Shadowmancer's Wrestler of the Week

[klunderbunker]

I vaguely remember him from the end of ECW. The I quit match with Dreamer is one of the last great matches ECW had. The guy definitely had talent and Heyman could see it. It's such a shame that he came along when he did because he could've been a very good heel in ECW. The character he played along with the ability he had in the ring and charisma he had, I could've definitely seen him with the title for awhile. WWE of course didn't like him because he wasn't one of their ideas, or maybe they didn't like his look. Great job Vince.

 

[DJ]

I,ll admit I,ve Never seen one of the guys matches.So I decided to watch his match with Tommy Dreamer.I can,t belive how good the match was-CW was brillant in it and made the spot with the ring bell look good.Very sad hes retitred.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

As odd as it may come out sounding. I didn't like this guy in the beginning, when he aligned himself with Lou E. Dangerously. However I started to love the guy, when he broke away from that and sided with Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger and they became a trio.

I loved watching the matches that they'd have together. And C.W. Anderson had a beautiful gimmick, in following that he was related to the Anderson family. Which by the way, is that actually true? Or was it just a gimmick?

I agree with Shadow that he had one of the best snap spinebusters in the business, and he was a very solid, stiff looking wrestler. As many have said, some of the matches I remember from him the most were toward the end of E.C.W. (because thats when they started to focus strongly on him) against Tommy Dreamer.

He also had a match against Kid Kash, on a Pay Per View before his feud with Dreamer, that I completely enjoyed as well.

I think the only reason W.W.E. didn't utilize him properly was because he was overall too plain. Unfortunately he was more or less just following in line with claiming to be a member of a Family in wrestling, from the 80's. He didn't have very much sparkle, or pzazz to him to attract the type of viewers W.W.E. typically get. Unfortunately, thats all of their loss.. not mine, because I cling to the video tapes I have of this guy, as he was definately a great performer to watch in E.C.W.

 

[Shadowmancer]

No he wasn't part of the Anderson family by blood. he was just invited to join it by a couple of other members, because of his resemblence to Arn and Ole Anderson.

This Weeks Wrestler of the Week is: Kane

Finishing and signature moves

- Chokeslam / Double chokeslam with a tag team partner or by himself on two of his opponents
- Tombstone Piledriver (Kneeling belly to belly piledriver) - used rarely
- Falling powerbomb - 2000-2002
- Diving clothesline
- Big boot
- Uppercut / Throat thrust
- Multiple powerslam variations
+ Sidewalk
+ Scoop
+ Front
- Corner clothesline
- Two-handed chokelift submission

Managers

- Paul Bearer
- Chyna
- Jim Cornette
- Jerry "The King" Lawler
- Lita
- "Good Ole J.R" Jim Ross
- Tori

Championships and accomplishments

Smoky Mountain Wrestling

-SMW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Al Snow

United States Wrestling Association

- USWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation | World Wrestling Entertainment

- WCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with The Undertaker
- WWF Championship (1 time)
- WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)
- WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (2 times)
- WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (9 times) - with Mankind (2), X-Pac (2), The Undertaker (2), The Hurricane (1), Rob Van Dam (1), and The Big Show (1)
- Triple Crown Championship (Eighth)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

- PWI Tag Team of the Year (1999) with X-Pac
- PWI ranked him # 13 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2004.

Promos:

Kane Imitates Hulk Hogan and the Rock

Kane/DDP Confrontation

Randy Orton Pep Talk to Kane

Matches:

Kane Vs. Imposter Kane

Kane Vs. MVP

Kane Vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin pt.1
Kane Vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin pt.2
Kane Vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin pt.3

Kane Vs. The Undertaker

Kane Vs. Leviathan

Kane Vs. Umaga

Kane Vs. The Undertaker pt.1
Kane Vs. Undertaker pt.2

Kane & Doink the Clown & Eugene Vs. Kevin Thorne & Umaga & Viscera

Kane Vs. Triple H

Kane Vs. Edge

Kane Vs. MVP pt.1
Kane Vs. MVP pt.2

Kane Vs. Big Show

Kane Vs. X-Pac

Kane Vs. The Undertaker pt.1
Kane Vs. The Undertaker pt.2
Kane Vs. The Undertaker pt.3

