Dick Slater

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Timbo Slice]

Dick was always a favorite of mine. The Clash VIII tag match was great and I always thought he was one of the best stooges ever. I can see someone putting him on their list as a favorite pick, but I'm not sure if I'll have enough room for him.

[JerryvonKramer]

There seems like there is a lot more Slater on tape than there is Bob Orton Jr. I may get round to a closer look. He was a top talent in the late 70s / early 80s but my sense is that he became a bit too Terry-Funk-lite later on.

[shoe]

His matches in Mid-South with Jake were really good, the Butch Reed ones were solid, had fun brawls with Duggan. He had a late resurgence in Memphis. He had a real good brawl with Flair in 89. What could hurt him is amount of footage.

[El-P]

Solid worker, but the whole Terry Funk tribute act (which, to my knowledge, he was already doing as early as the early 80's in Japan) makes him a thoroughly uninteresting worker to me most of the time. Give me the real deal instead.

 

Probably at his best in Mid-South (yep, that feud with Jake, maybe Jake's best hour in-ring too actually). Highlight of his career is introducing Dark Journey to pro-wrestling (or the other way around).

[goc]

Slater is a guy I just don't "get." I really didn't even care for his stuff in Mid-South against Butch Reed or Jake.

[elliott]

I have never been able to look beyond the Terry Funk rip off routine to fairly assess Slater. I figure I should give him a real look at some point but it's a difficult hurdle to overcome. I've never thought he was bad, I'm just left with a sour taste. Looks fine on a list and is definitely good on paper. 

[Mr JMML]

I personally liked his match against Greg Valentine in 1984, Jake Roberts in 1986 and his tag team with Bob Orton Jr but he won't make my list.

There's at least 150 wrestlers with better careers overall.

[Reel]

I don't know if I'm gonna end up with Funk at 1 when I submit, but if I do, I'm gonna put Slater at 100 for symmetry. 

[ohtani's jacket]

I've got a lot of time for Dick Slater, but I don't think he's charismatic enough to make a top 100. His heyday was in Florida where he was a proper star. In most of his 80s footage, he's a journeyman. He is a bit of a poor man's Terry Funk at times, but if you're gonna ape anyone then Funk's not a bad choice.