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05-03-2004, 12:58 PM
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#1 |
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Posts: 2,064
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Top 5 Overlooked or misused
I'd like to start a topic about overlooked talents. So, who in your opinion(s) are the top 5 most overlooked talents of all time? Misused, or not recognized for their great talents and accomplishments in the world of professional wrestling. Mine are in no particular order.
1. Bobby Eaton. The Dangerous Alliance was a great faction, and Bobby Eaton was one of the contributing factors to its greatness. This guy was high flying in WCW before many other people. Bobby Eaton is most often never recognized, but in my mind he was definitely one of the top tag team wrestlers of his generation. Anybody else remember him hitting the light when he went off the top? 2. Tully Blanchard. To me, Tully is the "forgotten Horseman." He was the mid-carder of the group, but in my opinion he definitely had the potential to main event. His cage match with Magnum TA in '85 was awesome, and Tully's role as US Champion was great for the Horsemen. His work in the WWF with Arn was also good. 3. "Ravishing" Rick Rude. The average fan will remember Rick as being one of the most dominant Intercontinental champions of his era. Rude was the PERFECT heel. He flaunted his stuff, and he knew he was one of the best. He was misused, yes, but also overlooked in my opinion. (There was more to Rick Rude than "What I'd like to have right now...") I'll remember Rude for his great matches wherever he worked. 4. Curt Hennig. Now, he was actually the perfect heel if you want to get into it. The Mr. Perfect character is one of my favorites of all time, and this guy knew how to get heat. He was never given anything above a mid-card title, which I think is a shame. Proof of his greatness can be found at SummerSlam '91. where he and Bret Hart competed in one of the best Intercontinental title matches in the history of the WWF/E. 5. Owen Hart. They never knew how to use this guy properly. "The Blue Blazer." Please. "The Rocket." With Koko B. Ware?!? You have GOT to be kidding me. This guy had more ability than Bret, but they never realized it. Last edited by Marc the Smark; 05-04-2004 at 12:13 PM. |
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05-03-2004, 01:25 PM
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#2 |
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Fthagn?
Posts: 10,042
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As of right now (last two-three years), I'd have to say Sean O'Haire, Rhyno, Raven, Lance Storm, and Yoshihiro Taijiri were the most misused wrestlers (at least in the WWE).
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05-03-2004, 01:34 PM
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Over Like Rover
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05-03-2004, 01:36 PM
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#4 | |
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Fthagn?
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05-03-2004, 01:58 PM
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#5 |
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Forum Happy Cat
Posts: 7,884
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most badly used by WWE?
I'll sum it up in 2 words. Ultimo. Dragon. very probably the best cruiserweight in the world, and because they didn't like his style, he got buried. Can you imagine the kind of matches he and Rey Jr could have had in WWE with enough time? |
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05-03-2004, 02:10 PM
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05-03-2004, 02:32 PM
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Part time poster
Posts: 22,963
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Chris Kanyon, Raven, Lance Storm and Bam Bam Bigelow for a start were all hugely misused. At least Owen Hart got somewhere. Other guys like Shane Douglas, Barry Windham and Curt Hennig got as far as their attitudes and outside the ring problems would take them. I would nearly put Raven in that catagory however he was in a perfect spot in WCW to be a main event star along with Jericho and Konnan and they blew it big time and his WWE run was a joke.
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05-03-2004, 02:40 PM
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Taller than Adam Cole
Posts: 10,876
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I often site the Midnight Express as the best Tag Team of all Time, (Freebirds second, then Legion of Doom), his work with Arn Anderson was boss, too. I think Barry Windham should have been given the Luger push, and Luger get pushed off a cliff. Bam Bam Bigelow, it's sad. You have a 300 lb. guy with an amazing look and can actually move around the ring. Why NOT give him a mouthpiece and roll with it? Then there's JYD, a guy who was as over as Hogan, maybe even moreso. Same deal with Jimmy Snuka.
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05-03-2004, 02:55 PM
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#9 |
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Part time poster
Posts: 22,963
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JYD wasn't as over as Hogan. Hogan was in a league of his own in the 80's and JYD's in ring skills were the shits really. Snuka probably could have been a little better off but his major drug problems and murdering record got him further than it ever should have in my opinion.
