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Underrated

I just wanted to know who you thought were the top 10 underrated WRESTLERS of all time in WWE. Also, who do you think were the top 10 most underrated WWE SUPERSTARS. I was inspired to make this after seeing the william regal thread, which really is a good one and one to look at for sure.
 
Oh, this is going to be tough question to answer and give my thoughts on. Forgive me if you guys don't agree with my list.

In random order
1: Cesaro
2: Kofi Kingston
3: Tamina
4: Natalya
5: Carlito

These are the five I can think of at the moment. Each one are great talent and can prove to be future legends.
 
1 - Dean Malenko - He was old but could still go in the ring.

2 - Perry Saturn - He dated a mop. What more do I need to say?

3 - Lance Storm - What exactly did he do? He could've done more.

4 - Raven - I was wanting a stable similar to Raven's Flock in WCW.

5 - Mr. Perfect - He couldn't make the main show of WM18. He didn't do anything else either.

6 - Kanyon - Again, what did he do?

7 - DDP - He had that awful stalker storyline. He deserved better.

Almost all the cruiserweights except for Rey Mysterio. (Ultimo Dragon, Psychosis, Super Crazy, Tajiri, Billy Kidman, etc.)

Neither of these wrestlers deserve to be main eventers. However, they all deserve better than what they got.
 
You know who doesn't really get enough praise? Jimmy Wang Yang. Who's that? Oh just an asian redneck with a hell of a moveset and personality. Dude was doing Moonsault Body Presses effortlessly and was let go way too soon.

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No face of the company of course, but he was really likable to have such a weird gimmick. Yeah I'm not big on doing Top 10s on here, so I'll go with my one pick that no one talks about.
 
Ofcourse in no particular order:

1. Raven
2. William Regal
3. Billy Gunn
4. The Radicalz
5. Goldust
6. Paul London & Brian Kendrick
7. Lance Storm
8. Test
9. Ken Shamrock
10. Haerdcore Holly
 
Ofcourse in no particular order:

1. Raven
2. William Regal
3. Billy Gunn
4. The Radicalz
5. Goldust
6. Paul London & Brian Kendrick
7. Lance Storm
8. Test
9. Ken Shamrock
10. Haerdcore Holly

Man, Raven is so much better than Bray Wyatt and would be perfect in any wrestling ear. I also agree with Hardcore Holly. Great character and with a little more confidence and ambition could have been more successful. In his book he just seems a punch the clock, do my job, and then go home kinda guy. Not very helpful if you want to get ahead in the WWE.
 
Most Underrated Superstars: Demolition

Not in terms of wrestling, as they were pretty standard brawlers in the ring. I mean in terms of their impact. WWE basically acts like they didnt exist and fans dismiss them as an LOD knockoff. The truth is they both got their gimmick from different characters in the Mad Max movies. No different than the Rockers and Rock N Roll Express both got their gimmicks from watching MTV music videos of the 80s. Wrestlers draw on pop culture for their characters all the time (Sting-Crow, Ambrose-Ledger Joker). Demolition weren't the only ones to do so but they seem to be the only ones criticized for it. Why arent the Rockers considered a RNR Express knockoff? Why isnt Nature Boy Ric Flair considered a Nature Boy Buddy Rogers knockoff? Why isn't Hulk Hogan dismissed as a Superstar Graham knockoff? No one and nothing in wrestling is 100% original. In fact in all of the above examples, the supposed knockoff was actually superior to the original. Including Demolition. Their music, facepaint and matches were all better than the Road Warriors. They were more interesting as well. The Road Warriors would no sell and steamroll opponents, whereas Demolition on the other hand would occasionally lose or have long even matches even with teams much smaller than them. They were more human while LOD were almost superhuman which too me is less interesting. Very little storytelling in an LOD match. LOD were like Goldberg, while Demolition were more like Austin.

The fact is Demolition were the most popular tag team of the 80's in the WWF during a time when the tag division was at its most popular and competitive. A time that has never been duplicated and never will be. Their look, their music, everything about them is iconic but they're not really given that treatment or respect. Go back and watch Wrestlemania 6. The pop they get during their entrance and when they win the titles is on par with Hogan and Warrior. They were massively over. LOD never got a pop like that in their WWF tenure. And thats not me badmouthing LOD, its just the reality. Yet the moment LOD arrived, Vince tossed Demolition aside like they were nothing. They still hold the record for the longest reign as tag team champions. A record that will probably never be broken.

