411's top 50 US wrestlers

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

Here we are, pop-pickers, it’s the top 10 – but before we get cracking, let’s look back at numbers 50 through 11…

 

NUMBER 50: KANE

only scraped into the 50 this year due to some decent performances (scattered now and again) and enduring some dreadful booking yet still making an effort with his character work

 

NUMBER 49: STEVE CORINO

a rare breed of old-school wrestler quite content to just give it his all for the few hundred fans in attendance

 

NUMBER 48: JERRY LYNN

will have to be content to continue to fill Dean Malenko's dual old roles of Most Talented/Most Boring Man in Wrestling

 

NUMBER 47: SONJAY DUTT

a pretty small guy but has a good look to him and may well find his home in the X Division of TNA

 

NUMBER 46: PAUL LONDON

constantly breathtaking performances in the squared circle, let's just be happy in the moment for once

 

NUMBER 45: RICO

anyone who can get some good, almost exciting, matches out of Val Venis on multiple occasions deserves a hearty pat on the back

 

NUMBER 44: HECTOR GARZA

Garza has continued to wow the crowds through a series of captivating performances

 

NUMBER 43: XAVIER

Each and every time he steps into the ring he looks like he lives and breathes for this very moment

 

NUMBER 42: JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD

Starting out a little tentatively, JBL has evolved into one of the best characters of the 2000s thus far

 

NUMBER 41: NUNZIO

Nunzio’s been quietly keeping our attention and gaining our respect

 

NUMBER 40: KAZARIAN

one of the few recognisable faces in the division with a memorable personality capable of keeping up with the speedy in-ring antics that are involved

 

NUMBER 39: MICHAEL SHANE

pretty smooth between the ropes, has a lot of the old-school heel tricks up his sleeve and has managed to get himself over nicely with the TNA crowd

 

NUMBER 38: ROB CONWAY

has a terrific ring presence that screams out for everyone to just hush up and pay attention to him so that everyone may lavish him with praise later on

 

NUMBER 37: CHAVO GUERRERO

He’s been walking around with the Cruiser belt for most of 2004, but hasn’t really done much to warrant anything higher than a low 30s rating

 

NUMBER 36: C.M. PUNK

Let's just be happy that he can continue to bring such unbridled joy and passion to his work and share it with us all

 

NUMBER 35: JOHN CENA

the one and only reason for John Cena being on this list is his ability to work the crowd

 

NUMBER 34: DAVE

DAVE has become a worthwhile commodity, very much a good fit for Evolution

 

NUMBER 33: RIC FLAIR

If this truly is Flair's Indian summer, he's still going to outshine us all

 

NUMBER 32: ROB VAN DAM

his motivation wavers wildly and, whilst there’s been enough of it to see him into the top 50 this year, he’s nowhere near where he should be

 

NUMBER 31: JAMIE NOBLE

he has at least put in nothing short of 100% effort into his ring-time

 

NUMBER 30: ABYSS

managed to get himself well and truly over, respected as one of the best big men in the game right now

 

NUMBER 29: TRISH STRATUS

her interviews and general performance out of the ring since the heel turn have been magnificent

 

NUMBER 28: JAMES STORM

as long as he is fit for action he can be relied upon to wow any and all crowds exposed to the Tennessee Cowboy

 

NUMBER 27: SAMOA JOE

if he continues on the current path, a spot as the most marketable truly independent star in the US is very much on the cards

 

NUMBER 26: RON KILLINGS

Killings has been working his ass off ever since the turn of the year

 

NUMBER 25: RANDY ORTON

jumped back right into the thick of things as the heir apparent to the Evolution throne

 

NUMBER 24: CHRIS SABIN

a wonderfully professional attitude that has spilled over into his in-ring work ability too

 

NUMBER 23: THE BIG SHOW

I think we should all pat him on the oversized back and say “nice one, son”

 

NUMBER 22: LOW-KI

Aside from one admittedly very good match with AJ Styles, there’s really been not much of Low Ki at the top of the bill and that’s a shame

 

NUMBER 21: CHRIS HARRIS

Wildcat Chris Harris is still quite clearly the better half of the team due to having a slightly larger spark of personality to toy with

 

NUMBER 20: MOLLY HOLLY

A glorious year for the best mainstream female worker there is in the US

 

NUMBER 19: KID KASH

things are on the up and up for Kash

 

NUMBER 18: VICTORIA

often seen on Heat having the match of the night – and that includes what happened on RAW

 

NUMBER 17: SHELTON BENJAMIN

his first win over Triple H on Raw was unquestionably one of the highlights of the past year

 

NUMBER 16: JEFF JARRETT

it’s been a good year but you can’t play the same hand in the next twelve months

 

NUMBER 15: BROCK LESNAR

it is to Lesnar's credit that his body of work from July '03 to March '04 has been of sufficient standard to warrant this high position

 

NUMBER 14: GOLDBERG

with perhaps just a little more effort from Bill, or a little better treatment from the WWE and lightening in a bottle might have just been captured a second time in the form of Grizzly Bill

 

NUMBER 13: CHARLIE HAAS

Charlie has also been impressive in the ring as the technician who holds it all together before Rico runs around slapping everyone’s ass

 

NUMBER 12: RAVEN

the personification of the rising anti-establishment and pro-independence feel in wrestling as of late

 

NUMBER 11: TRIPLE H

leaped up the rankings here on the basis of an absolutely tremendous few months

 

 

 

THE TOP 10 US BASED WRESTLERS 2003/2004

 

 

 

NUMBER 10: CHRISTIAN

Last year: 12

What we said: “Should management decide to pay a bit of attention to the IC belt this time around we should hopefully see a lot more of Chris and his Peeps over the next year”

 

Ross Williams: The ratings year began with Christian as the main man in the IC title scene, dropping the title to Booker T but getting it back shortly thereafter at a house show, of all places, when Booker’s back went on holiday without giving Huffman adequate notice. Tooled up with the strap, it looked like Christian was going to be the man to keep the mid-card of RAW entertaining but the office, as ever, had a better idea – get the belt onto a bunch of guys who totally didn’t need it and were already over! So onto RVD, briefly Chris Jericho and Randy Orton the belt went and they proceeded to tote it around without taking the level of pride in it that Christian did. For some, the IC belt is the highest accolade they’ll ever reach and Christian is one of these chaps. They’re not going to be a World Champ, so the secondary belt gets treated like their own little World Title. It’s their precious, you see… but Randy Orton is obviously going to be a World Champ one day, Chris Jericho already has been a multiple time World Champ and RVD just doesn’t give a flying five-star frog fuck. I digress – Christian could have done with the IC belt but just found himself treading water as the third man in many situations, be it RVD and Jericho feuding, or be it the Jericho/Trish love story-gone-wrong. However, he’s always put in extreme effort, has such a superb grasp of interaction and angle work that it’s very hard to not admire the guy’s gusto and, combined with the quality of his grappling over the last annum, he’s well deserving of eking his way into the top 10.

