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Most Disappointing Wrestlers in History


JaymeFuture

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So for our podcast this week, we're going to talk about some of the most disappointing wrestlers in history - guys that for whatever reason just fell short of expectations.

 

It can be somebody you really thought was going to make it and as it panned out just didn't have the goods, or it can even be a guy you had heard a lot about that didn't live up to the hype for you personally. But I'm curious to hear people's takes on this - the more detail you wish to go into on the expectations and how they fell off the beaten path the better, and as always, we'll read as many of your picks on the show as we can.

 

So who is it for you, that you see as the most disappointing?

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The MOST disappointing? No, that would be silly. But it seems to me that Maxx Payne should have been a better wrestler and bigger star than he was.

 

Here's a guy who had a unique gimmick (a guitarist who could actually play), had a strong amateur background (All-American wrestler at Iowa State), and got pro wrestling training in the New Japan dojos. He could have at least had a poor man's Bam Bam Bigelow or John Tenta-like career, but he ended up not doing much of anything and never developing into much of a worker. Part of it was on him, part of it was not sticking around in Japan and coming back to the U.S. at a time when being a good worker got you less far than almost any other time in history.

 

And speaking of Bam Bam Bigelow...

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People are going to think I'm trolling, but Shawn Michaels easily. Such a fantastic tag wrestler, but a very weak singles wrestler. I know he has the WWF/E hypse machine behind him, and there are lots of fans who legitimately think he's the best of all time. I don't see it, I see a great athlete who squandered that athleticism for the most part by being a mediocre wrestler most of his singles career.

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would "what could have been" guys fit this even if they were good in their few opportunities? buddy landell is an all-timer in that category...

 

the natural born thrillers in WCW are a good one, as plenty of internet fans saw them as the future and they were certainly five-tool athletes. though i'm not a fan of the devil's advocate gimmick like seemingly everyone else is - it's basically penn jillette on steroids, even down to his look.

 

re: maxx payne, i think part of the issue was that his look screamed "fat greasy metalhead" rather than anything particularly sinister or dangerous. i feel like vader had it even worse in that regard,btw; i heard people back in the day laugh at "that big fat guy with the jockstrap on his face". anyway, maxx is one of the more interesting flameouts to me as well, as his act fit the 90s in a way that pro wrestling rarely did at that point. really good pick!

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The MOST disappointing? No, that would be silly. But it seems to me that Maxx Payne should have been a better wrestler and bigger star than he was.

 

Here's a guy who had a unique gimmick (a guitarist who could actually play), had a strong amateur background (All-American wrestler at Iowa State), and got pro wrestling training in the New Japan dojos. He could have at least had a poor man's Bam Bam Bigelow or John Tenta-like career, but he ended up not doing much of anything and never developing into much of a worker. Part of it was on him, part of it was not sticking around in Japan and coming back to the U.S. at a time when being a good worker got you less far than almost any other time in history.

 

And speaking of Bam Bam Bigelow...

 

That's a great choice. Brian Adams would be a good choice too: New Japan dojo training and was around Portland at the tail end where, if anything, he should have learned how to work and easy basic match from old pros like Rose, Grappler, Borne and whoever else was still around.

 

The Natural Born Thrillers would be another good choice.

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and speaking of Bam Bam Bigelow...

May be my pick on the show if I can justify picking him over a few others...

 

 

I can see why Bam Bam would be a top choice but the guy had solid runs everywhere (even if they were not sustained runs) and he actually headlined Wrestlemania. He's an underachiever the same way Sid is an underachiever.

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Marty Jannetty and Bam Bam are the obvious answers, and they've been mentioned several times already. Yes, they're disappointing, because both of them had the talent to go much further than they did. I can understand the argument that Bam Bam doesn't belong here, but Jannetty definitely does. His singles career paled in comparison to Michaels', and Michaels wasn't that much better (if he was better at all). I also agree with Max Payne. WWF killed his career with that Man Mountain Rock crap. No way could something so stupid get over. In fairness, Max Payne was a dumb name too, but that character and gimmick somehow worked anyway.

 

Some additions to the thread:

 

Ludvig Borga: Beat Tatanka's undefeated streak, and didn't he leave the WWF with his own undefeated record still intact? Lasted less than a year, unfortunately.

 

Nathan Jones: He was shit in the ring, but his vignettes were incredible - some of the best the WWE has ever produced.

 

Sean O'Haire: But I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know!

 

LOD and Steiner Bros. in the WWF: Afterthoughts and footnotes at best. Were they always overrated?

 

DDP in the WWF: Just brutal. So much money thrown down the fucking drain during the botched "Invasion."

 

Carlito: Seemed like he could be the next big thing, but that didn't last long.

 

Lex Luger: Underrated in retrospect. Never quite got the run expected of him.

 

Sting: Never recovered after Starrcade '97, and was always slightly disappointing before that. Never truly "the man."

