Wrestlers You Liked That No One Else Cared About

[The Brain]

I’m sure over the years many of us have been fans of certain wrestlers that most people never cared for. Maybe they never accomplished anything and maybe they’re largely forgotten, but for whatever reason you enjoyed watching them. The idea of this thread is to pull out some names from the past that are very rarely mentioned here.

I’ll start by mentioning a tag team that didn’t last very long in the WWF. They started off hot but their early momentum didn’t last long. I enjoyed watching them regardless of their spot on the card. I’m referring to the team of Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon. They had a very impressive debut at the 1996 Survivor Series by surviving their elimination match against The New Rockers and tag team champions Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith. I wasn’t familiar with them before that match but they won me over right away. They seemed like a combination of the British Bulldogs and The Steiner Brothers. Furnas in particular had some pretty impressive power moves that reminded me of Scott Steiner. I felt the in ring talent was there but as the WWF entered the attitude era the fans just didn’t seem to care about these guys. They just didn’t have the personality to cut it in the late 90s. They were a few years too late and probably would have fared much better in the late 80s/early 90s. Despite their lack of popularity I found Furnas and Lafon enjoyable.

Now it’s your turn. Who is someone that you liked that you never see discussed here? The more obscure the better.

 

[wrestlingfanusa]

Not sure this one will count but mine would be mordecai. Not sure its spelled right but oh well hes one guy i loved. Im not sure he counts but his gimmick when he debuted seemed like a undertaker type gimmick like the opposite of him. I thought bout time another supernatural gimmick. I also thought gangrel and adam bomb was cool. I really dont know much bout adam bomb lol except as a kid i thought he looked cool and had a cool name. I was usually rooting for him. As for gangrel he didnt last that many years in wwe he ws with the brood but edge and christian came out to be the stars. Also i got a few more like the ultimo dragon he had a very cool look and i preferred him over rey mysterio jr. Also i like giant gonzales in wcw bc of his size and he had a few 3 on 1 matches against jobbers. I was like awesome lol i was a kid though.

 

[Just2Sweet]

I'm going to go with Papa Shango. He got pushed right away against the Ultimate Warrior, even had a run in during the Hogan vs. Sid Wrestlemania match, then nothing. I know he went on to better things as the Godfather, but I think that they could have gotten more out of him as Papa Shango

 

[cm ben]

Hmm, not sure how obscure mine is, but I loved Essa Rios back in the day. Some of you might remember this non-English speaking, red-haired, moonsault master from his days of main-eventing Sunday Night Heat; others might remember him as (Mr.) Aguila (I don't, actually, but he had a nice match with Taka Michinoku at Wrestlemania 14, linked below). Probably MOST remember him as the nobody who helped to introduce Lita, though; they used to moonsault people together and have red hair together before she left him to hang out with the Hardy Boyz.

I think Essa was fired soon after she left him, because despite his good look and impressive in-ring abilities, his lack of a sexy lady and English-speaking abilities made him kind of unmarketable. Not to 9-year old me, though. All my friends played as The Rock in No Mercy on N64, and I'd crush 'em with my boy Essa.

Here are some good links of his matches:

vs Taka Michinoku for the Light-Heavyweight Championship, WM14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D3WgYKxGcA

vs Samoa Joe (!), Sunday Night Heat??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQwALrvIf20&feature=related


I like these nostalgic threads you make every now and then, D-Man!

 

[TheGreatLegend]

Well I can say I liked Val Venis,Nathan Jones,Matt Morgan,A-Train,Gene Snitsky,Steven Richards and Chris Masters since he debuted in 2005.I always thought Chris Masters had huge potential to be a World Champion one day.His masterlock remained unbroken for 2 years but then afterwards WWE dropped the ball on Chris Masters.He went from being in main-events to being a jobber and getting released.

 

[Peaky1969]

I thought Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon were excellent in the ring as well. Maybe just not the personailities that the WWF needed at that time. Didn't one of them suffer a career ending back injury at one stage?

