Who has been the biggest beneficiary of revisionist history?

[LibSuperstar]

What wrestling figure (be it wrestler, manager, promoter, announcer) has benefitted most from revisionist history? As in they've been made out to be a bigger star or more successful than they really were in their heyday. My pick is The Fabulous Moolah. She was a mediocre wrestler, never a draw reportedly and blocked other women wrestlers' opportunities (including some of her own proteges). When New York legalized women's wrestling in the early '70s and MSG lifted the ban on women's wrestling, Moolah got the spot against Vicki Williams in the first women's match at the Garden. This was partly by design as she blocked other women (including Betty Niccoli) from working WWWF shows. In the mid-80s, she had a protege named Mad Maxine (some of you might remember) who WWE planned to have feud w/ Wendi Richter and appear in the Rock 'N Wrestling cartoon. Moolah called the office telling WWE Maxine was too green and took her spot in the cartoon. Next she prevented the chance of a Glamour Girls-Jumping Bomb Angels match at WrestleMania as she interfered w/ a planned title change. Not to mention her supposed 28 yr reign, which was really 10 and involved multiple title changes WWE didn't acknowledge when she sold the belt to them in the early '80s. Might be fair to say that Moolah only enjoys the legacy she has b/c of her closeness to the McMahons.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

Rikishi or HHH! Rikishi in the HOF? Only cos he was pals with Taker. Also, HHH? He is a great performer now. But nobody remembers how bad he was before he married Stephanie McMahon. Had Vince lost the Monday night Wars - HHH would not even be around today!

 

[Garak]

Bischoff - because he tries to revise the history all the time.

With respect to Moolah, I don't doubt she buried people. Mediocre wrestler? That's up for debate. Set that aside, however, since many of the greats weren't necessarily amazing in ring technicians. Fabulous Moolah could work a crowd like no lady wrestler in history. She could draw heat, and get a crowd hot for a ladies match, a magical combination that still eludes the female talent today, despite some with greater technical, physical, and athletic prowess.

 

[Bookerkingston]

Probably Vince/the whole WWE in general, since on every single episode of the "Monday Night Wars" they get to remind us over and over and over and over again how "bad" WCW was and that they beat WCW and how great they are for doing so.

 

[relentless1]

Probably Vince/the whole WWE in general, since on every single episode of the "Monday Night Wars" they get to remind us over and over and over and over again how "bad" WCW was and that they beat WCW and how great they are for doing so.

agree 1000%. Vince is the biggest perpetrator of revised history, trying to erase Bruno and Hogans contributions for the longest time, trying to sweep Warriors early 90s popularity under the rug and assassinate his character instead and most of all downplaying WCWs success and impact on the wrestling industry; attempting to put DX on the same pedestal as the nWo, attempting to downplay Eric Bischoffs first and equal turn as the evil boss character; changing Ric Flairs World title number to suit his version of history, giving Randy Orton a World title too early just to spite Lesnar and remove him from the books as youngest World champion ever, the constant push to have fans view Taker and HBK as the absolute best of all time .... the list goes on and on with this guy!

So yes, id say that Vince and the WWE have been the biggest beneficiary of their own tampering with the history books

 

[LibSuperstar]

agree 1000%. Vince is the biggest perpetrator of revised history, trying to erase Bruno and Hogans contributions for the longest time, trying to sweep Warriors early 90s popularity under the rug and assassinate his character instead and most of all downplaying WCWs success and impact on the wrestling industry; attempting to put DX on the same pedestal as the nWo, attempting to downplay Eric Bischoffs first and equal turn as the evil boss character; changing Ric Flairs World title number to suit his version of history, giving Randy Orton a World title too early just to spite Lesnar and remove him from the books as youngest World champion ever, the constant push to have fans view Taker and HBK as the absolute best of all time .... the list goes on and on with this guy!

So yes, id say that Vince and the WWE have been the biggest beneficiary of their own tampering with the history books

To the point you have to go outside of them to learn their history. Damn share b/c they have a rich, extensive history. One period I see virtually go ignored is the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) save the occasional reference (e.g. The Revival comparing themselves to The Graham Brothers).

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have to go with Vince McMahon as well because he has done just about everything that he possibly can to paint a very specific picture of WWE to reflect a specific vision.

For instance, Vince basically wants anyone and everyone to think that there's no such thing as professional wrestling outside of WWE. One way he's set about doing that is taking various wrestling championships, including the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the historic World Heavyweight Championship held by people like Georg Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch and kind of incorporated their history into his own championships.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Personally and professionally I would go with Warrior. Didn't WWE do a doc that ripped him apart years before they put him in their "Hall of Fame" and start naming perseverance awards after him. That to me is about as revisionist as you can get.

Hogan's place and history seem to get wallpapered over to some extent as well.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Personally and professionally I would go with Warrior. Didn't WWE do a doc that ripped him apart years before they put him in their "Hall of Fame" and start naming perseverance awards after him. That to me is about as revisionist as you can get.

