Csonka’s Ultimate G1 ‘Hoss’ Block With Rusev, Ishii, WALTER, & More

Welcome back to column time with Larry! Today I am here to talk about a dream scenario, where big lads are allowed to be big lads competing against other big lads. I am talking about the majestic Hoss. For as much as I love superkicks and flippity doos, I love a great hoss battle. I also love the NJPW G1 tournament, so today, I am presenting my Ultimate G1 ‘Hoss’ Block. Being a hoss isn’t solely about size, although it helps, it’s also about style. I hope that you enjoy today’s column, and feel free to share your thoughts. It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

Alternates, incase of potential injury/death:
* Katsuya Kitamura
* Lars Sullivan

Rusev: In my opinion, Rusev is one of the most underutilized and under appreciated members of the WWE roster. He’s an agile guy who can work with anyone, make it work, and has grown as far as character work goes, nut for some reason, WWE just can’t figure out to use this talented guy. I would love to see an unchained Rusev in a tournament format like the G1, but especially working matches with the hosses that will follow on the list. We’d get some quality matches, and at the very least, a happy Rusev day.

Kassius Ohno: I know that a lot of people are disappointed at the use of Kassius Ohno in NXT, and that is completely understandable, because his 2016 was nothing short of amazing. But at the age of 37, Ohno has clearly been brought into NXT as a player’s coach, to help groom the next generation of WWE main roster stars and to be a recognizable indie name to hardcore fans on touring shows. Ohno has received praise by many over the years as a teacher and mentor, and he’s being paid for it. But make no mistake, and joke about his physique all you want, but Kassius Ohno can still go. He’s a versatile performer who can work energetic, hard-hitting sprints as well as longer form matches with ease. Ohno in the mix I have laid out would thrive with ease.

Jeff Cobb: Jeff Cobb represented Guam at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and made the transition to pro wrestling in 2009. He’s worked various independents, played the Monster Matanza Cueto in Lucha Underground and has been part of the 2017 NJPW World Tag League tournament, working with fellow hoss, Michael Elgin. Cobb is a really fun hoss, mixing in power (utilizing his amateur background) and some insane agility, pulling off standing moonsaults & shooting star presses. His mix of power and agility makes for some tremendously fun outings, and as part of the NJPW World Tag League, he got over with the Japanese crowds very quickly, much like his partner and the next man on the list.

Michael Elgin: My history watching Michael Elgin has been an odd one. When I first saw him in ROH, he was a fun powerhouse guy. And then as his ROH run went on, he just wasn’t clicking with me all that much. But things turned around again when he started working with NJPW. He started to grow as a performer, started working with more confidence than ever before and was having some of the best matches of his career. Big Mike is an extremely consistent performer that can work with anyone, but will be a perfect fit for a hoss tournament.

Hanson: Hanson is one half of War Machine, and gained some popularity as a singles worker while Ray Rowe was out injured. Hanson is a big old hoss, with a fun style and a surprising amount of agility for his size. I’d love to see Hanson eventually get a G1 run, but especially in my fantasy hoss block. With the guys I have listed, I think he’d have some great outings, and truth be told, I think he and Rowe would have an extremely fun match together since they know each other so well.

Ray Rowe: >: Ray Rowe may not jump out as an immediate selection for a singles tournament for a lot of people, due to most of his success being with War Machine along with the big beard Hanson. But when War Machine aren’t kicking the shit out of other tag teams, Rowe has quietly put together a really solid singles résumé, working a wide variety of opponents and having high quality and hard-hitting matches. Rowe is a great tag team wrestler, and I love the War Machine tag team, especially since they’ve really got to thrive in NJPW. By no means am I calling for a War Machine split, I just think very highly of Rowe and feel he has a ton of untapped potential, potential which I feel could be realized with a G1 run. Ray Rowe, like the others on this list, is a guy who I think would absolutely thrive in the environment.

Braun Strowman: Braun Strowman has been a complete surprise in 2017; he was called up to the main roster way too soon, worked almost no NXT matches, and while he would be largely protected in the Wyatt family tags, was simply not ready. He wasn’t sure of himself, looked confused at times, and was nowhere near the monster he would develop into. Early on he looked destined to fail, but to his credit, Strowman has worked really hard and has improved at an impressive rate. Strowman managed to transform himself from a clumsy oaf to a competent performer and into a great hoss daddy of a monster. He’s gotten a chance to work against a lot of top guys, but doesn’t look as if he’s being led around all the time, which he clearly was early on. He has a great presence in the ring, good agility, great power and has become a complete joy to watch. You can’t have a hoss competition without Braun, as the former strongman competitor was made for something like this.

WALTER: WALTER is the big fucking daddy, who has really had a break out 2017, having great matches and breaking into the US. WALTER mainly works in WXW, but has also made appearances on PROGRESS, PWG, and EVOLVE. He’s been working since 2005, but thanks to the vast amount of streaming wrestling available, more fans have gotten to see the big man and get to know him more. I absolutely love watching WALTER matches, they feel so raw, real and everything has a purpose. I do not get to see enough of him, but the matches I do catch never disappoint. His agility and raw ass kicking ability would be an asset to any tournament, he is needed for any battle of the hosses, but I would absolutely love to see him get a regular G1 run as well.

Keith Lee: Keith Lee has had a great 2017 so far, really breaking out to a bigger audience. He was a guy that had impressed in tag team action and on smaller indies previously, but his jump to WWN and EVOLVE have allowed him to perform and deliver in several big time matches, including having one of the best matches of the WrestleMania weekend. Lee is a fountain of charisma, can do power moves and also flying that a man his size really shouldn’t be able to do. He’s only getting better and gaining more confidence as he continues to grow as a performer. The Japanese love big Americans, they love big Americans that can do power spots, and they also love big Americans that can do freakishly athletic things. They also love big African Americans, look at the massive success of a guy like Bob Sapp (on a mainstream star level) and Moose, to a much smaller degree. Moose, in limited appearances, got over well with both NJPW & NOAH crowds due to his size, athleticism and charisma. In my opinion, Lee is more impressive as a performer, has more charisma and does some insanely impressive things for a man his size. He’s finally getting attention after leaving ROH, signing with WWN and impressing around the indies on his solo run. His awesome math with Ishii in RevPro actually inspired this list.

Tomohiro Ishii: Everyone has their favorites, and there is always a ton of hype around some guys, but right now my absolute favorite wrestler, who makes me look forward to his matches more than anyone and who always delivers is Tomohiro Ishii. Ishii is one of the very best performers in the ring, and no matter how much he gets praised or how much I keep discussing how under appreciated he is by much of the fan base, and that continues to be the case because 99% of the talk is focused on every other top Japan guy but him, he is constantly overlooked. Ishii is one of if not the most consistent performers of the last 3-4 years, always delivering, working as an iron man with more in ring time (at age 41) than pretty much anyone on the NJPW roster, and always putting on high caliber matches. He can work on any level from opener to main event, he can believably beat any main eventer, and also put over others. Ishii is a great brawler, but also a technician when he needs to be, and in what may be the most overlooked part of his game, his selling is absolutely magnificent. But because he’s not Tanahashi, Okada, Shibata, Omega or Naito (who have all been really great for the last few years) so he has been not only overlooked, but in a way he’s almost been disrespected. The man is a fucking artist, always looking great but more importantly making everyone he works with look like a star. He thrives in the G1 format.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”