1 thought on “The Late Night Grin #99: Revealing the Fleet 50”
I was a first time ballot submitter this year, really enjoyed the excuse to go back and watch some old matches while sorting out my list. Overall I think my ballot resembled the results reasonably closely — I had eight of the top ten in my own top ten, with the other two in my top 15. Some thoughts about where I did differ:
I thought a top-five ranking for Eddie Kingston was very generous — I don't think any of his matches reached the level of Ospreay/Omega, Swerve/Hangman (especially the second match), or Danielson/MJF. I think he is being given some credit for the impeccable booking of the continental classic. Given Eddie's relatively limited body of work I had him 12th, and don't see myself being convinced to move him into the top 10.
Similarly but the opposite direction, I think the exclusion of MJF is penalizing his in-ring work on the basis of questionable storyline work. I spent some time before submitting my ballot wondering if 5th was too harsh given how many excellent matches he had (vs Danielson, vs Takeshita, vs Omega, vs Cole 1&2 [I actually thought the TV match was the better of the two], 4 pillars match). I don't see the argument for leaving him out of the top 10.
I had Mark Briscoe at 45, which in retrospect was probably a bit harsh, but I'm not sure I'll remember any of his matches this year except maybe the RUSH continental classic match.
I was the higher marker on Adam Cole (#19). In retrospect I'd probably drop him to the 25-30 range, but I enjoyed the MJF matches enough to keep him in the middle section of my ballot.
Some other thoughts:
I didn't have any women ranked higher than #37 largely on a lack of opportunity. There are a half a dozen that I think should be able to challenge for the top twenty if not higher on talent. But I'm pretty sure there wasn't a single women's PPV match longer than 15 minutes.
Strong agreement that they need to separate the Acclaimed from Billy Gunn (at least in ring). I will still be talking about how dropping the titles to the Gunns was a mistake on my deathbed.
Love Mox, but he does lack a bit of the ability to elevate an opponent the way Danielson and Omega do. Put him with someone else who has the capacity to kick a match into Gear 6 and Mox will rise with them (Hangman at Revolution for example), but he does need help to get there.
IMO Hangman page was the most underutilized wrestler in the company last year. If anyone of the younger generation could challenge Danielson for the #1 spot in 2024, Hangman is the guy.
I was a first time ballot submitter this year, really enjoyed the excuse to go back and watch some old matches while sorting out my list. Overall I think my ballot resembled the results reasonably closely — I had eight of the top ten in my own top ten, with the other two in my top 15. Some thoughts about where I did differ:
I thought a top-five ranking for Eddie Kingston was very generous — I don't think any of his matches reached the level of Ospreay/Omega, Swerve/Hangman (especially the second match), or Danielson/MJF. I think he is being given some credit for the impeccable booking of the continental classic. Given Eddie's relatively limited body of work I had him 12th, and don't see myself being convinced to move him into the top 10.
Similarly but the opposite direction, I think the exclusion of MJF is penalizing his in-ring work on the basis of questionable storyline work. I spent some time before submitting my ballot wondering if 5th was too harsh given how many excellent matches he had (vs Danielson, vs Takeshita, vs Omega, vs Cole 1&2 [I actually thought the TV match was the better of the two], 4 pillars match). I don't see the argument for leaving him out of the top 10.
I had Mark Briscoe at 45, which in retrospect was probably a bit harsh, but I'm not sure I'll remember any of his matches this year except maybe the RUSH continental classic match.
I was the higher marker on Adam Cole (#19). In retrospect I'd probably drop him to the 25-30 range, but I enjoyed the MJF matches enough to keep him in the middle section of my ballot.
Some other thoughts:
I didn't have any women ranked higher than #37 largely on a lack of opportunity. There are a half a dozen that I think should be able to challenge for the top twenty if not higher on talent. But I'm pretty sure there wasn't a single women's PPV match longer than 15 minutes.
Strong agreement that they need to separate the Acclaimed from Billy Gunn (at least in ring). I will still be talking about how dropping the titles to the Gunns was a mistake on my deathbed.
Love Mox, but he does lack a bit of the ability to elevate an opponent the way Danielson and Omega do. Put him with someone else who has the capacity to kick a match into Gear 6 and Mox will rise with them (Hangman at Revolution for example), but he does need help to get there.
IMO Hangman page was the most underutilized wrestler in the company last year. If anyone of the younger generation could challenge Danielson for the #1 spot in 2024, Hangman is the guy.