Who is your Favorite Career Midcarder?

M

Milkyway!

Hodor!
Throughout the course of wrestling there have been several names that didn't make it, that became a legacy, that failed so hard we we remember them well, or the Career Midcarder.

Some examples of career midcarders:

Mr Perfect, Hardcore Holly, Christian, John Morrison, Val Venis, Test, Kofi Kingston, Golddust, etc.

My favorite midcarder: I loved Hardcore Holly. I watch some of his matches, and sometimes wonder why he wasn't/couldn't be more due to my own personal bias. His intensity was awesome, had a certain charm, and certain aura that drew me to him.

Most memorable moment for your midcarder: I remember seeing a match during WWECW in which he cut his back on a table, and kept wrestling. It was pretty damn awesome to see.

So, who's your favorite career midcarder? Do you think said midcarder should have been pushed into the main event? Whatever else question you want to answer!
 
Not sure you can call Hennig a career midcarder as he was AWA World Champion...and that was considered a legit world title. Same for Martel and Kerry Von Erich although technically they all stayed midcard once they lost their main title. I'd also struggle to include guys like Davey Boy, Rick Rude and Piper and DiBiase as they all main evented at various points... Christian was also a World champion in both TNA and WWE so you can't really call him career mid card.

More recently a lot of "mid card" guys, even those you list did main event the odd PPV, Morrison got some title matches, he, Kofi, Drew McIntyre all got into Elimination Chamber matches...so it's hard to call them "career" mid carders, more failed main eventers... Even Hardcore Holly got his 2 PPV feud with Brock...

So to me the criteria would be guys who never got a chance at a main event title... We're talking the Tito Santana's, Greg Valentines, Road Dogs, Godfather's and the like...

My favourites are probably:-

Greg Valentine - He was the definition of midcard for life, he was there in the NWA in the 70's the WWF in the 80's and 90's and always was a mid card name who could have a great match/feud and put someone over strong when needed. Despite being horribly un-PC now, his feud with JYD and Tito after Mania 1 was the best example of what he could do...his comments today make you wince, but it really was a different time and he drew massive heat. Later on he was a jobber to the stars, last putting over IRS at Summerslam 91... It was no disgrace...he'd had a great career all told.

The Mountie/Jacques Rougeau - The Mountie was a great heel character, hated when needed but Jacques himself has always seemed one of the most genuine guys in the business on shoots etc... perhaps I like him cos he stood up to the bully in Dynamite... perhaps I like him cos he openly admits it was a horrible thing to do to someone but that he had to for his own sanity... perhaps I like him cos he used to have GREAT matches all the time... Dunno but even now if I see a Youtube interview or something he's done I'll always be interested.

Big Bossman - Likewise, I have never seen or heard a "bad Ray Traylor story"... In the ring the guy was awesome for his size... just the right amount of menace to fit his size but the speed to fly around the ring at times... The Bossman gimmick came at the late part of my pre-teens/early teens so it seemed too kiddy for me.. but looking back he really was an awesome man in the business and sorely missed... even today he had a place as part of the Authority etc...

On the WCW side though is my winner...

Brian Pillman - While he could have, if he'd not had his accident gotten to that main event spot in the WWF, I think pound for pound and impact wise, Brian did the most of any career midcarder. He helped popularise the Cruiser style ahead of its time with Liger, re-define tag wrestling with Austin and what you could get away with on camera in terms of gimmick... He was never quite given the ball on any of these... but he could have easily been the biggest name in the business if they had. Go back and pre-accident, I don't think you ever saw a bad Pillman performance or match... that they happened at all after and that Brian still worked his ass off makes him my fave... another gone far too soon.
 
Milkyway! said:
Throughout the course of wrestling there have been several names that didn't make it, that became a legacy, that failed so hard we we remember them well, or the Career Midcarder.

Some examples of career midcarders:

Mr Perfect, Hardcore Holly, Christian, John Morrison, Val Venis, Test, Kofi Kingston, Goldust, etc.
Click to expand...


What exactly are your criteria for "career midcarder"? Mr. Perfect, who, as mentioned, was AWA World Heavyweight Champion? John Morrison, who was ECW Champion? Christian, who won SIX World Championships? You have no idea what a midcarder is.

