Author Topic: The 2011 A1W 100 (Read 29307 times)

TH · « **on:** March 05, 2012, 09:20:38 AM »

Welcome to the 2011 A1W 100, a crowd-sourced, fan-voted list measuring the aptitude and entertainment value of professional wrestlers between the bells only. This is the third year of the list's existence, which started out as a project at A1-Wrestling's message board. That's still nominally true, but because I've taken it over, and because I have my own blog, it has become a joint A1W-TWB promotion. Click on this link to see all of last year's proceedings. Anyway, how does one go about participating in the A1W 100? GLAD YOU ASKED:

1 – The A1W 100 is based solely on a wrestler's performance between the bells in any wrestling contest. This includes move variety, execution, workrate, selling, bumping, trash-talking and anything else that happens within the course of a wrestling match. Anything that happens in promos or segments outside the confines of a wrestling match should NOT be considered for ballot entries.

2 – Content to be considered for ballots must have taken place between 1/1/11 at 12:00:00 AM to 12/31/11 at 11:59:59 PM inclusive, i.e. within the calendar year of 2011. Consideration should also be limited to matches held in the United States and Canada, or by promotions that were based in United States and Canada only. (Read, no Mexican, European, Japanese or Australian promotions among others. It's for expediency's sake.)

3 – Ballots shall have a minimum of 25 wrestlers named in order and a maximum of 100 wrestlers named in order. Ballots between those two numbers inclusive will be accepted with no questions, as long as they are ranked in order. Ballots with 24 or fewer and unordered ballots will be thrown out. Ballots with 101 or more will be pared down to 100.

4 – There is no eligibility for submission of a ballot. As long as the submitter likes and has watched wrestling in 2011, they're allowed to submit.

5 – Ballots can be sent to me, TH, via any means necessary, either through e-mail (tom DOT holzerman AT gmail DOT com), Facebook messages, A1-W private message, written letter (for those who know my address), Twitter DM (although that would be quite the waste of bandwidth!) or any other ways of private contact.

6 – The due date for ballots shall be Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 11:59:59 PM local time. (Read, if I have the ballot Monday morning, then it's good).

7 – The final list will be disseminated via slow release on TWB and A1-W simultaneously with blurbs written by ballot submitters. If you are interested in writing for the release, please let me know with your ballot.

8 – All ballots are subject to scrutiny by me, TH.

Please do not hesitate to submit a ballot this year. Do not think you have to meet any "standards" or need to watch wrestling a certain way. As long as you submit a ballot based on how much you enjoy matches, then it's fine. The goal of this list isn't so much to tabulate a ranking for wrestling/wrestlers/"workrate" as much as it is to find a composite of what different fans look for in different matches and to spark discussion on what makes a match "good" among the message board/Twitter/Tumblr/Facebook community. With that in mind, have at it!

The Big Don · « **Reply #1 on:** March 05, 2012, 06:00:31 PM »

If anyone cares enough I can direct people to non-super indy, non-WWE guys that may be worth watching.

TH · « **Reply #2 on:** March 06, 2012, 07:38:05 AM »

One ballot in besides my own, which I will probably end up revising once I get my hands on that ACW DVD that's on its way here. Who's going to work on a ballot this year?

stratknight · « **Reply #3 on:** March 06, 2012, 11:46:07 AM »

This gives me something to do at work the rest of this week. So yeah, I'm in.

TH · « **Reply #4 on:** March 07, 2012, 07:54:40 AM »

Two days in, and I have 4 ballots including my own. Good start, but I would've liked a few more by now. Either today or tomorrow, I'll start with the e-mail and PM campaign to get votes. I AM PERSISTENT.

The Big Don · « **Reply #5 on:** March 08, 2012, 03:35:18 PM »

Getting to a hundred is going to be really tough. I scrawled out a list of guys that seemed at least semi-deserving today at work. I was trying to be as liberal as possible and could only come up with 88 names.

TH · « **Reply #6 on:** March 08, 2012, 03:50:05 PM »

Quote from: The Big Don on March 08, 2012, 03:35:18 PM

Getting to a hundred is going to be really tough. I scrawled out a list of guys that seemed at least semi-deserving today at work. I was trying to be as liberal as possible and could only come up with 88 names.

88 is still between 25 and 100

Niall · « **Reply #7 on:** March 08, 2012, 04:14:04 PM »

I've sent you a Top 50, for WWE, TNA and ROH

Chus-Kay · « **Reply #8 on:** March 08, 2012, 08:08:51 PM »

i can give you my list right now:

1. cm punk
2. daniel bryan

TH · « **Reply #9 on:** March 10, 2012, 09:57:12 AM »

The A1W 100 is progressing nicely as of right now. I have nine ballots collected, which is a little fewer than I would've liked by now. However, I love the diversity in ballot and all the different opinions coming in. Here are some hints and tips for those who are looking to submit a ballot in the next week or so though:

If you want to list a tag team, it's important that you list the individual members and NOT the unit. So, if you want to include the Briscoes, then list Mark and Jay as separate entries on your list, not "The Briscoes" as one entry.
There is no preferred way to send in a ballot. My e-mail (tom DOT holzerman AT gmail DOT com) is the simplest way, but again, Facebook, A1W PM, Twitter DM, Tumblr DM or any other way are fine too.

