WHOOOOOO!

[filkertom]

Happy 60th Birthday, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair!

We haven't discussed this in awhile, possibly never exactly like this: straightforward -- who are your favorite wrestlers? (I'm presuming non-wrestling-fans won't answer, although ya never know.) The ones you love, or loved, to watch work. My list includes, in no particular order:

• Ric Flair, the true total package
• Shawn Michaels, as good a worker and storyteller as the wrestling world has ever seen
• Chris Benoit, a consummate technician with a perfect workrate (dammit, Chris, just... dammit)
• Curt Hennig, speaking of perfect
• Chris Jericho, another one with all the tools
• Arn Anderson, who was never flashy but who always made you believe
• The Rock, the most electrifying etc., and one of the most generous wrestlers ever
• Tully Blanchard, another great worker and storyteller
• Nikita Koloff, who made an opportunity to change wrestling itself when Magnum T.A. got hurt
• Taz, who you really believed was gonna kill somebody someday
• Sabu, who you really believed was gonna kill himself someday
• Rob Van Dam, the whole fuckin' show
• Jerry Lynn, who is finally getting some of his due in Ring Of Honor
• The Fabulous Moolah, the greatest women's wrestler of all time by a wide margin
• Trish Stratus, who went from being annoying cheesecake to a pretty damn good worker

A bunch of others. And I miss Chris Candido.

ETA: How could I forget The Macho Man, Randy Savage -- OOOOOOH YEAH! One of the most compelling personalities and best workers ever.

ETA2: One of the most truly unique gimmicks ever, fortunately carried by one of the best storytellers and most gifted athletes in wrestling history -- Mark Calloway, much better known as The Undertaker.

Comments

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

I came into wrestling in the era of Bruno Sammartino, who made the big impression. (It was a personal disaster when he had his fling with villainy.)

Ivan Putzki was a five-by-five fireplug who had a winning smile and a pitbull in-ring demeanor.

Professor Toru Tanaka was built similarly to Putzki, but was IIRC pretty much a full-time villain, except that he was allowed to win sometimes.

I thought he was skeevy, but watching Freddy Blassie choke some guy with a ring rope or his ever-present walking stick was an irreplaceable part of the show. Lou Albano, too, first in the ring, and then as a manager. And he yelled at Cindy Lauper pretty well on screen, too :-)

Yep. This is from before the World Wildlife Federation forced the World Wrestling Federation to change its name so its initials would change, too. Man, the world was younger then...

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh, the old days. We could have a long, lovely conversation about Big-Time Wrestling in Detroit, with Putski, Dick the Bruiser, the Mighty Igor, the Fabulous Kangaroos, Ben Justice, Kurt Von Hess and Karl Von Schotz, "Arriba" Luis Martinez, Flying Fred and Wild Bull Curry, Bobo Brazil, "The Big Cat" Ernie Ladd, "Killer" Brooks, Eddie Creachman, George "Crybaby" Cannon, and, of course, the Sheik....

[netpositive.livejournal.com]

I think you forgot Eddy Guerrero. CHEAT TO WIN, DAMMIT! :)

I can certainly agree with Hennig, Jericho, Arn, The Rock, Jerry Lynn, and Trish Stratus. I also adored Dean Malenko, the early WWE Kurt Angle, and the Rock'n'Roll Express.

As for Benoit... there but for the grace of something, go I. And I mean that quite sincerely.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I can go with all of your choices. For some reason Eddie never quite worked for me, but that was a personality thing. Yeah, he was another all-around package.

[eoywin.livejournal.com]

RVD and Chris Jericho are two of my favorites.

I got to meet Chris Jericho a couple years back, he was really nice!

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Kewl. It was bugging me for weeks who Neil Patrick Harris was reminding me of in Dr. Horrible, until I realized it was Jericho....

[wookiee71.livejournal.com]

MsChif - Great female wrestler in ROH's 'Shimmer' Women's fed
Bryan Danielson - One of ROH's greatest technician superstars
Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels
Phenomenal AJ Styles
Chris Benoit (Yes, Chris, why??)
Nick Bockwinkel
Dick the Bruiser
Outlaw James Storm
Rob! Van! Dam!
Jake the Snake - in his prime, he was AWESOME!
Chris Jericho
Shawn Michaels
Roddy Piper
Ric Flair
Arn Anderson
The Rock

I must admit, however, anyone in TNA today is way better when NOT in TNA. I dropped that show, since it's become insipid and insulting to the sport of wrestling. I may have to just buy more ROH DVDs.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Word. I wish I'd picked up the DVDs they did on a bi-monthly basis in OVW for awhile. Maybe I should fire up the Bittorrent....

[old-fortissimo.livejournal.com]

You already mentioned Bobo Brazil.

Argentine Rocca.

