stro Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 I was always a fan of Norton as a kid, mostly because if he was on TV, he was going to be murdering dudes and bouncing. He was huge and scary and had an awesome move set for Revenge. Over the years of actually covering wrestling, I've come to develop a great appreciation for him. Not only was he an incredible bruiser with wonderful powermoves, but he tried so hard with his bumping and selling, going way beyond the level of a normal guy his size, and often his own talent levels. He was so earnest in his attempts that he could be a genuinely sympathetic FIP while being a barrel chested monster who could snap people in half. His work, particularly from around 1992-1997, both in WCW and NJPW, is a real treat to watch. He just tried so hard that it's impossible not to like him. He and his wife are also very nice people to fans on social media. I have a large collection of Norton gifs, and I'd like to open up discussion on what people think of him in comparison to other big men of his era, or just good memories of Scott Norton. I'm not going to say he's an all time great or anything, but man, he's a guy I'm going to consistently enjoy pretty much against anyone, because I know exactly what I'm going to get from him and I'm going to love seeing dudes get splattered. The running gag of him coming out and beating the shit out of The Cat for months is one of my favorite WCW side angles of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Good topic. I'm going to move it to The Microscope, which is more a folder for threads about specific wrestlers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotJayTabb Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Every time I think of Norton, I think of that Cat angle. I remember loving the time that the NWO B-team decided to tell Norton that Miller was calling him out, when he was actually doing no such thing, just because they enjoyed watching him beat Cat up. Then the Cat knocked him out with loaded slippers. Such a fun angle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 I loved Fire & Ice and Vicious & Delicious, both teams didn't get the runs they deserved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stro Posted December 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Vicious and Delicious was a perfect mid card team. Buff was a perfect mid card heel before the neck injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 His match against Goldberg sometime around 1998 is one of my favorite short matches ever, and I legit think it's one of the best sub 10 minutes ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stro Posted December 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 That one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 I've always liked Norton in New Japan. He and Hash matched up well. I don't think his legacy was helped by his stint as the 13th guy in the NWO (give or take), but that's not his fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordi Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/04/27/muhammad-ali-ric-flair-oral-history-pro-wrestling-north-korea There are quite a few awesome Norton tidbits in that story. Well worth reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCampbell Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 As a young mark in the late 1990's, my buddies and I were always convinced that Norton was the toughest dude in the world. I'm with NJT as far as loving that whole angle with The Cat. it starts with Miller just talking his usual smack, and Nash decides to tell Norton that Miller called him out, so Norton kicked his ass. The next week, he really did call him out, and Norton kicked his ass again. By the third week, Miller came prepared and KO'd him with a pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stro Posted December 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 That angle actually went on for about 4 months. It kind of died off, Norton went to Japan for a month or two, then came back and resumed like nothing had happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 That one? Yep. Amazing stuff for a match that short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 I got to see Scott Norton Vs. Goldberg live at a Thunder taping, which was pretty cool. I was also the high vote on Scott Norton in the GWE voting & people thought I was crazy... but I've always been a mark for him. I have always been a fan of the big bruiser style. It's part of why I like Braun & Rusev nowadays. Scott Norton is one of those guys where he might not have the best match but if he comes out, I'm not changing the dial until whatever he is doing is over. He was so ox strong it was sick & everything he did looked like death. Shoulder-Breaker, Powerslam, Powerbomb... even his chops. Dude is a beast. Also when I was in high school lifting weights (which seems many years and many pounds ago for sure) Scott Norton looked like what I aspired to look like. His chest is just ridiculously massive. He was also a legit arm wrestler. I think my favorite kind of pro-wrestling match is when it's a big bruiser against a wrestler that has to try to outwit or outmaneuver him. Eddie Guerrero Vs. Brock Lesnar being a good example. In those matches, my favorite part generally tends to be when the monster cuts the plucky wrestler off & finally gets his hands on him. The Giant was pretty good at it too but Norton had this aura about