This is going to feel like either I am being a homer or that I am a hack who hates Akiyama. If it is either it is probably the first. Bryan beat Stan Hansen last time he came up here and Hansen was one of only two or three wrestlers I can think of with a chance to top Bryan in my mind. I also very much like Akiyama, but I am not quite as high on him as his greatest advocates I think. So with that…
Top MatchesI am going to take Bryan here. It is pretty close. Obviously Akiyama has a number of classics over the years. I am – however – maybe not as high on his biggest singles matches as others. I am not going to go down through everything, but I still think the 96 tag match is his best. That is his only lock on my list. His match with Kobashi for the triple crown in 98 and his banger with Shibata are also greats that I would consider for the list. Bryan has a number of locks on both the indies and in the WWE. We all know Akiyama’s work holds up, but I have been really pleasantly surprised by how well Bryan’s early work has held up as I have watched it for this project. It isn’t a run away, but I’ll take Bryan’s 10 best over Akiyama’s 10 best and high absolute highest end work also outweighs Akiyama’s.
Winner: Bryan
VersatilityI think both men are relatively versatile, but Bryan can do anything with anyone. He can work up and down the card. I don’t think Akiyama is exactly a one trick pony, but I don’t think he has ever had to put his versatility on display like Bryan has over his career.
Winner: Bryan
ConsistencyThere aren’t a lot of wrestlers on earth that I would put in the conversation with Bryan on this, including Akiyama. I don’t think Akiyama is a slouch in this regard, but Bryan puts on compelling 3.75 star matches in his sleep with virtually anyone you put in the ring.
Winner: Bryan
Charisma/”It” FactorI have always found Akiyama a little more bland than some of his peers. I think he came into his own later for sure, but his prime work in the 90s was not because he was a ball of charisma, to me at least. I know others think differently. The same could be said for Bryan. Ic contend he always had a sort of charismatic anti-charisma, but when he really found his stride he had everyone on earth chanting yes, whether they were wrestling fans or not.
Winner: Bryan
PromosBryan is one of the best modern promos and I’m tempted to give it to him on that basis, but I’ll call it NA. I still put Bryan a tier below the Flairs, Dustys, Funks, Roberts of the world. When its all said and done that could change, but not yet.
Winner: NA
Elevating OthersI said this when comparing Bryan to Hansen, I can’t think of anyone who was worse off for being in the ring with Bryan. Akiyama is fantastic at elevating talent, especially later in his career. He brings gravitas to matches and isn’t particularly selfish. Even still. I think Bryan is pretty elite in this regard. He is who you send out when you need to fix something, elevate someone, or get someone over. See Roman Reigns leading into his first Mania title shot or his recent fiend run.
Winner: Bryan
OffenseThis one is super close. Bryan is such a versatile offensive wrestler. He is about as slick as it comes when it comes to fusing different styles of wrestling and putting his own stamp on things. Akiyiama is an offensive juggernaut in his own right. I would put him up there with Misawa, a step behind Kobashi. I’ll have to give this one to Akiyama I think. He was a gifted offensive wrestler form the get go and always shined in this regard.
Winner: Akiyama
Selling Not sure about this one. I think both are very good sellers. Both also sort of progressed in similar ways in this regard. They were both great at emoting earlier in their career and drawing sympathy in their own way and both got better at strategically selling to elevate those around them as they went. I’ll call this one a draw.
Winner: Draw
Rewatch Value Give me Bryan in this category. I think Jun is sneaky strong in this category, but he is up against one of the GOATs when it comes to guys I want to rewatch over time.
Winner: Bryan
Elliott’s Bonus Question (Brody/Nigel or Best Work Associated With a Bad Wrestler)Kane… HHH…. BIG CASS… gimme a break.
Winner: Bryan
Final Count
Bryan - 6.5
Akiyama - 1
Draw - 1
NA - 1
In fairness, this is closer than the count would indicate, but yeah, I'll take Bryan relatively comfortably here. That isn't a knock on Jun Akiyama at all. I probably do need to dive further into his post 2000 run. I have seen a great deal of it, but there is still stuff I am missing. Even still, they are a tier or two apart on my GWE list (a list that doesn't exist). Bryan is in that #1 consideration tier. Akiyama is probably one or two tiers below that.