Most Underrated Wrestler: Shelton Benjamin
Should have been a Heyman guy. Needed a mouthpiece. After Lesnar left in 2004, Benjamin should have become Heyman's new go to guy. Could have and should have been a WWE Champion. Guy was simply amazing in the ring. The match he had with Shawn Michales on RAW is arguably the best RAW match in history. I hope race didn't play a factor in his being held back, but I believe it did. He was as legit as Lesnar, but a better athlete. Just needed Heyman to legitimize him.
 
Most under-rated of all time: (in no particular order)

-Cesaro. (Give this man a chance to shine. He's got all the tools, let him run with the ball and see how far he can go)

-Lance Storm. (One of the best technical wrestlers ever. Such a joy to watch. Loved the slide-under-into-the-single-leg-crab maneuver. Just awesome)

-Dean Malenko. (One of the best pure wrestlers ever IMO. Should have been spotlighted more.)

-WWE Tazz. (Watered down version of his bad ass ECW character. Could have been so much more in the WWE. Why did they job him out so much??)

-Muhammed Hassan (this guy had so much potential. He got great heel heat. He had a great push, too bad it got derailed)

-Simon Dean (should have done more with this guy. He was hillarious and got great heel heat. Wrestling skills could use improvement though.)

-Tyler Breeze. (Great NXT talent in the ring. Too bad he gets overlooked because of all these great indy stars coming in)

-Austin Aries. (When AJ left, this man should have been the FACE of TNA imo. He was on top for a little bit, but TNA never really got behind him. TNA dropped the ball big time on this guy
-
 
Most Underrated Wrestler: DEAN MALENKO
** Not much to say here. The Ice Man didn't talk much, most definitely to his detriment ultimately, but he was beautiful to watch in the ring.

Most Underrated WWE Superstar: KURT ANGLE
** Probably not a choice many would consider since he's so beloved. I go with Angle because, although he gets internet love, he doesn't get WWE-revisionist history love. He is a Mount Rushmore / Top Tier / 5 Star caliber talent who will likely just be referred to by WWE Revisionist History as "one of the all-time greats," which might work for a small handful, but Angle should be in an even smaller handful of names. He was/is that good. So by that train of thought, he is, ironically, UNDERRATED.





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1. Hakushi - Dude could go and had high caliber matches. They should have given him a good manager.

2. Big Boss Man - He had a long career, but in my opinion, he could have done more.

3. Disco Inferno - Awesome gimmick that I wish I could have seen in the WWE.

4. Vladimir Koslov - Imagine if he and Rusev were a tag team?

5. Arn Anderson - After watching old Nitros, I was reminded how good he was on the mic.

6. Doink - They should have tried harder to legitimize the character, because he was a good wrestler.

7. Goldust - It's nice that he got some recognition with his brother, but in my opinion deserved a singles title.

8. I.R.S - He consistently put on good matches and was good in the gimmick.

9. William Regal - For some reason he was never really given a push.

10. Henry Godwin - It seemed like he was headed in the right direction before he got hurt. Too bad.

Please note that my selections are not in any order. lol Just when I thought of them.
 
In no particular order

1.) Doug Williams - This guy was a technical wizard. Reminded me of Dean Malenko a bit

2.) Dean Malenko - Does anybody remember when PWI listed him as #1 in their top 500? Or did I just age myself?

3.) Billy Kidman - I loved his grungy look and his high flying moveset

4,5,6) William Regal, Goldust, Hardcore Holly- Crafty veterans

7.) Ultimo Dragon - Ok, I loved the cruiserweights

8.) Tito Santana - I always enjoyed this guy

9.) Kanyon - Who betta?

10.) Jim Neidhardt - Tag team specialist, and helped Bret develop
 
1 Brad Armstrong - seems like he just came along a little bit too late, for wrestling fans' tastes were changing. Didn't have much of a character but just an all around fantastic wrestler with natural charisma

2 Doink - they turned him face way to early for the kids. His heel stuff was gold. And he was a legit good wrestler

3 Sean O'Haire - Seemed like he was the best of everything, size, athleticism. Not sure how they could've let him go

4 Ahmed Johnson - He was OVER with the crowd. Heard that politics kept him down.

5 Tatanka - he was super over and had quite the undefeated streak. Turning him against Luger was a mistake. Never the same after that

6 Mike Awesome - most agile big guy i've seen. Had tons of personality/charisma if given the chance. As cheesy as it was, he pulled off That 70s Guy

7 Goldust - it's a shame because he seems like he's wrestling his best stuff now and he's about to retire. Could have been a champ as Gold or Dustin

8 Jerry Lynn - just another sound guy that could put on a wrestling clinic. Wish he could've been in a stable in WWE

9 Shane Douglas - gets a lot of grief for his running of his mouth as 'The Franchise,' but he was super over in WCW with Steamboat and seemed like he was buried right away in his second stint in WWE

10 Terry Taylor - heard he was originally supposed to get the Mr. Perfect gimmick. Technically sound
 
10 : Gene Snitzsky , had a mini ECW run where he was this dominating Ogre looking beast. Moved back to Raw with this new type gimmick but was instantly buried. Best known for punting a baby in to the crowd during his first actual feud vs Kane.

