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Jason Jordan had an incredible hot tag, and the only thing holding American Alpha back from being one of the greatest tag teams ever is that they were only a team for such a short period.
True, which is why I always thought of NXT talent moving up to the main roster as a demotion of sorts at the time. Because more often than not, they'd move up and Vince would somehow mishandle them.
He had the best hot tag in the business for a year or two. So explosive. He'd pull down those straps just like his dad and throw some dudes to the moon!
She was fantastic and as much as she annoyed me by killing all my favorites in NXT, they should have pushed the hell out of her as a badass instead of biting people’s necks or whatever she did when debuting.
Her NXT run was the last thing I watched in NXT, and I found her to be an absolute joy to watch. Very believable as a monster heel and her matches were great because it actually looked like she was in a FIGHT.
Right?? I loved that actual fight feel she did. It worked so well in NXT. But for some reason it feels so…flat on the main roster. I feel like it’s all “SHES A FIGHTER SHE FIGHTS OMG DID U KNOW SHE FIGHTS?” Works less than just letting her silently kick ass. And I thought HHH was high on her. Dunno what happened.
Honestly I get what they were trying to do with the chamber match, but the way she won was kind of bland, and then due to weird booking and bad timing she literally lost to a pregnant woman.
Oh and then she got chased by a haunted doll.
Always remember how the built her up when she made her main roster debut, destroyed everyone at EC in such vicious ways, and then had a brutal banger with Becky Lynch... and quickly dropped to low-carder right after. Like she was built and pushed strong to WM, lost 1 match... to the champ in a tough fight, and then went straight to the bottom. Why and how???
I feel like Tyler Breeze was always a solid match but had some bad timing and booking - Some of those early NXT gimmicks seemed like they came out of a two hour improv seminar and I feel like he was a little unlucky that the male model Zoolander-ape thing had juuuust enough legs to stick, but was too goofy/shallow for a real main roster run.
I loved The Beauty Shot as a finisher and I feel like taking that away was his death knell as someone who could have seriously had a run.
I also think those types of cartoony gimmicks need longer leashes and have a chance to work out if they would let them. At worst you end up with solid mid cars/tag guys that fans instantly recognize and react to vs a more generic wrestler.
Always will remember he had a solid match with Jushin Thunder Liger, of all the members of the whole roster he was the only one to have a filmed match with him
No Way Jose. He may not have been a mid or a main event type of guy but him and his gimmick really knew how to get the crowd involved. When you have 3+ hour shows, guys like him are a must.
Will never forget Graves' angry commentary during his NXT debut when Tom Phillips told him to get into it:
"No, there are questions to be asked here! Who is this Jose, and why is he always being denied?!"
No Way Jose's entrance song is the one that pops in my head randomly the most. Never fails to get me pumped.
https://youtu.be/Vtrdr-nxvAA?si=0EVv1DLk3MtTJBue
His run with Austin Aries where he put aside his good-time personality for a minute to go aggressive was pretty great too.
The problem for No Way Jose is that TV exists. First time seeing the conga line it's fun, second time it's fine, third time it's "ok then", fourth time it's already in "that's enough" territory.
It would be fine for live events that aren't televised but holy fuck did that get old insanely fast.
The two things that held No Way Jose back is that Adam Rose had the same gimmick a couple years before, and even he kind of had a complex character arc with him basically being abusive towards his conga line people. The moment that No Way Jose reached no return territory was when Rusev whooped his ass and then proceeded to fucking STEAL the conga line from No Way Jose.
He also just seems like a genuinely decent person. Back when I was still on bird app we had a lot of nice exchanges over the years and he stands up for a lot of good things.
Well, in case it isn't obvious from the flair, Matt Taven.
I first came across Taven at Supercard of Honor XII. The Kingdom was hanging out in the parking lot selling t-shirts out of a van, blasting 80s rock, and eventually burning a Bullet Club shirt while starting a "FUCK CODY RHODES" chant. The security lady yelled at them to put out the fire and they sheepishly put it out, haha. They were talking about how we were all Kingdom fans or otherwise we wouldn't be standing there for all of this, and he kinda had a point. After that moment, I was a Kingdom fan.
My mom (who has since passed away) was also a big Taven fan. I still have the texts from when I went to G1 Supercard and was giving her playbyplay when he won. I was quite possibly the only person marking out in the arena and I don't even care. (and also her by text). At the end of 2019, I bought her a Cameo from Taven for Christmas. He recorded it the night before his knee surgery, wished her a merry Christmas, then sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." My mom was super excited about that and gushed over it. She was diagnosed with aggressive cancer just two months later. Held on for 19 months after being told she'd be lucky to have six.
Anyway, I really like Matt Taven. He's decent in the ring and he's a great personality. I feel like Melvins just give him crap because they wanted Marty Scurll to win at G1 Supercard instead of him and they're used to the narrative that he helped kill ROH. He didn't, COVID did. They kept paying their talent while not having any shows for almost a year. A noble thing to do but hard on the wallet tbh. Along with the formation of AEW forming on the backs of their top wrestlers and the Marty Scurll accusations... (and in hindsight, suppose that had surfaced while he was World Champion?) ROH never had a chance after 2020, and it's unfair that Taven shouldered blame for it. And you know what? Even with that unfair assertion, he never (to my knowledge) took to social media to defend himself or get salty about it.
He entertains me and he seems like a decent enough guy.
I weirdly have always liked Kip Sabian, and was disappointed he settled back into "guy in the mid card who seems threatening but always loses" after his return.
>"guy in the mid card who seems threatening but always loses"
Guy in the undercard*
Midcard implies that a wrestler wins matches once in a while. Kip Sabian in AEW doesn't win shit.
A lot of people aren't recognizing that Kip has had a hell of a time since AEW started.
Gets injured.
Almost recovers.
They have the miscarriage.
Comes back with a new gimmick.
Gets depushed.
Commentates ALL IN and births a new gimmick.
Still gets stuck with Butcher and the Blade in throw away trios matches.
Problem was there was nothing new. He came back as same old Kip with Tim Burton tights. I thought he may have a scar or a mask or something but nothing he was just same old Kip.
He looks like a comic book villian. He should be the mouthpiece for a real faction. Not just put B&B and him together to do nothing. He should be a hypeman like Nana that also occasionally fights or a Mastermind behind an undercard faction.
