Sid Vicious: Overrated or Underrated?

[It's...Baylariat!]

This is going to steer some debate. Sid Vicious was a solid worker during the early 90's. He was in WCW with the Skyscrapers, and as a member of the Four Horsemen. He eventually stabbed Arn Anderson and ended up leaving the WCW for greener pastures in the WWF, where he ended up in a feud with Hulk Hogan as Sid Justice. He also was in the double main event with Hogan after a Flair/Hogan feud fizzled and never came to fruition. Eventually he came through that with flying colors and ended up with a WWE Title reign for sometime. And then came the Undertaker and Sid ended up a victim of the Deadman at Wrestlemania.

After years of going back and forth on the Indy circuit, he ended up back in WCW and feuded with a few people, and ended up back in the main event scene and even had a brief run as WCW Champion. Then tragedy struck when Sid jumped off the second rope and broke his leg worse than anyone I've ever seen break a leg, and that includes Joe Theisman's break done by Lawrence Taylor. This in effect ended his career. Rumors of his return to the WWE or TNA have surfaced over the years, but nothing's came of it.

So the question is...is Sid Vicious/Justice overrated or underrated?

 

[NSL]

I say he was terribly over-rated. He was a useful big man, and how many of them are ever really successful? He worked the "psycho" angle perfectly for the Hogan feud, and then it got stale. With the Skyscrapers, they were built as a huge team, but were really only successful because of their size, not their talent. There were a lot better tag teams at that time.

Aside from breaking his leg, he was also a danger to the people he was in the ring with.

​

He could have cause serious damage there, or worse, killed him. There's a big difference between being bad and being dangerous. He was dangerous.

 

[Doctor Awesome]

i personally don't think he was overrated or underrated. for the lack of skill level, even for a man with his size and physique, he had a very good run. to be a world champion for both of the big 2 is not a claim many men can make. i was a fan of sid because he was so stiff and almost sloppy that you had to believe these guys were in real agony that he wrestled. kinda like when the road warriors would just squash teams, sid was the closest thing to them. i would even give him the distinction of being one of the first tweeners of the modern era. when he was a heel, there were always still chants of "sid sid sid sid, etc..." and when he was a face, there would always be people in the crowd that just didn't like him, and were vocal.

world title reigns on both brands, nearly killed half the talent he worked with, built a pretty solid fanbase. i would not call him one of the greatest world champions, by far. but, i did always enjoy watching him, eispecially when bret hart came out before his title match w/taker and got punked out and powerbombed!lol hilarious so i would say he achieved a high level in the sport but wasn't the top star of his generation.

 

[MrLee]

Sid was more then often set in situations he didn't deserve.
His WM main event with Hogan, his run with HBK and his final run in WCW, just as examples.

He was a TERRIBLE worker and I allways thought that his promo's were so standard of the times, nothing else.
He was, however, massive and ONLY because of that, did he get such massive pushes, NOT because of talent!
So I wouldn't say he was overrated, as I know of no one who has ever rated him as a good worker, BUT he did not deserve his positions, no way!

 

[JBK2008]

His mic work was average at best, and his skill set, which is not bad for a big man, wasn't anything special. He did get push in a lot of bad situations and the leg injury was just awful. Still makes me sick to this day. I do however want to see him on tv one last time for a short run. Take the chance on him. He's in nice shape for his age and it's been years since the injury. Give him a chance!

 

[MisterRob]

Sid Vicious cannot be overrated. No, he wasn't the greatest wrestler, that's clear. No, he wasn't great on the mic and he's made a lot of hilarious mistakes over his career to prove that. But the fact is.. Sid Vicious was believable. Sid Vicious drew reactions from the crowd, he was definitely over and popular during his time, and he's been World champion and in the main events everywhere he's gone. You can try to judge and break down his abilities all you want, he's still one of the better big men and he's still always been over and always been successful where it matters. He made an impact and made people want to see him, that's what counts. So Sid Vicious can't be overrated in my mind. He's certainly not underrated, though, either.

 

[Miko]

Whats to say? Sid had an awesome look, he looked like he could kill you. In the ring he did what he did well enough, he was big, powerfull and dominant and he showed that. A World Champion in the 2 big companies of that era, a fued with Hogan that culminated at WrestleMania.

The guys had an awesome career really, he's got detractors but so it seems does everyone with huge muscles in wrestling, dont do enough suplexes or flips probably. I'd say he's rated correctly, pushed hard by both companies, successful in both companies, still has name value should WWE ever try and use it. No one can take that away from him.

