Your Top 10 Most Underrated/Overrated Wrestlers Of All Time

[Seth82]

thought this might be interesting

so who do YOU think is Underrated & Overrated?

[Destor]

great thread, this will take some thought.

[Wishbone]

Overrated: Hulk Hogan

No but in all seriousness I always thought that Ric Flair was a bit overrated even in his prime. Don't get me wrong Flair was great but I think people have definitely blown it out of proportion. As for underrated I gotta say Booker T comes to mind at least for his WWE stint. Booker could have been so much more for the E than they let him be.

[Nowhere Man]

Are we talking over/underrated in terms of how the company views them, or how us smarky IWC types view them?

[Destor]

Originally Posted by Nowhere Man Are we talking over/underrated in terms of how the company views them, or how us smarky IWC types view them?

i would have the masses myself, wouldnt mind some clarification on that before it do my list.

[Seth82]

to clarify it would be the entire lot of wrestling fans

not by the territory

also just because someone is Overrated doesn't necessarily mean they're a bad wrestler

[JKWJRMON]

Overrated Top 5 no order:
5. Jeff Jarrett
4. Dusty Rhodes
3. Arn Andersen
2. Triple H
1. Ric Flair

Underrated Top 5 no order:
5. Chris Jericho
4. Jake the Snake Roberts
3. Tazz
2. Sabu
1. Jericho

[Shadrick]

Overrated in no particular order, either overrated by a little or a lot...

1. Jeff Jarrett
2. Triple H
3. Kevin Nash
4. Ric Flair
5. Hulk Hogan

Honorable Mention, Rey Mysterio

Underrated

1. William Regal
2. Sheamus
3. Kofi Kingston
4. Cody Rhodes
5. Glacier from WCW
6. Kidman

[Destor]

I re did this several times before i realized it would take me ages to make a list i was happy with so i just went with this one; kept this to just mainstream US:


Underrated


10. Vader
9. John Cena (not a fan, but he isnt half as awful as people wish he was.)
8. Ken Shamrock
7. Rhyno
6. Dean Malenko
5. Lance Storm
4. Fit Finley
3. Booker T
2. Jericho (i know this seems odd but he has never been in the same conversation as the all time greats outside of the IWC and he just... should be.)
1. Benoit (for serious.)

Overrated

10. Road Worriors
9. Mic Foley
8. Kevin Nash
7. Sting
6. The Dudleys
5. Brian Pilman
4. Edge
3. The Ultimate Worrior
2. Bret Hart
1. The Rock

[BollywoodSingh]

UNDERRATED
-John Cena - not as bad as everyone makes him out to be. His matches aren't always great, but they aren't so bad. I think he consistently has decent matches at least.
-Booker T - Always thought he was a great in-ring wrestler but I don't think his in-ring ability is talked about much.
-The Dudley Boyz - I don't know about in TNA, but when they were in WWE, they were having solid matches all the time.
-DDP - Didn't become a star until he was well into his 40s. For his age, he was solid.
-Steve Austin - his neck injury slowed him down and he was no longer the good technical wrestler he was. But I think he did more with the brawling style of wrestling than anyone did. He still had so many great matches in 2001, even after his neck surgery.
-The Rock - people don't really talk about his in-ring work much because he was a great technical wrestler, but he was always so quick and fast-paced in the ring.
-Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow - 2 of the best big men ever.

OVERRATED
-Undertaker - seems to only have good matches at Wrestlemania. He has had way too many bad matches to be called the best big man ever.
-Kane - I can't think of one great Kane match. His ring style is so slow and boring.
-John Morrison - People think he's a great in-ring wrestler. I think he's good, not great. He has a unique style that I like. But his matches always seemed more like a performance than something competitive. Matches should be worked to make it seem like a competitive struggle, rather than just a series of moves.

[Nowhere Man]

Okay, so going by the idea that they're over and under-rated by the fans, here's my list.

Overrated:

10) Christian- Before I get tarred and feathered and run out of town, I actually quite like Christian. He's very good in the ring and just as good if not better on the mic. But a lot of people put him in the same echelon of godliness as Jericho or Punk or early-00s Angle, and frankly, he's just not that same caliber. He is very good at what he does, but there's a line between 'very good' and 'legitimately great,' and for my money, Christian is juuust short of it, which is why he's on the list.

9) The Rock- The Rock has had too many great, memorable, quotable promos to count. Great and memorable matches, on the other hand, are few and far between. Sure, he wasn't bad, per se, but they were very rarely anything special. And holy crap, his Sharpshooter looked horrible.

