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Post by Cap on Apr 13, 2022 12:53:43 GMT -5
Thought it might be time to drum up some conversation around here. The 2020s have not been for everyone, but for many of us they have been pretty stacked with great wrestling. A few matches make my list and are in contention, but I wanted to ask who folks think is really elevating their GWE case so far in the 2020s? Thought maybe this could provide some wrestler and match recs as well. I'll reply with my thoughts later.
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Post by kas on Apr 13, 2022 13:43:35 GMT -5
Between the end of his WWE run and hitting the ground running in AEW, Bryan is the obvious answer, but Tanahashi, Moxley, Shingo, ZSJ, and Mayu Iwatani have all shot up in my eyes because of how they carried their companies through tumultuous times. I'll come back with recs for each one later.
EDIT: Wanted to come back to this because once I started thinking, there were so many wrestlers who came to mind.
WWE:
Asuka, Kairi Sane, Sasha Banks, Bayley - Grouping them all together because at a time when WWE was at its most unwatchable, these 4 were working incredibly hard and putting out stuff that was worth going out of your way to see. Sasha and Bayley's subsequent feuds with each other and with Bianca are also a nice feather in their cap. Speaking of which...
Bianca Belair - Not a candidate yet, but she's been building a solid resume of matches along with knocking it out of the park on the biggest stage of the year twice now. Can easily see her getting on by 2026.
AEW:
Bryan Danielson - I don't really think I need to elaborate on this one.
Kenny Omega - While not matching the quality of his NJPW run, he's proven that he can work incredibly well in an American setting, both as the top guy and further down the card.
CM Punk - To be gone from wrestling for 7 years and come back as one of the best wrestlers in the world is just amazing and speaks to the type of wrestling mind that Punk has. His matches always feel like he's purposefully differentiating from the AEW house style.
Jon Moxley - Without Moxley, I'm not sure that AEW is as strong as they are now. Even if you don't include the shock appearance in 2019, his title reign in 2020 carried AEW through a difficult time and has elevated pretty much everybody he's worked with. Plus he's got the BloodSport matches that are just a delight.
Hikaru Shida - The consistent highlight of the women's division. Like Moxley she elevates everyone she works with, getting genuinely great matches out of people like Tay Conti and Penelope Ford, neither of which have had much to write home about since.
Random US:
Mike Bailey - Man how the indies have missed him. A guy you can put in pretty much any situation and he will make it work.
Alex Shelley - While there's nothing blowaway, this veteran run he's been on since coming back in late 2021 has been incredibly entertaining and he's always consistently putting out something worth watching.
NJPW:
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Zack Sabre Junior, Shingo Takagi, Minoru Suzuki - Grouped together because at various different points during the pandemic, these 4 have been the best part of New Japan. Suzuki also has the addition of his US run which, while there's little I love, he's hit a formula that I can always have fun with.
NOAH:
Go Shiozaki - Stellar title run in 2020, and he's developed that Tanahashi-like quality to get me rooting for him in a match no matter who he's up against. His string of matches this year have also been great.
Katsuhiko Nakajima - If 2020 was Shiozaki's year, then 2021 was Nakajima's year. Nakajima has always been an incredibly hard hitter, but he's seemed to up the ante since clap crowds began, resulting in matches that are great precisely because of the setting, rather than in spite of it.
Stardom:
Mayu Iwatani - In 2020 she finally got her lengthy Red Belt run and it was an all-timer. In 2021, booking made her take a backseat but there was still a lot of her stuff worth watching. In 2022, Mayu has become the best big match worker in Stardom (and possibly the world), with two incredible matches against Syuri and Giulia.
Syuri - Only discovered her last year but man is she great. It was her 5* GP run that opened my eyes to just how good she is, culminating in my MOTY against Momo in the final. Those Utami matches were a nice little cherry on top too.
Momo Watanabe - To me, she's the workhorse of Stardom. Plug her into any feud, match-type, or situation and she do her very best to get it over. I think Stardom themselves recognise it too, cause she's been given some really important matches these last few years.
Random Japan:
Suzu Suzuki - Far too early to think of as a GME contender, but certainly one to keep your eye one. She's been good pretty much out the gate and has shown ridiculous growth these past few years. On top of this, her leaving a guaranteed position at the top of Ice Ribbon to form her own freelance deathmatch stable could genuinely change the whole landscape of Joshi wrestling, as they've popped up in Stardom, DDT, a bunch of Japanese Indies, and are having their self-produced shows streamed on Wrestle Universe.
