Movers and Shakers - 03/08/02
Gonna try something a little different than the Single File here. I really like writing SF's, but they can be pretty dense and really aren't exactly light reads. I wanted to try something a little quirkier. So that brings us to Movers and Shakers.
The basic concept for M+S is a weekly ranking of 15 pro wrestlers, sort of a Power Poll for the Sport of Kings. I know other people do these kinds of things, but those are based on actual win/loss records and mathematical formulas. I'm not really interested in any of that. My criterion breaks down to three basic components:
1. Achievement
2. Effort
3. Personal Bias
To elaborate on (1), achievement basically translates into newsworthy accomplishments. Title wins, tournament victories, memorable promos, successful turns, and things like that will surely help you earn a spot on the list. As far as (2), this list will also try to recognize those who may not grab the headlines but deserve credit. Like when a wrestler puts another wrestler over big time or carries a total load to a decent match.. It's a way to thank those with thankless tasks. (3) is pretty self-explanatory, so consider that before you rattle off a death threat. This list purports to cover everything: WWF, Mexico, Indies, and Japan. For this first list I have included wrestlers based on events from a month or so ago for the first list, since this has been a busy time in Professional Wrestling.
With all that in mind, check out the first list.
Movers and Shakers #1 (3/8/02)
15. Lance Storm (WWF): Poor Lance. He's hyper-talented, but his won-loss record is slightly worse than Glass Joe from Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! A lesser man may dog it in the ring, but Lance has been working his tail off lately, including two fine matches with Rob Van Dam in the last week. In a better, just world, Lance would have a primo spot at Wrestlemania, but will likely find himself relegated to fighting Albert on Heat (if he's lucky).
14. Mascara Magica (CMLL): The fourth wheel of Los Guerreros De Infernales made his long awaited return to our TV screens when he seconded Tarzan Boy for shot at Shocker's Light Heavyweight Title. Then he ended up getting his man disqualified by shoving him back in the ring. Whoops. If you're going to get your man disqualified you should at least punch the other guy in the balls. Anyway, TB got pissed and brawled with Mascara, turning him tecnico. Mascara getting more airtime in a feud against his former stable should provide some killer wrestling. And his new dyejob makes him look like one of the Hardyz.
13. AJ Styles (NWA Wildside): Gotta feel bad for AJ. A very talented young wrestler, he makes it onto WCW TV just as the company gets sold. He looks great in the WWA six-way Cruiser match, but comes in second to Nova. He goes on lose in the finals of the Super 8 to Donovan Morgan. Then he gets a look at the WWF Training Camp but is regarded as "average looking and small (i.e., not pumped full of chemicals)." Poor dope.
12. W*inger (Big Japan): This masked veteran defeated Trent Acid on 3/3 to win his second Big Japan Junior Heavyweight Title, a title Acid had dominated for the past six months. W*inger seems to have Acid's number in big matches, as he also bested him in the finals of last year's Best of the Best tournament. Don't feel too bad for Trent, though, he still has the CZW Junior Heavyweight title and shares the CZW tag titles with Johnny Kashmere.
11. Prototype (Ohio Valley Wrestling): This youngster won the Ohio Valley Wrestling title from Leviathan on 2/20, handing the giant only his second pinfall loss. 'Type now looks to hold onto the belt as he faces the awesome might of…David Flair? Yep, seems Flair handed Prototype his only pinfall loss. And with the likes of Randy Orton and Rico Constantino being called up to the WWF, this looks like Prototype's time to shine.
10. Milano Collection A.T. (T2P): This rookie (the centerpiece of Ultimo Dragon's Toryumon 2 Project and one of the most hyped wrestlers in years) beat Masato Yoshino on 3/3 to win the NWA International Light Heavyweight Championship. A masked man who turned out to be Don Fuji of Crazy Max attacked A.T. during the match, setting up a T2P vs. Crazy Max feud that should tear the house down.
9. Blue Panther (CMLL): Besides holding his own in his war with his nephew Black Warrior, the 42-year-old Panther recently won the vacant UWA Middleweight Championship by defeating Solar in a 2/3 falls match that spanned 50 minutes. 50 minutes! Kevin Nash can't go 50 seconds without blowing up. The UWA Middleweight belt was abandoned when the company went out of business a few years back. The last man to hold the belt? Jeff Hardy. But if Hardy knows what's good for him he'll stay north of the border, lest he get his ass handled to him.
