Underrated/Underappreciated wrestlers or gimmicks?

[agentmichaelscarn]

I searched for this and surprisingly didnt find any results for it so if there is another thread about it I apologize. But who do you think are some of the more underrated and/or under appreciated wrestlers or characters?

I was thinking about this when I was watching some videos on youtube and Doink The Clown cut a promo on one of them. I totally forgot how great that gimmick was. Often times when people talk about the lame New Generation era gimmicks Doink's name gets brought up but he was actually pretty bad ass. His heel promos were some of the best heel promos Ive ever seen. They were so intense and creepy, his laugh would send chills down my spine as a kid. His music was sweet too The promo he cut before his match against Crush at Mania was priceless, also there was one I saw on there that he cut on Savage that was really really good. He was over as hell with the crowd, everybody hated him and the kids were scared to death of him. I really dont know why WWF turned him face, once he became the happy go lucky clown running around with a midget clown named Dink that's when things turned for the worse for him. But that heel Doink character in my eyes is one of the more underrated gimmicks of all time.

What are your guys thoughts on this? Do you agree with the Doink answer and who are some other names that come to mind?

 

[Starchild]

This is a interesting topic.

While Doink is a good choice, there is only one that comes to my mind. And it's, you guessed it, the man whose name you will never forget, the Bizarre One...ssssssssssss Goldust!!!
He was in some high profile feuds in his heyday and was a legit IC title holder. His initial feud with Razor was a memorable one in my eyes. He also had the feud with Mero and Sable before doing that ridiculous "Artist" gimmick. Then later he had a resurgance when he had the immensely entertaining tag team with Booker T. They did segments with them every week, but they never got old. They still crack me up when I watch them.
He was over, had a great character, could be funny, great on the mic, and solid in the ring. How Goldust never even got a shot in the main event is questionable. He could have been pretty good had they made him kind of a more psychopathic heel character for a world title program.

Like he said I will never forget this name.

 

[Hyorinmaru]

Bret Hart

People know Bret Hart is one of the best Technical wrestlers out there, but all most of them do is suck on the Shawn Michaels Teet and just destroy Bret for what happened in '97 at Survivor Series(I'm not here to debate the Montreal Screw Job). People here on WZ are finally giving Bret the credit he deserves which is evident by his win of the Tag & Legends Tournament and I love to see that.

Edit: Like any American I was thinking in terms of the USA

 

[horsemen4ver]

I dont agree at all. Bret Hart was not underrated he was tremendously overrated. Im not talking about the Survivor Series 97 either. He was boring with a capital B. Same five moves at the same times same thing over and over, but the most underrated superstar would be Rick Martel. He was a true professional in and out of the ring. He really should have been pushed more as a singles wrestler than what he was.

 

[Mr. TM]

Well Bret Hart isn't underrated, I think he is one of the greatest ever, and tons do, especially in Canada, where I can only name one person who doesn't love Bret Hart... (mysterio_fan). The most underrated gimmick I can think of is Diamond Dallas Page. He was a great talent, charismatic and showier than many. He wasn't bad in the ring by any stretch and deserve his titles. But rated now a days he doesn't stand up against many other champions including people like Booker T.

 

[2012isbs]

DDP was very underrated. I think the most underrated gimmick is Davari's it shows what is happening in America and many other parts of the world right now. He cuts good promos is decent in the ring and come on he plays that character so well I think it's from personal expiernce and that is something I loove in a gimmick giving it some truth.

 

[pandanwh]

I completely agree with Goldust. In fact I think he is probably the best wrestling character ever. Another one I always liked was Lodi.

DDP is extremely overrated.

 

[RealDealOdin]

While i think Ddp is Overrated
I think one of the most underrated Superstar/Gimmick was the 123 Kid,
This guy was workin pretty well in the ring with his high flyin suicidal style and never really got a shot to the big gold, (he had a memorable match with bret on raw i think)
But in my book i think he got over with the fans with decision over razor and winning the Tage Titles along with Sparky Holly against the Quebecers. But i think he should have at least wear the IC belt when back in the days the IC Belt was meaning something.

 

[eXtremely-Priceless2K9]

i think Shane'o'mac, have you seen his promos against orton? they are Good

 

[ballin0812]

i'm gonna throw one out there.. phantasio.

his gimmick was different and if used properly i believe he could of been a great mid card wrestler contending for the IC title. i still wouldn't mind seeing a wrestler these days have a similar gimmick although i believe it would of suited better back in the 90's.

 

[Queers and Steers]

while i liked the doink the clown and original goldust gimmicks my fav is the original latino heat gimick with eddie with the mullet and chyna they had amazing promos and they were really funny not mention EG had a great passion for the game.



yea bro the million dollar man is one of my fav characters of the 80s hes a classic

 

[timiscool84]

if i had to pick just one then i'd go with ted dibiase. He never got a title run in his hot years and one thing i always thought he should have gotten was a intercontinental title run because he was always a great worker and isnt that what most intercontinental champs were back in that period (take out htm and warrior). I maean he wasnt gonna get a world title run cuz hulk and macho had that held up so i just thought that would have been a good step for him.

