Perry Saturn: Overrated or Underrated?

[It's...Baylariat!]

I do take requests for the Over/Under series. I've been made known of the Nasty Boys and Perry Saturn. The Nastysizers will have to wait as this wrestler has intrigued me from day one.

I don't know very much about Perry Saturn other than he's an oddball. From his run as a domiant ECW Tag Champion as a member of the Eliminators to his run in WCW and his defecting to the WWE with Malenko, Guererro, and Benoit as part of the Radicalz. And then his infamous stint as a man in love with a mop he called, 'Moppy'. Just wow.

But overall, he was a great wrestler, had a great finisher and had that look. The look of someone who wasn't all there. Hence is why most of his oddball characters work.

SO is Perry Saturn overrated ...or underrated?

 

[NSL]

Vastly underrated. I'm not saying he was the greatest wrestler ever, or belongs in the top echelon, but he's certainly not the jobber that most fans think of him as.

The Eliminators were to ECW what the Hart Foundation was to WWE, or America's Most Wanted was to TNA. They were the pride of the tag division, and never failed to put on a good show. Saturn showed the ability to be a high-flier as well as a grappler, and was always a mat technician.

When he went to WCW, they regularly referred to his history as a great wrestler, and that he wasn't showing everything he was capable of. He was still a powerhouse, and worked well within what they gave him with The Flock and the aftermath.

His defection to WWE was great, even if he was the weak link of the four. He could have been a legit mid-carder, at least good enough for the European championship or a few tag reigns. Instead, they gave him a mop, and people wonder why he vanished and was assumed dead for so long.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I'm going to say push. The guy was a great worker in ECW but he wasn't used exactly right in WCW and especially in the WWF. Had the WWF done better by him, perhaps he'd still have a job, even as a backstage road agent to some of the new guys like Miz, Morrison, Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston, even Legacy to a certain degree. But most people sadly will remember him for the mop more so than for being apart of one of the greatest tag teams ever in ECW.

 

[NSL]

Had the WWF done better by him, perhaps he'd still have a job, even as a backstage road agent to some of the new guys like Miz, Morrison, Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston, even Legacy to a certain degree.

I don't think that would've been possible, but I obviously agree he was used wrongly. He was an actual headcase, as shown by his disappearing act where even his friends thought he had died. Being a road agent was probably never going to happen, but a wrestling career after WWE would have been possible.

TNA would have been an option, and maybe even smaller companies like CZW or ROH, and he especially could have gone to Japan to work.

 

[Depakote]

Saturn was alittle bit of both. Underrated because he was never really used properly and had tons of potential, but overrated because of what his potential amounted to. What couldve happened, did happen. So in that sense, he's overrated. The mop angle didnt kill his career; he did. Al Snow had that angle with the mannequin head yet he still had a job long after his in-ring career ended, so you cant really blame the mop. Blame Saturn. He was very solid in the ring, and obviously will forever be a part of the original ECW legacy, but that's probably the only real positive thing he'll be remembered for. He's been underrated for his contribution to that era, but overrated for this notion that he couldve been more than just that if he hadnt been paired with a mop.

Since I have to pick one or the other, I'm going to say he was overrated. I hope I gave good enough reason as to why I think that.

 

[X]

Very, very underrated. Saturn has long been the forgotten member of the Radicalz, and that's a damn shame because he was putting on some great matches in the undercards of WCW just as much as guys like Benoit, Guerrero, and Malenko were, and his earlier work in ECW was great as well, showing himself as being more than just a brawler but a man who knew technical wrestling as well. One of my favorite moments in the old ECW was the insane elbow drop he gave (I believe it was to the Public Enemy, though I may be wrong) off of basically the ceiling.

He could have made a solid longterm midcarder in the WWE, and they did infact use him as such in his first few months in the company (he had some very underrated matches during his early WWF run), but eventually, just like they did to Dean Malenko, they decided it was better to make him a comedy jobber. Only in the WWE would you make Perry Saturn fall in love with a fucking mop and Dean Malenko try to act like James Bond.