 

[CKDaimen]

I always thought Sid was overpushed. While it's ok that he was a main eventer, I think he was pushed too far and that the bookers always seemed afraid to pull the trigger on having him lose cleanly, even as a heel. Two distinct examples of this is how it always seemed like Diesel never got a clean victory over him in 1995 even though Diesel was THE MAN and Sid was the heel. I thought Diesel was clearly better but for some reason, they made it seem like Sid was just too hard to beat.

The #1 thing that pops in my head is of course Wrestlemania 8. I thought Hogan was a SHOE-IN for a clean victory. I mean what heel did Hogan NOT beat back then, especially at WRESTLEMANIA!!! And of all those people, Sid was the one guy to not be pinned? Not Andre? Not Savage? But Sid?? I can understand Warrior surviving a Hogan Wrestlemania, but not Sid....to this day, I think Hogan should have went over. They made it seem like Sid and Hogan was too close to call even for Wrestlemania, which is crazy.

Also, Sid was the man to end Shawn Michaels' first (and arguably best) reign as champion. I also thought that was major BS

Sid was massive, intimidating, and credible as a main eventer, but I don't think he should have won the World Championship, and I think he was booked as harder to defeat than he should have been. I don't understand what makes Sid harder to pin than The Big Show but yet Big Show has jobbed 5 times more than Sid did in his entire career. Go figure.

OVERRATED

 

[X]

In the grand scope of wrestling history, I'd say Sid Vicious falls under the side of "underrated", simply because most modern WWE fans probably couldn't tell you who he was. It's not like the guy has ever been claimed to be this great worker or anything. The thing he's most famous for is the most sickening injury on camera in wrestling history at a WCW PPV and stabbing Arn Anderson with a pair of scissors. Guy legitimately had some serious mental problems. But it's not like he was a poor worker or anything, he was definitely one of the better big men of the era. His choke slam was very good and he generally had an aura about him of someone who could literally snap at any moment and break his opponent's neck.

He was rather awful on the microphone. Like, really awful. Who could forget this gem?


That simply never gets old. Ever.

He was solid in the ring though, and did have quite a few good matches during his various WCW and WWF runs. I'd definitely label him as underrated, simply because I don't think he's very highly rated at the present time anyways.

 

[MrLee]

e reason, they made it seem like Sid was just too hard to beat.

The #1 thing that pops in my head is of course Wrestlemania 8. I thought Hogan was a SHOE-IN for a clean victory. I mean what heel did Hogan NOT beat back then, especially at WRESTLEMANIA!!! And of all those people, Sid was the one guy to not be pinned? Not Andre? Not Savage? But Sid?? I can understand Warrior surviving a Hogan Wrestlemania, but not Sid....to this day, I think Hogan should have went over. They made it seem like Sid and Hogan was too close to call even for Wrestlemania, which is crazy.

Also, Sid was the man to end Shawn Michaels' first (and arguably best) reign as champion. I also thought that was major BS

OVERRATED

Dont forget, that it's been told by "insiders", that Sid was NOT supposed to kick out of Hogans Legdrop of DOOM, Papa Shango ran in too late to break up the pin, so Sid HAD to kick out, although he wasn't supposed to.
This COULD also be one of the reasons why Sid left WWF shortly after.

Regarding his matches with HBK, WWF didn't really have anyone else at that time, to feud with him and they needed a big "return" match for Shawn, as their rematch was held in his hometown, at the HUGE 60.000+ Alamo Dome.

 

[byrnside]

I loved Sid, specifically as Sycho Sid in the WWF in the mid 90s. I thought he was a great replacement as a body guard for HBK when Diesel turned face. He was a great feud for Michaels' face turn. When Sid would snap it always kind of freaked me out. I was excited about his run as WWF champ for the few months in 96-97. I was between 11 and 12 at the time, and I remember as much as I wanted to hate Sid for feuding with HBK, I still couldn't help but like him. As far as him being a stiff worker is concerned, I know he had his moments.. That video from before that someone posted, was an accident. Sid obviously didn't expect the top of the cage to be right there. Like most of the other polls The Lariat's produced, it's hard for me to pick over or underrated. But I really liked Sid. I thought he had a great gimmick that worked, and certainly had his share of bad breaks. I hope to see him back in a WWE ring someday, even if it's brief

 

[jmt225]

This is really a toss up.

