So who are your top 5 jobberiest jobbers to ever job in pro wrestling history?
Mine in no particular order:
Hardwork Bobby Walker
Zan Panzer
Rikki Ataki
Barry O
Omar Atlas
Barry O will always hold a special place in my heart for The Zodiac in Stampede. Especially the unmasking, where Ed Whalen just completely no-sold it and he's like "Uh, I don't know who that is."
There was a skinny geek named Chi Chi Cruz who managed to get over with the crowd at a brutal 4.5 hour Superstars taping I attended in Edmonton in 91, as he legit did something like 4 or 5 squash losses that night and every time he got more popular with the crowd for taking the beating he did.
The ones you listed are all really good choices, especially Omar Atlas, who looked like someone that was running a convenience store in between matches. The NWA always had some epic losers out there getting thrown around, especially the pasty goofs they would put out there on the Saturday show to get crushed by the Road Warriors and Midnight Express in particular. I used to love how they'd find the worst-looking dweebs and just have the Midnights completely destroy them.
I loved all of the JCP jobbers. The Mulkeys, Cruel Connection, The Thunderfeet, George South, Italian Stallion and Rocky King are the ones that stand out in my mind.
ReplyDeleteOff the top of my head: Jeff Sword, Scott Colton, The Gambler, Duane Gill, Barry Hardy.
ReplyDeleteZan Panzer has to get in just for this match against Sullivan and Buzz Sawyer.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBHg4832S7s&safe=active
When I hear the word "jobber" I always think of Tony Zane. He appeared on JCP programming as much as Ric Flair. Just about got killed by Vladimir Petrov in '87.
ReplyDeleteDusty, sometimes known as Dale Wolfe. Barry Horowitz, Iron Mike Sharpe. The Gambler.
ReplyDeleteThe Gambler was a staple on WCW Worldwide.
ReplyDeleteThe Place to Be Nation guys need to do a jobber tournament. That would be more interesting than a theme music/greatest IC champ/etc tourney where everyone knows what the last 5-10 entries standing will be.
ReplyDeleteGeorge South might be king of the jobbers. He even got to contribute a paragraph to Flair's book.
ReplyDeleteJobber tournament or worst/stupidest gimmicks ever.
ReplyDeleteLee Scott, Dusty Wolfe, Barry Horowitz, The Gambler, Duane Gill, The Mulkeys
ReplyDeleteahem are you saying there is a better jobber in the world then Barry Horowitz?
ReplyDeleteCant forget about Rusty Brooks either
ReplyDeletethey had to have a match at some point right some little indy in the northeast maybe the PWF that Stallion and South ran god the would of died trying to outsell each other
ReplyDeleteGeorge South, Tom Stone, the Milkman, Mulkeymania, of course Barry
ReplyDeleteBobby Walker had to be one of the lamest attempts at getting a guy a quasi-gimmick. What a dud.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Walkers. Add Braden Walker to the list.
ReplyDeleteI always liked Iron Mike Sharpe myself.
ReplyDeleteBarry Horowitz and Mike Sharpe have to be on that list
ReplyDeleteThe State Patrol!
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of a single one of those people - I'lll go with the Repo Man because I was scared of him and enjoyed watching him lose
ReplyDeleteThey do need more jobbers around who can still go all-in on a gimmick and have unique looks even if they'll never achieve anything. For example the Ascension look cool and imposing (IMO) but I'm OK with them losing all the time. TL Hopper, Duke Droese, Salvatore Sincere... all jobbers with personalities/gimmicks
ReplyDeleteTell me you didn't just say that!
ReplyDeleteself proclaimed
ReplyDeleteI am appalled that no one has mentioned Brooklyn Brawler.
ReplyDeleteWillard Fillmore and Rutherford P.S. Hayes.
ReplyDeleteMike Jackson.
ReplyDeleteThe Mulkeys
George South
Chic Donovan - you KNOW you're bad when 20 years later they make fun of you on Mike&Mike
Keith Eric - Memphis jobbers....a whole new LEVEL of jobberdom
I almost forgot.....dare I say it: JOE GOMEZ!