 

Iain Burnside: Always the bridesmaid and never the bride has been a recurring theme throughout Christian’s career, as management continued to fawn over his “brother” Edge while leaving him standing outside in the cold. Through a combination of the roster split, a serious injury to Edge’s neck, and chance encounters with the likes of The Rock and Chris Jericho, he has actually had the time of his life over the past ten months until an ill-timed injury of his own forced him onto the sidelines just as Edge began to steal back everybody’s attention once again. Still, in his active months he has been a consistently outstanding performer. Whilst the Dudley Boys have relented to staleness, the Hardys have struggled for various reasons and Edge has been flowing hot and cold, Christian has become the most vibrant and prolific member of the former TLC crew and one of the finest heels WWE has to offer. His slimy, smarmy persona has only been a slight tweak of his previous Owen Wilson-esque caricature but it suits him down to the ground, whether he is trying to court favours from Eric Bischoff in one of many funny backstage segments or proudly declaring his love for his Peeps. He has also had a large hand in helping both Chris Jericho and Trish Stratus reinvent their careers as a part of the longest running feud in recent Raw memory, and it is a testament to his abilities as a performer that he managed to hold our interests for so long. Sure, there were a few hiccups along the way but the majority of these can simply be attributed to the presence of Lita. Once it became a simple love triangle story, everything fell into place and the cogs of storyline and character progression sped along at an incredible rate, through a terrific encounter at WrestleMania XX and a show-stealing Cage Match on Raw, before pausing for breath as a result of this injury. With his stellar character work and in-ring capabilities now backed up by the heat magnet of Trish and the superfluous-but-helpful extra muscle of Tyson Tomko in his corner, the coming year should see Christian continue to progress further. The only thing that could stop him in his tracks is backstage politics and, sadly, when Randy Orton and Batista are being touted as the main mid-card heels with Edge looking to join them, this is looking more inevitable with each week. Perhaps a jump to Smackdown or a spell in the tag team division would be the best way to utilise Christian upon his return?

 

 

NUMBER 09: KURT ANGLE

Last year: 1

What we said: “I want to make sure that every single person reading this does acknowledge how fortunate they are to be a wrestling fan in this, the Age of Angle”

 

Iain Burnside: It looks like the Age of Angle may very well be limping to a premature close after this latest, upcoming run. Regrettably, his neck simply cannot take the pressure of continuing to wrestle the style with which we have become accustomed to seeing from Kurt. He will tone down the in-ring impact for this next stint, just as he did during his memorable match with Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania XX, which means a lot of people are going to be rather disappointed by the lack of top-rope suplexes, moonsaults and various other manoeuvres that will inevitably be cut from his move-set in favour of a safer, mat-based style. To be brutally honest, those people deserve to have their expectations crushed. If they had ever learned to appreciate actual wrestling instead of sports-entertainment in the first place then perhaps Kurt’s body would not be in such terrible condition. He has sacrificed practically everything time and time again due to his competitive nature and eagerness to please the fans, truly earning himself the right to be thought of in the same bracket as other all-time greats like Steamboat, Anderson and Savage. Now he is coming back to action yet again to try and keep Smackdown’s rather limited momentum going through the summer months and, presumably, up until a swansong at WrestleMania XXI itself. With such a distinctive personality capable of producing memorable moments outside the ring as much as inside it, there is no real reason for him to come back. His stint as General Manager was derided by some as a disappointment but, really, look at the weak storylines he had to work with. He did his best with what he had to offer through a trying personal time and will surely be welcomed back into a similar non-active role in the future. As for his actual matches over the past year, they have admittedly been one notch below his usual standards but, considering his usual standards tower well above most other wrestler’s, this does not mean that they were not bloody good efforts. Aside from his aforementioned encounter with Guerrero, he once again made Brock Lesnar look like one of the most dangerous and impressive athletes on the planet in two gruelling encounters at SummerSlam and the Iron Man Match on Smackdown, shoved a rocket up John Cena’s arse at No Mercy to send him flying up into the stratosphere, and damn near stole the show at the Royal Rumble as he marshalled a combined attack on the Big Show and worked the crowd by applying the ankle lock to perfection. Even in a quasi-active role, he has still managed to be the glue that has held Smackdown together over the past year. There’s not long left now – let’s just enjoy what we have left.

 

Ross Williams: And so Angle’s three year run as the top dog comes to a close and it seems extremely unlikely that he’ll ever get to the top rung of the ladder again. All good things must come to an end and it truly does look like we will soon be seeing Angle hanging up the USA coloured spandex for good, but not until he gives it one more round… we’ve heard this one before… Kurt needs to watch out for himself – whilst you’ve got to respect the professional who risks his health in order to do what he can to help the company he works for prosper, you’ve got to wonder where he stops thinking about the industry and starts thinking about his baby daughter and wife. Still, as long as he truly *does* tone down the high risk spots and uses his fantastic ring generalship and psychological understanding of how to work a rewarding match without said risky situations and the ensuing bumps, there’s no reason why Angle can’t stay semi-active long enough to stick a few people into a slot near enough the top to keep the ball rolling on the lesser WWE brand. I’m not sure the Eddie Guerrero feud at the moment will accomplish anything, it’d do a darn sight more to have Kurt wrestling Cena, but that might well expose BOTH Cena as not being able to carry a less than 100% Angle AND Angle’s newer, weaker, state. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – there is gold to be had in a Kurt Angle vs Charlie Haas feud. Get Rico involved on the sidelines and it’s even better. In the meantime, let’s all reflect upon the year gone by when Kurt has wrestled such a good game that he’s managed to stay in the top 10 despite only wrestling about 10 televised matches to my count, many of those in specialty matches (Royal Rumble/Survivor Series) where he could disguise his injuries. As Iain writes, his run as GM hasn’t been stellar but he’s evolved his character once more and deserves credit for giving it a damn good crack. Ultimately, the previous year for Angle has been all about angles, and Angle can do angles with the best of them.

