Scott,
Who do you think are some of WWE's best truly home-grown talent? Guys like Hogan, Savage, Dibiase, etc. are name-brand WWF guys, but all started their basic characters in other organizations (AWA, Memphis, etc). Steve Austin was awesome in USWA and WCW before breaking out with a new character in the WWF (I guess we could say Stone Cold was WWF-grown, as a character?). The Rock is the only one that comes to mind as a guy who developed everything in the WWF/E. Then of course the developmental guys like Cena, Orton, et al. Any thoughts on this?
Yeah but Rock was a man of the world even before he got to WWE, due to his family connections and life in the business. John Cena is the guy who lived and breathed the WWE system 100% from day one and ended up as the biggest star in the business. Although he did some stuff with Bassman's promotion before he got to OVW, so you could argue he wasn't completely WWE property.
But if you want to go REALLY hardcore with the technicalities, Dolph Ziggler is the guy who went from tryout in the developmental system and made it all the way to the main roster as World champion, so I'd go with him.
You know what's gonna be weird? When guys start coming up in the system who have no knowledge or memory of WCW beyond what WWE produces for the nostalgia DVDs.
Not only is that sad but it makes some us feel pretty old, dagnabit
ReplyDeleteThe only wrestlers to ever live and breathe the WWE system 100% from day one are Shane and Stephanie McMahon.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I worked at a grocery store a few years ago, this little kid (maybe 7 or 8) had a Rey Mysterio figure with him and said he was his favorite. I said he's great and he was even more awesome back "in my day". THAT made me feel old.
ReplyDeleteDidn't start working with his father until he was 12.
ReplyDeleteWCW has been a memory for 13 years, some of the young guys must already have pretty vague memories at best.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the wealth of guys who get hired that weren't wrestling fans growing up and how young some of them are, it wouldn't surprise me that i've seen more wrestling than a lot of current workers.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine how bad the WWE is going to become when guys are coming up and THIS PRODUCT is what they assume is entertaining.
ReplyDeleteAfter Wrestlemania, I'm probably shifiting my number one interest to TNA...unless Cena turns heel.
but he wasnt in wrestling before that.
ReplyDeleteif thats the case scratch shane off. he doesnt work for the wwe anymore
He still lived and breathed WWE from day one.
ReplyDeleteIf they're not studying tapes of WCW, ECW, NWA, World Class, or anything else they can get their hands on, then they'll never make it to the top of the card.
ReplyDeletehe who?
ReplyDeleteShane.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you're forgetting that Brock started in WWE from day one. Unless his amateur career counts. I'd say Brock is the best homegrown talent. And Swagger is the talent with the best homegrown.
ReplyDeleteNo, Hee Haw.
ReplyDeleteEdge.
ReplyDeleteEdge put in a fair bit of time in some indies before WWE. Lance Storm had some great stories about E&C pre-WWF on his blog.
ReplyDeleteYouTube must survive as a way for the young men and women of today to see rasslin' as it was meant to be. MOAR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT! The revolution will not be televised!
ReplyDeleteLance Storm must be loving his student Dolph up that high on the card.
"ed" past tense.
ReplyDeleteso Angle?
Didn't he make a couple WCW appearances before joining the WWF as well?
ReplyDeleteIn all fairness we've seen more wrestling than 99.9% of the population
ReplyDeleteBingo
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember when John Cena was on that stupid Manhunt show as the lead bounty hunter, probably a year before he debuted on Smackdown?
ReplyDeleteIsn't Batista an example of being a fully home-grown talent that achieved main event status in WWE?
ReplyDeleteYes, as Damon Striker. Kevin Sullivan wiped him out on a episode of WCW Pro.
ReplyDeleteHe toiled at the WCW Power Plant before coming in. I guess that doesn't count because those students had to be re-trained anyway.
ReplyDeleteTrue and I seem to remember reading interviews with Big Dave where he didn't seem to think much of his training before debuting for WWE including his stint in OVW.
ReplyDeleteBrock Lesnar and Batista. Mark Henry as well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Cornette's had several heartfelt "Fuck You's" for Dave.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to see some of the wrestlers we grew up with "before they were famous".
ReplyDeleteEddie Guerrero getting beat up by "Middle Aged and Crazy" Terry Funk, Owen Hart's cup of coffee in 1991 WCW, etc...
Simplistic, but still partially accurate.
ReplyDeletehard to believe WCW closed its doors for good over 12 years ago now.
ReplyDeleteidle threats ;)
ReplyDeleteif you're going that route, then how can you argue against Kurt Angle? I don't think any of us would count his ECW appearance.
ReplyDeleteowen was in wcw?!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixg6oAeiLaU
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjWc1AFWT3g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJEgmXydDsI (Tag with Ricky Morton)
No but I remember the A&E special where they showed him starting wrestling school. Go figure he'd end up being the top guy, they had their eye on him from day one.
ReplyDeleteDont be silly I'm sure my elderly neighbours enjoy mid to late 90's japanese womens wrestling as much as I do.
ReplyDeleteIs that the one he fails utterly at two basic moves?
ReplyDeleteWe are the 1%!!!
ReplyDeleteThey can watch all the tapes... but will they understand why crowds reacted the way they did? Or will they just think "Copy this and I'll get cheered/booed."
ReplyDeleteWCW today would wield no more influence than TNA.
ReplyDeleteYup. But those pecs! Obviously had a marker on him since the start. That special also made him out to be some kind of giant, IIRC, which was weird when he debuted as an average sized guy on the well built side.
ReplyDeleteYeah. They slightly missed the boat on him.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on Angle. More longevity than Lesnar and a FAR deeper catalog of great work
ReplyDelete