8) Raven- I was a huge mark for Raven back in the day; he looked cool and sounded cool on the mic. But he was only ever mediocre in the ring, and sure as hell hasn't gotten any better with age. Hell, even his cool voice has gotten all nasal and whiny sounding in recent years. Not to mention he's allegedly a massive asshole backstage.

7) Alberto Del Rio- He's pretty capable in the ring, but his promos are so repetitive and forced that they're unbearable. Yet for the last year or so, a huge chunk of the wrestling forum crowd has creamed their pants over the guy, and I can't for the life of me figure out why.

6) Triple H- Don't get me wrong; Trips has had some excellent matches and can cut a really good promo when he's fired up. But I don't think he would be anywhere near where he is without the WWE hype machine working overtime to get him over. When he first got pushed to the top, the fans pretty much flat-out rejected him as a main event heel until Mick Foley more or less died for his sins three months in a row. The less said of his World Title reign of terror in '03-'04, the better. I'm not saying he couldn't have gotten over and became legendary on his own; I'm just saying he didn't.

5) Jeff Jarrett- As much as Triple H is infamous for being a politicking douchebag, at least he eventually got over. Jarrett has pretty much zero redeeming value for me.

4) Rob Van Dam- This is another guy I like, but have to admit that he probably shouldn't be held in as high regard as he is. RVD's always been pretty sloppy in-ring, and his promos are generally awful. I think the main thing that kept him over for so long was just that he has a unique look and wrestling style.

3) Kevin Nash- Nash has always struck me as an unprofessional asshole who only ever got pushed thanks to knowing the right people. His matches pretty much universally sucked, and he couldn't draw to save his life unless it was involving the nWo. Nash is to wrestling what Rob Liefeld is to comics; a hack who doesn't give a shit about his craft and never makes any effort to get better despite doing it for decades, yet still gets work because he picked the right friends. Funny promo guy, but that's about it.

2) Sabu- Back in the glory days of ECDub, Sabu was God, despite the fact that I don't think I ever saw him finish a match without blowing at least one major spot. The guy was so sloppy he made RVD look like Dean Malenko, and seemed to have little concept of in-ring psychology, yet he was worshipped anyway. I could also include Sandman in this list for the exact same reasons.

1) Randy Orton- I couldn't see the appeal in Orton when they first pushed him into the main event in 2004, and eight years later I still haven't been convinced. Everything he does is just so.....bland. His matches are okay at best, his promos are forgettable, and even his look is pretty generic. Is he good enough to have a spot on the show? I guess. Is he good enough to be one of the 'icons' of the current era? Not by a damn sight.

Dishonorable Mentions: Scott Hall, Jeff Hardy, Hulk Hogan, Mr. Anderson, JBL


Underrated:

10) Chavo Guerrero- Chavo might not have been in the same league as Eddie, but he was pretty damn good on his own. And not only that, he was willing to take a lot of incredibly stupid shit and make it work--very few people could've pulled off Kerwin White.

9) Al Snow- Yes, he got over with the head gimmick and mostly just dicked around in the Hardcore division, but Snow was also really good in the ring, and never really got a chance to show off what he could do. There was an old ECW match from around 1995 with a pre-head Snow and Chris Benoit that was a really good example of how talented the guy was, aside from just hitting people with trash cans and stuff.

8) Mike Awesome- It's a real shame that he went over to WCW the way he did, only to more or less get buried and forgotten, because Awesome was a hell of a talent. Hell, he pretty much single-handedly stole the show at the first One Night Stand, and yet he wasn't even offered as much as a tryout from it. Damn shame.

7) Jerry Lynn- He can't promo to save his life, but the guy was one of the true unsung heroes of the later days of ECW, and then went on to become one of the even more unsung heroes of the early days of TNA and ROH, helping guys like Styles and Daniels get over.

6) Goldust- Switching gears from gushing over old ECW alumni, Goldust has almost always been above average in the ring and usually hilarious on the mic, but nobody ever seems to have anything for him to do, so he just kind of flounders and gets forgotten.

5) Rhyno- Okay, back to gushing over ECW folks. Rhyno was always one of my favorite 'monster' wrestlers, and one of the very few people who could do a spear and make it look like it hurt. WWE tried to push him a little bit during the invasion, but quickly gave up and never really used him in any decent capacity, before he found his way to TNA and got lost in the shuffle much the same way.

