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QOTD #7: Terrible Wrestlers You Love



Friday’s here! Hopefully this means you’re gearing down for the weekend, and ready to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Today’s Question: Who is the absolute worst wrestler you can think of … that you secretly love?

We’ll get to your answers tomorrow. If you want to jump straight to the discussion, please scroll through to the end.


Yesterday, I asked you what your favorite episode of RAW of all time was. With 1100 episodes to choose from, you had a wide variety of choices. Here are your answers:

Garth Holmberg, C.C.: Tough to choose, what with there being so many episodes and the memory not being the best. I'm going to go old school, and say... the January 25th, 1993 episode. Random, I know, but it was the first episode of Raw I got to watch (and it was only the 3rd), and first time I was actually allowed to watch a late-night primetime show on a school night. Perfect vs. Flair was a nail-biter, even to me being 7 years old, and I liked the opener with Savage against Repo Man. It's an episode that still stands out to me more than many other popular options.

This was the first “major” RAW happening, seeing Ric Flair turfed back to WCW on the wrong end of a Loser Leaves Town match.

Andy PG: Best Raw for me? One of the very early ones. It has Marty entering through the crowd, challenging Shawn, and winning the I-C title, plus the famous Kid/Ramon upset. Basically, the night Raw became RAW.

This is certainly the first episode of RAW that made it truly stand out from the other shows the WWF was running at the time; and it was clear from that moment onwards that this was THE show to watch. As long as it wasn’t taped.

Tom Dawkings: I'll go the unconventional route and say that there was a Raw in 96 which I believe was the first PPV-lite Raw they did. It featured Kid v Hakushi, Dudes With Attitide v Bulldog/Yoko and Bret v Taker. Kid/Hakushi was the only good match, but I still remember it because it was a pretty surprising watching a tv show without any jobber matches for the time period.

This is probably long forgotten because it was on the back end of a taping cycle, so fans who were smartened up to the Internet were well in the know of the results ahead of time. Still, this stood out in the gloomy early part of 1996; and things weren’t about to get any better with Bret Hart’s hiatus, and half the midcard departing for WCW by the end of the year.

jobber123: The one where Pillman pulls the gun on Austin really stands out to me, only because I remember seeing that as a kid and being blown away by what happened.

Local police must have been sick to death of pro wrestling by this point, as this happened just months after the Rey Mysterio lawn dart incident; with both that show and the Pillman 9mm episode drawing 911 calls from fans who couldn’t tell what was real anymore, and what wasn’t.

Extant1979: As far as an episode I didn't see in person, I would have to say Bret Hart's tirade against Vince McMahon after he was screwed out of the WWF Title against Sid in the lead-up to WM13. That, in my opinion, is the true kick-off of the Attitude Era. Can't wait to see how they treat that on the Network.

Granted, it’s the swearing here that people remember, but Bret’s promo came across as one of the most genuine things I’ve ever seen in wrestling. Whereas most promos sound tight and scripted, Bret was just ripping into everyone and everything, but in a way that felt like it was coming straight from the heart (likely, because he DID feel that way in light of the lost smile).

LScisco: I'd say the RAW where Austin and Bret led off with a street fight and Bret was attacked in an ambulance. THAT show, even to the mark in me at the time who had endured the abuse of friends who thought WCW was superior, proved to me that the company was becoming different and would once again regain its position as the #1 wrestling company in North America.

Owen and Bulldog plotting to kill Steve Austin became one of my favorite running gags in the subsequent weeks.

Biscuit!: 4/28/97, the 'Pillman Prays' episode. Absolute anarchy culminating with Jim Neidhart's surprise return, leading to a wheelchair-bound Bret Hart whacking Austin off the ramp with a crutch.

This episode was all about the Harts; Owen capturing the IC title was classic. “LOOK AT ALL THE GOLD! WE’RE RICH!” Pillman’s prayer sessions were incredible, but then just about everything he did from late 95 until his death were brilliantly crazy and people bought in.

PrimeTimeTen: 7/21/97 in Halifax, NS.
- The Bret/McMahon hockey fight
- Shawn turning the heel up to ten with "And I... will BE... the SPECIAL... referEE!"
- A molten hot crowd, cheering the hell out of the Hart Foundation, and not buying Brian Walsh's sucking up by carrying a mini Canadian flag.
- The flag match main event with Brian Pillman's run-in.

The run of shows in Canada were great that year, because Bret’s nuclear heat had caused the first real instances of “Bizarro World”. Shawn Michaels drawing “faggot” chants without offending all of North America (was this really acceptable that recently?). The McMahon/Hart fight was the usual heel Bret goodness, who despite HATING the role played it like a champ. When he jumped the announce table to pound McMahon for naming Shawn the special referee at SummerSlam, the place exploded. How the Survivor Series WASN’T a total work is beyond me, because they set that whole story up for an entire year.

AverageJoeEveryman: First Raw I went to December 8 1997. Had the DX strip poker game, Sable in the potato sack (later an incredibly small bikini), Mero outing Sal Sincere as a jobber, and Stone Cold forfeiting the belt to The Rock.

A lot of posters mentioned being nostalgic for shows they attended. Sadly, I’ve only been to 1 episode of RAW, which aired in 2001. If you asked me, gun to my head, what the main event was, I don’t think I’d be able to come up with an answer.

BeardMoney: The post-Wrestlemania 14 Raw was pretty amazing. Dan Severn and Kaientai debuted. The Rock turned on Farooq and claimed leadership of the NOD. X-Pac returned and later the Outlaws joined DX solidifying the new line-up, and sewing the seeds for Foley's heel turn. Austin Stunned McMahon. The show genuinely established a new direction for the company, and kicked off what was arguably the greatest era in the history of the WWF/E. Sadly, today's post-'Mania Raws just let us know which rematches we get to look forward to.

