that argument you may rely on the match being seconded and thirded. If the match gets thirded it will be considered an official part of the project, regardless of the strength/length of the argument.

 

Two month before the close of the project (which may be extended) we will begin to comb through nominations. Anything that has not been properly argued for by a single nominator or seconded and thirded will be removed from the project for the final vote.

 

Two important things to note here. First, if you nominated something that hasn't gone through yet you might want to go back and add a more extensive argument for it if your original post is somewhat short/underdeveloped.

 

Second, I think the elephant in the room might be "how much is enough" when it comes to a direct nomination. We are just going to leave this to the 2-3 paragraph outline and ask that each person who chooses to nominate in this way makes a good faith effort. Once we go back and start reviewing nominations near the end of the project we will of course try to be kind in our evaluations of anything that might be borderline, but if all three of us who started the project are in agreement that it is not a sufficient nomination we will nix it.

 

 

 

We hope this help in a few ways. 1) I hope that having matches go directly in will let people log on and not have to think about nominations as much as they think about chiming in on matches they have been watching lately or discussing the relatively qualities of things. 2) Longer first posts might help spark some conversation. Often times I think we are talking about top tier matches and there isn't a ton to say other than "it is awesome". Maybe if we have some more to work off of it might give us more to work with discussion wise. 3) Everyone should be able to vote for just about anything they want to vote for as long as the match actually happened and that is verifiable.

 

The solution isn't perfect, and I am sure this will not ignite conversation over night, but we all agree the project should be fun while still having some standards and rigor. Hopefully this works a little better for those of you who found the old system somewhat restraining. I think we all appreciate the feedback, particularly when it comes in a constructive manner.

 

It will take us a minute to sort the forum (all moderators are welcome to help), but the forum won't be down at any point.

Basically we don't want people to just come in and vote for a match and we have no reason why anyone would vote for it.

 

By the way, I'm back looking at and watching stuff for this project. My personal life kind of got in the way a few weeks after we launched the project, my apologies.

You're doing a great work, thanks a lot. Also, very happy with the changes.

Yeah, great job putting this together. It's been great in helping me expand my mind while rediscovering classics I haven't seen in a while. I would support the idea of getting a deadline extension to allow further time to view nominations and discover new matches.

Just signed up for the board and can't wait to dig in the project.

I definitely think this is the best and most fair way to proceed. Really appreciate you guys making this decision and will absolutely help out every way I can.

Glad this change is well received. Hoping to get some time this weekend to dig into some stuff and get over there for some talk.

I don't really feel qualified to participate in the project but I have been starting to check out the forums a bit this past week for ideas on things to watch that I haven't seen.  Would be great if someone wonderful made a YouTube playlist of nominated matches that are available there.

6 hours ago, Zoo Enthusiast said:

I don't really feel qualified to participate in the project but I have been starting to check out the forums a bit this past week for ideas on things to watch that I haven't seen.  Would be great if someone wonderful made a YouTube playlist of nominated matches that are available there.

Now that is a wonderful idea.

On 6/23/2018 at 12:27 PM, Zoo Enthusiast said:

I don't really feel qualified to participate in the project but I have been starting to check out the forums a bit this past week for ideas on things to watch that I haven't seen.  Would be great if someone wonderful made a YouTube playlist of nominated matches that are available there.

As someone who did not participate in the GWE project because I didn't feel qualified, I would encourage you - if you are truly interested in the project - to participate. No one will have exhaustive knowledge of every high end match and what constitutes "qualified" will vary wildly from person to person.  I think anyone who takes the project seriously and is open to watching, re-watching when needed, and discussing is perfectly qualified to submit a ballot.

9 hours ago, CapitalTTruth said:

As someone who did not participate in the GWE project because I didn't feel qualified, I would encourage you - if you are truly interested in the project - to participate. No one will have exhaustive knowledge of every high end match and what constitutes "qualified" will vary wildly from person to person.  I think anyone who takes the project seriously and is open to watching, re-watching when needed, and discussing is perfectly qualified to submit a ballot.

I’m definitely considering it.  That’s why I am hoping for some playlists.  I love that there is a lucha one now.

With the new system, if we do the paragraphs do we put the match in the nomination thread or the nomination process thread.

If you nominate something new right now put it in the "nomination process" section still. This will let us know that we still need to put that match on the index and reduce our risk of something slipping through that crack.

 

Thanks for asking.

Bumping this, since participation has waned. 

Thanks for bumping. I had some major computer issues last week and wasn't able to write my normal post, hopefully I'll get to it soon.

 

I have had a blast with this so far. I was actually just talking about how its been really cool to pepper in lots of top end matches to my regular watching habits. Plus this has forced me into classic British wrestling and Shoot style, which I have really enjoyed.

Half of the stuff that I thought would make my list are no longer contenders, so it just goes to show how much great wrestling there is that I've missed out on.

Yeah I am in the same boat. Some stuff that I thought of as great has dropped a bit on rewatch. Some stuff that I thought would probably miss took a big jump up when I put it next to other great stuff. Some new matches are jumping the line. This has been good motivation to watch new stuff and to rewatch old favorites.

Bumping this again

Another bump

I'm sort of letting everything marinate after making my rough draft. I feel pretty confident my top 15-20 will remain as is but I plan on giving everything a re-watch as the deadline approaches.

And as much as AJPW dominated the top 25 (as expected), I'm happy with the amount of different styles represented on my list. I'm also glad that a lot more recent matches (even stuff from this year) holds up to stuff 10-20 years ago. I know some folks don't want to include anything within the last few years in order to have proper perspective down the line, but I personally think that if my opinion on a match remains largely the same after repeated views, then it belongs on the list.

I don't think I'm going to make it before WM 35, but sooner or later i'll finish my list and share it with all of you.

I'm sure all of our lists will continue to change.

End of the year bump. Not sure if the WM35 deadline is still on because the board has been relatively dead, aside from a few posts and updates here and there. 

Some thoughts on the process so far: I guess comparing matches at the highest levels is not necessarily the most enjoyable way of watching wrestling because you are looking at every aspect analytically and nitpicking a lot to distinguish what is #26 and what is #42. Having said that, it is interesting to see which matches hold up as the best of the best and generally build a collection. I also liked looking at what others have compiled so far like Sleeze's minilists and boss rock and Elliot's rough drafts.

 

 

 

I've been taking a break since my initial rough draft and have been working on my top 100 wrestlers for 2018 list, but I'll get back in the swing of things by re-watching my top 100 again before Mania. I actually did bump two matches off recently in favor of the Hansen-Kobashi and Flair-Steamboat fancam matches.

I totally agree about the nitpicking and over-analyzing of "Was this match better than this match?" when really getting down to the best of the best. And apart from my top 5 or so, my opinion has fluctuated several times on certain matches. Misawa-Kawada '94 has been top 15, top 25, and top 10 at different points.

Guys is the deadline still set for WM? I'm working away on my list and nominees in the background  but I'm not getting time for discussion and comments in the forum. I hope that changes.