Old-School Wrestler That Got More Than He Deserved

[Ferbian]

Now obviously in the current era of wrestling we hear a lot about wrestlers either being boring, being awful or anything in that manner and not deserving the kind of push they're getting, or the attention they seem to be getting from the promotion (Rob Terry and Drew McIntyre comes to mind). However, I'm sure the same thing could be said about some of the old-school wrestlers. A guy that was generally just boring, or you didn't think was warranted the kind of achievements his wrestling career has given him.

Now I'm not personally too much of an old-school guy to really separate a guy from what he deserved as to what he really achieved in the business. But I would like to think a guy like Jeff Jarrett for example, while he certainly had his moments, I'd like to think of him as an overrated performer that I saw no reason whatsoever to gain such a legacy back in WCW where he spend 3-4 years and became a 3 times United States Heavyweight Champion and a 4 times World Heavyweight Champion. I never saw him to really be worth much more than what he accomplished back in WWF with some mid-card championship reigns.

However, that's just my opinion, I'm sure you have someone else you thought accomplished more than they deserved. So, let's hear them?

 

[Wrestling Free Thinker]

There is a reason why Jeff Jarrett was always called a mid carder. What was the biggest crowed he drew for being in the main event? I can't think of any. And I doubt it was an amazing number.

His 4 WCW title reigns were pathetic anyway. His longest WCW title reign was 41 days, with the other 3 being LESS THAN 10 DAYS.

And I hope no one brings up his NWA title reigns when he was running the company's booking.


I also think Scott Steiner got too much. He was a good tag team guy, but his single career didn't impress me. That and his horrible matches in WWE going for the title.

 

[Slyfox696]

Both posts are completely misguided. Both Jarrett and Steiner were truly marvelous workers in their prime, both on the mic and in the ring, and to say they were undeserving of the rather mediocre accomplishments they've earned is silly.

To answer this thread? Rey Mysterio Jr. Don't get me wrong, before injuries and steroids (well, injuries because of steroids, most likely) took him down, Rey was a very good in-ring worker, one of the best in any company he worked for. But Rey's ability on the microphone is worse than a mute's, and the guy is 5'3" and weighs 150 pounds. We're supposed to believe this guy can beat legitimate heavyweights? It's absurd and completely shatters realism in wrestling. When you watch the UFC, you don't see Frankie Edgar fighting Brock Lesnar, do you?

Rey was a fantastic worker, but he can't promote a storyline, and he cannot realistically beat legitimate heavyweights. He did NOT deserve a title.

 

[nickg_90]

Definitely agree with Jarrett being overrated. The only thing I liked about his World Title reigns is when he lost the strap.

I say JBL got more than he needed. He was always better in a tag team. Granted Bradshaw might have had tenure, but I don't think he should have been WWE Champion, especially for almost a year. Great heel though.

 

[Ferbian]

Both posts are completely misguided. Both Jarrett and Steiner were truly marvelous workers in their prime, both on the mic and in the ring, and to say they were undeserving of the rather mediocre accom

It's not so much of the fact that he wasn't a marvelous worker or anything like that. I definitely don't disagree with that, I've always liked Jeff Jarrett's microphone skills to say the least. But looking at his resume, he's from my understanding a 12 times world champion. How in the world do you get the same (yes same) amount of world titles as Hulk freaking Hogan, more titles than John Cena, more titles than Steve Austin, and one title less than Triple H. All names which are far superior to Jeff Jarrett if you ask me.

Also, I can't believe I didn't think of Rey, good one there Sly.

