Tuesday, March 19, 2024
NewsWhat really grinds my gears? Ep.4 - Broken Dreams

What really grinds my gears? Ep.4 – Broken Dreams

1 view

TRENDING

Many fans appreciate the
hard work and dedication of wrestlers, and we often argue who are the underrated stars who never quite made it. 

An underutilized talent could mean many things, the
wrestler may have never got the breaks they deserved, it could mean they were
held back due to circumstances out of their control. It could also mean
they reached the top, only to be brought back to mediocrity in a short
time.

I bet you already have images in your mind on who these names are.
Let’s go through some of them, let’s go through all the broken
dreams, all the sacrifices made. Let’s appreciate the wrestlers who
should have gone all the way, the present athletes who are still being
held back, and those who should have stayed at the top for so much
longer.

Legends who never won the WWF(E) title

Roddy Piper – Many legendary wrestlers never reached the top, Piper
is well known for never reaching that level, despite being incredibly
popular and talented.

Ted DiBiase – One of the greatest heels of all time. Excellent on the mat, and very charismatic.

Mr Perfect – Regarded as one of the greatest in-ring technicians of all
time. He brought prestige to the Intercontinental title, and despite
being AWA World Champion, he never reached the top in the WWF. He was used to make legends look good.

Tito Santana – One of the greatest workers in the 1980s. He was held
down in the mid-card, never being allowed to go to the next step, over
guys like Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior & Randy Savage.

Dynamite Kid – He changed the wrestling business with his innovative
style. Many have emulated him, arguably the greatest British wrestler of
all time. Only rivaled by the next name. (Should be in the Hall of
Fame)

The British Bulldog – During the 90s, his feud with Bret Hart was
legendary. He was set to go to the next level, but it just never
happened. The biggest name to represent the UK in many fans eyes. (Should be in the Hall of Fame)

Ricky Steamboat – Incredibly popular, incredibly talented. The man could
still run rings around half of the WWE roster. The Dragon was held down
due to the mighty popularity of Hulkamania, but despite that, remains one of the most liked legends ever.

Jake “The Snake” Roberts – Another incredibly popular, and talented
wrestler, who sacrificed everything for the business. Should have been
so much bigger. Pleased to see him recognised in the WWE Hall of Fame this year, one of the best workers ever.

Rick Rude – One of the best heels in the business. His look had guys
jealous, while the girls drooled over him. Deserved so much more.
(Should be in the Hall of Fame)

Honorable Mentions

(Due to being held back/bad gimmicks/death/politics etc.)

Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Magnum TA, Bam Bam Bigelow, Brian
Pillman, Vader, Terry Taylor, Barry Windham, Chris Candido, Paul
Orndorff, Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Jimmy Snuka,
Owen Hart, Razor Ramon, Al Snow.

Apologies if I missed anyone out. As you can see, the 70s to mid 90s had
so much talent, and it was dominated by the likes of Backlund, Hogan,
Savage, Bret Hart, Diesel and Shawn Michaels. A lot of these
talents never got the chance to shine. So many broken dreams. Can you
imagine if even half of these wrestlers had a chance to hold the WWF
title?

Underrated Wrestlers from the Attitude Era.

William Regal – The man has it all. He has charisma, he has more
technical ability in his little finger then most can dream about. Could
you imagine it? A super heel William Regal holding the WCW, or WWF
title? Then Vince McMahon made him kiss his ass. At least he was King of the Ring once.

Goldust – Ok bare with me, just for one second. The gimmick of Goldust
has always been one of the most bizarre, but the way Dustin Rhodes
has played the gimmick is absolute dedication. Can any of you say, that
you could go out there in front of the world and do what Dustin Rhodes
did, and continues to do? It’s difficult to imagine Goldust as a World Champion, but the WWE
could have changed Goldust and made him more of a serious competitor. After returning he has been one of WWEs best workers, consistently being involved in some of the best singles and tag team bouts.

Lance Storm – Another man who had all the technical prowess you could ask
for. He did very well in ECW and WCW, but was severely misused in the
WWE. They gave him a stupid gimmick, when all they had to do was keep
him heel, keep him serious, and his ring work would have done the
talking. I guess he didn’t have the look?

Perry Saturn – I don’t what it was about Saturn, but after coming over to the WWE from ECW, he ended up being given this moppy gimmick, which he somehow was able to get over despite being drugged out of his mind half the time. Saturn was amazing in ECW, sadly he couldn’t keep focused, despite being one hell of a wrestler.

Dean Malenko – Excellent wrestler, truly legendary. His only problem was
his charisma and height. With all the big gimmicks and loud personas,
it was easy for the casual fan to overlook someone like Malenko. Should
have been a World Champion somewhere at least once, a complete innovator, set the bar for technical wrestling.

Chris Benoit – Exactly the same problem as Malenko and Storm. Incredible
athlete who sacrificed his body and life on a daily basis. It’s
difficult to say anyone worked harder then Benoit. He could have carried
WCW on his back, and he should have held the World title a lot longer
then he did. Often used to put guys over, and test the abilities of new talent.

Eddie Guerrero – He had it all. The ability, the charisma, yet he was
constantly held back. Even when he did win the WWE title, they didn’t
keep it on him anywhere near as long as they should have. He was majorly over in his final days, could have rivalled Cena, Batista and Orton easily. RIP. VIVA LA RAZA!

Taz – A monster. Truly brutal suplex machine who was so underutilized in
the WWE, it would have made every ECW fan sick to their stomachs.

