#TheChris100 2020: #60-51
50 down, 50 to go!
60. Daisuke Ikeda (7 ballots, 156 points, average rank
29.57143)
High Vote: Damian (5)
vs. Yuki Ishikawa (wXw, 3/7)
w/ WALTER vs. Timothy Thatcher & Yuki Ishikawa (wXw, 3/8)
w/ Ikuto Hidaka & Mohammed Yone vs. Junji Tanaka, Naomichi Marufui & Yuki Ishikawa (NOAH, 10/18)
"He only had four matches that made tape in 2020 and he was phenomenal in all of them. The Ishikawa match was an updated version of their matches, taking into account in which point of their careers they are. He was arguably the best part of Yone's anniversary tag and generally every time he hit the ring he looked like a star." ~Damian
59. Big Ovett (5 ballots, 158 points, average rank 19.4)
High Vote: Chris Gibbons, Kevin (10)
w/ Big Chico Che & Big Mike vs. Carta Brava Jr., Cerebro Negro & El Fantasma de la Opera (Lucha Libre Boom, 2/2)
w/ Big Chico Che & Big Mike vs. Capo del Norte, Demonio Infernal & X-Fly (IWRG, 3/1)
w/ Big Chico Che vs. Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr. (IWRG, 9/13)
vs. Dement Extreme vs. Epitafio vs. Fulgor II vs. Halloween vs. Leviatham (Zona 23, 9/20)
"Chico Che might have often been the most consistent worker in Los Strippers Big's tag, but what sets Ovett's year above his was his reliability as a singles worker. Ovett was one of the biggest and best stars on Zona 23's various secret shows in weird locales, and his blend of brutal violence and stripper gimmick comedy was always welcome. No matter how bloodied and beaten he got in the ring, Ovett always had a spark of joy in him that made you smile. Unfortunately, he passed from COVID-19 in February, and that spark will be sorely missed in lucha libre." ~Chris Gibbons
58. Demus (5 ballots, 159 points, average rank 24.6)
High Vote: Luke (1)
High Vote: Luke (1)
w/ Akuma, Ciclope & Miedo Extremo vs. Corsario Negro Jr., Demonio Infernal, Drako & Fresero Jr. (Lucha Strong, 2/15)
vs. Fly Star (ANLLEL, 2/29)
vs. Impulso (Zona 23, 9/8)
vs. El Hijo de Fishman vs. Romano Garcia vs. Wotan (Promociones Bello, 11/14)
"Current Demus is great at three things: 1. Hitting people very hard, 2. Throwing stuff (chairs, beers, coolers) at said people, and 3. Bleeding. Those things make him one of the best wrestlers in the world, having awesome brawls all over Mexico and the DF. You know exactly what you're getting with him, and he never disappoints." ~Damian
57. Zack Sabre Jr. (5 ballots, 161 points, average rank
18.8)
High Vote: MikeyCC (10)
w/ Taichi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 7/12)
vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 9/24)
vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW, 10/17)
w/ DOUKI & Taichi vs. Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI (NJPW, 10/23)
"I'm not the biggest Shin Nihon Freak out there, but I think Zack Sabre Jr. has really found his niche in New Japan at this point. He got maybe my favorite Ibushi and Tanahashi performances out of them, and his tag work with Taichi as the Dangerous Tekkers was consistently entertaining. ZSJ is almost always a refreshing change-of-pace opponent for the main eventers and midcarders in New Japan." ~Chris Gibbons
56. Maya Yukihi (5 ballots, 161 points, average rank 19)
High Vote: Dakota (8)
High Vote: Dakota (8)
vs. Suzu Suzuki (Ice Ribbon, 8/9)
vs. Andras Miyagi vs. HIRO’e (WAVE, 9/6)
vs. Risa Sera (Ice Ribbon, 10/31)
vs. Matsuya Uno (Ice Ribbon, 11/29)
55. Darby Allin (7 ballots, 162 points, average rank 27.85714)
High Vote: Damian (12)
High Vote: Damian (12)
vs. PAC (AEW, 1/15)
vs. Sammy Guevara (AEW, 2/29)
vs. Jon Moxley (AEW, 7/30)
vs. Cody (AEW, 11/7)
54. Drew Gulak (6 ballots, 172 points, average rank 23.66667)
High Vote: Damian (4)
High Vote: Damian (4)
w/ Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE, 3/20)
vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE, 5/15)
vs. AJ Styles (WWE, 7/3)
vs. Gran Metalik vs. Lince Dorado vs. Shorty G (WWE, 7/21)
"WWE tried a lot of weird shit and pushed a lot of wrestlers they probably otherwise wouldn't in 2020 even before the pandemic, and a lot of those fizzled out. The big exception is the brief Drew Gulak push from the spring. WWE just suddenly allowed one of their best technicians to actually have great technical matches with other great wrestlers, and it was a ton of fun. Gulak's work with Daniel Bryan was absolutely fantastic. Gulak might be banished to Main Event once again, but his short-lived stint as a major TV wrestler was thrilling to see." ~Chris Gibbons
53. ASUKA/VENY (6 ballots, 175 points, average rank
21.83333)
High Vote: Dakota (9)
High Vote: Dakota (9)
vs. Arisa Nakajima (SEAdLINNNG, 6/13)
vs. HIRO’e (WAVE, 9/6)
vs. Ayako Sato (Diana, 10/11)
vs. Shota (DDT, 12/26)
"At only 22 years old, ASUKA has quickly become one of the most reliable hands in joshi wrestling over the past few years. In 2020, she had quality output all over the place. You name it: SEAdLINNNG, Diana, Marvelous, WAVE, OZ Academy, YMZ, even Gatoh Move. She's also one of the few wrestlers out there that makes me want to check out some otherwise dire modern DDT cards. ASUKA is a capital-s Star, and 2020 seems like it was just a jumping off point. Three months into 2021, she's already worked 25 matches for 9 different promotions, including AEW. I fully expect her to be much higher on this list next year." ~Chris Gibbons
52. Kazuchika Okada (5 ballots, 176 points, average rank 17)
High Vote: Brandon from Maine (6)
High Vote: Brandon from Maine (6)
vs. Taichi (NJPW, 2/2)
w/ Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi
Kojima & Yuji Nagata (NJPW, 2/22)
vs. Shingo Takagi (NJPW, 10/10)
vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 10/13)
51. Nick Jackson (6 ballots, 178 points, average rank
21.33333)
High Vote: TH (12)
High Vote: TH (12)
w/ Matt Jackson vs. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (AEW, 2/29)
w/ Matt Jackson vs. The Butcher & The Blade (AEW, 7/22)
w/ Kenny Omega & Matt Jackson vs. Alex Reynolds, Five & John Silver (AEW, 8/13)
w/ Matt Jackson vs. Angelico & Jack Evans (AEW, 12/3)
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