Spot Monkeys

[turbomonkey484]

How was it an anti-climax? He was climbing up, paused, then climbed up HIGHER. Even more "holy shit" worthy.

It was an anti-climax because it was obvious what he was going to do.and when you know whats coming its never as good as when something is unexpected.

The term "spot monkey" should be solely reserved for those wrestlers who ONLY rely on spot after spot, with little to no regard for any psychology in the matches. Most of those guys in this poll would be exempt from such terms if someone looked at this in an objective manner.

O.K. i suppose Jeff hardy can wrestle between his spots, but i chose him for a different reason. I chose him because Jeff hardy will only be remembered for doing high risk spots, everything else on that list has something else to offer (apart from shane mcmahon but hes not really a wrestler). so personally i class him as a spot monkey because the only thing he can do well are spots.

 

[JJohns]

I hate to disagree with the lot of ya, but the biggest spot monkeys are TNA's X Division. Whenever I hear that it's not about weight limits, it's about no limits, it makes me want to puke. I've watched a few of the matches, and all they were was high spot after high spot after high spot. No psychology whatsoever.

It's like they took WCW's old Cruiserweight Division, pretended that guys like Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho were never involved, and just relied on guys like Juventud Guerrero and Hector Garza.

I don't find that entertaining, I find it boring. The last great "X Division" wrestler was Samoa Joe. His feud with Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles should have set the precedent for what the X Division was.

Then again, TNA had to be shown how to book a match by New Japan.

 

[ncberz]

I voted for Jeff, but it was a hard choice between him and Foley. I chose Hardy because of his number of spots, but no spot is more memorable than when the Undertaker threw Foley off of the cell and onto the announcers table.

 

[Audioslave]

It was an anti-climax because it was obvious what he was going to do.and when you know whats coming its never as good as when something is unexpected.

Not necessarily. Hogan lifting up Andre was awesome, but people knew it was coming due to him attempting it earlier on in the match. It was even better because they knew what was coming, didn't believe he'd actually do it and when he did it was HOLY SHIT. Just like Hardy coming off scaffolding THAT HIGH is awesome, regardless if you know it's going to happen or not. Just like Shane's one high elevation elbow onto Steve Blackman.

 

[Cocktail Gherkin]

i voted Abyss because theres only two types of Abyss matches
1 a squash match
2 a gimmick match where Abyss gets bloody
with that said i dont see why people jump all over so called "spot monkeys"
they usualy put on the best show for the fans and their spots usualy
can help elevate feuds for example
Did anyone care about Hardy vs Orton till Hardy swanton'd off the top of that thing
did anyone think he had a chance in hell of winning before that ?
the answer to both are NO now here two more questions
did that help him elevate to main event status ?
was that entertaining ?
the answer to both is YES
so dont whine and complain about people doing crazy stuff
because they're sacrificing their body to entertain us
and i appreciate that

 

[Trumike]

I can't choose just one spot monkey. I mean there is Sabu, Sandman,Tommy Dreamer. Those three to me are the biggest spot monkeys. Neither one of them can wrestle. All they know how to do is use weapons. When Dreamer became ECW champion he always used the cane. Sandman always used the cane and Sabu used anything and went through anything. Barbewd wire matches, Explosion matches. That shit is fun to watch just to see what happens to that person. Thats it. Look at Dreamer, His finishing move is a weak ass DDT. Those three guys suck.

 

[agentsmith22]

Jack Evans
Motor City Machine Guns
the whole Dragon Gate Promotion
AJ Styles USED TO BE, not anymore
Teddy Hart

those are spot monkeys
people who primarily wrestle in gimmick matches shouldnt be considered spot monkeys, theyd be considered gimmicky. Gimmicky wrestlers can get over in a mainstream audience ( Mick Foley), however spotty wrestlers have a hard time doing so (Cruiserweight Division, X- Division) unless they adapt their style (Rey Mysterio). and no the x-division isn't "over" with a main stream audience because it's on t.v; they lose ratings when they are shown.

 

[waylon p]

oops. i thought you were asking about who is the worst spot monkey, in that all he can do is spots, but cannot wrestle a match. i voted for shane due to his ability to shamelessly steal spots from the likes of new jack and rvd. greatest implies that he has other wrestling skills as well.

in that case, how about nova? anyone remember him? when he was at the old ecw, he had more moves stolen from him by the majors than anyone i can think of, but kept coming up with new ones. i think that qualifies him for the crown in this category.