Rhino – Similar to Taz. So intense, such a hard worker, never given the opportunity to shine in the WWE.

2 Cold Scorpio – Incredibly underutilized almost everywhere he went. Only ECW treat him with respect.

Kid Kash – Brilliant worker. He can do it all, except maybe he lacks
charisma. He can be a great heel when allowed too. Still underutlized to
this day, he was last seen in TNA, putting on some of the best singles bouts in the X-Division against the likes of Austin Aries.

Jerry Lynn – Just like the Malenkos, Storms, Regals and all the rest of
the technical masters, Jerry Lynn was poorly used in the WWE, and they
should be ashamed. ECW, ROH, and TNA treat him a lot better.

Chris Jericho – One man who only just creeps into this list. He could
have been so much bigger, but with the likes of Austin, Rock, Taker,
Triple H and so many other huge names around, he was never allowed to be
“The Man”. He did win tons of championships, it was just bad
timing really, Jericho hit his prime in the boom period of wrestling.

Billy Gunn – He almost got there. He won King of the Ring, he was set to
go to the next level, but it just never happened. Maybe his Mr Ass
gimmick made it so people couldn’t take him seriously as a threat? Who
knows. 

Test – Another big agile man, he could talk, he could wrestle, and at one point was on the verge of main event status. Then Triple H revealed that he had actually married Stephanie in Vegas, completely ruining Test’s and Stephanies wedding. Stephanie soon turned on Test, and he went hurtling down to midcard status faster then you can say “buried”.

Diamond Dallas Page – Severely underutilized in the WWE just after WCW went down. It was definitely not a good thing

Mike Awesome – Solid big man who could work and was so dominant in ECW, he jumped ship to WCW for a fat paycheck and was treated badly. Silly gimmicks, not taken seriously whatsoever. I will always remember his match at ECW One Night Stand 2005 against Tanaka, despite Joey being all over him, Awesome worked hard with Tanaka in that match, and they pulled off a great bout with an excellent ending. Much respect.

Once again, there are so many more names I could mention, but I have to move on!

Underutilized Men and Women of the Modern Era.

Dolph Ziggler – In an era where wrestling is in a slump, the WWE is in
dire need to create new stars. This man is so far on the edge, it hurts
his feet to stay there. Anyone can see the passion he has, how hard he
works, just give this man the World title already. Why does he continue to lose?

Samoa Joe – Since his famous ROH World title reign, and his TNA winning
streak, Joe has floundered around the mid-card like an old man lost in a
supermarket. Give this man a much deserved push, but do it in a way that will shock the viewer, Joe needs something to connect with the casual audience.

Shelton Benjamin – The guy who made Money in the Bank matches exciting.
Anyone who has seen him perform knows why he is underrated. I still
cringe when I think of the time he had his “Mama” come out to manage
him.

Kaval – I really hate calling him that. Low-Ki is an absolute warrior in
that ring, the fact he was put onto a “Rookie” show automatically
labelled him as underutilized. Watch his TNA and ROH matches, you won’t
be disappointed.

Tyson Kidd – A work horse. Just because he’s small, doesn’t mean he
can’t get over. Just give him the ball and see where it goes.

Drew McIntyre – Broken dreams for Drew. Once a fierce heel holding the
Intercontinental title, to a rock star wannabe strumming his imaginary
guitar. Please WWE, you’re killing me with this, he doesn’t deserve
this, it’s incredibly sad. It just grinds ….

Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley – Motor City Machine Guns deserved those tag titles more then anyone. Sabin deserved to be set up for his World title push properly, and Shelley should have at least gained an X-Division title. Now they are both gone, shameful.

Eric Young – Absolute pro in the ring, and on the mic, EY will play any
gimmick you give him to perfection. It seems TNA wanted to keep him as
the company clown, instead of make a real star out of him. Chris
Jericho labelled him as one of the most underrated in the business, and now he is TNA World Champion. Will TNA make a star out of Eric Young? Or will people just keep comparing him to Daniel Bryan? .

Doug Williams – Probably a bit too late for him now. Doug, like so many
other technical masters, never quite got the push they deserved due to a
lack of charisma. His last meaningful run was with the X Division title
a couple of years ago. Should have been a World Champion at least once
in his prime.

Christopher Daniels – How this man never got to hold the World title
during the Golden era of TNA I do not know. It’s pretty baffling to be
honest, he is one hell of an arsehole, he could make mormons hate
him.

Taylor Wilde & Sarita – These two girls are amazing athletes, Taylor
held the Knockouts title, but Sarita didn’t, which is a shame. The
Knockouts Tag Team titles were only ever relevant when they held it
after winning the tournament.

Natalya – What the hell is WWE doing with Natalya? Give her some real matches and feuds, she can work really well and make someone look good. Give her a character, give her anything, she could turn heel and feud with Paige, make her look like a million dollars at 21 years old? It’s not rocket science.

Honorable Mentions

Paul London, Paul Burchill, Carlito, Justin Gabriel, R Truth, Gail Kim (In the WWE), Melina, Beth Phoenix and Roxxi.

The idea for this blog can be credited to Ace Lancaster. I wanted to
highlight that some of these names may not have got pushes due to their
own decisions, or by decisions out of their control. Nevertheless, there
may be other names you wish to add yourself, feel free to comment your favourite underrated wrestlers ever.

- Advertisment -

LATEST NEWS

- Advertisment -

No data available

Related Articles