Takuya Nomura - Takuya is the star of the BJW Strong division. He may be smaller than the other guys in the division, but he makes up for that in spades with his technicality, tenacity, and his ridiculously hard hits.
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Post by tetsujin on Apr 13, 2022 13:56:20 GMT -5
Some quick thoughts:
Bryan was already a #1 contender and he recently added a 2021 that is kind of ridiculous, so that's something.
Reigns is in his peak since his heel turn and I think he has the biggest chance to appear in the next overall top 100.
AEW gave Eddie Kingston a bigger platform to let people see how great he is and has been, so I will say he has chances to be at some ballots.
Mox, Naito, Shingo, AJ, McIntyre and Tanahashi all proved they can work really well without crowds/with limited crowds as well, so that should mean something, if you ask me.
It's too soon for guys like Sasha Banks, Hiromu, Darby, Hangman or some new huge joshi names, but they've been rocking throughout the beginning of the decade.
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Post by Cap on Apr 13, 2022 19:06:34 GMT -5
Some quick-ish thoughts... AEW-Based Danielson: Yeah, I don't want to beat a dead horse, but he is a pretty obvious choice. In 2019 he was probably tied for #1 with Kobashi and he is sort of pulling away with the spot for me. Matches with The Feind, Gulak, Zayn, Styles, Cesaro, Reigns, Omega, Nick Jackson, Suzuki, Dustin, Kingston, Miro, Page, Garcia, Moxley, and Yuta are quality additions to his resume in 28 months. It is one thing to add to your resume with Styles, Reigns, or Dustin. It is another thing all together to do it with The Fiend or in an empty performance center match at the saddest Mania ever. No one is as can't miss as Dragon to me. Mox: Moxley wasn't really someone I was thinking of as a contender until his 2020s, especially the form he is in right now. I think he has been a compelling character in AEW from the start, but the in-ring was somewhat hit or miss for me. He has really hit his stride in terms of balancing his brawling, shoot influence, and tv wrestling. He doesn't have a laundry list of matches like Dragon does, but the recent work in bloodsport with Barnett and Biff as well as bangers with Danielson, Yuta, w/Kingston vs the Young Bucks, and w/punk vs ftr show what he is capable of. He has overachieved with Nagata and Kojima as well. I also liked barbed wire match more than most, despite the finish. He is far from locked in, but he went from not really on the radar for me to someone I am really interested in. Kingston: Eddie Kingston had a really good chance of being on my ballot without the AEW run. I have always admired him and think he is sort of singular, but this AEW run has let him hone that craft on a big stage. I may wind up being the high vote on him, honestly. Even before he showed up in AEW, Kingston had a solid run in the 16 carat gold tourny in early 2020, especially a really nice little match with Makabe. After that... matches Cody, Moxley, the tag against the bucks, Miro, Dragon, Punk, Garcia, and Jericho all go on the list. That Jericho match is especially great for his case. I'm not a Jericho hater, but giving Jericho his best match in AEW is really something. Punk: Punk is another obvious choice. Punk told us he was done with wrestling and didn't think about it, but you can't convince me that man didn't spend a lot of time watching old footage and thinking about what kind of wrestler he wanted to be... about what kind of wrestler he thought wrestling needed. The answer was a Bret Hart/CM Punk love child. I think he has more or less been all hits and no misses, but I especially think the Kingston, Darby, Garcia, and MJF matches stand out as well as the multi-person matches with sting and darby against MJF/FTR and with Mox vs FTR. Omega: he is such a divisive guy it seems, but I am pro-Omega. The tag reign with Page included the Bucks match people love and the FTR match that I am the high guy on. He halso has note worthy matches with Penta, Page, Mox, Dragon, Fenix, Pac/Cassidy, and cage. I also really loved the elimination match with Page and the Dark order. Even some of his NJPW fans have turned on him and the last Page match was never going to live up to the hype, but I think the 2020s have been good for Omega's case. He was a compelling US TV wrestler and I'm not sure I expected that from him. Cody: Cody went from nowhere near the radar to just off of it. He is certainly divisive, but I tend to think he built his case in AEW. It is more a matter of personal stylistic taste, but I'm not optimistic about him building his case a ton more in WWE. Still, so far the 2020s were a net positive for Cody.
Page: I've LOVED his title reign so far and even though he has been set up for success, he has really run with being a traditional walking tall babyface. That title reign has already given us great matches (one all timer, imho) with Danielson and Archer. The Cole match wasn't exactly my thing on the whole, but I'd argue that he was flexing his muscles in terms of diversity and that match was much better than it could have been. The single matches with Omega, Cage, Wardlow, and Kazarian before he won the strap are all noteworthy. He was also a shining star in the elimination match with the dark order v the elite and the ladder match he earned the title shot in. For Page it isn't just about match quality, he has emerged as a star in the company in the 2020s and he has MOSTLY done that through his work. He has a lot of case left to make, but so far the 2020s have been good to Page.