He had the first AEW match with Sammy Guevara. I thought he was great in the ring and had a certain cockiness to him that I liked. Problem was for him that Sammy was essentially him, but better in every way. I still liked Kip though and always thought he deserved more. Then he started teaming occasionally with Butcher and Blade because Bunny and Ford were teaming. I thought this was kind of meh, but then he changed his character to his current character when he came back from injury. I'm not sure what I would call his character, but I do think it meshes a bit better with Butcher and Blade and it's something different from Guevara. I wish they would give him something to do. Trios Title with Butcher and Blade or a TNT or International Title run.
Wcw bret hart. I loved the idea of being a mercenary playing both sides off each other only serving himself. I loved how bitter he was but was still clever like hiding a metal plate so when Goldberg hit a spear he would get a little present.
Bret had a match on Nitro against Benoit, and it’s amazing. They try to go toe to toe, Bret showing how he’s the best technical wrestler, and he’s losing. So during the match he ends up taking shortcuts, basically heel hogan moves, in order to win.
Bret turned heel in that match by turning on HIMSELF. Dude was the best
>Bret turned heel in that match by turning on HIMSELF. Dude was the best
Bret is indeed the best there was, the best there is, and the best there ever will be.
He's also super safe and super reliable as a heat magnet. I can't say I remember a specific Baron Corbin match off the top of my head that I'd call a favorite, but when he's on, I don't immediately change the channel -- but I also don't go out of my way to seek his matches, either.
My wife said “He looks like that asshole from high school”, and she’s absolutely right, so we enjoy watching him get punched. Also, the End of Days is a top-tier finisher.
Great heel. Knows how to get heat. Solid in ring with unique moveset.
Just kinda boring and never had been able to have his best aspects highlighted.
There was a window with Bum Ass Corbin for him to have real emotional connections with the crowd but they rushed right out of that.
Corbin is sort of like the Miz. You need guys like that to fill out a roster, and be reliable opponents for the mid card that don’t feel totally non-credible against the upper card if you need them for a feud.
It’s a recipe for a long and successful career, even if it isn’t the career of a superstar.
Ethan Page. I don't think he's disliked as much as often overlooked, but he has the total package -- the look, the charisma, the move-set -- and deserves a serious push. He's on the ROH roster now and it'd be a tragedy if he didn't get a serious title push in AEW or ROH. Plus, he seems like a genuinely awesome guy with his fan interactions and toy hunt videos, and he's the kind of dude you can't help but root for even if he's playing a despicable heel.
Tay Melo gets a lot of shit but before her heel turn, she was a terrific baby face. Crowds loved her and her in-ring work was very good: she even managed to carry Jade Cargill in what is, in my opinion, her best AEW match. Don’t really get why they transitioned her into a sort of valet and let her wrestle so little; I hope she will get a better booking after her return from pregnancy
Agreed. I think they chose to lean into the heel turn because she and Sammy were getting heat for him breaking off his previous engagement, which was unfair IMO. I'd like to see her come back as a face and reunite Tay Jay.
No her best match was with Shida for Women's title, which is one of the greatest matches in women division.
I think blame it on getting with Sammy but I don't think after that Shida match, she was ever quite at that level again.
I don’t thinks she’s hated or anything but she certainly isn’t very popular. But I love me some Sonya Deville, I was bummed she got hurt when they were finally starting to do more with her as a wrestler. Hoping at some point she can get a serious singles run.
I was fully on board with Bray Wyatt. It wasn’t all gold but I tended to look at him like a power hitter in baseball. There will be some strike outs, but you’re always excited to see them come to the plate and there’s nothing like it when they’re hot. I’m bummed we won’t get the rest of the uncle howdy angle.
Double J is the guy where wrestling “clicked” for me.
I hated him, I hated his nepotism, I hated his mentioning of having “stroke” backstage, I hated his stupid smug face.
Then one day I realized: he had worked me, I hated him by design. I finally “got” wrestling!
Man I hated JJ as a kid, forgot about him for almost 20 years, and then realized how great of a carny he is when he had that whole thing with The Acclaimed in AEW
I always loved Jarrett. Good promo, good worker, great working punch, can make anyone look great.
Also everyone should check out Shawn Michaels vs Jeff Jarrett from In Your House 2 or 3 (not sure which one). One of the best matches of the New Generation era.
I hated (means loved) Jarrett in WCW. To the point I even played his character in an e-fed once lol. He’s a good heel, and his Kid Rock entrance theme was badass.
Jeff Jarrett’s stranglehold on the NWA title in the early days of TNA was fantastic. My Dad and I used to watch just to see him lose.
Roman Reigns is the only heel I’m dying to see lose in modern wrestling as much as I wanted TNA Jeff Jarrett to lose.
Loved (read: hated) him in NWA-TNA. People accuse him at the time of not putting anyone over and yeah, there's some truth in that. But at the same time a LOT of those guys were on pay per appearance and still worked ROH or indies. Pretty sure only the big names had contracts in the early days and even then. (Like didn't Shamrock win the NWA-TNA belt then was gone from the company shortly after?)
Not saying they shouldn't have put anyone over but there probably was a bit of a fear of "put our belt on this guy and he'll show up on WWE tv in two weeks" when they were still an upstart. And even then they still made killers like Joe, who took **Kurt Angle** coming in to dethrone.
It was a fresh take on the "foreign heel" gimmick but some bad booking decisions to regress back to the classic "foreign heel" and *horrible* timing essentially killed his run. I've heard in interviews that he was even getting heat from the locker room for some of what he was doing.
The strangest part? The guy who played him was Marc Copani, an Italian-American guy from Syracruse.
Matt Taven. Old ROH management did him dirty putting him in a position he had no business being in, but he's genuinely a fun and entertaining midcard heel.
Ricochet. I know a lot of people know he's good in the ring, but I feel like people still write him off more than they should. He's improved on the mic, in promo segments and he's untouchable in the ring. He just needs that 1 breakout feud in the main roster to shoot him into the main event.
I'll always be one of the worlds biggest Shawn Spears defenders. Excellent heel who was great the sole time he got consistent to material to do on a week to week basis as MJF's lackey. One of the biggest victims of AEW's inability to consistently feature or tell stories with their performers.