 

[SMKM]

If I choose people who used to not be over, and people hated, that then went over, does that still count? Cuz I remember back in 06/07 I loved Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, WAAAAAAAAAY before his youtube show and when they were The Major Brothers, and still to this day I love Ryder and everything he's doing, and I love Curt, he's so marketable in my opinion, but theyll never push him sadly, which is a damn shame, if given the opportunity he could be the next HBK for all we know (He kinda looks like him for damn sake). I also really enjoyed John Morrison when he was Johnny Nitro, and in 08 when he 1st became Morrison on ECW as the new champion. I also loved Randy Orton WAAAAAY before his Viper gimmick, hell I remember playing WWE Here comes the pain and using Orton, and that was in 02......before he came up with the RKO. If these don't count towards the thread then ill have to think of actual people that no one really likes, but for now, my brain wont work lol

 

[irishwarrior]

Nowadays, Drew McIntyre. He's talented in the ring, if you disagree then check out this year's SDown elimination chamber. He's also good on the mic, just watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlykD2meHXs
But now he's gone from IC champ and World title contender to jobbing to Zack Ryder on Superstars.

 

[GameOver]

Hakushi, the Japanse Angel.
The guy was phenomenal and though he couldn't speak a word of english and only had a brief run as a heel pushing Bret Hart to the limit in 1995-1996 b4 going face then leaving back to Japan, what he did do in ring was nothing short of amazing.

He is now president of Taka Michi-No-Clue's wrestling promotion

 

[Larry]

Hakushi, the Japanse Angel.
The guy was phenomenal and though he couldn't speak a word of english and only had a brief run as a heel pushing Bret Hart to the limit in 1995-1996 b4 going face then leaving back to Japan, what he did do in ring was nothing short of amazing.

He is now president of Taka Michi-No-Clue's wrestling promotion

I definitely feel you on Hakushi. I liked him a lot back in the day. I liked how his whole body and face was covered with Japanese writing, I liked his all white outfit, and he reminded me of Raiden with his hat. He was also a really good wrestler. I liked his style a lot and I think it would actually work really well today.

The guy that I am reminded of from the subject matter of the thread is Adam Bomb. I thought he was cool as fuck. He had those crazy contacts, an intimidating physique, his tongue was red for some reason(apparently from radiation or something), and he has a sick ass powerbomb. I thought he could have been a big deal and that he was really cool but obviously he went nowhere.

Another wrestler that I liked but no one else I knew seemed to care for was La Parka. Truth be told, I don't even know why I liked La Parka so much but I did. Maybe it was the crazy outfit, but I remember thinking all the time "Man, I really like this guy for some reason". He was a great wrestler and I did enjoy his matches, but no one I knew ever really liked him and I thought he could have been a big deal too.

 

[FutureShocked]

I liked Sheamus since the first time I saw him. Even then, I knew he would win a world title. This was back when he debuted in ECW so I think this counts as nobody caring about him. Another one is Curt Hawkins. Never liked him until his return earlier this year but nowadays I think he has real potential.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

I'd like to take this time to nominate the one, the only, Ernest 'The Cat' Miller. He was a great talker, really was. He filled a similar position to Chris Jericho in WCW in it's later years where he was a comedy guy but also a legit. wrestler and heel most of the time and he was really something different.

I don't like it when people say that WWE, for instance, "killed" a certain character or a guy's career but when he went to WWE they really made it difficult for him to get over. He was billed like Santino except without the ability to be a threat in a match, but as good as he could do comedy, he was a really good heel.

I'll just leave you a few videos and thoughts over what could have been:

Heel Cat

[YOUTUBE]u7FX6QHyEi8&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

Also, featuring a rare appearance by The Maestro.

[YOUTUBE]AI7OzUVeZUw[/YOUTUBE]

Featuring his short time WCW manager Sonny Ono (who was also legendary) , and another rare appearance, people cheering for Buff Bagwell. Skip to about 2:40 to miss out the intros here.

[YOUTUBE]9sRYQhXgND4&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

A bit of match.

Finally, a bit of WWE for comparison.

[YOUTUBE]LTjSGCQqtY0[/YOUTUBE]

The phrase 'dropping the ball, resonates, they just got his angle all wrong. Oh well.

 

[hatehabsforever]

My choice is not all that obscure, but in the grand scheme of things, he wasn't around as long as he should have been. I am referring to the evil Doink the Clown. Not the face version, who had a midget sidekick named Dink, who de-evolved into a comedy jobber and a total joke, riding around on tricycles and acting silly. I mean the evil version when he first debuted.

