Who deserved #99 for each tournament?

[tns8597]

I decided to make this about #99, firstly because #100 is too obvious, but also because I felt like there's always been a massive diversion from what that number means e.g. the second most likely competitor to achieve total victory. We've constantly seen it get given to competitors who arguably don't deserve it, like Yamada after his return and Hiromichi Sato etc., unlike #100 which has been completely out of bounds and reserved for the reigning champions more often than not. So, again out of complete boredom, who would you have put as #99 for each tournament? In bold are entries which are different from who actually got given that number. 

1. Kane
2. Omori
3. Tanaka
4. Omori
5. Omori
6. Shingo
7. Akiyama
8. Shingo
9. Jovtchev or Kane but neither competed so Yamada
10. Nagano
11. Nakata (as he was the only competitor to make it to Stage 3 in both 9 and 10; Akiyama didn't deserve #99 after failing Stage 1 five times)
12. Jovtchev
13. Shiratori
14. Shiratori or Asaoka
15. Kobayashi
16. Shiratori or Takeda
17. Shiratori (Nagano should've been #100)
18. Nagasaki
19. Nagasaki
20. Takeda 
21. Levi
22. Takeda
23. Yuuji
24. Kanno
25. Nagano
26. Nagano
27. Yuuji (Nagano logically should've been #99 but Yuuji didn't want the #100 pressure)
28. Yuuji (didn't agree with retiring the All-Stars and giving them the last 5 numbers)
29. Yuuji
30. Nagano (I understand Yuuji wanted a back seat in this tournament)
31. Kawaguchi
32. Kawaguchi (wasn't really any need to give 98 and 99 to Takeda and Shingo despite Nagano's retirement; they got fast-forwarded anyway....)
33. Drew
34. Drew
35. Drew
36. Drew
37. Yuuji

It's weird how the producers seem to have this aversion to giving certain competitors #99, like Shingo or Takeda, who should've got it several times but always got 97 or 98 for some reason. Also controversially I think Drew would've been a better candidate for 99 between SASUKE 33-36 as he posted far better times than Kawaguchi and went further in most cases; was also more consistent. Let me know your thoughts.

[ChiBiJKT48]

Won't comment on:

1. SASUKE 1-3 because at that time TBS still doesn't understand how important numbering is.
2. SASUKE 18 and 25 because the numbers are picked by the competitors themselves.
3. SASUKE 28 and 32 because it is Retirement Special in each occasion.

If the tournament is not mentioned, that means it was correct already.

SASUKE 5: Travis A. Schroeder. Had the best time in timed stage, two out of four to successfully finish the Pipe Slider jump *not shown, but the second pipe was at the end of the track and he didn't get wet* *Iketani Naoki never attempt the jump, mind you*, yet somehow given #91, which is lower than last time. What the hell?

SASUKE 6: Yamamoto Shingo. No need to say why.

SASUKE 7: Takeda Toshihiro. But I guess he is newcomer, so that was quite a good decision too to put Akiyama as #99. They *and most of viewers* at that time think it was just a blip.

SASUKE 8: Yamamoto Shingo. Finalist, man. FINALIST! Akiyama didn't even pass Jump Hang again!

SASUKE 9: Yamamoto Shingo at #99, while Takeda Toshihiro at #100. Still can't figure out why Yamada given #99. Akiyama maybe sort understand, but, still, already fail Jump Hang three times.

SASUKE 10: I really wanted to argue that it should be switched between #999 and #1000, but, I guess, Popularity win over Performance for this one.

SASUKE 11: Iketani Naoki. Yet he is he given the same number again as in last tournament. Why? Never know.

SASUKE 13: Takeda Toshihiro. You didn't give Takeda #99 in SASUKE 7 because he is newcomer. Why not the same for Shiratori Bunpei? Can't understand the logic. To top it, Takeda finish as #1 in Trials, compared to Shiratori who finished #5. What is the point of Trials, then? In fact, to be honest, they should follow the Trials rank so the last five was Shiratori Bunpei, Iketani Naoki, Kobayashi Masaaki, Nagano Makoto, Takeda Toshihiro.