Dan Severn.

Gene LaBell.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

There was a time I thought Dan Severn was going to be a superstar. He never quite got there, which is a shame. Hell of a technician.

[huskiebear.livejournal.com]

Rod-DY! Rod-DY! Rod-DY!

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

[karjack.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to lie. I smelled what the Rock was cooking.

I was also a fan of the Hardy Boyz and Lita, on the grounds that damn those were some impressive moves.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

You ain't kiddin'. And both the Hardys are very, very good. I especially loved the feud Jeff had with Randy Orton, not because I can stomach the intensely-overrated Orton but because he did do one good move: the look of utter disbelief at :59 below, when Jeff did the Whisper In The Wind from the top of the cage on Umaga:

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

Okay, how about some tag-teams?

The Road Warriors
Demolition
Money, Inc.
The Killer Bees
The British Bulldogs
The Dudley Boys
The Bushwhackers
The Blackjacks
The Rock & Roll Express
The Midnight Express
The Wild Samoans

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Indeed, how 'bout 'em? What I loved about Demolition was that they started out as an obvious copycat of the Road Warriors, but they eventually came into their own. The Warriors themselves were, I think, the first truly devastating team, a couple of guys who they could push as legit monsters. And the Bulldogs and the Dudleys, at their best, were as good as they get. Same with the Expresses (I have a preference for Stan Lane over Dennis Condrey).

[docwebster.livejournal.com]

Tiger Mask (the original and TM4)
"Double A" Arn Anderson
The Fabulous Ones (Stan and Steve)
"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers
Iron Sheik
"The Boogie Woogie Man" "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant
"Stone Cold" Stev Austin
Raven
"The Original Gangsta" New Jack

God, don't even get me started. But there is one more I simply have to add. The one who is, to me, the wrestler that single handedly fired my imagination more than any other before or since - Undertaker.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

This is true, and I should add him to the list. The fact that he's also one of the most amazing characters and storytellers of all time doesn't hurt.

[mike46.livejournal.com]

There are far too many wrestlers that I love/have loved so this is just the smallest possible sampling ...

Rowdy Roddy Piper - one of the best talkers in wrestling ... ever
Baron Von Rashke - master of the Claw!
Sherri Martell - Could cut a great promo, wrestle, and be beautiful
Ric Flair - of course
Bobby Heenan - started as a wrestler, but was the greatest manager ever

I think I look/ed for the ability to cut a fantastic promo even more than great in-ring ability.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

So sad that Bobby's voice has been taken by throat cancer. And so sad that Sherri has been taken from us, period -- she truly was one of the greats, and utterly gorgeous.

[saganth.livejournal.com]

A guilty pleasure of my early adolescence, four words:

Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.

I rarely watch wrestling tho, even when the ladies are performing. Too much cheese and testosterone and fakery.

[mike46.livejournal.com]

Ah GLOW ... I had the biggest crush on Ninotchka :)

[madmanotl.livejournal.com]

I enjoy the bad guys more; the wackier the stunt, the better.

When I first started watching, Nickoli Volkov and The Iron Sheik (Whom I met at D*C a few years ago) were my favorites to watch.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Amazing the heat Volkoff got singing the Russian National Anthem, wasn't it? And the Iron Sheik is very underrated. Damn fine wrestler in his youth.

[boy-pastiche.livejournal.com]

Undertaker, Pall Bearer (I know!), and Mankind.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

Alan Kilby, the deaf wrestler from the UK, I forget his tag name, and Syren, the deaf blonde bombshell woman wrestler. I got really mad when Andre the Giant went "bad" for a few months. My deaf students watched, so, I did, too.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

What really honked me off about that was it was just before the release of The Princess Bride, where Andre was playing Fezzik, an unabashed good guy. Turning him heel at that point seemed, and seems, stupid.

[maikujaku.livejournal.com]

Shawn Michaels is always high on my list. And being from MD, I must say I adore Miss Stacy Keibler. Mae Young, Fabulous Moolah. And of course Iron Shiek, Roddy Piper, 'taker and Nikolai Volkoff. And who could ever forget, Andre The Giant. Anybody wanna peanut?

[maikujaku.livejournal.com]

Oh how could I ever forget Sherri? I base a lot of my makeup on hers from her heyday, and of course Doink the Clown! I know one of the wrestlers who portray(s)ed him.

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

A couple I don't think were mentioned yet...

"Bam-Bam" Bigelow (One of the last truly great "Big Men")

And of course...

... The smartest man in wrestling!

[maikujaku.livejournal.com]

Have a nice day!