Kane Vs. Triple H pt.1
Kane Vs. Triple H pt.2

Kane Vs. Rob Van Dam pt.1
Kane Vs. Rob Van Dam pt.2

Kane Vs. Rhyno

Kane Vs. Christian

Kane Vs. The Undertaker Vs. The Big Show Vs. The Rock Vs. Mankind

Kane Vs. "Mr. Ass" Billy Gunn

Kane Vs. The Undertaker Vs. Chris Jericho Vs. Chris Benoit

Kane Vs. The Undertaker

Kane Vs. Kurt Angle

Kane Vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

Kane Vs. The Rock

Kane Vs. Triple H

Kane Vs. Kurt Angle pt.1
Kane Vs. Kurt Angle pt.2

Kane Vs. Shane McMahon

Kane Vs. Bill Goldberg

Kane Vs. Triple H pt.1
Kane Vs. Triple H pt.2

My Thoughts:

This is easy, Kane is one of the best gimmicks and storylines in Wrestling History. One of the most missused guys that the WWF/E has ever had. He is a good Big man that is apparently great to work with when they are a smaller wrestler. I can understand why since he is that big. Too bad he let himself get a bit on the chubby side and slowed down so much.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Kane, what can I say? Pile-O-Shit. The guy is terrible. 10 years. Several good matches. No real great ones. I can see why he's popular. Great gimmick. He's similar to the uber popular Undertaker. But he's just awful.

That being said I still like him. But shit big guys are awesome imo.

Kane Fact: I noticed this the other week. Thanks Tagged Classics. Kane appeared at three Survivor Series' in a row. Each with a different gimmick. 1995 Isaac Yankem. 1996 Fake Diesel. 1997 Kane. True story.

 

[klunderbunker]

Kane is one of my favorites actually. It's a shame he's never had a real world's title run though. He's nowhere near as good as his "brother", but he's definitely one of the better guys on the roster. He doesn't do much anymore, but honestly what reason does he have to? He knows he isn't getting any major push, so why should he waste his time? Kane could've been a superstar, but for some reason Vince didn't believe in him. Shame his prime is gone and he never got to do anything with it.

 

[RKO Orton]

Kane is alright, I guess. They should have never taken the mask off of him. Or when they did take off the mask they should have given him the title. IC Champion in 03 but combined the title with Triple H and lost the unification match. After that he was in some crappy storylines and never was the same as the 97-03 run. Now he's just a high profile jobber. Hopefuly he wins the ECW Title, even if it doesn't mean anything, tonight at WrestleMania.

 

[bambam]

Kane is an interresting pick, but I like it. I agree "Jake Tunney" in that now he is shit. But he was a very good big man back in 97'-01 with his mask. He was domanite in wrestlings prime, and he was dominate with out a title! Alot of people are only dominate when the have a title behind them. Plus, Kane has a rare plus on his side, in that when he got older, instead of being worried about his spot(HHH, HBK) he choose to get the younger talent over. He does put on pretty good matches ever now and then, but with age he has gotten sloppy and let him self go abit which = shit. But what he is doing for the "business" of wrestling, Helping the younger talent, you have to give him props!

 

[Shadowmancer]

Well this week should be fun.

This Weeks Wrestler of the Week is: Magnum T.A.

Finishing and signature moves

- Belly to belly suplex
- Body slam
- Military press drop
- Atomic drop
- Belly to back suplex
- Cloverleaf submission lock

Managers

- "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods
- Mr. Wrestling II

Wrestlers Managed

- Dusty Rhodes
- Nikita Koloff
- Barry Windham
- Tully Blanchard

Championships and Accomplishments

Championship Wrestling from Florida

- NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with Scott McGhee (3), Dusty Rhodes (1), and Brad Armstrong (1)

Jim Crockett Promotions

- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Mid-South Wrestling

- Mid-South North American Championship (2 times)
- Mid-South Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Jim Duggan (1) and Mr. Wrestling II (1)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

- PWI ranked him # 73 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- PWI ranked him # 76 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Dusty Rhodes in 2003.