 

 

NUMBER 08: CHRISTOPHER DANIELS

Last year: 31

What we said: “What truly makes Daniels a joy to watch however, is his technical prowess that more than matches his outstanding charisma”

 

Ross Williams: From the moment I saw Daniels shout “BEST. MOONSAULT. EVER.” and leap around the ropes, spring backwards and hit the most picture-perfect ‘sault I’ve yet to see, I’ve found myself helplessly drawn to watching anytime this guy is on. For a chap who finds TNA a little too low budget for his taste much of the time, this is quite an achievement. However, he’s got a big league feel to him that most of the others down there lack, something that would fit nicely into the WWE although with their track record, he probably would have ended up as Mordecai’s Spiritual Advisor or something. There’s not much else I can say about Daniels except that the only thing holding him back from the Top 5 is lack of top level success within his organisation and the lack of exposure not working for the WWE brings with it.

 

Iain Burnside: If there was one word to adequately sum up all of Daniels parts, it would simply be “professional.” Whereas most people in his position would quite gladly rush into the open arms of a WWE contract and waste their talents in matches overshadowed by spectacle and politics, he has instead chosen the road less fiscally secure but more personally rewarding by continuing his jaunts all across the globe under the varying guises of both Curry Man and the Fallen Angel. There is not a wrestling promotion around today that would not like to have Daniels’ services at their disposal, and quite rightly so, whether it be his triumph in the ECWA Super 8 tournament, teaming with Tom Howard to defeat The Outsiders in UPW, helping Team NWA to victory in the X Cup in TNA, or just generally being a cool bastard in ROH, he has done the rounds many times and helped to make each and every stop on the circuit look like a million dollars in the process. Of course, the fact that he looks like a million dollars himself has been a big boost in this task and you need only look at the recent sit-down interview Scott Hudson did with the main players in the X-Division to see the gulf in quality between Daniels and the rest of them. He was smartly dressed, spoke calmly and confidently, and carried himself like a genuine major player as opposed to the stereotypical ‘reject’ or ‘hick’ that the casual viewer might have expected to see in such an environment. He is the closest thing that the independent scene has got to a completed all-round package, with even his Fallen Angel entrance is suitably pitched with a sense of gravitas and a sinister undertow that hints at something truly special coming down the aisle to rock your very world. As always, that is precisely what Daniels will do when he gets in the ring and wrestles. No matter who he is facing, what style they prefer, how important the match is or where it is happening, he will us his thoroughly consummate skills to put on a great showing and draw you into the match. He is a truly unique and individual mixture of meaningful style with serious substance and shall doubtless be wearing gold in the not-too-distant future with Prime Time as the new-look Triple X continues to wage war on the tag team division of TNA alongside the Naturals, Team Canada and America’s Most Wanted. It’s time to start getting liberal with those star ratings again...

 

 

NUMBER 07: TAJIRI

Last year: 43

What we said: “If it weren’t for the Guerrero run, he wouldn’t have made it this year”

 

Iain Burnside: Tajiri has been an oft-overlooked workhorse over the past twelve months, and a thoroughbred one at that. Coming off of the aforementioned tag team shenanigans with Eddie Guerrero as he subbed for Chavo, Tajiri looked like he was going nowhere fast until the Cruiserweight Title came his way once again, this time flanked by two stable mates in Akio and Sakoda. Although all three men were tremendous talents, the potential of such a trio terrorising the rest of the division was never fully utilised, instead lopped off in favour of such soap opera nonsense as the Jamie Noble and “Blind” Nidia plot. In the wake of the Kill Bill craze, it certainly would not have required too much of a stretch for WWE to get the Yakuza-esque gang over with the crowd but they simply never got the chance to spread their wings beyond their Velocity confines. Still, this should come as no surprise for this is the same company that continues to give Tajiri the chance to show off his talents and then fails to cash in on them in any serious manner every single time. For example, his trade to Raw led to a series of victories and he began to actually get a pretty damn impressive crowd reaction for the first time since he debuted in a WWE ring back in 2001. He was more than holding his own as part of the babyface mid-card war with Evolution – including doing more in one match than anybody else to make Batista look like a genuine monster and playing a significant role in Operation Hunter Gets His Groove Back - yet instead of following through on this feud they decided to continue his spat with The Coach. Oh well, whatever, never mind, at least he managed to further Coach’s heel credentials along the way. Now he is well on course for another stint with tag team gold, this time of the Raw variety, as part of WWE’s latest mish-mash collaboration with the befuddled Rhyno. Where he goes after that is anybody’s guess, but at least we can be sure that he gives it nothing short of his all as he has done throughout his career.

 

Ross Williams: I was quite surprised to find myself keen to put Tajiri in the top few of the year but when you look at it reasonably, the quality of his work (combined with the lack of others who have supremely stood out over the last 12 months) is more than enough to merit this high position. You wouldn’t generally expect to see Tajiri on the card at SummerSlam but there he was, holding his own with Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero and all three of them lugging the big suitcase Rhyno as best they could. On and off matches with Guerrero were always watchable and his heel turn was well-executed and got him over with the Smackdown crowd to the point where he was able to turn in a very solid few months with the Cruiserweight belt. Granted, a 36 place climb in our ratings is a heck of an achievement but he’s not much of a different man than in past years – it’s just that he’s actually been used for the last 12 months. Unfortunately, Vince seems to have a defect that causes him to remember and forget Tajiri for precisely 9 months at a time and we’re going to have to wait another 6 months or so for him to get his next swing on screen. Oh, come on, tagging with Rhyno? In some countries, it’s punishment for shoplifting.