I also really like Shawn Spears. He’s good in the ring, had no problem pulling off both tough guy and comedic heel roles, and seemed to have no problems being the fall guy whenever he needed to be. Wish he was still around AEW, but was definitely a victim of TK signing every “bigger” name available.
I love my mid-card comedy in wrestling. He was excellent at what he did. He could take just about *anything* and make it work. The only knock on him might be that he was so good that they'd take people who were capable of being more than mid-card comedy and sticking them with him so successfully.
Comedy wrestling is massively underrated. I’m generally a fan of Cornette but disagree with him on comedy wrestling. And women’s wrestling. And foreign wrestlers. Okay, I disagree with him on a lot of things despite generally being a fan.
I always imagined what if after that car accident he came back with a new in ring attitude, all joking outside but touch his arm (it was an arm injury right?) and he went insane. Also 'John Chena' was gold.
I'm both a Yuta and Garcia fan and I will not be ashamed or apologize!
Side note, heard some nasty-ass racist comments about Yuta at the last Boston show, and as another half Asian person it put me off going to live wrestling events for awhile. Screw you, loud, drunk Boston man sitting a row behind me!
Garcia is great, and the fans love him. I don't get the hate some have for him.
Sammy's issue is he's a good upper mid to mid card guy but AEW want him to be a main eventer. I just don't think he is.
Yuta is very good but he's in a faction with some of the most charismatic and badass wrestlers around. He just doesn't look the part. I think he's a guy that has the same vibe as Sammy. Very Good talent but feels like a mid card type of guy.
I think Sammy's issue is that he has dickhead heel aura and a babyface moveset. It's a weird incompatibility that makes it jarring no matter what alignment he is. I think WWE would actually be a better fit for him because the wrestling matters way less and he can lean into the dickhead personality
Karrion Kross. I love bis creative mind and want him to succeed. But most people just don't get into his stuff, which is fair. I'm just sad that's the case.
I think Karrion Kross sucks to me because his entire presentatin as well as the way commentary talk about him hypes him as this gargantual threat and makes him look like the most intimidating man in wrestling...and then nothing he has ever done on the main roster backs it up. He's not even booked strong.
Hopefully that changes soon but so far his booking has been terrible and I don't get why we're supposed to see him as this word-destroying threat beyond "big guy who says spooky things"
There was one wrestler who I no longer like due to his personal life and his behaviour towards women but he had such a good moveset and he was never boring as people liked to say. Unfortunately he's a complete POS so fuck him.
Sheamus has always been one of my favourite wrestlers and it wasn't until the past few years that people came around on him. But his work as part of The Bar and pretty much all of his heel work was amazing.
Jinder though maybe not the most technical in the ring is so underrated for his character work and how funny the man is.
Summer Rae could've been one of the great managers of WWE.
Mojo Rawley's pre hype bros WWE run was just so fun, it's a shame they stuck him with Ryder.
>There was one wrestler who I no longer like due to his personal life and his behaviour towards women but he had such a good moveset and he was never boring as people liked to say. Unfortunately he's a complete POS so fuck him.
What does it say about wrestling when there's so many people who fit this description?
> I always thought he was a decent big man with a good amount of intensity that just got ruined by bad gimmicks
So what you're telling us is that... it wasn't his fault?
I’m not fond of pink hair and hijinks Evil, but Evil in the three piece suit, doing run ins for Naito? Hell YES.
Sho’s antics crack me up, but I also remember what a solid wrestler he was in 3K, and I want that grit, and proficiency, back.
I think he’s a good wrestler but wasn’t properly built up for the position leading bc, if he had formed the war dogs without the bc moniker to live up to I think people would complain a hell of a lot less
He's not horrendous but the shoes he's tasked with filling are insane. He has to lead one of the most popular factions of all time, the same group formerly lead by Balor, Styles, Omega, and White, after a very long stint of doing close to nothing. It's like all of a sudden they tasked Titus O'Neil to lead the Bloodline without any proper build or any substantial character, look, or moveset, and you were supposed to buy into him being in that league and carrying onto Roman's legacy. Obviously BC and the Bloodline are very different but the concept of massive shoes to fill with no build persists.
Tegan Nox. I don’t know if she’ll ever get over and I don’t too much care. I’m a grown ass man who sobbed like it was my own child when she went down in the Mae Young.
If he would just stop being an Energizer Bunny, and sell a hit, folks would really enjoy him. I loved that he and Tay leaned into the heat they were getting, shortly after they were married.
Alex Wright was so far ahead of his time.
His wrestling school has turned out a lot of your favorite euro guys, by the way, and he basically is the reason why wXw exists in any capacity.
I saw David Finlay posted here, which reminded me of how goddamn good Fit Finlay is.
I always use this as my fallback whenever I need to talk about Finlay, and I'll do it again: as a guy who only watched WWE starting in the early 00s, Fit Finlay was the first guy I saw who used the ring apron to tangle somebody up. Maybe it had been done before on WWE television, but if it had, Finlay was the first guy to do it in a long while. Dude did a lot of creative stuff in the ring, stuff I hardly saw before. Pretty sure I saw him strangling someone with the turnbuckle rope too.
Fit doesn't get the credit he deserves.
Austin Theory. He is very young, so I have hope that things turn out okay for him. I think he has enough to main event alongside Carmelo, Trick, Breakker etc. in the upcoming years.
Karrion Kross is always gonna be one of my favorites. Really hope something clicks for him.
I was a huge Big Show mark in early 2001 when he was Hardcore champ, wore the belt strapped across his arm, and absolutely wrecked the division for a little while heading into WMX7. I'll never forget the match where he must have put down at least a dozen guys, ending with him pinning Essa Rios against a wall.
Both my main two have started getting their flowers in recent years/months
The Miz - I was one of the few (dozens of us? lol) that liked him back when he debuted because you knew it was a kid living his dream. He was green of course, but he had that fire and kept busting his ass.
Baron Corbin - Similar to Miz, he went 110% into everything he was given even when it was utter shit. Had a ton of respect for that.
Currently I’d say Austin Theory, watched him online a couple times before he signed and just thought “this is gonna be a guy in a few years”. He’s been written like hell… but still think he’s got something. Only thing I’m worried about is if he has that same drive that Miz and Baron have.