Some clarification on wrestler eligibility: All WWE/TNA performances are eligible, whether they happened in the States/Canada or not. They're both companies based in America, so they count. ALSO, while NJPW matches that happened in Japan do NOT count towards eligibility, I have no problems with people who include their wrestlers on their ballots based on seeing them during their American tour last May.

Most of all, don't feel like there's a right or wrong answer with your order. If you think Kane was the best in-ring guy from 2011, then hey, vote him #1 on your ballot. If you thought everything in WWE sucked and just want to rank indie guys, go ahead. The inverse of that is true too. Remember, this is more a thing to drive discussion and to collect opinions from all over the Internet rather than finding a definitive consensus of who the best in-ring guy/gal was in 2011 (although that is one of the minor reasons for assembly)

Remember though, the deadline is next Sunday, so you still have a week to get your ballot in. Don't slack though. Get your ballot in ASAP.

SupTool · « **Reply #10 on:** March 10, 2012, 11:33:41 AM »

I will try to have it done by the end of this weekend. I have a list of 25, just gotta get them ranked.

The Big Don · « **Reply #11 on:** March 10, 2012, 03:25:38 PM »

I'm gonna troll Musgrave and my brother into submitting ballots.

stratknight · « **Reply #12 on:** March 12, 2012, 07:55:14 AM »

I'm still in. Just had a busy weekend. Should have it submitted in the next few days.

FATSEXY · « **Reply #13 on:** March 12, 2012, 02:36:12 PM »

I think your first rule is ridiculous. All that counts is how they perform in the matches? Who gives a shit? Aren't you the same guy who argues that the ability to be a good actor is almost as important as the ability to pro rassle? But we're gonna throw that shit out the window when ranking a Top 100?

Cena isn't very good based on his in ring work, but as a total package, he's the biggest star in the wrestling world. Your system is ridiculous.

TH · « **Reply #14 on:** March 12, 2012, 03:30:29 PM »

Quote from: FATSEXY on March 12, 2012, 02:36:12 PM

I think your first rule is ridiculous. All that counts is how they perform in the matches? Who gives a shit? Aren't you the same guy who argues that the ability to be a good actor is almost as important as the ability to pro rassle? But we're gonna throw that shit out the window when ranking a Top 100?

Cena isn't very good based on his in ring work, but as a total package, he's the biggest star in the wrestling world. Your system is ridiculous.

then don't participate

Zandrax · « **Reply #15 on:** March 12, 2012, 03:34:45 PM »

"Good Ring Work" is subjective.

Chus-Kay · « **Reply #16 on:** March 12, 2012, 04:57:39 PM »

Quote from: FATSEXY on March 12, 2012, 02:36:12 PM

I think your first rule is ridiculous. All that counts is how they perform in the matches? Who gives a shit? Aren't you the same guy who argues that the ability to be a good actor is almost as important as the ability to pro rassle? But we're gonna throw that shit out the window when ranking a Top 100?

Cena isn't very good based on his in ring work, but as a total package, he's the biggest star in the wrestling world. Your system is ridiculous.

disagree.

FATSEXY · « **Reply #17 on:** March 12, 2012, 05:04:00 PM »

Quote from: Chus-Kay on March 12, 2012, 04:57:39 PM

disagree.

Well, I'm trying to be objective. I love the bastard because he Picks People Up.

But, if you strip away everything and just look at his bell to bell talent... he's good at what he does, but I don't see how you could put him in the top 40 or so (and that's a random estimation I pulled out of nowhere).

Do you see what I'm saying? Bell to bell, he's sub top forty, total package, he's a top five guy easily.

Chus-Kay · « **Reply #18 on:** March 12, 2012, 05:07:15 PM »

Quote from: FATSEXY on March 12, 2012, 05:04:00 PM

Well, I'm trying to be objective. I love the bastard because he Picks People Up.

But, if you strip away everything and just look at his bell to bell talent... he's good at what he does, but I don't see how you could put him in the top 40 or so (and that's a random estimation I pulled out of nowhere).

Do you see what I'm saying? Bell to bell, he's sub top forty, total package, he's a top five guy easily.

depends on how many wrestlers you've seen wrestle in 2011 and how good those other wrestlers are.

anyway, i actually think he is in top 20 of wwe and tna talent (purely off the top of my head).