Absolutely spot on, this took us into the Attitude era at 100 miles an hour. Within weeks the stupid NWA titles would be phased out, we’d have a wrestling porn star, NoD turning up our racist meters to full blown, and DX making a mockery out of everyone and everything. Oh, and some guy named Steve Austin swearing up a storm and getting drunk at every corner turnbuckle.

riraho: The RAW where Austin and McMahon were going to wrestle. From the start where they said they would--through Vince's training with the stooges--to the hand behind the back deal--to them brilliantly not giving it away on free tv. That was prime.

Not to mention they continued to hold this off for another year, without it ever feeling dragged out. Very little can come close to this feud. This is also the RAW that ended WCW’s hold of the ratings lead.

Jeremy Rinehart: The night after Breakdown.
- Zamboni 3:16
- Vince gets his ankle broken
- Rock pins Undertaker

This was pretty much the moment that Rock fans knew he was on the fast track to the World Title. He had just turned face, and having him pin the Undertaker was a sign the company was fully invested.

BooBoo1782: The only Raw I really remember as a whole show after watching on TV is "Raw is Owen." It's obviously in a very different category than everything else, but I remember X-Pac and one of the Hardys working the enziguiri into their movesets that night as a tribute, Mick going over Billy Gunn with a nice tribute after, Rock dedicating the People's Elbow to Owen in his match with Val Venis, and the Austin beer tribute closing the show. I wouldn't call it a favorite, but it's really the only Raw I remember as a full show.

I have tried to watch this one a few times, but I’m still not able to. Definitely a lot of raw, real emotion here, and memorable top to bottom under the most unfortunate and tragic of circumstances.

Night81: I really liked the Radicals/DX vs. Rock/Sock/Too Cool RAW. It told a great story throughout the show from the Radicalz betrayal to Rock stepping up with a great promo to Too Cool running in to join the fray to nuclear heat throughout the whole match for everyone's spots and feuds to Kane's big return with Paul Bearer. Just an awesome RAW.

Prior to the Radicalz betrayal, we also got Foley’s HIAC retirement match booked against Triple H. This was also the legendary “Viscera slips” show. But yes, the true meat was that main event, which basically served as a “Fuck You, WCW” – putting over the quartet of newcomers as hard as they possibly could, against an absolutely loaded opposition.

Peyton_Drinking: Buying WCW comes to mind because I had been working a lot that weekend and didn't know about the purchase in advance.

If you didn’t know about this in advance, I can see this entire show being the most ground-breaking “WTF IS HAPPENING HERE” show in history. Even then, seeing McMahon talk openly about WCW talent, fire Jeff Jarrett on national television, and the Shane McMahon “purchase” made for a strong finish to the Monday Night Wars.

The Bragg Man: I loved the RAW that was Main Evented by Jericho/Benoit vs HHH/Austin for the Tag Titles. I remember being a little down on the product at that point after WM X7, and that match brought me back.

Triple H hadn’t looked bad in two years at that point; having him submit clean as a whistle gave the Canadian lads all they needed to make a run at the main event.

CruelConnectionNumber2: RVD and Dreamer hop the rail and ECW returns to punk out Jericho and the coffee-fearing monster Kane in 2001.

That slow burn when you realized the “WWF” was being represented by the likes of Tazz, Raven, and the Dudleys, with Lance Storm and Mike Awesome already in the ring was an absolute goosebump moment in time.

YankeesHoganTripleHFan: I am such a Hogan mark for this one but I have to go with Raw the nights after WM 18. First off I was pretty baked so every cool moment was increased tenfold. Second Hogan's ovation and the Rock encouraging him to rip off the NWO t-shirt was fucking awesome and then later Brock debuted and I just remember being like "what the fuck was that?" Plus I think the stooges did something wacky which caused me to giggle on my bed for like ten minutes. Did I mention the pot was hydro?

I was watching this with a friend, and I remember we both thought initially that Brock’s run-in was Sid Vicious for some reason, until the camera got a better look and the announcers clarified who it was. One of the strongest rookie debuts ever.

Brent Garrison: June 2005 in St. Louis. Cena debuts on RAW, ECW invades to wrap up the show, and on a personal note-The best dark main event I've seen in all of the 86 T.V. tapings I've been too-Triple H and Batista in a 20-minute bloodbath.

That’s a lot of TV tapings.

ABeyAnce1: Since they were a week within each other, I have to choose the 2008 WWE Draft mainly because it was the one draft with the real shocker factors. By that I mean the guys that switched brands. Hardy, HHH, Umaga, and Kennedy all going to Smackdown, and then how Rey, Batista, and Punk went to Raw. It also then lead to later in the night when Vince got "injured", causing the next week, and the rest of the summer, to become total anarchy.

Jim Ross’ reaction to being sent to SmackDown was fabulous; 100% pissed off curmudgeon, and it was all real. This was also CM Punk’s ascension to the main roster, as he was drafted over to RAW as a major player holding the MITB briefcase, from the dying ECW brand. Good forgotten pick!

Stuart_Chartock: I don't know if I'd rank it #1, but the episode the night after "WrestleMania 28" was friggin' fantastic. The non-stop "Yes!" chants, Rock declaring that he'll be back for more, and BROCK FUCKING LESNAR!

The fans turning Del Rio face with the “SI SI SI” chants was a lot of fun as well. In fact, the only time they shut up all night was during Albert’s return.