 

 

NUMBER 06: REY MYSTERIO

Last year: 6

What we said: “Where’s the next year going to take Mr. Mysterio? The two obvious contenders are Kidman and Ultimo Dragon, the second of which makes me dribble an unreasonable amount”

 

Ross Williams: You’ve got the best known and love cruiserweight in the world on your roster, he’s proved himself to be reliable, hard-working and is accepted as a genuine star by your fans, so what do you do with him? You’re not sure? Congratulations, you must be a WWE writer! It seems that management spend 50% of their time on Mysterio thinking about giving him a high level push against top line talent and seeing if the diminutive fella can make it work, they spend another 45% of their time thinking how they can exactly carry this out without making the big fellas look weak and then the final 5% of the time deciding that they’ll just wait a bit and see what happens but give Rey the Cruiser belt in the meanwhile. Rather than wondering how they’d protect the big guys, perhaps WWE might be wise to just go for it and not worry if Rey *does* make them look stupid – after all, alongside Rob Van Dam, he’s one of only two on Smackdown who has the potential to rise up alongside the trifecta of face-overness, namely the ‘Taker, Cena and Eddie. As the pool of heels becomes weaker on Smackdown, they’d do well to turn either ‘Taker or Cena and elevate Rey into a top line face (since the crowd will just not ever take to a heel Mysterio, it just wouldn’t work without massive change in moveset and character, which wouldn’t help matters) but, alas, it seems Rey is destined to always end up with the Cruiserweight Title, churning out great match after great match. Which is precisely why he’ll always be in the top 10 (probably) but rarely in the top 5.

 

Iain Burnside: Strangely enough, Mysterio wound up being placed at exactly the same position on last year’s Top 50. This alone speaks volumes about the current state of his wrestling career – i.e. that it is familiar yet welcome, stagnant yet enjoyable. Not that the lack of forward momentum is his own fault, however. It has been a constant throughout Mysterio’s career that he can hang with the heavyweights and put on just as enjoyable a show as he can against any number of cruiserweights, as proven by encounters with the likes of Kevin Nash and Kurt Angle. Yet the fear of promoting someone of Mysterio’s diminutive stature in anything approaching a consistent main-event role, particularly as a singles wrestler, has led WWE to leave him wallowing in the cruiserweight division time and time again. The fact that three of his eight Cruiserweight Title reigns have occurred in the past year alone speaks volumes about how important WWE views him in the grand scheme of things, and this is detrimental to everybody’s enjoyment of the show. After all, given recent developments with JBL, would it not make perfect sense to have the champion work a program with Mysterio? JBL has constantly belittled the Latino-American culture that Mysterio comes from; ruined Rey’s good friend Eddie Guerrero’s title reign, has taken to constantly beating up on Rey’s fellow cruiserweights, and falsely believes that he is in no danger of losing to someone like Mysterio. This doesn’t mean we would necessarily have to put the championship on Mysterio, but it does all add up to nothing short of perfectly logical booking and what could very well be a classic David & Goliath encounter on PPV. This is the kind of thing they should be doing more of with Mysterio. For now, all we have is his cruiserweight matches and thankfully they remain of an impeccable standard. An obviously half-hearted Mysterio still managed to steal the show in his match with Chavo Guerrero at the Great American Bash and, as mentioned earlier, had a truly amazing match with Jamie Noble on Velocity. No matter who has come his way, be it Tajiri or Spike Dudley, Mysterio has proven himself to be one of the fundamental reasons to watch Smackdown, or indeed wrestling itself. To their credit, WWE have acknowledged his ever-present popularity by using him as one of the main advertising features in the Smack Your TV promotions, furthering the general consensus that he can pop any crowd due to his loveable and enthusiastic nature. Now, if WWE can just use him for something more substantial then that would be terrific...

 

NUMBER 05: SHAWN MICHAELS

Last year: 49

What we said: “Not bad for a part-timer... love him or loathe him, Michaels has been worth a gander”

 

Iain Burnside: If he would only stop with the daft praying pose then he’d probably have made it to #4. Still, he can’t help looking like a tit – it’s just second nature to him now. What he can help is his work inside the ring, and in this respect he has had an outstanding year. He made an uncharacteristically subdued return to something approximating a full-time schedule, limited house show attendance notwithstanding, for once learning to absolute meaning of the phrase “actions speak louder than words.” For the first time in several years, it became all about the wrestling once more. With a happy and content personal life, nothing left to prove in the eyes of the fans or his peers, and no financial concerns; he saddled up and rode back into town as a vital member of the Raw roster simply because he wanted to be there. This is good. This brought us one of the most memorable performances of the year at the Survivor Series, where HBK stole the show from under everyone’s noses by - *gasp* - losing to the sole survivor Randy Orton. This gave Orton a much-needed rub, adding some legitimate substance to his character that was sadly lacking in their Unforgiven match, setting him up for a highly memorable year. This seemed to be an entirely different Michaels from the poseur we had grown familiar with, yet underneath the new clean and shiny exterior was the same brilliant wrestler that had always been there. Apart from the virtuoso efforts for Team Austin last November, he has had three very memorable, albeit over-rated, matches with Triple H, two wonderful encounters with Chris Benoit on Raw, and has of course played a significant role in those two Triple Threat matches that turned the wrestling world on its head this spring. Reports on the condition of Michaels’ back remain frustratingly non-existent, so any speculation as to his longevity will have to remain just that for now, as all we know for sure is that he will presumably return to face Kane at some point in the autumn months. All indications are that this, along with any other feuds coming his way, will be at least as entertaining as he has been over the past year. The persistent rumours of him jumping to Smackdown, for instance, could lead to some spectacular action. There would appear to be plenty of mileage left in Michaels yet as long as the flesh remains as willing as the spirit has been over the past year.

