Best wrestler to never appear in a WWE ring....

[Stinger]

Well, now that Sting, who was long regarded as the best wrestler to never appear in a WWE ring has now appeared in a WWE ring, who is now the top guy to have never made a WWE appearance?

Of the modern era, I'd have to think that it'd be a guy like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, or even a Bobby Roode or Nigel McGuinness. But for all-time? The debate just got a whole lot more interesting.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Styles, Bobby Roode and Joe all appeared in a WWE ring, so none make the cut. They were all in low-end matches, or dark matches, but were technically speaking in a WWE ring.

McGuinness never did enough in the industry to warrant being involved in a conversation like this.

Now that Sting has broken the Ironman streak, the torch is passed to Great Muta — essentially the last remaining legend still living whose yet to step foot in a WWE ring.

 

[The Brain]

AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode have all wrestled in WWE at least once. They were on Velocity or whatever show was comparable to it at the time. We'll probably have to narrow this down to when VKM took over because before that wrestlers would travel between all the different territories so even if it was brief the big names probably made it to New York at least once even if they weren't employed by (W)WWF.

There are a couple names that come to mind but none of them are as big as Sting. To the best of my knowledge The Midnight Express never wrestled in WWE. Stan Lane was an announcer for them in 1994 but I don't recall ever seeing Bobby Eaton there. I don't believe Nikita Koloff ever wrestled there either. He was a pretty big deal in the NWA in the mid 80s and there were rumors Vince wanted him to wrestle Hogan at WM2. I found it hard to believe but I think I heard somewhere that Abdullah The Butcher never once wrestled in WWE. I would have thought he would have made it there at least once during the territory days but apparently not. I doubt you want to count Mexican or Japanese wrestlers in this otherwise it's a different discussion.

 

[ABMorales787]

No one will ever come close to it. Sting is the last of a legendary breed to set foot in WWE. Muta has a big resume, but him debuting in WWE would be just as "oh, how nice" as his debut in TNA was.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

This is actually a pretty hard question now that Sting has debuted, and my initial thought was AJ Styles, but he isn't yet thought of as a "legend", and he DID actually appear on a WWE show in a tryout match years ago- I remember seeing the clip on YouTube.

I'd probably go with someone like Kenta Kobashi or The Great Muta as the answer to this question- both phenomenal talents and legends in japan, who serious wrestling fans have a vast amount of respect for. However, the casual US wrestling fan will be unlikely to have heard of them very much so announcing their debuts in WWE wouldn't have anywhere near the kind od buzz that Sting's debut did. I think it's safe to say that there isn't any other wrestler out there who's debut would be as shocking as Sting finally stepping into a WWE ring for the first time.

 

[jmt225]

It's got to be between The Great Muta or Jushin Liger.

Both are huge stars in Japan and really the only Japanese wrestlers to find major success in the Untied States in the 80's and 90's. They've never been household names in America like Sting once was, but still... they had a pretty big spotlight on them while wrestling in the 2nd biggest wrestling company in the country (at times #1), so they're pretty well known amongst American wrestling fans over the age of 25. Can't say the same for Kobashi and Kawada and the likes, but Liger and Muta? Definitely so, and I'd give them the edge over any TNA wrestler..

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

It's got to be between The Great Muta or Jushin Liger.

Both are huge stars in Japan and really the only Japanese wrestlers to find major success in the Untied States in the 80's and 90's. They've never been household names in America like Sting once was, but still... they had a pretty big spotlight on them while wrestling in the 2nd biggest wrestling company in the country (at times #1), so they're pretty well known amongst American wrestling fans over the age of 25. Can't say the same for Kobashi and Kawada and the likes, but Liger and Muta? Definitely so, and I'd give them the edge over any TNA wrestler..

I totally forgot about Jushin Liger, that is a really good pick. He'd definitely be one of the top choices for this question. He's still very popular now, a pioneer in the wrestling industry and as you say- well known for long term wrestling fans. I highly doubt we'll ever see him in WWE (same for Muta and especially Kobashi), but it would be nice to see him make at least one appearance. Great pick!