Promos:

Magnum T.A. Suggestive Promo

Magnum T.A. and Ric Flair face off

Magnum T.A. promo on Nikita Koloff

Matches:

Magnum T.A. Vs. Nikita Koloff pt.1
Magnum T.A. Vs. Nikita Koloff pt.2
Magnum T.A Vs. Nikita Koloff pt.3

Magnum T.A Vs. Butch Reed

Magnum T.A. Vs. Ric Flair

Magnum T.A. Vs. The Barbarian

Magnum T.A. Vs. Nikita Koloff

Magnum T.A. & Ronnie Gavin Vs. L.O.D. pt.1
Magnum T.A. & Ronnie Gavin Vs. L.O.D. pt.2

Magnum T.A. Vs. Ric Flair

Terry Allen Vs. Nick Bockwinkle

Magnum T.A. & Dusty Rhodes & Manny Fernandez Vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson pt.1
Magnum T.A. & Dusty Rhodes & Manny Fernandez Vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson pt.2

Magnum T.A. & Billy Jack Haynes & Sam Houston Vs. Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson & Tully Blanchard pt.1
Magnum T.A. & Billy Jack Haynes & Sam Houston Vs. Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson & Tully Blanchard pt.2

My Thoughts:

To be honest I don't know much about Magnum T.A. except that he is quite possibly the biggest What Ifs in wrestling. His promos are interesting in that he sort of blurs the lines between letting go some of the secrets of the business. Especially the very suggestive one that is posted first. But The Matches I need to get round to viewing properly as a cursory glance over them doesn't tell me much about the guy.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

He was ok. But I think with a couple more years he would have been great. But like you said Shadow, it's a What If. Nobody knows what sort of wrestler he would have become.

On the plus side he looks exactly the same know as he did then. So if he'd continued to wrestle for years you probably wouldn't have noticed a vast difference to the way he looked, which could have been in his favour.

 

[klunderbunker]

I don't know much about him other than what's already been established. What I do know from watching old clips of him is that his gimmick I guess you'd call it was winning huge amounts of matches in about 30 seconds. His US title run was good and he was scheduled to win the world title from Flair, so obviously he was something special. From what I've seen he was pretty good. If he was never in the car crash, he could've been what Sting became. Who really knows though?

 

[MattButcher]

A lot of these matches kind of upped my appreciation for the people that surrounded TA. On the other hand, where would Koloff or Flair or the Andersons be without a guy like Magnum to wrestle. He had a great look, he wasn't bad in the ring, and he was extremely over with the crowd which made for great heat and good matches. If anyone has seen or knows where to see this team-up I would appreciate some info:

 

[klunderbunker]

Well if that's Lawler then I'm 99% certain this is from 1985 in Memphis. It was these three against Arn, Ole and Tully in a Bunkhouse match. I'm pretty sure I had this match on an old tape way back in the day. From what I remember this was a chance to showcase Dusty before he went for the world title. It was a standard wild match but good overall. I'm pretty sure that's it but I wouldn't swear to it. Hope that helps.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Its about Time to update who I have done in this thing as It may be interesting to see how many I still have to do before I feel it is good to start repeating the first four or so.

