Greetings.
Today's question comes from Bill Ray:
"What's up Caliber,
Here's a wrestling-related question of the day: if you could pick any wrestler past or present that you think could be a star in any promotion, be it the AWA or Stampede all the way to WWE, TNA, and ROH, who would it be? My personal one is Randy Savage, but I'm interested to hear you and the blog on this one."
Honestly, I think Savage is probably the best choice. You could put him anywhere, in any time zone, and he'd work. Hell, I loved it when Jay Lethal was doing it because it was just like watching Macho. I even thought they made up his hometown, but turns out it was just a massive coincidence he hailed from Elizabeth, NJ.
Some may say Stone Cold, but you couldn't do what he did in the 80's, nor could you now in the PG era. With Hogan you couldn't do his schtickt in the Attitude Era. So, really, I think you're right on the money with Savage.
Although, there is Flair...
How say you?
Anyone else who wants to send in a QOTD, caliberw@hotmail.com
Today's question comes from Bill Ray:
"What's up Caliber,
Here's a wrestling-related question of the day: if you could pick any wrestler past or present that you think could be a star in any promotion, be it the AWA or Stampede all the way to WWE, TNA, and ROH, who would it be? My personal one is Randy Savage, but I'm interested to hear you and the blog on this one."
Honestly, I think Savage is probably the best choice. You could put him anywhere, in any time zone, and he'd work. Hell, I loved it when Jay Lethal was doing it because it was just like watching Macho. I even thought they made up his hometown, but turns out it was just a massive coincidence he hailed from Elizabeth, NJ.
Some may say Stone Cold, but you couldn't do what he did in the 80's, nor could you now in the PG era. With Hogan you couldn't do his schtickt in the Attitude Era. So, really, I think you're right on the money with Savage.
Although, there is Flair...
How say you?
Anyone else who wants to send in a QOTD, caliberw@hotmail.com
I think Bret Hart would have worked in any era, in any promotion.
ReplyDeleteIf I want to make money real fast then Goldberg would be my choice.
ReplyDeleteKurt Angle.
ReplyDeleteJake Roberts
ReplyDeleteAlex "The Pug" Porteau
ReplyDeleteHOAK HOGAN!
ReplyDeleteSid Vicious
ReplyDeleteBig Show
Magnum TA
Kerry Von Erich
Roddy Piper
Ric Flair
Randy Savage
Ricky Steamboat
Yep, that would have been my choice as well.
ReplyDeleteI think Punk would get over in any era.
ReplyDeleteHogan was the #1 or 2 heel (depending on how you feel about counting rock who played a face for awhile too) of the entire era so I'd say that guy would have ended up as the man in any era. He just has this overwhelming charisma and can connect with audience better than anyone.
ReplyDeleteAustin was such an amazing worker that he could have at least been a main event heel in any era.
Yeah sids look and bizaare charisma would put him on the top of any promotion since 1984, at least for a little while. Sid could have really killed it in 80's nwa by bringing his act to new territory every six months or so.
ReplyDeleteBraden Walker #thisthreadisnowdone
ReplyDeleteKurt Angle
ReplyDeleteCM Punk
Eddie Guerrero
Would've gotten over in just about any era, because people love watching someone get whupped.
ReplyDeleteIn no particular order: Undertaker, Piper, Flair, Angle and Savage.
ReplyDeletejumpin' jeff farmer #nowthisthreadisdone #yep
ReplyDeleteI think Punk would be a cruiserweight guy on the first hour of Nitro in the late 90's. I also don't think he makes as big of an impact in the Attitude Era as he seems to think he would have.
ReplyDeleteMan this is coming up a lot... though I tend to agree here, at least in as much that Punk would have had a hard time getting over in other eras with his current gimmick... I try to picture him in the attitude era with the smutty story lines and the crappy wrestling and I just don't see it working.
ReplyDeleteRic Flair and it's not even close. Maybe Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Arn Anderson, and I agree with everyone else who said Savage, Angle, and Eddy Guerrero.
ReplyDeleteAlso lets not pretend Hogan in his prime or even in his 40's as a heel doesn't get over everywhere.
Odd how Hogan excels so much at playing a self centered asshole... its almost like maybe he really is a... nah can't be.
ReplyDeleteSerious answer... Road Warriors... if they showed up today for the first time I think they'd still work... and they did in pretty much every other era.
ReplyDeleteEarly 90s Steiner Brothers. Maybe not a tag team in current WWE but Scott would do well in the Main Event and Rick would be a solid midcarder.
ReplyDeleteHe'd be the guy railing against Austin for being a beer swilling redneck. I think you could plant Straight Edge Society era Punk into the Attitude Era and it wouldn't look out of place. He would be the heel crusading against the immorality.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good one. Although with the de-emphasis on tag-teams now, they would probably be split off into singles guys at some point.
ReplyDeleteU WANNA GO BRO? WE'LL GO!
ReplyDeleteLazer-Tron!
:: Drop Mic, walks away ::
Yeah I thought about that... he'd basically be a less comical one man version of RTC...