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05-03-2004, 02:59 PM
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V1-ahhhhhhhhhh
Posts: 117
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Tajiri was not misused, he won the tag titles and won the cruiserweight title and he has a feud on TV!
Matt was misused but he currently has a feud. Squash matches with kane NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
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05-03-2004, 03:14 PM
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#11 |
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\m/(-.-)\m/
Posts: 1,456
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right now in the wwe the top five overlooked or misused wrestlers go like this:
CHRIS JERICHO: he has what it takes to be in an hour long iron man match. he can be very entertaining on the mic. he has the charisma to be a strong face (even though he makes a better heel). in all seriousness, it almost seems like there has been a deliberate conspiracy to bury this guy. KANE: kane has been so buried over the years, that it doesnt even make sense anymore that Bischoff tries to intimidate people by telling them "tonight, you have a match with KANE!" the worst part of it all is that Kane has talent. his matches arent great, but he is great on the mic, and he plays his gimmick very well. and it is a great gimmick, but one that the wwe, for what ever reason, is unwilling to push. VAL VENIS: the proof that Val Venis is mis-used is the fact that he is still called Val Venis. it is a nowhere gimmick and it is unfortunate that he has had to revert to it just to get on television. the guy has been a curtain jerker (pre-ppv match) numerous times. the guy is solid in the ring, and can cut a good promo (and i'm not talking about the cheesy 'Val Venis gimmick' promos. he would make a good intense face or heel, and wwe has him doing this stupid Val Venis crap. it sucks. MATT HARDY: clearly the more talented of the Hardyz. however, i am not going to cum all over myself over Matt Hardy. lets face it. his mic skills basically suck, and he lacks charisma, which is probably why he cant separate himself from the WORST thing on television, LITA. he is pretty solid in the ring, and is being misused as fodder. my prediction is that Kane will be victorious in their feud, which really wont do anything to improve either wrestlers' credibility. JBL: is being misused. how's that, you ask? because he should not be main eventing and he should not be the top heel in the company-or on smackdown. ive listened to everyone talk about how great he is and how great this new gimmick is. well, ive seen it and it aint that great. he isnt talented enough to make the gimmick seem any better than what it is- a 'cheap heat' gimmick. my wife is from Mexico. her mother lives in Juarez, Mexico and visits every Thursday. and btw, I am a Border Patrol Agent. i am not a sensitive or a politically correct guy. but trust me, that sh.it when he was in the desert definitely was NOT cool. |
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05-03-2004, 03:30 PM
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*Oh Sh*t*
Posts: 19,302
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well 5 is a rather small number but I'm sure it can be worked with
Tajiri takes my #1 spot. I loved Tajiri in ECW. The guy was nothin short of awesome. I could not wait until he came ot the WWE. He finally arrives and it starts out ok but now look at him. He's been watered down to like almost a mere shadow of himself. He has teh talent and abilities to be a top cruiserweight and they send him to Raw to be buried. Notice that is what usually happens when you are sent to Raw... you get buried. And speakin of burial... Kane takes the #2 slot. Kane was supposed to be a monster. Kane was supposed to be unstoppable. After the mask was taken off it started off that way then he couldnt' beat Shane McMahon for anything. He was scared of Shane McMahon. He barely won that then loses at Mania to a Cowboy. A badly dressed cowboy at that. I mean talk about bad... Take has been out since November and returns in March and beats a guy that has stayed in the ring all that time. Then Backlash comes and it's Edge. The guy has a cast on his arm and Kane still cannot beat him. Kane loses again and this time to Edge. The monster has been tamed and is now no more dangerous than a cute cuddly kitty. Which leads me to my third person. Matt Hardy... and no he has nothin to do with a kitty. But Matt was the man on SD! I would watch SD! just to see what he was gonna do and hear what he was gonna say and watch his matches. He was gold on SD! and then where did they send him? Raw.  He started out aight but got buried and now is in a jobber pit. It's like he cannot escape it for anything. The pull is so great and heavy on him that noone can save him. He is burnin with Kane in there. And now they both are in a feud... hopefully one of the two will get somethin good out of this feud... hopefully.#4 O'Haire was super misused. Luckily he is out of his contract and is already elsewhere so I won't stay on this boat too long but I will sail to my fifth choice... Ultimo Dragon. If you look in the dictionary for misuse... you will see Ultimo Dragon. The guy is gold... was gold... and will be gold. Vince didn't like his style so he had to start jobbin. He had to tone down his style... slow it down for the wrestlers. I don't think i can stop at 5 so I'll just go one more. RVD- the guy could have been champion. He had a large fanbase. He had it all goin for him and WWE look at it and ignored it. Probably tried to alter it and edit the chants to make it seem like the shamp was still more popular than RVD but after they dropped the ball that year they had a second chance and still dropped the ball. Talk about suckin they could have used him in a big way and chose not too. Other notables: Raven, Saturn, many others |
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05-03-2004, 05:43 PM
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Hello
Posts: 7,696
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05-03-2004, 05:49 PM
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Mas Vagina Porfavor
Posts: 11,343
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1. Lance Storm - Very talented technical wrestler, has the look of a menacing champion, should be main eventing in WWE right now.