Week 01: Masato Tanaka

Week 02: Raven

Week 03: Alex Shelley

Week 04: Shawn Michaels

Week 05: The Bushwhackers

Week 06: Chris Jericho

Week 07: Tom Billington

Week 08: Bruno Sammartino

Week 09: Steve Corino

Week 10: Ricky Steamboat

Week 11: Triple H

Week 12: Jushin "Thunder" Liger

Week 13: Rob Van Dam

Week 14: Delirious

Week 15: Owen Hart

Week 16: Eddie Guerrero

Week 17: Booker T

Week 18: Lance Storm

Week 19: Claudio Castagnoli

Week 20: Mitsuharu Misawa

Week 21: Jeff Jarrett

Week 22: Bob Backlund

Week 23: CM Punk

Week 24: Masahiro Chono

Week 25: Abdullah the Butcher

Week 26: Christopher Daniels

Week 27: Kurt Angle

Week 28: Abyss

Week 29: Jimmy Jacobs

Week 30: Mick Foley

Week 31: Kid Kash

Week 32: "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig

Week 33: Little Guido/Nunzio

Week 34: The Honky Tonk Man

Week 35: Sgt. Slaughter

Week 36: Kenta Kobashi

Week 37: Edge

Week 38: Christian Cage

Week 39: Edge and Christian

Week 40: Jake "The Snake" Roberts

Week 41: Mikey Whipwreck

Week 42: Marty Jannetty

Week 43: Jumbo Tsuruta

Week 44: Jerry Lynn

Week 45: Brian Pillman

Week 46: Chris Hero

Week 47: TAJIRI

Week 48: Haku/Meng

Week 49: Vinny Dunn

Week 50: Bruiser Brody

Week 51: Paul Burchill

Week 52: Amazing Kong

Week 53: Jun Akiyama

Week 54: CW Anderson

Week 55: Kane

Week 56: Magnum T.A

Week 57: Mike Awesome

Week 58: Giant Bernard

Week 59:

Week 60: Scott Steiner

Anyway you can get back to discussing Magnum T.A. now.

 

[Shadowmancer]

I was going to go with either Lacey or Allison Danger but there is not enough to put up in terms of Matches. So I chose someone else.

This Weeks Wrestler of the Week is: Mike Awesome

Finishing and signature moves

- Kamikaze Awesome Bomb (One shoulder superbomb)
- Awesome Bomb (One shoulder powerbomb)
- Running Awesome Bomb (Running one shoulder powerbomb)
- Sitout Awesome Bomb (Sitout powerbomb)
- Awesome Splash (Diving splash or a frog splash)
- Slingshot shoulder block
- Fireman's carry cutter
- Flying clothesline
- Knock-out clothesline
- Double leg slam
- Overhead belly to belly suplex
- Release German suplex
- Springboard slingshot crossbody
- Slingshot splash
- Over the top rope suicide dive

Managers

- Jeff Jones
- Ronald Gossett
- Nate the Rat
- James Mitchell
- Kimberly Page
- Major Gunns

Championships and accomplishments

Extreme Championship Wrestling

- ECW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- ECW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Raven

Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling

- FMW Independent World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- FMW World Brass Knuckles Championship (2 times)
- FMW World Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Big Titan (1) and Mr. Pogo (1)
- FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Horace Boulder & Hisakatsu Oya

Jersey All Pro Wrestling

- JAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Major League Wrestling

- MLW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation

- WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)

[youtube]QC_X6Bq72DM[/youtube]​

Promos:

Mike Awesome debuts on Nitro

Matches:

Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.1
Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.2

Mike Awesome Vs. Taz

Mike Awesome Vs. Kid Kash

Mike Awesome Vs. Samoa Joe

Mike Awesome Vs. Hayabusa pt.1
Mike Awesome Vs. Hayabusa pt.2

Mike Awesome Vs. ICP

Mike Awesome Vs. Scott Steiner

Mike Awesome Vs. The Great Muta pt.1
Mike Awesome Vs. The Great Muta pt.2

Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.1
Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.2
Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.3

Mike Awesome Vs. Rob Van Dam

Mike Awesome Vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Mike Awesome Vs. New Jack

Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.1
Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.2

Mike Awesome Vs. Hayabusa pt.1
Mike Awesome Vs. Hayabusa pt.2
Mike Awesome Vs. Hayabusa pt.3

Mike Awesome Vs. Jeff Hardy

Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka Vs. Taz pt.1
Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka Vs. Taz pt.2
Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka Vs. Taz pt.3

Mike Awesome Vs. Edge

Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.1
Mike Awesome Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.2

The Gladiator Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.1
The Gladiator Vs. Masato Tanaka pt.2

My Thoughts:

What to say about Mike Awesome, He is one of the What ifs to a degree but he is also one of those that you go why wasn't he pushed to the degree he should of been. In The Bollea family he is the most well rounded Wrestlers and possible to argue best Wrestler from that family. His Feud with Tanaka is legendary and should be required viewing for the portrayal of desire for the Title and for the match ups which are truely some of the best ever in a ring. He had the total package and I wonder why he never received his push from Vince after the inVasion was over.