[phillip2637.livejournal.com]

OK, I haven't watched in many decades, but it used to be on TV when I was a kid. My **grandmother** told me I had to be a fan of Whipper Billy Watson; it was like religion, only much more so. :-)

When I followed it (a little) on my own, I developed a liking for Johnny Valentine, not as a bad guy, but for his relentless, business-like approach. His kid was a bit too glam for my taste.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, my rasslin' buddy Hal loves Johnny Valentine -- possibly because they're built on about the same scale. ;) Seriously, one of the coolest things about him was that he was one of the original No Gimmick Necessary wrestlers -- he would just come in and take you out and go.

Greg tried too hard to be The Nature Boy, I think. A lot of wrestlers in the late 70s and early-to-mid 80s did that, all of them facing the problem that the real Ric Flair was already there, possibly across the ring.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

I never really got into wrestling, and today I'll watch a soap opera (or the new BSG) before I'll watch WWE.

That said, I definitely have a soft spot in my heart for Andre...

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

First off, Mick Foley when he is not acting crazy. The Rock once he got his character down and then really ran with it. Chyna for being the first woman to wrestle as an equal with the men (too bad that got ruined). A number of the fun theme-based tag-teams that wrestling no longer has. Heck, storylines that were done in the weekly shows, not everything just building to the next PPV.

And finally: Barry Horowitz (who?), a vetern jobber who was *fun* to watch snatch defeat from the jaws of victory every time he was in the ring. And professional enough to know what to do when his opponant hurt themself in the ring mid-match and needed to be gotten out of there *fast*. One sudden cover for a quick win (took even the ref by surprise), followed the BIGGEST hamming up job I ever saw (while his hurt opponant was helped to get backstage by the ref while every paid attention to Barry), thus starting a fun six month long winning streak that showed why wrestling can be so enjoyable to watch.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Good ol' Barry Horowitz. One of the wrestlers I'd really love to meet. His little program with Chris Candido was great.

[dawnmipb.livejournal.com]

No Bret the Hitman Hart? Always my favorite....

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

He would likely be in the "bunch of others" I mentioned. Another complete package, especially when he turned heel.

[tuto.livejournal.com]

Wrestling is pretty big in Puerto Rico and even though most of my favorite wrestelers were spanish we did get visitors from the states and Rick Flair was one of them. Along with Andre, Macho Man and many others. My favorite (after Carlitos Colon whom I'm sure you've never heard of)was this huge Asian guy called Abdhulla The Butcher. I've been told he went by a different name in the states. He never spoke and looked totally insane.
Growing up I watched wrestling religiously every Saturday morning (at 11am right after morning cartoons) but as soon as I got to the states I lost interest. I remember Wrestlemania 3 was right when I got to the states.

[james-the-evil1.livejournal.com]

Carlitos Colon's sons are the current tage team champs in the WWE. :-)

[melsara.livejournal.com]

MY favorite wrestler of all time:

Diamond Dallas Page. That man used to get the SHIT kicked out of him every week back when the WCW existed, only to somehow snatch the victory out of nowhere with the Diamond Cutter. Favorite move ever. That move even looked like it'd mess somebody up.

And then there's the other faves:

Chris Benoit (I agree with the why, Chris, why?)
Stone Cold Steve Austin (who didn't love him for the feud he had with Vince McMahon?)
Sting (not that black-and-white WCW emo ass either)
Dean Molenko (He needed more screen time IMO)
John Cena (Nowadays he's really fun to watch. I saw the match he had with Batista, man was that great.)
Rowdy Roddy Piper (Now that I think about it, he bears a striking resemblance in mannerism to Denis Leary doesn't he?)
Spike Dudley ('nuff said.)
The Macho Man (Snap into a Slim Jim?)

[melsara.livejournal.com]

And I cannot believe I forgot to mention the Sandman. He was another really fin one to watch. Never mind the fact that he was a clone of Austin carrying a Kendo stick.

[wwetuesday.livejournal.com]

At one point I was a Hulkamaniac. But when every Hogan match pretty much was the same from start to finish, I got out of it.

Flair, Savage, Mr Perfect, Ted DiBiase, Warrior at one point, Road Warriors, Demolition, Big Boss Man, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Mick Foley, Steve Austin, The Rock, Dudley Boyz, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho.

Currently I like Edge, Randy Orton, Matt Hardy, Christian, CM Punk, John Morrison, Cryme Tyme, Kofi Kingston, and Mr Kennedy.

[amgem.livejournal.com]

I remember watching the Von Erichs wrestle waaaaay back...

George "The Animal" Steele...no turnbuckle was safe...

The Ultimate Warrior...Hulk Hogan...Andre the Giant...Rowdy Roddy Piper and his kilt...

All of a sudden, I feel very old. LOL

[ladyskada.livejournal.com]

.. You mean you're not?

*ducks for cover*

[dan-ad-nauseam.livejournal.com]

The wrestler Sam once portrayed on Quantum Leap. :-)