SASUKE 14: If anything, Shiratori should be #98, Yamamoto drop to #96. Other than that, everything is good in last five.

SASUKE 15: Kobayashi Shinji. Yamada drop to #98.

SASUKE 16: Takeda Toshihiro. Seriously? After achieving the best result and Yamada already show sign of downfall, they still don't want to give him #99? **** it.

SASUKE 17: Shiratori Bunpei, Nagano was #100. I actually see interesting theory from Japanese fans on Twitter that actually Shiratori originally given #97, but some competitors can't attend the tournament, hence TBS spread him out to early last 20 numbers to not made the last 20 numbers started with disaster. Kinda explain why #97 never shown at all in the broadcast.

SASUKE 19: Nagasaki Shunsuke. Original Shin-Sedai. Instead, Sato Hiromichi was there. ****!

SASUKE 20: Yamada Katsumi didn't deserve it, but Yamada Koji wasn't there and Washimi Yuji is just a newcomer.

SASUKE 24: If anything, Urushihara Yuuji should be #97.

SASUKE 27: Should be Urushihara Yuuji, I agreed. But we know how sucks he was with #100.

SASUKE 33-36: DD. After performing well and literally get the best result in SASUKE 32, TBS still don't want to give him #99. Probably foreshadowing?

SASUKE 37: Urushihara Yuuji. Perform very well at 40 years old, yet still given only #96. Probably pressured.

[BigT]

I'll avoid 1 as there is nothing to base numbers on when it comes to performance. Also, I'll only choose people that participated in a certain tournament. And I have made the assumption that number 100 can't be changed.
2. Akira Omori - the best performance in Sasuke 1
3. Hasegawa Ken - finalist in Sasuke 1 and made it to third stage in Sasuke 2
4. Akira Omori - three time finalist
5. Akira Omori - a really difficult pick. I was tempted to go with Kane/Iketani/Schroeder but their one third stage appearance didn't quite match up to three final stage appearances.
6. Yamamoto Shingo - almost reached new final stage. An incredible run in Sasuke 5.
7. Toshihiro Takeda - I feel like at this point Akiyama is given 99 due to respect. If we go performance wise, I think Takeda. He was one of only 3 to clear in Sasuke 5 and made it to third stage in Sasuke 6. Kane/Shingo are other candidates.
8. Yamamoto Shingo - To be honest, Shingo should be 100.
9. Yamamoto Shingo - As the two finalists are gone, I see trio of Shingo/Takeda/Yamada. From Sasuke 5-8 there are the highs (5,7) and lows (6,8) of Shingo, highs (5,6) and lows (7,8) of Yamada and Takeda in the middle with only 7 being a bad performance. As Yamada had bad recent performances, I'll put him behind Shingo and since Takeda just missed out on final, I'll rate Shingo higher.
10. Makoto Nagano - the breakout performance.
11. Naoki Iketani - I'll put him ahead of Nakata as a 99 should make more progress on an obstacle. Was only second person to reach cliffhanger kai and beat globe grasper that took out Nakata and Takeda.
12. Kobayashi Shinji - a breakout performance like Nagano. His speed would've been a serious threat in final stage. Too much time elapsed for Jovtchev to be given 99 right away.
13. Shiratori Bunpei - one of only two finalists from Sasuke 12 competing. It is really impressive to reach final, so sorry Takeda.
14. Shiratori Bunpei - proved he is no fluke.
15. Kobayashi Shinji - made it two obstacles further than anyone else.
16. Toshihiro Takeda - one of his best runs ever in Sasuke 15.
17. Makoto Nagano - well, he should be 100. So Shiratori Bunpei is 98 (deserves 99). Also, adding to what ChiBi mentioned - I've been told Iketani was supposed to get 81 (which he has had 5 times before). As Iketani couldn't make it, they gave number to Bunpei.
18. Nagasaki Shunsuke - former finalist.
19. Nagasaki Shunsuke - top 3 performance for second time in a row.
20. Washimi Yuuji - I think his heroics should be recognised.
21. Levi Meeuwenberg - not much to say here.
22. Toshihiro Takeda - first to clear shin-cliffhanger.
23. Urushihara Yuuji - by far the best in Sasuke 22.
24. Kanno Hitoshi - second best in Sasuke 22 and 23.
25. Makoto Nagano - I'll still put him ahead of other finalists.
26. Hashimoto Kouji - sorry Nagano but two first stage fails are too much.
27. Okuyama Yoshiyuki - performance wise the most consistent from Sasuke 22-26. And improves every time. Really admirable.
28. Urushihara Yuuji - a champion should be 100.
29. Urushihara Yuuji - at least touched ledge of Crazy Cliffhanger.
30. Kanno Hitoshi - a bit better than Asa Kazuma.
31. Kawaguchi Tomohiro - only second person to beat Crazy Cliffhanger.
32. Kawaguchi Tomohiro - slightly ahead of Kanno Hitoshi.
33. Drew Drechsel - best in Sasuke 32.
34. Drew Drechsel - best in Sasuke 33.
35. Drew Drechsel - had been more consistent than Kawaguchi Tomohiro.
36. Kawaguchi Tomohiro - Drew sucks too much on vertical limit.
37. Matachi Ryo - well, we are looking for someone with a shot of winning. Ryo made it further on vertical limit than Yuuji or Tada.