 

[bambam]

Mike Awsome, Awsome pick.......Get it....that was lame, i'm sorry.
I was never really big on him when I first saw him in ECW, but now that I go back and watch more of his stuff, I started gaining more and more respect for what he did as a big man. All of his moves were power moves and looked like the hurt like hell, but he could leap over the top rope like a lightweight. His match with Spike Dudley, I thought Spike was going to die. I thought Awsome was going to kill him. And of course Him vs. Tanaka were always great. He got great heat as a heel too. I remember the ECW after he jumped to WCW, I thought ECW was going to go find and skin him alive. Vince should have used him better after the Invasion angles, or even after ONS 2005. Great Pick Shadowmancer!

 

[MattButcher]

It was always my opinion that Mike Awesome only looked truly "awesome" while he was in the ring against Masato Tanaka. There was something truly special about the chemistry that those two developed in the ring, and while Tanaka was never quite as high profile after their feud ended he has remained a mainstay in Japan and has had some really great matches over the last few years. Awesome, on the other hand was never able to get his momentum quite right, and I felt that that was because his ring work was on the sloppy side. He often does look kind of spotty and I heard some rumors that he hurt quite a few people accidentally or even through negligence.

Having watched some of these matches posted I can see that Awesome was a better, more well rounded worker than I ever gave him credit for if he brought his A-game. I thought the Muta match especially highlighted some technical ability I didn't realize that Big Mike possessed. I still think that he had a lot of sloppy matches, but that will never diminish my appreciation for what he and Tanaka were able to accomplish in ECW/FMW. Perhaps if he had focused on Japan, he would have made a better go of it? So many promotions in Japan seem to tolerate/encourage big gaijin that work rough, where that shit doesn't really fly in WWE. Good pick this week.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I first seen Mike Awesome in E.C.W. and hes one of the reasons I truly got entertained by the program. His legendary matches with Masato Tanaka were amazingly some of the very best in hardcore violence, technical skill and size difference.

As said above he didn't shine bright in any other matches except for those against Tanaka, however thats not to say he didn't have amazing matches with others. His stint in W.C.W. showcased a great match between himself and Vampiro at the 2000 Halloween Havoc that was nothing less than great.

His W.W.F/E. stint was sad, simply because they only used him as a Tag Team partner with Lance Storm. The only note-worthy mention in that stint was that he became the first W.C.W. guy to invade and win a Championship, when he defeated Rhino for the Hardcore Championship. (If I'm not mistaken, I think that happened in M.S.G. making Awesome the first guy to invade the Garden as well - I could be wrong on that though)

Overall, his E.C.W. days were by far his greatest. Whenever he was able to showcase his size and speed, but mix it with brute force and violent nature he was at his best. He will be missed.

 

[klunderbunker]

Awesome indeed was a great worker, but when pushed right. After he left ECW, I always thought they wanted to make an example out of him by putting him in the 70s guy gimmick or the fat chick thriller thing. I always had thought it was a way to make an example of what they thought ECW's top talent was worth. I'm still split on what he did with leaving ecw the way he did though. Just could've been done much better. His WWE time isn't really worth talking about so I'll just skip over that time. In Ecw he was a monster heel and played the role perfectly. He could do it all and had great size and power to go with it. Great big man who could've been much more but wasn't by his own fault.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

If he hadn't injured 'Taker and been deemed unable to work them maybe he would have had a better run in WWE. They certainly made his debut memorable. He was the first member of WCW to win a WWE title.

Personally I liked him. But I don't think he was special. people go crazy for big guys who can jump over the top rope. Impressive, but it doesn't make you great.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Its about time I got this up on time.

This Weeks Wrestler of the Week is: Prinvce Albert/Albert/A-Train/Giant Bernard

Finishing moves

As Albert / A-Train

- Baldo Bomb / Derailer (Chokebomb)
- Train Wreck (Overhead gutwrench backbreaker drop)

As Giant Bernard

- Bernard Bomb (Sitout elevated powerbomb)
- Bernard Driver (Reverse piledriver)
- Chokebomb
- Torture rack neckbreaker

Signature moves

- Decaptitator (Catapult into the bottom rope)
- Whale (Forearm drop) - 2001-2002; Adopted from Scotty 2 Hotty while as a tag team
- Bicycle kick
- Corner slingshot splash
- Giant swing
- Spinning crucifix dropped into a neckbreaker slam
- Military press driver

