Burst
El Dandy
*inarticulate squawking*
Posts: 8,583
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Post by Burst on Aug 18, 2022 15:53:46 GMT -5
It really is kind of amazing how much the presence of kneepads substantially diminishes the "they're in their underwear" look, and how much the lack of them kind of ridiculously enhances it. Case in point, literally all of Cody's time in Legacy, and more recently, when Josh Woods was on Rampage...   But yeah, even though Suzuki tends to wear the smallest possible wrestling shoes with his gear that are just barely a step above taped feet, he somehow makes it work without it being distracting. I dunno whether that's his MMA chops, his actual chops, or just the Murder Grandpa X-factor, but yeah. |
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tafkaga
Samurai Cop
the Dogfather
Posts: 2,107
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Post by tafkaga on Aug 18, 2022 16:05:23 GMT -5
I think the mid 80's was the first time when there were actually more guys wearing knee pads than not.
So, ignoring everything before that, I would say Greg Valentine was one of the few guys in that era whose lack of knee pads didn't bother me.
Some of the Japanese guys, lacking significant muscle tone, really had that old man in his undies look. Haruka Eigen perhaps being the worst offender with his pot belly. Masanobu Fuchi is another one in his black speedos and white boots, looked like an old man wearing underwear and socks.
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Post by Triangle Lancer on Aug 18, 2022 16:20:32 GMT -5
My problem with a lot of guys without kneepads (let's use Cody as an example) is that many of them have no calves to accentuate their legs. The guys built like this look like their stems could snap at any time. (This is why Kevin Nash wore pants; he's got the bird legs, too.)
Also, a few guys that didn't have calves in the '80s wore the mid-level boots, but had the striped athletic socks pulled to the knee. As a distraction. (A lot of you wore those socks, don't lie.)
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Post by Lizuka #BLM on Aug 18, 2022 16:22:11 GMT -5
I think Ilja Dragunov kind of makes it work mostly since it fits his overall thing of being this average-size Russian guy who's probably been clinically dead for years but is too crazy to stay down.
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Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on Aug 19, 2022 13:38:16 GMT -5
Minoru wore knee pads in Pancrase. I always assumed he switched to his current look to capture sort of a Fujiwara vibe. I might be missing some context though, that’s just a guess. He gets away with it because of his charisma and body language, plus his legs are pretty thick. Cody’s got thinner legs and he always looked more like a star in detailed long tights IMO.
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Post by Citizen Snips Has Left on Aug 19, 2022 19:51:13 GMT -5
Andre the Giant
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Post by Marvelous1LUFC on Aug 20, 2022 21:06:25 GMT -5
Rhyno
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Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,068
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Post by Mozenrath on Aug 20, 2022 21:11:29 GMT -5
With how short his limbs are, maybe it helps him not look gangly like many wrestlers without kneepads look. |
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Post by Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) on Aug 20, 2022 21:57:00 GMT -5
Zack Sabre Jr
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,721
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Aug 20, 2022 22:24:06 GMT -5
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Post by XaviersSS2015hair on Aug 21, 2022 6:21:16 GMT -5
I don't remember Brock wearing knee pads since his 2012 return.
As with Josh Woods, I think with the MMA style trunks the no kneepads look is less distracting.
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Post by XaviersSS2015hair on Aug 21, 2022 6:24:53 GMT -5
It really is kind of amazing how much the presence of kneepads substantially diminishes the "they're in their underwear" look, and how much the lack of them kind of ridiculously enhances it. Case in point, literally all of Cody's time in Legacy, and more recently, when Josh Woods was on Rampage... But yeah, even though Suzuki tends to wear the smallest possible wrestling shoes with his gear that are just barely a step above taped feet, he somehow makes it work without it being distracting. I dunno whether that's his MMA chops, his actual chops, or just the Murder Grandpa X-factor, but yeah. I've heard Cody say he didn't wear kneepads simply because it looked different. I also heard him say that not wearing them is the reason he needed knee surgery a few years ago. So, in the long run was it really worth it? |
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Bad Moon
Unicron
for reasons known only to the goblins that live in my brain
Posts: 3,091 
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Post by Bad Moon on Aug 21, 2022 7:09:20 GMT -5
 Austin deliberately avoided knee pads in his early career cause he wanted to look like an old school catch-wrestler (kinda invoking the same look as Suzuki who literally IS a Karl Gotch trained old school catch-wrestler) Of course that turned out to be a horrible decision with how his knees ended up by the time he got to the WWF. I don't think it worked for Austin, but I think that's the right context and style you need to make the look work. If you establish yourself as a submission guy you can totally pull it off. Look at Matt Riddle or ZSJ. |
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Post by XaviersSS2015hair on Aug 21, 2022 11:52:12 GMT -5
In the beginning of Rusev's WWE run he didn't wear kneepads, or boots for that matter. Until he suffered a foot or ankle injury. Again, I don't know if it was because of the longer style tights he wore but he pulled the no kneepads look off.
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Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,068
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Post by Mozenrath on Aug 22, 2022 0:16:09 GMT -5
It really is kind of amazing how much the presence of kneepads substantially diminishes the "they're in their underwear" look, and how much the lack of them kind of ridiculously enhances it. Case in point, literally all of Cody's time in Legacy, and more recently, when Josh Woods was on Rampage... But yeah, even though Suzuki tends to wear the smallest possible wrestling shoes with his gear that are just barely a step above taped feet, he somehow makes it work without it being distracting. I dunno whether that's his MMA chops, his actual chops, or just the Murder Grandpa X-factor, but yeah. I've heard Cody say he didn't wear kneepads simply because it looked different. I also heard him say that not wearing them is the reason he needed knee surgery a few years ago. So, in the long run was it really worth it? I think it was also probably for the same reason some veterans like Flair wore their kneepads low, that you land on your shins more often than you land right on your knee, anyway. |
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,721
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Aug 22, 2022 23:01:47 GMT -5
 Jumbo Tsuruta |
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Post by XaviersSS2015hair on Aug 22, 2022 23:29:32 GMT -5
Taz, with one, Z.
Tazz, with two, Z's not so much.
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67 more
King Koopa
He's just a Sexy Kurt
Posts: 11,503
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Post by 67 more on Aug 23, 2022 0:32:03 GMT -5
Taz, with one, Z. Tazz, with two, Z's not so much. Still better than his binman look. |
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Post by XaviersSS2015hair on Aug 23, 2022 17:39:36 GMT -5
Taz, with one, Z. Tazz, with two, Z's not so much. Still better than his binman look. I always thought Taz looked like he just got off work at an oil change place in that outfit. "10W-30 or Synthetic, brotha?!" |
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