An introduction to the G.O.A.T. 100

So, I had this really good idea four years ago.

I was hating work. I was coming home miserable and spending my evenings binge watching the Matt McMuscles YouTube channel. So I needed to do something to break the monotonous cycle that was going on, so I asked myself this question:

Who are the Greatest 100 Wrestlers of All Time? – IF I actually used some metrics instead of just vibes.

Look, I didn’t say it was an idea that would have me hold on to any sanity.

So for the last four years, I have watched 60 years of wrestling, gone onto the Cagematch website so often that it is in my Top 5 most-accessed sites along with…. (actually I shouldn’t finish that sentence) ... and I logged so many statistics into notebooks and into spreadsheets that Brad Pitt wants to hire me to run the Oakland Athletics or whatever they are called now.

So what did I learn? 

Nothing, to be honest, but that isn’t the point. What I hope this G.O.A.T. 100 project does is to shine a light on great wrestling from the past and onto great wrestlers that are revered, but put the spotlight on those legends without sounding like one of those “it was better in my day” wankers.

Hopefully, I can explain why wrestlers like Terry Funk are so beloved, why Kenny Omega is one of the greatest of all time despite being such a relatively late bloomer, and also introduce you to some names that you might not have heard of and some venues that legends of the game have wrestled in that now have a Primark in its place.

(Ok, I learnt that the Primark in Oxford Street was once a music hall that held World Title matches back in the 1900s. I mean, that piece of trivia really impressed my friend from Swindon.)

How am I going to separate 6th from 7th and so on, you ask?

I have come up with over 50 pieces of criteria that  help with that, including the following:

My personal annual awards in Wrestler, Match, Feud, Babyface, Heel, Best In-ring, Tag Team, Best Promo, Continent MVPs, Best Technical, Flying and Brawler categories going back several decades.

My personal favorites for each year going back several decades in several categories, including:

My worldwide overall picks in the categories: Wrestler, Match, Feud, Babyface, Heel, Best In-ring, Tag Team, Best Promo, Continent MVPs, Best Technical, Flying and Brawler categories 

And my promotion-based choices for WOTY, MOTY, as well as Feud, Babyface, and Heel of the Year for individual promotions such as WWE, NJPW, AJPW, Pro Wrestling NOAH and AEW (I don't leave out TNA and ROH I promise.)

The Wrestling Observer Awards and Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame results

Match ratings, such as : Cagematch Ratings, Dave Meltzer Star Ratings, and my personal Star Ratings

Business indicators, like: Box office statistics, PPV Buyrates, and main event slots at stadium shows

Historian lists and historian match ratings

Vibes

And much more!

As we go on you will read lingo that might confuse you. If you read the term “notebook match” it means a match over 4 stars. I will also use the term Criterion Collection Matches for matches that are 4.5 stars+ and yes I have a list of 5 star matches (and nothing over 5 – Do I need to do the more-than-5-stars rant again?)

Sometimes I will end up using jargon or insider terms. I've been watching wrestling since 1991 – I'm pretty sure that puts me in the “know-it-all” category, but I'll do my best to keep it accessible to noobs.

Also, anyone that has read my writings in the past knows I like a joke or two in my writing and sometimes my jokes can have an “oomph” quality to them. I don't mean to be a dick with my humour and usually are aimed at people that deserve contempt ( just wait til the CM Punk and Triple H entries!) but I promise that I will stay under 3.5 “JD Vance is a douche” mentions in this project.

For the next 300-odd days, we will count down from 100 to No.1 with a new reveal twice a week (usually Monday and Thursday) Yes, you will disagree on some. PunkAnon is going to hate my placement of CM Punk. Some people will be bewildered by my placement of WWF/E wrestlers, and some will think I’ve placed some pre-war wrestlers too high, and some will think I’m way too nice on the modern day wrestlers, (just wait til the Will Ospreay entry!) but at the end of the day, it’s an opinion and if you’ll learn a multitude of things from this project, the most important one is: that I’m right.

But just because my opinion is the right one doesn’t mean that I don't have regrets. Too few black wrestlers and too few women wrestlers are in this list. Unfortunately, wrestling and diversity were not bedfellows thanks to promoters' and their views on wrestlers that were not male and white and I’ll do my best to explain in-depth why black wrestlers and women are in short supply, and the failing of wrestling history to address this subject.

Wrestling history has failed in other matters as well, and I am not going to shy away from the failings of some people on this list.and Don't worry, Brock Lesnar isn't on the list … but there will be coverage of controversial figures in wrestling history covered. But trust me on this, I will cover those people with the appropriate context in their bio.

But, even though I'm not going to shy away from the Dark Side, this project is primarily a celebration of the industry that we all love. I hope we can enjoy this G.O.A.T. 100 project together, and that you will find something useful out of it.