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Who is your favourite "Bad Wrestler"?


Hi Scott;
As longtime wrestling fans, many people online tend to like the "Good workers" first, and everyone else second. Many guys fabled for crappy matches are utterly HATED in many places online too, especially by "smart fans". But every once in a while, these fans will come out in support of the bad workers if they're entertaining in other aspects. For example, I see a LOT of people online who love the crap out of Sid Vicious/Justice/Sycho in all his forms, despite admitting that he stinks in the ring. His natural charisma, look, and attitude tend to rub off well on some people, even if he can't seem to get out of his own way in the ring.
Now I know you dig the matches first, but are their any guys you're a big fan of, despite them sucking at the "in-ring" side of the business? It could be guys who are just funny mic-workers, shitty wrestlers who just try their asses off, or some kind of "X-Factor" you can't really explain. Conversely, where there ever any good/great workers that you just couldn't stand? I know a lot of people hate on Jeff Jarrett for his utter blandness, despite him being a fairly competent (if generic and by-the-numbers) worker.
Me? I can never really explain it, but even as a kid, I thought Mabel/Viscera/Big Daddy V was awesome. I knew his matches tended to be on the non-good side, and he didn't deserve a World Title run, but I enjoy the crap out of Nelson Frazier, Jr. for some reason.

I liked Sid Vicious just fine!  It wasn't until his last post-99 WCW run that he got insufferable because he was so overexposed.  Up until then, he was kept in relatively small doses and got to come in and powerbomb dudes and look impressive.  Plus Shawn even carried him to a great match.  

Comments

  1. Hacksaw.  There's just something about the guy you can't hate.  Somehow he does the patriotic gimmick better than anyone and it doesn't seem forced.

    Also loved me some Bossman in his original WWF run.

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  2. A couple of come to mind for me are Warlord and Chris Masters. I guess I'm just a mark for the full nelson.

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  3. I was always a fan of Rico. I met the dude once and he was so nice. Once he went Adrian Street and was a gay babyface, I actually really started to enjoy his work. I also liked the dynamic with Charlie Haas.

    On the flip side, Shawn Michaels is a guy who has obviously had too many great matches to count, but I've never cared for him. The "sexy boy" gimmick, the weak as fuck clotheslines and shitty atomic drops, the whole Jesus era, the fact that he stomps on the ring before he does his finishing move, crying in the ring when he lost his smile, I could go on. I just don't like the guy. 

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  4. exodus316 exodus316July 31, 2012 at 9:11 AM

    When he wasn't hurt, which was rare, Ahmed Johnson was awesome.  I marked out big time for that guy.

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  5. Sid. 911 because his storyline in ECW was great. Godfather.

    Adam Bomb/Wrath. People were getting jacked for him until Nash...again.

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  6. You know what, I happen to agree. Phenomenal wrestler, but maybe because I was out of wrestling during his run, I never took to the guy.

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  7. Christopher HirschJuly 31, 2012 at 9:19 AM

    I enjoy the Big Show for the most part, I think he is good on the mic and with the right opponent can have some good matches.

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  8. Yeah, my brother and I have met Hacksaw at indy shows on separate occasions and he was such a nice, likable guy that we've both found it impossible to hate him ever since then.

    Early Bossman actually was a pretty good worker, but I've got a serious soft spot for Attitude-era Bossman. He wasn't very good in the ring any more, but his character was such a delightfully over-the-top, cartoonish asshole. And as silly as most of his angles were, do I ever wish WWE had more heels like him today!

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  9. David Bowtunga. I don't give a FUCK how much he sucks in the ring, his coffee-slurping ass deserves a push to the main event.

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  10. When he comes up, Scott rips on Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin.  I love Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin.  It's not my fault!

    (*not* a Snitsky reference for you young 'uns)

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  11. Somehow he does the special needs gimmick better than anyone and it doesn't seem forced.

    Fixed.

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  12. I would have no problem with Meng getting a nice 5-6 year long WWE Title reign.  Because Meng is awesome.  And the Tongan Death Grip can kill a man.

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  13. Can't believe Sid came up without a mention of Frank.

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  14. With deep regrets and tears that are soaked
    I'm sorry to hear your dad finally croaked
    He lived a full life on his own terms
    Soon he'll be buried and eaten by worms
    But if I could have a son as stupid as you
    I'd have wished for cancer so I would die too
    So be brave, and be strong, get your life back on track
    'Cause the old bastard's dead and he ain't never comin' back!

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  15. As a child of the early 90's I must say I love yokozuna. He's a worse worker than sid, and khalis best matches are better than yokos so I think he's in the running for worst ever but I was terrified of him when I was in grade school and I still love watching him on old raws.

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  16. Sid's awesome.

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  17. You gotta love the guy. He's so great. Definitely helped get aces regime over.

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  18. Probably Hercules, oddly enough. I love how he threw punches and forearms -- with the right guy selling it, it looked absolutely vicious. He really played up the gimmick in interviews too, which was always funny. Plus the goofy early 1990s stuff with Paul Roma and the lightning bolt sunglasses and homoerotic subtext was classic. He had a lot of enthusiasm in general and I appreciated that.

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  19. I nominate Jimmy "Boogie Woogie Man" Valiant. When he'd wrestle a jobber on World Championship Wrestling he was TERRIBLE, but he'd always come over to the podium to get him some Tony Schiavone love.

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  20. The greatest wrestler of all-time in this category, and every other, is Freight Train.  Best promos ever, by a long shot.

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  21. I've got a long list of guys I mark(ed) for that were shit wrestlers, most of them coming from my early days as a fan. Crush (HUGE Kona Crush mark), Yoko, Warrior, Sid.

