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The 411 Wrestling Top 5: Top 5 Favorite Singles Performers
The 411 Wrestling Top 5: Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. We take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to participate and give us their Top 5 on said topic. So, onto this week’s topic…
Week 305 – The Top 5 Favorite Singles Performers (Currently)
Who are the top 5 singles wrestlers that are currently your favorite? DISCUSS!
Arnold Furious
5. Brock Lesnar – I love Brock Lesnar. It literally doesn’t matter who he’s wrestling against the outcome is the same. Suplex City, bitch. You’d think that would be a detriment to people working Brock because all his matches consist of is Brock Lesnar destroying his opponent but everyone who works with Brock benefits from taking this beating and surviving. Apart from Roman Reigns, who took a prison yard thrashing off Brock at WrestleMania, and yet was still booed the next night. I personally thought Roman’s effort was grand, for a wank pheasant, and anyone who takes that sheer number of Lesnar suplexes is ok in my book. The beauty of Lesnar is that he can work with anyone because he’s always the favorite. So it doesn’t matter if he’s throwing Big Show around or Michael Cole the crowd will still be into it. In my money that makes Brock a super worker and he’s always great to watch.
4. HARASHIMA – DDT is a wonderful promotion to watch over a period of time as their booking has a nice linear feel to it. You’re rewarded for your patience and given run-on storylines that actually go somewhere. A lot of the card features silliness such as sex dolls that wrestle, titles defended under 24/7 rules and won by inanimate objects, dancing and stipulations changing during the course of a match. Above all this silliness is HARASHIMA. DDT keep him clear of that because he’s their ace. The one guy who can get anyone over by association. You work against HARASHIMA and you’re going to have a good match because everything he does makes sound logical sense. There are more exciting wrestlers in DDT. There are more entertaining wrestlers in DDT. But when it comes to competence, unabridged, unadulterated competence, HARASHIMA is the man and he can work with anybody. I swear that over the last 12 months he’s averaged about ***3/4-**** a match. Admittedly most of that was as KO-D Openweight champion but he’s been clinical, cool and the consummate professional.
3. Daisuke Harada – NOAH’s junior division is a thing of beauty. Or it was until they put the title on Taichi, easily the worst wrestler the division has. He’s not even from NOAH. Harada’s title run, leading into a win for Atsushi Kotoge and subsequent job to Taichi is probably the best title run I saw all of last year. And it worked for one reason; Harada is a technical marvel. His match with Zack Sabre Jr. was glorious. Zack himself is a cracking technician, given his British style and sleek counters, but Harada not only kept up with him but was equally as inventive when it came to mat grappling. NOAH’s junior division boasts a lot of good talents like Ishimori, Kotoge, Ohara, Sabre and Kenou but Harada is the glue that holds everything together. When I’m hungry for a mat wrestling clinic, I head over to NOAH to check out their juniors and Harada is the King of the NOAH Juniors.
2. Daisuke Sekimoto – Having explained away my love of Ishii in my choice for number one it’s only fitting my second choice comes from Big Japan where Strongstyle occupies roughly half of every single card they put on. Big Japan’s finest wrestler is Sekimoto. He’s a muscular powerhouse who can deadlift anyone and has no neck and yet he’s convincing when selling for guys half his size. Check out his power vs. armbars match against Shinobu in BJW last year at the Ikkitousen tournament. Shinobu is a joke, basically, but Sekimoto made him look like a star. Sekimoto’s workrate is phenomenal and he seems to turn up in all manner of promotions, busting a gut and generally looking better than anyone else. His supporting cast in Big Japan are great but Sekimoto goes out there into other promotions and shows his style is adaptable. When Larry Csonka suggested I only cover NJPW and Dragon Gate to make my life easier, in terms of covering too many puroresu promotions, my first response was “but then I wouldn’t get any Sekimoto”. If you’ve seen him work, you can see my dilemma.