When it comes down to my own choice, I’m going to have to go with the first ECW invasion … in 1997. This was the type of show that simply isn’t going to happen in the corporate world of 2014, but anything was possible with the ratings in the toilet back then. With only a skeleton crew of wrestlers on hand because the main roster was in Europe, the show was used as both a selling point for ECW’s Barely Legal, but more importantly for McMahon, a chance to make some noise and grab some audience share.

Lawler had been antagonizing the ECW base for ages; and ECW finally grew tired of it and took over Monday Night RAW. We got complete anarchy. Even as someone who’s not an ECW fan, the idea of another promotion walking into enemy turf and literally holding the show as one of their own is just unfathomable. Vince couldn’t even allow this to happen when he OWNED WCW. The wrestling itself wasn’t great, but this painted the idea that anything and everything could (and was going to happen). Jerry Lawler was at his absolute best on this night, and everyone was on their games trying to stand out to the national crowd. Competition truly does bring out the best in everyone.

See you tomorrow!

Comments

  1. If you are going to post 1,000,000 replies can you please put them after the jump so we aren't forced to scroll through them.

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  2. Why is the whole article posted on the main page?

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  3. Mike Shaw, specifically Norman the Lunatic. Norm was just such a fun character, and Shaw nailed it and was clearly having fun with the role.

    Early Goldust. Dustin got so far into the character that he pretty much turned into this weird amalgam of Larry Zybysko at his stalling worst combined with, like, some bizarre R. Crumb comic.

    Anybody doing the Road Warriors gimmick including the Road Warriors. It wasn't made for good matches, but it's fun to watch two steroid-freaks in face paint smash shit.

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  4. King Kong Bundy. I've always thought he ruled. He's funny, he epitomizes the big fat monster look, and just his very existence screams "1980'S PRO WRESTLING."

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  5. Also, a nit-pick with this comment:

    "Triple H hadn’t looked bad in two years at that point;
    having him submit clean as a whistle gave the Canadian lads all they needed to
    make a run at the main event."


    The match actually ended by pinfall after an errant sledgehammer shot.

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  6. Hollywood Hulk Hogan

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  7. I'm a big mark for Kamala. Terrible ring skills and a cheesey gimmick, but I bought it as a kid. He's still one of my all time favorites.

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  8. I still have a bit of a soft spot for George Steele.

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  9. Everybody has this big thing about Sid only being "carried" to good matches. Fuck no. The dude had the look, the charisma, and a good amount of ability in the ring. He only really had bad matches with guys he had no chemistry with. So Sid, Vader, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart allll just carried him, right on their backs? No. Sid is awesome. However, he is usually put on these lists.

    And Sabu, it's like silent film comedy.

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  10. He's a Hall of Famer and the gimmick had serious legs since he worked it for thirty years (No pun intended). It's legit to be a fan of Kamala.

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  11. Spike Dudley.

    I will forever love his match with Mike Awesome at Guilty as Charged in 2000. There's something about seeing a little dude get destroyed for 15 minutes that warms my heart.

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  12. A requirement for being the QOTD person is not listening to feedback.

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  13. Mikey Whipwreck. Decent worker and hilarious when teaming with Foley as the perpetual deer in headlights. That gimmick could only work in ECW, but it was fun for what it was.

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  14. Jump this please.


    Also, you really don't need to respond to every answer.

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  15. The Mean Street Posse really sticks out for me. Just hot garbage in the ring but the gimmick was a riot. To be really fair almost every Memphis wrestler was kinda bad in the ring but all of them were so good at getting heat.

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  16. Oh sid fucking stunk in the ring. That's not debatable. Yet neither was his awesomeness.

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  17. Andre The Giant, the later years. This is more nostalgia from me, because as a kid renting Coliseum Video's, seeing an Andre match was always a big deal to me. It didn't matter that all he could do was hang on the ropes and choke people: He was an intimidating giant who made even the largest superstars look like midgets. His presence alone was enough to make me want to watch his matches, and even now, I could look past his physical limitations because of the aura surrounding him that I don't think anyone else has ever been able to capture.

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  18. I don't recall a lot of Sid botches outside of the one very infamous one that only did damage to him.

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  19. One man. Three letters. SID

    The guy was horrible in the ring. The guy was out of his mind on the mic. But goddamnit I loved that guy!

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  20. He's my answer by a mile too but he could only have a good match if he was led around like a puppy dog.

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  21. His inability to throw a good punch really kills the argument before I can even get going. It's like every punch was a comical Popeye punch, and he's usually a monster heel.

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  22. Most guys that aren't Lawler, Austin or Hart throw dogshit looking wrestling punches.

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  23. Part of his charm though

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  24. Another runner up for me... King Mabel. There, I said it. His push sucked, but he was a decent worker and he was actually busting his ass to get over and improve in the ring during that whole run. Then it flopped and they cut him loose.

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  25. There's dogshit bad and then there's dogshit Sid bad. Maybe El Gigante threw worse punches.

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  26. MikeyMike, King of ClevelandJune 27, 2014 at 10:23 AM

    This has been brought up before and Sid is always mentioned.

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  27. At the time I really enjoyed JBL's title run. From day one he just completely owned that character.

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  28. MikeyMike, King of ClevelandJune 27, 2014 at 10:24 AM

    Loved British Bulldog. Does that count?

    Kevin Nash is a favorite.

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  29. WWF Hacksaw falls there as well. Mid-South Hacksaw was a tough bastard who could go, but I still love cheesy, flag-waving Uncle Hacksaw. He's great at engaging the crowd.