9 : Paul Roma. This guy was the best ring worker, had a chiseled frame, was good on the mic when given the chance...but lacked any character... that was his downfall...the Roma name wasn't going to get it done, despite his power, agility and technical prowess in the ring. Best known for Power and Glory with the best..awesomely timed tag team finishing move ever.

8: Leapin Lanny Poffo . Brother of Macho Man Randy Savage, his brother Lanny had all the skills (almost ) that his brother possesed, big agility , wrestling technique and a vicious , tough side to his game. The downfall of Lanny was...he was never given a good chance like Savage with his awesome Character in Macho Man. He was never involved in any good storyline, especially with or involving his brother. Best known for The Genius in WWF.

7: Gary Albright. I'll never forget a shoot wrestling match this guy had in Japan. He was fighting an american Kurt Angle type guy and simply destroyed him with German Suplex's and a full nelson suplex that nearly killed the guy. I was pumped and eagerly awaited this Big Van Vader type guy to hit the big leagues in Wcw or WWF. Sadly, he never made it and died in a wrestling match.

6 : Marty Jennetty. Most famously known for being one half of the popular Rockers in the WWF. He was also a recipient of one of the best, shocking heel turns in wrestling history when he went right through Beefcakes barbershop window via HBK . He never really recovered from that IMO. He didn't get a good run even after he finally came back, tag titles not included. He could've had a way better career with his overall talents.

5 : Jerry Lynn. Whats not to say about this guy ? He has had success in other promotions like ECW especially...but the big leagues...not so much. Phenomenon personified this guy had it all and could work with anyone in the ring. He could've had a huge career in WWF but that didn't happen.

4: Mike Awesome. Another huge missed opportunity with this guy. His name says it all, he truly was an awesome individual. Surprisingly shocking agility for a 300 pounder with a frame ripe with muscles. He could've been an improved Batista in WWE. Made even some of his shockingly bad WCW gimmicks passable.

3 : Johnny B Badd / Marc Mero - Not everyone will agree with this but...Mero was a hugely underutilized heel on every promotion he was involved with. His Johnny B Badd character was wildly entertaining and the guy backed it up in the ring. Change his finisher and you have a guy who has it all. Oh, and don't bring in the sexiest valet ever in Sable if you want to create some attention for yourself in WWE Attitude Era. Best known for getting Sable bombed to end his relationship with Sable.

2 : Vampiro . A well known , underrated wrestler in wrestling lore. NEVER used properly IMO and didn't get a chance at the big leagues due to injury. Even before Mike Awesome destroyed him and shortened his career, Vampiro was getting into uninteresting feuds minus The Sting feud. He had a vicious in ring style and an unforgettable look, excellent face paint ...and solid total package for a future Sting-like character. Most memorable moment..his graveyard scene with Sting.

1 : Dean Malenko. Probably the most sound , techinally perfect, wrestler in the history of the business. The Ice Cold eyes of Malenko would stare down his opponent and he was off in a flash...going at it with Lucha wrestlers, lightweights and having AMAZING mid card matches with these guys. The spotlight really never turned in his direction even after he made the jump to WWE. His major drawback IMO is his size...in Vince's world..a guy the size of a Malenko doesn't get the big prize money of main eventers ( minus Mysterio..but only because of Eddys death ) .... His most notable mentions are his tenures in The Four Horsemen and his halarious feud with Chris Jericho.
 
10. Tito Santana - lit it up in the midcard during the eighties, most under appreciated performer/ intercontinental champion. Hard to imagine Randy Savage being as big as he was without the feud he had with Tito.

9. Greg The Hammer Valentine - Solid on the mike, could really sell. Didn't have the look or tremendous physique but he could go in the ring. Feud with Santana, Piper, were all hugely over with the audiences.

8. Too Cold Scorpio- never got his due in the WWE, but he was a really solid performer in the ring and was a pretty good mix of agility, aerial movies and solid mat skills.

7. Elijah Burke- Solid on the mike, good in the ring. Why couldn't WWE do more with him ?

6. Bam Bam Bigelow - One of the greatest big men in the WWE and severely underrated in the ring. He had an excellent grasp of storytelling.