2. Ultimo Dragon - Same thing everyone else said. 3. Rob Van Dam - Still the same stale face he's been since 2001, still jobbing in midcard hell to the "DUD"-ley Boyz, and if I see him paired up ONE more time in some silly tag team I'm going to vomit. Also should be main eventing by now. 4. Billy Kidman - Last time I saw him do anything special was when he was carrying his feud with Hulk Hogan in WCW back in 2000. Excellent crusierweight superstar who hardly gets any notice. Should at least be in the upper midcard. 5. JBL - The best way to use him, is not at all. 
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05-03-2004, 06:22 PM
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05-03-2004, 06:31 PM
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That's how I roll!!!
Posts: 4,437
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1. Raven
2. Rob Van Dam 3. Lance Storm 4. Matt Hardy 5. Tajiri |
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05-03-2004, 06:40 PM
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#17 |
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Hello
Posts: 7,696
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You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Red Hot Scott again
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05-03-2004, 06:40 PM
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Hello
Posts: 7,696
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You could just give it back
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05-03-2004, 06:52 PM
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05-03-2004, 06:54 PM
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Ball So Hard University
Posts: 8,450
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1) Ultimo Dragon
2) Tajiri 3) Rob Van Dam 4) Val Venis 5) Steve Blackman (Although he was awesome during the Hardcore Title era.) |
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05-03-2004, 06:56 PM
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#21 |
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Hello
Posts: 7,696
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Click on the tick/cross box next to my green light. Under my poor* rep
*cheap rep pop |
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05-03-2004, 07:00 PM
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#22 |
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Now. Here. Man.
Posts: 8,370
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Man, where to even begin? I can think of a good dozen or so from present-day right off the top of my head. There's tons of former ECW big-names I could rant on and on about (most notably Raven and Tazz), but I want to find the ones that are completely and totally the most deplorable mis-handling of talent. And since I didn't start watching wrestling until the late 90's, I can't really talk that much abut the classics, so these will be over the past five or six years. So, in no particular order....