 

[legendkiller1979]

I've got to give my vote to The Honky Tonk Man. This is a guy who amounted to NOTHING for about a year. Then in June of 1987 he wins the intercontinental championship. HTM was someone that absolutely nobody cared about. It might as well have been the Brooklyn Brawler facing Ricky Steamboat for the belt. That's how insignificant he was. Then he wins the belt and he is forced down the throat of the fans. I think a big part of the reason he was so hated was because the fans resentedthe fact that he was champion. Ricky Steamboat defeated one of the great IC champs ever in one of the greatest matches ever at the biggest event ever. There was little doubt that Steamboat was going to be a great champion. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way. Adding to the charade that was HTM'S reign was the fact that Jake the snake was injured. Jimmy Hart said in a shoot interview that Roberts was slated to win the belt from honky but it was continually pushed back until those plans were scrapped. Ironically it was honky that gave Roberts the injury that allowed him to hang on to the title. This went on for so long that HTM ended up being the longest reigning IC champ ever. What makes this all the more appalling is that this is arguably the pinnacle of the WWF's success. There were countless wrestlers that would have made a better champion but honky continued on. In a low move, he even refused to drop the belt to the macho man at The Main Event in February of 1988, AND VINCE LET HIM GET AWAY WITH IT! This ended up working out great for Savage as he was given the world title at wrestlemaina IV. It was Ted Dibiase that was the big loser in all of this. It's incredible to me that someone as insignificant as HTM was able to alter history as he did. I think that what I've said proved to be true because he was destroyed by The Ultimate Warrior at Summerslam 88 for the title and he didn't do anything note worthy for the rest of his WWF career. He was back to being the Elvis impersonator that nobody cared about. He was stuck in a tag team with Greg Valentine that didn't amount to anything. It still makes me sick that HTM was champion at all, let alone the longest reigning IC champion ever. It could be argued that on title reign that constitute the most undeserved push. But if you were to rank all the wrestlers that will be mentioned on this thread, there's no doubt in my mind that the longest reigning intercontinental champion of all time would be at the bottom of the list.

 

[TUFFY54]

The answer is hands down Rey Mysterio. I've absolutely hated this guy since 2000. He hasn't always been terrible, but his greatness faded fast. When he debuted in 1996, he was hands down the most exciting wrestler in the world. No one had ever seen anything like him. He lost all appeal when he lost his mask in WCW. I don't even see why they brought him into WWE. For the last five years he has been the most boring wrestler in the WWE. He also has the most unrealistic and unimpressive finisher in wrestling with the 619.

Rey was also the worst WWE champion in history. Wrestling is fake, and to enjoy it one must suspend reality. No matter how hard you try, you simply can't pretend that Rey would have a snowballs chance in hell against anyone. Kane, Great Khali, Angle, Orton, Batista, he would never be able to beat any of these guys. You simply can't imagine that he could. Khali was ten times the champion Rey was. He couldn't move, but he was the biggest wrestler in the last 20 years. Slightly more believable than the "Ultimate Underdog". Which is also the worst nickname in the history of wrestling.

Rey got famous because WCW brought in people that he could work with. That's it. Against normal sized wrestlers he is a complete joke. Be honest, when was the last time you saw a Rey match that wasn't 90% kicks to the legs and diving out of peoples reach. Pathetic.

 

[Hodgos]

Both posts are completely misguided. Both Jarrett and Steiner were truly marvelous workers in their prime, both on the mic and in the ring, and to say they were undeserving of the rather mediocre accomplishments they've earned is silly.

Jarrett had talent, but Ill always stand by the fact that in his last WCW run, where he was seemingly wracking up World title reigns at will, his push was ridiculously over the top.

Word is that the reason Jarrett's individual stints with the World title were so short at the time, was that Russo was planning to "hot-shot" his number of reigns, so that he would be a 16 time champion as quickly as possible and commentators could start referring to him in the same vein as Flair. Apart from being a transparent, weak booking idea, it also showed the absurd amount of faith that Russo (and, to be fair, the company in general) had in Jarrett at the time.

He just wasnt that good. He was always a highly valuable upper-midcarder, wherever he went. I would even go so far as to say that he was a capable fringe main-eventer, who was talanted enough and over enough to be a good transitional champion for a month or two if there was, say, a spate of injuries to main event guys. But at one stage, they were booking him as the guy to beat, and sadly the more they tried, the more obvious it became that he COMPLETELY lacked the "it" factor to play that role.

