The most underrated talent in the history of the industry

[mass 04]

Incredible promo skills, amazing psychology, in-ring powerhouse, and looks like be can kick your ass.

[tu_holmes]

This guy got fucked with a shit gimmick.



This guy just never got the push he deserved.




And this guy got hurt in a car crash before he could get to where he would eventually be. At the top.

[littleguns]

Totally agree with Storm and Arn. I think Storm got screwed becuase he was a smaller wrestler and spent too much time in ECW. The highlight was when he hit WCW and held 3 belts at once. Cant think of too many bad matches with Lance.

Arn is another one, total respect.

[tu_holmes]

I was a huge Tully Blanchard mark back in the day... That slingshot suplex was awesome.

Plus that match with Dusty with Babydoll hanging over the ring was awesome.

[yates fan]

i think owen hart was one of the most underrated always in his bros. shadow,bret said he was most gifted.

[OLE BIG]

I would put Arn at the top of the list of should-have-been world champion, with a good title run.

[Montague]

This guy got fucked with a shit gimmick.



This guy just never got the push he deserved.




And this guy got hurt in a car crash before he could get to where he would eventually be. At the top.

WOW, EXCELLENT POST!!!
It’s a matter of opinion, but those are all guys I would have listed myself.

Taylor got screwed. Nobody could have done anything worthwhile with the rooster gimmick.

Storm is one of the few talents that WCW actually did a better job of utilizing than the Fed. Lance did get a strong push in Turner’s company, and that was one of the only downfalls of WCW folding.

Magnum TA: purely a victim of circumstance beyond his control AND outside of wrestling. Truly a damn shame. Strangely enough, he doesn’t sound the least bit bitter over what happened. In fact, he has a better outlook about his time in the business than many guys who made more and went a lot farther.

[GraniteCityDon]

Shelton Benjamin was one hell of a performer, but was found lacking personality and good promo technique. Matt Bourne was one hell of a performer which ever way you look at him.  Overall im thinking........



Excellent on the mic, could bury you in 20 seconds. In ring performances, at his best, were out of this world but his personal demons kept him back and left most people forgetting how good he was and recalling his drunken antics.



He proved you didnt need to have muscles popping out everywhere and 1 in a million athleticism. The man had absolutely every ingredient needed to get over, his in ring repertoire was predominantly basic but executed in a vicious manner that had you feeling for the poor sod he just hit. The image, the mic skills, the attitude, i dont think we'll ever see another Jake Roberts.

[Montague]

I always saw multiple character similarities between Jake & Bill Eadie (Demolition Ax). That's a very good thing.

As for Hall - and, I think this may kind of be your point, too - it maybe wasn't so much that he was underrated, but rather his skills were simply overshadowed by his personal problems.

Finally, I think Matt Bourne may have given the Doink character something not too many guys could have. He was a very good hand in the ring on multiple levels, and I think that was what kept the clown gimmick from burying him, as it may have originally been meant to do. You know Vince!

[OLE BIG]

The difference in everyone listed here and AA is length of career.  AA was over from day one and stayed that way.

Terry Taylor was great and could have been a world champion.  I always wanted him to have a run with the Horsemen.

But if the thread is about should have been, AA is the clear leader.

[littleguns]

I put Jake and Roddy Piper in the same category, didnt need belts to get them over. I think Jake was one of the best "psychologists" in the business.

I don't know if Arn would be considered World Title material, great wrestler but not sure if he the 100% it factor. I think he was suited with US Titles, TV titles etc.

I think if Owen were still alive, he would have least held a championship belt at least 2x.

[mass 04]

The difference in everyone listed here and AA is length of career.  AA was over from day one and stayed that way.

Terry Taylor was great and could have been a world champion.  I always wanted him to have a run with the Horsemen.

But if the thread is about should have been, AA is the clear leader.

When would you have put the big belt on Arn?

[Montague]

When would you have put the big belt on Arn?

Sometime during the peak Horsemen years.
Flair would lose it, AA would win it a short time later, thus creating tension in the pecking order.