5. Matt Morgan- Solid on the mike and used his size well in the ring. Another guy who was in WWE, but WWE uncreative couldn't find the right way to utilize him.

4. Paul Orndorff- Decent talker and worker, yet he couldn't get a IC title run or something for all his skill. He was a component of the rock and wrestling age and he was so sorely underutilized.

3. Perry Saturn- SKilled in the ring and saddled with some stupid bullshit Moppie gimmick in the WWE. He had a look and was a serious performer in the ring. He was the strong silent part of Raven's flock which made him all the more interesting to watch.

2. Hercules- A guy who was a steady hand but never really got much from WWE. Which is a shame. The memory of his work in WWE is wiped clean from WWE's memory.

1. Tatanka- Popular with the crowd, charismatic. He had a presence in that ring and he could work. He could have been a big star or at least an IC champ and yet he seemed to be halted just when he might of been on the verge of something. Two runs in WWE and nothing comes of it.

Honourable mentions:
Christian, Jay Lethal, Disco Inferno, MVP, Kenny King
 
Steven/William Regal was always my WCW guy in the mid 90s. I'm not sure tho that he's underrated tho. He did carry some mid card titles and had a pretty good career. I wouldn't have expected him I win the world title.....maybe during the brand split.

Marty Jannetty is a good one. He could have been a solid mid carder from the rockers split all the way to the beginning of the attitude era.

Steve Austin in WCW. I think he should have been the top mid carder in WCW in the mid 90s. With the exception of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, Austin was the best wrestler on the planet in 94/95.
 
1. BAM BAM BIGALOW - one of the best big men in the company's history. Had amazing agility for a man his size and could have been the number one Heel in the company during the early 90's if given the chance.

2. RAVEN - one of the greatest minds ever in wrestling and if given the chance could of had some amazing feuds with the likes of the Undertaker.

3. BAD NEWS BROWN - the guy was a great worker with a great character that you fully bought into and would have been a great contender for Hogans title during the late 80's early 90's

4. MR PERFECT - was fully ready to make the step up to full time main eventer after his feud with Flair. Really did have it all and could have been one off the greatest heels wwe ever had.

5. THE AMERICAN DREAM - Dusty was a massive star before he arrived in WWE, but WWE turned him into a comedy character when he should have been pushed as a main eventer.

6. RON SIMMONS - As the first black champion in WCW's history, Ron should have gone straight into the main event when he joined the company but never really made it.

7. JOHN MORRISON - one of the most gifted and over wrestlers around at one point and deserved to be pushed far more then he did.

8. ONE MAN GANG - Another big man who should have been given a big push at a time when WWE were lacking credible Heels

9. JERRY THE KING LAWLER - one of the greatest heels of all time and deserved far more then being reduced to a comedy act during his WWE run

10. TEST - The guy had a great look and ring presence and while not the greatest talker was better then most.
 
I'll try to give this a go.

1. Bad News Brown/Allen- While known a a heel in his run in the 80's, I bet few know of his accomplishments in judo, winning bronze in the Olympics in '72 or '76. But he was a great heel that usually jobbed to bigger names like Hogan and Piper.

2. Mr. Perfect- Its a shame that Curt Hennig didn't get at least one run with the Heavyweight championship in his WWF run. Very talented and could work as a heel or face, and arguably one of the best technical wrestlers of the late 80's/early 90's.

3. Ahmed Johnson- This guy had an IT factor to me that couldn't be denied. While I didn't care for him on the mic, he was imposing and dominating in the ring. I'm still mad he didn't get his shot at Shawn Michaels for the belt due to "injury".

4. Ron Simmons/Farooq- An example of a guy who went to the top in WCW but wasn't exactly treated the same in WWF. A world champion once upon a time, he is known more for the Nation of Domination and one half of the APA.

5. Big Boss Man- A guy I loved to hate as a kid in his feuds with Hogan. Couple that with his manager Slick and Akeem the African Dream, it's surprising that he didn't have a run with any premire gold (I'm not counting the Hardcore title).

6. 2 Cold Scorpio- One of the best talents in ECW's heyday, he had a brief run in WWF as Flash Funk. Needless to say this run didn't last long.

7. Crush/Brian Adams- I admit i was straight on Crush when he was in Demolition, and his initially babyface run was so-so at best. When he became heel in '93 and started his ill-fated feud with Macho Man, it was one of the best turns during that era. Again, this guy could've had a run with the IC belt at the very least.

8. IRS- When Mike Rotunda came in as IRS, he was truly a heel to behold. While he did have a run as a tag champ in Money Inc, he should've been able to do so much more in the single ranks.

9. Hercules- Decent in the ring and had a good following as a face. Probably could've been a tag champ when he team with Paul Roma in Power & Glory.