Rey Mysterio Jr... Rey's ability on the microphone is worse than a mute's, and the guy is 5'3" and weighs 150 pounds. We're supposed to believe this guy can beat legitimate heavyweights? It's absurd and completely shatters realism in wrestling. When you watch the UFC, you don't see Frankie Edgar fighting Brock Lesnar, do you?

I dont know; I mean if wrestling tried to TOTALLY mirror the realism of UFC, it would defeat its own purpose. Part of what makes wrestling special is the fact that anything is possible; we can suspend disbelief and watch improbable underdog scenarios like this, and get emotionally invested in them.

Case in point, a 5'3, 150 pound man, feuled by sheer guts and determination, comes out and beats 30 people (most of whom are 3 times his size) in the Royal Rumble, and then wins the world heavyweight title. The fact it would absolutely never happen in real life, is what made it so fun to watch; it's the sort of thing that "should" happen in real life, if there was any justice. And thats a very important part of entertainment; escapism.

I know I'm not telling you anything new, and obviously it's a matter of degrees; suspension of disbelief is well and good, but even wrestling needs to draw the line somewhere; we have to be able to sort of of buy what we're watching. I just don't think they went "too far" by having Rey win the title.

I CERTAINLY don't think he "didnt deserve" it. He is popular as hell; the Latino demographic love him and children buy his masks like hotcakes. Just as importantly, people will pay to see a Mysterio title defense at a PPV; the allure of whether or not he can "hang on" one more time is always a nice little drawcard.

If you draw, then I don't think it can be said that you don't deserve a title run.

 

[penguin74]

I would have to think The Ultimate Warrior would be the choice. If you ever saw the DVD, you know the man had no real love or passion for the business, never really trid to improve his ring work or mic skills, and would really come close to hurting people he was so careless Looking back on the fact that he went over Hogan in Wrestlemania 6 is a joke. He was chosen to basically be the future of the company, but then would later go on to threaten to not work an event unless he got more money. If anyone ever got more than they deserved it' gotta be him.

 

[CraigThe13th]

I would have to think The Ultimate Warrior would be the choice. If you ever saw the DVD, you know the man had no real love or passion for the business, never really trid to improve his ring work or mic skills, and would really come close to hurting people he was so careless Looking back on the fact that he went over Hogan in Wrestlemania 6 is a joke. He was chosen to basically be the future of the company, but then would later go on to threaten to not work an event unless he got more money. If anyone ever got more than they deserved it' gotta be him.

I was waiting for some fool to put Warrior. If you even watched WWF in the late 80s and early 90s you would know how over he was, regardless of his lack of technical skill. That DVD is bullshit from start to finish and anyone who uses it as a basis to judge The Warriors career is going to end up not knowing what they are talking about.

He was only on top less than a year, I think he deserved his short reign as the number 1 guy. It's all about if people care or not and Warrior was 2nd most most popular behind Hogan so you do the math.

My pick would be Yokozuna, he was ok for a big man but should have never been WWF champion. I just feel he personally never looked like a world champ he had no charisma and was average in the ring. I was shocked when he first won the rumble then beat Bret Hart, suppose WWF was short on top level heels at the time.

 

[Remix]

Both posts are completely misguided. Both Jarrett and Steiner were truly marvelous workers in their prime, both on the mic and in the ring, and to say they were undeserving of the rather mediocre accomplishments they've earned is silly.

To answer this thread? Rey Mysterio Jr. Don't get me wrong, before injuries and steroids (well, injuries because of steroids, most likely) took him down, Rey was a very good in-ring worker, one of the best in any company he worked for. But Rey's ability on the microphone is worse than a mute's, and the guy is 5'3" and weighs 150 pounds. We're supposed to believe this guy can beat legitimate heavyweights? It's absurd and completely shatters realism in wrestling. When you watch the UFC, you don't see Frankie Edgar fighting Brock Lesnar, do you?

