Truly an UNDERRATED PERFORMER

[butsecks]

it saddens me the Larry Zbyszko isn't remembered as much today...to me, the man was amazing on the mic. maybe because he didn't accomplish enough? i dunno. as in wrestling, i've only seen a few of his matches, and i wasn't disappointed. either way, here is a great promo from him from WCW. post your thoughts on Larry Zbyszko. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9p84KD3sMk

 

[WrestlingHistorian]

it saddens me the Larry Zbyszko isn't remembered as much today...to me, the man was amazing on the mic. maybe because he didn't accomplish enough? i dunno. as in wrestling, i've only seen a few of his matches, and i wasn't disappointed. either way, here is a great promo from him from WCW. post your thoughts on Larry Zbyszko. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9p84KD3sMk

Larry is one of hose guys who never did anything to really cement his place in wrestling history, he was good but he was not on the same level as some of the other guys in the sport when he was competing. I think a lot of people forgot how good he was because of his boneheaded color commentary/managment role he had with TNA which was not good by any means, he came off too comedic and too generic at the same time and things like that tend to hurt people later on in their careers.

 

[JerryvonKramer]

I always saw Zybysko as a WCW version of Greg Valentine. Is that wrong? In my eyes, they were both just old school, slightly-over-the-hill duffers who could still work half a decent match but who, in real terms, were only about one notch above JTTS status.

 

[scoobyjrg1974]

While I do agree that Larry was an underrated performer there are many other wrestlers that i would say were more underrated than him.
For example, how about Tito Santana or Big John Studd you can even make a case for Andre the Giant. These men gave their hearts to this business but were overlooked for the chance to hold heavyweight gold for any real amount of time. You can also look at Superfly Jimmy Snuka, who had the most memorable moment I still have ever seen when he jumped from the top of the cage onto Bob Backlund. And finally you can also say that Rowdy Roddy Piper was also under used as a main event character and underrated.

 

[jbwphoto1]

To really appreciate Larry Zbyszko, one must go back to the early 1980's. I wasn't watching when he was in the WWWF, but to have worked such a program with Bruno Sammartino call yourself the new Living Legend definitely shows you have promise.

I remember reading about Larry Zbyszko in the Apter mags when he was in the Georgia area. His storyline with Killer Tim Brooks of buying has now been used too many times to count. I also remember him from the AWA with Curt Henning, Nick Bockwinkel and Scott LeDoux. Larry was magic on the mic and talented in the ring. Great heel in those days.

Just flipped the tv to ESPN Classic and guess who's wrestling? Yep, it's Larry.

 

[JTS32]

I didn't get to see Larry much as a kid (no cable), but what I did see I saw him as a great heel, but he never quite reached that "Main Event" status consistenly and with good reason. He was a good mid carder nothing more. Beat up on some good guys, have an occasional main even fued even help out another main eventer i.e. helping Henning with the AWA title, but just never was a consistent main event caliber wrestler to me.

Face it a lot of guys never got their due with a world title run especially in the 80s while "Hulkamania" was running wild. I don't know if you can include Andre in that he was so big he didn't the world title to be a huge attraction. Yeah it would have been nice to see him get his due with the belt but it didn't diminish his career.

Some I would include in that list mainly never got a title run because of "Hulkamania" and the fact that with a few exception Vince has wanted his champions to be "larger than life." Charisma first, Muscles second, in ring ability third. That's why guys like Ricky Steamboat, Tito Santanna, Greg Valentine and the like never wore the gold. Others like Big John Studd were shut out because of his fued with Andre and the fact it was all about Hogan and a heel world champion would just not have worked then.

Zybysko is just part of a huge list of guys who won't be remembered like they should he's not any more special than half of them.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Rick Rude... by a long way... he was ready to beat Hogan in 1990 but Hogan refused... He was the right guy to beat Warrior in the cage... but Warrior refused cos Hogan did first... So Rude went to WCW and was the best heel they had... I don't think he EVER didn't have a title the whole time till he retired there bar a few weeks... he was THAT good...

 

[jmt225]

Larry is one of hose guys who never did anything to really cement his place in wrestling history, he was good but he was not on the same level as some of the other guys in the sport when he was competing.

How can your name be "WrestlingHistorian" and then say something like that? Larry Zbyszko vs. Bruno Sammartino is one of the greatest rivalries in wrestling history. That's a fact my friend. And WWE would've been profiled that feud a number of times with their ‘Yesteryear’ promos if it weren't for the fact that Bruno has such a terrible relationship with the company.

Anyway, Larry Zbyszko is an all time great as far as I'm concerned, and his feud against Bruno Sammartino is enough justification for me to think that. Hell, even his feud with Hall when Zbyszko had to be in his fifties was tremendous and believable. The guy was just a talented motherfucker who knew how to work and cut promos, as good as any other person from the "old school".

He is surely going to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame someday, and I can't wait as that will undoubtedly be a great night to be a wrestling fan.

 

[McFoley]

ESPN Classic shows AWA sometimes and while a lot of it is boring to watch if you are used to current wrestling, there was a great Larry Zybysko match from the mid-80's the other night. It seemed like he was playing a sneaky heel at the time and he was facing this big, tough guy kind of character (think his name was Tank something or other) and he was really selling even the most basic moves. He was locked in a side headlock for like five minutes but watching him try to come up all kinds of creative ways to get out of it, like jumping over the ropes only to get pulled back in by his head, was really entertaining. The kind of stuff that wouldn't really get over today even though the fans were eating it up back then.

 

[RVDgurl]

I love Larry Zybysko. He was a great performer. He was solid in his days with WCW, but he was phenomenal as the mega heel in the AWA. As a young child watching AWA, he wasn't one of the guys that stood out to me. Now, when I watch those classic shows replayed, he stands out more than anyone. He was so good on the mic and his
technical skills in the ring were nearly flawless. He was the figurehead of that company for quite some time and he really does deserve a little lore recognition for his work.

 

[Queers and Steers]

i like the million dollar man. that guy is one of the greatest heels of all time! he was arrogant had that laugh and had a lot of memorable moments. i just love the promos of him getting people to do things for money and than he would just screw them like when the little black kid had to dribble the ball 10 times for a million and soon as he gets to nine he kicks it out of his hand. he was just an rich pompous asshole and i loved that about his character! the fact that he never got the belt is a joke to me. i would have loved to see him beat Hogan for it that would have been great. in my opinion he is the third greatest character of the 80s