ReplyDeleteI think Bruce Pritchard had an involvement also at this time but am uncertain.
ReplyDeleteHe beat HHH. Does that disqualify him from total jobberdom?
ReplyDeleteOne of HHH's most famous selfless acts
ReplyDeleteTerry Gibbs, Charlie Fulton, Dave Barbee, Ron Shaw, and Jose Luis Rivera. Rivera was such a jobber that he got to be the one guy to job to "Boxing" Bob Orton and also job under a hood as one of the Conquistadors.
ReplyDeleteCuban Assassin!
ReplyDeleteThe Portuguese Man O' War - that would have got over if he debuted after Steve Irwin died (I know it was a stingray- you have to be subtle about these things)
ReplyDeleteThese threads and names always kill me. I remember calling jobbers the "currently in the ring..." guys when I was a pre-teen.
ReplyDeleteTerry Gibbs! Phil Apollo! Mario Mancini! Russ Greenberg!
ReplyDeleteSomeone is obviously forgetting that he dated Chyna.
ReplyDeleteSteve Thunder. Not only did he lose his wig during a squash match, he sued the wigmaker:
ReplyDeletehttps://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19830901&id=Fw4iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GKcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2111,570568&hl=en
Duane Gill. I remember being pissed when he was revealed as Mankind's mystery opponent (so many people thought it would be HBK or Warrior). But when they played his TitanTron video and it was just a montage of guys pinning him, I started cracking up and was ok with him being in the match.
ReplyDeleteGibbs will always have the distinction of losing to Hall of Famer, Warrior in his first televised match.
ReplyDeleteGomez, jobber? He won the only six and a half star match in the history of the business.
ReplyDeleteI miss all of The Ryback's hilariously named jobbers.
ReplyDeleteAhmed could've been a decent Tito Santana type. Reliable midcarder to put over the top talent or open the show squashing a geek to fire up the crowd. Just too injury prone though.
ReplyDeleteDuane Gill brings a smile to my face. Here's a guy who was in no way, shape, or form going to be a successful wrestler, and then WWF figures a way to use him in a comedy role that was generally funny and likely made him a fair amount of money when he's 40 years old.
ReplyDeleteArthur Rosenburg & Stan Stansky? Rutherford Hayes & Willard Fillmore?
ReplyDeleteLOL at Scott Colton
ReplyDeleteI wasn't watching his squash matches, was there ever a Ben Dover and Phil McCracken?
ReplyDeleteDusty Wolfe all day.
ReplyDeleteDude there is a 93 raw I just saw where Gill has this fabulously tapered mullet that comes in and out and as a permed middle section, and he's 75% horseshoe bald on top. Gill was an epic jobber.
ReplyDeleteDusty Wolfe ftw
ReplyDeleteHaha he was chubby, pasty and had an awful mullet. What more can you ask?
ReplyDeleteMario Mancini
ReplyDeleteBelieve it not, he was a trending topic at my school for a few weeks back in the day. Crazy!
ReplyDeleteThe worse they looked the more I loved them. Even as a kid I loved to laugh at the jobbers and got a huge kick out of seeing the same ones.
ReplyDeleteBy trending I mean that 4-5 people kept bringing him up daily.
ReplyDeleteI actually hope it made him no money. Just because he's a jobber.
ReplyDeleteI liked the match where Saturn kills that poor jobber and it turned out to be the brother of the guy who made Bigger, Stronger, Faster. Great documentary.
ReplyDeleteThe mulkeys are definitely the jobbers that got over the most. I love jef Vinson idea about making one of the blonde divas a mulkey cousin who's trying to restore the family name.
ReplyDeleteWasn't the dudley back story that there dad was some kind of old school jobber who got a rat pregnant in every territory he worked? What a great idea.
ReplyDeleteCougar Jay was one of my favorite JCP underneath guys...
ReplyDeleteSurprised no one has mentioned Rocky King.
Even a jobber needs to eat.
ReplyDeleteDana Brooke can do it. She's green as grass so her moves look awful, and I want to see her naked. That second part is less relevant.
