Just from different posts on Da boards, it appears we have varying tastes, which is cool.

So, let's broaden our horizons. Who are your top 5 wrestlers in the world today? This can be Japan, WWE, whatever. I just want to know. And if it's not too much, maybe say why you like the guy.

I'll throw mine out in a few minutes.

No particular order...

1. Chris Benoit - Great wrestler and 1 of very few reasons to watch WWE now.
2. Paul London - Another good wrestler. Horribly misused and usually puts on entertianing matches while on Velocity.
3. Batista - He's a pimp, and has actually improved since his suck days of 2002-2003.
4. Kane - Been a mark for him sicne he debuted in 1997, and enjoy most of his matches.
5. A.J. Styles - Only reason for me to care about TNA.

I like hosses in case anyone didn't notice.

1) Chris Benoit. I know this is the popular choice, but he really is the greatest.

2) AJ Styles. He is a total package and could be one of the biggest stars ever with time.

3) Paul London. Another common choice, London rules when he is given appropriate time in the ring and a good opponent. He had some of the best WWE matches of 2004 on Velocity.

4) Bryan Danielson. I think this guy is the second coming of Chris Benoit and will go on to become a true legend.

5) Eddie Guerrero. This is a guy who almost turned Smackdown business around earlier last year before getting the carpet pulled out from under him. He is still one of the most consistently great wrestlers to watch.

OK, here we go.

(no particular order)

1) Corino - Passionate, and takes the business serious. Elevates the worth of the titles he holds. Good look. Good worker. Great talker.
What else do you need?

2) Chris Hamrick - Simply stated, he's been on about 80% of the indy shows I've attended, and stole the show at about 70% of them. No joke.

3) Eddie Guerrero - Umm, he's really good. Noothing else needs to be said.

4) Kurt Angle - I still love to watch him. I'll admit, he's headed off this list, because injuries have kept him from having the great matches he had a couple of years ago. Still entertaining though. I just hope he doesn't end up crippled. And by the way, I don't care if he's a backstage jerk.

5) I'm having trouble coming up with a fifth guy. It should be Truth, but TNA hasn't given me much in a while, so I'll say AJ Styles. He's probably the best all around performer TNA has, and one of the few upper card guys they have that I will make a point to watch.

In no particular order....

Kenta Kobashi - To me....he's the greatest big match worker in the world right now as we speak. He has had horrible knees for years yet he continually eclipses ****+ even though he should have probably retired by now.

Eddie Guerrero - Show me a guy that has done more with less than Eddie? Everything he's involved in is usually one of if not my favorite stuff on Smackdown.

Bryan Danielson - The best overall worker in the world right now.

Samoa Joe - He made ROH's title the most important title in the US. Not to mention that he's put on good to great matches for sometime now with a whole variation of opponents.

CM Punk - Besides MAYBE Joe and Danielson.....he's the greatest worker on the indy's right now for my money. He can do just about any match you can think of and put on two classics with Joe in less than a year timespan(I haven't seen their 3rd in their ROH series, so I can't comment)and has really come into his own as a worker.

1. Chris Benoit- The fucking MAN.

2. Bryan Danielson- This guy is so amazing when it comes to selling and telling a story it's not even funny. Easily one of the best in the world.

3. Eddie Guerrero- See Chris Benoit.

4. Christopher Daniels- One of the best heels in the business, a class act, and a hell of wrestler. Not to mention his awesome promos and the Best Moonsault Ever.

5. Rey Mysterio- Redefined wrestling for cruiserweights, and he's still going strong today.

Honorable Mentions: Paul London, Tajiri, and Samoa Joe

Chris Benoit- People have said enough about him.
AJ Styles- Ditto.
Homicide- I love him because he's high impact as hell, will do anything to get over, and can do most styles well. I've never seen a match of his I haven't enjoyed on some level.
Eddie Guerrero- Carried SD on his back for awhile, and still could if he needed to.
Christopher Daniels- I don't know why, but he's a guy that always seems to make me care about his matches. Even if he doesn't get promo time, he does the little things in the ring to make you care, whether he's a face in peril or an assholeh heel.

Honorable mentions: Paul London, Batista, Low-Ki

The cheese stands alone with love for hosses. Good thing WWE cut Mordecai... (chuckles nervously)

In No Particular Order:

Raven: It's more for his past work, but I'll always have a soft spot for the guy. It's sad that his best work was while he was on drugs, but his creative mind is incredible and underused. DROP TOE-HOLD!!!!

Benoit: Geez, do I have to explain this?

Corino: I love that he's an "old school" guy. I love his mic-work. He's an entertaining worker that I haven't seen enough of, sadly.