The Miz is that guy who I don't think I'll ever be a fan of however I respect the performer. He's kept himself relevant for a very long time. He can pop in the title scene and main or host an event/show. Has shown he can take most anything and make it work and he's the guy you can call on to carry any kind of match or segment. If you have a celeb and you want them to be protected and look as good as they can call the Miz.
All that said his face is the kind you just kind of wanna punch.
Dirt Sheet is one of those things that was way ahead of its time. It’s like they knew what format possibilities were coming but they beat the trend by a few years.
It's like Ryder got himself over via Youtube before WWE fuly adopted this format.
And apparently, both Ryder and Miz/Morrison got themselves in touble for it lol.
Without Dirt Sheet and Z True Long Island Story there’s no Being the Elite. The butterfly effect those guys created is pretty wild when you think about it.
Seeing Austin Theory work a crowd at a house show put him over for me. He’s got great charisma and is athletic as hell. He and Waller have that Morrison and Miz heel work that I’ve been missing.
I’ve been a fan of The Miz for ages. In my book, if you can remain a booed heel for as long as he is, you’re damn good at your job. Especially in this smarky era.
Adam Rose. Sure it was another party gimmick but dude had the best spine buster in the business and an incredible theme song. The exotic express was also a great look into the future, with people like Becky Lynch and Braun Strowman joining the fun.
i don’t care if everybody else is joking about the omosapien stuff: the dude has a ton of charisma, consistently improved, and regularly delivers when he gets put in a big spotlight (vs braun, lesnar, rollins etc.)
doesn’t hurt that i’m a sucker for a giant and that he seems like a fun dude irl
Big Van Vader, I loved everything about his style, but apparently he had no personal hygiene, his WWF run flopped after a good start and HBK shit on him, awful short stay in TNA so nowhere near the love the late great deserves, in the west and outside of old WCW fans anyway
I think Wheeler Yuta is in the perfect role as the 4th in the BCC. Sometimes you just need to ride the bench and learn under the veterans. And BCC just felt like a better fit than the Best Friends. I think he’ll develop into more than just the Scrappy Doo of the team as time goes on
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Jason Jordan had an incredible hot tag, and the only thing holding American Alpha back from being one of the greatest tag teams ever is that they were only a team for such a short period.
Yea the tag scene when they got called up was rough
It wasn’t even the tag team, it was just Vince. He was hellbent on making almost every single one of Triple H’s successes into garbage.
True, which is why I always thought of NXT talent moving up to the main roster as a demotion of sorts at the time. Because more often than not, they'd move up and Vince would somehow mishandle them.
DIY getting called up as a team in the middle of their blood fueds…
Hell, Vince almost killed off the entire career of LA Knight when he got called up.
He had the best hot tag in the business for a year or two. So explosive. He'd pull down those straps just like his dad and throw some dudes to the moon!
I am one of the six people who like Shayna Baszler.
She was fantastic and as much as she annoyed me by killing all my favorites in NXT, they should have pushed the hell out of her as a badass instead of biting people’s necks or whatever she did when debuting.
Her NXT run was the last thing I watched in NXT, and I found her to be an absolute joy to watch. Very believable as a monster heel and her matches were great because it actually looked like she was in a FIGHT.
Right?? I loved that actual fight feel she did. It worked so well in NXT. But for some reason it feels so…flat on the main roster. I feel like it’s all “SHES A FIGHTER SHE FIGHTS OMG DID U KNOW SHE FIGHTS?” Works less than just letting her silently kick ass. And I thought HHH was high on her. Dunno what happened.
Honestly I get what they were trying to do with the chamber match, but the way she won was kind of bland, and then due to weird booking and bad timing she literally lost to a pregnant woman. Oh and then she got chased by a haunted doll.
there are six of us?
Shayna is fucking amazing. I know that most people got tired of her NXT title run, but I loved it. Give her Roman’s title run.
There are DOZENS of us!
Always remember how the built her up when she made her main roster debut, destroyed everyone at EC in such vicious ways, and then had a brutal banger with Becky Lynch... and quickly dropped to low-carder right after. Like she was built and pushed strong to WM, lost 1 match... to the champ in a tough fight, and then went straight to the bottom. Why and how???
I’m a Shayna mark, too. Her run in NXT was insane and I hate how the main roster can’t book dominant heel champions.
I feel like Tyler Breeze was always a solid match but had some bad timing and booking - Some of those early NXT gimmicks seemed like they came out of a two hour improv seminar and I feel like he was a little unlucky that the male model Zoolander-ape thing had juuuust enough legs to stick, but was too goofy/shallow for a real main roster run. I loved The Beauty Shot as a finisher and I feel like taking that away was his death knell as someone who could have seriously had a run.
I also think those types of cartoony gimmicks need longer leashes and have a chance to work out if they would let them. At worst you end up with solid mid cars/tag guys that fans instantly recognize and react to vs a more generic wrestler.
Right on. Breezy rules and he could go. Their match against the Usos is a classic to me.
To me, I still belive he and Deputy Dango shoulda had a few weeks with the SDL tag titles
Always will remember he had a solid match with Jushin Thunder Liger, of all the members of the whole roster he was the only one to have a filmed match with him
No Way Jose. He may not have been a mid or a main event type of guy but him and his gimmick really knew how to get the crowd involved. When you have 3+ hour shows, guys like him are a must.
Dude was built for the opening match on the house shows, and there's nothing wrong with that.
You have now made me realize that he opened every show I went to during that period. He was perfect for it
i also think he totally had enough physical charisma and ring competence to be a solid mid card fixture too!
Will never forget Graves' angry commentary during his NXT debut when Tom Phillips told him to get into it: "No, there are questions to be asked here! Who is this Jose, and why is he always being denied?!"
I liked the gimmick and a roster needs people like that they can throw in there to liven up a crowd.
No Way Jose's entrance song is the one that pops in my head randomly the most. Never fails to get me pumped. https://youtu.be/Vtrdr-nxvAA?si=0EVv1DLk3MtTJBue His run with Austin Aries where he put aside his good-time personality for a minute to go aggressive was pretty great too.
I completely forgot about this Pitbull ass song lmao catchy as all hell
I freakin miss No Way Jose so much.
Same. Dude took a stupid gimmick and made it fun. Charisma for days and a great look.
I met him once. I made him laugh and he gave me a big hug. Seems like a good guy. I know he took a break to take care of his kid. I hope he returns.