 

Ross Williams: Anyone who has read me for a decent length of time will know of my general distaste for Michaels but his rating here isn’t something Iain has argued me into, it’s something that we absolutely agree on. Starting the year with quite the mark-out moment in letting Goldberg mash him without reserve in the Elimination Chamber showed that he wasn’t afraid of sticking to the script and taking a back seat anymore, and he’s been content to be in more of a supporting actor position than the leading man for his work since then, either turning in a performance to keep a match on its legs where the person they hope to get the rub is too green to do so himself (Survivor Series) or just plain sticking his snout into something that was good already and pepping it up a bit (WrestleMania). Despite being a supposed full-timer now, he still seems to not wrestle too much and spends a lot of time in angles rather than matches and this is where he now seems a little bland, since we’re used to the envelope pushing of the past rather than the envelope licking of the present but he’s a lot more palatable now that he’s not rammed down out throats. To be honest, he wouldn’t have rated this *low* if he’d not forgotten to sell the Hell in a Cell match in the last 10 seconds of the broadcast and if the previous 40 minutes of “action” hadn’t redefined the word boredom.

 

 

NUMBER 04: A.J. STYLES

Last year: 4

What we said: “but his efforts in TNA, ROH and many other indies this year have been eminently laudable and long may they continue”

 

Ross Williams: Another year has passed and yet my enthusiasm for this chap remains unchanged – he’s a rarity in wrestling, a chap who mixes his usual spots up with something to keep us guessing, someone who doesn’t interview as well as he might but, basically, doesn’t need to because the pure quality of his in-ring efforts speak volumes more than any shouting into a microphone could. Fundamentally, AJ Styles *is* the Indie scene, a chap who will perform in front of a high-school gym full (or not) of punters and give them their moneysworth. Indeed, one of the strangest sights I’ve seen in the last year is AJ entering an “arena” which was a converted gym via the fire exit, which was doubling as the entrance. A far cry from entering through the curtains with the impressive set and Titantron behind him, but he treated it like he was walking onto RAW and, more importantly, he wrestled as if he was on pay-per-view with a large wedge of cash in the offing. The fact that he very easily could trade it all in for that WWE contract – where others on the indie scene couldn’t – but he doesn’t shows that he accepts that he’s going to be greater as the guy who can on the small-time circuit than a world class guy lost in the big-time shuffle.

 

Iain Burnside: As the highest ranked non-WWE wrestler in this list, you would expect nothing short of excellence from Styles, which is precisely what he has given us time and time again. Quite how he has managed to establish himself as such a force to be reckoned with is a bit of a mystery, really. He has a decent physique for the average Joe on the street but nothing particularly outstanding as far as professional wrestling is concerned. He has improved his mic work but still struggles to come across as sounding particularly threatening and lacks conviction in several of his egotistical claims. With nothing really going for him, Styles has had to rely mainly on his in-ring game to remain over with the crowd and keep at the front-end of the pecking order. Last year set him up for a sustained main-event push, yet it would all come down to his actions this year to see exactly where he would sit in the grand scheme of things. Thankfully, this year has seen him continue to prove both to himself and to others that he has earned each and every break that has come his way. Regardless of whether he is facing heavyweights like Abyss or five X-Division stars in some six-way madness, Styles more than lives up to his phenomenal moniker. What is really exciting is that he has yet to peak as a performer. With each passing show he looks just that smidge more confident in himself, carries himself a little bit taller and continues to mix and match new moves to his unlimited repertoire with the usual grace we have become accustomed to, making him an absolute joy to watch. It seems extremely doubtful that he will ever make the jump to well-paid yet professionally unfulfilling safety net of WWE as he simply takes too much pride in his performances to sacrifice them for financial purposes. This may very well change as things progress and he continues to develop into a very big fish in a very small pond down in the Asylum, but for now it looks like we can simply kick back and enjoy another 12 months of greatness from Styles. What’s more – we can soon get our hands on a compilation DVD to boot!

 

NUMBER 03: CHRIS JERICHO

Last year: 3

What we said: “Week to week now, he IS the highlight of RAW and with any justice, he’ll get his hands on the World Title in the next year”

 

Iain Burnside: WWE may have decided to elevate the other Chris to World Heavyweight Title status this year, yet that has not deterred Jericho from continuing to play the role of scene-stealer throughout Raw. Having finally found peace with his standing in the pecking order, Jericho has more or less been left to his own devices by management and this is precisely the sort of condition under which he thrives. With no great expectations upon his shoulders and no grand master plan to adhere to, Jericho has instead spent the year simply channelling all of his positive energy into his work, firmly winning back the fickle fanbase that had grown jaded with him not too long ago. Seeing someone so completely and utterly happy with their work is a tremendous thing to behold and Jericho has been on such a wonderful trip that nobody could possibly complain if he was ever offered another stint as champion to atone for the lacklustre feeling of his initial reign. This of course reached an almighty pinnacle on the 5th July in his hometown of Winnipeg, where he became the first-ever Undisputed Musical Chairs Champion, baby!! Coupled with his Order of the Buffalo Hunt award, had he beamed any brighter he would probably have burned down the building with his pride. Throw in the always welcome and suitably off-the-cuff manner of the Highlight Reel and a self-written storyline with Trish and Christian that powered the Raw mid-card for several months, and you’ve got a package that’s so over the crowds will utilise a malfunctioning fire alarm buzzer to start an impromptu Y2J chant simply because they love the guy so much, as they did on the 28th June edition of Raw. As far as his wrestling work has been concerned, well, to be honest he hasn’t exactly been called upon to do a whole lot this past year. His two main encounters with Christian at WrestleMania XX and inside the Steel Cage were very memorable, but other than that his efforts have been consistently commendable rather than particularly outstanding. Perhaps if he were able to offer up something with a bit more sparkle to it in this area then he might at long last be able to do what Benoit and Guerrero achieved and leap over that last hurdle, over that glass ceiling, and firmly establish himself as a true force to be reckoned with by the likes of Triple H. Still, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In the here and now, Jericho is having an absolute whale of a time and would like to cordially invite you all to come and rock the F out alongside him. I think I may just...