Ultimo Dragon- quite arguably the best Japanese wrestler ever. The guy can work puro, lucha, whatever you want. And what did they do with him? Nothing. The man could've had MotY caliber matches with Rey Mysterio or Eddie Guerrero or Tajiri (just watch matches from his WCW tenure to see what I mean), and yet the only thing anyone will remember him for now is slipping during his entrance at Wrestlemania. Tremendous: the guy whose name should be up there with the Lygers and Mysterios of the world will now be placed forever alongside the Shockmaster and Mean Gene dropping the F bomb at Survivor Series. (Oh, and while I'm talking about awesome cruisers who've been utterly destroyed for no reason, I might as well give mentions to Billy Kidman, TAKA Michinoku, Sho Funaki, Matt Hardy, Jerry Lynn, Essa Rios, and Shannon Moore. God knows nobody wanted to see them; we need more Bradshaw, dammit!) Chris Jericho- I am not exaggerating when I say this man should be the top name on Raw right now. He's got absolutely everything you could want in a wrestler: the technical skills of a Hart, the high-flying antics of a Guerrero, and he can work the mic like nobody's business. During the Rock/Jericho feud in the midst of the InVasion, he was regularly getting cheered as much or more so than Rocky (who was at the height of his popularity at the time) But no, Hunter didn't like him. That's why he's perpetually stuck below even the Intercontinental Title level, while Randy Orton is being groomed for the main events. Glenn Jacobs- I'm not big on hosses, but Jacobs is one of the few who is a consistently decent worker, has good psychology when it comes to when and where to break out the standard hoss power moves, and seems like a true professional when it comes to his job. So why is he a walking poster for Wrestlecrap? Seriously, look at his long line of woeful gimmicks. First, he was dressed up like an evil Christmas Tree to fight Jerry Lawler in Memphis. Next, he actually had to wrestle as an evil dentist, a concept so ridiculous and insane that it's not even funny to mention anymore. After that, he was forced to pose as Kevin Nash in an attempted ratings grab that blew up in WWF's face (funny, since Jacobs is superior to Nash in most aspects). And finally, he was given a Jason Voorhees-ripoff character for what should've been a short-lived feud with Taker. Instead, the gimmick's been around for about seven years now, with more twists and turns to the character than a roller coaster, only roller coasters are usually fun. So while he's been in a quasi-main-event status for pretty much his whole run as Kane, he's still put up with absolutely ridiculous angles. Lenny Lane and Lodi- Unlike Billy Gunn or Chuck Palumbo, these guys never really did recover from their gay gimmick. Neither of these guys really had any direction before they were teamed up, but afterwards, the only place for them to go was down. It's a shame, too, because they really weren't half bad. Most guys who are buried or given stupid gimmicks can bounce back in the indies or what have you, but these guys' careers are now completely screwed. The Renegade- I know I said I'd only do the past five or six years, but this really deserves mention. I wish I knew the guy's real name, since it feels wrong to refer to him by the name of one of the worst gimmicks ever. He was a decent worker from what I've heard, but instead of letting him make it or break it on his own, WCW decided to break him themselves by making him a shameless blatant ripoff of the Ultimate Warrior. The fans shit on it, and he was out the door before you even knew it. He never really recovered from that, and later killed himself. I don't particularly know how good or bad of a worker he was, but I think booking that's bad enough to ruin a man's career and drive him to suicide is pretty awful. Honorable mention goes to roughly the entire midcard of the WWE roster, and most anyone who ever worked for WCW- especially the guys who are too big to be cruisers but not really big enough to be heavyweights. Don't even get me going here with all the names, but suffice to say there's enough of them to start a whole new promotion. |
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05-03-2004, 07:01 PM
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Ninja Mod, Esquire
Posts: 12,676
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This list is basically for WWE only...
#1 Tajiri: Basically the same reasons Superslim gave. #2 Tazz: Same reasons as Tajiri... Had a good start, then nothing.. He'd be #1 if he hadn't retired #3 Diamond Dallas Page: WWE had no clue what to do with him, and he suffered for it. #4 : Ultimo Dragon : The guy is fricking amazing, yet he gets nothing. #5 Raven : Great ring psych and great mic work... He could have done anything from wrestle to announce, yet they dumped him. |
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05-03-2004, 07:04 PM
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Total Non-Stop Apologist
Posts: 4,430
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Brian Pillman
People here talk about how Ultimo Dragon, or Tajiri is the greatest Cruiserweight of all-time, apparently, they never saw Flyin' Brian go to work. Sure Pillman couldn't do high flying moves like Ultimo, and he couldn't deliver awesome stiff kicks like Tajiri, but he could do everything great. He was able to pull off the "courageous little guy" gimmick to perfection with his ring psycology and mic skills. He was able to pull of the "super arrogant snob heel" with is ring psycology and mic skills. He was also able to pull off the "loose cannon" gimmick with his ring psycology and mic skills. The true test of a wrestler is how they can expand there character, and that's what Pillman excelled at. And the most prestegious belt he ever held was the WCW Tag Team Titles. This guy should have been a staple in the US & IC title hunt for years, but no... Taz When I came to TPWW, I always used to talk about how crappy ECW was just to get a rise out of all the mainstays here. It basically was me being a jerk. When you look over tapes of Taz wrestling, sure he was small but he had that intimadation factor down to a tee. I wouldn't expect that Taz would be a WWE World Champion, but c'mon not even Intercontinental Championship for the human suplex machien? Talk about under used. He went from ECW champ to commentator in less then three years. |
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05-03-2004, 07:41 PM
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Fthagn?