 

[MattMoses]

Diamond Dallas Page is a definite one. The guy was just pretty average who nobody cared about up until around early 1997. The fact that he managed to get himself over big-time while the nWo was running wild and at its peak deserves a heap of praise alone. His charisma was there, he sold merchandise, the fans loved him and so on. His in-ring skills really started to step-up after his feud with Randy Savage, which culminated in one of my favourite matches of '97, at the Great American Bash. He also put on very good matches with the likes of Raven and Hennig. Then the match he had with Bill Goldberg at Halloween Havoc proved just how great a worker DDP was, making Goldberg look great and giving him the best match of his career. He also had some PPV quality matches on various Nitro's with Sting throughout 1999. From 1997 - 1999, DDP was one of the best workers in the business, but that's usually overshadowed by how awful his run was in the WWF.

Another man whom I find both underrated and underappreciated is Arn Anderson. As I mentioned in the "Who Was The Best Wrestler To Never Win A World Title Thread", Anderson was just as good as anyone in the ring, and very charismatic with brilliant mic skills. Sadly, I feel he never got the chance to fulfill his potential, which would have consisted of a world title run putting on top-quality singles matches with the likes of Flair, Luger, Windham and Sting during the late 80's.

 

[Joup7]

I've seen Shane McMahon wrestle alot. It's my opinion that if he weren't Vince's son and had instead gotten legit training, he could have been a tremendous wrestler. He's got a great talking ability and he's got some exciting moves and isn't afraid to risk his body for the business.

In terms of underrated, how about Shelton Benjamin. Probably one of the greatest athletes in the history of the WWE. Tremendous strength and speed. Can cut promos. Give him a legit push already.

 

[That's Just Weird]

If the WWE gave Jimmy Wang Yang a better gimmick, they could use that with his great in-ring abilities, and he could be great. I don't think I've ever heard him on the mic, but he had to work with some southern accent when he was given an interview backstage.

 

[Pimpin]

Underrated- Sheton Benjamin, One of the greatest athletically stars in WWE today. He has the strength, speed & has gotten better at his promos. I say just give him a push already just to elevate him to where he deserves to be.

Underappreciated- Umaga. He has great skills for a big man & he also has pretty decent speed to go with that. The WWE has taken most if not all the credibility he had. There is still hope out there that he will be great but time is ticking very fast on whether that happens or not.

 

[Evan Bourne]

I think the most underrated would have to be Booker T. In wwe he lost his wcw title to the rock in is first year there and was out of the title picture and main event scene there after. He was great in wcw when he was tagging with stevie ray and h was hilarious with goldust too. I personally think he doesn't get the credit he deserves sometimes but thats just me.

As for underrated I would have to pick Kane. He should be at the level of Undertaker and triple h right now but he constantly jobs and wwe has yet to give him a proper world title run(the ecw title is devalued).

 

[klunderbunker]

For underappreciated gimmicks, heel Doink.

How brilliant was this gimmick? He wasn't a clown. He was a man so tortured by inner demons that he had to hide his face. he tormented children because it gave him some kind of twisted pleasure. He was a solid technical wrestler, showing that he had been trained very well somewhere before his time as a clown. Then he shows up in clown garb because something made him snap. It's identical to the Joker, one of the greatest characters of any medium ever. Brilliant work.

 

[MattMoses]

Another underrated wrestler that comes to mind is Barry Windham. A lot of people only seem to remember him from his later career, when he had become overweight, sloppy and such a bore to watch. Back in the 80's and early 90's, he was putting on quality matches with a wide array of opponents, rarely, if ever having a bad match. The guy had all the tools to make it a big star in the business, whom I feel could have surpassed the success and acclaim of Ric Flair if it had not been for his lack of charisma and poor choices with both his personal and professional life. Regardless, his psychology, ring presence and in-ring performance was second to none.

Stan "The Lariat" Hansen is another guy. Despite wrestling a large part of his career in Japan, he is a former world and US champion. In some ways, he reminds me of a heel JBL; a bully, a sadistic brawler who likes to slowly demolish his opponent with his sheer size, only Hansen was better at it. He wasn't fancy in the ring, but he was great to watch. He had many great matches with the likes of Vader, Andre, Luger and Inoki.

 

[pjsdoughboy]

Phantasio are you for real you read his name then you tube a video of his only WWFe match and think he was under rated lol lol lol who do you think your kidding with that post I started watching wrestling in 1984 just after Hogan beat the Iron sheik so around the time Vinnie Mac bought it from his Daddy and let me tell you phantasio got more hype the he ever needed and his only match should have never happened in the first place he need to stay in memphis where he came from doing his stupid magic tricks because magic and wrestling dont mix.