 

Ross Williams: Ah, the mysteries of Chris Jericho – the man who The Rasmus seemingly could have written “In The Shadows” about. Alright, maybe not, but you get my point. He’s an absolutely top talent yet at first glance, he’s nothing more than a glorified interviewer, more often than not advertised as the host of the highlight reel – but let’s dig deeper. Not only do seldom few exhibit enough charisma and dexterity with words and facial expressions that they get their own segment with which to shamelessly shill themselves if they so desire, but fewer still give to others the way that Y2J does during these segments. To be honest, they almost always end up in a ruck with Jericho having a match (usually against Kane), so he does actually grapple more than you might think at first. He also tends to be the fifth wheel in a match, such as when Evolution were feuding with Edge and Benoit and the faces needed another guy to round out the numbers. As for success, well, he’s lost his share of bouts and won his share too, he managed to have his hand scalded by the cup of coffee he *nearly* had with the IC belt back in Autumn 2003 and that’s about it. The real success has come in the joy that Iain pointed out and his absolute commitment to every program and match he’s been in, from helping DAVE along recently to carrying lead-weight Tyson Tomko to something watchable at Bad Blood to the engaging Trish storyline that just went on and on and on… but was still fun. That’s ultimately it – it seems that Jericho has accept that his lot in wrestling is to be an upper-mid carder, the set-up guy if you will, and has accepted that he is not going to be the tippy-top guy so is just having fun and throwing himself into his work and getting over hugely with the fans again because of it – and ironically, it could well be this that might end up steering him back in the direction of the big prize again at some point. Not over this next year, but he’s a man with a great deal of gas in the tank yet.

 

 

NUMBER 02: CHRIS BENOIT

Last year: 7

What we said: “Had his post-Rumble encounters been up to his usual standards then he would have been ranked higher. As it stands, efforts must be doubled, Chris!”

 

Ross Williams: Not number one, you ask? I take you back to mid to late 2003 when Benoit was ambling around on Smackdown with little to no direction and having matches which wildly varied in quality. Somehow, he managed to get a good match out of A-Train, despite the big goon dropping him seven feet so that he connected head-first with a folding chair. Berk. On the other hand, I distinctly remember matches featuring our Chris being of a standard I would expect of a vastly inferior wrestler. Could it be that he was well and truly fed up of being so good but so badly used? Whatever happened, it all turned around towards the end of the year as Benoit began making overtures towards the WWE Title held, then, by Brock Lesnar. Emerging as co-winner of an enjoyable battle royal and then defeating John Cena in a decent showing, Benoit snagged a shot at Brock where he carried Brock to an outstanding match and showed for the first time in nearly a year that he could more than hold his own at the top of the card. It seems that, for a change, this showing didn’t get overlooked by the guys who make the choices, since they began priming Benoit for a World Title, starting with an odd yet compelling feud with Paul Heyman, who swore he’d fucking die before letting Benoit get his hands on a World belt. After Benoit cleaned his mouth out with soap, we led into the story of the guy who was certainly good enough but never seemed to be able to win the big one and, to their credit, the WWE kept us guessing whether he would. It was, by no means, a dead-cert he’d win the Rumble, so that helped make it more enjoyable. The addition of Shawn Michaels to the mix for the World Title match at WMXX made us think that they were going to swerve us, give Michaels the big win at ‘Mania and then build up for Michaels vs Benoit at Backlash. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and Benoit walked off with the Gold that fateful March evening after putting on a match that is almost certain to walk away with Match of the Year honours for 2004. Since then, he’s been as shiny as the belt he so lovingly carries around.

 

Iain Burnside: Benoit didn’t just double his efforts; he quadrupled them right into the upper echelons of wrestling. Nobody, absolutely nobody, thought that it would happen but finally, after 18 years of hard work, work, work and then some more work in his spare time, Benoit has become the personification of the wrestling dream and has enjoyed a quite marvellous streak in 2004, winning the Royal Rumble and then the World Heavyweight Title in spectacular fashion at the end of WrestleMania XX, with further victorious escapades to follow in the run up to meeting Randy Orton at SummerSlam in what looks set to be his last title defence for now. If that proves to be the case then let’s remember Benoit’s reign for what is was – a bastion of pure wrestling magnificence. Time after time, from Eugene to Shawn Michaels and from Kane to Triple H, he has defended his title with honour, doing more to add some credence to it’s short history than anybody else to have held it due to the incredibly fierce pride he bestows upon each and every match, making the audience feel as privileged to be watching as he is to be competing. He does continue to struggle to keep up with certain other individuals when it comes to verbal skills or charisma, but when there is so much feral intensity seeping from the man there is no need to try and mask it with a series of wasteful vignettes and the like. They learned that the hard way with Goldberg. No, it’s far better to carefully pick and choose when and where they need him to do anything extraneous – such as his very touching tribute to Stu Hart, Alberta, wrestling, life, the universe and everything in the WrestleMania fall-out – and continue to get him to win over every crowd foolish enough not to worship him from the outset simply by wrestling in the same impeccable manner that he always does. Had it not been for an incredibly ill-judged booking schedule in 2003 that saw him left with practically nothing to do except drudging up old grudges with the dreary likes of Rhyno and A-Train, he would almost certainly have been our #1 pick. Unfortunately for Chris, he was only afforded the opportunity to really start playing at the turn of the year. Still, now that management have recognised his drawing potential and cemented it with a stunning new DVD package (truly the official seal of approval nowadays), the coming year should see Benoit continue to terrorise the main-event with his flying headbutts, German suplexes, Sharpshooters and Crippler Crossfaces aplenty. Long may it continue!

