Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Loss]

The more I see of Gordy, the worse he looks, primarily because he had a way of making everything he touched awfully boring in All Japan.

[Shining Wiz]

I'll have to watch more of his AJPW stuff, but off the top of my head he's just below Vader and Hansen in the big man ass kicker category. He stood out as something different in WCCW and I really enjoyed him in mid-south/UWF. Also have a soft spot for his WCW tag run with Williams in 92-93.

[Childs]

He's waaay below Vader and Hansen. I'm not sure he'll make my ballot, which would've been unthinkable to me five years ago. He was a great physical talent and a great asset in World Class, because he brought a more badass air to the Freebirds. But I agree with Loss that he was often really boring in All Japan and WCW. For a long time, the idea of Doc being better than him would've been anathema to most hardcore fans. But Gordy never touched the kind of singles run Doc put together in '94.

[Shining Wiz]

He's waaay below Vader and Hansen. I'm not sure he'll make my ballot, which would've been unthinkable to me five years ago. He was a great physical talent and a great asset in World Class, because he brought a more badass air to the Freebirds. But I agree with Loss that he was often really boring in All Japan and WCW. For a long time, the idea of Doc being better than him would've been anathema to most hardcore fans. But Gordy never touched the kind of singles run Doc put together in '94.

I think I'm going to enjoy going back through '90's All Japan.

[Timbo Slice]

I remember loving a singles match he had against Misawa in 1991 and I liked the Freebirds stuff enough, but I don't see him making a Top 100 list if we're basing this mostly on work. I think there are too many high-end candidates. Gordy was damn good, but much like the ol' Gordy List for the WON HOF, he might be the guy who ends up being the cutline for this thing.

[goodhelmet]

I agree his 90s run wasn't any great HOF run but he was pretty damn good in the 80s. Gordy had great performances in Texas, Japan, and Mid South that definitely warrant praise enough to put him in the top 100. With that said, I'll probably have Michael Hayes above him.

[W2BTD]

Gordy is overrated, Hayes is very, very underrated.

[fxnj]

I'm not denying that a lot of his AJPW stuff is disappointing but I also don't see how it's that much different from his US stuff. In fact, I think part of what makes the Williams comparison so unfavorable to him is that while Williams has all these epics to his name, Gordy was generally fine just working a stiffer version of what he'd do in the US.

[JerryvonKramer]

Williams was terrible in WCW in my view. Especially in 88-9.

[elliott]

Been watching and thinking about Terry Gordy lately and I like the idea of Gordy more than I actually like Gordy. He's been in a lot of great matches (mostly 80s tags) and he has a lot of great tools but I always end up feeling underwhelmed. He's great on paper. Good size, great punch, great bumping, knew how to sell and put guys over. But there's just something missing and I can't put my finger on what it is. He should have been a top 20 worker but the pieces never really came together like I would have hoped.

[JerryvonKramer]

Just to throw out a completely random bunch of guys, how would Gordy stack up against:

 

Adrian Adonis

Barry Windham

Harley Race

Terry Taylor

Jerry Blackwell

Sting

 

Genuinely interested in people's views. These sorts of comparisons can be fun.

[elliott]

Before I get into the names, I wanted to say Gordy will make my list. I do think he was a very good-great wrestler in the 80s and he's been in a lot of matches I really like/love. But he's a weird guy to me because I think he had all the tools and opportunities to have a higher peak than he did.

 

Adrian Adonis

I would rate Gordy higher definitely. Its a good comparison because they share some similar qualities based around size and athletic ability. Gordy has more good-great matches than Adonis and has him beat as far as longevity and I prefer Gordy stylistically. There are some Adonis matches I want to rewatch (like vs Rose) and I could definitely be convinced that Adonis' peak as a singles wrestler was better than Gordy's but overall I prefer Gordy.

 

Barry Windham

I will absolutely rate Windham higher. This is possibly a case where Gordy has him beat as far as number of good/great matches but Barry takes it on performances/versatility. Barry also shares a lot of strengths with Gordy related to size and athleticism but Barry was a much more versatile performer. Heel, face, tags, singles, young up and comer, established vet, brawler, title match worker, short sprints, long sprawling epics etc etc. Barry could do it all. I think Barry smokes Gordy as far as great singles matches too. Easily Windham.

 

Harley Race

I would rate him and Gordy around the same range based on what I've seen. I've seen a lot of Harley but I've seen WAY more Gordy. Both are guys who I want to like more than I do and I always expect their matches to be better than they end up being. RIght now Push.

 

Terry Taylor

Gordy in a cakewalk. I like the idea of Gordy more than I like Gordy. I don't like the idea of Terry Taylor or the reality of Terry Taylor.

 

Jerry Blackwell

This is an interesting comp. I feel like Gordy should have been better. I don't know if Blackwell could have been better. Both have a really unique skill in that they can maintain their dangerous aura while taking lunatic bumps and putting babyfaces over in a big way. Gordy definitely has him beat on longevity but I'm not sure his peak performances are better.

 

Sting

Gordy was better. Gordy just looked stupid. Sting was stupid

Seriously though, Sting's best singles matches were probably better but Gordy beats him easily on longevity as a very good-great worker and consistency.

[El-P]

But he's a weird guy to me because I think he had all the tools and opportunities to have a higher peak than he did.