 

[Mustang Sally]

How about Lou Thesz? Did he ever wrestle for the World Wide Wrestling Federation?

By the time the organization came into existence (1963?) Thesz was almost finished as an active competitor, but there was some crossover time. I've read that he had faced Buddy Rogers a time or two, but don't know whether it was under the auspices of WWWF.

As usual, the term "best wrestler" is up to one's own interpretation. If it pertains to flamboyance and showmanship, Lou Thesz doesn't qualify, but if we're talking about wrestling excellence, which includes championships, he certainly does.

Does anyone know?

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

How about Lou Thesz? Did he ever wrestle for the World Wide Wrestling Federation?

By the time the organization came into existence (1963?) Thesz was almost finished as an active competitor, but there was some crossover time. I've read that he had faced Buddy Rogers a time or two, but don't know whether it was under the auspices of WWWF.

As usual, the term "best wrestler" is up to one's own interpretation. If it pertains to flamboyance and showmanship, Lou Thesz doesn't qualify, but if we're talking about wrestling excellence, which includes championships, he certainly does.

Does anyone know?

According to Wikipedia, Thesz did appear for the WWF, in 1987 at a house show, where he won a Legends Battle Royal.

The link to the match is below:

[YOUTUBE]gp8c-DVvpPU[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Stinger]

I actually didn't know Joe had wrestled for the WWE, but I can't believe I forgot about Styles and Roode wrestling there

Anyhow, what about Nick Bockwinkel. Did he wrestle for the WWE at some point? The closest I've found is that he wrestled in a AWA/WWWF unification bout that ended in a no contest, but I'm not sure if that was a AWA or a WWWF card.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I don't believe Nikita Koloff ever wrestled there either.

How about a guy who was supposed to have had a great series of matches against Koloff in WCW......Magnum T.A.?

I know he was disabled in a car accident and wound up with a commentator's job with WCW. Wonder what ever became of him?

 

[FlairFan2003]

How about a guy who was supposed to have had a great series of matches against Koloff in WCW......Magnum T.A.?

I know he was disabled in a car accident and wound up with a commentator's job with WCW. Wonder what ever became of him?

Magnum TA was extremely popular in the NWA in 1985-86. He got very good responses for an early feud vs Flair in 85 when he was just getting noticed, similar to Sting circa 1988. Further runs vs Tully Blanchard & Kolloff were very well received, there was talk of pushing him as the #1 Good Guy in the company (taking Dusty Rhodes spot) and having him as the main challenger (and possibly successor) to Flair as champ, at the very least he would have become Flair's #1 nemesis as the lead hero vs Flair's lead villain even if the belt didn't change hands. His Oct 1986 car accident left him partially paralyzed, he was wheel chair bound for months and ever fully recovered. He never wrestled again but he did make appearances through the years in the NWA, WCW, and even WWE.

 

[Chrome]

Has Abyss or James Storm ever wrestled for WWE? I don't think they have..

Abdullah the Butcher never wrestled for the WWF/WWE (yes he's in the HoF)

The Great Muta & Jushin Thunder Liger as many have said already never wrestled for WWF/WWE

Nikita Koloff never wrestled for the WWF/WWE even though he almost went to WWE in the mid-late 80's but because of Steamboat he didn't have a place as a face to get a title so Vince couldnt promise him the IC title or World Title over Hogan so he stayed with the NWA. This is all in a shoot interview he did a few years back.

 

[rmp0012002]

If you go to before say 1986 most wrestlers had worked in the WWF because it was a territory (NWA on and off). Flair had wrestled in the WWWF @ MSG back in '74 which gives you a time perspective of how long you had to be in the sport before you became a somebody. Thesz was actually the reason the WWWF was created.

 

[Vader]

I gotta go with Magnum TA. It's not to say that had he not been in an accident that he never would have jumped ship.

According to google AJ Styles and Samoa Joe have wrestled in the WWE. AJ appeared on something called WWE Jakked whatever that is, and Joe was Essa Rios.

In terms of guys that I would say got to span their career and never come over even though they were around the same era...

I would say New Jack is the best wrestler that hasn't came over at any point.