Who's your Boy?!

[C.S.]

Maniac Mike Davis: MOON ROCK!

Pierre/Jean-Pierre LaFitte: Loved him.

 

Mordecai: HEAR ME! FEAR ME!

 

Bull Dempsey: Thought he should have destroyed Baron Corbin. Was and still is the better all-around performer.

[victory]

Guys like Adam Bomb and the Berzerker would fall under this category for me. Just loved their goofy characters and thought they looked cool as hell. Even watching them now I still enjoy them. Berzerker actually was pretty decent and could really bumb his ass of.

[iamthedoctor]

Kizarny.

 

I was So hyped by his vignettes, and then he had this one match and it was bad. And then he is gone. To this day I'm sad because of this.

 

Kizarny was a interesting character. I liked those hype videos he did then he beat MVP in his debut, kinda wished he had stayed in WWE.

[Boss Rock]

 

As a kid my boy was Barry Horowitz as digged his checkered blue or Black & Green trunks he wore. Marked the hell out when he beat Chris Candido on Wrestling Challenge and then the undefeated Hakushi.

 

Same here. Always loved Horowitz and was glad he got a little bit of a push then. Horowitz was the perfect guy for the job, could work, bump, give you a solid match whomever he worked against, had a good look, had character. A unsung hero of US pro-wrestling if the late 80's/90's.

 

 

Also a big Horowitz fan.

[peachchaos]

If Dave Taylor can't make this thread then Horowitz is surely out of contention too. Both totally capable workers.

 

I think names like Adam Bomb and Maxx Payne are closer to the thread title at heart.

 

I would pop huge for Techno Team 2000 whenever they showed up in WWF. And for years I couldn't understand why High Voltage weren't pushed to the moon on Nitro.

[Peppercorn Bing Bong]

Have got to echo the love for Sandman and New Jack, Jack in particular. I don't care if his matches suck from a technical standpoint, New Jack will always be entertaining as hell to me. When I was a kid the first ever episode of ECW on TNN I saw had a New Jack vs. Mike Awesome match, and I've been a fan of his ever since. Dude is a damn nut, but that's what makes him so great.

 

Will also namedrop the Headbangers here, anybody who wrestles in Napalm Death and Morbid Angel shirts is A-OK in my book.

[The Chief]

Yup Horowitz doesn't belong here at all. Nobody with at least a rudimentary wrestling IQ would tell you that Horowitz sucked.

[EricR]

Guys like Adam Bomb and the Berzerker would fall under this category for me. Just loved their goofy characters and thought they looked cool as hell. Even watching them now I still enjoy them. Berzerker actually was pretty decent and could really bumb his ass of.

 

I was going to mention Berzerker since I literally wrote up every one of his matches this year because of my love of him...but he felt like too good a wrestler to mention here. In fact people are mentioning a lot of wrestlers who I think are more often than not thought of as "good".

[iamthedoctor]

 

Guys like Adam Bomb and the Berzerker would fall under this category for me. Just loved their goofy characters and thought they looked cool as hell. Even watching them now I still enjoy them. Berzerker actually was pretty decent and could really bumb his ass of.

 

I was going to mention Berzerker since I literally wrote up every one of his matches this year because of my love of him...but he felt like too good a wrestler to mention here. In fact people are mentioning a lot of wrestlers who I think are more often than not thought of as "good".

 

 

Berzerker is a odd one out of the blue. I remember reading about a 40 man battle royal in WWF magazine I think the one Bulldog won and when they announced a 40 man one on Prime Time Wrestling I figured it would be this. I was suprised when Berzerker won as didn't think he had a chance against the other top stars.

 

Early 90s WWF can be strange at times when they go Attitude era style when he tried to stab Taker with a Sword and it got stuck in the middle of the ring.

[SomethingSavage]

Looking at the modern product, Elias Samson is the definitive answer for me at the moment. I've been high on Braun all year, for sure. And I've been pleasantly surprised by how they've presented Joe at times. But yeah. Gotta say I'm pulling for the Drifter to eventually break out and lead the pack. This guy's got everything they seem to search for in a top shelf star.

 

I don't follow any weekly wrestling show on a regular basis anymore. My job, life, and priorities in general just don't allow it. So I catch up here & there when I can. But the last time I *did* catch a full episode of Raw was several months back when the Drifter and Balor had a match. It was competitive, with Samson busting out some bombs. Then it culminated in that glorious guitar shot that left Balor in a bloody heap. LOVED it. Got woke to Elias on that night, and the performance alone made me enough of a fan to where I actively seek out his stuff now.

 

I realize he's not doing much of anything substantial at the moment, but he's still a clear highlight for me whenever he's on. I think it's in our nature to seek out and champion guys we view as "underrated" or underappreciated, and - as fans - we certainly seem to get a kick out of being on the ground floor for those types. Drifter is one of those guys for me. I'm absolutely on board for him to get a boost soon.

[G. Badger]

Going thru some old joshi notes and I'd also like to throw Bison Kimura and Sakie Hasegawa in the mix. They's my girls

 

Both are tough as nails and show an awesome never say quit attitude in all of their matches. I've never really heard a ton of praise for them over the years and they didn't hold the spotlight other than in tag (and only for a lil while) but, both are destroyers in my book.

[El-P]

Going thru some old joshi notes and I'd also like to throw Bison Kimura and Sakie Hasegawa in the mix. They's my girls

 

Both are tough as nails and show an awesome never say quit attitude in all of their matches. I've never really heard a ton of praise for them over the years and they didn't hold the spotlight other than in tag (and only for a lil while) but, both are destroyers in my book.