 

Agreed. Been watching a lot of WCCW lately, and it really was the last piece of the puzzle, but Gordy really didn't have much very strong matches there. Then again, nobody seemingly did. And working mostly against the Von Erichs, well. Gordy did the best work possible in this context. There's something of an overgrown Terry Funk about young Gordy. Ruled it in Japan both in the 80's and 90's. Carried the team with Doc before Doc became what he became. Was terrific in MId-South. But yeah, if you're going by legit out of this world great matches, there's something missing, but let's be honest, we're not into DiBiase territory here, Gordy had plenty of excellent matches on his resume.

 

As far as comparison goes, Windham was better, because peak Windham I'd put against anyone, Misawa included. Heel Blackwell maybe was on the same level or even better than Gordy, I dunno. Face Blackwell certainly wasn't. All the other guys are below Gordy (although Race is the closest).

[JerryvonKramer]

Don't understand the DiBiase comment. Are you saying you think Gordy had more great matches to his name than Ted?

[elliott]

I actually think the majority of the Gordy matches I really like are in Texas. The absolute best matches he was involved in were probably in Japan but I feel pretty comfortable saying I think his best run as a worker was the Freebirds vs Von Erichs feud.

 

I do like El-P's point about young Gordy being an overgrown Terry Funk. That's a really good call actually.

[El-P]

Don't understand the DiBiase comment. Are you saying you think Gordy had more great matches to his name than Ted?

 

Yes. Which is pretty easy since I've never seen a DiBiase match or performance I'd really call *great*.

 

 

The absolute best matches he was involved in were probably in Japan but I feel pretty comfortable saying I think his best run as a worker was the Freebirds vs Von Erichs feud.

 

I thought Buddy Robert was the best worker of the three at this point. Still, Gordy was at least very good there too.

[Childs]

I would only rate Windham clearly higher, though Blackwell's best performances were just as good as Gordy's. If we had more peak Blackwell on tape, my guess is I'd have him above Terry. Harley I probably have on about the same level. Both he and Gordy have often left me underwhelmed despite their obvious gifts.

 

Adonis, Taylor and Sting have no chance of making my 100.

 

I'm not sure how to rate Gordy's Japan work. He plugged right in with the top guys in All-Japan and looked like he belonged. But he rarely delivered performances that struck me as remarkable, even in matches that were great overall. I mean, he was in that 12/16/88 tag, but he wasn't the one who made it memorable. Same with the Funk retirement tag. I guess he was still better than Doc in the early MVC days, but I wouldn't call their matches the cream of the crop for that promotion. On the singles front, he had very good matches with Misawa and Kobashi but again, not the best of the best. It's hard to knock a guy for a solid 10-year run as a hoss in one of the world's best in-ring promotions. I just wish he blew my hair back a few times.

[JRGoldman]

I think Gordy is sometimes a victim of our expectations, in that many people feel he didn't live up to his potential/physical gifts. Because of that, his career feels lacking because it seems like he should have a bunch more matches that are classics, or a run like Doc, Hansen or Vader. Ignoring what we think Gordy was capable of and judging his work in a vacuum, I think he holds up reasonably well.

 

Has anyone bothered to rewatch the Raven match? It was such a big deal at the time, but I have no idea how it holds up.

[Loss]

Terry Gordy did all the stuff you'd want a guy like Terry Gordy to do on paper. He checks off every box I can think of. He's just kinda boring doing it all. He could do everything except captivate.

[Dylan Waco]

Gordy won't make my list.

 

I thought Hayes was better than him in Texas and Hayes is a bubble guy who I want to include but might not have room for.

 

Gordy was good in Japan, but he lacks a singular performance I can point to where he blew me away.

 

A fine wrestler, but he's not an all timer.

[Benbeeach]

...is he THAT much better than Sting?

[elliott]

I ranked Terry Gordy 83 in 2016 and I feel l pretty blah about that. I love the Freebirds vs Von Erichs and am probably as high on that feud as anyone, but I would have him behind Hayes & Kerry for that feud alone. I like him in Mid South a lot, especially the Dr Death feud. He's hit or miss for me in Japan. There's just an extra gear missing that I wish was there. He's someone I probably could be swayed on with uncovered footage though because I do really like him and I think he had all the tools, he just never connected the way I always hoped. 

[strobogo]

On 10/6/2015 at 6:57 PM, Loss said:

Terry Gordy did all the stuff you'd want a guy like Terry Gordy to do on paper. He checks off every box I can think of. He's just kinda boring doing it all. He could do everything except captivate.

This is exactly how I'd sum him up as well, and while my hatred of all things Michael Hayes makes me hold their association against Gordy, I actually think I find him more engaging in America even often with lesser talent. I think he was a guy who really vibed off the crowd energy and so a couple hundred rabid rednecks got him more amped up than 10-13k of engaged but not ravenous Japanese people.

[Cap]

Gordy is a weird one to me. I think he is really talented, but I feel like that talent didn't translate into great matches as much as it should or could have.  I like quite a bit of what he did with Hansen, a lot of the freebird stuff, and the sporadic singles banger.  He would probably do better on a "favorites" list, but I could see him sneaking in the back part of my list.

I named my dog after him so if I dedicate any of those final spots to sentimental picks he would be a front runner for that.