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  30. Even a low down super smark like myself loves sid. He was the man.

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  31. Sid was so over even the Philly mutants circa 1999 popped huge for him, hell if he had stuck around Paul E could have put the strap on him when Taz left and the place would have gone bananas.

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  32. WWF Duggan, and the Bushwhackers since I usually lump them into the category, are easily my least favorite characters in the history of wrestling, both for the in-ring quality and goofball shenanigans. How they remained over for so god damn long with what they were doing is just remarkable.

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  33. Sid is the master and ruler of the world. No one can tell me otherwise.

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  34. Jimmy "The Boogie Woogie Man" Valiant, NWA, early-mid eighties, Charisma with a capital C, but when I look back now, simply horrible in the ring. I still mark out for his matches though, don't care.

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  35. Is Roma considered a poor worker, or just a poor choice for a specific role? I thought he was a decent-good worker for the majority of his time in WWF and WCW, taking out the Horsemen stuff.

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  36. Let's be fair here. Lawler threw a good punch because 90% of his offense was punch-based. If he wasn't able to learned how to throw a good one, he'd have been doomed.

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  37. Roma wasn't a bad worker. His time in Power & Glory and The Young Stallions proved he was a capable guy. He was just better suited for tag teams, not as a singles star.

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  38. That reminds me of the awesome Lawler - Bockwinkel '$500 a punch' feud. I've never seen the match, but just the promos make me want to buy a ticket.

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  39. So sid is my official answer but goddamnit I loved Mongo too. I can't get enough of his promos or him on commentary. I don't know if he's brain damaged, or just really stupid or what but that dude made me laugh every time he came on TV. The first time I remember seeing him was with LT during the Bam Bam angle and omg was he hysterical. His backstage promo is the best part of wm11.

    My all time favorite mongo moment was when he slapped a coffee out of goldbergs hand and yelled in his face "YOU DON'T DRINK COFFEE IN FRONT OF A MAN"

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  40. He sucked in the ring. Charlie Brown from out of Town was a pretty solid hand, though.

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  41. That's a bad one to be sure but what was WCW thinking with a cage top that goddamn low?

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  42. Awesome gimmick too. And who doesn't love when he got zapped in the brain and turned smart for a bit

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  43. No one else had a problem with it. The Road Warriors managed to come up with an alternative when they killed JJ Dillon with a modified version of the Doomsday device in '87.

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  44. That looks like a cage I'd expect to see in the JCP days. Nobody thought that wrestling had changed a bit between Gene Anderson and Sid.

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  45. Hes definitely hof worthy for running that gimmick for so long but boy oh boy did he burn that bridge with Vince badly

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  46. Again? I seem to recall Kamala being trotted out every now and then up until 2007. I dropped out of wrestling at that point, and then later found out his medical problems. Poor guy. (no pun intended financially)

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  47. Can't be worse than CM Punk. Dude, learn to drop a fucking elbow.

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  48. Let's be honest: Tommy Dreamer has mediocre mic skills, very basic offense, and his back was messed up for so long he can't sell correctly to save his life. But WOW were his matches fun to watch.

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  49. Go ahead and skip to the blurb about Vince

    http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0223/571536/kamala-says-racism-and-sexual-abuse-dominated-wwe/

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  50. Yeah, Mabel sucks, but credit to the guy as he was motivated and did put effort in his matches, promos and angles during his main event push.

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  51. I loved how Foley ragged on them on air also. During the debut of the Radicals, he was selling them to HHH, and said something like "I know the fans are excited about seeing the Mean Street Posse every week, but..."

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  52. Wow, I thought I was some kind of sick freak, but it seems like a lot of guys like Sid here? How can you not like a guy who hails from ‘anywhere he damn well pleases’? Also the promos and jobber matches from around WM 8 were immense “SHUT UP YOU FAT BALD HEADED LITTLE OAF!”

    Also, Scott Steiner is a huge favourite due to being an awesome worker in the first half of his career and an absolute psychopath in the second half.

    I’ve felt for a while that there is money to be made in a Legends House that consists of Sid, Steiner, Nailz, Snitsky and Heidenreich. One day maybe…

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  53. Yep, and the push made sense too. He made it a point that he had wasted the previous 5 years drinking beer and gambling, but now that he's 100% focused on his career, he will succeed at it, just like everything else in his life that he's focused on.

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  54. I'm guessing Kamala wouldn't recommend Terry Garvin's School of Self-Defense.

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  55. Hollywood Hogan.

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  56. That reminds me of Foley's constantly burying Al Snow. Maybe burying is strong of a word, but it was always hilarious.

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  57. Money made by the team of lawyers when Steiner snaps and murders them all.

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  58. Surprised no mention of Warrior yet. The guy was getting the rocket push at the time I first started watching wrestling so Warrior was my 'Hulk Hogan'. Plus Warrior was a cooler version of Hogan as he was younger, more energetic and had a better look.

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  59. I felt he was like that... right up until he won the title. Then he basically became Hogan 2, with even his comebacks being identical. He had a much more unique style in 1988 to early 1990.

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  60. Steve McMchael was someone who I always thought didn't get his just due. Sure he was terrible but he had a wierd charisma that fit the Horsemen and he worked really hard with what little he had.

    His winning the US Title at the last Clash of Champions was pretty cool, even if that match was to technically great or anything like that.

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  61. From Childhood: Young Stallions & Brutus The Barber Beefcake
    Teen years: Sid, Nash, Goldberg

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  62. slightly off topic, but Debra was the ultimate gold digger. Marries one of the top NFL players, and when he ventures into Pro Wrestling, she dumps him and marries the top wrestling star.