ReplyDeleteNot a prayer for him in the 1980's Hulkamania era though.
He would be crusading against Val Venis not Steve Austin.
ReplyDeleteI dunno. Piper got over based on his mic skills and he was relatively small for that era, especially when he came back from Hollywood. He probably would have to change his mic style a bit b/c he's not as over the top cartoony as Piper was in his promos but I bet he could do it.
ReplyDeleteWhy? That makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteI guess he's saying that Punk would be in the midcard against Val instead of in the main event going against Austin.
ReplyDeleteRicky Steamboat. I think Flair and Sid and Piper are all good candidates too, but they do their best work as heels. And if you don't have a face the people really care about, its hard to get super over as a heel. And Steamboat is as good as it gets as a face.
ReplyDeleteI guess... though I seriously doubt Punk is opposed to porn...
ReplyDeletePunk probably could have out heeled piper. I think he would have had an easier time getting a main event program with hogan in mid 80's WWF than getting over as a heel in nwa with the horsemen all ready there
ReplyDeleteI personally disagree about Piper, at least the part about being the heel. One of the best heels of all time, no doubt, but he did spectacular work as a face as well. Wrestlemania III is an ideal example.
ReplyDelete*nods at camera*
ReplyDelete"...Yep..."
Was straight edge really a popular thing in the 80's though? Plus if he was a "punk" in the 80's he'd need like a pink mohawk or something, hardcore wasn't really around (at least not identifiable to middle america)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think he was only that over as a face because of how great he was as a heel. If he had never had the runs against Hogan and Snuka, I don't see the crowd embracing him as much as they did.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the disagreement with Piper. Part of his mystique, IMO, was he didn't do any jobs early in his WWF career. That's not going to fly these days, especially with only one fed.
ReplyDeleteSid is/was a physical specimen. He would've gotten over on look alone, plus he was brutal in his CWA days.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone tried the "smiling face that gets booed as a heel" deal? I could imagine it would get over huge for someone like Sheamoose. He does all his face spots, but gets booed all the time as a heel. So when he panders to the crowd before a big move like a face and gets booed, he could act as if he hears cheers.
IF (and this is a BIG "if") they weren't allowed to job. I bunch the Warriors together with Goldberg in the "guys who beat up other guys and look cool doing it" thing.
ReplyDeleteIf they're booked like the tag team version of Ryback the last 6-8 months? No thanks.
Another one that came to mind - heel Doink.
ReplyDelete:picks up mic"
ReplyDeleteGobbledygooker giving birth to the Red Rooster
:drops mic:
#NowThisThreadIsDoneGetOut
Flair wouldn't be the same in today's WWF. Even a broken-down Flair would embarrass every other heel on the roster to the point where he'd be a face, and then he'd get lost in the face shuffle.
ReplyDeleteRock.
ReplyDeletethe protector... of the children.
ReplyDeletehe was always pallin' around with boogie woogie man. maybe he was protectic' the childrens from him.
*i like boogie woogie man, but c'mon, dude is oot there
I hope someone is cleaning up all these mics that are being dropped or are you guys just picking up and reusing the same one?
ReplyDeleteStone Cold gets NO love around here. Sure his gimmick was perfect for the attitude era, but you could still portray him as antiestablishment Stone Cold in today's era and it would be over (its kinda what Punk does.). He could talk, was a top level worker for years, and had years in the business learning his trade. He'd be a suitable choice in any era.
ReplyDeleteHe had moments of brilliance in WcW with Pillman and as a secondary champ before getting hurt and politically sabotaged, was over in ECW while developing his Stone Cold gimmick, and was the hottest performance ever once he found his way in WWF. I'd pick him or Rock.
Its Hector's job to clean up. #racist
ReplyDeleteAustin is another great choice. I think his whiny, paranoid heel character would've worked in the Hulk-A-Mania era. He would've been a good foil for Hogan.
ReplyDeleteI think it has to be Savage- enough of a worker for the Workrate Crowd, perfect for the '80s, bad-ass enough for the '90s (just add some "ass" or "bitch" remarks in there and he'd fit right in), etc. He's probably the best all-around wrestler ever.
ReplyDeleteHollywood Hogan and macho man randy savage. Also Ric Flair and the Horsemen.
ReplyDeleteNot enough Bret Hart suggestions for my liking. Pre-Montreal Bret would be the safest (and, thus, the best) choice. He fit in with the cartoon era and can still fit in the PG era. Bret and Austin helped usher in the Attitude era, so he's good there. Yet, he's serious and masterful enough in the ring where he could have easily fit in the AWA and NWA.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I say today. Ask me tomorrow, and I'll probably say HBK or Savage--they're that close.
Austin is not TV, hasn't been for a long time, and I think a lot of that has to do with just how out of place his character is in modern WWE. Austin does tons of bad movies and has his Redneck show to promote, you would think a guy who is the top 1 or 2 wrestlers ever in WWE would be featured on TV more often. Same thing for 80's era he doesn't fit. I think there was a window for him to come back and wrestle Punk, which would have been awesome, but that window has closed.