    As for a good/great worker I never cared for, it's pre-1994 Bob Backlund by a landslide. I wasn't alive during his title reign, but looking back at it brings me feelings of indifference. And I can appreciate great wrestling/storylines from before my time. Of course I'm sure most young smarks today would kill me for being so invested in Yoko (he scared the shit outta me and I'll always appreciate him for that) so I guess you just had to be there for a guy like Backlund.

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  22. I know I'm going to get a lot of shit for this, but my favorite 'bad wrestler' is Tensai/Albert.  As a big man, he works great.  I seem to be the only one that enjoys all the work he is doing properly as 'Tensai'.  He did subtle changes to his character (nerve hold, claw, the way he moves, taped hands) and he's basically doing the Umaga gimmick.  I just don't think WWE is using him properly.  He's getting a rection from the audience in the form of "Albert" chants.  Why not have him destroy babyface talent who DARE call Tensai 'Albert'.  That's the logical way to push him now!

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  23. The sexy boy gimmick has to be one of the weirdest and convoluted gimmicks ever as played by Shawn. It started out typical enough -- self absorbed pretty boy heel with a manager he only notices when she gets in the way of his mirror. Somehow it morphed into some kind Beatlemania, Tiger Beat, gay cowboy teen idol thing in 95/96, with the hair extensions, screaming Kliq teens, and the bizarre stripping routine with the ass-less chaps on over his tights. He was always kind of hard to swallow in DX for me too, as he always seemed too nerdy and nebbish to pull of the whole frat boy alpha male thing. Then he went and somehow added Jesus lovin to the mix.

    You have to give him and Vince credit though I guess, because they did a good job selling the perception of "The most charismatic star of the new WWF Generation" thing long enough that it stuck with fans far past the lean days of 1996 when he was tanking, despite the fact that he has always been totally miscast for the role.

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  24. Yeah, Herc did have some crazy punches. I remember when he wrestled Earthquake at WM6 and his first initial flurry of punches were sick and even broke Quake's nose. It's even crazier that he did it to EQ since the guy has a tough-guy rep.

    Yeah, I saw that match with Sid, too. Really sad and he didn't even sell for Sid or his finisher. In fact, they had to cut away because Herc got up from the powerbomb almost right away.

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  25. Yes he is. I wish that he did his return in a place like New York where they would have appreciated him more. It was also weird seeing him (and Vader) with the other legends at RAW 1000 like they were just regular wrestlers, when in fact they were cream of the crop guys in their prime.

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  26. Scott Keith's favorite bad wrestler is Shawn Michaels.

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  27. I liked when he re-joined the corporation after the PPV with the moving briefcase.

    "I love you guys!"

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  28. Yokozuna was awesome. the thing is, if he is their with the right workers who sell like crazy and now exactly when to do their little comebacks, his matches are good, too (I think a lot of people underrate the Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart matches!).

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  29. Agree with the earlier replies that Bossman was actually a pretty good worker.  When he was in shape and motivated, he was a terrific big man...

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  30. Yeah I remember him looking pretty out of it too. As I recall, he was one of the guys to get the post WrestleMania ax and I imagine he knew his days were numbered.

    Power and Glory never got their due I think. Vince snagged the contract lapsed Nasty Boys from the NWA and gave them a transitional reign to stick it to Jim Herd -- and then we got like 20 years of Nasty Boys matches... Harts to P&G to LOD would have been more fun I think.

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  31. Same as with Bossman, when Yoko was "slim", he was a terrific worker.  I agree with Jim Ross's assessment that he and Andre are the greatest super-heavyweight workers of all time.

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  32. That one guy...what's his name....oh yeah, CM Punk.

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  33. I can't believe no one's mentioned the Ultimate Warrior yet.  Like Sid, he was super-charasmatic, crazy-over, and gave intense and completely non-sensical promos.  As a kid, he was a great main event face alternative to Hulk Hogan.

    In fact, in comparing him to Sid, it's interesting how their early to mid 90s careers are linked.  Warrior returned at WM8; Sid left shortly thereafter.  Warrior bailed on the company just before KOTR '96 and Sid was his replacement.  Just an interesting observation to further link them thru their similarities...

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  34. Bad workers I like: Hall and Nash. They were usually pretty decent in the WWF, but once they jumped ship for the nWo angle their workrate went down the crapper. Hell, if I kept getting raises despite sucking I'd probably stop trying too. But their hilarious promos were usually my favorite part of Nitro, and I still mark out for the "Hey Yo!" when I watch old stuff.

    Good workers I don't like: Bret Hart (for reasons I've explained many times), CM Punk (the whole straight-edge thing), and A.J. Styles (don't know why, but I just don't like the guy).

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  35. This topic was made for Zack Ryder. 

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  36. 1990 and 1991 were particularly good years for him, lots of hidden jems on old Coliseum videos and a swanky match between him and Perfect on one of the SNME shows

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  37.  In fairness, all chaps are assless. 

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  38. Terrific? I never saw a Yokozuna match that was good. Ever.

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  39. Ahmed F'n Johnson. By a landslide. I also like Big Show, but I don't think he's a bad wrestler at all.

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  40.  Doesn't Vader count as a super heavyweight?  cause he's kinda awesome.

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  41. I went to a convention back in the early 90s with one of my buddies and ran into Hacksaw in the hallway outside of the hall where the thing was held. He talked to my buddy and me for a few minutes and invited us to take a picture with him. One of the event organizers tried to tell him no, because pix cost $5 per wrestler and Hacksaw told her he didn't care and took the picture with us free of charge. 

    I'll always have a soft spot for ol' Hacksaw. Hoooooooooooooooo! Tough guy!