Deeb: Deeb is pretty easily my favorite women's wrestler in AEW and I think she more or less shines at every turn. I really liked the Riho matches and the match with Rosa. The Shida matches are good, but I may be a touch lower on them, but her performances are always really good to great. I hope she gets more time to shine. Deeb is far from on the list at this point, but she has gone from not really thinking about her case at all to me wanting to look more closely at her pre-AEW work Darby, MJF, Yuta, Jungle Boy, and Garcia have all really just started to build their resumes in the 2020s. Of course some of them have solid work from before their time in AEW, but it feels a bit like they are building their foundations now. I am particularly intrigued by Darby. Darby is another guy who has really found his stride. I thought he was going to run away with my WOTY in 2021 based on his first half. Some folks caught up with him as the year went along, but that really wasn't his fault. He is also a sort of singular entity and he may wind up a shining star of this decade. WWE-Based Reigns: The Reigns heel turn has to be the smartest thing the WWE has done in years. I think he was great in the ring well before that but adding this aura has added to the matches as well. Sometimes it tips a bit too far into the melodrama and talking for me, but more often than not, Reigns is the dude. I don't know if he makes my list, but he has certainly added to his resume in the 2020s. Anything he did with Dragon and the early Jey stuff were great. The Brock stuff mostly feels like a let down, but in a vaccuum I don't think it is a knock on him. Being the guy to tune in for and being pretty consistent at the top of the card regardless of what they throw at him holds some weight.
I'm sure I'm missing someone obvious, maybe Cesaro for being just as consistent as they come, but that is the only person I see really actively building their case so far this year. Part of that is a the disconnect I have with WWE and part of it is the fact that I don't watch as much because of that. Bianca has at least added a few matches to the foundation she built in NXT. The Lynch and Banks matches are legit awesome. She has a ways to go though. Styles, Sammy, KO, and Brock all have great cases before 2020 for me, but haven't added a ton since then. I can think of maybe one stand out for each off the top of my head. That isn't to minimize what they have done in the 2020s, it is just such a small part of their overall pie right now, whereas one or two really stand out performances is a bigger part of Bianca's at this point in her career.
Edit: I'd add Sheamus to the list of folks who keep plugging along and in turn are building their longevity and consistency case.
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Post by elliott on Apr 14, 2022 4:53:00 GMT -5
Syuri seems like the most obvious pick.
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Post by nintendologic on Apr 14, 2022 6:47:14 GMT -5
Bret Hart might have improved his case without working a single match when you consider how many of today's best in-ring storytellers like CM Punk, Eddie Kingston, and Dax Harwood worship him. More generally speaking, there seems to be consensus even among fans who preferred Shawn in the past because he was more spectacular that Bret's work has stood the test of time better. Being seemingly universally revered by fans on both sides of the traditionalist/modernist divide might be the most impressive accomplishment of his career.
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Post by tetsujin on Apr 14, 2022 7:29:42 GMT -5
Oh, how could I forget about Punk. Dude's living a second youth. Nothing MOTYC-level yet, but great fights with Kingston and the dog collar match with MJF, and good-very good singles, tags and multitags with different opponents every single week since his return. Definitely adding to his case.
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Post by makaiclub on Apr 14, 2022 7:36:23 GMT -5
Probably Punk. Him coming back after a long gap and being roughly at the same level will no doubt help him.
Jun Akiyama is in for a shout as well. He took a risk and jumped to DDT, after COVID stopped him from going WWE, and not only did he has a very good KO-D Openweight Title reign, he helped train a few really talented prospects, such as Hideki Okatani, adding to his influence on the scene.
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Post by club on Apr 14, 2022 13:34:28 GMT -5
Of people not mentioned, ZSJ has been a consistent standout in New Japan from 2016 to now.
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Post by enviousstupid on Apr 15, 2022 5:50:37 GMT -5
I think Eddie Kingston, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan Danielson are the obvious choices for now. Maybe Sting, Dustin Rhodes and Christian as well when it comes to veterans that've past their physical primes and are still putting out good work when featured.