 

[Unwanted Talent]

Do you people even know what a spot monkey is???? Mike Christian is a spot monkey. People who don't really wrestle, but only do big high spotted moves (Top rope manuevers, flip moves, big power moves, etc...) Are Spot Monkies. People like Mick Foley, and even Jeff Hardy are not spot monkies. People like Jimmy Yang Wang, Shannon Moore, most of EGW, a lot of Japanese wrestlers, those are your spot monkies. Think about or look up the definition to spot monkey before commenting on this.

 

[coyne7593]

I would say Shane McMahon just for the fact that each singles match he has there is a memorable spot that is just embedded in wrestling history. I remember him doing a Leap of Faith on Big Show sometime in 1999-2000 (I think). I remember him getting kendo stick'd off the Summerslam Tron in 2000 by Steve Blackman. Remember him missing a Leap of Faith on the announce table against his father at Wrestlemania X8. Also his Coast to Coast dropkick through a trash can at Wm X8 also. Everytime he goes out their in a singles match his makes you remeber him.

 

[coyne7593]

Trumike you say, '''when tommy dreamer was ecw champion, he used the cane'' he was the ecw champion for 30 minutes, bro.

 

[Trumike]

Tru he was but that was what got him over. When he went for his cane. That is why I said he was a true spot monkey. I don't care how long he was champ. But the cane helped him there. His feuds in ECW always seems to have the Signapore cane match. His so called specialty.

 

[Trumike]

Unwanted talent. You think that Mick Foley can outwrestle Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore. Mick Foley can't wrestle. He does his cheap pop to the crowd and then he got in a brawl and took his spots. Thats what he did. Even when he and The Rock were a tag-team he wasn't wrestling.

 

[Fuzzy]

I'd rather take a spot monkey than a rest hold. In ring psychology is important and its important to make the match look good. Look at the unbreakable match between Joe Daniels and Styles. That had tons of high spots but all of them made sense. Thats how a match should be. It wasn't just a "spot show."

I think people like Sabu who are willing to put their bodies on the line for the fans deserve respect because I don't see you all going out there and doing that. And its damn impressive to see some of the stuff Sabu or Abyss has done in the ring.

With that said, the BIGGEST spot monkey is easily... (drum roll)

BIG DADDY V. I mean literally he is the biggest. ... spot monkey...

 

[Greenlight13]

I think it's unfair to write people off for being a spot monkey, Mick Foley was not a wrestler in the traditional sense, but he had something that people wanted to see and it was enjoyable to watch it, he will never be mentioned among the greatest to ever step into a ring, but he has a special place in everyone's memories. It's the same as Hogan... kinda... he wasnt a grappler who could give you a twenty-five minute epic, he was a personality, he had his thing, he did it, people watched, it drew.

Some of the guys on this list are being unfairly labelled, true enough Christian and Edge and Matt Hardy have been in some big spot matches in their careers, but they have reached their highest points based on in ring skills, they may have used them to get noticed, but they built upon that with solid work. When was the last time Matt Hardy was in a ladder or hardcore match? A looong time ago, and now he has the US title and is receiving his strongest push since the Edge rivalry.

Jeff Hardy and Shelton are the two that are probably the most labelled and both are unfair i think. Shelton can mat wrestle with the best of them, but the fact he has poor mic skills and is disliked backstage means he gets more high spots than wins. Jeff Hardy was guilty of being one for many years but since late last year i think he has improved leaps and bounds, his rivalry with Orton was in my opinion his finest work of his entire career. Yes him executing a Swanton Bomb off a 20 foot ladder through a table is memorable and we will never thank him enough for doing that for our entertainment, but his believable promos and quality ring-work against the top level talent made him seem something special. The fact a lot of his moves require leaping from the top rope does not diminish his abilities as a wrestler.

I think a true spot monkey is someone like Sabu or Abyss who rely on high-risk, dangerous OH MY GOD moments, things bigger than a corkscrew moonsault or a sommersault senton bomb. Sabu is fine, i respect his contribution to wrestling, but i dont think he draws without weapons, and Abyss would be able to but either he or management dont allow it. Shelton could sell you a match without springboarding and Jeff could sell you one without ladders.

 

[Greenlight13]

Also, JACK EVANS! He belongs on highlight reels because he can do some incredible things, but i have seen this guy wrestle and honestly he bores me. It's just one flip after another. Jeff Hardy may use a couple of top rope moves per match, hell i dont remember seeing a match i considered 5-stars that didnt have a top rope move, but one or two is one thing, every single move in your repetoire is another.

JACK EVANS IS A SPOT MONKEY

 

[Fuzzy]

Sabu is fine, i respect his contribution to wrestling, but i dont think he draws without weapons, and Abyss would be able to but either he or management dont allow it. Shelton could sell you a match without springboarding and Jeff could sell you one without ladders.