him, where when he finally got his hands on someone, you felt like it might just be over. I remember genuinely feeling bad for The Cat when Norton chopped his chest & busted all of those blood vessels. Norton has some pretty good matches too. I mean, he's no Big Van Vader but I don't think the distance between him & guys like Bam Bam Bigelow, John Tenta or Big Boss Man is that vast. He's also decent in tags where he's the guy the babyfaces don't wanna see get tagged in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 Hirose Hase & Kensuke Sasaki vs Rick Steiner & Scott Norton sometime in 1990 is an excellent match and a thousand times better than the überoverrated Dome show match from the same year. The fact Norton subbed for Scott gave the match a whole new dynamic instead of just being a stupid Steiner spotfest, and it turned into the natives vs two gaijin monsters. Hase being the worker he was back then, and Sasaki being game as hell made it a most surprising quality match. Probably best Norton match ever too. And yeah, that Cat running gag was quite funny. Then again, The Cat was gold. Always liked Norton too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justtxyank Posted May 17, 2017 Report Share Posted May 17, 2017 Late to the topic, but I was also a big fan. I liked his team with Hercules. One thing that I always enjoyed was the way he would go over the top rope to follow a guy to the outside. He had a unique way. Instead of stepping over he would often...I don't know, bounce? off of it and slide to the outside? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britwresdvds Posted June 10, 2017 Report Share Posted June 10, 2017 I really enjoyed his short WCW run in 1993, when he was absolutely killing people on Worldwide every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broke Posted July 11, 2017 Report Share Posted July 11, 2017 Norton's a guy I've come to appreciate over the years. I think they could have done a lot more with Vicious and Delicious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Memphis Mark Posted July 16, 2017 Report Share Posted July 16, 2017 Has anyone seen Scott Norton 's Portland run ? I really don't know how much footage exists ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB8 Posted July 17, 2017 Report Share Posted July 17, 2017 Every time I see Norton I like him even more. He really feels like an under the radar pick for one of Hashimoto's best opponents. I mean, he had the strikes to match up in a way that a lot of Hash's New Japan opponents didn't really have, he had the aura of a guy who could conceivably crush most people, he could fling Hash around, and he was willing to take the ugliest brainbusters possible (evident from some of those gifs up top). There's a Norton/Tenzan v Hashimoto/Ogawa tag from 2002 - might actually be Hashimoto's last appearance in New Japan - that I had no real expectations for and it turned out to be completely awesome. I had no idea Norton had much of anything left in the tank at that point, but he was totally great in it and took a completely fucking insane bump off an STO/leg sweep double team. It's a killer match and a super performance from Norton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted July 17, 2017 Report Share Posted July 17, 2017 I'm surprised WWF never gave him a shot, unless what they were offering wasn't comparable to what New Japan was giving him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 He was so raw when he debuted in the AWA I honestly didn't know what he would do long-term as a wrestler. The 1989-90 AWA put a lot of people in a spotlight situation that they were not ready for. Norton was sooooo strong, they played up his arm wrestling background right out of the gate and it was pretty effective in making you notice him. And he handled his place on the card pretty well. I did not expect him to continue to get better and get to the place in wrestling he ended up getting to. He was sort of like Leon White that way, someone that had "something" going when they started in the business, but seemed more fad-ish than something that they could grow and develop and make a career out of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricR Posted July 20, 2017 Report Share Posted July 20, 2017 I really loved his 3/19/16 NJPW match against Giant Bernard. He was clearly on his retirement tour (I don't think he worked 10 more matches with New Japan, and maybe no more singles matches), and he couldn't move nearly as well as he used to be able to, and had packed on some weight...but damn did he go out and burn it down. He takes a brutal bump off the apron into the guardrail, gets a big goose egg, really comes off as sympathetic despite still being a monster. I love matches where the old vet is being challenged by a "young" guy, and this had the added emotion of a former top gaijin being roughed up by the current top gaijin, and Norton's performance made it feel like a huge deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted September 16, 2017 Report Share Posted September 16, 2017 I used to wonder what Norton in early-mid 90's WWF would have looked like. I imagine fun matches with Shawn, Bret, Razor and the likes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted September 16, 2017 Report Share Posted September 16, 2017 ....I have a real soft spot for the Jurassic Powers...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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