While Sid is much better than say pieces of shit like Batista, he still wasn't very good. He was incompetent on the mic, and the only way he could ever have a good match was if he was in there with Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, or Sting.

That said, there was still a presence about Sid that was undeniable. The guy just had a great, great look, and knew how to use it to his advantage, both in the ring and towards the crowd/camera. Also, for someone so terrible on the mic, he still had this charisma that made him seem like he was something special. That's very, very important for a professional wrestler, and Sid definitely had it.

Thinking about it... I'd have to say he's overall, underrated. It just bothers me that guys like Batista will go down as superior than Sid at the end of the day, and that's enough reason for me to convince myself that Sid was indeed underrated.

 

[The Brain]

There's no doubt Sid had a great look. In fact if Vince McMahon were to sculpt his ideal superstar on look alone Sid would be the man. Looks are very important in wrestling but they will only take you so far. Sid was not very good in the ring. I'll give you one word to support my belief that Sid is overrated. WrestleMania. Sid has competed in two WrestleManias. He was in the main event in both. He worked against a legend in each. First Hogan, then Undertaker. This was his opportunity to shine on the biggest stage and show the world what he was made of. Most wrestlers step up and really try to give their A game at Mania. Instead Sid gave us what are probably the two worst main events in WrestleMania history. Both matches were boring and never established a real flow. I'm not going to blame the opponents. They've proven themselves plenty of times before. Sid got the big opportunity twice and failed both times.

 

[gully side adidja]

hmmm i say that he is 50/50 with me ,he had a extremley psyco, mad, bad ass look to him,someone you wouldn't wanna mess with, was also believable when he was playing his character, very physical as well(scissors anyone?), but on the bad side he was not very good in the ring, a lot of his matches were just not entertaining(bar halloween havoc 99, souled out 2000,beach blast 93),was very botchy at times,and did not have longevity with 1 company.

 

[Disarm]

I think that his run with the title in 97' was vastly underrated. Sure he lacked in-ring and mic skills, but he looked strong, very strong. I remember watching Wrestlemania 13 as a kid, and thinking that Taker was gonna lose to Sid that night, it made Sid look dominant when Taker got help from Hart.

 

[bowlah]

Sid was over like rover in ECW, the land of the workrate smarks. That is an incredible feat for a big power guy with limited moves and actual promo ability, and proves just how much charisma and presence he actually had. I still say he had the best chokeslam in the business, too.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Sid was over like rover in ECW, the land of the workrate smarks. That is an incredible feat for a big power guy with limited moves and actual promo ability, and proves just how much charisma and presence he actually had. I still say he had the best chokeslam in the business, too.

That's a good point. If you're over in the shark infested waters of ECW fans, then you've done a good thing. He was a good worker and an agile big man before he hurt his leg. And him having a great chokeslam helps, too. But his powerbomb was better. Sounds like you think he's underrated here.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

I may be a little bit biased seeing as Sid's one of my favorite wrestlers

I recently saw one of Sid's earlier matches where the big fella did a kip-up and finished with a 2nd rope leg drop. But enough about that... let's talk WCW/WWF in the 1990s for Sid. Title reigns, check. The pop that the crowd let off for Sid when he was face was way bigger than most pops that today's stars (apart from Taker and maybe Michaels) get. The powerbomb...a mark-out moment equal to the Tombstone or the Jackhammer...Sid v Goldberg had the potential to be much more than it was.

Admittedly, the big man wasn't always the most...ah...eloquent on the stick. Calling Mean Gene a "fat, bald-headed little oaf" isn't exactly the classiest line nor is saying that Sid has "half the brain" of Nash. But Sid didn't need to do much on the mic to get a pop or major league heat. He wrestled in a time where it helped to have mic skills but you could get by on ability. Look at Taker...he rarely gets on the stick and even more rarely talks for longer than 2 minutes but he gets that huge pop and "rest in peace" chants. Look at Samoa Joe when he first started...I don't remember him on the mic much, do you?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It depends on a few things. If you've never heard of him then I can understand if some were to view him as underrated as he was among the most well known wrestlers of the 90s. He did get reactions from crowds, made and impression and won four World Championships over the course of his career.

However, if you do know him then I can certainly also understand why he'd be called overrated. He had a fantastic look about him, he looked like a demon that was ready to take a bit outta somebody's ass. However, in the ring, he was average at the very very very most and he was simply awful on the mic, a splendid example of which is provided by Mr. Eko. He was pretty clumsy at times and could be a danger to just about anyone around him, including himself. I know that Sid was a four time World Champion and that can't be taken away from him. However, his runs with the WCW title aren't really much to write home about seeing as how the first one lasted a single day and both took place during the Vince Russo era in which the title changed hands somewhere in the vicinity of 25 times in a little more than a year.