Out of ACTUAL midcarders, I've always liked Test. He was a great talent who should have been a much bigger star than he wound up being. He had incredible speed and agility, an awesome moveset, and was one of the most talented big men in WWE history to never be a World Champion. He was finally starting to move into the main event scene in 2006/2007 when he returned to ECW, but then he was quietly released and retired before his death. A damn shame and I'd say one day he should be in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Another career midcarder I want to mention (I guess my runner-up) is Hercules Hernandez. In my opinion he was one of the biggest missed opportunities of the 80's, and I never understood why WWE never did much with him. He was one of the most charismatic and popular wrestlers of his time, but was constantly flipped from face to heel with no rhyme or reason. He should have at least been Intercontinental Champion.
 
Arn Anderson.

He was always in the "enforcer" role to protect Flair. Arn was the midcarder and Flair was the main event. Arn was a tremendous talent both in the ring and on the mic. In my opinion one of the greatest wrestling talents, and if he wasn't always with Flair could have been a main eventer/world champ.
 
I agree that Christian, Morrisson and Henning have no business in the mid-carder section.

Mine would be

Scott Hall

The guy absolutely killed it as Razor Ramon in the 90's .. his classic matches for the IC belt vs Shawn Micheals and his series of match vs the 1-2-3 Kid were awesome.

In my book, he was always considered to be a small level under Nash and was getting high profile matches as a tag team... but he never won the high profile big main event singles match.

Other names to be considered : Shelton Benjamin, Pillman, Goldust (Longetivity), Arn Andersson and maybe Owen Hart ?!
 
Great thread! Its not too often you look back and think about the guys who are the main body of the show/roster, more than often you look for the main eventer. My list of Favorite "mid card" talents would be (in no preferential order):

1. Rickey Steamboat
2. Arn Anderson
3. Jake Roberts (clean and sober)
4. Roddy Piper
5. Tully Blanchard
6. Bob Hardcore Holly
7. Kevin Von Erich
8. Goldust

ALL of these guys could carry a show any and every night of the week. They all had stellar careers without being the "Main Event Draw" on the card. You knew who they were and wanted to see them without caring if they were the world champ or not. They all had skills on the mic as well. Their promo's were something you listened to and thought they were talking to you, not just a teleprompter.
 
Hercules' answer may lie in Bret's book... he tells a tale of one night now the guys all drunkenly were wrestling in someone's room and Vince was completely plastered, challenging everyone left and right... Apparently Herc slammed him and he bounced off the bed, nearly broke his neck and was stone cold sober in a second... that probably did for Herc...

Jake is one I purposely didn't mention as I never felt his matches were THAT great, he had the 5 move of doom thing before we really knew what it was and they rarely had finishes in the way we'd expect... he could sell the match no doubt and psychology was great but the actual in ring part not so much.
 
Scott Hall/ Razor Ramon for me, dude had all the skills and talent to make it to the next level, its just a shame that he couldn't keep his addictions under control
 
Ten of my favorites in no particular order:

  • Fit Finlay (quelle surprise): Great in the ring and I always loved the conviction in his promos... well, that and the awesome accent. :p Considering he was 37 when he debuted in WCW in '96 and has been involved off and on as an in-ring performer in WCW, WWe, RoH and Internationally right up to the age of 54 indicates how well he is regarded in the industry.
  • Arn Anderson: Similar to Finlay, one of the greatest both in the ring and giving a promo, it is shocking looking back that he never rose any higher than the TV Title.
  • Jake Roberts: Jake and Arn shared more than a finishing maneuver, both could hold you in the palm of their hands with their soft spoken interviews and even more shocking the Double A - the snake never even held a midcard belt.
  • Scott Norton: I've always been amazed looking back that Norton never received a huge push; great look, much better in the ring than many other guys with muscular physiques that received major pushes, his only weakness was on promo (something that could have been easily overcome with a mouthpiece).
  • Owen Hart: I can't help but think that Owen's career was a victim of the Bret/ Shawn feud - brilliant wrestler and he displayed just how colorful he could be in his feud with Bret.
  • Bobby Eaton: I'm sure it does exist but I've never heard Bobby Eaton do a promo and when you look at him you have to assume the 'Beautiful' moniker was a rib. Yet, he is still one of my favorites of all time simply on how good he was in the ring.
  • Roddy Piper: Is the Rowdy Scot a midcarder? His resume states yes and yet this is the man who rightfully asked Hogan "Do you think the fans would've loved you so much, if they hadn't hated me?"
  • Steven/ William Regal: He may have spent most of his career portrayed as a snobby blue blood and played the part brilliantly when he spoke but Regal could either out-wrestle or out-brawl the majority of his opponents.
  • Chris Daniels: The Fallen Angel has long been regarded as one of the best ever wrestlers but many questioned his speaking ability... until he joined up with Kazarian... nobody has this question mark anymore.
  • Ricky Morton: For the youngsters among you, if you love HBK then you love Ricky Morton. The (Midnight) Rockers were a direct copy of the Rock N' Roll Express and Michaels was the Morton of the tandem. To this day the inside term for a face in peril is referred too as 'playing Ricky Morton'. Morton was so good back in the day that he got to work a series with Flair for the NWA strap.

