Lt. Palumbo
Hank Scorpio
On again off again watcher of a wrestling TV show
Posts: 6,067
|
Post by Lt. Palumbo on Dec 21, 2015 7:58:48 GMT -5
Reading a Finn Balor thread there got me thinking.
I remember going out to shows in Bray and seeing him and there was just this clear sense in the building that this guy was going on to do great things.
Seamus by contrast, who wrestled for a rival Irish promotion at the time was honestly quite surprising (to me at least), while he was a decent hand, nothing stood out massively, except his size I suppose, he was a big guy by Irish standards. I feel like he may have had a very good agent and so got more media exposure which may have helped (Although it's also possible that I'm confused about that, it may have been a post-IWW heel gimmick that he had, like "going Hollywood", I wasn't keeping up with the scene at that point). Not a knock on him either here btw, I think he's comw on leaps and bounds since IWW.
Anyway, point of the thread is: Who have you see at your local bingo hall/GAA club that you knew would go on to greatness, also who have you seen that you're kind of surprised went on to be as big as they are?
Edit: I'm talking more pre-WWE here, not as much their first appearance on Raw, but whatevs.
|
|
|
Post by "Gentleman" AJ Powell on Dec 21, 2015 8:03:59 GMT -5
I saw Drew Galloway vs James Mason in about 05/06 for the ASW title. Was a real good match, ended with Drew getting clotheslined and kicking Mason in the balls as he fell, getting him DQ'd. He then got on the mic and cut a promo about how he should get a rematch etc, and if we wanted to see him win the title, we better go to the show that evening!
I did not go to the evening show.
Oh, and the same event saw a tag match of TNT (Two pudgy dudes) vs Lightning Kid (Skinny high flyer, actually rather good, albeit about 15) and the debut of BARRI (A.K.A Mason Ryan)
|
|
Johnny Flamingo
Hank Scorpio
Killing the business one post at a time
Posts: 6,494
|
Post by Johnny Flamingo on Dec 21, 2015 8:06:44 GMT -5
CM Punk - Didn't see him in person early but saw plenty of matches before he made it to ROH and started getting mainstream press. Solid in ring and knew how to get reactions from the crowds. Also one of the few guys that seemed to understand in-ring psychology, even as a young wrestler.
AJ Styles - worked in a small indy fed in Louisiana just as TNA was starting up. Could tell then that he had that "it" factor and would eventually be a major star.
|
|
|
Post by Ryback on a Pole! on Dec 21, 2015 8:32:58 GMT -5
When I watched Irish Whip Wrestling back when it came on the wrestling channel there were maybe 3 guys who stood out, Sheamus, Drew Galloway and Red Vinny.
|
|
|
Post by KobashiChop on Dec 21, 2015 8:59:29 GMT -5
First time I saw Batista on Raw, I knew it. Dude had everything.
|
|
|
Post by eJm on Dec 21, 2015 9:16:42 GMT -5
When I watched Irish Whip Wrestling back when it came on the wrestling channel there were maybe 3 guys who stood out, Sheamus, Drew Galloway and Red Vinny. I HATED Sheamus in IWW when I first saw him. He had charisma pouring from him but as a worker, he was absolutely horrid. I freaked out when he was signed then went to ECW but then shockingly, he became competent and then good.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2015 9:23:43 GMT -5
Dolph Ziggler
Chad Gable
|
|
|
Post by floundertime on Dec 21, 2015 9:33:32 GMT -5
Johnny Moxley had it all when I saw him on the independents. He could talk, had the moves, and the look.
|
|
|
Post by radiantsilvergun on Dec 21, 2015 9:45:13 GMT -5
Nigel McGuiness in a perfect world
|
|
|
Post by weaselboy on Dec 21, 2015 10:02:39 GMT -5
Saw Paige wrestle her mum at a Brian Dixon show in Folkestone, thought she did well but wouldn't have guessed in a million years how far she'd go! Next time I saw her she was wrestling in the O2.
|
|
Jobes
Unicron
Posts: 3,199
|
Post by Jobes on Dec 21, 2015 11:00:53 GMT -5
Reading a Finn Balor thread there got me thinking. I remember going out to shows in Bray and seeing him and there was just this clear sense in the building that this guy was going on to do great things. ...and we're still waiting.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Dec 21, 2015 11:01:08 GMT -5
Kevin Owens. The second I saw Kevin Steen walk out on ROH: Race to the Top Tournament Night 2, I just felt that he was going to be one of the biggest things in wrestling.
|
|
ERON
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,780
|
Post by ERON on Dec 21, 2015 11:08:45 GMT -5
Even back in his "Stunning Steve" days, I knew Steve Austin was going to be huge eventually. I remember watching WCW Saturday Night with my high school girlfriend back in '93 and telling her, "That's Stunning Steve Austin. I think he's going a big star in the next few years." And she just rolled her eyes and gave me this, "Whatever, dude," look.
|
|
CubsFan71
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,260
Member is Online
|
Post by CubsFan71 on Dec 21, 2015 11:16:26 GMT -5
I'm going way back with this one. Back in the mid 80s I remember watching Ivan Koloff wrestling on NWA World Championship Wrestling on Saturday night against this jobber. The jobber stood out to me because of his size. I thought a guy that big should be more than a jobber. That jobbers name? Ray Traylor
|
|
Matt
El Dandy
Posts: 8,655
|
Post by Matt on Dec 21, 2015 11:24:08 GMT -5
Brodie Lee aka Luke Harper
|
|
|
Post by MrElijah on Dec 21, 2015 11:25:52 GMT -5
The Rock. Yes they tried to force from the get go but for some reason something screamed future star/World champ..
|
|
|
Post by Alice Syndrome on Dec 21, 2015 11:39:53 GMT -5
I saw AJ Styles' dark match vs the Hurricane. I knew there was something about him.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2015 11:42:05 GMT -5
When I was growing up as a kid and watching John Cena. I don't quite remember his debut, but I do remember him pre-jorts.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2015 11:59:13 GMT -5
When I first saw Kevin Steen back in 2004, he was a goofy-looking babyfaced guy in a Mr. Wrestling singlet, murdering cruiserweights with head-drops and coming out to Drowning Pool. If you'd told me he would go on to become one of the most acclaimed talents on the indies, get signed to WWE, cleanly beat John Cena, and be rumored to face Brock Lesnar...it would've been so unbelievable as to be absurd.
|
|
|
Post by Ludwig Kaiser’s Walk on Dec 21, 2015 13:05:44 GMT -5
When I was growing up as a kid and watching John Cena. I don't quite remember his debut, but I do remember him pre-jorts. One of my friends in HS had people over for the Rumble a bit after he became Thugsanomics. When he came out rapping, we all stopped what we were doing and were locked in. That was the moment that I knew he was going to be a star.
|
|