Who's The Man In Wrestling?

[Dick Hardly]

Guys like Hogan, Warrior were huge talents and the business wouldnt be what it is today without them.

"The business" is in the toilet right now. But I wouldn't blame Hogan and Warrior for that. Vincent Kennedy McMahon and Eric Bischoff are primarily to blame.

Its popular at the moment to diss any worker who isnt a technichal wrestler and label them talentless which is bullshit. They way these pricks talk is as is wrestling were real and a shoot.....Benoit, Hart, Michaels are actors and personality's above anything else. Hogan concentrated little on his in ring work because he has charisma by the bucketload and was way over with the fans...He didnt need to imitate the Dynamite Kid .

I agree. Guys get over because they bring something to the table that elicits a response from the fans. There are varying degrees. Hogan and The Rock have tons of charisma. Benoit and Eddy Guerrero have tons of wrestling ability. Jericho and Kurt Angle have tons of both. I would never question Hogan's long-term impact on professional wrestling. I also can accept him being on a list of "all-time" greats. Jim Hellwig, however, is another story altogether.

As Ric Flair says, wrestling is entertainment and "telling a story". Its not trying to show how many belly to belly suplexes and submissions you can pull of in a single match. That doesnt excite the kids. All the top superstars contribute in there own special way and should be ackowleged for it. If you want a shoot go watch the UFC....

You've quoted one of the greatest of all time, regarding "telling a story," so I have to agree. But even he would admit that some of the kids are excited by suplexes... afterall, it's helped guys like Taz, Angle, and Benoit get over and tell their stories. Like you said, the ones who get over all contribute in their own special ways. Some use the microphone; others use a suplex. One is not more important than the other. They can either work together or be used seperately to compensate for deficiencies in other aspects.

I admitted that Hellwig and Goldberg brought "good looks and some charisma" to the table. It's just my belief that McMahon and Bischoff, respectively, should probably be more credited for them getting over. Consider their inabilities to draw over the long term in other environments. That's something I could never say about Hogan.

 

[don_equis]

This post is very entertaining (me used to beign a hardcore wrestling fan) because of all the different views and all the points you guys make are good and valid, there's no eternal truth when it comes to who ya think the man is in wrestling. I voted for Hogan, his character and script during his prime (after he beated the Iron Shiek in '84) was that of an unstoppable force. Most fans today never got to see how huge and muscular of a monster Hogan was back in the days, he would not only make guys like Batista, The Rock, Goldberg look like kids besides him he would have run over them like a wild Rhino. Yeah we could all agree that everything is scripted, but the moves are real and the beauty of it comes when they make a move look so believable yet they manage not to harm each other, that is talent. Flair on the other hand I never liked, I hated him, but guess what I can't ignore his influence not only in the south but in Japan and even in the caribbean ( that mofo made it to Puerto Rico and started shit over there too) for that I have respect for what he has done to wrestling and I do agree that Vince and Bischof have fucked up things pretty bad. Making Lesnar a champion so then he can just leave and what the hell is JBL doing with the championship tittle??

 

[Sutty]

who is or was he?

Big Daddy was the greatest English wrestler ever. When I was a young kid, they used to have wrestling on a Saturday afternoon on TV. People my age will remember the likes of Giant Haystacks (r.i.p), Mick McManus, Les Kellet and Pat Roach. But nobody was as good as Big Daddy. These guys were fat, they didn't have muscles like the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

 

[don_equis]

I was always told it was Chris Adams...but I think it was British Bulldog David Boy Smith.

 

[Dick Hardly]

I remember that Big Daddy was a big deal in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, when British professional wrestling was regular televised in the U.K.

To the best of my knowledge, people in the U.K. only know Davey Boy Smith from the WW(F)E.

I would have to say the greatest wrestler I've ever seen from the U.K. is Billy Robinson.

 

[don_equis]

I also forgot to mention the following:

The Fabolous Freebirds- from Bad Street USA...bad ass trio

The Powers of Pain-Road warriors clone, but pretty good.

Doom- (Ron and Butch)

Rowdy Roddy Pipper- isnt he from england? (he was pretty evil in his days)

Stan Hansen, Bob Backlund, The Funks (all of them), The Von Erics(all of them)...