ReplyDeleteHey, I did say "one of"
ReplyDeleteYeah but only at McDonald's.
ReplyDeleteWe never got to meet Big Daddy Dudley...
ReplyDeleteIt was more Pritchard, Cornette, and Vince at this point with Pat doing the finishes.
ReplyDeleteBrian Costello
ReplyDeleteRusso didn't get control with Vince until 98. He was invited to attend creative meeting in spring 97 though
ReplyDeleteIron. Mike. Sharpe.
ReplyDeleteHe was awful and campy but fit the lousy product at the time. Gene was really missed
ReplyDeleteBAOWWOWOWOOAOAOOHOAOAOOAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteEch. You have weird taste. She's homely as a mules ass.
ReplyDeleteI forgot all about Stan Stansky!
ReplyDeleteTony Stetson and Don E. Allen, ECW legends.
ReplyDeleteReno Riggins is another one that comes to mind. He beat Dibiase on Superstars by countdown cause of Virgil if I remember correctly.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that he was a jobber, but he did have a kid in every territory he was in.
ReplyDeleteAnd fucking ring boys?
ReplyDeleteDuane Gill
ReplyDeleteJumping Joey Maggs
WCW Jim Powers (Teddy Long is really motivating him... to lose!)
Grizzly Redwood
"Iron" Mike Sharpe
Mark Starr
ReplyDeleteDisorderly Conduct was also awesome. Mean Mike and Tough Tom are such good names.
ReplyDeleteRoadblock
ReplyDeleteHardworkin’ Bobby Walkah, as the Dream would say
ReplyDeleteThe Gambler
Frankie Lancaster
Duane Gill. I swear he ate about 400 Perfect-plexes
Hardbody Harrison. WCW Saturday Night had the best jobbers
Rick Fuller
ReplyDeleteFidel Sierra and his gross back.
ReplyDeleteHigh Voltage
ReplyDeleteWWE Champion Seth Rollins
ReplyDeleteThat's Golden Boy Chic Donovan to you sir. He was the first jobber I have a memory of.
ReplyDeleteI loved the 80's jobbers that wore vinyl jackets that had their name and hometown written on the back. Those are my kind of jobbers
ReplyDeleteThe New Breed
ReplyDeleteMust've turned away the gash like it was going out of style.
ReplyDeleteBobby Starr. He was jobbing on the Pro as "Hollywood" Bobby Starr and Tony incredulously says "'Hollywood' Bobby Starr?!"
ReplyDeleteI'll take the other Bobbie Starr any day.
ReplyDeleteEl Dandy
ReplyDeleteThe greatest jobber names in the history of our great sport!
ReplyDeleteDusty Rhodes' five favourite jobbers:
ReplyDelete1. EL DANDY!!
2. Joey Maggs (GO GET 'IM, KID!)
3. Hardworkin' Bubby Walkerrr
4. TONY!!
5. Cody Rhodes
What I really loved was that Arn Anderson had a bunch of them.
ReplyDeleteBISCUIT
MPLS
Obviously. I'll unfortunately only be able to get her down for a two count before blowing up.
ReplyDeleteArn is badass enough to wear whatever he wants. Including those huge ass glasses.
ReplyDeleteThat's one more than me.
ReplyDeleteI never got tired of Iron Mike Sharpe. He was hilarious to watch with all his love the top yelling.
ReplyDeleteThis discussion begins and ends with Barry Horowitz.
ReplyDeleteWho are you to doubt El Dandy
ReplyDeleteRotten Ron Starr! Rick Fuller! Roadblock! Mark Starr!
ReplyDeleteHe's a real jam up guy.
ReplyDeleteThey weren't jobbers. They were being groomed for a feud with The Rock 'n' Roll Express in 1987 before one of them got injured (I think in a car accident).
ReplyDeleteDeserving of a U.S. title shot
ReplyDeleteAlright, Tekno Team 2000 then.
ReplyDelete- Roadblock ( WCW)
ReplyDelete- Dusty Wolfe (WWF)
- George South (NWA)
- Wee Willie Wilkins ( a one-off in NWA, but oh so legendary)
- Omar Atlas (WWF)
He must have been wrestling Tully Blanchard....because he had 3 on each of his wrestling boots!