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  42. I have to throw a vote for Outback Jack. The guy was shit in the ring, but the build up to his debut was classic. All the videos of him down under and drinking beer with a cow? This was just great stuff when you're a kid watching, especially since Crocodile Dundee was huge at the time, and the other Aussie who was doing the battery commercials. Although he did have the single worst finisher in history, the boomerang. Basically he'd clothesline the guy, wait till he gets up and clothesline him from behind. But at least he got an LJN figure out of the deal, and I even have the figure! How I miss 85-90 WWF shows, the best era of wrestling.

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  43. Herc looked homeless by that point.

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  44. Everyone in ECW from 96-98.

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  45. A lot of the ECW guys. I actually got really excited when Justin Credible debuted for the WWF. Granted it happened not TOO long before I joined the X-Pac Anti-Bandwagon so he killed Credible for me. I don't recall Mikey Whipwreck being all that great either, but his team with Tajiri and the Sinister Minister was the best thing about near-death ECW.

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  46. How about the New Age Outlaws? I can only remember one good match they had (wrestlemania 14). However, they were awesome.
    Speaking of awesome, I always have a soft spot for The Miz and truly marked out for his title victory.
    I'm surprised no one has mentioned Goldberg yet.

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  47. Plus, he was second only to Sid in promo quality.

    YUR! GUN! DAN! YUR! GUN! DAN! YUR! GUN! DAN!

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  48. Attempted murder of Arn Anderson and squeegee fetish aside, I agree that Sid was awesome in the day. I think it was Arn himself who once said that Sid was one of those very few people who looked like they were just made for the business. He had some entertaining matches and I'll never forget his match against the Bulldog at Summerfest when he hit a beautiful powerbomb that looked like it killed poor Davey.

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  49. Err...Hogan?

    And Scott Steiner.  He used to be good, but I never really saw him wrestle too much in the early 90s with WCW.

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  50. I think Yoko is definitely better than he got credit for, but JR is reaching a bit there. Definitely one of the biggest successes though.

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  51. Steiner's a great choice. Love his promos and his persona.

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  52. I do NOT get the love for him.  He wears sweater and has a thermos.  That's a gimmick???  He sucks.

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  53. I *love* Sid. Terrible as a wrestler, but I've never heard of him taking liberties in the ring, refusing to job, or having heat - that is, so long as he doesn't no-show in favour of softball. I can't think of many multiple-time world champions of whom that is true.

    You have to love that as Psycho Sid, his music almost always plays through his in-ring interviews. Kind of like with New Jack interrupting matches in ECW.

    What's awesome is if you watch his promos from the start of 1997 until his departure, J.R. usually has to 'interview' him and usually by asking him a very pointed, very specific question to keep Sid on track. Sid's standard reaction being to close his eyes and laugh like he's trying not to cry (because he doesn't understand the question), only makes this talking-to-an-idiot even better.


    YOU SEE IT'S REAL SIMPLE!

    TWO MEN ENTER! ONE MAN LEAVES!
    AND THAT IS WHY I AM THE MASTER.... and the ruler... (of the world)

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  54. I second this.  Watching the old NWA shows, he cracked me up every time.  I think it is the over the top southern heel that gets me.  His feud with Wahoo where he gets put in a strap match (of course).

    "I gotta be tied up with a leather strap to an INDIAN!  I've really done it this time!"

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  55. Nothing Yoko did looked as pathetic as Khali's chops.

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  56. As far as guys I can't stand for whatever reason, there are a number.

    Jeff Jarrett in just any configuration bores me. The Bushwhackers always irritated me, ditto The Nasty Boys for all but two matches, and Harlem Heat too. I loved Booker T, but Stevie Ray was no Rick Steiner.

    I wouldn't say I can't stand him because I do like some of his recent stuff and the character, but I have never understood the craze behind the Undertaker's fans. I dug him up to his first face turn though.

    Not a wrestler, but I really get annoyed with Jim Ross for some reason. He just seems like the douchiest sour puss these days, with a total phony false modesty that I can't stand.

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  57. You can go earlier, too. In 1991, Warrior ran out of the arena at Summerslam and Sid was supposed to take his spot. But then he got hurt and when he returned, they turned him heel to face Hogan.

    I wonder how Warrior would have done as a hyper-psychotic heel. I imagine him being crazy vicious and possibly even awesome.

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  58. BWM falls into the "so bad he's awesome" category.  Plus that glorius beard.

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  59. God, I hate the Nasty Boys.

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  60. I love how he words his blog posts. I seriously wonder if it's that he's been yelled at for saying the wrong thing so many times or if he's just being sarcastic.

    "CM Punk did well on Monday. At least, from where I'm sitting. In my estimation."

    "Will John Cena ever win a match again? I'm not in the 'inner circle' enough to say, but if you just want my ol' ill-informed opinion then I would hasten a guess at it being possible that it may be. In my estimation."

    "Will Randy Savage main event Summerslam? 'Highly unlikely'. In my estimation."

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  61. Ahmed was super over at his peak, so I doubt you're alone there.  I loved him as a total mark.

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  62. I always loved Ernest Miller. Guy had zero wrestling moves or talent but was consistently the most entertaining character on Nitro. It's a shame WWE never thought to utilize him as a manager or a mouthpiece for someone else.

    On the flip side of the coin he was a fantastic wrestler but I never got William Regal. Everytime I saw him I just wanted to change the channel. I never liked his really slow style despite his wrestling talent.

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  63. I thought "Bad" as in the "baddest heel", not "Bad" as in "bad worker". Serves me right for being snarky.

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  64. Can you imagine the poor fools who go to the car dealership he works at now?  Heprobably  puts them in the Tongan Death Grip until they agree to pay $100,000 for an '05 Camry.

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  65. THE GODWINNS.

    I LOVED THOSE FUCKING GUYS.