 

[avi01]

Hugely underrated, specially in WWE. He was important in ECW with the Eliminators but dunno about his work in WCW. However in WWF, I thought the radicals were cool but Saturn never really got the single shot and went down with one seriously stupid storyline:moppy. I get it is supposed to be funny but hell, he didn`t even get to wrestle. If they really wanted to do that program, they should have choose another guy. I think he would have made at least a good intercontinental champion or help youngsters but it was not to be and it was a waste of talent.

 

[PerfectStorm]

He was underrated. His ECW work was phenomenal and like what was said earlier, The Eliminators were the cornerstone of the tag division for a good run. But I think what was really underrated was his WCW work. The Raven/Flock/Saturn feuds were one of the better undercard fueds of that time in my opinion. Sure, a lot of those matches were gimmick filled but I think the storyline aspects of these get overlooked.

He could have been a bit more important in the WWE if booked correctly. No, he was never a top guy in the company, but a solid midcard worker. He always felt to me like the one the WWE gave a contract to in order to bring the other Radicalz over.

 

[TREE24K]

Saturn? Perry Saturn? How any one can say he's overrated is beyond me. The guy was a true 5 tool wrestler. The only thing he lacked was promo ability. That's it! Mat wrestling. He could do it. Submission wrestling? Check. Top rope ability? Yep. Power? Yeah he had that too. Granted he wasn't going to be military pressing the Giant, but then again who was? Brawler, technician. Had it all. Closest thing to Lance Storm I can remember (another underrated talent).

 

[WCCWfan]

Underrated by far. Most everyone here so far has said all the valid points. He was only weak on the mic. His only real push post-ECW was when he stood up to Raven in WCW. That could have been so much more. Come to think of it, I bet we could put together a list of former and current wrestlers that would fall under the 'so much more could have been done' title. Perry is high on that list to me. The moppy angle was so bad, but you can't blame Perry when he has do to what is written for him. That just a bad on creative's part. Given the right push, he wouldn't be m.i.a right now. I heard he is now injured thanks to stopping a rape in progress (verification?) but what a sight it would be to see him show up at Final Resolution. Have him run in while Abyss is being double teamed by Richards and Raven. Maybe even have Abyss help him perform the old Elimainator's finisher on Raven. Hmmmm......

 

[Schoolboy-Chris]

Definitely underrated. He was a great versatile wrestler who really had the complete package. If you see any of the matches he has had throughout his career he was always a solid worker, with a varying moveset and the ability to frequently surprise the viewer with unexpected action. He always grabbed my attention because of his very unique look, being that he looked quite unhinged. I really do consider him a wasted talent, similar to that of Dean Malenko but perhaps to an even larger degree. In WWE Saturn was the Radical who for me was never given the time or the push to come into his own, where I feel he could have had serious lasting power.

There has always been a place for those who are good workers but perhaps do not have the “it” factor to succeed on a larger scale. If circumstances had been different then Saturn could have had the position that we have seen occupied by someone like Hardcore Holly (in the past), William Regal, Shelton Benjamin and even Kane to some extent. This position of someone who can occupy a top spot in an interim manner would have been well suited to Saturn, and if he had his chance to develop then he could have possibly gone even beyond this.

I read somewhere that Saturn was shot in the neck multiple times while breaking up a rape attempt, this made my respect for him shoot up more than ever. Even keeping it in the ring and the mic however, Saturn is a hugely underrated talent in every aspect.

 

[spinningtorturerack]

Perry Saturn is such a great technical wrestler, I used to mark out for his awesome leg sweeps!

However I think it is this mike bell incident where he was supposed dropped on his head which caused him to legit attack mike bell, the jobber.

[YOUTUBE]D3PXIf03PNY[/YOUTUBE]

This is what completely ruined his WWE career and if this hadn't happened he could have been a pretty decent muscle of a group and maybe win one or two midcard belts.