#TheChris100 2020: #50-41
50 down, let's get to the best of the best. We are truly now in the #ForearmSmash50 portion of the list
50. “The Tribal Chief” Roman
Reigns (6 ballots, 180 points, average rank 22.33333)
High Vote: Logan Kenny (5)
vs. Jey Uso (WWE, 10/25)
vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE, 11/22)
vs. Kevin Owens (WWE, 12/20)
vs. Kevin Owens (WWE, 12/22)
"The long-awaited Roman Reigns heel turn finally happened in 2020, in front of zero fans, right after he took months off because he didn't want to risk COVID-19 after his last battle with cancer. It was a big risk to make that move at that particular time, but it's seemed to work well. Since Roman finally returned, his heel run has made him fresh. His walk-and-talk-and-brawl matches are definitely divisive matches, but those who tune into wrestling for the ridiculous melodrama can't get much better than the Head of the Table. Acknowledge him, uce." ~Chris Gibbons
49. Matt Jackson (7 ballots, 188 points, average rank
24.14286)
High Vote: TH (13)
w/ Nick Jackson vs. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (AEW, 2/29)
w/ Nick Jackson vs. The Butcher & The Blade (AEW, 7/22)
w/ Kenny Omega & Nick Jackson vs. Alex Reynolds, Five & John Silver (AEW, 8/13)
w/ Nick Jackson vs. Angelico & Jack Evans (AEW, 12/3)
48. Nagisa Nozaki (5 ballots, 190 points, average rank
11.5) – HIGHEST RANKED FIVE BALLOT WRESTLER
High Vote; Dakota (1)
High Vote; Dakota (1)
vs. Miyuki Takase (Actwres girlZ, 3/15)
vs. Miyuki Takase (WAVE, 3/21)
vs. Sakura Hirota (WAVE, 9/6)
w/ Hibiki & Sareee vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Mio Momono & Yumi Ohka (WAVE, 12/18)
47. Hao (6 ballots, 192 points, average rank 19)
High Vote: Kono Fan, Sol (12)
vs. Daisuke Harada (NOAH, 7/12)
vs. Kenoh (NOAH, 7/24)
vs. Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH, 10/11)
vs. Nio (NOAH, 12/26)
High Vote: Son of Mecha Mummy (7)
w/ Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada & Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata (NJPW, 2/22)
w/ Kota Ibushi vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 8/29)
vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 9/20)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 10/17)
45. LA Park (8 ballots, 194 points, average rank 27)
High Votes: Kevin (7)
High Votes: Kevin (7)
vs. Eddie Kingston (RevPro, 2/14)
vs. Laredo Kid (AAA, 4/18)
vs. Pentagon Jr. (AAA, 4/18)
w/ Blue Demon Jr. & El Hijo de LA Park vs. Monsther Clown, Murder Clown & Psycho Clown (AAA, 12/12)
"LA Park is the kind of wrestler who won't take a booking if he's not going to get paid or if there won't be much of a crowd, so his 2020 output was significantly less than the past few years. It didn't quite have the high points either, but there's still not luchador with a better presence, nor is there a better brawler in the world. It might be an off year by Park's standards, but the handful of his matches that made tape are still well worth going out of your way to see. He was still a joy every time he was brought in by AAA or MLW." ~Chris Gibbons
44. Fuminori Abe (8 ballots, 201 points, average rank 29)
High Vote: Sol (1)
High Vote: Sol (1)
w/ Takuya Nomura vs. Akiyori Takizawa & Naoki Tanizaki (BASARA, 1/22)
w/ Isami Kodaka vs. Koji Iwamoto & TAJIRI (AJPW, 2/6)
vs. Isami Kodaka (BASARA, 7/14)
vs. Brahman Kei (BASARA, 9/29)
"Abe had a lot of matches that stood out in BJW and was one of the few people who had good matches in AJPW in an otherwise awful year for the company, but it's his work in BASARA that really stands out. Abe is one of the most gifted young technicians in Japan, and his match with Isami Kodaka was a masterclass between the two. Abe also had a fantastic singles match with a Brahman Brother, which showcases his versatility as a worker." ~Chris Gibbons
43. Asuka (WWE) [8 ballots, 204 points, average rank
26.625]
High Vote: Luke (6)
High Vote: Luke (6)
vs. Charlotte Flair (WWE, 6/8)
vs. Bayley (WWE, 7/3)
vs. Sasha Banks (WWE, 7/19)
vs. Sasha Banks (WWE, 11/22)
"Another year, another 365 days where Asuka is one of the undisputed best workers in not only WWE, but the world. The Empress of Tomorrow was WWE's perhaps best female worker both in singles matches and in her tags with Kairi Sane. As good as the Horsewomen are, they can be streaky at times as far as match quality goes (although some of that is booking-based). Even when booking hasn't favored her, Asuka hasn't really ever felt like she's dropped. She always makes the most of her opportunities, no matter the opponent. There are maybe two or three wrestlers in WWE that have been as consistent as her in the last five years." ~Chris Gibbons
42. Yuki Ishikawa (8 ballots, 208 points, average rank
28.125)
High Vote: Damian (1)
High Vote: Damian (1)
vs. Raito Shimizu (BAP, 2/11)
vs. Daisuke Ikeda (wXw, 3/7)
w/ Timothy Thatcher vs. Daisuke Ikeda & WALTER (wXw, 3/8)
w/ Junji Tanaka & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Daisuke Ikeda, Ikuto Hidaka & Mohammed Yone (NOAH, 10/18)
"Since BattlARTS closed its doors, Ishikawa blessed us with maybe one match a year against not the most exciting guys. While he was still really, really good and looked like he hadn't missed a beat, there wasn't much to see. In 2019, wXw booked him for a couple of shows against actual good talent (and Tyson Dux) and he was amazing. In 2020, with even more chances to show it, he proved he was still the best wrestler in the world, whether he was working a couple of younger guys in AJPW, a literal rookie in BAP, or his old rivals in Germany and NOAH. And he did it in ~6 matches. Just an incredible year" ~Damian
41. Hideki Suzuki (8 ballots, 219 points, average rank
23.75)
High vote: Emily Newsom (8)
w/ Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi (NOAH, 2/24)
w/ Hideki Sekine & Takashi Sugiura vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura (NOAH, 4/18)
w/ Takashi Sugiura vs. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi (NOAH, 12/1)
w/ Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Go Shiozaki & Yoshiki Inamura (NOAH, 12/29)
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