jml
Junior Member
Posts: 56
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Post by jml on Sept 27, 2017 3:25:42 GMT -5
He's still not a personal favorite of mine but he's impressed the hell out of me this year.
His ability to go into hyperdrive in matches is second to none and he's become one of the best guys in terms of a finishing stretch.
His matches with Okada (three times), Ishii (three times), Naito, Juice (twice), Elgin (twice) make him a high contender for a top spot. He has some stinkers like the Suzuki match and there's some things that he does that still bother me but he's proven in ring to be one of the best in the world this year.
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Post by armsofsleep on Sept 27, 2017 7:36:10 GMT -5
Supremely frustrating guy to rank on this list. Thought he really shined in the first Okada match, I really enjoyed his run on the US shows, and I figured heading into the G1 he would solidify himself as a real number one contender. His G1 only made it worse though. I hated the Suzuki match, and was really let down with the Elgin match as well. And then as soon as I'm ready to write him off, he does really well in elevating EVIL and Juice, has an insanely fun 25 minute sprint with Okada, and has a top 5 NJPW MOTYC with the Naito match. I think the high end stuff makes gets him into my top 30, but I'm not sure how to rank him beyond that. Could be anywhere from top 12 to the very tail end of that.
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Michael
Full Member
Posts: 249
Pronoun: He/Him
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Post by Michael on Sept 27, 2017 8:51:43 GMT -5
In what will actually be a shock to a number of people, he's currently sitting at #3 on my list. Way higher than the 80s in which he placed for me on last year's list.
I thought the Okada series was real good with the blowoff being the best of the three matches for me. Loved the Elgin match in Long Beach. I'm probably way higher on the Suzuki match and way lower on the G1 Finals match than most of you. Just how things work out, I guess.
I actually love "serious, pro wrestler" Kenny Omega but absolutely despise "comedy, Cleaner" Kenny Omega. He's gotten more serious this year and has finally become the performer most folks tried to say he was last year.
He's sloppy but there's a certain charm to it. And he's does some ridiculous stuff.
I've still got a bunch of NJPW to catch up on via the AXS TV on my DVR. Good chance he at least finishes top 5 by the end of the year for me.
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Post by jrn on Sept 27, 2017 9:42:35 GMT -5
I've gone in 3 stages on Omega this year. The first was after the Dome match with Okada, which I was a low man on, but I found his performance to be amazing. Then after the Dominion match with Okada I soured. He had basically been working the same match over and over but they were getting worse. Then he swung me back around with the Elgin match in Long Beach, the Okada G1 match, and the Naito G1 match. He's definitely in my Top 10 and probably somewhere in the Top 5. Sometimes I think he's just too matter over mind, but he's an athletic talent unlike anything I've ever seen.
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Post by Charles on Sept 27, 2017 13:01:25 GMT -5
Got him in my top 5 but 4-5 instead of top 3
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Post by onorub on Sept 27, 2017 14:21:36 GMT -5
2nd favorite of the year and my in-ring performer of the year.
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Post by bossrock on Sept 27, 2017 14:53:37 GMT -5
Omega is actually my number 1 right now and it is very likely he remains there. As bloated as the first two Okada matches were, the trilogy was still arguably the best in-ring feud this year. Add in the almost as excellent trilogy with Ishii, a great run in the U.S Heavyweight Championship tourney (putting on a pretty good match with Jay Lethal of all people!), good to great matches in the G1 (Suzuki, Elgin, Juice, Evil), the excellent title defense against Juice, and a strong match of the year candidate with Naito, you have perhaps the best resume of any wrestler this year. Oh, and cutting the groan-inducing comedy has been a huge plus.
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gagnewest
New Member
Posts: 41
Pronoun: He/Him
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Post by gagnewest on Sept 28, 2017 12:50:02 GMT -5
Have to admit that he's one of the best in the world at giving a crowd what they want, even if that happens to be orthogonal to what I want out of wrestling. The ******1/4 match is the textbook example of this — there are maybe one or two other wrestlers in the world that could have done what he did over the first 45 minutes. By now I expect body part selling to be blown off in NJPW epic main events, and I've become forgiving enough of it that I was really getting into it, to the point that I might have been within a star and a half of Meltzer's rating when he hit the OWA. And then... just a bunch of meaninglessness that dissipated the goodwill I'd built up by actively wasting my time. And yet Osaka loved it. If I'm feeling fair-minded at the moment I submit my list, I'll have Kenny top ten; if I'm feeling unfair, I'll leave him out entirely like I did last year. It's up to Kenny whether he believes me when I claim to be fair more often than not.
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