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Greatest Career Rehabs


Tenese Sarwieh

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On 8/16/2019 at 6:27 PM, DMJ said:

Dustin Rhodes, to me, is a clear case of rehab. One of my favorites in the early 90s, the original Goldust was run was great, and then...things got weird and he was terrible for awhile (with a good performance here or there, but mostly, yeah, he looked like he couldn't care less). I didn't read his book but I'm sure there were specific reasons for the dramatic drop-off. And then, boom, in like 2006, the guy was just completely rejuvenated. The ECW run and matches against Sheamus were terrific. He made me care about Ted DiBiase Jr. for a minute (I loved how that feud teased that he was obsessed with Maryse [who would've been his "new Marlena"] but ended up being about his obsession with the Million Dollar Belt !!!). Teaming with Cody and his dad against The Authority. I think there was a tag team with R-Truth there for a minute that was good. If you told me Dustin Rhodes never worked again after the SeVen bullshit, I would've been like, "Yup, dude really let himself go, so tragic." But 10+ years after his rehab, he's still kicking ass too. 

Dustin was the first person that came to mind when I read the thread title. Goldust's ECW run was the comeback none of us knew we wanted until it happened.

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On 8/25/2019 at 11:43 PM, Alucard said:

All I've really seen of him was the awful awful comedy shit he was doing upon arriving in WWE that turned me off huge until the cruiserweights got off Raw and I stopped watching 205 so I don't really see him.

I really recommend at least watching his matches against Gable. They are really, really good stuff.

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  • 3 months later...

Apologies if anyone else mentioned this but, Terry Funk's "Middle-aged and crazy" period seems like one of the top rehabs in history.

Generally speaking, what other person out there is both a former NWA World Champ (when it truly meant something) AND a Hardcore wrestling icon? 

I think after his I Quit match with Flair, Terry went off the radar for most folks (especially pre-internet) so when, his appearances in ECW gained notoriety, it was like the Funkster was this new crazed wrestler to watch for. His time in IWA-Japan and FMW only bolstered that. I would leave it there and say only dork fans gave a shit but, WWF signed him as Chainsaw Charlie and WCW brought him on board. That's kinda insane especially in regards to how the business is. He wasn't "enhancement talent" or getting squashed but was doing main events in his 50's. 

Honestly, I don't know if its a rehab as much as evolving as a performer but, for Funk to be highly regarded in '76 & '96 is pretty darn impressive.

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Chris Jericho's 2008 kick-started a second career that's basically just been a series of reinventions & rejuvenation projects.

Say what you will about the stumbling blocks he's encountered along the way - like that unfortunate period where he was trying to keep up with the incoming indie darlings - but Jericho has remained one of the absolute BEST character performers in the business ever since then.

I'm not sure that he'd even be my top pick or anything, but he's definitely in the discussion for sheer consistency as well as quantity & quality of reinventions. I mean, yeah. He was already stale off that "save us" comeback campaign and in need of SOMETHING, but it wasn't like Black Reign in TNA bad or anything. His lows just weren't ever really that drastic or low.

Hell, that 2008 alone was aped and Xeroxed and copied time after time, to mixed results. Remember Jack Swagger suddenly dressing in a suit and tie and trying to use Bockwinkel-sized words when he won the World Title? What about Miz? He swiped the whole act once Jericho had moved away from it and onto his next phase.

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2 minutes ago, cactus said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned PCO yet. The guy went from a footnote of the New Generation to one of the hottest acts in the indies....

...and back to being a complete afterthought because he's working in ROH. I hope he shows up somewhere I would actually watch him do his stuff once his contract is up.

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45 minutes ago, C.S. said:

Tony Schiavone

Went from burned out WCW footnote and joke after being a respected commentator (if second fiddle to J.R. and others) in an earlier era to once again appreciated, respected, and even beloved in AEW now.

Even though his "Greatest night in wrestling history!!!" line was a joke, I don't think he was ever really a joke. At least I didn't think he was. He was just a guy trying to make a joke promotion that WCW ended up being somewhat respectable. Though I guess his low point was his appearance in TNA...

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2 minutes ago, El-P said:

...and back to being a complete afterthought because he's working in ROH. I hope he shows up somewhere I would actually watch him do his stuff once his contract is up.

I would absolutely lose my shit to see him pop up in AEW. They need some hosses in there and if it'd be possible for Marty Scurll to bring in the whole Villain Enterprises stable to AEW, he totally should.

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7 minutes ago, SirEdger said:

I would absolutely lose my shit to see him pop up in AEW. They need some hosses in there and if it'd be possible for Marty Scurll to bring in the whole Villain Enterprises stable to AEW, he totally should.

Agreed. 

Hell, even if he showed up as the Frankenstein monster of the Dark Order, at this point, it would be cool as hell. Plus, you know, the Quebec connection. ;)

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On 12/4/2019 at 9:44 AM, Slasher said:

The Dark Order seems to be about converting people like a cult. This means taking existing AEW members and turning them to the dark side. They don't need PCO. Really, they don't.

On the contrary, this dead in the water, dead on arrival act needs all the help they can get. 

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The act needs to be scrapped completely in my view. These are two talented guys and there being wasted with this hot garbage. Also you now have 2 other dark gimmicks right now being Brandi/Kong and Blade/Butcher/Bunny. They couldn't come up with with a good variation of the super smash brothers name? 

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7 minutes ago, Tenese Sarwieh said:

The act needs to be scrapped completely in my view. These are two talented guys and there being wasted with this hot garbage. Also you now have 2 other dark gimmicks right now being Brandi/Kong and Blade/Butcher/Bunny. They couldn't come up with with a good variation of the super smash brothers name? 

Agreed. 

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I just think AEW is dangerously close to WCW levels (and recent WWE) in having old dudes around. PCO is great but he's 50. He's fine where he is. AEW should be developing new talents instead of bringing him in to be a monster for a stable that they seem to have plans for. I know this sounds ageist, and I admit it is, but come on now. They don't need him.

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I'm not saying that they should sign PCO long-term. Rumor has it that AEW is looking to give shorter-term deals at the moment and perhaps this could be the right tactic to use with somebody like PCO. Like Stiva said, use him to put over the likes of Darby Allin, Luchasaurus while giving him some dominant wins here and there.

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4 hours ago, Slasher said:

I just think AEW is dangerously close to WCW levels (and recent WWE) in having old dudes around. PCO is great but he's 50. He's fine where he is. AEW should be developing new talents instead of bringing him in to be a monster for a stable that they seem to have plans for. I know this sounds ageist, and I admit it is, but come on now. They don't need him.

 

How many old dudes to they have in AEW? Obviously Jericho, but he's the biggest star in the promotion and his faction is building up young guys. Dustin and Daniels have been in player/coach roles to advance angles and put folks over.  3 older dudes and 1 only being pushed as a main eventer doesn't seem very WCW to me.

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