4) Diamond Dallas Page- DDP was a hoot, and while he did get a good amount of time in the main events of WCW (maybe even a little too much), he was completely unappreciated everywhere he went after that. Even as a jobber in WWE, he was entertaining--the motivational speaker gimmick was a riot. While it's probably better that he stays retired or making yoga videos or whatever it is he does now, it's a shame that he's gone largely overlooked in recent years.

3) Kane- I loves me some Kane. The guy's a consummate professional, willing to do just about whatever stupid bullshit WWE throws at him. And even though right now he's got a good solid program terrorizing Cena and pals, for about two-thirds of his career he's been slogging through embarrassing garbage like Katie Vick or being the straight-man to comedy wrestlers like Hurricane. The fact that even after all that, he's still over like a beast, speaks volumes about the guy.

2) John Cena- I get why people boo him; because he's the WWE's "product" and a solid mega-face and he spent way too long being pushed as indestructible. But as a performer, the guy is seriously the goods. He's been able to put on extremely good matches, and is always very good on the mic. If it weren't more "cool" to rag on the good guy, I think Cena would be regarded much more highly than a lot of fans give him credit for.

1) William Regal- He's like Chris Benoit, only with a fun foreign accent and without the insanity and murder. The guy is one of the best grapplers the company has ever had, but never ever ever gets utilized as anything but fodder for whoever they feel like pushing this week.

Honorable Mentions: Booker T, Finlay, Stevie Richards, Dean Malenko, Ultimo Dragon

[MoFo]

Overrated
- Raven
- Kane
- Samoa Joe
- Steve Corino
- Davey Richards
- William Regal
- Matt Hardy
- Bret Hart
- Andre The Giant
- SHELTON BENJAMIN



Underrated
- Nova
- Rhyno
- Mike Awesome
- Crash Holly
- Ken Shamrock
- Ultimate Warrior
- Test
- Kanyon
- Umaga
- Jake Snake

[Road Warrior]

Overrated

10. Owen Hart
9. New Age Outlaws
8. Jeff Hardy
7. Harley Race
6. Rey Mysterio
5. Arn Anderson
4. Jeff Jarrett
3. RVD
2. The Rock
1. Sting

Underrated

10. Dustin Rhodes
9. Rhyno
8. Vader
7. Big Show
6. Barry Windham
5. Ted Dibiase
4. William Regal
3. Jake Roberts
2. Ricky Steamboat
1. Rick Rude

[MVP]

Overrated
10. Scott Hall
9. Diamond Dallas Page
8. Booker T
7. The Rock
6. Kevin Nash
5. Sid Vicious
4. Randy Orton
3. Scott Steiner
2. Goldberg
1. Batista

Underrated
10. D'Lo Brown
9. Earthquake
8. Mark Henry
7. Christopher Daniels
6. Bam Bam Bigelow
5. Samoa Joe
4. Jake "The Snake" Roberts
3. A.J. Styles
2. William Regal
1. Rick Rude

[RiX1024]

In no order

Underrated:

William Regal
Billy Kidman
Paul Burchill
Nova
Mike Awesome
Shane Douglas
Marty Jannetty
Brian Pillman
Jerry Lynn
Lance Storm

Honorable mention: Test, Ted DiBiase, Kanyon and Jake Roberts

Overrated:

Hulk Hogan
Ric Flair
John Cena
Rey Mysterio
Jeff Hardy
Jeff Jarrett
Kevin Nash
RVD
Lex Luger
Bret Hart

Honorable mention: Big Daddy (UK wrestler) and Ultimate Warrior

[MisterLee]

In no particular order...

Underrated
1. Santino Marella
2. THE USOS (SERIOUSLY)
3. William Regal
4. John Cena
5. Golddust
6. Kurt Angle
7. Booker T
8. Mark Henry
9. Kofi Kingston
10. Justin Gabriel

Overrated
1. MICK FOLEY
2. Undertaker
3. HULK HOGAN
4. Jeff Jarrett (Hate this guy)
5. Kevin Nash
6. Ric Flair
7. Arn Anderson
8. Daniel Bryan
9. Zack Ryder
10. Matt Hardy

[JKWJRMON]

Originally Posted by Destor I re did this several times before i realized it would take me ages to make a list i was happy with so i just went with this one; kept this to just mainstream US: Underrated 10. Vader 9. John Cena (not a fan, but he isnt half as awful as people wish he was.) 8. Ken Shamrock 7. Rhyno 6. Dean Malenko 5. Lance Storm 4. Fit Finley 3. Booker T 2. Jericho (i know this seems odd but he has never been in the same conversation as the all time greats outside of the IWC and he just... should be.) 1. Benoit (for serious.) Overrated 10. Road Worriors 9. Mic Foley 8. Kevin Nash 7. Sting 6. The Dudleys 5. Brian Pilman 4. Edge 3. The Ultimate Worrior 2. Bret Hart 1. The Rock

Seriously Benoit and Jericho are better than what they are given credit for.