1. Tomohiro Ishii – This list was extremely hard to put together. Firstly because I decided immediately I wouldn’t use two guys from the same promotion and found the New Japan choice incredibly hard. Over the past 12 months I have proclaimed at least four of the current NJPW roster to be my ‘favorite wrestler’. It’s that close with the roster that they have. The likes of Shibata, Honma and Nakamura are hugely entertaining and it means New Japan is the only real ‘can’t miss’ promotion around at the moment. I ended up plumping for Ishii for an assortment of reasons. Firstly his style is my favoured in all of wrestling; the hard-hitting, no nonsense, Fighting Spirit, Strongstyle that I can’t get enough of. The very best exponents of Strongstyle make every match an absolute war. Where Ishii differentiates himself is with his selling, where I’m convinced he’s hurt in every match and his dedication. I can’t tell if he’s got a shattered collarbone and is just working through the pain or whether he’s just that damn good. All I know is I can’t get enough of Tomohiro Ishii and he’s the one wrestler I actively seek out wherever he works.
Kevin Pantoja
5. Sasha Banks – This may be a bit of a controversial pick. I don’t think anyone else is going to pick a female, but I couldn’t not pick Sasha Banks. I love NXT and she is my second favorite act there. When I went to see NXT live in Columbus and Cleveland, I wanted to see her more than anyone. She has her character down perfectly and all of 2014, I wanted her to get a chance to shine on a TakeOver special. She finally did at R-Evolution and delivered a fantastic match with Charlotte. Then, at Rival, she finally captured the belt in a phenomenal Fatal Four Way match that had me marking out. I’m a huge fan and supporter, and as long as she continues to be great, I’ll be sure to include on lists like these.
4. Seth Rollins – When I was big into the indies in the mid to late 2000’s, three guys stood out. El Generico, Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black. While Bryan is my favorite in the group, both Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins have been more enjoyable for me lately. Seth has been the most consistently good performer on the main roster in the past year and seeing him capture the WWE World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania was damn sure special and something I’ll never forget. He almost always has a good match and can be counted on to deliver each and every single time.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura – I’ll admit that I only recently got into NJPW. My first show was Wrestle Kingdom 9, which was great. One man stood out above all others though and that was the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura. He stole the show with Kota Ibushi and had a classic. I’ve gone back and watched some of his other work and there is just something magnetic about him. You’re drawn to him and his charisma is off the charts. He’s the type of guy that you don’t even need to be able to understand to be captivated. Always a joy to watch and I cannot wait to see even more than I already have.
2. Brock Lesnar – In all of pro wrestling, there is nobody like Brock Lesnar. He is a legitimate beast and he wrestles so rarely that it is an instant attraction when he does. I think he should still be undefeated since his return in 2012, as there was no reason to lose to John Cena or Triple H, but still. He no longer uses that NCAA background that he has. Instead, he just dominates every single person in his path. It can be a glorious thing to watch. Hell, even his “SUPLEX CITY BITCH” remark at WrestleMania, sparked something. He is intense as hell and a very special thing to watch. We all need to realize how lucky we are that we get to see him.
1. Sami Zayn – There is literally nobody more fun for me to watch on a weekly basis than Sami Zayn. He is what a face should be. There is pretty much no way to possibly dislike him. Nearly every single time he performs, I’m glued to the TV. He has had a ton of classics in the past year, from the wars with Cesaro to his NXT Title matches against Adrian Neville, to the excellent storytelling of his bout with Kevin Owens. Sami Zayn is an incredible performer and probably my current favorite wrestler in the entire world. I’m glad he’s back to performing because I miss it.
Eric Palmer
5. Brock Lesnar – Brock Lesnar is an interesting wrestler. He is a completely different worker than he was thirteen years ago when he came into WWE. He was a beast, but he was a different kind of beast. He was a guy that could out wrestle you, out brawl you and take the biggest shot from the toughest guys and laugh in their face. Today, he uses his MMA experience to just flat out destroy whoever he’s facing, whether it be Michael Cole or John Cena. He doesn’t do much in the ring besides some suplexes and strikes, but that’s the beauty of it. His intensity and his character are so perfect right now, that every time he steps in the ring, he is guaranteed to put on a match that will have everyone talking. His part-time status only adds to the larger than life character that is Brock Lesnar.
