Loss Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 I originally had this in Tony Anthony's thread, but I think it plays better as its own topic. Brian Pillman Tracy Smothers Tom Pritchard Buddy Roberts Tommy RichJeff Jarrett Stan Lane Brad Armstrong Bobby Fulton Robert Gibson John Tatum Eddie Gilbert Lanny Poffo Steve Keirn Robert Fuller Billy Joe Travis Iceman Parsons Eric Embry Chris Candido Dick Slater Bill Irwin Terry Taylor Buddy Landell Dutch Mantell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W2BTD Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 That's... a lot of wrestlers. I'll take a shot at tiers, then maybe come back and attempt a proper ranking. I'll do it without thinking very hard about it at first, going off of first instinct and who I enjoy watching more in general. Tier 1 Pillman Smothers Jarrett Armstrong Poffo Candido Taylor Landel Pillman might be the worst of the bunch, I suspect he'll fall lower than the rest if/when I rank them, and he might even belong on Tier 2. I'm way higher on Armstrong & Poffo than most people, I think both are criminally underrated. Terry Taylor is the best wrestler on the entire list. Come to think of it, i'm probably higher on him than most people, too. Tier 2 Pritchard Fulton Gilbert Keirn Lane Slater Irwin Rich Maybe swap Pritchard with Pillman. Comfortable with the rest being a tier below my top tier. Tier 3 Roberts Gibson Travis Parsons Embry Mantell Fuller* Haven't seen a ton of prime Fuller, so I can only go off what I've seen. Probably would be fair to say the same about Roberts, but I saw all of the World Class stuff and he never impressed me at all and came off like "just a guy". Never "got" Embry, but that should shock no one who understands my taste. The rest are fine, but below the other tiers imo. Tier 4 Tatum. He's terrible. Cant stand him. Go away heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 Shocked that you dislike Tatum Joe as his persona feels like someone that would utilize some movie theater pick up techniques back in the 80's. His changed man stuff in 1990 was also tremendous. Brian Pillman Tracy Smothers Eric Embry Chris Candido Tommy Rich These are the five fighting for contention for my top 100 for the GWE. I am right in the peak of Pillman watching him in his 91-93 run the past year or so and he had some great stuff throughout as a face or heel, as a plucky underdog or going toe to toe as a junior. Smothers has longeivity and still is entertaining to this day in the ring 28 years after some of his breakout performances in Continential. I would like to rewatch his stuff with the like of Bull Pain before I turn in my ballot. Embry/Candido/Rich are great territory heels that can also be dynamic faces when called upon. I honestly think both of these will end up in the 90-110 slots. Eddie Gilbert Buddy Landell Stan Lane Tom Pritchard Dutch Mantell This is my tier two. All are guys I like a good deal but won't make my top 100. Lane may be the aberration as I seem to be higher on him than most but I do prefer his pairing of the MX and thought he was there with Eaton and brought a flashy dynamic that was needed. Jeff Jarrett Really awesome in the early 90's, still good later when given a chance, WAY overstayed his welcome. Bobby Fulton Buddy Roberts Steve Keirn Really good tag workers that can shine but don't have the standout singles stuff to push them higher. Keirn also at points can look real uninterested and methodical. Robert Fuller Dick Slater Should probably see more but I like these guys. Brad Armstrong Robert Gibson One person I have never gotten the hype for (Armstrong) and someone that was clearly carried by his partner (Gibson) John Tatum Billy Joe Travis Awesome characters, not enough showcase stuff to gauge on tape. Lanny Poffo Terry Taylor Solid hands but vanilla personalities overall. Iceman Parsons Bill Irwin I don't like either of these guys very much at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W2BTD Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 I should note that Wild Bill would be #1 on my list of in match trash talking. The man was a master of his craft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 I tried to do this as a list but I hit the middle and locked up so I'm going to use the same tier system. Tier 1: Buddy Landell Tracy Smothers Dick Slater Chris Candido Now, if I was doing a straight list format Buddy Landell would be my number 1. I admit to being slightly biased because I just watched his JCP run within the last year. He was just tremendous during that time frame. Tier 2: Tommy Rich Dutch Mantell Jeff Jarrett Tom Prichard Brian Pillman Steve Keirn Brad Armstrong Eddie Gilbert Robert Fuller Terry Taylor Lanny Poffo I see all of these guys as extremely strong talents and some of the guys like Gilbert and Prichard are among my favorites. Tier 3: Eric Embry Bill Irwin Billy Joe Travis Buddy Roberts Stan Lane John Tatum Bobby Fulton This is largely a group I'm indifferent towards. They don't offend me in any way but I also don't really go looking for their matches either. Tier 4: Robert Gibson Iceman Parsons My biggest takeaway from the Rock N Roll Express watching the last year is that Ricky Morton is a god of charisma. He made a completely mediocre talent in Robert Gibson part of something special. My 1985 JCP watch really exposed the fact that Gibson is probably one of the luckiest guys ever in wrestling. He couldn't talk and he wasn't anything special in the ring either. I can't think of many cases were one talent was so strong that he carried such an obvious weak link to such heights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 Only three guys with a shot at my 100 from these are Slater, Lane and Pillman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 Only three guys with a shot at my 100 from these are Slater, Lane and Pillman. No love for Landell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 Not from what I've seen which is only his early JCP and then WCW runs. I've seen him in TV studio matches too. I still have to get through Memphis 80s set, but my perception so far is that the TV / booking are better then the in-ring product. I'm only up to 1981 mind. 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.