I could go on but I don't wanna bore ya'll.
 
Golddust and Santino immediately came to mind when I saw the thread. Then I looked at some of the responses. All of FitFinlay4lifes picks are perfect and I couldn't agree more.

Trying to list some of my favourites while not mentioning those who have already been named will be difficult, but I will give it a try

Tito Santana - As a kid I was drawn to him, he lost more than he won, but was a IC champ and was decent in the ring

Savio Vega - The leader of Los Boriquas career was cut short by a neck injury. Above average in the ring and the mic, he may have main evented had he not got injured

DLO Brown - Just because of his music and head tilt

Billy Kidman - Who didn't love a Kidman match?

Shane "Hurricane" Helms - Great comedic figure who was also amazing in the ring. He is my pick as favourite career midcarder.
 
Ill go with one that haven't been mentioned yet - Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty. Both great workers. Both very athletic. Both got over with gimmicks and moves that you wouldn't really associate with wrestling. Both should have had a lot more silverware than they do.
 
Ok, I know I had a list earlier, and have thought of a few more names for it, but the main one that no one that I have seen has mentioned is, wait for it, WAIT FOR IT,

SHANE-O-MAC,

Shane McMahon. Remember the match he had with Angle? Remember the drop kicks into a garbage can from across the ring? Yet he never held a title higher than the European or ECW belt.
 
Fit Finlay - from the WCW days up to his WWE run a few years ago, I have always enjoyed Finlay's matches. His experience level and legit toughness make him real fun to watch. His ring psychology was always good, and I think Hornswoggle was most likable paired with Finlay. His WWE farewell was wonderful and one of my favorite wrestling moments of all time.

William Regal - Just awesome wrestling and wry British humor. Always entertaining and made Zeke Jackson look worth a damn in WWECW. He's had an amazing wrestling career full of highlights and high profile opponents. Still enjoy any time he decides to wrestle.

Goldust - the edgiest character of the 90's, the funniest character of the 00's and now he's the surprisingly explosive veteran. shocking career longevity for what a lot of folks thought would be a flash in the pan.

Ricky Steamboat - his matches hold up to this day, he's a true talent. His return bout against Jericho was really cool too.
 
I don't want to keep bringing up the same names so I'll pick Mr. Kennedy/Anderson. I don't believe he would have been a career mid carder if it weren't for the politics and what not. This guy was a star and IMO could still be a big money maker for WWE to this day if given the chance. I accredit Randy Orton getting him fired as one of the main reasons why WWE is in the state it's in today and it's one of the many reasons why I am as far opposite of an Orton fan as can be. What's even worse is that he goes to TNA and they totally misuse him. He hasn't even been on Impact in weeks and it's very perplexing to me. This is a guy I could build a show around and they aren't even putting him on the show at all? SMH SMH SMH
 
Oldschoolersrule said:
Ok, I know I had a list earlier, and have thought of a few more names for it, but the main one that no one that I have seen has mentioned is, wait for it, WAIT FOR IT,

SHANE-O-MAC,

Shane McMahon. Remember the match he had with Angle? Remember the drop kicks into a garbage can from across the ring? Yet he never held a title higher than the European or ECW belt.
Click to expand...

Very good call...