Rey was a fantastic worker, but he can't promote a storyline, and he cannot realistically beat legitimate heavyweights. He did NOT deserve a title.

Sly, isn't your usual rhetoric that the best wrestler is the one who makes the most money for his employer? Because in that case, Rey Mysterio is certainly an above average wrestler. Especially considering how he's a big part of why Smackdown is watched by a large number of hispanic fans? And he does have consistently good matches, regardless of his injuries (notably his knees, which I doubt are related to 'roids)

My vote shall go to The Honkey Tonk Man. He shouldn't have been the one to take the IC title off of Ricky Steamboat, and shouldn't have held the title for so damn long.

 

[penguin74]

I was waiting for some fool to put Warrior. If you even watched WWF in the late 80s and early 90s you would know how over he was, regardless of his lack of technical skill. That DVD is bullshit from start to finish and anyone who uses it as a basis to judge The Warriors career is going to end up not knowing what they are talking about.

He was only on top less than a year, I think he deserved his short reign as the number 1 guy. It's all about if people care or not and Warrior was 2nd most most popular behind Hogan so you do the math.

My pick would be Yokozuna, he was ok for a big man but should have never been WWF champion. I just feel he personally never looked like a world champ he had no charisma and was average in the ring. I was shocked when he first won the rumble then beat Bret Hart, suppose WWF was short on top level heels at the time.

And you are the Warrior's cousin I presume?? You can call the dvd bullshit all you want, but when the ENTIRE industry thinks a guy sucks, the dvd probably was fairly accurate. The question was not how over someone was, but who got more than they deserved. Maybe warrior's popularity entitled him to some success, whether or not he ever made any effort to improve himself, but to think he DESERVED to be the one to dethrone Hogan is a joke.

 

[rge2010]

Koko B Ware - how this jobber EVER got in the Hall Of Fame is beyond me. Everything about him was just awful, especially his dress sense.

 

[closet_fan]

Koko B Ware - how this jobber EVER got in the Hall Of Fame is beyond me. Everything about him was just awful, especially his dress sense.

I am totally blown away how this guy made it to the HOF over others that were well deserving, but his WWF career really wasn't that great. He didn't win any championships and his feuds weren't memorable.

So really the only thing that he didn't deserve was the HOF induction.

 

[czar76]

The Warrior is hands down the worst. I did watch WWE in those days and it was clear he was shit. The only thing he had was the look. No skills in the ring or on the mic. Hell he couldn't even make it in WCCW. By the time the Warrior made it to Texas WCCW was hanging on by a thread and would push anyone. And guess what he didn't get a push.
The match with Savage at mania 7 was sad. Savage did everything he could to make Warrior look good and it didn't work. If someone like Savage(who was in his prime) can't save the match that means the other guy sucks. Watch the match at mania 6 when he went over Hogan. Hogan looks like the best wrestler of all time compared to Warrior and hogan couldn't work his way out of a paper bag.
Warrior got pushed to the moon and never amounted to anything. Yes he was over because he looked cool and early on he didn't talk much. Once he became the face of the compny and had to talk it was all down hill. he droped the title to Slaughter who was way beyond his time and never really went anywhere after that. Then came a brief run with WCW which was a joke. Watch the Halloween Havoc match with Hogan. Once you do you will see why I'm not saying anything more about it.
Warrior was a product of the times. Werstling was still over the top when he hit but was slowly changing. by time Vince pushed the hell out of him a wrestler had to be able to work a little to get over. In closing Warrior was pure shit.

 

[kaudrim]

I know I'm probably gonna get flamed for this, but my vote would go to Hogan. Sure he made the business mainstream, but that was because he looked the part. His In-ring sucks and has for most, if not all, of his career. His finisher looks fake, come on he arches the knee. The man never jobs to anyone, brings his friends to whatever company he's in, and tries to make himself a champion.

 

[xxxdaniel_ariesxxx]

I'd go with two people; Lex Luger and Paul Roma. Let's get Roma out of the way, shall we? Paul Roma was a member of the Four Horsemen... Enough said.