[Hulkster]

I aways thought Haku (aka meng) should have been given more pushes/titles.

yes, he had a good King run in the WWF and held the tag title with Andre, but he should have had at least an intercontinental run.

amazing in ring talent, granted, couldn't cut a promo to save his life, but thats why he had Bobby the Brain around.

[Montague]

I aways thought Haku (aka meng) should have been given more pushes/titles.

yes, he had a good King run in the WWF and held the tag title with Andre, but he should have had at least an intercontinental run.

amazing in ring talent, granted, couldn't cut a promo to save his life, but thats why he had Bobby the Brain around.

Excellent pick. It would have been nice had they incorporated Meng's real-life toughness into his wrestling character - similar to how they did with Ken Patera around the same time.

[littleguns]

I aways thought Haku (aka meng) should have been given more pushes/titles.

yes, he had a good King run in the WWF and held the tag title with Andre, but he should have had at least an intercontinental run.

amazing in ring talent, granted, couldn't cut a promo to save his life, but thats why he had Bobby the Brain around.

Good talent but not sure he melded with the fans....

[OLE BIG]

Sometime during the peak Horsemen years.
Flair would lose it, AA would win it a short time later, thus creating tension in the pecking order.

Exactly.  Or even at the PPV where they wrestled.  Or before that, and had Flair beat him at the PPV.

[The Showstoppa]

BIG, Toddy would be happy to read this thread.   

 I can't argue with putting AA at the top of the list.  He had the whole package and didn't self-destruct outside the ring either like many on this list.  His mic work is some of the best and most under-rated ever.   

[funk51]

Incredible promo skills, amazing psychology, in-ring powerhouse, and looks like be can kick your ass.

when judging a wrestler i think you have to rate them in 3 categories, mike skills, in ring ability  and look.  arn anderson look 2,  mic skills 6,  in ring ability 5 =13 out of 30. feel free to rank him.magnum ta  look 8  mic skills 7 in ring ab 8=23.

[Montague]

when judging a wrestler i think you have to rate them in 3 categories, mike skills, in ring ability  and look.

I like that scale and have used it in discussions here. Bret uses the same criteria when grading wrestlers in his book.
The best workers rate somewhere in the mid-upper 20's.

[Andy Griffin]

Charlie Fulton, bitches

[mass 04]

when judging a wrestler i think you have to rate them in 3 categories, mike skills, in ring ability  and look.  arn anderson look 2,  mic skills 6,  in ring ability 5 =13 out of 30. feel free to rank him.magnum ta  look 8  mic skills 7 in ring ab 8=23.

Arn had a great look, especially for that time period and promotion. Guys actually looked like fighters, not just a bunch of Mens health cover models. He was great on the mic, a great intense presence..a great contrast to Flair. He's the one who came up with the 4 Horsemen name for the group.

[The Showstoppa]

when judging a wrestler i think you have to rate them in 3 categories, mike skills, in ring ability  and look.  arn anderson look 2,  mic skills 6,  in ring ability 5 =13 out of 30. feel free to rank him.magnum ta  look 8  mic skills 7 in ring ab 8=23.

You rate TA above Arn on the mic?  No way on earth.  I watched virtually every promo they cut during the mid-atlantic years and Arn was worlds beyond TA. 

My ratings would be (based on the time period)

Arn: mic 8, in-ring 8 and look 8.  Virtually no weaknesses.

TA: mic 6, in-ring 7 and look 9.  TA could have improved on the mic and just needed a little more polish in-ring.  He was destined for greatness.  Such a shame.

[OLE BIG]

Not many are AA's equal on the mic, and TA certainly isn't on that short list. 

TA got a lot of mileage from his look and early push.  Could he have sustained it?  We will never know.

[The Showstoppa]

Not many are AA's equal on the mic, and TA certainly isn't on that short list. 

TA got a lot of mileage from his look and early push.  Could he have sustained it?  We will never know.

It was those "Born to be wild" promos that got ya, eh?