Samoa Joe: The dude has one of the greatest "presences" I've ever seen. Not to mention that he makes his opponents seem like credible foes.

Batista: I've been a mark of his since he was "Leviathan."

Correction Swiggy... DROP TOE-HOLD ONTO A CHAIR!

Oh, I know.

I do feel that though Raven is one of the last few to make the move believable, he's also over used it to such an extent that you'll never see another Raven match without it.

Can anyone actually name 2 people in WWE that uses a drop toe-hold on a normal (but not over-used) basis?

My comments on some of your lists: ( Hey, you like what you like, don't get offended)

I don't get the hype behind CM Punk. He seems to be pretty good at everything, but great at nothing, and looks like a backyarder. I also see him as a Corino wannabe, but that could be personal.

I'm starting to get into Samoa Joe. At first it's so odd seeing this fat guy work his style, but then you start really digging it.

(tehdoctor)

I understand where you're coming from. I've only seen 1 match of his, but he looked great. That's also the way I feel about Hamrick.

I've also decided I've got to see more American Dragon. I've got a couple of matches which are pretty good, and he's definitely a slick mat-worker, but it seems that he is more appreciated when his work is taken as a whole.

Comments?

Since you noted three of my picks I'll gladly respond to this one.

First with Punk, I've seen him put on two classics with Joe this year (both of the 60 min. draws) which I'd put the first one at about ****1/4 and I totally agree with Meltzer on the second being a ***** match. He had a really good match on 4/23 against American Dragon, put on great performances as he had to wrestle two different tag opponents with Cabana in the Round Robin Challenge III, fought Moff/Whitmer in a crazy no DQ match with Cabana at Gen Next, a great ***1/2 star match against Jay Lethal at Survival of the Fittest, not to mention that he was a tag champion with Cabana for a good chunk of the year, amongst other things....and that was only ROH. I've even seen him do a 8 man comedy match that is a hell of a funny/entertaining match in IWA-MS with Ace Steel/Danny Daniels/Matt Sydal vs Chris Candido/Claudio Castagnoli/Nigel McGuinness/Steve Stone. He's had a great year, and if it wasn't for Joe having the great year that he's had.....I'd pick Punk for Wrestler of the Year(except for Kobashi as well)....

Joe is a fucking beast. I was really impressed throughout his run and I knew Joe has been the real deal after doubting him for a while myself. With all of the ROH mutants running around, it's real easy to get down on ROH and Joe especially. But honestly, with Joe....all the proof is in the pudding. Pick up the tapes, and you too shall begin to notice the awesomeness of Samoe Joe. He had two stellar hour long draws with CM Punk this year, not to mention his feud with Homicide, his work against the Briscoes at the beginning of the year, his wonderful **** match with American Dragon at Midnight Express Reunion, to the current fued with Mick Foley in ROH. What a hell of a year for any wrestler and he's my pick for the 2004 Wrestler of the Year.

AMERICAN DRAGON?!?!?!?! You're right. You do. This goes for anyone who hasn't seen much or any of him as well. The guy probably is the best worker in the world, so definately do whatever you have to, to get some footage of Dragon. He's the best mat worker in the free world right now, not to mention that the other day for the first time I watched Night of Thunder one and got to see him vs. Liger. WOW, it wasn't ground breaking or anything, but I thought that Dragon helped him and Liger to put on a awesome match though. I would recommend that for any Liger fans as well.

Well, a few people listed Joe and AmDrag, so I wasn't picking on you specifically, but...


I'm starting to agree with you on Joe completely. What a workhorse. I know Foley pimped him to WWE, but I really don't see him getting over in WWE as his look isn't Vince's style, and he wouldn't be allowed to have many great matches. Still, he could be huge in TNA, ROH, Japan, whatever. I'm really enjoying what I've seen of him, and will go out of my way to get more.

Also, what about ROH's best of DVD's? Are they any good? I see they have one for Joe, Danielson, Punk and others. It may be a good way for me to get better aquainted with their work.

Punk may fit into the same category as Danielson for me, as I have seen more of him than Danielson, but still not a great deal. What I've seen hasn't really sparked my interest though. I'm definitely getting Joe/Punk II. Everything I've read about that has been glowing. Maybe that'll change my perspective a little.

Ugh. I wouldn't exactly call that match ***1/2. It dragged on forever...

As far as Joe goes......I was skeptical at first myself. He totally won me over. Guys who can win me over with their ringwork will always be on my good side. Honestly, Joe is a guy with the right care and time invested could make someone a lot of money someday. I agree he could be huge in TNA although they probably wouldn't be willing to push him the way that would be necessessary right now, ROH he is already huge, and in Japan I heard word of him going to New Japan and I personally think that would be disasterous, as NJPW is in bad shape right now. I would like to see Joe in NOAH for sure, as he could be a big deal wrestling there if they would push him correctly.