10. Muhammad Hassan- A millenial, Hassan was primed for a world title run when Vince greenlit a spot that happened to coincide with a real life tragedy that unfortunately got him fired. But Muhammad Hassan was a young turk that at the very least should've had a run with the US title.
 
WWE. In no particular order:-

British Bulldog. Immense strength, always had a good following, look at his singles title reigns and it's underwhelming. The Bulldog could easily have had another 2 or 3 IC Title reigns.

Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn. It was almost as if WWE signed them just to make sure they would get Benoit & Gurrerro.

Bam Bam Bigelow. This guy could move for his size and should have went on to better things.

Raven. The WWE could not get it woth this guy. Anywhere else he's been has been a success with a cult following from the fans.

Flash 2 Cold Scorpio Funk. Dancing/Job Squad etc. Instead of just letting the guy impress with his high flying skills they constantly armed him with a rubbish gimmick. Should have been a NOD member.

Lance Storm. Granted. The guy was tough to find a gimmick for but he had all the necessary in ring skills.

Shelton Benjamin. He should still be in WWE. Probably one of the most athletic guys the WWE has ever had.

Taka Michinoku. After the usual novelty wore off the light-heavyweight division in WWE Taka became one half of a comedy act.

Hakushi. Remember a great feud he had with Bret Hart. Instead of pushing on after that he ending up feuding with the likes of Barry Harowitz.
 
1, Dynamite Kid, I still believe skill wise he's the greatest wrestler of all time and was way ahead of his time especially his japan work, From what ive heard he didn't sound like the nicest guy backstage but his matches I think was in a whole different league to anyone who came before or after never really got the singles career he deserved.

2, Chris Adams who rarely gets any mention and was in one of my favourite feuds of all time against Steve Austin I think his work was consistantly good and could have been a great addition to the WWF during his time.

3, Fabulous Freebirds, My favourite tag team of all time and surprised their still not in the hall of fame, As great as the original 3 freebirds Hayes, Gordy and Roberts were I also think the newer incarnation of the team Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin gets overlooked sometimes as they were one of my favourite to watch in early WCW.

4, Sabu, was such and innovative guy would have been so cool seeing him feud with some of the bigger name wrestlers of the 90s such as The Hitman, HBK, Undetaker or Sting for example, I thought his WCW run ended way too early and was a nice touch adding The Sheik as his manager by the time he did reach WWE his body had been so beat up his best days were long behind him.

5, Jerry Lynn, did relatively nothing in his only short WWE run which was such a wasted moment as he had so much talent.

6, La Parka, one of the biggest name luchadore wrestlers to never make it to the WWE, Skill wise he may not have matched up to other luchadores but entertainment value in his matches he was at the top.

7, Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, Its difficult to call him underrated when he was such a huge star during his era but I still think he never reached his full potential and should have had at least a couple of world title runs and should have been WWE's top heel at the time equal of the level Ric Flair was to the NWA.

8, Marty Janetty, His return after the Rockers split seemed huge at the time but he had not even gotten his revenge match at Wrestlemania against HBK and by the time Summerslam came round he jobbed in a squash match to Ludvig Broga then just faded away, I'm not saying he deserved equal success to HBK but did deserve at least more of a decent run as a singles wrestler.

9, Ultimo Dragon, Think he should have stuck around the WWE longer theres so many great matches he could have had which never happened.

10, William Regal, Never really achieved the main event level that he should have, Debuted in WWE with a ridiculous real man's man gimmick would loved to have seen him debut instead going straight after the world champion Steve Austin.

I didn't include who I thought on the current roster like Luke Harper, Cesaro or Damian Sandow as I think they still have a chance to excel.
 
Underrated:
- X-Pac
- Al Snow
- Lance Storm

The people who are so good, they are the go-to guys to either get stars back into ring shape, or paired with in order to make them look better. Guys like Dean Malenko fit into this category too.

To be honest, X-Pac in 1998 was on fire. He was consistently having some of the best matches of the night, and was crazy over. If not for his size he could have been main event worthy. That's how good X-Pac was, yet his legacy is of a burnout lazy druggie who banged Chyna on camera.
 
I think Lance Storm is one of the MOST underrated performers in any era. His ring work is impeccable. His attitude amongst the boys is amazing. Willing to do the job. Willing to do whatever it takes to make everyone look good. Lance Storm is one of the best of all time.
 
Diamond Dallas Page. How that guy isn't in the Hall of Fame yet is beyond me. That guy could work, he always had the crowd in the palm of his hand and knew exactly how to work a professional wrestling crowd. That guy was an absolute beast.
 

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