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  63. Yeah, I marked out when Warrior won the belt from Hogan as I had no idea who was going to win that match and was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole match, but once he won the belt, his reign became pretty flat. Then he lost the title and he started becoming cool again with the feud with Savage. Same thing with Diesel, his title reign was flat then he became cool again when he won the title. It's pretty frustrating as a fan because this was the title reign he wanted for them when they lost the belt.

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  64. Then, the WWE network gets the rights to broadcast Streiner's murder trial.

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  65. well and climbed that ladder too. from Mongo to JJ to Austin

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  66. Steiner would be the shit as a "Tough Enough" trainer. They may need lawyers on standby but man that would be awesome tv.

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  67. There are two types to me; Good wrestlers that became terrible as they got older(Steiner Brothers, Lex Luger, Barry Windham), and wrestlers that were always terrible, but had that awesome charisma and/or personality(Dusty Rhodes, Sid)

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  68. He was one of the faces I rooted for to get beat up every time.

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  69. “GIVE ME A FUCKIN’ MIC… WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MATCH?”


    “Melina vs Alicia Fox”


    “HAH”


    *overhead belly to belly*

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  70. Uncrusimatic_Buck_NastyJune 27, 2014 at 11:11 AM

    the boogie woogie man, jimmy valiant

    cheeseburger

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  71. AverageJoeEverymanJune 27, 2014 at 11:11 AM

    His protecting the border skit will always be hilarious

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  72. 9 of them in a row?

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  73. well, his 1st WWF manager was Zeb...

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  74. DA DUBYA DUBYA E TRYNA CENSOR ME

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  75. AverageJoeEverymanJune 27, 2014 at 11:13 AM

    GODDAMN do I hate Boogy. Always have, always will.

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  76. One Man Gang was AWFUL. But darnit, I enjoyed his matches and he was awesome as part of Devastation Inc. And while Akeem was "80s offensive", he showed a good amount of charisma in the role.

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  77. "Also, Scott Steiner is a huge favourite due to being an awesome worker
    in the first half of his career and an absolute psychopath in the second
    half."

    Could NOT have said it better. I look for all his TNA mic stuff because it's so awesome. I could listen to him call Joe fat or make stupid comments to that one female interviewer for hours because of how over-the-top it was.

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  78. He and Shawn should've had an epic WM match, even if they thought JBL was bad in the ring.

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  79. the Mean Street Posse. Godawful in the ring, but they cracked me up whenever I watched them, and they could sell a beating. The stuff at Summerslam in the Test/Shane match was hilarious.

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  80. Mid-South Gang was a perfectly good-working big man, though his work dropped off in the WWF (as happened to 90% of the guys they signed).

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  81. I second the Mongo love. He was pretty terrible in the ring but you can tell he was always at least trying pretty hard despite probably being pretty banged up from his football days and he had weird charisma. He always struck me as a guy who could've been pretty good if he had started wrestling instead of playing football. Oh and I think the coffee line was during his feud with The Bulldog. "Don't just stand there drinking coffee when a man is talkin to ya!" is the quote if I recall correctly.

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  82. The young mark in me was scared crapless when Hacksaw Jim Duggan, after being beaten half to death by Devastation Inc., was locked in a cage with the then-"new" UWF champ Gang.

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  83. His interviews always get a chuckle out of me now but I couldn't f'n stand him as a kid. He was the only guy I would root for Paul Jones' Army against and I hated those guys too.

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  84. Roma was almost your quintessential "solid hand." He was solid as a semi-jobber, solid in P&G, solid in Pretty Wonderful. He was rarely ever a problem himself--the problem is, "solid" shouldn't cut it with the Horsemen.


    Now, Jim Powers...THAT guy sucked ass. Seriously.

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  85. Or throw a good looking kick, are make your finisher look even remotely effective or you know pretend like you've seen a gym in your life.

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  86. His charisma is spot-on, but I always rooted for the heels to hit him with a bar of soap.

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  87. One of the wrestling urban legends (which Kamala kinda confirms here) always made me laugh because of how it was phrased: Andre the Giant called Kamala a N*****. Kamala pulled a gun on Andre. Andre was real nice to Kamala afterwards.

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  88. That must have been tough to root for Paul Jones and his cast of misfits, (Pistol Pez, Baron, Teijho Khan),except for Manny Fernandez, when he turned that was pretty cool TV.

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  89. Bundy had a great look, had an effective gimmick with the "5 count," had a finisher that was pushed as and people bought as a killer move, and was a very good talker. And as a big fat worker he was fine--he knew how to sell, he was a surprisingly good bumper when given the opportunity, and he had enough offense to get by. From a '90s smark standpoint he sucked but from a real-life standpoint it's easy to see why he got work everywhere.

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  90. Tommy Dreamer. (He's bad. I accept this.)

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  91. You have no idea. It was like rooting for 3MB to beat up Sheamus, if Sheamus looked homeless.

    ReplyDelete
  92. Stevie Richards. I don't think he was a horrible wrestler, but for someone who jobbed a lot, I still liked him. I liked that short time period where he was trying out other wrestler's gimmicks before settling on Dude Love.

    ReplyDelete
  93. I don't like any of the other hillbillies, but Hillbilly Jim will always be a favorite to me.

