Wrestlers who gave back and those who didn't

[Swiss Ultimate]

I’m just thinking about how a lot of wrestlers have died or had their careers end due to injury. It seems like a lot of yesteryear’s talent has vanished almost completely. Of course, then there’s the exceptions like Ric Flair who has been consistently contributing (like it or not) to the newer generations of wrestlers. So, I’d like to make a list of both the wrestlers who didn’t give back and the wrestlers who did and/or still do.

Wrestlers who gave back:

• Hulk Hogan, despite the fact that I don’t really like him at all and despite the politics and burnt bridges, Hogan has managed to energize the business long after I would have assumed his fans would have given up. He made a lot of big stars in his heyday like Giant Paul Wight, Lex Luger (to some extent), everyone associated with the N.W.O. and for that I have to give him some credit.
• Ric Flair, nuff said.
• Sgt Slaughter, helped push a lot of superstars with his sparse returns to the ring in his trademarked Bootcamp matches.
• Shawn Michaels, a tremendous athlete who has helped more young talent out than anyone I can think of.
• Rowdy Roddy Piper, a personal favorite of mine, definitely did his part to contribute the business.
• Bret Hart, continued training the next generation of mat technicians
• Taz, has had a definite impact on the sport and continues mentoring the next generation (as he tries to hype them up from the announce booth)
• Jeff Jarrett, though I haven’t enjoyed him since his white tights, tassels and bejewled past, he has helped out a sizeable portion of the indie-scene.
• Steve Austin, actually goes on both lists, he did a lot to help out the business before getting the point where he can no longer wrestle. As was pointed out to me, he definitely built up Jericho, Angle, RVD, Edge before he got to that point. However his current absence is sorely felt around the business.
• The Rock, before leaving the WWE for Hollywood Rocky did his best to legitimize the locker room, The Rock lost a lot of big matches before leaving, Lesnar, Goldberg, Angle to name a few. Still on both lists.
• Chris Jericho, someone who I can see taking a Ric Flair role down the line, Chris is constantly giving back to the business.
• Terry Funk, nuff said.
• Mick Foley, man made Triple H look like a monster, has continued to work for the business.

That list of course is not exhaustive.

Those who did not give back to their full potential:

• Steve Austin is someone who could have been a sort of mix between Terry Funk and Ric Flair if it weren’t for his forced retirement. If he was still around giving 6-7 matches a year the business wouldn’t be where it is now (in my opinion).
• The Rock, he has so much potential to make a difference in the business but, he has seemingly very little interest in returning some of his momentum to the business that made him.
• The Jobber (you know who I’m talking about)…hurt the business with his exit, never returned what he got.
• Eddie G.: The business got a whole lot less versatile when this ring veteran passed.
• Ultimate Warrior: Halloween Havoc
• Brock Lesnar, should be a 9-time world champ by now, left the business on a sour note. Maybe he’ll return after he retires from the UFC? Doubtful.
• Goldberg, I don’t blame this completely on the guy but, he ended Bret Hart’s career and because his character was designed to be a no-selling super-monster of the likes John Cena can’t imagine it was nearly impossible to give back to the business.
• The Nasty Boys, still mooching off the talent of younger and more deserving wrestlers.
• Kurt Hennig/Mr. Perfect, guy still had a lot to offer to the business before he passed.
• Jake the Snake, once the go-to guy for promo-work and cerebral matches, now a shambling old addict, a leech on he business.
• Glacier…heh