He would come out to the ring acting like a stereotypical clown, laughing and "clowning around". Then the bell rang, and his facial expression turned immediately evil and serious. He'd beat the bejesus out of whoever he was in the ring with, and when the match was over, he'd revert back to his clown persona. He was eerie, and I think he had the little kids slightly freaked out. I don't think this type of character could ever had sustained any type of longevity in his career, and I don't think his schtick would work today. But at the time, he was an interesting character who is mocked today, but at the time, was a character that I really enjoyed.

 

[Karilas]

Nods to Essa Rios, but I was never keen on Ernest Miller, he annoyed me intently as a teen watching WCW.

People I used to really like but nobody gives a shit, hmmmm...

Lightning Foot Jerry Flynn. He was badass, but then I really liked Steve Blackman, too. Intense strikers with no personality FTW!

Wrath. Wrath was soooooo cool, I loved his finisher, it looked effing meaty.

Another unsung hero of that era?

Norman "It's pronounced Smilay" Smiley. That big wiggle. Damn the man was weird.

 

[go_patriots11]

I was always a big fan of Owen Hart. Not to say that no-one really liked him, he wasnt your casual favorite guy like Rock, Austin etc...
To get more to the point of this thread I would have to go mainly with Steve Blackman. Personality of a cardboard box but man were those strikes legit.
Some notable mentions
Mike Awesome
Savio Vega
The Supreme Fighting Machine Kama

 

[berlinbrawler]

I loved Adam Bomb. I thought he was pretty badass and was pretty disappointed when he ended up tanking.

Looking back I can see why Adam Bomb was a failure. I's amazing how differently you see a gimmick of a walking, talking atom bomb when you're a grown up... But at age 13 I thought he was awesome!

Bryan Clark's career never took off, with or without a lame gimmick. His biggest claim to fame was probably the tag team KroniK with Brian Adams. But when WCW died, so did that team. They had one trial match in the WWF and failed miserably. That's all she wrote.

 

[MHardy_Fan]

I would have to go with Test. I used to love watching him in the ring and he was involved with the crazy Mchman storyline. I think wwe could have gotten at least 1 title run out of him. His feud with Steiner waas hard to watch though. Hell, when he came to wwe for ecw, I was sure they were gonna give him his proper shot. RIP Test.

 

[ECPirate37]

Karalis nailed it with Wrath AND Norman Smiley. As I was reading this thread (Which was a great idea by the way, thanks for that) I kept thinking of those two. I also liked Wrath when he was Adam Bomb. As a kid, I thought Adam Bomb was the coolest wrestler ever, even though I hardly ever saw him on tv. Then when he came to WCW as Wrath, I KNEW he would win a title. He was just too big and his finisher was too sick. I remember him being a "Boss" in WCW vs. The World on N64 and also a hidden character (you had to use a pro action replay to get him) in the EA WCW game. I never understood why other people didn't think he was as bad ass as I did.

I loved Norman Smiley too.

I also really like Eric Young. Most of the time on the boards, people are bashing him, but I really think his character is the perfect blend of comedy, while still being an excellent in ring performer.

I also really liked Petey Williams. I can't believe he never got over when he has (in my opinion) the absolute best finisher ever.

And finally, this guy (as a joke) always got the biggest pop at our Monday Nitro parties when he came out: Tokyo Magnum

 

[bxbigshow]

Old School: Barry Horowitz- Loved the pat on the back. He was one of the jobbers that sold well, so as a kid I hated when the heels beat him down. I was elated when he actually won a match. I honestly thought as a kid he was gonna win the Intrercontinental Title. But hey, I was a kid.

Attitude Era: Essa Rios gets a vote, but since he was mentioned I'll go with Kaientai. The promos were hilarious, I was a Taka fan already and Funaki was solid. Great comedy tag team.

WCW: I was a huge Marcus Alexander Bagwell fan. He had an All-American (American) look, great bridge suplex. Solid. Even liked it when he went Buff. The blockbuster was one hell of a finisher. He lost me when he came back from the neck injury and joined the nWo. He could've been a major face if he came back as a good guy.

WWE now: Drew McIntyre- This dude looks like a champion, great size, intense in his movements. I do not know why he is pushed so far down the roster, I know his wife kicked his ass but when does he stop paying that penance? He can talk better than some, but not that great....give him a manager and he can be amazing.

