JerryvonKramer Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Really what's the deal with this guy? Would it be fair to say that he never really made it? Like ever. I mean in 1985 managed by JJ Dillon he just seems like a loser, a very poor man's Flair. For most of the 1990s, what should have been his peak years, he was working the indies or brief jobber runs in WWF / WCW. Seems harsh to say it, but I can't think of someone with a more disappointing and unremarkable career who lasted so long. What's the story here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Buddy liked the drugs and was hence unreliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted May 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Can't think of anyone else it affected quite so badly though. Iron Sheik liked the drugs too, as did Duggan, as did Kerry von Erich and any number of other guys from the 80s. All of them seem to have had better careeers than Landel. Wondering if "crap Flair" is just a loser gimmick that's going to limit any push you'll have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Crockett had plans to push him on top for a feud with Flair, and it didn't materialize because Landell "overslept" the day of the taping where they were going to kick off the angle. His drug problems destroyed his career. If you're not now, you'll become a fan when watching the 1995 Yearbook and seeing those amazing promos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted May 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Did he never have a good run in ECW? Seems like he was custom made for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 No, which is a shame, because despite looking older, he was still in his early 30s in 1995 when he had his comeback. The two people that suffered most from SMW closing were Tony Anthony and Buddy Landell. Neither guy really had national star potential, but both could be really effective as regional stars. Due to changes in wrestling, sadly, guys like that weren't in demand as much and weren't going to be able to make a decent living anymore. It sucks. I'm not quite sure why both guys didn't end up in the USWA. That was eventually going to go belly up too, but at least they would have had another two years or so. I'm also not sure why they didn't end up working some of the smaller indies without TV that were still in the Southern style tradition, groups like Music City Wrestling. Cornette got Tony Anthony into the WWF (along with Smothers and Bill Irwin) for those Jobbers With Gimmicks roles, but that just reeks of something the WWF would get bored with quickly, and they did. Landell had a cup of coffee in the WWF right after SMW died, and I always suspected Cornette lobbied for the Bret Hart match on Raw as a way for Buddy to prove himself in a good match. Something happened that kept him from having a run there and I don't remember what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cox Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Buddy broke his ankle soon after he started with WWF, and then never really went back after he healed up. I think he worked southern indies after that, and the persistent rumor in 1997 and 1998 was that he was going to start with WCW as the nWo Nature Boy, but that obviously never happened, and was probably never a real idea to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted May 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Didn't Landell have a late stint with WCW too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 1990-1991 was his last run there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIK Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 So I decided to look on Landel's wiki page He had a good run in Smoky Mountain Wrestling in 1994 and 1995. Whilst originally considered for the New Jack gimmick, booker Jim Cornette instead opted against painting Landel in blackface, and so instead he became one of the main members of The Militia ....say what now??????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Sounds like someone has been messing with his Wiki page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cox Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 As for Tony Anthony, the reason he didn't go to USWA is because he wound up in WWF and was there until after the USWA died (USWA died summer '97, DWB was in the WWF until the end of '97). And after that, frankly the guy was pretty old and he semi-retired at that point. It's kind of a shame, in another world I think DWB goes to ECW and has a fun run against Tommy Dreamer instead of Brian Lee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Landell is an East TN guy (Knoxville) and the rumor is that he burned bridges in Memphis which is why he didn't go to the USWA after the ankle injury heeled. Budro had a very strong run in Memphis earlier that shouldn't be undersold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 He worked USWA cards in Memphis during the SMW feud which was just a couple of months before they closed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainmakerrtv Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 The word on Buddy is that he was his own worst enemy and every time he would start to get ahead, he would do something (or something would happen) that would screw it up. The legend is that he signed a contract with WWF after the closing of SMW and on the way out the door he slipped on a patch of ice and broke his ankle. A real shame, he was a great entertainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 I vaguely remember one of his few appearances on WWF television in late '95. I'd heard of him through the Apter mags, but it was very odd to see someone else with Flair's music and the robe. An NWO "Nature Boy" would have been cool, but only if it was Ric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 I wonder if Landel wouldn't have been better off if he debuted in 1973 rather than 1979, and after a few years developing spent say 1977-83 moving around various territories. He had a good base for a heel, probably could have worked as a top of the card / upper card heel in a variety of promotions, moving on to another when it was time. When he hit his stride, Flair was already world champ and either working in just about any territory that Buddy would have gone into (since at that point Buddy didn't seem likely to get a strong push in either the AWA or WWF). Buddy just came off as... lesser. Obviously the dope was a problem, but he might also have just had bad timing as wrestling started to get increased national coverage (Flair was on TV all over the country every week) and shrinking territories (very quickly down to the WWF and JCP as being relevant). John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted May 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 On a side note, is there any reason that Landell HAD to work as mini-Flair? I mean, isn't that bad marketing? Why didn't he just change his gimmick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 On a side note, is there any reason that Landell HAD to work as mini-Flair? I mean, isn't that bad marketing? Why didn't he just change his gimmick?The gimmick was him being a disrespectful heel by calling himself "Nature Boy". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 On a side note, is there any reason that Landell HAD to work as mini-Flair? I mean, isn't that bad marketing? Why didn't he just change his gimmick? That was the whole point. Flair didn't originate the gimmick either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Flair was a second rate Buddy Rogers too. So... Landell is the lost worker of the 80-90's. If personnal issues and bad decision didn't fuck him up, he would be remembered as one of the greatest. I have that much faith just from the snippets of brillance you get from him everywhere he went. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted May 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Yeah but was Flair around during Buddy Rogers's peak? Still don't really get the idea of Landel during the "Nature Boy" gimmick when there was already someone on top doing it, and not just anyone, but Flair. I reckon it HAS to have hurt his career. Why didn't the WWF pick him up in the 80s? They picked up a hell of a lot of others guys who had "issues" during that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 His corkscrew elbow had to be a revelation in 1984. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Flair was a second rate Buddy Rogers too. So... Rogers largely dropped out of major wrestling after dropping the title to Bruno, which was basically a decade before Flair went Nature Boy in JCP. In turn, Flair was right there on TV as The World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion while Landel was trying to get over as the Nature Boy. By the time Flair got the World Title, it was nearly two decades since Rogers dropped the title to Bruno. Major difference. In turn, Flair got over as a Nature Boy working in a territory. If this didn't go as great in the Carolinas for him as their did (i.e. he never wanted to leave), he had the option of heading to another territory in the late 70s and would have been fairly fresh there. With Landel, most places he could potentially go from 1981 on, other than the AWA and WWF (which would never have pushed him high on the cards), Flair already worked as World Champ. That's a major difference. Lastly, Flair had options in the late 70s to move... lots of them. After Landel has his falling out with JCP (setting aside the dope), the options were extremely limited in 1986: WWF wasn't going to push him high, the AWA was dying, he really wasn't a guy Watts would push on top, Dallas sucked other than for the Von Erichs... he didn't have a lot of options. Those were my points, which perhaps I didn't string out in detail. Setting aside the dope, Buddy probably would have done well if he reached his 1984-85 "talent" level in 1975. Could have done well going from territory to territory... or even found a home to anchor in like Buddy Rose did. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 I agree with John. Budro had the goods and could have been a very successful regional star, but the day of the regional star was damn near dead by the time Buddy came onto the scene. I suspect had Southeastern stayed viable he could have been a huge star there. He certainly had the goods as a worker and on the mic and had a natural tie with the territory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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