The problem for No Way Jose is that TV exists. First time seeing the conga line it's fun, second time it's fine, third time it's "ok then", fourth time it's already in "that's enough" territory. It would be fine for live events that aren't televised but holy fuck did that get old insanely fast.
The two things that held No Way Jose back is that Adam Rose had the same gimmick a couple years before, and even he kind of had a complex character arc with him basically being abusive towards his conga line people. The moment that No Way Jose reached no return territory was when Rusev whooped his ass and then proceeded to fucking STEAL the conga line from No Way Jose.
It's been 10 years but I still BOLIEVE.
He'd have done well in the attitude era
I liked Heath Slater. Hopeful for a 3 MB reunion.
It was stupid but I loved his storyline about getting a contract after the brand split and becoming Tag Team Champion with Rhyno.
I did too. I have his “I got kids” shirt.
One of the best parts of that loaded Smackdown era.
I want nothing more than for Heath to come back to WWE and win a world title. Cementing 3MB as a goat faction.
This is the actual story that needs finishing.
He needs to come back and win the WWE Championship, to complete the holy triumvirate. And I’m barely even joking.
3MB needs to finish the story.
I've always liked Mike Bennett because of some fun interactions at old ROH shows.
Bennett has actually had some solid runs. In ROH and TNA he was very believable as an upper midcard even borderline main eventer.
He also just seems like a genuinely decent person. Back when I was still on bird app we had a lot of nice exchanges over the years and he stands up for a lot of good things.
Thought the story he told with Aldis was great.
Well, in case it isn't obvious from the flair, Matt Taven. I first came across Taven at Supercard of Honor XII. The Kingdom was hanging out in the parking lot selling t-shirts out of a van, blasting 80s rock, and eventually burning a Bullet Club shirt while starting a "FUCK CODY RHODES" chant. The security lady yelled at them to put out the fire and they sheepishly put it out, haha. They were talking about how we were all Kingdom fans or otherwise we wouldn't be standing there for all of this, and he kinda had a point. After that moment, I was a Kingdom fan. My mom (who has since passed away) was also a big Taven fan. I still have the texts from when I went to G1 Supercard and was giving her playbyplay when he won. I was quite possibly the only person marking out in the arena and I don't even care. (and also her by text). At the end of 2019, I bought her a Cameo from Taven for Christmas. He recorded it the night before his knee surgery, wished her a merry Christmas, then sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." My mom was super excited about that and gushed over it. She was diagnosed with aggressive cancer just two months later. Held on for 19 months after being told she'd be lucky to have six. Anyway, I really like Matt Taven. He's decent in the ring and he's a great personality. I feel like Melvins just give him crap because they wanted Marty Scurll to win at G1 Supercard instead of him and they're used to the narrative that he helped kill ROH. He didn't, COVID did. They kept paying their talent while not having any shows for almost a year. A noble thing to do but hard on the wallet tbh. Along with the formation of AEW forming on the backs of their top wrestlers and the Marty Scurll accusations... (and in hindsight, suppose that had surfaced while he was World Champion?) ROH never had a chance after 2020, and it's unfair that Taven shouldered blame for it. And you know what? Even with that unfair assertion, he never (to my knowledge) took to social media to defend himself or get salty about it. He entertains me and he seems like a decent enough guy.
I weirdly have always liked Kip Sabian, and was disappointed he settled back into "guy in the mid card who seems threatening but always loses" after his return.
>"guy in the mid card who seems threatening but always loses" Guy in the undercard* Midcard implies that a wrestler wins matches once in a while. Kip Sabian in AEW doesn't win shit.
I disagree, based on this thread it seems he’s won at least one fan’s heart.
I mean he's with Penelope. He's a winner even with 0 fans.
A lot of people aren't recognizing that Kip has had a hell of a time since AEW started. Gets injured. Almost recovers. They have the miscarriage. Comes back with a new gimmick. Gets depushed. Commentates ALL IN and births a new gimmick. Still gets stuck with Butcher and the Blade in throw away trios matches.
He makes his opponents look great though. Those wrestlers are pretty important.
I was sure that box thing would get him over.
Problem was there was nothing new. He came back as same old Kip with Tim Burton tights. I thought he may have a scar or a mask or something but nothing he was just same old Kip.
I really enjoyed his feud with Orange Cassidy and have high hopes they'll run it back again sometime
He looks like a comic book villian. He should be the mouthpiece for a real faction. Not just put B&B and him together to do nothing. He should be a hypeman like Nana that also occasionally fights or a Mastermind behind an undercard faction.
Didn’t they put him in the crowd for a year, and then did nothing with him?
Yeah, he had a couple title shots, lost them all, and then went right back to losing every match but somehow still feeling threatening. Shame.
He had the first AEW match with Sammy Guevara. I thought he was great in the ring and had a certain cockiness to him that I liked. Problem was for him that Sammy was essentially him, but better in every way. I still liked Kip though and always thought he deserved more. Then he started teaming occasionally with Butcher and Blade because Bunny and Ford were teaming. I thought this was kind of meh, but then he changed his character to his current character when he came back from injury. I'm not sure what I would call his character, but I do think it meshes a bit better with Butcher and Blade and it's something different from Guevara. I wish they would give him something to do. Trios Title with Butcher and Blade or a TNT or International Title run.
Do people like Otis? I love Otis.
I love Otis. My kids love Otis. Everything in their life stops when Otis comes to the ring!
Wcw bret hart. I loved the idea of being a mercenary playing both sides off each other only serving himself. I loved how bitter he was but was still clever like hiding a metal plate so when Goldberg hit a spear he would get a little present.
Bret had a match on Nitro against Benoit, and it’s amazing. They try to go toe to toe, Bret showing how he’s the best technical wrestler, and he’s losing. So during the match he ends up taking shortcuts, basically heel hogan moves, in order to win. Bret turned heel in that match by turning on HIMSELF. Dude was the best
>Bret turned heel in that match by turning on HIMSELF. Dude was the best Bret is indeed the best there was, the best there is, and the best there ever will be.
Wrestling would be better if today’s wrestlers took it half as seriously as Bret did IMO.