Managers

- Paul Heyman
- Tony Rumble
- Sable
- Trish Stratus

Championships and accomplishments

Impact Zone Wrestling

- IZW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

New Japan Pro Wrestling

- IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Travis Tomko
- New Japan Cup (2006)
- G1 Climax Tag League (2007) – with Travis Tomko

Power Pro Wrestling

- PPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- PPW Young Guns Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation

- WWF Intercontinental Championship (1 time)

Matches:

Giant Bernard Vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

Giant Bernard Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Giant Bernard Vs. Yuji Nagata pt.1
Giant Bernard Vs. Yuji Nagata pt.2

Giant Bernard Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko Vs. Kurt Angle & Yuji Nagata pt.1
Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko Vs. Kurt Angle & Yuji Nagata pt.2
Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko Vs. Kurt Angle & Yuji Nagata pt.3

Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko Vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi pt.1
iant Bernard & Travis Tomko Vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi pt.2
Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko Vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi pt.3

Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko Vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omari pt.1
Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko Vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omari pt.2

Giant Bernard & Orlando Jordan Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Takashi Lizuka pt.1
Giant Bernard & Orlando Jordan Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Takashi Lizuka pt.2

Albert Vs. Matt Hardy

A-Train Vs. Stephanie McMahon

A-Train & Big Show Vs. The Undertaker

A-Train Vs. Shannon Moore

My Thoughts:

OK this is an interesting one I was thinking about going with Yuji Nagata but the first video I saw of that was against Giant Bernard. I looked at it and you can tell he has gotten better as a Wrestler since he has been in Japan. Him and Umaga are proof for the superheavyweights that they need to spend time in Japan. It makes them more believable as threats. I can see this guy being the next Vader in Japan as far as popularity and all that sort of stuff. But he does have some big problems such as not being able to take a Scott Steiner T-Bone Suplex correctly but that is a different story. I highly recommend watching the Yuji Nagata match.

 

[klunderbunker]

I've always had a soft spot for this guy. he just had such a great look. A huge guy, insane power, not awful in the ring, and just bad ass looking. I actually marked out a bit when he won the IC title. Aside from that though, he never really got a push in WWE. He seems to have found his niche in Japan. I still think there's a big opening for him to come back and work in wwe or tna. He could be just a monster that rolls through everyoine he faces. Pretty underrated in my mind.

 

[Father:_Polley]

he really has improved a lot compared to when he was in the wwe. maybe it was the chest and back hair holding him back, but he looks very impressive. I actually liked him when he was in WWE, but just got the feeling he would never really get past that stage where he destroys cruiserweights but isn't a serious threat.

i think he's made a great name for himself out in japan along with tomko, who also has improved, and i think he could be as big as vader there. another good choice shadow

 

[MattMoses]

I was always a fan of Albert, especially during his T&A days, I thought they were a great tag-team. I started to go off him a little once he joined X-Factor and started teaming with Scotty 2 Hotty, they really didn't use him right around that time despite getting quite over with fans. He really wasn't used well at all in his later WWE days. He definately had the potential to make a big name for himself.

I've seen alot of his Japan work, which is great. He's definatelty one the better bigger guys in recent years.

 

[MattButcher]

I was one of the many who disregarded Albert in his WWE days. I thought his gimmick was lame and his story lines became increasingly lamer. I never thought his in ring work was all that great, he rarely worked long or meaningful programs and his matches usually just were killing time until his power bomb. A while later I received a puro sampler as part of a bigger order that had the Bernard/Nagata match on it. I began to change my tune rather quickly. Since then I've tried to get a hold of his tag work with Tomko and it consists of a lot of great, entertaining matches. It's really too bad the NJPW couldn't renew Tomko's contract, but they still have a star on their hands with Bernard and I think he will find some singles success (G-1 Climax!!) very soon. I have thought that it would be cool to bring Bernard into TNA and have him and Tomko do a dominating tag-team program, but I become apprehensive about TNA doing something weird and TNAish.

Great pick for this week. Hopefully this will allow some people that mostly remember back hair and the Hip-Hop Hippo days a chance to see what the guy can really do.