The Big Don · « **Reply #19 on:** March 12, 2012, 05:53:27 PM »

Quote from: FATSEXY on March 12, 2012, 05:04:00 PM

Well, I'm trying to be objective. I love the bastard because he Picks People Up.

But, if you strip away everything and just look at his bell to bell talent... he's good at what he does, but I don't see how you could put him in the top 40 or so (and that's a random estimation I pulled out of nowhere).

Do you see what I'm saying? Bell to bell, he's sub top forty, total package, he's a top five guy easily.

There aren't forty guys in the U.S. better than Cena in the ring. Not even fucking close

Niall · « **Reply #20 on:** March 12, 2012, 07:52:32 PM »

The John Cena argument is overplayed now.

It's about as silly to argue that John Cena sucks as a "wrestler" as it is to argue the same about Mick Foley, Dino Bravo or Sgt Slaughter, for example. None of them are students of the game in terms of grappling, chain wrestling or showing great agility and you'd never have any of them down as ring generals, but then they aren't in the spotlight as a result of their "wrestling".

Cena's main attraction is his charisma. The big difference between a muscle bound brawler like John Cena and an equally physically capable dude like, for example, The Barbarian, is that Cena can bring character and charisma to his "bell to bell" performance, where other "power" guys can't. Point being, he can "work" the crowd with ease and is pretty damn good at it. What he lacks in agility, know-how and gracefulness, he makes up for by drawing on people's emotions.

It does grate on me a little that Cena has been surrounded by the best road agents available like Malenko, Regal and Finlay for the most part of his career and hasn't managed to develop into a guy who should be able to have good matches with anyone with the gloss taken away, but then not everyone is a natural "out of the box" like Kurt Angle or Dolph Ziggler.

Chus-Kay · « **Reply #21 on:** March 12, 2012, 09:27:31 PM »

Quote from: Niall on March 12, 2012, 07:52:32 PM

The John Cena argument is overplayed now.

It's about as silly to argue that John Cena sucks as a "wrestler" as it is to argue the same about Mick Foley, Dino Bravo or Sgt Slaughter, for example. None of them are students of the game in terms of grappling, chain wrestling or showing great agility and you'd never have any of them down as ring generals, but then they aren't in the spotlight as a result of their "wrestling".

Cena's main attraction is his charisma. The big difference between a muscle bound brawler like John Cena and an equally physically capable dude like, for example, The Barbarian, is that Cena can bring character and charisma to his "bell to bell" performance, where other "power" guys can't. Point being, he can "work" the crowd with ease and is pretty damn good at it. What he lacks in agility, know-how and gracefulness, he makes up for by drawing on people's emotions.

It does grate on me a little that Cena has been surrounded by the best road agents available like Malenko, Regal and Finlay for the most part of his career and hasn't managed to develop into a guy who should be able to have good matches with anyone with the gloss taken away, but then not everyone is a natural "out of the box" like Kurt Angle or Dolph Ziggler.

it's a lot more than working the crowd. he knows how to work a match. he sells well - meaning he can get his moves over and his opponents.

i can only remember one bad match from cena last year and that was the WM match with miz. and i'd bet that he got at least a minor concussion during that match (he hit his head very early on and wasn't the same afterward).

Niall · « **Reply #22 on:** March 12, 2012, 09:30:50 PM »

Quote from: Chus-Kay on March 12, 2012, 09:27:31 PM

it's a lot more than working the crowd. he knows how to work a match. he sells well - meaning he can get his moves over and his opponents.

i can only remember one bad match from cena last year and that was the WM match with miz. and i'd bet that he got at least a minor concussion during that match (he hit his head very early on and wasn't the same afterward).

Meh. It's sort of a moot point. I don't really disagree. He might know how to work a match, but it doesn't necessarily mean there aren't 30, 40, 50 other people wrestling in the US who are better than him at doing THAT part of it. He isn't a bad wrestler, he just isn't good either. Other people can sell, make their opponents' offence look good etc etc, but there's stuff Cena does that IS better than anyone else, and it's largely his persona and how he carries himself. The physicality of his work is very much secondary and isn't really what you would call "noteworthy".

Havok816 · « **Reply #23 on:** March 13, 2012, 12:28:46 PM »

I get the feeling that most people saying Cena can't wrestle are the same ones that think the Eddie/Benoit/Angle "workrate" style was the best thing ever.

Chus-Kay · « **Reply #24 on:** March 13, 2012, 12:37:45 PM »

i don't think it's a stretch to say peak benoit and eddie were better than peak cena (certainly better than 2011 cena). not so sure about peak angle (as far as being better than peak cena).

if flippy moves and workrate are more important to you in determining the better wrestler, more power to you. i just don't put that much emphasis on it. selling, pulling a move off correctly, story/drama are far more important to me. i would much rather watch UT vs HHH from WM than any of the flippy/workrate matches in TNA.