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  66. Yeah I believe Sid vs Snake was the planned Fall feud, with Sid vs Undertaker for the Winter, before Sid's injury forced Vince to beg Randy Savage to come back full time, which looking back probably contributed to destroying Savage and Elizabeth's marriage beyond repair.

    The backstage locker room in May 1992 in the WWF must have been nuts -- Hogan left, Piper left, Jake Roberts quit, Sid left, Warrior came back and Savage/Elizabeth split up all within a couple of weeks after WrestleMania.

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  67.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bGErn95VGQ

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  68. I may be dating myself, but one guy I loved was Mike Shaw(Bastion Booger/Norman the Lunatic/Big Norm/Makhan Singh)

    I know most people only vaguely remember him as the guy who had the hump and came out to belch music, but waaaaaay back in the day, he was an awesome big man heel, and I highly suggest you track down some of his matches against a young Owen Hart.

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  69. Wait, wait, wait.

    This is the ONLY mention of Snitsky?

    Dude, that guy was the GREATEST of the bad wrestlers, if only for his green acting skills in 2004.

    He was like Tommy Wiseau (not the blogger, the Actor) in that he was the King of Unintentional Comedy. The baby punt, the feud with Kane...that was one of the most entertaining feuds between two mediocre workers that I've ever seen!

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  70.  I actually like Jarret up until the Russo-era of WCW when he came in and called himself "the chosen one" and began burning his face into my tv screen. Then I developed passionate hate for his character, but not the kind WCW was hoping for. The last few years, since his wife passed and I saw the interviews that he did that displayed their combined love for wrestling business and each other, I've lightened up, and that's why I'm not as opposed to him being the leader of Aces N Eights if done properly.

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  71. Agreed. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Faces of Fear way more than I probably should have.

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  72. Rico Constantino, a friend of a friend, is one of the coolest guys you could ever meet. He's from Vegas, too, and he polices there as we speak.

    His life story is fucking fascinating. Being a SWAT team member, a paramedic, a cop at the top of his class, going on American Gladiators, becoming a WWE Tag Champion and wrestling in Japan....

    I WANT THAT MAN'S LIFE, lol

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  73.  Then I highly suggest if you travel to England or Europe, pass up any opportunity to see a local wrestling show. I went to one a few years back when on a trip, and it was basicaly 25 Regals. But my liking of Regal is more his attitude, as he can play the snobbish "better than you" aristocrat, but when he gets in the ring, he can back it up. Plus his whole time period with Tajiri and Eugene were gold.

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  74. I wonder if when someone lowballs him and Meng says he has to go in the back to check with his manager if he calls up Jimmy Hart.

    "$0 down and 2.99% APR, I can't BELIEVE that baby! You better call your lawyer, he's not gonna get away with this! Let me get Honky on the horn..."

    Or maybe he just pulls out the asiatic spike and shows you who is boss.

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  75. I think Sid may have had some heat with Arn Anderson at one point...

    His promos were a thing of beauty though.

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  76.  I'm typing while wearing mine right row.

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  77. I also loved Ahmed.  Of course, I don't think he was a bad worker as much as he was a dangerous one.

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  78.  He probably just waves his arms a bunch like he's doing some really cool shit and says "HOOOOOAHH!" and you're all "Ok, you sold me dude. Let's sign the contract!"

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  79. I wish they would've blown this off without the Big Show as Champion.

    I always said, if you put Kane in Show's role, it works. Then book Kane vs. X-Pac for the WWF Title in a Cage Match at Armageddon '99, and then Kane loses to HHH for the title when Tori turns on him.

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  80.  Yeah I'm not knocking him I'm just not a fan of that style. I prefer more fast paced stuff.

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  81. I'd have to vote for Yokozuna.  The guy wasn't putting on ***-***** classics, but he was pretty entertaining.  I loved his facial expressions in the feud with the Undertaker and his spot where he'd fall outside the ring and run himself into the ring post.  Even though his moveset was limited, he had about four to five moves that could legitimately finish a match.

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  82. I respect the Miz a lot.  As a former Real World/Road Rules watcher (yeah I know), you could tell this guy really loved wrestling and you could tell he wanted to become a wrestler.  You can also tell he wasn't trained as a wrestler so of course he's going to struggle at the beginning but he's starting to get better and he always has tons of charisma so I hope he succeeds.

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  83. Another: New Jack.

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  84. I remember being so frustrated with that re: Hall and Nash.  I generally liked both of their work in the WWF -- Hall consistently and Nash with the right guy.  They were both soooo lazy in WCW.  Oddly enough, I think Nash probably had more good matches in WCW than Hall did.

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  85. haha, I have noticed that too -- he particularly likes that 'inner circle' reference.

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  86. I never got too into Miller, but I must say his contributions at Bash at the Beach 1997 in the opener were pretty cool at the time.  That's one of my favorite openers of all time actually, for the way better than expected work, energy, and goofy Mortal Kombat like characterizations.

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  87.  He's someone I wished I'd always seen more of -- I have heard a lot of people say they like his work as the heel incarnation of Norman The Lunatic in particular.

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  88. It's cool, the awesomeness of Bowtunga just went over your head. When you're ready, us enlightened types will be

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  89. Yeah he's definitely shown flashes of personality that have got me interested in him but he always seems to shoot his goodwill by dominating the scene and repeating himself too much.  I don't know what it is about him.  His TNA incarnation is definitely the best of the bunch though, so maybe there is hope.

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  90. I just want it noted that this imposter is not the Joe you know and love.

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  91. Other than trying to kill Arn with scissors, Sid had no heat with anybody.