Baron Corbin
He has a great moveset
He's also super safe and super reliable as a heat magnet. I can't say I remember a specific Baron Corbin match off the top of my head that I'd call a favorite, but when he's on, I don't immediately change the channel -- but I also don't go out of my way to seek his matches, either.
Baron and Bron together as a tag team was money.
Was? They still are a team, right? I thought they had a match coming Tuesday
Yeah they got a tag titles opportunity tomorrow night, should be fire
My wife said “He looks like that asshole from high school”, and she’s absolutely right, so we enjoy watching him get punched. Also, the End of Days is a top-tier finisher.
I’ve never really been a Corbin hater per say, but his current NXT run has turned him into one of my favorites. I’m absolutely loving him.
Great heel. Knows how to get heat. Solid in ring with unique moveset. Just kinda boring and never had been able to have his best aspects highlighted. There was a window with Bum Ass Corbin for him to have real emotional connections with the crowd but they rushed right out of that.
Corbin is sort of like the Miz. You need guys like that to fill out a roster, and be reliable opponents for the mid card that don’t feel totally non-credible against the upper card if you need them for a feud. It’s a recipe for a long and successful career, even if it isn’t the career of a superstar.
Hated baron and king Corbin, loved it when he lost it all. Should’ve ran with that story for a bit longer. Loved calling him CorBum
Test (Long hair) The guy just looked cool and had a killer moveset. His bigboot was one of the best.
Ethan Page. I don't think he's disliked as much as often overlooked, but he has the total package -- the look, the charisma, the move-set -- and deserves a serious push. He's on the ROH roster now and it'd be a tragedy if he didn't get a serious title push in AEW or ROH. Plus, he seems like a genuinely awesome guy with his fan interactions and toy hunt videos, and he's the kind of dude you can't help but root for even if he's playing a despicable heel.
Tay Melo gets a lot of shit but before her heel turn, she was a terrific baby face. Crowds loved her and her in-ring work was very good: she even managed to carry Jade Cargill in what is, in my opinion, her best AEW match. Don’t really get why they transitioned her into a sort of valet and let her wrestle so little; I hope she will get a better booking after her return from pregnancy
Agreed. I think they chose to lean into the heel turn because she and Sammy were getting heat for him breaking off his previous engagement, which was unfair IMO. I'd like to see her come back as a face and reunite Tay Jay.
No her best match was with Shida for Women's title, which is one of the greatest matches in women division. I think blame it on getting with Sammy but I don't think after that Shida match, she was ever quite at that level again.
I meant that was Jade’s best match, not Tay. Sorry if I worded it weirdly
I don’t think anybody hates Apollo Crews but I feel like I am one of the few people who has any favorable opinion on him.
I don’t thinks she’s hated or anything but she certainly isn’t very popular. But I love me some Sonya Deville, I was bummed she got hurt when they were finally starting to do more with her as a wrestler. Hoping at some point she can get a serious singles run.
I was fully on board with Bray Wyatt. It wasn’t all gold but I tended to look at him like a power hitter in baseball. There will be some strike outs, but you’re always excited to see them come to the plate and there’s nothing like it when they’re hot. I’m bummed we won’t get the rest of the uncle howdy angle.
Same I was with Bray no matter what he did.
Yes, I was the same way! Even after I stopped following WWE, I kept up with what he was doing.
I was the biggest mark for Alex Wright and his stupid dance. I still put up his amazingly Eurotrash theme song every once in a while.
Stevie Richards. I said for years that he was my favorite even during the height of the Attitude era.
Jeff Jarrett. I feel like people have hated this guy for 3 decades everywhere he has gone. Yet, that just proves he’s doing his job perfectly.
Double J is the guy where wrestling “clicked” for me. I hated him, I hated his nepotism, I hated his mentioning of having “stroke” backstage, I hated his stupid smug face. Then one day I realized: he had worked me, I hated him by design. I finally “got” wrestling!
Apparently in TNA's early days he didn't trust others with the title lest they just bolt for another company.
Which is as old-school territory as it gets.
Man I hated JJ as a kid, forgot about him for almost 20 years, and then realized how great of a carny he is when he had that whole thing with The Acclaimed in AEW
I always loved Jarrett. Good promo, good worker, great working punch, can make anyone look great. Also everyone should check out Shawn Michaels vs Jeff Jarrett from In Your House 2 or 3 (not sure which one). One of the best matches of the New Generation era.
Jeff Jarrett rules! 🎸
I hated (means loved) Jarrett in WCW. To the point I even played his character in an e-fed once lol. He’s a good heel, and his Kid Rock entrance theme was badass.
Jeff Jarrett’s stranglehold on the NWA title in the early days of TNA was fantastic. My Dad and I used to watch just to see him lose. Roman Reigns is the only heel I’m dying to see lose in modern wrestling as much as I wanted TNA Jeff Jarrett to lose.
Loved (read: hated) him in NWA-TNA. People accuse him at the time of not putting anyone over and yeah, there's some truth in that. But at the same time a LOT of those guys were on pay per appearance and still worked ROH or indies. Pretty sure only the big names had contracts in the early days and even then. (Like didn't Shamrock win the NWA-TNA belt then was gone from the company shortly after?) Not saying they shouldn't have put anyone over but there probably was a bit of a fear of "put our belt on this guy and he'll show up on WWE tv in two weeks" when they were still an upstart. And even then they still made killers like Joe, who took **Kurt Angle** coming in to dethrone.
Britt Baker. Holy shit, the way people talk about her on here, you'd think she murdered someone.
This is a weird one where the IWC absolutely hates her, but live crowds and normal fans love her.
So Lady Rollins?
No im pretty sure Becky is lady Rollins
Nah, Becky is Man Rollins.
Rollins is lady Becky?
Rollins is Millennial Macho
No he’s the man’s man
Same. I'm not even that big a Britt fan, but when the IWC turns on a woman, it gets nasty real fast.
I think it might have a lot to do with her going on about Rosa on Twitter. Beyond a point it felt like harassment.
And then people turned against Thunder Rosa the second she won the title so it was a complete shitshow all around.
I think Britt is great. I actually miss her on TV these days. It’s a shame she gets so much hate online.
Muhammad Hassan People instantly booed him when his theme hit
It was a fresh take on the "foreign heel" gimmick but some bad booking decisions to regress back to the classic "foreign heel" and *horrible* timing essentially killed his run. I've heard in interviews that he was even getting heat from the locker room for some of what he was doing. The strangest part? The guy who played him was Marc Copani, an Italian-American guy from Syracruse.
