The General Wrestling Thread

[IamMedellin]

agreed, cant wait for their match at WM, hope they give them enough time

also, I would really like to lick AJ's bum

[Warner2BruceTD]

Here is how I would rank 10 world champions using 90% workrate, 10% everything else (the poll says best wrestler, not biggest draw, biggest star, etc, but I'll give some leeway for intangibles here) Based on where they stand TODAY:

1. Davey Richards - I rank him ahead of Tanahashi because he works a more intense, realistic style. This was close.

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi - He's had a great year, and should probably be Wrestler of the Year.

3. Go Shiozaki - Solid as they come. This generations Jun Akiyama, because I don't think he will ever reach the full 'Ace' status people thought he would.

4. Masaaki Mochizuki - very underrated Dragon Gate wrestler who isn't as flashy as the likes of Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi, or YAMATO, but is as technically sound as anyone on the globe. If Dragon Gate has a "lunch pail" guy, this is it. Never has a bad match.

5. Alberto Del Rio - Has really improved ten fold since the Dos Caras Jr days, when he was barely passable in the ring. One of the most shocking transitions in recent years due to a gimmick change. Still isn't great, but went from pretty bad to mediocre. His charisma went from mediocre to excellent sans the mask.

6. Jeff Jarrett - The AAA Super Mega Heavyweight Champion of the Universe (what a great title name) would be much higher if this was five years ago. His AAA matches are sloppy brawls, but that's the style so I can't kill him.

7. James Storm - I don't get James Storm (or Bobby Roode) and never will. I've found Storm to be dull since the America's Most Wanted days. Now that I think about it, he should probaby be ahead of Jarrett, though.

8. Mark Henry - Still fat, still plodding, still has the same bad matches. The only difference is those matches are higher on the card now. He's over, so i'm in the minority, but plodding "monsters" aren't my cup of tea so it's whatever.

9. Hector Garza - Probably the 20th or 30th best performer on the CMLL roster. Old and boring. CMLL is weird, the champ is hardly ever featured anyway, so it's an odd dynamic. I don't think anyone would think "Hector Garza" when CMLL comes up. Odd champion.

ABSTAIN: Suwama - I don't watch enough All Japan these days to properly grade him. I was never a big fan, but I hear good things lately.

This was from the fall, let's do this again.

I am changing my formula from 90% workrate to a more overall "world champion" feel.

1. CM Punk (WWE Champion - RAW) - Carries himself like a champion, top notch promos, great matches. What more do you want? He's at the top of the world right now.

2. Jun Akiyama (Triple Crown Champion - All Japan) - Boy, did I sleep on this guy last year and in my countdown. He has been on fire since mid-2011, and is doing a GREAT job as the outsider champion in his old company. His title win against SUWAMA is a must see match of 2011.

3. CIMA (Open The Dream Gate Champion - Dragon Gate) - CIMA is back on top as the ace of Dragon Gate after beating Mochizuki at 'Final Gate'. Like Akiyama, he has really bounced back in the ring as of late and they are setting up a big match against red hot Akira Tozawa which will probably lead to a torch passing as Tozawa gets the latest Dragon Gate mega push.

4. Davey Richards (ROH World Champion) - People shit on the Final Battle match against Edwards, but I thought it was good. Davey backlash is in full effect these days, as he is probably the most divisive wrestler among hardcore geeks. You either think he's great, or think he's the shits and does too much. I think he's great.

5. Daniel Bryan (World Heavyweight Champion - Smackdown) - I never thought I would be typing this, but Bryan's personality/charisma is outshining his ring work. Don't get me wrong, his matches have been very good, but we have hardly seen his best. I still say that aside from the Jericho match on NXT, he hasn't had a single WWE match that would crack his top 50. But holy shit, has he nailed his douchebag character. He's booked like a geek so he comes in behind the top 4, who are booked strong like a champion should be.

6. Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Champion - New Japan) - New Japan finally took the belt off of the great Hiroshi Tanahashi, and is rolling the dice with Okada, who is a big, good looking kid in his early 20's with sky high potential. Problem is, he is nowhere close to that potential yet, and the mega push has come too soon. Fans did not want this and were not ready for this. Think about those silly way too soon WWE title runs by people like Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, etc, and that's what you have here. He will be booked better than those guys, but I doubt he catches fire. He needs serious charisma work, because he doesn't carry himself well and New Japan vet/co-booker Gedo cuts all of his promos for him.

7. Takeshi Morishima (GHC Champion - Pro Wrestling NOAH) - Not this shit again. Yuck. I knew they were going to put him over Go Shiozaki as soon as he beat KENTA to win the Global League. At least the first run made some sense, I have no idea why they are going back to the Morishima playbook, especially after he did a bunch of jobs in the fall leading up to Global League.
He's fat and he stinks. I just don't like him.

8. Bobby Roode (TNA World Champion) - I was never a big Roode fan to begin with, but in typical TNA fashion, the way he won the belt to begin with was all wrong and this title reign blows. He's not a main eventer. he just isn't.

ABSTAIN - El Terrible (CMLL World Heavyweight), Jeff Jarrett (AAA SUPER MEGA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE UNIVERSE) - I haven't seen much of CMLL or AAA, and in fact have not seen a single El Terrible or Jeff Jarrett title defense.

This list of champions is significantly stronger than the last time I did this.

[IamMedellin]

remember when Mark Henry Was a monster heel and a dominant World Heavyweight Champion?

Yeah me niether....

[Warner2BruceTD]

OMG please tell me The Rock doesnt have his promo bullet points written on his fucking wrist.

It's like The Miz hosting the fucking Diva search.

[Dan The Man]

Twitter, trending, hashtag, tweet, trending, retweet, twitter...

[Kuzzy Powers]

OMG please tell me The Rock doesnt have his promo bullet points written on his fucking wrist.

It's like The Miz hosting the fucking Diva search.

Wow, that really is fucking awful.

[Warner2BruceTD]

OMG please tell me The Rock doesnt have his promo bullet points written on his fucking wrist.

It's like The Miz hosting the fucking Diva search.

Wow, that really is fucking awful.

Cena just brought it up.

Amazing.

[Mogriffjr]

LMAO that's lulz worthy if true...

[JayDizzle]

BEEF.

Not the best promo but Fruity Pebbles won in 5 minutes what it took The People's Bulletpoints 30 to stammer out.

Cena may not be legit but as the Company Man, he knows Dwayne is gonna blow Vin Diesel for another movie role on April the 2nd.

I'd rather see Punk/Jericho and Show/Rhodes at this point.

Also, big ups to Primo/Epico getting the rub tonight but only by virtue the Kofi/Truth have been together a week and Ziggler/Swagger are JTTS' at this point.

[OnlyOneBeerLeft]

anybody else pissed we will have to see Johnny Ace vs Teddy at WM? Most likely for GM job

[EmpireWF]

Yeah, rocky came off frazzled after Cena came out. Plus the whole deal getting Portland to chant gimmicks was weak.

Disappointed.

Cena came off good at the end.

[BigBiss]

anybody else pissed we will have to see Johnny Ace vs Teddy at WM? Most likely for GM job

im hoping for an 8 man tag out of it

[krulmichael]

anybody else pissed we will have to see Johnny Ace vs Teddy at WM? Most likely for GM job

Not really. Should be used to at least one shitty gimmicky type match at WM. Whether it's celebrities, Vince McMahon, commentators, or GM's. Always good for at least one of those type of matchups at WM that are always terrible.

[krulmichael]

Damn I never thought I'd see that from The Rock.

Cena>The Rock these past 2 weeks.

[dave]

Yeah, rocky came off frazzled after Cena came out. Plus the whole deal getting Portland to chant gimmicks was weak.

Disappointed.

Cena came off good at the end.

Agree with this completely. Rock came across as frazzled. Caught off-guard.

Gotta give Cena credit, he gave this card more cred than The Rock.

Frankly, this whole Twitter trending thing is hurting The Rock. Makes him seem stupid and reaching.