In the end, I'm personally not really sure where I fall. He was memorable, so that in and of itself was nothing but most of what he was memorable for are probably things he'd rather not be remembered for.

 

[Nadeem Ahmad]

Sure Sid was clumsy and hesitant on the microphone like I was but he used a lot of charisma and was physically very present in the ring even for interviews. He certainly could wrestle better than Hulk Hogan did and knew how to control emotions, tensions, expressions and parts of the body well enough to hold back when it was necessary. Just looking at how he posed against Undertaker on an episode of "WWF Monday Night Raw" in February or March of nineteen ninety-seven showed how brave and willing he was on the mat. It was one example and I was sure others existed too but that pointed out to me that he deserved the titles he got and he certainly was one of the most intense wrestlers like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar and maybe Rhyno and possibly Batista considering what he was like in two thousand three.

I think Sid was greatly underrated. See, sometimes accuracy and knowledge of the wrestling is not always the deciding factor for a great wrestler. Physical skills certainly make up for those areas as it did for Rob Van Dam who was often criticized of being a "spot monkey" but he was undoubtedly awesome and among the best fighters. To even go as far as to say that intensity mattered might be enough for me to consider him worthy for the Hall of Fame by looking at the credentials because when facing it, two reigns with the "World Wrestling Federation Championship" were not concepts to sneeze at, despite how short they were. The fact that he was chosen to win them impressed and he even was the first guy to clinch the title on an episode of WWF Monday Night Raw as it was contested for in the old blue steel cage and not meant to be the most technically proficient match although Bret Hart was the guy to lose it because of Steve Austin interfering.

 

[Tougie]

Aside from the fact that he never stood out, always seemed to hurt people, and, well never stood out he did pretty good. I mean seriously he was way too overated, the fact all these rumors about a return keep appearing, uh seriously who the hell cares. Only note worthy matches he had were dropping the belt to Taker at WM13 and having the worst leg break ever. Sure he had some success, I mean being WWF Champ is no small feat, winning the WCW in 99 or 00 doesnt really matter but still to me he just never stood out in or out of the ring. he was kinda like Luger in 93-94 just bigger and with less talent.

 

[Tastycles]

Overrated, within the industry anyway. The list of men that have won both the WCW (when it was still independant) and WWF titles is a short one: Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, Sid and Paul Wight. Four are amongst the biggest names in wrestling history and the other three are big guys. However, where Nash could talk and Wight had unbelievable motobility for someone of his size, Sid was purely generic. Sid can't sell, either tickets or in the traditional sense, and he was dangerous to anybody that faced him. On the mic, he was a fucking joke, and I don't know where the rumours of his return are coming from, because it certainly can't be from anyone that has ever seen him perform.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

Overrated, within the industry anyway. The list of men that have won both the WCW (when it was still independant) and WWF titles is a short one: Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, Sid and Paul Wight. Four are amongst the biggest names in wrestling history and the other three are big guys. However, where Nash could talk and Wight had unbelievable motobility for someone of his size, Sid was purely generic. Sid can't sell, either tickets or in the traditional sense, and he was dangerous to anybody that faced him. On the mic, he was a fucking joke, and I don't know where the rumours of his return are coming from, because it certainly can't be from anyone that has ever seen him perform.

Whoa now big fella LOL. I'll give you the inability to sell in the ring and the horrible mic skills, but he WAS a good draw in the mid-90s but never got any credit in an overly star-packed (at the time) WWF. You could also argue he was a pretty decent draw feuding with Sting while being with the Horsemen. Yeah, one could say it was Sting vs. Horsemen that drew, but Sid was a big (no pun intended) part of it.
Side note: Sid's son is supposed to be in the independents as a wrestler, let's hope that Sid's "return" is through his son, WWE/TNA has quite enough old people to last them

 

[Danny Hart]

Sid is remembered the way he should be remember, he was a guy that played the intimidation scene, and he was very good doing that with his psycho look.

Wrestlers like Sid are missed in the wrestling business, he was not good in the ring, but he had the look that could beat anyone...the last guy that I remember doing sid's thing, was Snitsky, what a joke!!! Don't you people prefer Sid doing that ?