 

I used to pimp the shit out of both of them 18 years ago. Bison was always a cult favourite of mine, in more ways than one (hell, you want a big girl was had that attractiveness yet looked like a freak monster, that's her) and Sakie was one of those "What if she didn't get injured ?" case for all 90's joshi fans. Nice to see some Bison & Sakie love in 2017 !

[Zenjo]

He is the Master of the Master Lock, The Masterpiece Chris Masters

 

He may have gone on to an underwhelming career. 15 years and counting of it. Forget about world titles, not holding any titles all the time he was in WWE was quite an accomplishment. I don't recall him ever being popular. He sure isn't talented.

 

But to me he'll always be that green young boy. Roided to the gills, looking like his muscles were about to burst through his skin and explode. Vince must have been master something else in the back. Crushing other wrestlers and plants alike for the Master Lock challenge. He was the eventual end point of the talentless bodybuilder wrestler and one of the most ludicrous examples of it. He'd have probably had a more successful career in the 90's, but the Wellness Policy basically killed him. The move away from steroids has been a huge positive in the wrestling industry. Yet seeing Masters come back as a mini-me actually made me feel sad about it for a short while.

[joeg]

Chris Masters actually got to be pretty good in the ring! I thought he was green in his first run then went to the indies for a couple of years got better and was pretty good in his second run. The past 5 years on the indies he's had a handful of good matches pop up online.

[G. Badger]

 

Going thru some old joshi notes and I'd also like to throw Bison Kimura and Sakie Hasegawa in the mix. They's my girls

Both are tough as nails and show an awesome never say quit attitude in all of their matches. I've never really heard a ton of praise for them over the years and they didn't hold the spotlight other than in tag (and only for a lil while) but, both are destroyers in my book.

 

I used to pimp the shit out of both of them 18 years ago. Bison was always a cult favourite of mine, in more ways than one (hell, you want a big girl was had that attractiveness yet looked like a freak monster, that's her) and Sakie was one of those "What if she didn't get injured ?" case for all 90's joshi fans. Nice to see some Bison & Sakie love in 2017 !

Yeah, Quebrada Mike and (I believe) a Joshi year in review for '92 that you did for him were my guides to the greatness of early 90s joshi

 

Maybe I'm being an old geezer about it but, as much as people seem to be into WWE's women's division nowadays there's little interest to go back into the vaults of the Great AJW to see the classics of modern women's wrestling. But maybe that's always been the case...screw the past, let's get on with the fancy new stuff!

 

...and yeah Bison was pretty foxy

[Trust Issues]

Eva Marie was my boy even before she went to NXT; I just loved her heel mannerisms which only improved throughout her run. I hope she gets over her anxiety attack from last year's Summerslam

Deuce and Domino were also my boys but that's at least 80% due to their amazing entrance music, but their whole presentation was beautiful to me and I totally bought into it like a little dork.

Crazzy Steve is my most current boy who I still have future hope for but apparently his rumored developmental deal has been delayed.

[Karl]

Paul Roma was my boy.

[Migs]

When I was a huge Northeast indy mark in the early-00s,I LOVED the Boogie Knights. I think the fact that they were really mediocre made me love them more, because it made the swagger and the use of "You're the Best" as a theme song even funnier. All the angles around them were usually dumb, too (I believe at one point they had feuding valets), but the way they sold them made them work.

 

Also, I was a HUGE Steve Corino fan in 2000.Just my absolute favorite guy from his face turn through the end of the year.

[NotJayTabb]

I suppose for me I'd have to say Tom Zenk, although I actually think he was a great wrestler. I've even got a nice sky blue Zenk shirt I bought off eBay that I unironically love.

[Stiva]

Norman the Lunatic was an underrated painter.

[joeg]

If we are counting managers/commentators, I'm going to throw Joel Gertner out there. "Whats a Mexican Deathmatch? Does the loser drink the water?"

[superkix]

Lance Storm duh

[Laz]

If we are counting managers/commentators, I'm going to throw Joel Gertner out there. "Whats a Mexican Deathmatch? Does the loser drink the water?"

Good call! His stuff is really dated now, total '90s edgelord schtick, but damn if he wasn't enjoying every minute of it, even on his off-nights. That kind of enthusiasm just doesn't seem as common nowadays.

 

Also, this...

Styles: "...it's almost a 'who shot JR?' situation."

Gertner: "SOMEBODY SHOT JIM ROSS?!"

 

I give myself a good chuckle just remembering that line and plenty of other moments. He was comic relief but the right kind of comic relief as his jokes were always themed to the show and current company events.

[Cap]

I guess i would have a few that qualify in varying ways.

 

Jimmy Rave - Liked his original ROH run(s) a lot and really enjoy him right now when I see him.

 

BJ Whitmer - No reason I should like this guy, but I always felt he was a solid wrestler for ROH, particularly as they really built their foundation. I don't really fantasy book, but a friend and i have spent a lot of time fantasy booking an incredible (imo) gimmick for Whitmer on wrestling road trips so that might be part of it. Its strange. I simultaneously like him and don't like him very much. I guess "its complicated" between us.

 

R-Truth - I still think TNA missed a chance with him. He isn't very good in the ring, but he is an entertainer and could have been much more versetile for them. I almost always love when he is on my TV in the E now.

 

Sid - Obviously he was successful, but I think he is a little better as a wrestler than he gets credit for. Dude has such a presence and cuts such a legit crazy promo. Tons of time for Sid.

 

Arik Royal - CWF guy that has been around a while. I just love every time he is on my tv or I see him at a show. Think he is undervalued on the whole as a character.

[supremebve]

Yeah, Gertner always struck me as someone who was really good at what he did, but what he did wasn't good enough to be a bigger star. He wasn't a great manager, he wasn't a great color guy, but he was so good at his character he could excel in small doses.