 

I could go on and on, but that's a good start.

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i think viewing bam bam as a disappointment is more about comparing his smart-fan rep and all his tools (athleticism & look/character) to his actual output in the ring. i doubt many of these folks think he could have been a much bigger star than he already was.

 

It's a tricky question that can be read several different ways. When I was younger I thought Bam Bam was awesome. It's only when I was older that I started realising his limitations. I assume it's something similar for a lot of people here.

 

In that respect my biggest disappointment ever as a kid was finally getting to see Jerry Lawler. I had read all this great stuff about him in the magazines and had seen crazy brawl pictures vs Terry Funk (Goodheart) then when I finally got to watch some early 90s USWA in Sportschannel Europe (I think?) there was this non-fighter looking guy with a belly that was fighting in a little studio in front of 100 people and in half of his matches he was seemingly doing this dated "hiding the gimmick in my trunks" crap. Then he joined the WWF and he was booked to have a semi-competitive match with Jim Powers of all people. Back then deep down I knew it wasn't real but I still was trying to fool myself into thinking it was... and then there was this creepy looking fucker on my TV making my dad go "why do you watch that shit? it's fake".

 

Back then I was also way into AAA with Psicosis and Rey Misterio Jr. doing crazy shit, Liger and Pegasus Kid doing their thing in New Japan, Vader beating people up, the Steiners suplexing motherfuckers left and right... so this made me think this was stone age wrestling.

 

Of course, years later, I became older (and wiser?) and I can appreciate Lawler for who he is and what he does. It took me a while but a decade ago (Smarkschoice board days) I started to appreciate his style.

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i wonder how much jorge gonzalez was paid during his wrestling career. seems like WCW would have thrown way too much at him, which could make him a contender from the "career earnings:production" standpoint.

 

i admit this post came from reading discussion on carson palmer's career following his recent contract extension & ACL tear

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In terms of guys who I thought would have made it, I always think of Ahmed Johnson. He had the look, a great combination of power and agility, and presence. If you saw him at the end of 95 and beginning of 96, you'd believe you were watching a huge star on the rise. But sloppiness, injuries (to himself and his opponents) and other issues stopped all that.

 

As for a guy who did not live up to the hype when I finally saw him, that would be Vampiro. You'd hear him talked up on the net and that he should be pushed or used more in WCW , that he was great, etc. Then when he was showcased more, I was left wondering if they were talking about the same guy.

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Triple H is another odd choice, but one that bears mentioning. He went from a decent wrestler to being a damn great wrestler by 2000. Then he tore his quad and he was never the same. His post quad tear career is super disappointing because he went from great to awful most of the time. In terms of what he showed us he could be for a brief two-three year period and what he ended up being over the course of ten or so years thanks to the injury and his stylistic choices he is very disappointing.

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oh here's another great one: the other half of kronik, bryan clark! for a 90s wrestler he had a 10/10 look, and he seemed to be getting over in WCW with his undefeated streak. there was also a point where i remember him working his ass off in the ring - mabel vs adam bomb from the first in your house PPV is one of my favorite quick squashes ever, and certainly up there in the "better than you'd expect" department.

 

yet again, just never quite put it all together at the right time.

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Jose will get this one.

 

Hijo del Rayo de Jalisco Jr. aka Hombre sin Nombre aka Rayman seemed to be on the fast track to stardom in 2001 putting on great performances basically setting the template for MIstico 3 years later but his Uncle Rayo de Jalisco Jr. had a falling out with his nephew and he was pretty much politically blackballed but he didn't help himself either by not performing at the level he was at and was eventually banished to Guadalajara and now to random indies.

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A couple of people have mentioned this, but except for Eddy and Rey, and I guess Dean Malenko, WCW had an insane amount of talent in their cruiserweight division and pissed it away. (Along with the rest of the promotion.) With the obsession with unmasking the luchadores (how many Rey mask should they have sold?) and continually booking crusiers with heavyweights to get squashed, there's just so much wasted potential there.

 

As far as others, what about Tom Zenk? Great look, good personality, NJPW dojo-trained and then...nothing of note past 1994. Was he injured?

 

Tom

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Glacier.

 

WCW hyped the shit out of that dude. Then he has this big elaborate entrance & entrance attire & shit and he...just wasn't very good at all. He was a lower midcarder most of his run too. The way they hyped him up with the "Glacier is coming" stuff I thought he was going to be a big deal. Not just a dude with a Sub-Zero ripoff gimmick doing headlock takeovers.

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You could probably argue that Kurt Angle was a disappointment for a lot of folks since he was meant to be the second coming of every great territorial wrestler ever. I'd put him in the same category as a Barry Windham or an Akiyama.

 

My pick for lucha would be Angel Azteca, who I felt could have been a Lizmark/Atlantis/Solar type and wasn't.

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