Now Luger... Couldn't work, couldn't talk, had a great body, but nothing else going for him. Yet he was a member of the Horsemen, won World Titles, main evented major PPVs, he was the guy to "finally" take the WCW championship back from the nWo in 97 (that honor should have gone to Sting and it should have lasted longer than six days) hell, the end of 93 through early 94 in WWF was built around his chase for the title. He even "co-won" the royal rumble in 94... And all he had going for him was a roid rage body... Major case of un-deserving of everything that he got

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think there've been some pretty good choices named overall. I think I'm gonna have to go with Lex Luger. Luger is someone that got by mostly due to his fantastic look rather than anything else.

Jim Crockett, Jr. took one look at Luger and thought that he could make him into an NWA version of Hulk Hogan and it just never materialized. Luger was give a very prestigious spot as a member of the Four Horsemen and it was the best thing that could've happened to him. Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson & JJ Dillon were so good at that time and so good in their characters that Lex Luger looked good just by being associated with them. Dillon was a great manager and the other three Horsemen were arguably the best heels in wrestling at that time and Luger simply looked good by default.

The times when Lex Luger looked his best was against the likes of Ric Flair, Sting & Barry Windham, all of whom were far superior talents and were able to carry Luger often to great matches. However, once you put Luger out there on his own and in a match that went for 5 minutes or longer with someone that wasn't the caliber of a Ric Flair or Sting, his limits were there for everyone to see. Luger did have presence and he did have a look, but that's ultimately all that he had.

 

[FatGuyIan]

We could throw a LOT of names into this one. Rey is a good choice, but only barely old-school.

If we're talking old-school, it defines a time-period and Rey's title run is well past "old-school" to me. I would think a good cut-off point to the "old-school" era would be the Montreal Screwjob. I will limit my choices to post-WM1, pre-Screwjob.

(P)Sycho Sid Justice/Vicious/Eudy - two-time WWF Champion, two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, one-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion.

Jeff Jarrett - six-time NWA Champion (bogus when you're booking the wins), four-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, six-time WWF Intercontinental Champion.

Shane/Dean Douglas - any match he ever won outside of Philadelphia.

I'd be very interested to see the opposite of this thread and guys who should have had world title reigns and didn't (Curt Hennig, Ted DiBiase, etc.).

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

I think i'm going to have to go with JBL here... the only time i enjoyed him was on the APA, but when he went out on his own, he was awful. His promos were boring, and the way he was saying he's a wrestling god was one of the worst Rock rip offs ever. His in ring style was boring and I will never get how he took the belt off Eddie and kept it for an unbelievably long time... I think a big reason he was even pushed at all was because of his popularity on fox news as a stock analyst or whatever it was he was doing. Even that he blew by trying to get some cheap heat in Germany. JBL was the most boring character ever... The APA was good because he had simmons to work with him.

 

[ilapierre]

czar 76: The Warrior is NOWHERE near the worst old school wrestler. He was almost as over as Hulk Hogan. Only Stone Cold and the Rock have reached Hogan or Warrior status since. Warrior was over more than Cena, and that's saying a lot! Warrior had the look, he looked unfreakin beatable. He could have been the biggest wrestler in WCW history had he had the right attitude and been there in 1990. And where you're absolutely WRONG is your critique of Warriors match with Savage at Wrestlemania 7. That was one of the greatest matches of all time fool. You are right, Savage carried the match but Savage carried it to success. He made Warrior look amazing. Warrior was a shit worker with no love for the business, but kids loved him like crazy. He had gained the respect of fans, Cena and Triple H did that and both became world champs even though i personally don't think either are as entertaining as that mumbling idiot Warrior.

