rose
Tommy Wiseau
Wrestlecrap's resident ginger!
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Post by rose on Jun 29, 2010 3:45:34 GMT -5
I should clarify that I meant specifically when Steve Austin portrayed the "Stone Cold" persona. In his earlier work he was much more athletic, I think.
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Post by quantum on Jun 29, 2010 6:32:45 GMT -5
I would have said Hogan however he had some good to great matches in Japan Nash had a few classics and some of the best matches of the 90's with Hart and HBK and you can only be carried by your 'opponent' so much in a great match. Andre The Giant used to be very agile (70's and early 80's his peak) Warrior (who is most certainly a legend and one of the biggest legends of the late 80's and 90's) had a few great matches against Rude and Macho Man Austin was a great wrestler until after Summerslam 97 and his neck injury. I think this is a lot harder than most people here think.
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Square
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by Square on Jun 29, 2010 9:02:27 GMT -5
EASY, EASY, EASY, EASY
BIG DADDY!
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Post by Perigryn on Jun 29, 2010 9:07:33 GMT -5
I don't know if he's considered a legend, but I'd say Stone Cold Steve Austin. I mean, I always enjoyed his persona: he could cut amazing promos, and he was always entertaining. But, with the exception of maybe two matches (WM XIII and WM XIV), I found him to be really limited. Then again, I don't much care for brawlers. Well, that neck injury limited him a lot obviously. He was a hell of a technical wrestler before that...
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Ken Ivory
Hank Scorpio
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Post by Ken Ivory on Jun 29, 2010 9:44:25 GMT -5
The most popular wrestler of all time was a TERRIBLE worker. Hogan was actually very good in the ring for a man his size. When he dumbed down his style to clotheslines, body slams, and brawling he was just doing what the audience wanted him to do. Fans didn't want to see Hogan using arm bars, wrist locks, and doing hip tosses. They wanted to see Hogan beat people up, so thats what he did. Indeed, didn't Hogan put on some good matches in Japan back in the day? He even did an inzeguri!
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Post by boomhauer20055 on Jun 29, 2010 10:12:21 GMT -5
Has to be the Rock
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2010 10:40:49 GMT -5
Hogan was actually very good in the ring for a man his size. When he dumbed down his style to clotheslines, body slams, and brawling he was just doing what the audience wanted him to do. Fans didn't want to see Hogan using arm bars, wrist locks, and doing hip tosses. They wanted to see Hogan beat people up, so thats what he did. Indeed, didn't Hogan put on some good matches in Japan back in the day? He even did an inzeguri! He also had some pretty good squash matches in AWA.
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The Ichi
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by The Ichi on Jun 29, 2010 13:29:36 GMT -5
I don't know if he's considered a legend, but I'd say Stone Cold Steve Austin. I mean, I always enjoyed his persona: he could cut amazing promos, and he was always entertaining. But, with the exception of maybe two matches (WM XIII and WM XIV), I found him to be really limited. Then again, I don't much care for brawlers. I thought the same until I saw his matches against Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle in 2001. Brawling was his character's style, but when needed to he could pull out the technical stuff. My answer would have to be Warrior. When you can't even pull off a gorilla press without botching, you're a bad wrestler.
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Post by Perigryn on Jun 29, 2010 13:31:51 GMT -5
As Rocky Maivia, I could see that...but he had great matches with a lot of people once he became The Rock.
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Post by quantum on Jun 29, 2010 13:35:38 GMT -5
How about Yokozunna even in 93 (beofore his weight became a real problem) he was pretty immobile. Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks (both british wrestlers and Haystacks wrestled for a while in mid 90's WCW as Loch Ness) are right up there as well.
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rose
Tommy Wiseau
Wrestlecrap's resident ginger!
Posts: 81
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Post by rose on Jun 29, 2010 17:38:29 GMT -5
I've noticed from this discussion that a lot of a wrestler's perceived skill comes from the persona that was portrayed. For instance, it would have been out of character for "Stone Cold" to engage in technical wrestling. Hogan, at the height of popularity, was playing a simplistic character who catered to children. Hence a complicated move set wasn't really needed. Does anyone else have any other examples of circumstantial limitations?