TNA: Amazing Red- basically Rey Mysterio from Brooklyn. But I've seen him from when he started so I was glad to see him "make it".

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Kenny Dykstra. When he originally came onto television I remember the reports breaking about how young he was and how WWE wanted to try and make him big, giving him the eventual leadership role within the Spirit Squad, hell Dykstra was the first member to leave the Spirit Squad after an argument.

It was when Dykstra was feuding with Flair that I really began to notice him. He picked up three straight victories, one of which was on PPV and the fans seemed at least interested in Kenny. His microphone work wasn't the best nor was it the worst. But he had a good look and he had a certain amount of charisma, I think when he faced Triple H on Smackdown and lasted eight minutes, even having a go at defeating Hunter I thought that he was bouncing back, but instead they released him.

Since then anytime I've seen Kenny hes been impressive. Still young, only 25 years old, has made appearences for Dragon Gate, EVOLVE and PWG. I have faith he'll eventually return to the WWE to be frank, just hope he is seen in a better light.

 

[Da Solo]

The Brian Kendrick. Towards the end of his WWE run, I feel like his booking just made his whole persona fizzle out. In my opinion, he could have made it big regardless of his size, kinda like Mysterio if they really put the energy into pushing him and didn't draft him.

To use a pick from nowadays, I'll say Jinder Mahal. To me, he seems like Muhammad Hassan's Indian incarnation. He's got some good mic skills and an aura that makes him seem like a guy who's not to be f***ed with, but then they started jobbing him out since Khali left.

 

[Mr_billy]

I have two, John Nord as the Viking/Berserker, This was a great gimmick, and he was dominant. Just the way he would do the World's Strongest Slam, and he never had to say a word.

Also Duke the Dumpster Drosse, he was an everyman, and I would get all excited as a child to see him come out, especially because one of my uncles was a Garbage man, and I always thought he wa a great uncle.

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

Looking through this thread, I can see quite a few wrestlers that I also liked. (Adam Bomb, Steve Blackman, Gangrel, Ernest "The Cat" Miller, etc.) I remember Ernest "The Cat" Miller and Josh Matthews doing commentary on Velocity and thinking "The Cat" did a pretty good job. I think one of his last appearances in WWE was receiving a low blow from either Vince McMahon or Sable.

To add to this thread-The Mean Street Posse. I loved their theme music, the sweater vests and khaki pants and I always found myself pulling for them. Rodney was my favorite of the bunch.

Deuce and Domino-In my opinion, they were the most interesting part of Smackdown back in '07-'08. Loved the theme music and the gimmick. I remember being so annoyed when they eventually started jobbing to every team and I would have enjoyed seeing the two of them feud. They could have done more with both of these guys. Deuce/Sim Snuka would've made Legacy more interesting and Domino deserved better than being a heel jobber.

 

[Cebeards]

The Glacier character from WCW. I know it was really dry and straight forward but he had a very strong pressence with his entrance; not quite Undertaker, but definatly a pressence.

He had a great Run, I even liked the weird Mortis feud. But, over time they never pushed him past the elusive mid-card ceiling. I know he had a Lance Storm like feeling to him, but the Character made it work.

Over time they gave him the Penn State Shower treatment and re-intro'd him as Coach Buzz Stern, a waste...It's like taking the Arnold from The Terminator to Junior...He was a badass, now he's pregnant? Basically, from great to suck in no time flat.

I'm not sure if I'm the only guy that liked him, But I never even hear about him anymore...didn't he have a year long undefeated streak? Creative just coudn't handle his character so they gave up....dicks.

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

Interesting thread.

Most of the people I pull for tend to be the forgottens, but i'll only list a few:

Tajiri- To me he was a very entertaining in ring talent. He had moves that when you see today you think "Oh Tajiri!"

A-Train- My favorite of his gimmicks if I do say so myself.

The 2002-2004 Smackdown Crusierweight Division- Look at the names you had, Chavo Guerrero, Rey Mysterio(Who I found much more entertaining then), Tajiri, Jamie Noble, Billy Kidman, Spike Dudley, and i'm sure i'm forgetting some names



Honorable Mentions:

Scotty 2 Hotty, 3 Minute Warning, Maven