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05-03-2004, 07:43 PM
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Hello
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05-03-2004, 10:20 PM
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Guest
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K, I have nothing to add. Lammy and Nowhere man basically nailed it.
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05-03-2004, 10:21 PM
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Guest
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05-03-2004, 10:32 PM
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Inno Knows.
Posts: 43,710
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Taz got lost in the shuffle when he got hurt. He was about to win the IC title from Benoit which would have been a great technical match. If you watch ECW tapes you can see these guys go at it and they can. Taz getting buried by Jerry F'n Lawler was one of the biggest travesties to happen in the WWF.
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05-03-2004, 10:39 PM
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Spammy Certified
Posts: 46,111
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Smackdown Talent
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05-04-2004, 12:19 AM
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Posts: 2,064
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Another name for the list - Billy Kidman. When will he get his shot?
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05-04-2004, 04:10 AM
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Taller than Adam Cole
Posts: 10,876
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I could make the same argument with Jake, had he come out 10 years later, stayed off the blow, or was anywhere BUT in Hogan's shadow, he could have been the top face or heel. |
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05-04-2004, 12:28 PM
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On top of that, for a guy who nobody has mentioned, had oodles of talent but never got anything remotely resembling a push, Brad Armstrong. He ranks alongside Bobby Eaton and Lance Storm for great workers who never got the kudos they deserved (OK, Lance got a push in WCW, but asides from that at least...). Finally, just to be completely different, am I the only one who thinks Bryan "Adam Bomb" Clarke could have gotten bigger and better things? |
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05-04-2004, 12:53 PM
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TPWW's Glass Ceiling
Posts: 5,793
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Vader
While he was used correctly in WCW and made them some good money (in addition to giving them great A+ matches), WWE made him into a waste. Here you had a former multi-time World Champion,US Champ, & IWGP Champion,and he goes to WWE to be jobbed to Jake Roberts,Sid Vicious,Shawn Michaels,Undertaker,Ken Shamrock, Mark Henry & others - over and over again. In addition,he never gets the credit he deserves from fans. |
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05-04-2004, 12:56 PM
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Posts: 2,064
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I still remember the time he squashed (President) Gorilla Monsoon (RIP). I thought it was so despicable!
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05-04-2004, 12:57 PM
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TAKE IT EACE
Posts: 27,417
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KoKo B. Ware
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05-04-2004, 01:35 PM
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#3 Diamond Dallas Page: WWE had no clue what to do with him, and he suffered for it
The whole entire time I read the thread, I thought of this guy. Makes me want to cry, he used to be one of the greatest. |
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05-04-2004, 08:11 PM
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05-04-2004, 08:20 PM
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*Oh Sh*t*
Posts: 19,302
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yeah I can't believe that I forgot Pillman. I saw some of his stuff back then and really WWE tends to underuse everyone except for a few choice people.
Henry had the abilities to be somethin... to actually be someone but he had to be a hoss cause he was too big to fly. D'lo had potential to really be someone and now in TNA he is someone and WWE made him to nothin more than a head shaking laughing stock. DDP... what they did with him was nothin short of sad. Former WCW champ, U.S. champ, TV champ. the guy had it all and they have him job to Sara. Vader: although I have to admit I didn't really like him in WWe but that was because they didn't know what to do with him. Over in WCW he was awesome. He was someone to be feared. WWF got him and he was nothin. Simply nothing. and yeah I agree with 91... Brian "adam bomb" Clarke could have been someone if WWE would have used him better than what they did. So many people that I can 't even name them all. |
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05-05-2004, 01:41 AM
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I think he'll always be remembered for his "Loose Cannon" character, when he was wild, out of control, and had industry bigwigs convinced he legitimately lost his mind. His ability to incite a crowd, especially at the ECW Arena, was amazing. And his shoot-type angles were cutting edge. The problem was that this was a time when wrestling was less exposed in the mainstream. His angles and promos were confusing to the casual fans. But to those who understood them, they were masterpieces. |
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