Hogan's place and history seem to get wallpapered over to some extent as well.

I think it was called the Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior. From top to bottom, the thing was basically a shoot on Warrior with just about everyone of any significance in WWE who'd ever worked with him burying him, whether it be wrestlers, commentators or managers.

Warrior sued WWE for defamation of character, among other things, but the case was ultimately thrown out by the presiding judge because Warrior himself had been doing the very same things to WWE for many years that he accused WWE of doing to him.

 

[Goldie]

I think Warrior is an obvious choice here.
I own the ‘Self Destruction’ DVD and he gets slaughtered - particularly by HHH and Vince for his unprofessionalism and selfish ego, ….. whilst his peers from his era: Hogan, Dibiase, Sgt Slaughter, Heenan, Flair, Lawler, Lombardi claimed Warrior was a loner, disliked by the locker room and didn’t have a love for the business, only for the money. Vince even claimed ‘I could no wait to fire him’ after the Warriors rumoured money demands or he would no show Summerslam ’91.
There was a lawsuit raised by Warrior, who criticised the WWE every opportunity he got…. and relations were very ugly for years and years.
Aside from the DVD numerous other wrestlers have criticised Warriors personal conduct (Jake Roberts on his DVD, Bret Hart in his book) and lack of empathy for his co-workers.

Lets face it for a long time Warrior was an outsider…. Ridiculed as a flash in the pan performer who didn’t deserve the fame and fortune bestowed on him.

In a way the timing of Warriors redemption was ironic… coming a short while before his death. Triple H mended bridges, Warrior was put in the HOF, had a send-off on RAW, a new feel-good Warrior DVD was filmed (though released after his death) to ‘put right’ the Self destruction DVD from 2005….. it turned full circle.
Warrior was a hero again.
His death brought emotion from Vince and HHH- talking as if they had lost a brother…. The same guy they openly mocked and degraded for years.
And then to name a ‘bravery’ award in his honour each year at the HOF ceremony …. Whilst a nice touch … does reek of hypocrisy.

But this has always happened with revisionist WWE history- if you are on good terms with the company you are pushed as a legend (how many wrestlers get the ‘greatest WWE star of all time’ treatment…. HBK? Undertaker? …. Or if you on bad terms such as Hogan, Austin has been…. Their names no longer get mentioned in this ‘Greatest superstar’ bracket….. or even erased from history like Randy Savage had been for years.

 

[King Patrick Star]

History is written by the Victors. In this specific case, it’s edited and rewritten by Vince McMahon. There are some who have been helped by this, such as Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, and the Ultimate Warrior. There are some who have been hurt by this, such as Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, and the Ultimate Warrior. At the end of it all, the one man to truly benefit for displaying things the way he sees it is Vince McMahon.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Shawn Michaels without question... here is a guy who was an absolute shit person off camera. He famously threw Marty Jannetty under the bus with a lie to Vince, which saw Marty fired and started his descent into addiction... to the point Curt Hennig forced a "Billy Martin" when he heard about it...

Shawn was a guy who never jobbed titles, would rather get himself suspended or beat up or conveniently "lose his smile" rather than job a belt and was a mess on all kinds of substances... but yay... he found GOD (TM) and was some how repackaged as this paragon of virtue.

Yes his second career was better in ring than his first, yes he put more people over... but he still had his moments, like the Hogan match where the old Shawn came out to play. Even now with his "will he/won't he" have another match, he is playing with people.

Revisionist sums him up... his frankly horrific deeds backstage are all erased with hindsight and through the lens of "he's born again...and he's the best ever..." The Jericho feud for example had real chunks of truth woven in there about Shawn, that's what made it work rather than it being Shawn's talent...

In truth, his 93-DX time was mediocre in terms of success, drawing and it was only when he ramped up the swears and raciness that he really took off. People love to say "his matches were great" but back then he was nearly always working with an equal... Razor, Bret, even Jarrett were all as good as him. It's only since he came back the second time that he has been painted as "the best ever..."

 

[Goldie]

Revisionist sums him up... his frankly horrific deeds backstage are all erased with hindsight and through the lens of "he's born again...and he's the best ever..." The Jericho feud for example had real chunks of truth woven in there about Shawn, that's what made it work rather than it being Shawn's talent...

In truth, his 93-DX time was mediocre in terms of success, drawing and it was only when he ramped up the swears and raciness that he really took off. People love to say "his matches were great" but back then he was nearly always working with an equal... Razor, Bret, even Jarrett were all as good as him. It's only since he came back the second time that he has been painted as "the best ever..."

I do agree with much of what is said here.
Whilst Shawn was an outstanding worker….. I do find all this ‘greatest superstar of all time business’ farfetched.
WWE always do this for legends they are on good terms with…. Fall out with Vince and your legacy is never mentioned (ie like Randy Savage, or as Bret Hart had for many years…. Hogan and Austin when they’ve fallen out with Vince.
Its always Shawn and Undertaker who get the living legend/best of all time treatment on TV….. whilst reality Hogan, Austin and Bruno are my top 3.