 

 

NUMBER 01: EDDIE GUERRERO

Last year: 2

What we said: “management really need to go with this one and push him to the moon. One of the top two most over people on Smackdown right now, Eddie has *never* been closer to a World Title in his life”

 

Iain Burnside: Miraculously Eddie, like Benoit, was also granted his world title this year. In a match that was unfairly overlooked because it was sandwiched in between Benoit’s more high profile victories at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania XX, Eddie cemented his status as a top-notch athlete at No Way Out by carrying Brock Lesnar to one if, if not the, finest match he was ever fortunate enough to have in his short-lived professional wrestling career. The real story of that eventful night, however, was the uncontrollable love and gratitude for everything Eddie had been through leading up to that magical moment. For too long he had been content to just be another “one of the boys”, living and boozing it up, not even stopping to notice just how talented and how truly blessed he was, until eventually it all blew up in his face and he damn near lost everything. Eddie had sacrificed a hell of a lot to get to the big time in wrestling, as have every single one of the guys in the locker-rooms, and at that point in time it would have been so very, very easy to just give whatever little else he had left away as well and wind up as just another sad victim of a cruel profession. Instead, Eddie turned it all around and fought his way back from the brink with a vengeance. He turned over a new leaf, he was a new man, he had a newfound respect for life, it was all coming up roses, whatever silly cliché you would prefer to use, stick it in here... The fact of the matter is that Eddie deserves some serious bloody respect and, in that emotional night at No Way Out, he finally got it. Then came the marvellous sight of both him and Benoit in the ring celebrating at the end of WrestleMania XX, which was truly, truly cathartic and not just for them but for everybody involved in the wrestling business, including the fans. There we all were, two decades later, and after all the political manoeuvres, the underhanded tactics, the lawsuits, the controversy, the tragedy and every other bit of crap that had been thrown in the face of the industry, at the end of the day it was all worth it just to see those two men finally and fully rewarded. All of those present in Madison Square Garden, nowadays billed as the ‘home’ of professional wrestling, stood in unison and marked their little hearts out. This is what it’s all about, really. All we ever asked for was two talented wrestlers in the middle of the ring. All they ever needed was dedication and conviction beyond the reaches of most men. There they were, basking in the spotlight of a ticker tape parade and wrestling fans all across the globe going absolutely crazy as the blood, sweat and tears were finally paid off in full. It wasn’t a moment that could be easily explained to the non-fans, and even those of us who think we ‘got it’ still have no idea what it was like for them to have worked that hard for that long at the expense of damn near everything else, so to see such a truly touching moment was beyond anybody’s wildest expectations. In the end, in that moment on that night, we won. And, in a sense, both Benoit and Guerrero can claim to be the winner of this little list. The only real difference between them was that Eddie had a far better stint in 2003 than Benoit did, and that the fans have been firmly behind him for a lot longer due to his vibrant personality. Personally, I’m proud of both of them for having achieved so much and having shown up so many people. Here’s hoping that the coming year sees Latino Heat continue to burn up WWE. Judging by his recent high-profile brush with Vince McMahon on Smackdown, this would certainly seem to be the case. And with that, I hand the reigns over to someone who was actually present at WrestleMania XX for that magic moment, the esteemed Mr. Williams...

 

Ross Williams: It was a magic moment indeed – I’ve read a lot of negative views on WrestleMania and I’ll be the first to admit that there was a heck of a lot of filler in there along the way but the closing match made those incredibly overpriced Ebay tickets of mine totally worth it – being one of the 20,000 strong throng who, with every fibre in their body, were willing Hunter to tap out at the end of the match was an amazing experience and one I wouldn’t sacrifice for any price. The ensuing celebration with Eddie was touching but there’s one part of the whole equation that glares – it seems that Eddie had an off-night at ‘Mania. The match he had with Angle was nowhere near as good as I had expected it to be and the crowd was probably the least pro-Guerrero there had been in around 10 months. A right head-scratcher it was, but putting Eddie at number one didn’t need any scratching, head or otherwise. If WrestleMania was disappointing Eddie, almost the entire rest of the year was impressive Eddie. After snagging the newly reborn US Title at Vengeance 2003, Eddie turned face by proxy, despite not having changed a single thing about his character. Bluntly, the crowd loved him too fucking much for him to be anything but a face. This was exemplified greatest when he returned for an awesome Smackdown show to El Paso, Tijas, where he strode through the crowd at the start of the show and was party to the biggest reaction on a wrestling show I’ve seen since Bret Hart at the Calgary Stampede 97 PPV. His feud with the then-heel, then-cool John Cena was good value for money and he did his utmost to overcome the massive size difference between him and the Big Show and nearly succeeded, giving us a well-built (if scatological) feud that, unfortunately, didn’t deliver in the ring on the big night. Shortly after relinquishing his US Title to The Show, he and Chavo dropped the Tag belts to the Basham Brothers, prompting the beginning of the Chavo heel turn, Chavo Classic’s inception into the WWE and a feud that could have been a blinder but was quickly put aside in order to get the World Title onto Eddie – which we didn’t know at the time, thus we wondered quite why Eddie had demolished Chavo so totally. His match with Lesnar at No Way Out, as Iain points out, was exceptional and the payoff of Eddie with the World belt was quite the moment. The Angle feud up to WrestleMania was played very well and, whilst the match was not all we had hoped, it was still very good. Following this, he was given the unenviable task of helping transform JBL into a bona-fide star – and he bloody went and did it, didn’t he? With the goriest self-inflicted blade job in the history of wrestling, Eddie bled for his Raza and made Bradshaw look like a million bucks at Judgement Day and drew the feud out until he’d completed his job and Bradshaw was totally over. However, the truest testament to Eddie Guerrero from the last twelve months was the Smackdown after he dropped the World Championship. When Bradshaw was finished gloating and demanding respect from the fans, Eddie’s music hit and the crowd went mental. Eddie walked out from the locker room, hit the ring and a brawl with Bradshaw ensued, ending with JBL legging it. Why is this so important, says you? Because, despite his not having the belt about his person, during his first appearance after losing his first World crown, he still carried himself like the Champ, he still looked like the Champ and, most importantly, he still got a reaction worthy of a Champ. This is the ultimate proof that a wrestler absolutely deserved their run with the title – when you take the strap off them, they still look like the top man. The most popular wrestler in the US at present without a doubt, Eddie Guerrero will hold the World Title again, probably after he’s done with his current dispute with Kurt Angle. He may not be the World Champion right now but he is, most assuredly, Number One.

[Guest Ray]

Christian in the top ten, ahead of BROCK LESNAR, makes me sad.

 

and 2003/2004 Flair > Paul London?

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Agreed on Eddie Guerrero. He's been carrying an entire brand on his back for a long time now, and he's been pretty banged up while doing it as well.

 

Chris Jericho's worth is over-rated, he's hardly done anything worth noting as of late, espicially interview/angle-wise. I've never been much of a fan of his, however this year he hasn't done much.