[JKWJRMON]

Originally Posted by mlee719 In no particular order... Underrated 1. Santino Marella 2. THE USOS (SERIOUSLY) 3. William Regal 4. John Cena 5. Golddust 6. Kurt Angle 7. Booker T 8. Mark Henry 9. Kofi Kingston 10. Justin Gabriel Overrated 1. MICK FOLEY 2. Undertaker 3. HULK HOGAN 4. Jeff Jarrett (Hate this guy) 5. Kevin Nash 6. Ric Flair 7. Arn Anderson 8. Daniel Bryan 9. Zack Ryder 10. Matt Hardy

Good lists!

[Destor]

Originally Posted by JKWJRMON Seriously Benoit and Jericho are better than what they are given credit for.

i can see why you would say that about jericho, so i wont argue. but post murder suicide benoit is treated like he's never had a good match. easily makes him top my list.

[Attitude99]

Overrated:

1. Hulk Hogan
2. Ultimate Warrior
3. Kevin Nash
4. John Cena
5. Randy Orton
6. Goldberg
7. Jeff Jarrett
8. Triple H
9. Scott Steiner
10. Lex Luger

Underrated:

1. Owen Hart
2. Chris Benoit
3. Dean Malenko
4. Rick Rude
5. Mr Perfect
6. Chris Jericho
7. Ricky Steamboat
8. Christian
9. Booker T
10. Kane

[Nicky Fives]

Overrated (no order):

1. Hulk Hogan
2. Ric Flair
3. Goldberg
4. Ultimate Warrior
5. Arn Anderson
6. Triple H
7. Rey Mysterio
8. Legion Of Doom
9. Dusty Rhodes
10. Mick Foley

Underrated (in particular order)
1. The Undertaker (the guy doesn't get the respect he deserves)
2. Owen Hart
3. Chris Benoit - he killed his wife and kid, but he made crappy wrestlers look like $1,000,000
4. "Diamond" Dallas Page
5. Scott Hall - just imagine if he could have kept "his demons" in check
6. Jake "The Snake" Roberts - see above
7. Dean Malenko
8. Test - a complete package that never got his break
9. William Regal - could have been main event in early 2000's, but never really given the chance
10. Rhyno - WWE screwed him over

[Seth82]

alright here's my Overrated list in no particular order

Overrated:
1. Gino Hernandez - decent talker but thats it
2. Kurt Angle - was good at one time but his TNA stuff is bad
3. Edge - I liked his gimmicks but his overacting and weak looking finisher are awful
4. Dynamite Kid
5. Dory Funk Jr - was a decent worker but was just plain boring and lacked any personality
6.Bruiser Brody - He had a few great matches here and there but his entrances were the most exciting thing about him
7. Undertaker
8. Nikita Koloff
9. Sid Vicious - truly awful despite WWE & WCW trying to push him
10. Sabu - yeah he was fun to watch but damn he was sloppy

[XL]

Jeff Jarrett is an interesting one for me.

Lots of people have him on their Overrated List and I get why, he was a guy pushed to the moon in WCW and, of course, in TNA to little or no effect. So, he was overrated by Russo and he obviously rated himself quite highly when booking TNA.

BUT...

Because of all that I feel he is really underrated by the IWC. The guy can talk, he can be comedy gold on the mic/in promo, his interactions with Karen are great, his programmes with Angle and Hardy this year were top notch in places AND he put both guys over. That MMA stuff he did was incredible. Dude should be given a break IMO.

[Indifferent Clox]

Over
Hogan
The rock
Cena
Orton
Batista
Goldberg
Jeff Hardy
sting
ultimate warrior


Under
regal
Malenko
Mike quackenbush
Johnny saint
Hayabusa
Perry Saturn
golddust
Kiwada

[#1-norm-fan]

Too confusing. I'm gonna make mine based on what people here probably think of people...

[El Fangel]

Overrated

Hogan
Lesnar
Batista
Goldberg
Ric Flair
Mysterio
The Great Khali
Cena
Umaga
Abyss

Under
Benoit
Regal
Raven
The Rock
Triple H
Eddie Guerrero
Bradshaw
Angle
Jericho
Rob Van Dam

[#1-norm-fan]

The Great Khali? I thought you stopped watching in like 2005. Hmm...