8. The Rock (WWF): Rocky made his long awaited return on Thursday from being crushed by a semi. In actuality, he was overseas headlining a successful tour of Asia, proving he really is the People's Champion. On Smackdown he cut a great promo and beat Scott Hall in the main by DQ. Now he faces the most daunting task of his young career: dragging a decent match out of Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania.
7. Yuji Nagata (New Japan): Yuji has had it tough lately. Pushed into a shoot fight by shoot-lovin' Inoki, Yuji got his ass handed to him in 21 seconds by Mirko Cro Cop on 12/31. It was enough to make Yuji wish he was back fighting Robbie Rage at WCW Worldwide tapings. If that wasn't bad enough, Yuji entered the tournament for the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Title, and on the same night had to wrestle Rick "The Anvil" Steiner and put over complete load Tadao Yasuda in the finals. Why did Yasuda win the title? Because he's good in shootfights, silly! Still, Yuji started the comeback trail by teaming with Jun Akiyama to beat the legendary Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi on 2/17. Here's hoping Yuji sticks to the ring and doesn't try anymore shoots.
6. Keiji Mutoh (All Japan): Here's a fun experiment: grab a hammer and sit down in your favorite chair. Then hit your knees with the hammer as hard as you can 78 times. Guess what? Your knees are still in better shapes than Mutoh's. And guess what else? Mutoh still goes out and works a 27-minute war with Toshiaki Kawada that already has early MOTY buzz. And Mutoh did the right thing and lost to Kawada even after he made the high profile jump to All-Japan.
5. Donovan Morgan (Noah): This APW and Noah veteran shocked the world by beating AJ Styles in the finals of this year's Super 8 tournament. Most fans had pegged the much hyped Styles or WWF developmental talent Jaime Knoble to take it, but Morgan bested Pepper Parks, Knoble, and Styles in the final match that people were favorably comparing to last year's Low Ki/American Dragon final. High praise indeed. Morgan joins Ace Darling, Lance (Simon) Diamond, Steve Bradley, Christopher Daniels, and Low Ki in the Super 8 Winner Club.
4. Kenta Kobashi (Noah): After a year's hiatus, Kobashi returning to the ring helped Pro Wrestling Noah have their biggest show ever, selling out Budokahn Hall with a crowd of 16,000+. Kobashi teamed with Mitsuharu Misawa in the main event against Jun Akiyama and Yuji Nagata in a match that received ****1/2 stars from Dave Meltzer. Kobashi took the pinfall from Akiyama to set up a rematch down the road. In theory, anyway, as Kenta's knees are still Play-doh at this point and retirement seems imminent. If so, he had an awesome match to end his fabled career.
3. Tadao Yasuda (New Japan): Like it or not (and frankly, no one does), Yasuda did pull off what was unthinkable a year ago when he won the IWGP Heavyweight Title on 2/16. He downed Masa Chono in the semis and defeated Yuji Nagata in a tournament final to win the vacated belt. His first challenge is a showdown on 3/21 with #1 contender Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Yasuda defeated Tenzan via ref stop in a tag match on 3/6, but prior to that Tenzan had an 11-0 record against Yasuda, so you decide who the underdog is. It remains to be seen how well he can draw and represent his company, but for the moment we have to give the devil his due.
2. Chris Jericho (WWF): Hey, he's our Undisputed Champion right now (and has been for nearly three months) and just headlined a highly successful overseas tour. He's good/great in the ring and solid on the mic, and is set to main event his first Wrestlemania. So why isn't he #1? Two words: hand lotion.
1. Toshiaki Kawada (All Japan): Finally (and we're talking FINALLY) wins back the Triple Crown, endiing Keiji Muto's 8+ month reign. This is the first time Kawada's held the Triple Crown in three years, and his fourth reign only puts him behind Misawa who has the all-time record with five. And since Misawa gave All-Japan the finger and took half the roster to form Noah, I dare say chances are good we may someday see Kawada tie or even break that record
So there you have it. With the Champion's Carnival Tour coming up for All Japan and Wrestlemania right around the corner, it'll be interesting to see who grabs #1 in the weeks to come.
As for you, the reader, I ask you: was this interesting to read? Did you like it better than the Single File? Any format changes I should make? Do you think I've overlooked anyone, or if there's someone I should keep my eye on? Let me know. Until then…
Joe Gagne
bwo@infi.net