Strummer Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 In a perfect world sans politics and Hogan and Nash not holding guys down who do you think would have been the biggest stars or tops guys out of the late 90s WCW midcard? Benoit is the obvious choice but he always seemed so out of place when working with Hogan and the rest of the NWO guys. It didn't happen often but when it did it was awkward and didn't have the right aesthetic feel. It wasn't necessarily his fault as WCW had such a caste system that certain guys just looked like they didn't belong at different levels Eddy could have hung with those guys on the mic and would have a made a damn good underdog against the top guys ala a DDP. Jericho a definite yes. Could see him adapting to the main event style, Could talk Can't really see a case for Malenko or Saturn. Raven? I could see it but he didn't really work a style that WCW main events featured Kidman? Bagwell? any others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 DDP. Raven. Jericho. Scott Steiner. Benoit. Eddie. Rey Jr. (yeah, he could and should). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I see them all as midcarders and can't see any of them carrying a company in 1998. US title level at most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Granted, he'd need James Vandenberg speaking for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Not a chance Matt. Not even one hope in hell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpchicago23 Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I think a guy like Juvy could've been a bigger star albeit not a main eventer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Not a chance Matt. Not even one hope in hell. Parv, Watch this, as it's a match you really need to see anyway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v57-ppkdTN4 Extrapolate backwards. He's actually the world's best 1997 Undertaker opponent, to be honest. (I'll admit it's a little disingenuous since I'm not sure 1997-9 La Parka could have had that match) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I can watch the match, but if you think a masked light heavyweight Mecixan high flyer is main eventing any US company in 1998 you need a reality check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I don't know that WCW really had a true main event guy who could work with someone beneath him and help make them the way that Bret Hart could in WWF. Hart was not the same in WCW, he was more at the Eddy/Benoit level than the Hogan/Goldberg level. I think JVK is definitely right about La Parka. They could have done more with him, but that doesn't mean he could have been a real top guy, not even close. There is this weird thing where anyone who gets good crowd reactions is now suddenly looked at as someone who could or "should" be a main eventer. But getting crowd reactions and being someone people will PAY MONEY to see is different. Otherwise Sid would have been one of the biggest draws of all time. But pretty much no one was buying tickets to see Sid even if he would sometimes get the loudest reaction on the card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Savage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Savage? This is as good a choice as any but even Savage started to be seen at a tier below the very top especially after he became a 2nd fiddle in the nWo. But he did do a lot to help make DDP so yea he could have done a lot of good against an Eddy or a Benoit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Re: La Parka 1. Watch the match. 2. You asked who out of who was on the roster. I think he's as good a choice as any. 3. He was over with the live crowds. He was unique when it came to the luchadors. He wasn't a light heavyweight. He was bigger. The point of seeing that match is to watch how he brawls in a highly emotional match. He had a unique marketable look. He had a ton of charisma. More than any other luchador save for Rey, he could tap into both the hispanic and non-hispanic audiences. 4. All that said, I still think he'd be a better fit as an Austin or Undertaker opponent in 98. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 The answer is Rey. A lot of those guys were good to great, but Rey was a can't miss once in a lifetime star. Rey got over huge in 1999 when they actually did give him a main event rub, then of course they cut his balls off. Rey also had the merchandising potential that none of the other guys had. I think most of the other guys peaked in that particular company's setting. maybe they could have got more from Eddy but his personal issues would have prevented a serious run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 In 1998, it would have taken really careful booking for any of them to work on top, but it would have made a huge difference. By 1999, anti-WCW sentiment was so strong that even if they were trying to build new stars at that point, they were already in the mode that dying wrestling companies often find themselves: Everything wrong is wrong, and everything right is somehow wrong too. I still think Jericho was the guy WWE should have anointed to carry wrestling post-Austin/Rock, but it needed to happen in WWE. He was a better fit there and that's where he ended up. Benoit actually drew some pay-per-view buys opposite Rock in 2000 that were higher than some of the Rock-HHH buys, so there's evidence that even if he wasn't going to be a big business mover, he wouldn't be embarrassing in the spot or anything. On top of that, I think Benoit was probably more over in WCW than he ever was in WWE. At the very least, most of those guys should have at least been feuding with the 80s holdover types like Lex Luger and Scott Steiner, and probably going over them. 1998 WCW needed to be even more about Goldberg than it was. Probably 1999 and beyond too. Goldberg wasn't just over, he was Next Hulk Hogan-level over, and he was coming along at just the right time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I can watch the match, but if you think a masked light heavyweight Mecixan high flyer is main eventing any US company in 1998 you need a reality check. I don't think La Parka would have been effective on top either, but his ethnicity isn't the reason. Just to confirm, are you saying that wrestling fans wouldn't accept a Mexican on top, or that promoters wouldn't push a Mexican on top? I'll also add that he's actually very much a heavyweight. He worked so well with the smaller guys that it was easy to forget that he towered over them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Re: La Parka 1. Watch the match. 