ReplyDeleteI stand corrected..."The Golden Boy" Chic Donovan - if only because of how Gordon Solie used to say it
ReplyDeleteWow....Wee Willie Wilkins lol.....yep. legendary
ReplyDeleteMy term was "wimps."
ReplyDeleteI would agree, but wasnt one of them 1/2 of the world tag team champions at one point?
ReplyDeleteThere was a squash on Wrestling Challenge where Omar Atlas was introduced wearing a jacket with a sequined picture of Winnie the Pooh on the back.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Dennis Stamp?
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't booked.
ReplyDeleteJumpin Joey Maggs. HE AINT JUMPIN NO MO TONY
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome. I also thought when Mario Mancini got his first vinyl jacket it gave him some swagger. Dude loved that jacket and Bridgeport, CT.
ReplyDelete"Stinky guys"
ReplyDeleteIron Mike Sharpe, Reno Riggins, Bob Cook, Jack Foley, and Jose Luis Estrada.
ReplyDeleteLee Scott. The height that guy could get off of any power move where he was tossed in the air was legendary.
ReplyDeleteJim Cornette and Steve Austin talking about The Mulkey Brothers.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYzdqVif76g
The Unpredictable Johnny Rodz -- he's a Hall of Famer!
ReplyDeleteMike Bell, who'd been a jobber since Raw 1994!
ReplyDeleteYou gotta love their one victory on World Championship Wrestling just before the Crockett Cup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YHL3oxYcW4
ReplyDeleteRocky King, Randy Barber, Jose Luis Rivera, the Cole twins, and the Conquistadors!
ReplyDeleteChris Hamrick for his insane Hamrick bump:
ReplyDeletehttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6iiZDuEO-c0/UK0dUtecaCI/AAAAAAAAD04/C6NlM_xo8QE/s1600/hamrick-bump-tatanka.gif
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNXWWT8JyEA
I'm partial to Dolph Ziggler.
ReplyDeleteThere are many to choose from, however, for the greatest jobber ever...there is only one...
ReplyDeleteIRON
MIKE
SHARPE.
Jesus. That's a good way to splatter yourself.
ReplyDeleteBarry Hardy, this guy was my absolute favorite. I remember a tag match (might've been him and Duane Gill actually) were facing the Beverly Brothers, and they did a spike piledriver on Barry Hardy for the pin, Hardy was selling it like he was flopping like a fish out of water. That cracks me up every time I think about it.
ReplyDeleteIron Mike Sharpe!
ReplyDeleteDale Wolf
ReplyDeleteMy absolute favorite kind of match is a big, powerful heel destroying a skinny face jobber with power moves. There's nothing more entertaining and comical than a face taking an absolute shitkicking bouncing around like a pinball.
ReplyDeleteOmar Atlas used to get mad props from Jesse Ventura, who'd always bring up that they used to tagm
ReplyDeleteHow are the mulkys not on the list
ReplyDeleteMulkeys win or we riot!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YHL3oxYcW4
ReplyDeleteMy brother's favorite jobber, can't believe I haven't thought about him yet, who can forget AWA and WWF jobber Jake "The Milkman" Milliman?
ReplyDeleteHardy for sure!
ReplyDeleteAnd that hair!
Canada's loudest jobber!
ReplyDeleteSD Jones, Mike Jackson, Chick Donovan, Rocky King, and Iron Mike Sharpe
ReplyDelete- The Italian Stallion
ReplyDelete- Al Burke (The first match I ever watched was him getting squashed by Snuka)
Wasn't Omar Jesse's very first opponent, too?
ReplyDeleteIn Jesse's shoot, he said that Omar let him get some moves in during his very first match. Jesse never forgot that and always made sure to put him over whenever possible.
ReplyDeleteI think so, yeah.
ReplyDeleteBob Bradley was my favorite by a lot.
ReplyDeleteTony Falk was a great one in Memphis.
