Ok, giving this a shot. I will admit now to Cap that this was like a 20% rib on him as I know he loves these two and especially their best matches.
But so do I! And that has made this one of the harder comparisons to answer but maybe the most fun to think about. Not only are these two of my personal favorites, they have a ton of similarities in terms of strengths and weaknesses.
Top Matches - Sangre. Probably the hardest category. In terms of their best matches, they are two of my top tier. Combined they were in 3 of my top 4 matches and 6 of my top 50 during the last round of GME voting and that isn't likely to change. I went with Sangre in the end because I think he's always the star of his best stuff. In the MS-1 match and Perro match, it is Chicana who looks like the GOAT. At DreamSlam I and Queendom 94, Hokuto is the one who looks like the best in the world, not Kandori. This isn't to say that Kandori was being carried just like MS-1 and Perro weren't in their hair matches with Chicana. Those (Kandori's, MS-1's, & Perro's) are all time great performances. Its just Sangre & Hokuto are the ones pushing the matches to the absolute tip top tier. It is extraordinarily close and considering we don't have a ton of Chicana's prime, we can actually point to more classic Kandori matches. But Chicana in his early-mid 80s prime looks like a contender for the greatest wrestler ever so I feel ok about giving him the nod.
Versatility - I went with Chicana again. Kandori could do a lot in the ring, but almost feels like the best version of a Vader type where they're the same regardless of setting. You always knew what you were getting with Kandori. Chicana's one of the all time great brawlers, but we've got some great title matches were he's working on the mat and I adore the 5 man match with Andre. The Chicana/Andre little guy/big guy comedy sections are the highlights of the match. The Kandori comedy stuff I've seen is not good and you're just begging for her to cut it out and still killing people.
Consistency - Kandori. Honestly I don't think of consistency with either of them. Kandori wasn't afraid to stand outside in a tag match and take the night off and the 2000s stuff I've seen has all been really disappointing. But its not like she was showing up to work wasted.
Charisma/"It" Factor" - Kandori. Other than top matches, this is probably the hardest category and I thought about making it a draw, but I'm forcing myself to make actual picks with this one. These are two of the most charismatic wrestlers in history. Chicana is one of those people like Choshu, Hogan, Onita, Tenryu, Perro, Piper, Hokuto, Savage, Rock etc where everything just feels bigger and more important because they're part of it. Kandori has that as well. But her presence and charisma was more unique and stands out compared to other super charismatic wrestlers. I've called her a better Brock Lesnar in the past and he's really the only other person I would compare peak Kandori's charisma too. It was very much Pro-Wrestling, but you could tell she was legit even in a worked setting doing obviously Pro-Wrestling stuff like Irish Whips. That uniqueness gives her the edge.
Promos - Draw. Probably Kandori. She's supposed to be really funny in real life.
Elevating Others - Kandori. I can't really come up with a time where they were carrying a shitty wrestler to a really great performance. Their top stuff is really just classics against fellow all time greats. Hokuto, Nakano, Masami, Kong vs Perro, MS-1, Satanico, Villano III. I went with Kandori here because she was either working on the same level as her opponent or pushing them to an either higher level in her classic matches. Chicana's most classics reach that level because its Chicana is having a performance for the ages.
Offense - Kandori again. I LOVE Chicana's offense. But realistically it is punches and a tope and that's it. Now it is amazing punches and an amazing tope. But that's it. Kandori had awesome offense. Brutal strikes, one of the best sleepers ever, all the usual shooty submissions, and of course the suplexes and bombs you'd see in Joshi. Kandori had awesome offense.
Selling - Chicana. I LOVE the way Kandori sells. She sold how Brock did in the Reigns match, only for like a decade. But if I see a question or thread title "Best seller of all time" Chicana is literally the first guy I think of.
Rewatch Valley - Chicana. Another impossible category where I would like to pick draw. I went with Chicana simply because we could one day get even more of his prime on tape. Kandori's entire career was pretty much recorded and made available in tape trading circles as it happened. If we all pray real hard, maybe the late 70s-mid 80s Lucha motherlode will appear one day.
Bonus Elliott's Question (Brody vs Nigel or best work associated with a crappy wrestler) Hmmm. Not really something I can think of for either one. Chicana had an incredible 6 man in 92 opposite Konnan. So I'll give him the nod.
Chicana - 5
Kandori - 4
Draw - 0
Chicana with the slight edge overall.