Vader, BamBam Bigelow, Shane Douglas, Chris Candido, Jannetty are just a handful of wrestlers who felt their careers in the WWE were thwarted by Shawn, not to mention a certain Rocky Maivia who felt Shawn was intent on holding back. .. and lets not get started on the Hart family!

On the Bret & Shawn DVD (a sit down interview with both mediated by Jim Ross) Shawn was forever apologising for his backstage conduct in the 90s when certain incidents were brought up. He often counters his past misconduct with his ‘But I’m a good Christian now’ which I find rather nauseating.

Whilst Vince was looking for his next ‘Hulk Hogan’ (which wouldn’t arrive till Austin peaked in 1998) Shawn was given the top spot in the company throughout 1996…. But it was a flop. As a babyface his ‘sexy boy’ stripper routine wasn’t going to endear him to much of the adult male demographic (remember the cheers when Shawn lost the title to the heel Sid at Survivor series?).
It was as a heel in DX- (where Shawn was given the green light to act in jerk mode) where he took off in terms of developing a character…. Some cynics would argue that he was allowed to play the Shawn in real life!

He loved winning championship gold…. But never did like losing them! For all the montreal screwjob divides wrestling fans…. Shawn losing his smile to forfeit the title (rather than drop it to Bret) was the same principle Bret had of not wanting to lose to Shawn…. And it screwed up the WM13 main event that was planned (though on the plus side it gave us the excellent Bret-Austin match).

To his credit Shawn has mellowed with age, and was a great worker…. But greatest super star of all time?
A superstar is more than just being a great worker… he has to carry the company, sell tickets and merchandise, have crossover media appeal….. that’s why Hogan, Austin, Rock, Bruno and even Cena are a step ahead of Shawn.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I do agree with much of what is said here.
Whilst Shawn was an outstanding worker….. I do find all this ‘greatest superstar of all time business’ farfetched.
WWE always do this for legends they are on good terms with…. Fall out with Vince and your legacy is never mentioned (ie like Randy Savage, or as Bret Hart had for many years…. Hogan and Austin when they’ve fallen out with Vince.
Its always Shawn and Undertaker who get the living legend/best of all time treatment on TV….. whilst reality Hogan, Austin and Bruno are my top 3.

Vader, BamBam Bigelow, Shane Douglas, Chris Candido, Jannetty are just a handful of wrestlers who felt their careers in the WWE were thwarted by Shawn, not to mention a certain Rocky Maivia who felt Shawn was intent on holding back. .. and lets not get started on the Hart family!

On the Bret & Shawn DVD (a sit down interview with both mediated by Jim Ross) Shawn was forever apologising for his backstage conduct in the 90s when certain incidents were brought up. He often counters his past misconduct with his ‘But I’m a good Christian now’ which I find rather nauseating.

Whilst Vince was looking for his next ‘Hulk Hogan’ (which wouldn’t arrive till Austin peaked in 1998) Shawn was given the top spot in the company throughout 1996…. But it was a flop. As a babyface his ‘sexy boy’ stripper routine wasn’t going to endear him to much of the adult male demographic (remember the cheers when Shawn lost the title to the heel Sid at Survivor series?).
It was as a heel in DX- (where Shawn was given the green light to act in jerk mode) where he took off in terms of developing a character…. Some cynics would argue that he was allowed to play the Shawn in real life!

He loved winning championship gold…. But never did like losing them! For all the montreal screwjob divides wrestling fans…. Shawn losing his smile to forfeit the title (rather than drop it to Bret) was the same principle Bret had of not wanting to lose to Shawn…. And it screwed up the WM13 main event that was planned (though on the plus side it gave us the excellent Bret-Austin match).

To his credit Shawn has mellowed with age, and was a great worker…. But greatest super star of all time?
A superstar is more than just being a great worker… he has to carry the company, sell tickets and merchandise, have crossover media appeal….. that’s why Hogan, Austin, Rock, Bruno and even Cena are a step ahead of Shawn.

Want any doubts solved... this is a "good Christian man" who allowed his wife to be PUNCHED on TV for real cos it got him into the main event.... Yes Jericho benefited to, but to be at the point where you would either put that idea forward and it not be a bad stand up comedy joke (Please hit my wife...) or that you genuinely believe it will get you more over... but hey, he prays and shit...

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Want any doubts solved... this is a "good Christian man" who allowed his wife to be PUNCHED on TV for real cos it got him into the main event.... Yes Jericho benefited to, but to be at the point where you would either put that idea forward and it not be a bad stand up comedy joke (Please hit my wife...) or that you genuinely believe it will get you more over... but hey, he prays and shit...

As a good Christian I would have more problems with this

[youtube]3nEa6BGa5jU[/youtube]

And Shawn having God's name dragged out for cheap fun by VKM. Then again, its Vince, he once considered storyline where his daughter should be pregnant with his child. So nothing is sacred to him.