    ReplyDelete
  94. Dusty Rhodes in the 80s, after the Horsemen formed. You have ZERO idea how much joy I had watching him get beat up on a regular basis. One match in particular had him and Nikita against Lex and Flair. The Horsemen roll on him and spend about 4 minutes killing his right leg, but then when he's rescued, he's holding his LEFT leg. Combine that and his "I'll sell when I want to" matches, and I was constantly rooting for extended Boss Man treatment.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Bastion Booger. Just awful in the ring, but he looked more goofy than threatening, so he always retained an element of charm to his character. Plus "eating food after I win a match" is a great gimmick, especially with Vince gagging at the image of Booger snarfing down a Sno Ball as if he is witnessing footage of Dachau.

    ReplyDelete
  96. I really enjoyed Kronik in the dying days of WCW. I've always been a mark for the invincible power teams. I also liked the KISS Demon for some reason.

    ReplyDelete
  97. New Jack, One Man Gang, PG-13, Ahmed Johnson, Sandman, too name a few

    ReplyDelete
  98. Are you sure it wasn't a Ugandan blow gun with a poison dart in it?

    ReplyDelete
  99. I think this goofy face version of Sheamus is only a few weeks away from dancing to the ring. "He the man of the hour, the king of the beat..."

    ReplyDelete
  100. Fun fact: The first match of my very first house show as a kid: Owen Hart vs Bastion Booger.

    ReplyDelete
  101. Porn Peddlin' Jef VinsonJune 27, 2014 at 11:43 AM

    The Mulkey Brothers..

    ReplyDelete
  102. Dirty_Dave_DelaneyJune 27, 2014 at 11:44 AM

    The most awful wrestler that I found bizarrely entertaining has to be Heidenreich. His pre-match disaster-piece poetry promos, his over the top facial expressions, his Naziesque theme music combined with shitty in-ring work always guaranteed me being not far off from hysterical laughter. Plus he gets extra points for trying to rape Michael Cole!


    Also have to give a little bit of love to Snitsky for the whole 'IT WASN'T MY FAULT' baby-killing storyline over on Raw around the same time which of course lead to Snitsky and Heidenreich's epic gruntling and snarling confrontation at I think Survivor Series 2004.

    ReplyDelete
  103. I've just spent time on Youtube looking up some of my favourite punchers. The usual suspects - Gordy, Terry Funk, Savage.
    Dr. Death threw a BEAUTY.

    ReplyDelete
  104. Just think, we could have had that tag match at 21.

    ReplyDelete
  105. Khali, he could barley move in the ring, but when booked as a monster, he was unstoppable.

    ReplyDelete
  106. Foley's story about Funk's punches was great.

    He said he thought Funk's punches looked the best, then when he fought him, he realized they looked good because he was really hitting him. Funk then said "and all those years you just thought I was good..."

    ReplyDelete
  107. My favorite match of his was that Raw TLC match where he was rammed face first into the ladder.

    ReplyDelete
  108. Dirty_Dave_DelaneyJune 27, 2014 at 11:52 AM

    A Wrestlemania moment that would have been Wrestlecrap and Botchamania worthy that we all sadly lost out on.

    ReplyDelete
  109. Stevie Ray, if only because he missed the boat on partnering with Mars Candies to make "Starburst Fruit Booties".

    ReplyDelete
  110. Davey Boy. I know there was a time when he was very good, and pending on who else he was in the ring with, even great. But his last few years he was truly abysmal. I was still hoping he'd win the title at Unforgiven 99 though.

    ReplyDelete
  111. Yes, but hey, at least Orton got the feud that cemented him.

    ReplyDelete
  112. Goldberg. Extremely limited in the ring, but the intensity was awesome. One of WCW's few (only?) true successes in building a star.

    ReplyDelete
  113. Dirty_Dave_DelaneyJune 27, 2014 at 12:00 PM

    True any booker with half a mind would see the sense in booking Taker/Orton over Brothers of Destruction/Snitsky & Heidenreich. I suppose I liked Heidenreich because he was a wackier and somehow less-talented younger version of Sid!

    ReplyDelete
  114. Watching them take on the Midnight Express was bliss - their selling, Cornette's rants.....if yoiu could bottle that, you'd make a mint.

    ReplyDelete
  115. Snitsky truly was a special (horrible?) breed of amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  116. Abeyance was an underrated champion.

    ReplyDelete
  117. YankeesHoganTripleHFanJune 27, 2014 at 12:03 PM

    Earthquake....I didn't love him, but when he was a heel between injuring Hogan, Tugboat, Andre, squashing the snake and sending all those jobbers out on stretchers the mark in me feared him, thus his matches were always fascinating because you knew he could leave someone laying in a heartbeat.

    ReplyDelete
  118. Dirty_Dave_DelaneyJune 27, 2014 at 12:04 PM

    I remember when they later made him shave his whole head including his facial hair and repushed him as a vile monster heel only for him to suck even worse than he did before.

    ReplyDelete
  119. The craziest part about that push, to me, was that he had his teeth stained yellow just for the character turn. It just amazes me... he went the extra mile for a gimmick that fell completely flat. Because WWE.

    ReplyDelete
  120. Porn Peddlin' Jef VinsonJune 27, 2014 at 12:07 PM

    I remember seeing Randy Mulkey getting backdropped so high he did a front flip before hitting the mat.

    ReplyDelete
  121. Dirty_Dave_DelaneyJune 27, 2014 at 12:08 PM

    I'm surprised that having his teeth stained yellow didn't prompt WWE Creative to turn him into Issac Yankem 2.0... because WWE.

    ReplyDelete
  122. Well, Kane was too busy at the time promoting See No Evil and carrying that hook around.

    ReplyDelete
  123. Love Austin's podcast

    ReplyDelete
  124. Yeah, they never gave him a big run with the belt, he could have been money.

