Movers and Shakers #2
03/16/02
Hola, and welcome to another edition of Movers and Shakers. For those of you that weren't here last week, M+S is a weekly ranking of wrestlers based on noteworthy achievement and effort in the ring.
This list is not based on any sort of mathematical win/loss formula. This is not a list of the 15 best wrestlers in the world. Some total loads will make it on occasion. This is not a cumulative ranking system. I don't keep track of chart movement on a week-to-week basis, simply because there will be a lot of turnover. In fact, only two wrestlers from last week's list made it onto this one.
This list is all subjective. I watch the shows and scan the headlines and rack my brain to come up with rankings. I do make an effort to explain my demented rationale as best I can.
The list is usually made up of 15 wrestlers, but this week will be only ten, since (a) it was a kinda slow week, and (b) I also had the Wrestlemania preview to work on. In the future, I may put a moratorium on Movers and Shakers during PPV weeks.
So, finally, here's the top ten for the last week:
10. Satanico (CMLL): If watching the nWo makes you wish for a mandatory retirement age in wrestling, seeing a Satanico match will convince you otherwise. This longtime lucha veteran (he's already in the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame), still tears up the rings at 52, in a style far more demanding than anything Hogan and his ilk ever worked. On the main event of this week's CMLL show, Satanico took it to Los Guerreros De Infierno, beating the crap out of them and generally looking more spunky than any fifty-two year old should, including hitting a HUGE cannonball dive from the top rope to the floor. Mull that over the next time the New World Order huff and puff their way through a match.
9. Keiji Mutoh (New Japan): Never one to rest on his laurels, Mutoh actually took time to work a Michinoku Pro Show on 3/8, teaming with Jinsei Shinzaki to defeat the Great Sasuke and Satoshi Kojima in a match that went 20+ minutes. Not only that, Mutoh is reportedly working with MPro booker Shinzaki on a talent exchange program between All Japan and Michinoku Pro. Not only would a talent exchange help All Japan's fledgling Juniors division, it would be a godsend to Sasuke's group, which by all accounts is in deep fiduciary trouble. We still don't know how much of an impact this will have other the respective companies, but we can't deny he's making an impact in and out of the ring.
8. Kurt Angle (WWF): Thank the merciful heavens for Kurt Angle. His interview segment was one of the few bright spots on Raw ("Yeah, crisp and clean with no caffeine, bro."). Not a bad week in the ring either, as he made both the Big Show and Rob Van Dam tap out to the Anklelock. Sadly, Kurt now goes on to fight Kane in a meaningless match at Wrestlemania. If he were heading into a higher profile bout he'd almost certainly crack the top five.
7. VD (CZW): That would be John Dahmer and "Fast" Eddie Valentine, longtime veterans of Combat Zone Wrestling. They tend to get overlooked in favor of teams like Divine Storm, the S.A.T., and the Briscoe Brothers. Well, that will likely changed, as Dahmer and Valentine scored a big upset then they upended the Backseat Boyz for the CZW tag titles on 3/9. It remains to be seen if this will be a long-term reign or a hotshotted title switch. Nonetheless, VD is on the top of the heap, and with the above-mentioned SATs and Divine Storm seemingly gone from the company, they may just be the surprise team of 2002.
6. Dan Severn (Various): "The Beast" makes a surprise appearance on the list, as he defeated Shinya Hashimoto for the NWA Heavyweight Title on the 3/9 Zero-One PPV. So why isn't Severn higher on the list? Well, the finish of the match was highly controversial, as NWA President Jim Miller whispered in the ear of American referee Fred Rubenstein. Rubenstein then counted a fast three after Severn hit Hashimoto with a German Suplex for the tainted win. Nonetheless, Severn gets the belt he dominated for four years from 95-99, and this looks to be the big angle for Zero One in the upcoming months.
5. Eddie Guerrero (New Japan): Eddie Guerrero made his return to a New Japan ring for the first time in years on 3/8 when he teamed with current IWGP Junior champ Minoru Tanaka and Black Tiger (curiously, Eddie's old Japan persona, now usurped by Silver King) against Jedo, Gedo, and Koji Kanemoto. The match ended in a no-contest when Eddie and Tiger turned against Tanaka and joined Team 2000 (Masahiro Chono's stable that includes Jedo, Gedo, and Kanemoto). The next night Guerrero lead the T2K team of himself, Tiger, Gedo, Jedo, and Kanemoto against Tanaka, Jushin Liger, El Samurai, Masahito Kakihara and Masayuki Naruse in an elimination match. Team 2000 swept the match, with Eddie eliminating Samurai and then Tanaka to end the match. If this is a long-term run for Eddie, he's setting himself up to be a major player in New Japan.
4. Universo Dos Mil (CMLL): Universo, the reigning CMLL Heavyweight Champion, successfully defended his title against Rayo de Jaslico, Jr. on this week's Galavision. Universo quickly fell behind one fall to none when Rayo slapped on a combination camel clutch/surfboard maneuver, but rallied to tie up the second fall with a Single Leg Boston Crab after Rayo missed a kneedrop. The third fall featured a lot of dives and nearfalls, and in the end Universo snuck out a pin by using the ropes, retaining the title he's held for 2+ years. The only thing keeping him out of the top three is that fact that the match overall, to be polite, won't make the permanent tape.
3. Jerry Lynn (CZW): Ah, poor Jerry Lynn. The man fit into the WWF about as well as Bruno Sammartino would today. Now that he's been released, it's back to the indy scene where he can show off his wares. Lynn made his debut in Combat Zone Wrestling on 3/9, and made quite an entrance, defeating current CZW champ Justice Pain. There was some confusion over whether or not Lynn won the title since the referee handed the strap to him post-match, but it turns out that it was simply non-title. Had Jerry won the title, he surely would have earned the #1 or #2 position. But as it stands, he's seemingly already gained access to a slot in the upper card.
2. Suwa (Toryumon): This former member of the infamous rudo stable Crazy Max upended the popular Magnum Tokyo for the British Commonwealth Junior Championship on 3/15 at the Kawasaki Gym. It took Suwa only five minutes to win the belt via the FFF (Pedigree). If that weren't enough, before the match Suwa was offered the leadership spot in rival rudo faction M2K by Susumu Yosuka. Suwa seemed to accept at first, then changed his mind and hit the FFF on Yosuka. M2K interfered in the match, but were run off by Suwa's old running buddies in Crazy Max. Post-match Suwa shook hands with Crazy Max, and finally has appeared to rejoin the fold. This is Suwa's first singles title in nearly 2 years, and re-joining Crazy Max could reinvigorate the entire promotion.
1. Chris Jericho (WWF): Okay, forget all that crap with Lucy. This week Jericho actually looked like a strong champ for the first time in…a while. No matches on Raw or Smackdown this week; instead Jericho went after Triple H, or more specifically, after the injured quad that kept Triple H on the sidelines for nearly 7 months. Smackdown ended with Jericho putting Hunter I the Walls of Jericho on the announce table (shades of San Jose), then posing with the Title Belts over Helmsely's prone body. This had been an exceedingly poorly booked feud prior, now my interest is expanded exponentially.
Next week should be packed, with Wrestlemania, the CMLL 3/17 show, and lots of overseas shows in Japan. Will the WWF main event winner get the top slot? Or will it go to someone if Mexico or Japan? Will I be forced to put Gran Markus or Hulk Hogan on the list? Only one way to find out…
Til next time.
Joe Gagne
bwo@infi.net