And when Warrior was in WCW for 2 months and faced Hogan, he wasn't given anything but a brutal rematch with Hulk Hogan. They brought him in to boost Hogan's legacy and give him a pinfall victory over him finally. It was perhaps the worst main event match of all time (worst match not settled by a fingerpoke of doom). Warrior was a shitty wrestler, but he was a brilliant entertainer and he deserved the one title reign he had.
If he had titles dumped on him for another 10 years like Triple H, then i'd say you were right.

I'm gonna say the Big Show, Sid Justice, Triple H, jbL, and Jeff Jarrett are all runners up for getting way too much of a push than they deserved. Rey Mysterio is too obvious and i just block his title run out completely. It's just beyond the realm of real, it's the same for me as David Arquette. But the old school guy who got way too much given to him was: Goldberg. The guy sucked and was dangerous to work with. He had even less love of wrestling than Warrior and he was only over because WCW's writing team wrote up a storyline where he would defeat 170 guys without ever getting beaten. Sure, he looked the part. But after being tasered the guy really didn't amount to too much. And he ended the career of the best wrestler ever.

 

[CraigThe13th]

And you are the Warrior's cousin I presume?? You can call the dvd bullshit all you want, but when the ENTIRE industry thinks a guy sucks, the dvd probably was fairly accurate. The question was not how over someone was, but who got more than they deserved. Maybe warrior's popularity entitled him to some success, whether or not he ever made any effort to improve himself, but to think he DESERVED to be the one to dethrone Hogan is a joke.

Ok pal, who did then? If watching one DVD makes you an expert on him and the WWF at that time then tell me who, at the time when Hogan was trying to leave the industry to become a movie star, was in a position to be the number 1 babyface of the company at that time?

Warrior did suck in the ring, his attitude was shitty and he was stiff in the ring, all these thing may be true. He still was the 2nd most successful wrestler in the WWFs 2nd most successful period. Not even Cena, Taker or Orton nowadays get the pop he did in his prime.

He derserved to be made top guy, he didn't cut it and he never became world champ again. I think Vince did what was right at the time. You should stick to commenting on current wrestling, which you have actually followed rather than make worthless posts on wrestlers you have watched one DVD which would have turned out a lot different had Warrior played ball and endorsed it.

Lol I would have loved to have seen what your opinion on Bret Hart would be if he had not decided to co-operate on his DVD and WWE turned it into a slag-fest like the Warriors.

Oh yeah, in case you haven't noticed, ya know, with you being a wrestling fan n all. THE MOST OVER GUY IS THE MOST DESERVING.

 

[CAPT SPAULD1NG8]

hmm now that im older i guess i know more of what you need to become a really big star. i hate cena not because hes popular and i want to be different but because i think he flat out sucks. his in ring ability is garbage and his mic skills arent the best either. i was a huge cena fan when i was younger but then i realized, damn this guy does the same crap in every match. this is where im gonna get alot of criticism. if i knew what i do now about wrestling and had the same state of mind i do now would i like steve austin. now that i look back at some of his matches i realise that he was very sloppy and didnt have a big repertoire. yeah he was amazing on the mic and had a good fan connection but the way i see it, its only because he threw up his middle fingers and cursed out the boss. it was different but i dont think steve austin was as good as people made him out to be. all he has is the lou thesz press, the mud hole stomp, and a stunner. theres now way in hell he was on the same level as shawn michaels or bret hart or even the rock. i think the reason he was so big was because wwe was running out of talent and they needed something different. the rock and triple h werent really big stars yet. bret hart, hogan, hall, and nash all went to wcw. shawn michaels was out with a broken back for 4-5 years. wwe was kind of the situation they are in now where they are rushing to make top stars and thats what i think wwe did with austin in the 90's. the way i see it austin was in the right place at the right time.

 

[The Idiot]

Good thread idea, TS.

I'm gonna go with Bob Backlund.

I admit...his first run in the WWF was before my time, so I'm talking about the Bob Backlund from 92-95. Here's a guy that just didn't fit in with the new generation. The WWF was turning more hip with glitz and glammor. Then you had boring Bob that the WWF was trying to push as a lunatic who would snap at any given moment. I was 9 or 10 years old at the time and even I didn't buy into it. It was stupid. His feud with Bret was ok for the mat wrestling...but his character seemed out of place with the new generation. Then in another one of Vince's genius moves he puts the strap on Backlund. WTF?