    ReplyDelete
  125. Porn Peddlin' Jef VinsonJune 27, 2014 at 12:13 PM

    I had an idea: There should be a HOT blond female wrestler who claimed a daughter of one of the Mulkey Brothers who wants to restore honor to the Mulkey name.

    ReplyDelete
  126. Dirty_Dave_DelaneyJune 27, 2014 at 12:13 PM

    (SPOLIER ALERT FOR ANYONE WHO ACTUALLY STILL CARES ABOUT TNA... ALL 5 OF YOU)
























    I've spent the last half hour mocking Snitsky and I've just remembered TNA have booked him in their most recent tv tapings... because TNA!

    ReplyDelete
  127. Stranger in the AlpsJune 27, 2014 at 12:15 PM

    As a young Stranger, I was a huge mark for Hercules Hernandez, both as a heel and face. Looking back on his matches today, he was horrible. Especially in his bloated physicque toward the end of his run after the Power & Glory split.

    ReplyDelete
  128. License to print MONEY.

    Cornette tells the absolute wrestling stories btw

    ReplyDelete
  129. Porn Peddlin' Jef VinsonJune 27, 2014 at 12:16 PM

    Put her on Gut Check. Hopefully she's technically sound, She has to be everything the Mulkeys AREN'T to pull this off.

    ReplyDelete
  130. Kevin Nash, obviously.

    ReplyDelete
  131. TJ: M-Dogg 20 is on American Ninja Warrior right now. Random

    ReplyDelete
  132. Can't wait to see how he goes over there.

    ReplyDelete
  133. What channel? They are finally showing his footage?

    ReplyDelete
  134. Porn Peddlin' Jef VinsonJune 27, 2014 at 12:22 PM

    True definition of a squash match:

    http://youtu.be/HaI0Vm-dK2o

    ReplyDelete
  135. Thanks, he tried to start a twitter campaign last year when NBC wouldn't show footage of him.

    ReplyDelete
  136. I see, didnt know about that at all actually, just flipping thru channels and saw him on. Dudes beyond yoked up, havent seen him in years.

    ReplyDelete
  137. Since I'm from the Cleveland area, he's one of my favorites. He still rocking the beard?

    ReplyDelete
  138. FUCK man. Randy Mulkey was the original Mick Foley. Those bumps were awful

    ReplyDelete
  139. If the company goes under while he's there, IT'S NOT HIS FAULT.

    ReplyDelete
  140. Porn Peddlin' Jef VinsonJune 27, 2014 at 12:30 PM

    The smack his back made on the concrete...brutal.

    ReplyDelete
  141. Sid. Terrible in the ring, but as a kid in the 80s and 90s he was a killing machine.

    ReplyDelete
  142. Yea it's huge.

    I first remember seeing him in the commercials for the Backyard Wrestling dvd's that came out in the early 2000's and they would ALWAYS show the commercials on the E Network during the Howard Stern Show.

    I bought the dvd and he had a killer match with Josh Prohibition, that had that (famous at the time) splash Matt did off the bleachers thru the table

    ReplyDelete
  143. I was literally just about to type Sid. He all the intangibles, look, charisma, size, cool finishing move, he just didn't have the finer nuances that made great wrestlers great.

    ReplyDelete
  144. Porn Peddlin' Jef VinsonJune 27, 2014 at 12:34 PM

    If by "finer nuances" you mean talent I agree.

    ReplyDelete
  145. I wouldn't say he wasn't talented. He just wasn't going to be the guy to put together a 4 star match. If you needed someones ass kicked and power bombed he was your guy. Certainly there is a place for that kind of performer in this business.

    ReplyDelete
  146. Snitsky was the last legit funny thing they have had on wrestling.

    ReplyDelete
  147. "Air Mulkey"......LOL

    ReplyDelete
  148. Nathan Jones, only because he could refresh himself with a tall glass mid-match.

    ReplyDelete
  149. Here's the old commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQkuuwGnL-E

    The M-Dogg spot is at 42 seconds.

    ReplyDelete
  150. DBS is waaaaaaay too good to quality for this. C'mon man.

    ReplyDelete
  151. Seconded. I never understood why they talked like cartoon characters but I enjoyed their ECW run.

    ReplyDelete
  152. Big Bully Busnick was one. The Beraerker was another. Sid, as a method actor, wasn't really bad because his promos while wrestling saved the matches. See Hogan vs. Sid.

    ReplyDelete
  153. Good call, thats right. I wish I could find that on YouTube now. It was so great.

    ReplyDelete
  154. Porn Peddlin' Jef VinsonJune 27, 2014 at 12:51 PM

    They were TERRIBLE in WCW.

    ReplyDelete
  155. Plus he kinda sounds like Chewbacca when he talks. And he kinda looks like Chewbacca, if you shaved him. So... yeah he's always amused the shit outta me.

    ReplyDelete
  156. Yes they were. Still loved 'em though. I love anybody who wrestles in HOMEMADE RASSLIN' GEAR

    ReplyDelete
  157. Yeah, you should see the series of matches he had with Johnny Gargano and Prohibition in PWO.

    ReplyDelete
  158. YankeesHoganTripleHFanJune 27, 2014 at 12:59 PM

    I remember reading about Big Bully in one of the Apter mags and he sounded like an absolute terror in the indy's. When he got to the WWF I though "oh shit, people are going to get hurt." Then Sid beat him in about 1 minute and that was that.

    ReplyDelete
  159. Scott "Flash" Norton

    ReplyDelete
  160. New Jack. Yeah, the guy's a total lunatic but his charisma is through the roof and Natural Born Killaz always gets me hyped up.