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Post by craigdanbeaton on Jun 29, 2010 17:43:26 GMT -5
I've noticed from this discussion that a lot of a wrestler's perceived skill comes from the persona that was portrayed. For instance, it would have been out of character for "Stone Cold" to engage in technical wrestling. Hogan, at the height of popularity, was playing a simplistic character who catered to children. Hence a complicated move set wasn't really needed. Does anyone else have any other examples of circumstantial limitations? No but I have to agree with this. Austin was popular for being the everyman brawler, could you imagine if say... he and Mick Foley (Another guy that kept with his reputation as a brawler ever though he was a decent technical wrestler) were to suddenly start exchanging arm bars and stuff instead of DDT-ing each other on cars? The crowd would have crapped all over it. Austin could still go technically, I'd say his 2001 run proved that well (His Angle and Benoit matches in particular).
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Post by neal on Jun 29, 2010 17:54:00 GMT -5
Hogan sucked badly. He had about two moves and all his matches followed the same format- beatdown, hulk-up, second wind for the win. That being said, the dude had A LOT of charisma and iconic status, both in WWF and in nWo (at least for the first year).
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Post by "Handsome" Whitey Fats on Jun 29, 2010 18:01:43 GMT -5
I don't know if he's considered a legend, but I'd say Stone Cold Steve Austin. I mean, I always enjoyed his persona: he could cut amazing promos, and he was always entertaining. But, with the exception of maybe two matches (WM XIII and WM XIV), I found him to be really limited. Then again, I don't much care for brawlers. A broken neck will do that.
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Post by Ultimo Chocula on Jun 29, 2010 20:45:20 GMT -5
You've made a powerful enemy this day.
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Post by classicadamb on Jun 29, 2010 21:21:36 GMT -5
I don't know if he's considered a legend, but I'd say Stone Cold Steve Austin. I mean, I always enjoyed his persona: he could cut amazing promos, and he was always entertaining. But, with the exception of maybe two matches (WM XIII and WM XIV), I found him to be really limited. Then again, I don't much care for brawlers.[/quot Regarding that first sentence, I just have one thing to say... HUH?!?! If anyone in the wrestling business is a legend, it is Steve Austin.. And considering his very last match was one of the greatest in WM history, I would like to believe he is out of the equation in regards to this discussion.
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Post by Macho Dude Handy Damage on Jun 30, 2010 11:30:22 GMT -5
Snuka was bad in his heyday?
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Post by Snake "The Jake" Roberts on Jun 30, 2010 12:55:26 GMT -5
I can see that you know nothing about wrestling. Ric Flair, Cena. Rock and Bret Hart must be bad too then Drop the attitude. Clearly the man doesn't have an attitude, smartypants, didn't you see the smiley faces denoting a playful mood following the sentence.
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Post by Woooooolhouse! on Jun 30, 2010 13:32:26 GMT -5
I'm going to go into unfamiliar/potentially deadly territory here and say Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. He is clearly a legend in this business, and has a great following now that he is retired and revered for what he gave the business as a manager and as a "Broadcast Journalist." But as a wrestler, he was terrible. He could barely throw a punch, I don't think I ever saw him do a "technical" move beyond a headlock, and never left his feet, apart from leaping from the top rope to deliver a brass-knuckled punch to the head.
But this isn't an insult. Heenan was never suppose to be a "great" wrestler. He was suppose to be the weasely-heel manager who got his cumupence from the face when Heenan pushed them too far. He was suppose to be a terrible wrestler, that was not given any credibility as a threat, and when he won from under-handed acts, it was a shock.
He was a great worker. He could take great bumps, knew when to do what in the ring, and took the beating because the fans wanted it. But he was a terrible wrestler. Because that's what we paid to see.
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Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Jun 30, 2010 13:45:55 GMT -5
I'm going to go into unfamiliar/potentially deadly territory here and say Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. He is clearly a legend in this business, and has a great following now that he is retired and revered for what he gave the business as a manager and as a "Broadcast Journalist." But as a wrestler, he was terrible. He could barely throw a punch, I don't think I ever saw him do a "technical" move beyond a headlock, and never left his feet, apart from leaping from the top rope to deliver a brass-knuckled punch to the head. But this isn't an insult. Heenan was never suppose to be a "great" wrestler. He was suppose to be the weasely-heel manager who got his cumupence from the face when Heenan pushed them too far. He was suppose to be a terrible wrestler, that was not given any credibility as a threat, and when he won from under-handed acts, it was a shock. He was a great worker. He could take great bumps, knew when to do what in the ring, and took the beating because the fans wanted it. But he was a terrible wrestler. Because that's what we paid to see. I get what you're saying, but the argument seems to contradict itself. He played his role perfectly, so I can't look at that as being bad, let alone among the worst.
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