[Destor]

i would love hear the argument for rvd being overrated

[El Fangel]

Originally Posted by #1-wwf-fan The Great Khali? I thought you stopped watching in like 2005. Hmm...

I am on a wrestling site, I'm not completely oblivious to everything that has gone on in wrestling due to that.

And I have heard a fair share of how awful the guy is.

Originally Posted by Destor i would love hear the argument for rvd being overrated

He was underrated in my lists bro.

[Destor]

oops, i meant underrated.

[XL]

Who's perspective is your list coming from FAngel?

Who underrates Angle? He is (or at least was until recently) an IWC God. As are Jericho and Eddie.

Are you saying that they are/were underrated by their employer(s) or by the "casual fans"?

[Seth82]

alright here's my Underrated list in no particular order

1.Terry Funk - his hardcore stuff overshadows what a great wrestler he is
2.Jerry Blackwell - damn good worker for a big man
3.Rick Martel - great scientific wrestler
4.Buddy Rose - helluva bumper and fantastic psyche
5.2 Cold Scorpio - one of the best in ring wrestlers in ECW
6.Ron Garvin - fantastic brawler & underrated grappler
7. Brad Armstrong - just as talented as his dad in the ring
8.Tracy Smothers - great tag team wrestler/brawler
9.Shane Douglas - his profanity laced promos made folks forgot how good he was
10.Michael Hayes - great brawler and fantastic talker

[Corporate CockSnogger]

A bunch of these lists are a bit daft because of the difficulty in determining how somebody is over or underrated.

Don't mean to pick on FAngel as his list wasn't the only one, but looking at his undderated list, he constantly switches between the wrestler being underrated by the business and by the internet.

Originally Posted by Fallen Angel Overrated Under Benoit Regal Raven The Rock Triple H Eddie Guerrero Bradshaw Angle Jericho Rob Van Dam

There's absolutely no way he can be saying the likes of The Rock and Triple H are underrated by the people in the business as they're pretty much in the very highest echolon of the industry, so it seems to me that he believes their actual wrestling ability, mostly judged by the IWC, is where they are underrated.

And on the flipside, there is no way he can think Guerrero and Angle are underrated by the IWC as they're pretty much regarded as two of the best ever, so it would seem he thinks they're underrated in the way the way they were used in the industry.

[Eklipse]

Overrated: (funny that most are in TNA)
5.) The Miz
4.) Jeff Hardy
3.) RVD
2.) Hulk Hogan
1.) Ric Flair

Underrated (no particular order)
5.) Kane
4.) Taka Michinoku (I thought he was freaking awesome)
3.) William Regal
2.) Goldust
1.) Sheamus

[Seth82]

Pat Patterson is also pretty underrated

unfortunately most remember him as Vince's stooge during the attitude era

[whiteyford]

And for winning that tournament in Rio

[Destor]

Originally Posted by Seth82 Pat Patterson is also pretty underrated unfortunately most remember him as Vince's stooge during the attitude era

honestly i always thought he was pretty awful

[glanville6]

Awesome topic. I am glad to see people here who agree that Cena is underrated in the ring. Love the boos on TV, yeah...gimmick, not very good. But I've been to three Wrestlemanias. His matches have been pretty damn good. HHH vs Cena was ok. Loved HBK-Cena. Everyone expected Edge and Jericho to be pretty good at Mania 26, while Batista and Cena was supposed to be...ughhh. Loved that match.

Not a big fan of Super Cena, but he isn't as bad in the ring as most people say

[glanville6]

As for my list, I can only go as far as since I've watched, and only WWE since 1998...although thats pretty much whats been talked about, anyway.

No particular order

Overrated
1. Chris Benoit- Not a fan of too much technical stuff, bored when I saw him live.
2. Rey Misterio- Too much of the same thing.
3. Scott Steiner- Didn't see him in his tag team heyday.
4. RVD- He came into WWF strong and by 2004, didn't care about him.

Thats all I can do for overrated.

Underrated-
1. I'll agree with those Cena people.
2. JBL
3. John Morrison- He was pushed and all that, and was popular...but his work is awesome.
4. TAKA Michinoku
5. Stevie Richards...or even Steven Richards- loved him in any gimmick he had.

[Mr. JL]

UNDERRATED

2 Cold Scorpio

That is all...