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  92. Yokozuna/Jake Roberts vs. King Kong Bundy/Jim Neidhart from Heroes of Wrestling was good for all the wrong reasons

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  93. Yeah, but so was Sarge and Piper and they always get thrown in with the legends as if they were in the same class as Hacksaw are something.  Unfortunate, but that's how Vince wants it.

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  94. Man did I love some BWM as a kid.  Me and my little brother would do that ridiculous dance where he was clapping and shit, lol. 

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  95. I'va always been a fan of Danny Spivey. His facial expressions were great.

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  96. Hart did not wrestle either Nash or Hall.  Hart was in that weird place where he sort of helped NWO Hollywood, but at the same time, wasn't feuding with the Wolfpac...huh?  lol.  He then went on to join the NWO "Silver" with them before the Goldberg incident.

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  97. Fishing for likes?  ;-)

    Weren't Jericho and Cactus in ECW in '96?

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  98. Like one month maybe. 

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  99. Yeeee-haaawwwww!!!

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  100. Probably the best part of being in a frat in the late 90s was drunken guys doing Steiner promos back and forth at each other. 

    Why yes, nobody was getting laid during this period, why do you ask?

    Anyways he always brought the goods on the mic and because of his body he was a
    believable threat even after his workrate went into the toilet.  WCW in their dying days put the title on him for a few months and I always thought they should have done that sooner.  Just let him murder some cruiserweights and get chased by Booker T.  It wouldn't have been worse than what they were doing during 99/2000 anyways.

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  101. As I hear it, Arn was the one to bring the scissors, Sid was just defending himself.

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  102. Well, Hall's problem was as much being bombed most of the time as it was motivation, so that explains Nash having the better matches. A quick check of Scott's PPV archives shows no meetings between Bret and Hall or Nash, though they may have ran into each other on Nitro or something. Given Bret's past history with the Clique, I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to be anywhere near Hall and Nash.

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  103. New Jack was great when they used him right, but trying to put him in an actual wrestling match was just death. His promos were pretty awesome though.

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  104. LOVEEEEE Jimmy Garvin.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqoPLozClUg

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  105. After what I've heard about the way Savage treated Liz I think she was better off without him.

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  106. I realize that was a joke answer, but I actually always really liked Henry Godwinn - there was something very scary about him as a heel, like one of those bumpkin serial rapists/killers.

    A "Deliverance"-style gimmick would have been great for him.

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  107. Lol somehow someone mentions Shawn Michaels in this convo. He lived both of his gimmicks. Nerdy? Haha what would that make us? He IS a great movie star looking quality guy with a great body in his prime(no homo) so it was natural. And why you gotta hate on his Born Again faith? I think he comes across so genuine and respectful and thankful for his family and life. God Bless him. He is the GOAT.

    And for the topic:
    Scott Steiner- come on his TNA run was pure entertainment and I dare say his matches with Samoa Joe were really good. He's just so impressive physically and entertaining verbally.

    Big Show- I think he's a legend. I liked him as The Giant when he through dropkicks. I liked him against Lesnar/Angle. Liked his 'ECW' reign. And I love his giant 'boxing' style gimmick he has now. Loved the Henry matches last year.

    Lex Luger- didn't see him mentioned here yet. He is definitely a 'bad wrestler' but I always loved his presence. The 87-92 in wcw run was great.The Flair matches, the Steamboat classic, the hidden gems with Spivey and Pillman and his match with Sting @ Superbrawl 92 is awesome. WWF run sucked plain and simple. I was a big fan of his 2nd WCW run untill he joined the Wolfpack. He just didn't fit in after that. Such an impressive body too.

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  108. I've liked my fair share of bad wrestlers, but I never got the attraction to Sid. My favorite bad wrestler was Diesel.

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  109. I'll give you Luger, I enjoyed his run to the title win vs. hogan in Chicago. Crowd went bananas. He was over, and I also think his generic WCW music kinda rocked.

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  110. Cactus Jack started the night after Wrestlemania 12, and apparently was in ECW until only a couple of weeks before that. So until at least March. I think Jericho was gone by then though.

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  111. I endorse any post that involves calling Jimmy Hart for advice.

    "Jimmy, should I sacrifice the leather interior for more horsepower?"

    "Chicks dig a big engine, baby?"

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  112. I think Show gets way too much hate - he's a decent giant (as opposed to, say, Khali or Giant Gonzales), is good on the mic, and has no ego.

    The problem is that he's WAYYY past his expiration date of being a main-eventer, he should be in the mid-card helping the next generation to get over. That's on Vince, though, not Show. Show's a total professional that does whatever is asked of him.

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  113. Except Brian Pillman.

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  114. Adam Bomb is one of those guys that seemed like an absolute can't-miss prospect - he was tall, muscular, agile, had the stereotypical hair/goatee/tattoos, was decent on the mic, and had a great intensity.

    I really think he's at the top of the "What the Hell happened?" pile.

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  115. Easily Ultimate Warrior... though I question if he was a bad wrestler? He could phone it in for sure, but when motivated he could be really good. 

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  116.  My memory is hazy, but I think Bret had a mini-feud with the Outsiders in late 99, after he won the world title but before NWO Silver. I recall a Nitro cage match where he teamed with Benoit against the Outsiders and Goldberg/Sid.

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  117. LOL awesome. Hey, I can't help it, the guy's a genius.

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  118. So there's this guy who's the top guy in his promotion during the much-heralded glory days of pro wrestling. He works hard, especially in the big towns, and the crowds are entertained every night. Really, the only criticsms you can levy at him is that most of his storylines are the same and he has a very specific routine he likes to follow in his matches and doesn't tend to stray from it very often.

    So am I talking about Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair? 

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  119. Jobster, I gotta disagree.

    Rodney, when he was Kokina Max, was one of the premiere big man in professional wrestling.