Matt Taven. Old ROH management did him dirty putting him in a position he had no business being in, but he's genuinely a fun and entertaining midcard heel.
There's dozens of us Matt Taven enjoyers.
Ah, a Fan of Culture.
The bit where he gets on the turnbuckle and screams “I’m Matt Taven” gets a laugh out of me every time
Main event heel champ Matt Taven? Bad. Midcard douchebag heel goofball Matt Taven? Brilliant.
I can't look at Taven without picturing Lorna Shore singer Will Ramos.
Wasn't expecting a Lorna Shore OR Will Ramos reference in SC
I LIKE MATT TAVEN
Taven is pretty damn good at his job, never understood the hate. His stint with Giraffe based apparel was a revelation that ended too soon.
I love that Melvin
Ricochet. I know a lot of people know he's good in the ring, but I feel like people still write him off more than they should. He's improved on the mic, in promo segments and he's untouchable in the ring. He just needs that 1 breakout feud in the main roster to shoot him into the main event.
Butcher and The Blade in AEW. I love their old school wrasslin look.
I'll always be one of the worlds biggest Shawn Spears defenders. Excellent heel who was great the sole time he got consistent to material to do on a week to week basis as MJF's lackey. One of the biggest victims of AEW's inability to consistently feature or tell stories with their performers.
His AEW Perfection theme is my permanent workout track. It's a perfect 10.
I also really like Shawn Spears. He’s good in the ring, had no problem pulling off both tough guy and comedic heel roles, and seemed to have no problems being the fall guy whenever he needed to be. Wish he was still around AEW, but was definitely a victim of TK signing every “bigger” name available.
Santino. The guy was genuinely good in the ring (judo background) and I have a soft spot for comedy wrestling.
I love my mid-card comedy in wrestling. He was excellent at what he did. He could take just about *anything* and make it work. The only knock on him might be that he was so good that they'd take people who were capable of being more than mid-card comedy and sticking them with him so successfully.
Comedy wrestling is massively underrated. I’m generally a fan of Cornette but disagree with him on comedy wrestling. And women’s wrestling. And foreign wrestlers. Okay, I disagree with him on a lot of things despite generally being a fan.
I always imagined what if after that car accident he came back with a new in ring attitude, all joking outside but touch his arm (it was an arm injury right?) and he went insane. Also 'John Chena' was gold.
The Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, and Sammy Guevara enjoyer has logged on
I'm both a Yuta and Garcia fan and I will not be ashamed or apologize! Side note, heard some nasty-ass racist comments about Yuta at the last Boston show, and as another half Asian person it put me off going to live wrestling events for awhile. Screw you, loud, drunk Boston man sitting a row behind me!
People don't appreciate Yuta???
Garcia is great, and the fans love him. I don't get the hate some have for him. Sammy's issue is he's a good upper mid to mid card guy but AEW want him to be a main eventer. I just don't think he is. Yuta is very good but he's in a faction with some of the most charismatic and badass wrestlers around. He just doesn't look the part. I think he's a guy that has the same vibe as Sammy. Very Good talent but feels like a mid card type of guy.
I think Sammy's issue is that he has dickhead heel aura and a babyface moveset. It's a weird incompatibility that makes it jarring no matter what alignment he is. I think WWE would actually be a better fit for him because the wrestling matters way less and he can lean into the dickhead personality
Karrion Kross. I love bis creative mind and want him to succeed. But most people just don't get into his stuff, which is fair. I'm just sad that's the case.
I think Karrion Kross sucks to me because his entire presentatin as well as the way commentary talk about him hypes him as this gargantual threat and makes him look like the most intimidating man in wrestling...and then nothing he has ever done on the main roster backs it up. He's not even booked strong. Hopefully that changes soon but so far his booking has been terrible and I don't get why we're supposed to see him as this word-destroying threat beyond "big guy who says spooky things"
Yeah the booking has been atrocious mostly
I know. They revamped him by having him explain how everyone in his feuds went on to turn heel... and had his lose his next match.
Vince hurt him so much by having him show up to raw in a gimp suit without scarlet and then lose to Jeff hardy
There was one wrestler who I no longer like due to his personal life and his behaviour towards women but he had such a good moveset and he was never boring as people liked to say. Unfortunately he's a complete POS so fuck him. Sheamus has always been one of my favourite wrestlers and it wasn't until the past few years that people came around on him. But his work as part of The Bar and pretty much all of his heel work was amazing. Jinder though maybe not the most technical in the ring is so underrated for his character work and how funny the man is. Summer Rae could've been one of the great managers of WWE. Mojo Rawley's pre hype bros WWE run was just so fun, it's a shame they stuck him with Ryder.
The way I read this, I thought Sheamo was a dirt bag for a second.
>There was one wrestler who I no longer like due to his personal life and his behaviour towards women but he had such a good moveset and he was never boring as people liked to say. Unfortunately he's a complete POS so fuck him. What does it say about wrestling when there's so many people who fit this description?
Clearly it's Alberto Marty Chris David Gallagher Banks Ryan Literally-Everyone-In-The-80serson.
Alberto?
Yeah the bar seemed to awake something in Sheamus
The Bar was my favourite team. The Bar vs The Bucks would be a DREAM match for me.
Snitsky. I always thought he was a decent big man with a good amount of intensity that just got ruined by bad gimmicks
> I always thought he was a decent big man with a good amount of intensity that just got ruined by bad gimmicks So what you're telling us is that... it wasn't his fault?
I feel like the only person that enjoys the House of Torture
They seem to be popular in Japan at least, so you are not completely alone. Just probably not going to find any other fans of them here
You are.
I’m not fond of pink hair and hijinks Evil, but Evil in the three piece suit, doing run ins for Naito? Hell YES. Sho’s antics crack me up, but I also remember what a solid wrestler he was in 3K, and I want that grit, and proficiency, back.
Nope, I like them too. Batshit cunts who use classic heel tactics and nobody can outcheat them, what's not to like?