His reign as champion was a joke and the WWF finally realized it. They had Backlund drop the belt to Nash in a NON-televised event in which the match lasted 10 seconds (if I remember correctly).

You look at all the greats who never held a world title: Piper, Perfect, Razor...the list goes on an on. They were awesome characters with great charisma with outstanding in-ring skills. A guy like Backlund gets to become world champ and these guys don't. Sometimes I just wanna smack Vince upside the head and tell him he's a dumbfuck.

That is all.

 

[The Brain]

I want to first comment on a few names mentioned in this thread that I disagree with.

Ultimate Warrior: When I saw the thread title I knew somebody would bring up Warrior. A lot of people know his reputation as someone who is unreliable, sloppy in the ring, and a mess on the mic. However, he was also incredibly popular and more over with the fans than anybody not named Hulk Hogan. It’s easy to look back twenty years later and criticize someone, but Warrior deserved a run with the world title. He may not have been the greatest champion, but Warrior’s popularity warranted at least and opportunity as the top guy.

Honky Tonk Man: I have no problem with HTM’s IC title reign. I thought it was great. Actually at the time I hated it which is why I now think it was great. I don’t know if there was anybody I hated more than HTM. He thrived during his time as champion. He could really get under the skin of the crowd. The longer the title reign went on the more hated he became and he played his cowardly cocky heel role to perfection. His feud with Randy Savage was awesome and officially turned the tweener Savage into the most popular guy in the WWF. Jake Roberts turned face by feuding with HTM and Brutus Beefcake solidified himself as a singles wrestler. HTM made The Ultimate Warrior by dropping the IC title to him in such stunning fashion at SummerSlam 88. The Madison Square Garden crowd went absolutely crazy when HTM finally dropped the title. Those are some pretty big names of the late 80s who greatly benefited from working with HTM.

Hulk Hogan: I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that someone decided to bring up Hogan. Give me a break. He is the most popular wrestler of all time and helped change wrestling forever

Guys like Rey Mysterio and Lex Luger are much more reasonable choices. My choice is Ronnie Garvin. His NWA world title reign was brief, but I feel it should have never happened. Garvin never did anything significant enough in his career to warrant a title reign and had no connection with the fans. There’s no way he should have defeated Ric Flair for the belt. At Starrcade 87 Garvin dropped the title back to Flair two months after winning it. After that Garvin went back to the mid card where he belonged. Even though he only had two months of main event success I don’t think Ronnie Garvin deserved even that.

hmm now that im older i guess i know more of what you need to become a really big star. i hate cena not because hes popular and i want to be different but because i think he flat out sucks. his in ring ability is garbage and his mic skills arent the best either. i was a huge cena fan when i was younger but then i realized, damn this guy does the same crap in every match. this is where im gonna get alot of criticism. if i knew what i do now about wrestling and had the same state of mind i do now would i like steve austin. now that i look back at some of his matches i realise that he was very sloppy and didnt have a big repertoire. yeah he was amazing on the mic and had a good fan connection but the way i see it, its only because he threw up his middle fingers and cursed out the boss. it was different but i dont think steve austin was as good as people made him out to be. all he has is the lou thesz press, the mud hole stomp, and a stunner. theres now way in hell he was on the same level as shawn michaels or bret hart or even the rock. i think the reason he was so big was because wwe was running out of talent and they needed something different. the rock and triple h werent really big stars yet. bret hart, hogan, hall, and nash all went to wcw. shawn michaels was out with a broken back for 4-5 years. wwe was kind of the situation they are in now where they are rushing to make top stars and thats what i think wwe did with austin in the 90's. the way i see it austin was in the right place at the right time.

I find it funny that you start with the bolded part then go on to criticize John Cena and Steve Austin.