2. You asked who out of who was on the roster. I think he's as good a choice as any. 3. He was over with the live crowds. He was unique when it came to the luchadors. He wasn't a light heavyweight. He was bigger. The point of seeing that match is to watch how he brawls in a highly emotional match. He had a unique marketable look. He had a ton of charisma. More than any other luchador save for Rey, he could tap into both the hispanic and non-hispanic audiences. 4. All that said, I still think he'd be a better fit as an Austin or Undertaker opponent in 98. My answer! La Parka could had been a main eventer, easily. Watch that crazy brawl with Dr. Wagner Jr. and tell me he couldn't had main evented any promotion. His charisma was off the page. His ability was off the page. He got really over for someone who only worked openers. La Parka was a MAJOR missed opportunity. Also, Parv, saying a high flyer shows you don't know La Parka. Other evidence is Rey Jr. being a draw in the WWE. Parka had more charisma and his style fit better into main events (he is not better than Rey). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Even if he worked as a base, he was associated with high flying. Even if he was actually a heavyweight, he was associated with cruiser weights. And Loss, I think both. I don't think fans were ready en masse in 1998 to go with a Mexican as the top star, and sure as hell the promoters, TV companies etc. weren't. Let alone a masked one. The idea of LA Parka being a top main event star at a time when Goldberg, Hogan, Savage, and Austin were all still active is pretty laughable. Let alone Nash, Bret, Flair, Taker, Foley, Sting ... "Get real" is all I'll say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Even if he worked as a base, he was associated with high flying. Even if he was actually a heavyweight, he was associated with cruiser weights. And Loss, I think both. I don't think fans were ready en masse in 1998 to go with a Mexican as the top star, and sure as hell the promoters, TV companies etc. weren't. Let alone a masked one. The idea of LA Parka being a top main event star at a time when Goldberg, Hogan, Savage, and Austin were all still active is pretty laughable. Let alone Nash, Bret, Flair, Taker, Foley, Sting ... "Get real" is all I'll say. What changed from 98 to 2006 when Rey was put on top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Quite a huge amount actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I think the issue was less that he was Mexican and more that he was typecast. Sometimes people overcome that type of thing but it's an uphill battle. I do agree that the company wasn't going to push a Hispanic wrestler in a top position in 1998 since WCW was run by racists, but I think the jury is out on if fans would have accepted it. It was never tried, so we don't know. Regardless of the quality of his work, Konnan is the first guy that comes to mind for that spot though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Are you going to try to run a Mexican against a Texan Redneck in the height of the Monday Might Wars? Let's not pretend that the wrestling audience were all enlightened liberals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Are you going to try to run a Mexican against a Texan Redneck in the height of the Monday Might Wars? Let's not pretend that the wrestling audience were all enlightened liberals. I think LA Park would had been a face, so no. However if Matt wants to argue that he can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I don't think La Parka's inability to be a main eventer has anything to do with him being Mexican and everything to do with him not being able to cut promos and wrestling in a skeleton costume. Yes, that skeleton costume made him stand out from the other luchadores but it's not a main event gimmick. Eddy had a higher ceiling despite being smaller due to his ability to cut promos and play both heel and face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Are you going to try to run a Mexican against a Texan Redneck in the height of the Monday Might Wars? Let's not pretend that the wrestling audience were all enlightened liberals. I think LA Park would had been a face, so no. However if Matt wants to argue that he can.No I don't mean running him in a match against Austin. I mean running him on top as WCW against an Austin-led WWF. "Here racists, change the channel!" Basically giving Vince money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I don't think La Parka's inability to be a main eventer has anything to do with him being Mexican and everything to do with him not being able to cut promos and wrestling in a skeleton costume. Yes, that skeleton costume made him stand out from the other luchadores but it's not a main event gimmick. Eddy had a higher ceiling despite being smaller due to his ability to cut promos and play both heel and face. Skeleton costume is also an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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.