ReplyDeleteDude they failed miserably from 96 on in WWE and WCW.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of surprised no one has suggested Hillbilly Jim yet. WWF, he was one of the top guys throughout the entire Rock N' Wrestling era. In Stampede he would have been an exotic monster heel. In AWA he could have picked up the ball that they dropped with Hogan. In ECW, he would have succeeded where Big Dick Dudley failed. In Crockett, he would have had the country appeal that that promotion's demographic salivated over. In TNA, he's like a motivated Samoan Joe. In WWE, he could have updated his act and been a modern-day blue collar hero who steps up against the Wyatte Family. He might be a little out of place in ROH, but Jay Briscoe got the title, so I assume Jim could probably do the same thing with the bonus of not sending out homophobic tweets.
ReplyDeletePlus, in the modern era his theme would probably be "Don't Go Messing with a Country Boy" as rerecorded by the RedNex, which would get him MEGA over.
This is what his 2000's WWE run so fun and awesome. He would still be the best heel on the show at certain times.
ReplyDeleteWatch War to Settle the Score - Piper is JACKED.
ReplyDeleteYes, he would. After he destroyed Rock in a promo in January I think it's pretty obvious he would be great in any year.
ReplyDeleteYeah...a RTC that didn't suck. He'd get some mega-heat.
ReplyDeleteStraight Edge wouldn't need to be a thing. Just a holier than thou "I can't believe you all rely on alcohol to have fun wtf is wrong with you?" promo would work.
ReplyDeleteWhy not? Because he's not roided to the gills? Or because of the tattoos? I agree, his look wouldn't work in the '80s, but I think everything else about him would.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm wondering why no one has made a parallel between 80s Hogan and the Superdickery comics.
ReplyDeleteHe was jacked from 85-87 or so but look at him once he got back from They Live. He wasn't much bigger than Punk.
ReplyDeleteI like comparing Stone Cold to Bad News Brown at times. Brown was before his time in the WWF (he'd be MEGA over as the butt-kicking Batman to Angle's Superman).
ReplyDeleteNot saying he couldn't get over in the 80s (I'd think he could get over more in the Crockett 80s than in the WWF), but I just think there are more compelling characters.
You pretty much nailed my reasoning yes.
ReplyDeleteThey were still over, they were just horribly booked... But if you take mid-80s Hawk and Animal, those two dudes would get over anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI'd suggest Ted DiBiase in his MDM gimmick. Who doesn't love railing against the 1%, which of course he represented? He'd have hit his stride if booked properly two years ago during the Occupy movement. Heck, even if he had the gimmick in Memphis/Mid-South, being a rich asshole would've garnered pretty great heat, especially given he had the technical skills to back it up in the ring.
ReplyDeleteIf it was King of the Ring '96 Stone Cold, I'd say fuck yeah. He finally got a personality to go with his ringwork, and he could definitely fit in anywhere at that point. Post-neck injury, not so much.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that John Cena?
ReplyDeleteDr. D. David Shultz would of been great in any era. Great on the stick, good worker and a great gimmick because it was his personality without being over the top like Austin.
ReplyDeleteCena, to his credit, is in on it. And he does get cheers from time to time.
ReplyDeleteYou need someone who would acknowledge it, but be disingenuous about it. And one thing you can't say about Cena is him being disingenuous.
Bockwinkel. If you can do it in the 'wrestling is a sport, dammit' ethos of Minnesota and the gaga bullshit that built Memphis, the rest is a breeze. Just update the clothes and hair while keeping the disdain for others. He's the prototype of Attitude Era Vince.
ReplyDeleteThe Rock - some guys were MADE to be pro wrestlers
Andre. Giants work.
This screams Bray Wyatt to me.
ReplyDeleteSavage, Dibiase, Austin, Bret, Owen
ReplyDeleteAnd Piper didn't do much of anything important after '87.
ReplyDeleteTom Magee.
ReplyDelete1992?
ReplyDeleteI'm hitting myself in the head for forgetting that one. I love it.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I said "didn't do much" instead of "did nothing". That's a rather large gap for a top guy to not have anything of substance going on.
ReplyDeleteAnybody say Superstar Billy Graham yet?
ReplyDeleteAnd for obscure... Larry Sweeney
I think Scott Hall would be another good choice. He looked and was built like Magnum in the '80s. The size would've worked in the WWF and he could've been a Magnum replacement in the NWA. The drug dealer Razor would've worked in the Attitude era and his natural big size and charisma would've put him with guys like Barrett, Orton, ADR and Sheamus.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really interesting point. Not even sure I agree, but you can certainly make a compelling case. The thing is, Piper was so damn good as a heel that people couldn't wait to cheer him. For a guy that had been the top heel in the promotion for 2 years, it was absurdly easy for Vince to turn him face. He probably would've gotten face pops even if he hadn't been immediately booked against Adonis following his layoff in '86. And the face version of Piper from that '86 return until WMIII was pretty much the Austin prototype for the anti-hero character. Regardless, I think it's hard to envision Piper not being crazy over in that timeframe, no matter if he was booked as heel or face.
ReplyDelete