John Cena and Hulk Hogan are not overrated. Combined they
know less than 10 wrestling moves, true,
but at the end of the day they single handedly transcended the industry,
brought it to new heights of popularity, and outside of Vincent K. McMahon are
the reasons why pro wrestling hasn’t gone the way of Roller Derby. This list isn’t
about who can and can’t wrestle, it’s about who legitimately impacted the
business versus who was merely a popular sports entertainer. There are a lot of
guys who we look on fondly because they were/are cool, but in terms of
affecting the world of sports entertainment, their contribution isn’t as high
as we think if we really dissect it. I give you the top 10 overrated Wrestlers
of All Time.
10) Edge: Edge is
on the bubble, and maybe it’s not fair to put him on this list because his
career ended early. But even without the neck injury I don’t think he was on
his way to being Sting, you know a company guy who never quite becomes the
biggest star, but still attains iconic status because of his time put in. The
Rated R Superstar gimmick with Lita, putting Foley through a flaming table, and
teaming with Christian are the biggest highlights of Edge’s career. But what
did he really do that made him a must have? The spear was done better by Bill “green”berg
and his face runs were zzzzzz. Without F—king Matt Hardy’s girlfriend he would
probably never have gotten that first title run that started it all. Adam
Copeland is a D-bag who screwed a co-worker over, and that’s how he should have
been pushed for the rest of his career. The WWE did him a disservice trying to transform
him into this fan favorite boyscout once they went PG, and you can tell that
his passion was never the same. Edge was a good wrestler and solid on the
microphone, but in the end WWE would have been the same with or without him.
9) Lex Luger: I
love flexy Lexy just because he’s the most undeserving household name in
wrestling. A body builder who can’t wrestle—he should have been the second
coming of Hulk Hogan, but this is proof that just because you look good, doesn’t
mean you are good. Lex had the charisma of one ply toilet tissue, and if he had
never existed in WCW the horsemen (And Miss Elizabeth) would have been better
off and someone like Tom Zinc could have easily filled in as the Luger type.
His WWE run was famous for slamming Yokozuna, but Vince knew Lex sucked, hence
why he was never given the title.
8) Taz: Here’s a
story of how a big fish in a small pond gets tossed into the ocean and eaten
alive. Watching ECW Paul Heyman made you believe that this pint sized muscle
bound freak was the baddest man on the planet. His promos were never really
good, his matches were all designed around big suplex spots, and he didn’t
really sell his opponents moves worth a damn. But I loved him, as a kid you don’t
realize when you’re being conned. However, once the dark bingo hall of ECW was
replaced by the bright lights of WWE, Taz was exposed for what he was, Barry
Horowitz with a T-bone, a jobber gimmicked up as Mike Tyson, and the fans saw
through it. Taz came and went without anyone batting an eye, and most WWE fans
only remember him from his bad commentary, not “Survive because I let you”.
7) Chris Benoit: I
think Benoit was top ten in terms of wrestling ability, but in death I fear
that he’s been made to be greater than what he actually was in terms of the
overall package. Benoit couldn’t talk on the microphone and had two looks,
scowl and grinning scowl. His Horsemen run was overshadowed by Mongo McMichael’s
for Christ sake. His WWE title run was built around his technical prowess, but
after he reached the mountain top those fans who wanted a shoot wrestler as
champ suddenly could care less. Benoit was intense, he was brutal, and he knew
how to wrestle, but if he would have retired as opposed to murdering his
family, he would be remembered in the same way as Perry Saturn.
6) Samoa Joe:
Much like Taz, Joe is thought of as a killing machine, however Joe is a really good
wrestler, a great wrestler for a big man. But he’s drier than Betty White’s
vagina. I used to hope that Joe would get the call up to WWE, then I realized
that it’s best for his legacy that he didn’t. He can’t even rise to the top of
TNA, a place where they pop for anything, no way he’s going to get over based
on the fact that he can do a soccer kick and top rope suplex. I would like to
think that a repackage from Vince could have saved Joe six or seven years ago,
but now who knows...
5) Mick Foley:
The top five is where we get controversial! Foley is good, but he’s not invaluable
to the business. I’ve read his books, I have a general like for the guy as a
hard worker, and as a great Rocky story. However, I have to keep it real, Foley
didn’t invent Hardcore. What he did was be in the right places at the right
time and be desperate enough to do anything for a pop. Cactus Jack in WCW was a
generic cartoon villain, in ECW he took that to a more realistic level, by the
time he reached WWE he became a crash test dummy for Vince’s master plan to
give the 90’s fans the gore they wanted. We all love seeing Mick get beat up,
and while he’s never been a good wrestler, he shouldn’t be given a pass because
of his stuntman status. Hardcore would have came and went the same way it did,
even without Mick.
4) Batista: A
little more charismatic than Luger, Batista’s entire Animal gimmick never
connected with me because he seemed to take himself way too seriously. He’s not
on this list because I dislike him, he’s on it because he did nothing but waste
the time of fans and hold a spot that should have been given to more deserving
athletes. Batista fit right into the role Adam Bomb, Warrior, Ron Simmons, and
so many other had played—big strong intense guy. He didn’t do anything special,
he was just playing that Muscle bound role that Ryback plays now, which means
that Batista’s entire run was something that several other could have done.
3) Chris Jericho:
First ever undisputed champion, but besides that? Jericho is a good wrestler,
not as great as people make him out to be, just good, a poor man’s HBK with an
over exaggerated comedy routine—but it worked BABY!!! Let’s be honest, if Y2J
had never come to WWE after WCW, the only thing that would be different today
is they’d probably be calling The Rock the first ever Undisputed champion.
2) Psycho Sid: “the
hand that rocks the cradle, ladies and gentlemen, is the man who rules the
world!” I remember Jim Ross saying some stupid sh*t like that during one pay
per view where Sid was being pushed as the savior of WWE. I’m going to keep
this short—Sid sucked! People talk about HBK being a bad champion as the reason
the NWO and WCW took over, but the WWF was a horrible product in the mid 90’s
because Sid was always in the title picture and while passable as a big man, he
was no Kevin Nash.
1) Randy Orton:
Randy Orton should be John Cena huge. He was given the ball several times and
for some reason he could never quite kick it into that next gear. Proof that
winning the belt doesn’t make you a champion, Orton hasn’t really stood out
since he was spitting on Hall of Famers. The real life Randy comes off as
something of a egomaniacal brat, but WWE would rather play him off as crazy
instead rather than a douche bag. You can’t make someone into something they
are not, and Randy will be a blip on the radar unless they let him be the jerk
he so badly wants to be. Girls love Orton because of his looks, guys still dig
him because his finisher is sick, but if Randy Orton were to be wiped from the
history of WWE would anyone care?
This list is totally accurate! They should free the Legend Killer, and let Orton be, well Orton!
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