4. Rusev – I know a lot of people aren’t high on Rusev, mostly because of his tired “anti-American” gimmick. I agree, the gimmick itself is stale and overplayed, especially in 2015. However, within a year since his call up, Rusev has improved tremendously. He knows how to tell a story and he sells better than nearly everybody on the roster. He has an awesome move set (besides the cliche “foreigner must use the Camel Clutch” finisher). He’s also put on some awesome matches over the past year. Absolutely one of my favorites right now.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura – Where do I even begin with Nakamura? He’s arguably the most charismatic wrestler in the world today. He seems like he can do no wrong in the ring, as every match I’ve seen with him in the past year and a half has been, at the very least, very good. Up until about a month ago, I think he would be number one on my list.
2. Louis Lyndon – This is a name that is going to confuse a lot of people. Louis Lyndon is a worker from the Mid-West, who primarily works for promotions like Absolute Intense Wrestling and All American Wrestling. He’s not very well known at all but, in my opinion, might be the most underrated singles wrestler on the independent scene right now. He is very technically sound, but can fly with the best of the them and brawl with the toughest guys as well. I suggest watching his match with ACH at AIW Gauntlet for the Gold IX just to get an idea of how talented this young man is.
1. Seth Rollins – The current WWE World Heavyweight Champion is my favorite guy to watch right now. I used to knock Rollins for his mic work, but he’s improved so much in that aspect that it’s hard to hold it against him. His matches are usually top notch, and his character is just so perfect. During his run with The Shield, I thought he’d be the face that would get stuck in the mid-card. I had no idea Rollins had this great heel just lying in wait. His entire run since winning Money in the Bank has been fantastic, and he’s just much watch TV every single time he’s on.
Andrew Shillinglaw
5. Biff Busick – The explosion of Biff on the United States independent scene is one of my favorite subplots of 2014. The dude went from working Beyond studio tapings to being absolutely everywhere, including reportedly getting a WWE tryout. He’s clearly young and new but he really “gets it.” His intensity is always ramped up to eleven. He throws stiff strikes. He works tight on the mat. He’s like the prototype of all my all time favorite wrestlers except he’s just getting started. I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.
4. Ricochet – Ricochet is the best high flyer on the scene today. Watching him become the top guy in Lucha Underground is the best. I will say that I am upset that he’s apparently locked into his Lucha Underground contract for seven years, as it means we won’t see him anywhere else. But as long as I see him somewhere, I guess I’m okay with it. Everything he does is so smooth and if you don’t believe me, just look up the highlights of his recent match with Matt Sydal from PWG.
3. AJ Styles – AJ Styles has been working on the level of the best wrestler in the world since the day he stepped foot into New Japan. He came in with this giant TNA sized chip on his shoulder and decided to blow every single one of his critics and naysayers out of the water. I can think of exactly one bad AJ match since the Bullet Club run, that being the one against the former Curt Hawkins at the Battle of Los Angeles. Other than that, almost every time he’s stepped into the ring it’s been three or more stars by my scale. He’s shown personality and stepped up his ring work up back to the level of when we all fell in love with him in the first place.
2. Dean Ambrose – Dean is my favorite consistent WWE main roster worker. I like Brock more overall, but consistency counts. It bugs me that he doesn’t get big wins like he should, but he’s always entertaining. He’s probably my favorite current WWE worker in terms of promo ability – even ahead of Bray. Every match of his feels like this wild unhinged brawl, which is perfect because it’s so different. There’s nobody quite like him in wrestling and that’s why I’m giving him this spot.
1. Sami Zayn – Sami Zayn is the best pure babyface of our generation. Period. He will play an underdog babyface for the rest of his life and we will love every second of it. The guy is just so likable and garners such natural sympathy from the crowd. Add that to the fact that he’s probably a top ten – if not top five – in ring worker in the WWE, and you get a perfect formula for my number one favorite wrestler. I can’t wait for him to get back to NXT and feud with Kevin Owens to get that title belt back.
List your Top Five for this week’s topic in the comment section using the following format:
5. CHOICE: Explanation
4. CHOICE: Explanation
3. CHOICE: Explanation
2. CHOICE: Explanation
1. CHOICE: Explanation