Personally, I don't get the best of DVD's. I am more of a show guy myself, but you might wanna check around with some tape dealers and see if you can get more of their work (aka not all just ROH stuff, they've done really well in IWA-MS as well).

If you are going to check out Punk/Joe II keep in mind a couple of things. One, is that you should definately check out their 60 minute draw at World Title Classic first and just follow the story. Also, Joe/Punk II IMO is a shitty show, so you might wanna just look for the match if you can. Also, PM me if you do trades.....I have mostly everything you're looking for.

Also, even if the guys you were talking about don't quite fit your fancy to begin with.....they will ALL grow on you as time wears on as well.

Here's one that'll piss you off, DK. I've never seen a Kobashi match. Never. Pretty pathetic, huh?

It doesn't piss me off, you're the deprived one bro. Ever think of checking him out, or are you just NOT into puro? You've missed some of the greatest matches EVER IMO.....

Puro is not really my cup o' tea, but it's not like I hate it. I just don't have any real good access to anything. I'll have to check Highspots to see if they've got anything.

Highspots has tons of good stuff. If there is anything that you've been thinking of checking out, I'd be glad to recommend some of my favorite stuff. Just let me know....I could list shitloads.

I see they've got the NOAH Dome show from 7-10-04. From what I've heard, it's worth getting just for the Kobashi match. Have you seen the rest of it?

A little thing about Dragon..... It's kinda weird, but I don't like the guy. Not his work, I absolutely love his matches with Joe, Styles, London, Aries, Shelly, Liger, Ki, Williams, etc, but theres something about him that just rubs me the completely wrong way. Even though I'm what people would consider a "smark," I always pick a guy to cheer for wildly at shows. I'm not into the whole cheer for both guys thing. And I always pick against Dragon. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's because all the net is on his dick. I don't really know. But yea, he's a fantastic mat worker.

Yep. Really good show.....at least the second half is unreal. If you are going NOAH, then the 4/25 show is pretty good with a Kobashi/Takayama match that's about ****1/4, and a Misawa/Ogawa vs. KENTA/Marafuji which is a easy ****1/2 match. Good overall show too.......

If you are looking for Kobashi though, go All Japan 90's before anything else of his that you see. If you are going to go out of your way to get his matches....then get the best.

-Kenta Kobashi
No one is on his level right now. Can build an epic better than anyone.

-Toshiaki Kawada
Still a nasty old bastard who can kick the shit out of people. ;-)

-Jushin Liger

-Chris Benoit
-Eddie Guerrero
Obviously restricted by the WWE-style, but I'd still rather watch them than almost any other wrestlers. Both really seem to have suffered after dropping their titles though.

I can't imagine that this guy has Benoit in his top 5 ;)

In no particular order:

1. Colt Cabana

2. CM Punk

3. Christopher Daniels

4. Carlito Caribbean Cool

5. JBL

That's a really fucking odd list. But Colt kicks ass. :D

You need to take JBL off that list. Not because he sucks, but because his name doesn't start with C. You were on your way to a perfect 5 for the letter C.

Here, I'll fix it for you:

1. Colt Cabana

2. CM Punk

3. Christopher Daniels

4. Carlito Caribbean Cool

5. Corino, Steve.

Look at my last post on the page.....there's your hero NOW...hahahaahaha

I'd say Chris Kanyon, actually. But I haven't seen him wrestle in about a year now.

Or Chris Benoit, but honestly, although I'm fan of his wrestling ability, he's not one of my top 5.

May be for another name to the top 5...nothing but-----Stevie Night Heat!

I was a big Chris Kanyon fan in WCW, the guy had talent, but choosing Kanyon for this list is violating the first law of this thread which is that the guy must be ACTIVE. (Note all caps in thread subject.) I consider this a spit in the face of all this thread stands for. Since your new, I'll let it slide....but, I've got my eye on you, and I'll let you know I have huge power around here.

Right. And besides, we all know the fifth C would be...

Chris Hamrick!

OK - so may be not, :( Sorry. As much as I would like to add Hamrick based on how much I've heard of his ability, I haven't seen him wrestle. ...Any clips that you could link me to?

Crap, out of all the C-names going through my head, I didn't even think of Chris Hamrick.

Yeah, he's one of my favorite indy guys. Kind of a spot monkey at times, but he also knows how to put a match together. I'll see if I can find some clips to link you too.