ReplyDeleteI think Iron Mike opened every NYC area house show for like 5-6 years
ReplyDeleteThe story behind the Wee Willie Wilkins job, as told by Dusty, Cornette, and others, is one of the funniest things I have ever heard. The Midnights were totally justified in putting a little extra stank on the squash, and, knowing the story going in, the match becomes infinitely more hilarious. WWE had that episode up during the 24/7 days....here's hoping it finds the Network sooner rather than later!
ReplyDeleteAnybody else remember Championship Wrestling from Florida? Who remembers Jimmy Backlund?
ReplyDeleteThat was Jimmy Del Ray, right?
ReplyDeleteI preferred "squash wrestlers." And my friends and I would dub Virgil "professional squash wrestler" as he would beat the enhancement guys but get destroyed by everyone else.
ReplyDeleteZack Ryder lifted his trunks style from Hardbody Harrison.
ReplyDeleteOn that note, I was watching a Toughman competition on TV featuring "The Hardbody Challenge," where Harrison would face four guys in a gauntlet style. It was quite scripted, as he beat all four challengers convincingly yet the final guy "won" to send the crowd home happy. (Harrison was heeling it up the entire show.)
And hats. Can't forget the hats.
ReplyDeleteNot true! I saw him on ESPN AWA Championship Wrestling a couple yrs months ago
ReplyDeleteMulkeys - Obvious reasons
ReplyDeleteTony Zane - This guy NEVER got offense
The Gambler - His deck of cards went flying when the bell rang
"Hardwork" Bobby Walker - Complete with epic "Rocky III" music
Doc Dean - I know he was a big deal in the UK but he never caught a break here, and I liked his moves
Honorable mention:
Disorderly Conduct - More like JTTS as they beat jobber teams, but they took one hell of a shit-kicking on a Thunder against Benoit and Malenko, complete with Malenko mocking his opponent's injured leg the entire time.
(Relevant) Plug Alert!!!
ReplyDeleteIn case anybody ever wonders "Who ARE these guys?", a buddy of mine, who writes for a Pittsburgh-area newspaper, is in the middle of an exhaustive profile of Ken Jugan, whom longtime fans may remember for doing TV jobs in the pre-Mania WWE.
Jugan is still alive and kicking in the Pittsburgh-area Indies as Lord Zoltan, and is by far one of the legit nicest guys I've worked with in the indies. He's also gone above and beyond in support of helping the hearing impaired by organizing an annual Deaf Wrestlefest event here in the Pgh area. All snark aside, dude deserves all the recognition, and then some.
Link to one of the articles is here: http://triblive.com/mobile/8194105-96/jugan-wwe-week
(Rest are accessible from that page)
I always liked Barry O when he was a straight WWF jobber - I enjoyed his hand signal when Finkel announced his name. But discovering him as the Zodiac put him over the top - those promos are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAnd screw Ed Whalen for burying the gimmick when it was awesome, but it's funny to watch Ed undersell the upcoming promo before going right into the insanity of Jason and Zodiac.
You just cant keep your story straight, canya?!
ReplyDeleteMike Blackwell just for no selling EVERYTHING from Spivey and Sid for god knows what reason. Then gets stiffed to death and receives a shoot post match beatdown
ReplyDeleteWhen I sent him this question The Gambler JUST missed the cut. I debated putting him ahead of Rikki Ataki but the blowfish pose he used in the ring got him in the top 5
ReplyDeleteThe Mulkeys!!!! Greatest albino wrestlers ever... Mark out city when they won their only match...
ReplyDeleteStetson was a former tag champ, so pass. Don E Allen and the Broad Street Bully for me.
ReplyDeleteCould have gone extra subtle and had him come in as a buffalo after Steve Irwin died.
ReplyDeleteI have a sick obsession with watching Kamala hit the top rope splash on 150 pound opponents
ReplyDeleteInterracial Squash Porn
ReplyDeleteIn my pre-internet days, before I learned the proper terminology, my friends and I called them flums. I don't know it means, but it just sounded right. "That guys a flum, he never wins."
ReplyDeleteI went with Bobby Heenan's term: "ham-and-eggers"
ReplyDelete