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Best In The World


The Hitman

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I was going to bring up Jericho in the random thoughts thread. EHe's one of those guys that I've people list a great but has never really had that much of an impact on me. He's alright, reminds me of RVD mostly. He's not great in the ring, I can't really think of many stand out matches from him (vs. HBK excluded), and he can be fun on the stick. That's pretty much my summing up of Jericho. Maybe I'm missing something with him. As for the notion of it being indy guys, eh. This is probably a contentious view but I struggle to accept a case for guys as the best unless they've wrestled for a big promotion. Unless you've wrestled for a WWE, or a NJPW or a CMLL and you've been put in a high pressure situation I struggle to accept that you've proven yourself as being one of the best, because so many wrestlers are perceived as that and then choke when they get put in such a situation. That's unfair in a way, since you might not get that opportunity but be good, but that's kinda how I feel. I don't watch WWE or Japan so I doubt I'm anywhere near capable of answering this question.

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From WWE, the main candidate does seem to by Bryan, who took the time to hone his skills around the world, and is now showing himself to be hugely adaptable to different scenarios in WWE. He manages to overcome his physical limitations (stature, white as a sheet) by real skill and craft.

 

Outside, I'd have to plug my boy Bobby Roode.

 

He's one of the few non-WWE wrestlers that could imagine slotting straight into the WWE main event and looking like he belonged. But he's equally brilliant in tag teams, and he can seamlessly switch up to work with a cruiserweight style when he's matched up with a high flier. He showed he will be an incredible face, and had a strong run as a heel champ. He's smooth in the ring, does great promos, carries himself like a star, and has one of the best wrestling physiques out there right now. He's been heavyweight champ, been tag champ and is on tv every week and he stil feels underutilized.

 

People often complain about the blandness of trunks 'n' boots as a look, but when Bobby walks down the ramp he looks the part. He really does have the "it" factor.

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He had a window of opportunity in March when TNA forgot to roll his contract forward. He should have made the jump. I think that was his last chance. He's 36 now and WWE's developmental league is getting more stacked by the month. I love Bobby Roode, but he's never going to be anything in TNA. He's done everything you can do there. The time was right for him to make the step up.

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I agree with that Ian and was just thinking it the other day watching Impact. I can't see him ever doing much of note in TNA anytime soon. I wonder if he regrets it. It was perfect timing. Considering his look and who's high on him, his age he may well have been in Curtis Axels position right now. Imagine that.Oh, yeah it's most certainly Danny Bry.

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I didn't think of it like that. Imagine how great that would have been? Bobby Roode managed by Paul Heyman and feuding with Triple H would have been so brilliant.Thing with Roode is, he'd only need to be in developmental for a bit to get his timing right with the new ring. His fundamentals are excellent and he isn't reliant on spots. He might have been called up by now, if he'd have signed in late February.

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I quite like him, don't get me wrong, but I don't get 'it' with Roode. Forgettable look, unremarkable body, fairly bland on the stick, solid but unspectacular in ring. Cutis Axel's an interesting comparison. He could do well in that role in WWE and he'd carry himself better on the stick even though I find his promos boring. Axel is much better in the ring, for me, though. I've never seen him as a babyface so maybe I'd enjoy him more like that. The robe and the music are the best things about him.

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The funny thing about the argument about Jericho as "Best in the World"- and I should preface this by saying that him and Brock Lesnar are my two of my favourite wrestlers ever, if not the top- is that the argument he used on Raw regarding CM Punk applies to him. He can't be considered the best when he's off every few weeks touring with Fozzy. He's turning up, putting in some great shifts, and has a very impressive resume and back catalog of matches. There's guys like Bryan on the roster- and as I went searching for more examples of versatile performers in WWE, I couldn't, Bryan is it. Everything Jericho could/can do, and why I considered him the best in 2008/09 is being eclipsed by Bryan's work right now.Jericho is also selfless to a fault. You'd never catch Shawn Michaels or Steve Austin laying down for Fandango.Talent-wise, Jericho was right up the top, still is in some ways, but he lacks the application with his outside interests. Daniel Bryan personifies application to professional wrestling, by making sure he's fucking excellent at everything.One thing I will say though is that I don't like Daniel Bryan is *that* likable as a character. He's a great face when wrestling, but I find it hard to root for the insecure little angry man. I kind of wish Kane would just slap him down in those skits sometimes, funny as they can be.

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I agree with that Ian and was just thinking it the other day watching Impact. I can't see him ever doing much of note in TNA anytime soon. I wonder if he regrets it. It was perfect timing. Considering his look and who's high on him, his age he may well have been in Curtis Axels position right now. Imagine that.

I reckon you chaps are probably right. I'm assuming he negotiated a hefty pay rise, meaning that he's sorted for life now, but I do think he's missed his window. You have to think he was also promised another title run but don't all wrestlers want to at least try and make it in WWE?Mind you, the WWE do still bring in older guys periodically, so if it was just a 1 or 2 year extension, I can see HHH bringing in a 38-40 year old Roode. He's only had 1 injury that I can remember, so he's a solid hand.
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Jericho is also selfless to a fault. You'd never catch Shawn Michaels or Steve Austin laying down for Fandango.

He isn't as big a star as Austin. That's not being selfless, that's knowing your place.
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I'm assuming he negotiated a hefty pay rise, meaning that he's sorted for life now

All they did was roll his deal over. He signed five years and this was the third or fourth, and he was free to leave because Bruce Prichard didn't realise one half of their tag team champions needed to sign his roll over contract. Roode says there was interest from WWE as well. But he's content with his $100,000-odd a year. I get why. WWE can be a lot of work with little reward. When you are a AJ Styles or Bobby Roode (who are two big to be small and to small to be big in TNA), you dont want to rock the boat by going on the road full time and ending up like Chris Harris. They are already making a decent living, so you can understand it totally. They have Sting's 1993 mentality. But its still a shame he's so far in the comfort zone that he's happy to keep going at the same level until he jacks it in.Chris Harris and Monty Brown have really put the willies up any home grown TNA wrestler wanting to leave.
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Its tough because it depends what your idea of what a pro wrestlers job is. In my view the only job of a pro wrestler is to make as much money as possible for the company he works for. If thats by having great matches then brilliant. If thats by talking folks into the arenas then awesome. It doesn't matter how he does it. Therefor my pick is obviously John Cena. As much as i don't enjoy the character, its hard to argue with the numbers. As the only full time wrestler that makes a difference in the largest company in the world then it has to be him.On a personal level, my favourite performer (since Edge retired) has been Bryan. So cant knock people's choice of him really. Right now though, for me, its impossible to say he's the best in the world as he hasn't had any significant impact on business like a John Cena or a Tanahashi. Hopefully thats about to change.

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