[tns8597]

I never knew that about SASUKE 17 but that does make a lot of sense, given that the numbers were a bit messed up, like Takeda being given 91 yet Nakata being given 96, as well as numbers like 93, 94, and 97 being given to nobodies. In an ideal world, Yamada should've been dropped down at this point with Nagano remaining at 100 and Shiratori at 99 for his incredible performance in SASUKE 16.

Also, I never said that I didn't give Takeda #99 in SASUKE 7 because he was a newcomer; I just don't think his performance was good enough to warrant being given #99 (a very early Stage 3 fail). Hatakeda didn't compete in 7 otherwise he would've been a candidate, and also at this point Akiyama was only one First Stage fail into his eventual streak. I think it's a natural progression to give a recent champion #100, then #99 after a blunder (with Yamada now being given #100 due to his track record), and so on. The same was done for Omori and Nagano so I felt the same was applicable to Akiyama. Shiratori was more deserving of #99 in his case because he shocked everyone by destroying the Third Stage and making it inches away from total victory. You can't compare that to Takeda's Body Prop fail, which was much less of a breakout run.

I agree with giving Takeda and Shingo #99 and #100 respectively in SASUKE 9, I only put Yamada because I was struggling at this point due to inconsistencies. I thought about Iketani for #99 in SASUKE 11, but Nakata had been more consistent in my view. With SASUKE 12, Shinji could've een #99 but the reason I put Jovtchev was because he made the Final Stage in his thus far only attempt, which had only been repeated by Nagano since then over a period of 3 further tournaments. Realistically I think Shinji deserved #97-98, which maybe would've resulted in him not getting cut. With SASUKE 37 I considered Ryo but ultimately went for Yuuji as he is a former champion and was ever so slightly more consistent throughout his career; it also would've been more impactful as ending Stage 3 with Yuuji's heartbreaking failure rather than Jessie Graff's disappointing run would've been so much better.

I also controversially don't think Yamada should have been #99 in SASUKE 14 because his hiatus was only 1 tournament so it wasn't as much of a comeback as people make it out to be (especially considering he participated in an event related to SASUKE 13; the trials, one could argue that it wasn't really even a hiatus at all), plus Shiratori once again did the best out of any competitor that wasn't Nagano in the preceding tournament, proving that he was worthy of maintaining the number.