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Who should have come along at a different time or place?


JaymeFuture

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For this week's podcast, we're looking at classic examples of guys in wrestling history who may have been more successful if they had come around at a different time or place, and as always, we're looking for your suggestions. So who is the ONE guy that you've always watched and thought they would have done better had they come along at a different time or place, when would have been the best time for them, and more importantly, why? I'm really looking forward to the feedback from you guys on this, as there's been a lot of tape watching done that would identify some of the unsung gems who were caught in the midst of the wrong time frame to stand out...

We'll be reading the best candidates on the show and crediting you accordingly, so this should be a lot of fun. Who's your pick?

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yea, mark henry would've been the first black NWA champ in 80s crockett

 

mike awesome was always a guy who felt like he should've been more than he was, what with his physical gifts. maybe if he stays away from garbage wrestling he becomes a poor man's don leo jonathan, who knows

 

one of my very first posts on here was a detailed one about JW storm, but he would fall in the same category as awesome to me. wasn't motivated to stay in wrestling since he came in during an all-time low for business...think he would've been perfect for the late 90s since he had the look and could do high-flying big man stuff.

 

here's something a bit outside the box: most black wrestlers prior to the 80s. they tended to be pigeonholed into stereotypical gimmicks (even more so than since), and i can't help but be a bit suspicious of the fact that almost all of them got stuck with the "bad worker" label. we definitely have video evidence of that for some of these guys, but somehow i have a hard time believing that every single black wrestler who ever drew money in the territories was basically konnan.

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yea, mark henry would've been the first black NWA champ in 80s crockett

What makes you say this? What does Henry have that Butch Reed or Tony Atlas didn't?

 

 

what the next couple replies said, plus the olympic cred which i figure would have mattered much more back then. in reagan's america, you know...

 

but i think the size is particularly important. i've always had the impression that the 80s were the peak of people in the business being size marks.

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yea, mark henry would've been the first black NWA champ in 80s crockett

What makes you say this? What does Henry have that Butch Reed or Tony Atlas didn't?

 

what the next couple replies said, plus the olympic cred which i figure would have mattered much more back then. in reagan's america, you know...

 

but i think the size is particularly important. i've always had the impression that the 80s were the peak of people in the business being size marks.

 

NWA champ is a different proposition though.

 

He'd have been a good traveling heel or a good Hogan opponent.

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here's something a bit outside the box: most black wrestlers prior to the 80s. they tended to be pigeonholed into stereotypical gimmicks (even more so than since), and i can't help but be a bit suspicious of the fact that almost all of them got stuck with the "bad worker" label. we definitely have video evidence of that for some of these guys, but somehow i have a hard time believing that every single black wrestler who ever drew money in the territories was basically konnan.

 

This. Jack Claybourne, Luther Lindsay, Samara Seelie, Bearcat Wright, Bobo Brazil.

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No way Henry becomes NWA Champion in the '80s. Everyone in wrestling was still very behind-the-times and racist back then. Yes, Watts pushed JYD, but that was only one territory and let's not forget his infamous Torch Talk interview. Plus, Teddy Long has gone on record about the racism he experienced in wrestling (you can see what he said on the WWE Network for only $9.99). And didn't Meltzer recently report that the n-word was a business term for black wrestlers well into the '90s? With all of that working against Henry, I can't see it happening for him in the '80s, no matter what an impressive physical specimen he would've been at the time.

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Billy Graham should have debuted in the late 70's ala Hogan and should have stayed away from the drugs. He would have been perfect for the 1980's.

 

This is an odd one, but I think Meng would have been better had he debuted in the 2010's. He'd be a legitimate tough guy and I think could get movie roles and stuff with his rep.

 

I don't know if they should, but I would be curious to see what a Benoit/Eddy would have done had they debuted in the late 90's along with Punk, DB and Joe.

 

Owen should have came around later for sure. I could see him being like a modern day Regal or something.

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Billy Graham should have debuted in the late 70's ala Hogan and should have stayed away from the drugs. He would have been perfect for the 1980's.

 

This is an odd one, but I think Meng would have been better had he debuted in the 2010's. He'd be a legitimate tough guy and I think could get movie roles and stuff with his rep.

 

I don't know if they should, but I would be curious to see what a Benoit/Eddy would have done had they debuted in the late 90's along with Punk, DB and Joe.

 

Owen should have came around later for sure. I could see him being like a modern day Regal or something.

Would a guy like Meng really have any opportunity to develop that tough guy persona? I don't think current WWE would let things like that happen.

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If Regal would've been 10 years older he would've been awesome working the territories

 

Not quite sure about this one. The one thing holding Regal back was always himself. Every time a company gave him a chance he screwed it up, because of his massive drug use.

A drug free Regal though I think would have worked in every era.

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