I always felt Shane was a main eventer though, without having the title (which he was easily good enough to hold) his matches were always promoted like main events. I always felt the sad part was that had he kept the Shane Stevens name and never been identified as Vince's son, he could have been a World Champ... he was good enough...failing that it made FAR more sense for Shane to get that belt Vince got...

But you have to remember Shane had YEARS to learn from everyone on that roster... Apart from Vince himself it was the longest apprenticeship from getting into the biz to your first match. Shane benefitted from being a kid and play wrestling with legends... same as all 2nd and 3rd Gen kids did, it's why they're inherently so good... but as he was the bosses son, they ALL took his play wrestling a little more seriously.
 
I think I have to go with Perry Saturn.

The feud with Jericho in WCW where Saturn wore a dress and make up to the ring; topped only by the Moppy angle in WWE, makes him pure comedy gold in my book. On top of that, he could actually really go in the ring; worked in serious angles in The Flock, was an ECW Tag Team Champ 3 times, and was trained by the legendary Killer Kowalski, makes Perry alright with me.
 
My favorite midcarder: I can't pick anyone apart from Jake Roberts. The guy was a great heel and introduced the DDT to a large audience.

Most memorable moment for your midcarder: The final segment with the Ultimate Warrior where he reveals he was working with the Undertaker. A pity he never got to wrestle the feud.
 
Raven.

While he was an ECW Champion, in WCW and WWF he was a career midcarder. He didn't stand much of a chance in WWF, and they didn't really do much with him other than the 24/7 hardcore segments. He had a few European title shots on RAW vs Test, but he regularly got his ass kicked. Same thing with Kurt Angle during the invasion angle.

I really liked what WCW was going with him, with The Flock. His feuds with Chris Benoit, DDP and Saturn were all top notch. The angle with Saturn being his servant, until Saturn "freed" the Flock at Fall Brawl was great. And a fantastic match as well. He was even the WCW United States Champion for 1 day before jobbing to Goldberg. I always wished both WWF and WCW did more with him.
 
I would put William Regal in the top echelon of greatest mid carders. One of the toughest, nastiest wrestlers ever. He has an innate ability to put talent over, yet make them earn it at the same time. He is a natural on the mic, and some of the funniest promos and backstage sketches I have ever seen featured Regal front and centre. Even at his age now, he could out wrestle guys half his age.
 
I'd say Owen Hart. The argument can be made he had some bigger matches but they were usually with Bret. I really thought after the whole Bret Hart debacle that Owen's Black Hart character would get a push.

I'm not sure if Vince lashed out at Bret and kept Owen down deliberately or if he just didn't have much stock in the guy, but his career never saw much past the IC title. Maybe down the road Owen would get a push had it not been for his tragic death, but I wouldn't think so.
 
Vader said:
I'd say Owen Hart. The argument can be made he had some bigger matches but they were usually with Bret. I really thought after the whole Bret Hart debacle that Owen's Black Hart character would get a push.

I'm not sure if Vince lashed out at Bret and kept Owen down deliberately or if he just didn't have much stock in the guy, but his career never saw much past the IC title. Maybe down the road Owen would get a push had it not been for his tragic death, but I wouldn't think so.
Click to expand...

It was the Austin issue.

Stone Cold was never 100% with Owen after the botch because it was Owen's fault. he'd been told 3 times by Austin to Tombstone and Owen said each time "Sitout", Austin made clear it was to be a tombstone only... and it wasn't. So Owen either blocked on it or botched horribly. It affected things between them and thus with Vince, post Bret it killed pretty much any chance Owen had.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
  • Poll
Your Favorite Midcarder
2
Replies
41
Views
6K
Jessie Lynn DivaGirl
J
H
The importance of the career midcarder
Replies
8
Views
3K
Hulk Hogan's Brother
H
J
Career Defining Feuds
2
Replies
26
Views
5K
Slyfox696
S
S
Midcarders of yesteryear: D'lo brown
Replies
13
Views
4K
Tastycles
T
A
You know who really needs a good push...?
2
Replies
37
Views
2K
lapel8533
L

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 388 (members: 0, guests: 388)

Forum statistics

Threads
174,826
Messages
3,300,733
Members
21,726
Latest member
chrisxenforo

Share this page

Back
Top