So what? I'd still go see him just because I know with Sabu and Abyss I am getting a hell of a match and they will be giving it their all to get you into their match. Are you entertained by a Sabu match? Personally, I sure am. So does it matter he can't draw without weapons. To me it doesn't because I'd rather he entertain me with all of his abilities and gimmicks than just a few.

 

[lunghater]

I can't believe that out of 5 pages, no one has mentioned good ol' Amazing Red yet! I would DEFINITELY consider him a top contender, if not THE biggest spot monkey of all time. Almost every single move in his repertoire is a high flying, flipping maneuver. I personally love watching him in the ring, or loved, as he's not in the wrestling business right now that I know of. By the way, does anyone know if he's ever set to come back to wrestling anytime soon?

 

[PhenomAJJones]

How can anyone not say Rey Mysterio? All he does are spinning head scissors, seated sentons, back flips and stuff like that.

Motor City Machine Guns are a good tag team. They can wrestle and do high flying ability and to me if you didn't see the match with Speed Muscle then you missed the Guns having a good match.

IF you watch Sabin & Shelley in singles action then you will realize that they aren't spot monkies and are great wrestlers.

 

[patsbrain]

New Jack. Dude had no real wrestling ability to speak of, but he had no problem jumping from 25 foot high balconies through 5 tables that were on fire and covered in glass. I can't remember him selling anyone else's offense, but I could be wrong about that. He is like Sabu without mic skills or a move set. Even a remedial move set.

 

[Sparky]

Shane Mcmahon hand's down. He is rarely in a match where he isnt jumping off or through thing's. I like shane mcmahon but i find his normal matche's boring. He doe'snt just jump off stuff or do high flying move's. He literally does stuff that drain the energy out of him so much he only wrestle's every now and then with someone that won't stuff up on thier end. His move Coast to coast, would have to be the best high flying move there is. Shane Mcmahon is alway's one that get's the crowd to double take. His fued with kane is a good example. He is one of the Few that litteraly put thier neck on the line for the fan's. Another one is Sabu his Matche's from the old ECW was simply awesome, and highly entertaining, they both would alway's have me leaning on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen.

 

[duckhollywood]

Has anyone mentioned Shelton Benjamin?

Why do they put him in MITB matches? because running off of a ladder and flipping out of the ring is more crowd-pleasing than an RKO off of a ladder. Although at WM24 the spot monkey award goes to John Morrison.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Now if you're using this thread in a manner in which to bad mouth Jeff Hardy of all people, thats fine. He leaps off stuff and makes a name for himself. However, if you're using this thread to define what wrestlers live off of spots.. then I'm going with the guy that isn't on the list...

Rob Van Dam: Here is a guy, who was actually bad mouthed by the W.W.E. for simply going out, hitting spot after spot of the same old R.V.D. stunts, and not doing anything in between. While Hardy leaps off tall things almost every other show, R.V.D. lives off hitting his specific moves. (ie. spots)

While watching R.V.D. matches is an amazing thing, merely because he can do what so very little others can.. the point remains if you've seen one R.V.D. match, you've seen them all. R.V.D. has at least well over 5, if not 10 moves he does in every match and lives to do. If hes meant to be squashed by the Big Show, he'll still try to fit in over half of them, all within the opening 2 minutes of the squash.

The one opponent thats (to me) allowed R.V.D. to stand apart, is Jerry Lynn. Now don't get me wrong, R.V.D. was still heavy on his spots in all the R.V.D./Lynn match-ups, but in those matches.. Lynn made R.V.D. advance himself. For each move, in the next match came a counter. For each counter, in the next match came a re-counter. So on, so forth.

It was very hard not to watch the R.V.D./Lynn matches, because each one that came next.. was like wanting a story being continued through more events. Which was so much more than your average R.V.D. match.. which could best be seen as a random sitcom. It'll develop a couple new episodes (moves) once in a while.. but for the most part, you're stuck watching re-runs for a long time.

 

[Hypervega]

And we haven't brought up John Cena in this? His whole career comes from his spots. Shoulder tackle, screwed up suplex, screwed up half power bomb, 5 knuckle, F-U/STFU. Reality .......oh, and now the fameasser from the top rope.

 

[fresh]

john cena is a spot monkey? when did this happen? oh well the biggest spot monkey is truly jack evans. hes has a beautiful finisherr but he gets me madd. he does an unnecesary backflip or cartwheel or an extra flip in the air its really annoying to watchh.