    Even in 1992-1994, Yoko could work magic compared to anything Khali ever did. It was the 1995 return that really destroyed him. He just could not stop eating and chain smoking (read Bret's book), and it just turned him into a house.

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  120. My favorite "bad wrestler" is and always will be Kevin Nash. Ever since I was a kid I've always liked him. Wasn't much of a worker, but his charisma and cool factor was always off the charts. He was ahead of his time and seemed to be much cooler than the people he worked with during his era. I can certainly understand why some can dislike him, but to me he's awesome.

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  121. I remember seeing that open a Crockett Cup tape and having NO clue what was going on. Thank goodness I got clued in. The guy had charisma, big time.

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  122. One of the worst worked matches in WWE History featured Shawn Michaels, when he fought Hulk Hogan. That could've been worth something, but Michaels flopped around the ring more than a dying fish.

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  123. Damn, I don't remember that at all.  My memory is also so-so for this kind of stuff.  This must've been around the time Benoit-Hart had the Owen Memorial match?

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  124. It was probably a couple of months after that match. The cage match was during the early stages of RussoMania so I'm not surprised that you don't remember it.

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  125. Just for the record, I am not hating on him as you said.  I was just pointing out that he has just about the most curious amalgam of character traits ever.  You have to admit -- it is quite the unlikely combination of stuff.  Seriously, I don't think Golddust even combined as many disparate ideas into one gimmick.

    As a wrestler, I think he was great.  As far as the gimmick, I think that the WWF/E successfully cultivated an image for him that isn't particularly representative of his skill-set -- he was never a particularly charismatic guy really and certainly not "The most charismatic WWF champion of all time!"  He was a super athlete and a bump machine for most of his career and was just OK on the microphone. 

    Looking back, he was always sort of awkward and tentative, really only until he got comfortable in his own skin in the last couple of years.  In the DX years, outside of the stuff with Bret where there was true bad blood between them, he never fit into the group the way the others did --  he was not at his best as the boisterous alpha male type -- he was a great chickenshit heel that ran away from the Undertaker.  His attempts at humor always seemed like the jokes an old guy makes around young guys to sound cool and up to date to me. 

    As far as "movie star good looks", come on, the guy is wearing hair extensions and a weave to cover up his bald spot from 1995 on?  That's "game show host" material.

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  126. His 1997 music?  I liked it better than a lot of the other generic music because it was at least distinctive, but for generic tunes, I really liked his "Smoke On The Water" rip music off the best.

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  127. Yeah, I've heard really mixed things about that too.  I've heard Savage was very possessive and jealous on the road with Elizabeth, with intentions of protecting her from the other guys, although she may not have seen it that way.  I've never heard anything along the lines of physical abuse or anything, are there any reports of that out there?

    I assume he was much better at home, because I'm pretty sure one of the issues between them was that Elizabeth did not want him to be involved in wrestling in 1991/1992 and certainly not on the road so much, nor did she want to continue to travel on the road.  Who knows, but I would guess that one of the reasons for the retirement stipulation in 1991 was an intention to save his marriage -- I don't think he intended to return to wrestling as anything but a commentator after that and was very reluctant to come back when he did in 1991.

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  128. True.  Too bad though, maybe they could have got one *** match out of their whole run lol.

    Even Bret was kind of short on great matches in WCW.  He had two stellar matches against Benoit at Mayhem and Nitro, a good match against Flair at Souled Out and against Sting at Halloween Havoc 1998, an okay-ish match against Goldberg.... is that it?  I seem to recall him having one pretty good match with DDP, although their WW3 1998 match wasn't very good at all.

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  129.  years ago, Scott made a good point in a RAW rant, back when J.R. had Johnny's old job, that he would constantly talk about the changes he wanted to see, longer matches, more emphasis on the cruiserweights, less slow-impact wrestling in his Ross Reports, but at that time, he was one of the guys who could have made those things happen. As a commentator, I miss J.R. for his very good selling of a storyline, and conveying the emotion the angle was supposed to bring out, but his reports are pure drivel, and pure fanboy nonsense.

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  130.  Sid was a terrible worker, though not the worst, but he had the intimidation factor Triple H would kill for. He just LOOKED mean, and even though various backstage rumors has him painted more light in the loafers, if I saw that man in a bar, I would give him my car, my wallet, and my woman if he glared at me.

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  131.  The Miz gets a lot of crap for being a reality show guy, but if half the wrestlers today put in the time and work he has the last several years to be the guy he has become, the industry would be better off. He went from laughingstock, to a great tag team with Morrison, to being the scuzzy frat boy you want to see get his block knocked off.

    same for Mark Henry. For years, he was hated and everyone wondered how a man that bad could keep his job. But he has really shown the last year that with enough time, anyone can improve enough to be viable. So, for everyone down on Chris masters and Mike Knox as possible Aces N Eights, think of mark Henry, and how far he came.

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  132.  They were briefly a unit for awhile. During a Hart Goldberg match, during one of WCW's hundred World Title tourneys, they came out and helped him beat Goldberg, forming NWO elite Pastels or whatever.

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  133. Definitely roided up Scott Steiner, who was shitty once he couldn't move his arms but hand him a mic and let the entertainment begin.

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  134.  I bet he was the censors least favorite wrestler.

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  135. I had the pleasure of meeting Rico and Victoria after the first Raw Roulette in Vegas, and  it's hard to find two nicer workers to talk to. Great folks, both of them.

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  136.  My favorite promo was before he even became Kevin Nash. Track down the Flamingo-Badd boxing match, and try not to crack up during the promo in Flamingo's locker room with Vinnie Vegas as his "trainer".