    ReplyDelete
  161. That's my choice too. He also hates caskets.

    ReplyDelete
  162. TJ: As a Nucks fan I'm withholding judgment on the Kesler trade. It could be a precursor to a deal involving a Top 3 pick. If not...damn that's a disappointing haul. Kudos to the Ducks, though.

    ReplyDelete
  163. Magoonie NOT Teddy BelmontJune 27, 2014 at 1:23 PM

    I know he's not considered "terrible" but everybody seems to hate on him, Kevin Nash. And I'm not even talking about where he was trying to put on good matches as Diesel. I'm talking about when he kinda stopped caring in WCW. I was still a big fan of his.

    ReplyDelete
  164. Sid or Luger for me. I always thought Sid was at his best in short matches if he didn't have someone to carry him. And Luger's strength was truly impressive to me.

    ReplyDelete
  165. For some reason I always got the vibe that was on purpose. Like Pillman was like "Make this shit look good"

    ReplyDelete
  166. Sid was awesome ; it isn't always about ring work. I also enjoyed the Godwins for reasons I can't articulate. Sue me. I don't think Yokozuna was necessarily terrible, although I'm guessing many on here do, but I always loved him, too.

    ReplyDelete
  167. I remember reading a WCW magazine around late '98 or so, and Sting really put Goldberg over. Talking about how, he would hit the spear and before going for the Jackhammer, he would jump up after the spear, grab and push the top rope down, so his traps are popping out, while he yells at the hard camera. Sting put it over as Bill just having this unbelievable fire and intensity, and how it made him stand out.

    ReplyDelete
  168. I'm tired of all these yaks out here Tony.

    ReplyDelete
  169. Suckas gots ta know!

    ReplyDelete
  170. Snitsky was one of the most organically funny wrestlers EVER. The combination of his face, his voice, and just his bizarre personality would leave me with facial cramps from laughing so hard.

    Then they brought him back in 2007 and just made him a generic monster. Go figure.

    ReplyDelete
  171. ERNEST. MILLER. Very few men in wrestling have provided me as many laughs on the mic as him. The time he was basically asked to go out and kill seemingly ten minutes on Nitro and started just ripping on fans. "I'ma whoop everybody in this arena one by one! Sit down fat boah I can't fight you you ain't in my weight class. I'll whoop... entire NWO all by myself!"

    "Scott Steiner you big dumb stupid bitch! You know I HATE yo dumb ass!"

    Or the time he escaped a Bigelow beatdown by proclaiming, "I LOVE you. You my hee-ro!"

    ReplyDelete
  172. Uncrusimatic_Buck_NastyJune 27, 2014 at 1:40 PM

    that poor dog

    ReplyDelete
  173. Yeah, I liked Yoko. He was different and in kayfabe, very few guys should beat him.

    ReplyDelete
  174. I can't lie, whenever I see somebody wearing a sweater vest their entrance music immediately pops up in my head.

    ReplyDelete
  175. Boogie Woogie has this weird pederass vibe with me.

    "What's a pederass, Walter?"

    "Shut the fuck up, Donny".

    ReplyDelete
  176. Currently, RD Evans. Thinking back id say Al Snow.

    ReplyDelete
  177. Earthquake doesn't get nearly enough love.

    ReplyDelete
  178. Mister_E_PuttingPedalsToMedalsJune 27, 2014 at 1:49 PM

    Geez, I can list a few, although not all of them are career spanning – some I liked for a while but eventually did tire of.



    Sid, Albert (especially as A-Train, but not really as Tensai), Mark Henry pre-IWC acceptance, Kama the Extreme Fighter, MOM Mabel, the Godwinns (I like most hillbilly gimmicks), Kane (although I really don’t think he’s terrible), Crush is all of his incarnations except the ex-con. Others too, I’m sure.



    I also thought that the Gang Warz were pretty cool.

    ReplyDelete
  179. Beefcake. Loved him as a kid. The outfits, the synth heavy entrance music. And, the greatest thing to ever be thankful for, from the original Coliseum release of Survivor Series '89.

    "I'm thankful for wresting, cuttin' and struttin'!!"

    ReplyDelete
  180. Yeah, honestly I was going more based on modern reputation and using it as an excuse to give props to Bundy. Whatever he was asked to do in the ring, he did it and did it just fine.

    ReplyDelete
  181. Snow was a pretty solid worker though.

    ReplyDelete
  182. MikeyMike, King of ClevelandJune 27, 2014 at 1:56 PM

    Stevie Ray is another one.

    ReplyDelete
  183. Boudreau won't get them past the Second Round still.

    ReplyDelete
  184. Seems like everyone likes to hate on Rusev, but I actually think the guy has potential. I don't get this shit about him having no charisma when the character is obviously supposed to be emotionless, hence why he doesn't show any emotion... dur. I also think his move set is pretty impressive for being such a big dude.

    ReplyDelete
  185. The new playoff format means they have to go through the Kings in either Rnd1 or 2. So.... yeah, probably not.

    ReplyDelete
  186. I'm a Cubs fan (pause) and they had him sing the Seventh Inning Stretch once. In the sixth inning, umpire Angel Hernandez made a very questionable call against the Cubs. Mongo led off his singing by yelling, "LET'S HEAR IT FOR THAT UMPIRE... BOOOOOO!!!" then sang the song. At the end he got EJECTED. Fuck Angel Hernandez.

    ReplyDelete
  187. Bret wrestled him in 1989 and said he never felt a thing; Andre was always safe, when his health was on the downslide

    ReplyDelete
  188. Thats incredible

    ReplyDelete

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