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Post by kas on Jan 23, 2020 10:00:03 GMT -5
Stylistically, these two aren't that similar but they have both called the other one the greatest of all time so I thought this would be a fun one.
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Post by Cap on Jan 23, 2020 11:20:23 GMT -5
Very interesting one. I actually think both made their most compelling cases for greatness later in their respective careers.
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Post by kas on Jan 23, 2020 12:44:47 GMT -5
These are two of my favourite ten wrestlers ever so I'm going to try and keep the draws to a minimum
Top Matches: Tanahashi. Styles has an output that the vast majority of wrestlers don't come close to, but Tanahashi for me is almost unmatched in big match situations. I have about three Tanahashi matches that are better than Styles' best match.
Versatility: Styles and it's not really close. You just need to look at his early career to see just how different his TNA work was to his ROH work.
Consistency: Both men have been putting out high-end matches for years now but Styles has the edge in this one for two reasons. One, he's been having great stuff since 2002, and two he phones it in a lot less often. Tanahashi has the tendency to phone it in for smaller G1 matches and tag matches.
Charisma/"it" factor: Gotta give credit to Styles for getting over absolutely everywhere he went, but this one has to go to Tanahashi who has a special connection with his fans.
Promos: N/A. Styles is a decent promo though.
Elevating others: Tanahashi. Okada's career was basically launched off of the back of Tanahashi, Ishii exploded in popularity in 2013 after beating Tanahashi, and Omega's HW run was instantly legitimised after beating Tana.
Offence: Styles. Very few wrestlers can match the uniqueness and execution of Styles' moveset and offence is one of the few areas that Tanahashi falls short.
Selling: This is a close one. Both are exceptional in this regard. Styles is in contention for best bumper ever, but I have to give this to Tanahashi. He's able to get the crowd behind him through selling like few can.
Rewatchability: I find myself going back to Tanahashi matches slightly more than Styles' matches so I'm going to go with him.
Bonus question: Tana has decent matches with Yujiro and Yano, but Styles takes this handily with a decent match against Yoshitatsu and a classic against Abyss.
Final tally
Tanahashi - 5
Styles - 4
This was an extremely difficult one to do with a few of them going to the wire. Tanahashi would have been my gut instinct as well.
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Post by bossrock on Jan 23, 2020 17:56:56 GMT -5
This is ridiculously close, but I give the slightest of nods to A.J. Seriously, on my GOAT list he's 13 and Tanahashi is 15. In terms of peaks, it's Tanahashi. In terms of volume, it's A.J and it's that volume and consistency along with his history of elevating lesser workers that gives him the win. The Yujiro match is definitely the best example of Tanahahsi elevating someone mediocre to something truly good, but more often than not he had at least a decent dance partner. Meanwhile, A.J. got really good to great matches out of Bully, Jinder, and Abyss.
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