As far as Japan goes, ZSJ and Shingo Takagi seem to be the main guys to still deliver quality matches and performances from New Japan. Akiyama is another guy who is still performing at the high enough level and in a place where he was able to face new opponents and challenges in DDT. Regarding joshi, I think Mayu Iwatani, Syuri and Hikaru Shida have a decent shot of improving their case with how they've been utilized as of late. Maybe Kairi too, but I'd like to see her in a setting like the 5 Star GP to see how she fares amongst the Stardom roster. There are also top stars in other promotions like Kento Miyahara (AJPW), Go Shiozaki (NOAH), HARASHIMA and Konosuke Takeshita (DDT), Arisa Nakajima (SEAD), etc. that probably also deserve mention, but idk how much they'll improve given where they wrestle and how many (or few) users are keeping tabs on them.
When it comes to the American indies, you have Jonathan Gresham, Timothy Thatcher, Biff Busick, Mike Bailey and Alex Shelley who've all had great showings already this year.
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Post by Cap on Apr 15, 2022 8:21:14 GMT -5
Other-Based I don't know as much about the details because I cherry-pick so much, but from my sense o things... ZSJ - As many of mentioned before, Sabre is making his case. I only check out NJPW here and there, but Sabre is pretty consistently the highlight to me, especially in the tournaments. He brings something unique to that company and is a very high-floor wrestler. Shingo: I have admittedly been a little lower on Shingo on the whole as most are. He is objectively talented, but the NJPW main style doesn't fit him as well for my tastes. Yet, he continues to find himself on my MOTY lists and even at worst doesn't bore me. Syuri: As Elliott said, Syuri has really built her case. I very much cherrypick modern joshi, but am getting into a bit more. She never disappointing. and has some absolute bangers. The two matches with Hayashishita last year were fantastic and had all-timer elements. Go Shiozaki: His stock has risen in the past couple of years for me. Not sure he gets near the list, but he is one of those wrestlers who has really sparked my interest in looking at his case more broadly. Tanahashi: I may actually prefer old gun slinger Tanahashi to prime Tanahashi. He - a bit like Shingo - is never disappointing and is always good for a few genuinely great matches a year. Gresham: I haven't watched nearly enough Gresham from the 2020s, but what I have seen has been very good to great. I suspect he might get a chance to really make his case this year. For a guy who was not given the biggest stage, he continued to generate buzz. between that and the matches I have seen, I want to check more out.
EDIT
Suzuki: I am going to add suzuki to this list, despite him sort slipping into doing - at least in his more traditional matches - sort of his violence routine and not much more. I know that isn't for everyone. However, I am going to have Suzuki pretty high and his case is built on adaptability, deceptive diversity, longevity, and his ability to deliver something exciting and memorable... even when it isn't "great". I still very much rate his match with Danielson and his 2020 G1 was quite good with a quality match w/Ishii, an over-delivery with Ospreay, and on of my top matches of the year (ft an EXCELLENT performance for Suzuki) with Ibushi. His feud with Moxley wasn't producing MOTY candidates, but it was entertaining all the same. He has also been extremely prolific. I haven't seen a fraction of what he has done, but the variety of places he has worked and the demand for him give me optimism that at least he is continuing to build his longevity and consistency case. His willingness to do some silly shit is a plus for me as well. even if that stuff isn't for me, he is and it flexes his versatility muscles.
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Post by club on Apr 20, 2022 13:37:07 GMT -5
Okada's notable by his absence in this thread. I've watched very little of New Japan over the past few years - what are peoples thoughts on him?
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Post by kas on Apr 20, 2022 13:48:05 GMT -5
Okada's notable by his absence in this thread. I've watched very little of New Japan over the past few years - what are peoples thoughts on him? He's taken it easy outside of big matches since dropping the title to Naito in 2020, but has started 2022 really strongly. He was dealing with a slipped disc these last couple of years apparently. |
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Post by tetsujin on Apr 20, 2022 13:59:34 GMT -5
Another one is Edge. I know the dude isn't one of the most beloved wrestlers in these kind of communities, but to me he's always been great, and he's having a hell of a veteran run after his miraculous return. He's looking in super good shape for a guy his age and the amount of years he's been out of action. The trilogy with Rollins is one of the best rivalries or recent years; the Mania main event, the Reigns match, the AJ match... I'm not a fan of the Orton matches, but "the greatest match ever" was a super clever parody of a modern big match and succedeed at tricking people into thinking they legitimately had a MOTYC together.
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Post by Control21 on Apr 21, 2022 8:53:43 GMT -5
It's hard for me to ignore the work of ZSJ and Bryan Danielson. I can see both competing for a top 50 spot. Moxley, Nakajima, Shingo, Shiozaki, and Sugiura have done a lot in the past few years too that merit a good amount of consideration.
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