Grimmas Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 Discuss here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted September 16, 2014 Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 Some might call him a poor man's Lawler, but I don't think that's fair. I prefer to think of him as a better Onita than Onita. To me Colon is possibly the best gimmick match worker of all time in the sense that he can get over the gravity of a stipulation, bleed his ass off, make his comeback, et, and do it all with spots that are largely theatrical in nature and MUCH less physically dangerous than you would think. That's not to say he wasn't having wild brawls, but just that he could get a hell of a lot of mileage out of strategic positioning and grimacing on the barbed wire, than most guys could doing suicidal shit in the same setting. The Hansen feud is one of the top five feuds of the 80's (at worst, I could easy argue it at number one), but you also have to give him a ton of credit for having compelling feuds with multiple great matches against guys like Abby and Hercules Ayala. Hell he had a good series with Steve Strong of all people. I'm not sure where he will fall on my list because there are so many guys I really like, but he was able to do a ton v. a wide variety of guys over the course of three decades (arguably four depending on how you feel about his best stuff from this decade). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliott Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 I'm wondering how high Colon can end up for Dylan and El Boriqua? I'm also wondering if anyone else has seen enough to feel comfortable ranking him. As a followup question for people who have seen enough, who are some other wrestlers you envision being in a similar range? Need PR set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 He's definitely in the mix for me, probably as a bottom 20 candidate. I guess I'd view his candidacy as similar to Onita's or maybe even Hogan's? From what I've seen, he kept it pretty basic in the ring but was tremendous at projecting his charisma onto a match and at building the intensity of feuds. Maybe a poor man's babyface Lawler as another comparison? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo's Roomie Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 I see him as a rich man's Bruno. Is definitely someone who will have a shot at the bottom quarter of my ballot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 Very tough to find a balance on him. I think a lot of what he did was genius in some ways (in large part because it was simple), I think he's a much more influential worker than people give him credit for (if that is something that matters, paging Loss....), and his ability to carry high level/strong in ring quality feuds against such a wide variety of often limited opponents really impresses me. On the other hand it does hurt him in my eyes a bit that he had barely any television presence at all. It may have been smart booking, but the absence of him in the studio setting, really makes him tougher to peg when you are comparing him to guys with a wide range of big and "little" good matches in their resume. Will easily make my ballot, but I'm not sure I will have him over Invader #1 for PR guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 Outside of Hansen, Invader #1 is your top PR guy, Dylan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 I have Invader 1 and Colon neck and neck. Invader was a very good t.v. worker, and probably has a higher volume of good matches. I actually think his selling is substantially better than Colon's, and his comebacks are probably just as good if not better too. That said Colon has the all timer feuds, and it's hard not to give extra points for having an excellent series of matches with someone like Ayala. Very torn between those two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 And how many PR people will make your list, do you think? Roughly? I'm trying to decide where best to focus my last couple of months. PR was a place I was considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 Only absolute certainties are Colon and Invader 1. I don't view anyone else from PR as someone I could put in my top 80. There are others from there who I will consider, and then people like Embry who's cases are enhanced by their work in PR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 What is a "Rich man's Bruno "? Cause if it remotely means he was somehow better than Bruno then the term should die in a fire. 😎 Pardon me, if I'm not getting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted December 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 What is a "Rich man's Bruno "? Cause if it remotely means he was somehow better than Bruno then the term should die in a fire. Pardon me, if I'm not getting it. The same Bruno character, but Puerto Rican and a way better worker. People use a poor man's ___ all the time, so not much of a leap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 The Hansen/Colon feud is life changing in how great it is, he'd almost get a look at my list for that alone. But beyond that he's looked good in everything I've seen of him, and as Dylan says is just a master at working gimmick matches. He's great as the ace of PR, he has that insane connection to an audience that honestly only a few guys in wrestling can match, the kind that makes everything he's doing seem like life and death. He comes off as a hero to an entire people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 What is a "Rich man's Bruno "? Cause if it remotely means he was somehow better than Bruno then the term should die in a fire. Pardon me, if I'm not getting it. I'd agree that the phrase is very ill-considered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InYourCase Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 Wait, do people think Bruno is better than Colon? I don't dislike Bruno, but I find Colon to be much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 Colon is more agile and has better matches to his name. Bruno has a magical connection to his audience that is not matched by any other babyface, including Colon. Johnny was objecting to the idea that Bruno could be the "poor man's" anything. I didn't feel much compelled to check out more Colon beyond the Hansen series, his flips and things were weird. But he was an effective babyface from what I saw. And that series is great. Bruno is probably a tad underrated as a worker, he's very good at garnering maximum -- as in all-time loudest -- heat, is more effective than Backlund in generating sympathy and has a rough and tumble style that is all its own, like a Angered Gorilla. He wouldn't be making any lists based on his technical ability or matches though. And if he makes mine, it'll be through the intangibles and variety ratings. He will be borderline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted February 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 Colon is more agile and has better matches to his name. Bruno has a magical connection to his audience that is not matched by any other babyface, including Colon. Johnny was objecting to the idea that Bruno could be the "poor man's" anything. I didn't feel much compelled to check out more Colon beyond the Hansen series, his flips and things were weird. But he was an effective babyface from what I saw. And that series is great. Bruno is probably a tad underrated as a worker, he's very good at garnering maximum -- as in all-time loudest -- heat, is more effective than Backlund in generating sympathy and has a rough and tumble style that is all its own, like a Angered Gorilla. He wouldn't be making any lists based on his technical ability or matches though. And if he makes mine, it'll be through the intangibles and variety ratings. He will be borderline. Colon probably sold more tickets than Bruno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 What's that got to do with anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted February 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 What's that got to do with anything? Magical connection to the crowd that Bruno had over Colon. Colon had a magical connection the crowd too and bigger crowds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 I wouldn't argue Colon over Bruno as a drawing card. It's possible, but it's a grand claim to make unless you have the research in front of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 Maybe it's because sometimes they are outside in PR, but the same magical connection does not come across through the electric crowds as they do for Bruno at MSG and Philly. And this is not a knock on Colon, but that would also go for Hogan or Austin or any other very over babyface you care to name. It also won't come into my ratings much because the dial doesn't go to 11. If it did, Bruno would be the only one at 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted February 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 I wouldn't argue Colon over Bruno as a drawing card. It's possible, but it's a grand claim to make unless you have the research in front of. Yeah, that was too definitive and too much of a troll. It depends how you define a draw, but if someone wants to compare the two in drawing I think it would be very close and I could see Colon winning. For example the Anniversary Shows had bigger crowds than MSG. Not to mention those stadium shows. I would love for someone to do this comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InYourCase Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 This doesn't have to do with the Bruno conversation, just thought I should mention this. I'd make the argument that Colon has the best babyface fire // comeback ever. It's evident in the Hansen feud and extremely clear in the 10/16/82 Flair match. When I binged on Colon a few weeks ago, that's what came across more than anything. Great bleeder, brawler, and seller, but he really wins me over with his comebacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 I'm honestly not even sure he has the best comebacks of babyface icons from Puerto Rico. Not that he doesn't have a great one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Boricua Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 I'd say Carlos Colon is in a similar vein as Bruno in terms of the type of hero babyface connection he has with his home territory's crowd (not better or worse, just in the same type if you were classifying them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpg.00c68798e2502c92a7da65280cf7def4.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.