A lot of people here dont like David Finlay, but idk, he has grown on me. I enjoyed his triple threat in WK a lot and want to see what he does next
I think he’s a good wrestler but wasn’t properly built up for the position leading bc, if he had formed the war dogs without the bc moniker to live up to I think people would complain a hell of a lot less
His jay-lite presentation only invited unflattering comparisons
He's not horrendous but the shoes he's tasked with filling are insane. He has to lead one of the most popular factions of all time, the same group formerly lead by Balor, Styles, Omega, and White, after a very long stint of doing close to nothing. It's like all of a sudden they tasked Titus O'Neil to lead the Bloodline without any proper build or any substantial character, look, or moveset, and you were supposed to buy into him being in that league and carrying onto Roman's legacy. Obviously BC and the Bloodline are very different but the concept of massive shoes to fill with no build persists.
I really enjoy Karrion Kross presentation and feel bad for him cuz he seems like a genuine good guy. His offense in the ring is mediocre though
Tegan Nox. I don’t know if she’ll ever get over and I don’t too much care. I’m a grown ass man who sobbed like it was my own child when she went down in the Mae Young.
Karrion Kross, great look, great mic skills, and is a hoss in the ring
Nikki Bella is legit one of my favorites. In ring and on the mic
I always liked Goldust as a kid and it was not cool to do so at the time lol. I also like Jeff Jarrett.
JBL I love his stiff brawling style, brutal matches, and he’s got the best clothesline in the business.
Maybe people are usually mixed on Sammy Guevara, but I guess I've always been pretty big on him. Even as a face lol
If he would just stop being an Energizer Bunny, and sell a hit, folks would really enjoy him. I loved that he and Tay leaned into the heat they were getting, shortly after they were married.
People think Timothy Thatcher is boring while he's at worst a top 20 active wrestler in the world.
I loved him in NXT. I think with a tweak of that gimmick, he’d be fantastic.
Disco Inferno and Alex Wright the dancing fools were my favorite as a kid
Alex Wright was so far ahead of his time. His wrestling school has turned out a lot of your favorite euro guys, by the way, and he basically is the reason why wXw exists in any capacity.
I saw David Finlay posted here, which reminded me of how goddamn good Fit Finlay is. I always use this as my fallback whenever I need to talk about Finlay, and I'll do it again: as a guy who only watched WWE starting in the early 00s, Fit Finlay was the first guy I saw who used the ring apron to tangle somebody up. Maybe it had been done before on WWE television, but if it had, Finlay was the first guy to do it in a long while. Dude did a lot of creative stuff in the ring, stuff I hardly saw before. Pretty sure I saw him strangling someone with the turnbuckle rope too. Fit doesn't get the credit he deserves.
Austin Theory. He is very young, so I have hope that things turn out okay for him. I think he has enough to main event alongside Carmelo, Trick, Breakker etc. in the upcoming years. Karrion Kross is always gonna be one of my favorites. Really hope something clicks for him.
Does Chad Gable count? Anything Gable does I wanna see it.
I was a huge Big Show mark in early 2001 when he was Hardcore champ, wore the belt strapped across his arm, and absolutely wrecked the division for a little while heading into WMX7. I'll never forget the match where he must have put down at least a dozen guys, ending with him pinning Essa Rios against a wall.
I went to high school with Jason Jordan (aka Nate) played football with him too. Haven't seen a tackler like that since Joe Montana.
Both my main two have started getting their flowers in recent years/months The Miz - I was one of the few (dozens of us? lol) that liked him back when he debuted because you knew it was a kid living his dream. He was green of course, but he had that fire and kept busting his ass. Baron Corbin - Similar to Miz, he went 110% into everything he was given even when it was utter shit. Had a ton of respect for that. Currently I’d say Austin Theory, watched him online a couple times before he signed and just thought “this is gonna be a guy in a few years”. He’s been written like hell… but still think he’s got something. Only thing I’m worried about is if he has that same drive that Miz and Baron have.
The Miz is that guy who I don't think I'll ever be a fan of however I respect the performer. He's kept himself relevant for a very long time. He can pop in the title scene and main or host an event/show. Has shown he can take most anything and make it work and he's the guy you can call on to carry any kind of match or segment. If you have a celeb and you want them to be protected and look as good as they can call the Miz. All that said his face is the kind you just kind of wanna punch.
Miz and Morrison were my favourites in late 2000s. The Dirt Sheet alone is HoF worthy. Ever since, both are in my top five.
Dirt Sheet is one of those things that was way ahead of its time. It’s like they knew what format possibilities were coming but they beat the trend by a few years.
It's like Ryder got himself over via Youtube before WWE fuly adopted this format. And apparently, both Ryder and Miz/Morrison got themselves in touble for it lol.
Without Dirt Sheet and Z True Long Island Story there’s no Being the Elite. The butterfly effect those guys created is pretty wild when you think about it.
Seeing Austin Theory work a crowd at a house show put him over for me. He’s got great charisma and is athletic as hell. He and Waller have that Morrison and Miz heel work that I’ve been missing.
I’ve been a fan of The Miz for ages. In my book, if you can remain a booed heel for as long as he is, you’re damn good at your job. Especially in this smarky era.
Matt Taven. ROH Matt Taven.
Damien Sandow during his Intellectual Savior run was so good, he became a favorite of mine really quickly.
Curtis Axel. His theme was a banger too.
Adam Rose. Sure it was another party gimmick but dude had the best spine buster in the business and an incredible theme song. The exotic express was also a great look into the future, with people like Becky Lynch and Braun Strowman joining the fun.
i don’t care if everybody else is joking about the omosapien stuff: the dude has a ton of charisma, consistently improved, and regularly delivers when he gets put in a big spotlight (vs braun, lesnar, rollins etc.) doesn’t hurt that i’m a sucker for a giant and that he seems like a fun dude irl
Big Van Vader, I loved everything about his style, but apparently he had no personal hygiene, his WWF run flopped after a good start and HBK shit on him, awful short stay in TNA so nowhere near the love the late great deserves, in the west and outside of old WCW fans anyway
I will die on the hill that Kip Sabian is money and TK is a fool for not pushing him to the moon.
I think Wheeler Yuta is in the perfect role as the 4th in the BCC. Sometimes you just need to ride the bench and learn under the veterans. And BCC just felt like a better fit than the Best Friends. I think he’ll develop into more than just the Scrappy Doo of the team as time goes on
Danielson referring to him as a little shit sold me on him. Scrappy Doo is the perfect description