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  137.  His best matches really boiled down to me to how his opponent dealt with him. My personal fave was him and Rude at WM 5, as Rude kept him in check, and probably helped gaurantee him the World Title by showing he could have a longer match, and even lose and not be deflated.

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  138. There are no objective measurements of wrestling skill, the entire point of wrestling is entertainment, if you are entertained, they are a good wrestler, if you are not entertained, they are not a good wrestler.

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  139. Count me in the Viscera fan club.  That date with Trish was the stuff of legend.

    Plus, anyone who can "accidentally" win a title gets on my good side for life.

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  140. I think his biggest issue was timing more than anything.  He really needed another guy who could cover for him in that department.  Even in his great matches with Hogan and Savage, he messes up quite a few spots -- although he was much, much worse in that department from 1996 on.  I'm just glad he got Hogan up in the gorilla press for a moment at least -- if he hadn't got him up at all, that'd been a Brock Lesnar moonsault kinda botch.

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  141.  Viscera is now one of my faves after watching part 1 of this, and he barely said anything!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTkH1M-LLUw

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  142. While Sid is the gold standard in the "bad wrestler who is awesome" department, I too am shocked by the sparing mention of Goldberg here. You could probably count the list of really good matches he had on one hand (Raven, DDP, and... that's about it), and he wasn't great shakes in the talking department either, but man, the guy had an undeniable presence (that really went beyond charisma) that COMMANDED your attention.

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  143. Right? Chaps with an ass are just....pants. 

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  144.  Well he was kinda dumb, and that probably hamstringed him from playing politics effectively. Like Raven said in a shoot that when he was managing him, Bomb thought Raven was actually supposed to be giving him advice and booking his hotels and shit for him.

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  145. I was thinking last night, I actually defend Show for what he can do on offense, and he can sell well. The reason I always get bored during his matches, though, is because most people can't do shit with him: can't pick him up, can't really put him in submissions, can't plan any big spots. All you can really do his strike with him, and that gets boring quick. Can't blame the guy but it's a reality. 

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  146.  Yeah, kinda like with Big Show, you needed to be able to strike to have a great one with Yoko. I think 123 Kid had one of Yoko's best matches against him, because his "stick & move" offense played in so naturally against Yoko.

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  147.  He could work. Old school style but he was no slouch.

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  148. I've always been a big mark for most of the Anoa'i/Fatu wrestling family (Maivias and Snukas excluded), so some of my choices come from there. Yokozuna, who was good with the right opponent, was one of the first top heels I ever experienced, and I always found him interesting. Fatu/Rikishi I always enjoyed, as a Headshrinker or as Rikishi, and he had decent offense although not really a ton of great matches. Umaga was really good, despite what some people think. Rosie was hella talented for a big man. Samu, Manu, Samoan Savage, Samoan Gangsta Party, Tama, even the Usos? I just dig 'em, I don't even really know why at this point. Afa & Sika are before my time but from what I've seen from old matches, they were a lot of fun (and they had Capt. Lou).

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  149.  Ray Traylor from 1990 through 1995 was IMHO one of the best 'big man' workers ever.

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  150.  I LOVED Hercules...extremely underrated worker.

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  151. Well when you threaten Pillman with a squeegie.

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  152. Yeah, now that you mention it I vaguely remember that.

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  153. I'm one of Shawn's biggest fans, but if I were Vince I would have fired him the second the match was over. Unprofessional doesn't even begin to describe his behavior in that match.

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  154. I'm pretty sure he's always been Kevin Nash. But yeah, that was funny.

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  155. Someone I've never liked...Snuka. Ever.


    Anyway...I've always preferred wrestlers who either were legit tough guys, or looked the part. So, some of my favorite wrestlers were 'bad', but worked a realistic style. Then there are those who are flashy and do little gymnastic moves, but IRL their moves wouldn't bruise a fruit fly. So, you can keep your Mysterios and Sin Caras...I'd rather have Scott Norton &  Haku., 

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  156. His entrance is a thing of beauty. 

    Big, brown, oily beauty...

    I think I like men now.

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  157. If there was anyone in WCW who was unmotivated, it was Bret. After Montreal the fun was kind of sucked out of the business for him, and then Owen dying certainly didn't help either.

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  158.  Okay you got me............but I mainly meant before he became "known" by his real name.

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  159. That's the one! HA!

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  160.  Warrior of all people brought up a good point about Savage/Elizabeth.....He was very protective/jealous, and sheilded her from the guys and the things they got into, but without him watching her, look how she ended up. Dead from an od, just like so many of the guys Savage kept her away from.

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  161.  well, from what i've heard from some of the writers in interviews since leaving the company, it was due to Hogan doing nothing to sell the big match before the show, then constantly doing and end-around to get the finish he wanted, so Shawn just went out and "over-sold" for the 80's Hogan to prove a point. I hated the match, but really, seeing a hint of the old Shawn after the" babyface shove the good guy image down our throats" since the comeback made me smile.

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  162. I've got a few.
    I think everybody mentioned Ultimate Warrior and Sid Vicious.
    I also liked Hercules.
    Scott Norton I liked too. That barrel chested look of his was different.
    And I'm getting fond of Stevie Ray too.

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  163.  I honestly don't think I've ever seen New Jack in a normal match

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  164. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPjIwt5MYSs

    and another one!!!

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  165.  Too be fair, he WAS beginning to make a name and get over as Wrath, until Nash obliterated him because of his recent "unbeaten" streak he had going. That by far is one of the biggest examples I point to of a no nothing guy, getting a push, finally getting over after years of nothing, and being powerbombed back to the soup kitchen.

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  166. Hulk Hogan was a pretty damned decent big guy worker in the early 80's, especially if you track down his Japan stuff.  He just found a formula that worked really, really, REALLY well, and understandably stuck with it.