 

UYI

[Brocklock 0]

Joe and Punk are way too low and Trish is better than Noble.

 

According to them JBL is better than London.

 

God that list is terrible.

 

The top two is right on the spot, but that's about it.

[Guest PlatinumBoy]

Where's American Dragon? Most notable guy who didn't make it.

[The Mandarin 0]

Here's a shorter list so you don't have to run through all the crap.

 

NUMBER 50: KANE

NUMBER 49: STEVE CORINO

NUMBER 48: JERRY LYNN

NUMBER 47: SONJAY DUTT

NUMBER 46: PAUL LONDON

NUMBER 45: RICO

NUMBER 44: HECTOR GARZA

NUMBER 43: XAVIER

NUMBER 42: JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD

NUMBER 41: NUNZIO

NUMBER 40: KAZARIAN

NUMBER 39: MICHAEL SHANE

NUMBER 38: ROB CONWAY

NUMBER 37: CHAVO GUERRERO

NUMBER 36: C.M. PUNK

NUMBER 35: JOHN CENA

NUMBER 34: DAVE

NUMBER 33: RIC FLAIR

NUMBER 32: ROB VAN DAM

NUMBER 31: JAMIE NOBLE

NUMBER 30: ABYSS

NUMBER 29: TRISH STRATUS

NUMBER 28: JAMES STORM

NUMBER 27: SAMOA JOE

NUMBER 26: RON KILLINGS

NUMBER 25: RANDY ORTON

NUMBER 24: CHRIS SABIN

NUMBER 23: THE BIG SHOW

NUMBER 22: LOW-KI

NUMBER 21: CHRIS HARRIS

NUMBER 20: MOLLY HOLLY

NUMBER 19: KID KASH

NUMBER 18: VICTORIA

NUMBER 17: SHELTON BENJAMIN

NUMBER 16: JEFF JARRETT

NUMBER 15: BROCK LESNAR

NUMBER 14: GOLDBERG

NUMBER 13: CHARLIE HAAS

NUMBER 12: RAVEN

NUMBER 11: TRIPLE H

NUMBER 10: CHRISTIAN

NUMBER 9: KURT ANGLE

NUMBER 8: CHRISTOPHER DANIELS

NUMBER 7: TAJIRI

NUMBER 6: REY MYSTERIO

NUMBER 5: SHAWN MICHAELS

NUMBER 4: A.J. STYLES

NUMBER 3: CHRIS JERICHO

NUMBER 2: CHRIS BENOIT

NUMBER 1: EDDIE GUERRERO

 

Overrated

Christian

Charlie Haas

Goldberg

Chris Sabin (no character at all)

Abyss

Frankie Kazarian

 

Underrated

Chavo Guerrero! (should be around 15, 13)

Paul London

Samoa Joe

CM Punk

John Cena (surely he means more to the business than James Storm)

Brock Lesnar (should be in Tajiri's spot)

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Ugh...... this list is utter crap. Half of these guys have no business on such a list. A lot of the guys on here haven't even had a good match in the last year.

 

Overrated:

Chris Jericho - not top 5 calibur matches this year

Shawn Michaels - top 25 but not top 5

Rey Mysterio - top a top 10 calibur year

Tajiri - no stand out matches for being a top 10 guy

Christian - top 25 maybe

Triple H - no way in hell as he needs great workers to make him look passable in the ring

Raven - great run in TNA but needs to go down a few spots

Charlie Hass - no way should he be ahead of Shelton on this list

Goldberg - shouldn't be on the list

Jeff Jarrett - 40s level

Victoria - this is a joke right

Molly Holly - no really this is a joke right?

Kid Kash - great heel, bad matches

Chris Harris - great year but he needs to move down about 10 spots

Randy Orton - way down the list

Rob Van Dam - shouldn't be on the list

Ric Flair - nope

JBL - not on the list

Rico - not on the list

Trish Stratus - no

 

Underrated:

Christopher Daniels - top 5 easily

Brock Lesnar - top 10

Shelton Benjamin - he could move up to 11 or 12

Big Show - very low teens

Samoe Joe - top 10

Chris Sabin - mid teens

Abyss - top 25

Kane - a few spots higher

CM Punk - top 25

Chavo Guerrero - was a great heel till the WWF sabotaged him

 

Snubs:

American Dragon - top 25 guy easily

Juventud Guerrera - not many matches but they've all easily blown away anything half of their list has done

Teddy Hart - just for the level of hate he's created with indy guys

Homicide - low 40s at least

the Briscoes - really great tag matches and some good singles matches

Trent Acid - really good year

[PsychoDriver 0]

I see someone watches WWE, NWA-TNA and... well nothing else.

 

Where is American Dragon? Chris Hero? Alex Shelley? Homicide? Briscoes?

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

Chris Sabin (no character at all)

Bah! Heel Sabin during his first X Title run ruled. Hail Sabin!

[AnonymousBroccoli 0]

Tajiri at #7 is mind-boggling. Lesnar seems to be pretty high for someone allegedly carried to his best matches. Goldberg... oy. His brief, shining moment was in the Elimination Chamber, and he lost. Jarrett is far too high for someone who relies on run-ins, guitar shots and stupid refs for the majority of his major matches. The timeframe of the list puts Paul London in WWE for most, it not the whole year, but he should still easily be top 30.

 

Only having seen most of WWE's year, a good chunk of TNA, some ROH, and nothing else, I can agree with Eddie, Benoit, Styles and Michaels being at the top, but not much otherwise.

[Guest Ray]

Triple H - no way in hell as he needs great workers to make him look passable in the ring

Yeah, Shelton Benjamin is a GREAT worker.

[Guest NiTR0]

These lists don't mean anything, just look at how high Raven and a few others are .

[natey2k4 0]

Charlie Haas hasn't got the push yet. Shelton has. But if I had to pick one of them to watch, I would surely choose Charlie Haas. He reminds me so much of Benoit (because he can sell better than Angle)... Benjamin seems more like Jericho... and I'd pick Benoit anyday.

[Phoenix Fury Legdrop 0]

It's 411; what did you expect?