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  167. Dave "Evad" Sullivan.  His pet rabbit, winning a date with Kimberly, being the #1 Hulkamaniac, all of it.

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  168. You ain't bad, you ain't nuthin!

    You ain't nuthin!!!

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  169. Didn't they do that with them for a short time?  I seem to remember heel Godwins with a banjo theme.  Before they became Southern Justice I think.

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  170. Yeah, I just wonder if she got married too young and then Savage in trying to shield her from all of  the nastiness in the wrestling business and instead pushed her away.

    As I recall, she actually did some anchor work on ESPN for awhile after their divorce before opening a clothing store in Florida.  She probably should have just stayed out of wrestling.

    I heard she got married in 1997 too, but obviously that didn't last and then she was shacking up with Luger from 1999 on.

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  171. I have tapes from most of the shows around then, I'll have to see if I can find it.  My memory is so fuzzy too, after about the first couple of months of 1999 and November/December 1999 I can't remember much of anything.

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  172. I think there is a lot of truth to this too.  It's kind of a hard subject to debate, because some guys are entertaining BECAUSE of their great ring work alone, where other guys are entertaining for some mixture of the other elements.

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  173.  Oh, and of course, Hercules. I've said here in the past that I was a fan of his, and that his match with Haku at WM V is an underrated classic.

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  174. Sid was / is awesome, but Scott absolutly buried him every chance he got. He didn't like him just fine thats for sure.

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  175. You wouldn't, he was never actually trained to wrestle. Somebody showed him how to bump without hurting himself and after that he just did hardcore. Hence why you've never actually seen him do a wrestling move. 

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  176. That match, brother, is why I don't buy Shawn as a changed man.

    That, and reading about his altercation with Rey Mysterio...."I don't like jobs. You shouldn't either."

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  177.  she married a lawyer in Florida, but I believe it ended because she was running around behind him with Luger.

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  178. The Road Warriors.
     
    I can't think of many great matches they were in (other than Wargames), they perioidically refused to sell for any opponent...but I defy anyone to not mark out when they storm the ring to the sound of "Iron Man". 

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  179. Three words. One answer. Honky. Tonk. Man.

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  180. There were a couple in SMW, and they were about as bad as you'd expect. But when you get on the mic and say things like "We're the wrong niggers to be fucking with" people tend to forget if you can work or not.

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  181. Genuine, huge laugh from me on that one.

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  182. That's friggin' hysterical.

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  183. Dude, I am so completely jealous that you have a friend that knows Rico! My friends and I used to watch American Gladiators reruns on Spike TV back in 2002. We were in high school and became obsessed with Rico. He had the most amazing mullet and was the most badass contestant ever. He beat Gemini on the joust, for Christ's sake. We used to all get together during the Summer and watch gladiators and then go skateboard or do whatever. When we got to the finals and Rico got a concussion, we were so bummed. He wound up losing in the Grand Finale because of the concussion and we were all legitimately bummed.

    During the Fall of 2002, we went to a Raw house show in Sacramento. We made our own iron-on Rico t-shirts and brought huge neon signs that spelled out R-I-C-O-! We waited outside the arena with all the other fans and they were all thrown off by our enthusiasm for the Stylist. Lance Storm was signing autographs and he gave us the ultimate stinkeye when he asked who was on our shirt and we told him Rico. Anyways, Rico finally pulls up and walks out to sign some autographs. The crowd of about 30 fans all steps aside and tells us Rico's here. He was so excited that we made shirts and we talked to him for a good bit. You could tell he was genuinely happy and such an awesome guy. We told him to look for us in the arena and when he did a run in during a match, he gave someone a spin kick and then immediately pointed to us afterwards.

    Needless to say, we were huge fans. We all marked out so hard when he won the tag titles with Charlie Haas. When he was getting over as a babyface during his last sting on Smackdown, I was so happy for him. When he got released in 2005, it was such a bummer. I remember tape trading back in the day for the episode of Raw where he beat Ric Flair and the episode of Confidential that did a profile on him. There was a story about his job as a paramedic and they interviewed someone he saved from dying. My friend and I still quote that every once in a while. Rico is describing giving this guy mouth to mouth and the guy is unresponsive. Rico yells, "Breathe, Motherfucker!" and the guy starts coughing. How awesome is that?

    Here's a picture of my buddies and I with Rico at the aforementioned house show.  I am the guy with the brown hair and the glasses, in between Rico and the blonde guy. If you can pass this message along to your friend, let him know that Rico still has five friends that remember him fondly and think he's just about the coolest dude ever.

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  184. Yup, they did. Wish they would have gone "darker" with them, though.

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  185. Your summary of HBK's character is spot on for me. I always understood why the girls would dig him. He's a good looking dude who dances around shirtless. What I could never understand was why so many grown men were marking out for the guy. As a kid, I was always a Bret and Undertaker guy.

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  186. Back in 1996, I thought the Pearl River Plunge was the coolest move ever. I remember practicing that one in the pool all summer.

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  187. My buddies and I were marking huge for Snitsky during the abortion angle. The baby punt has to go down as one of the greatest moments ever in wrestling.

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  188. That is actually a match I cannot believe Scott said was "terrible" when he reviewed it. That match, compared to the rest of that card, was certainly one of the better matches of the night, along with Owen vs. Perfect.

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  189. This might draw some ire, but Piper. Outside of Bret carrying him to his best ever match, he was a pretty shitty worker. But obviously awesome.

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  190. I was there live for the baby punt. Perhaps the only memorable moment WWE has ever had in my town

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  191. The JR quote about Yokozuna sneaking out of fat camp from the 90's Greatest Stars DVD always makes me chuckle. How do you sneak out of fat camp?

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