who was/is the most UNDERRATED wrestler? [Archive]

~gymdiva~

03-18-2009, 05:55 PM

we'll limit this to wwe/tna/roh b/c god knows there's a TON of people on the indy scenes with skills out the ying yang that have never seen the light of day of a pro ring...so as inspired by the other thread, let's discuss the inverse...who would you choose as your most underrated star of yesterday/today?

~gymdiva~

03-18-2009, 06:02 PM

before he finally got a wwe title run I always thought Benoit was underused...same with Eddie...someone that got a good push back in the day as an IC champ but who could have totally been a world champ was Mr. Perfect...omg I loved watching him even as a 10yr old that didn't fully understand the skill level of these guys...his gimmick totally worked...he was the epitome of the perfect heel...but at the time hogan, warrior, and soon bret hart were all at the top so there was really nowhere to put him...but on the flipside the IC title actually meant something then, too...

as for today...this is harder b/c it's more like who should I narrow it down to??? I'll go with my first thought of CM Punk for now...he had that short little title reign and then he was bumped right on back down to mid-carder again...I wouldn't put his skill level up to par with an Eddie, a Chris, or a Kurt in terms of execution and crispness but he has that more all out, fast paced, perform for the fans so they want more kind of aspect going...and I really love that...kind of like how much I love it when someone gets in the ring with Jeff Hardy...they have to step their game up to keep up with him...some of Shawn Michaels' best wrestling came in his matches with Jeff...you gotta respect that...

LANCE ADAM

03-18-2009, 07:42 PM

chris daniels, brian danielson (though he was roh champ), austin aires (same). roderick strong, robert rudd (singles), shelly,

tryin to think of names.... KENTA (huge in japan, not in america), abyss, kaz (i kno suicide),nigel (i kno roh but not known out of roh)

DELIRIOUS!! BRISCO BROS! and JAMES MITCHELL!!! top 3

tommigunzzz

03-19-2009, 09:12 AM

Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are awesome. AJ Styles needs a long run but they won't give it to him because his mic skills still need work.

billy mimnaugh

03-19-2009, 10:19 AM

SABU ,the lord of hardcore and king of extreme.

Ninja Loco

03-19-2009, 02:11 PM

Before Eddie wisened up and learned to work the mic and do promos, he ws the most underrated ever. Why? because when he finaly did learn to work the mic, they brought him up and his skill levels eclipsed everyone. No, not just in wrestling ability...... there's more to being in WWE than that, it was his ability to make lesser wrestlers look ten times better than they were. He was a master at each and every type of style, from brawl to lucha libre to technocal to catch-as-catch-can. He was better than anyone because he spent so much of his life being a can and a worker. No one will ever top his skill level or even come close unless they spend just as much time as he did being a true worker.

As of right now....... Im going to say Shelton Benjamin.

LANCE ADAM

03-19-2009, 08:34 PM

:bowdown:
Before Eddie wisened up and learned to work the mic and do promos, he ws the most underrated ever. Why? because when he finaly did learn to work the mic, they brought him up and his skill levels eclipsed everyone. No, not just in wrestling ability...... there's more to being in WWE than that, it was his ability to make lesser wrestlers look ten times better than they were. He was a master at each and every type of style, from brawl to lucha libre to technocal to catch-as-catch-can. He was better than anyone because he spent so much of his life being a can and a worker. No one will ever top his skill level or even come close unless they spend just as much time as he did being a true worker.

As of right now....... Im going to say Shelton Benjamin.

TRUE THAT BRO, eddie's flow in the ring was one of a kind, one of the best workers EVER! he really grew from his njpw days to his wwe champ days. EVERY MATCH WAS ENTERTAINING!

RIP EDDIE

BigJD69

03-19-2009, 10:25 PM

Rey Mystero

antonbrn

03-19-2009, 11:11 PM

past - Eddie, Chris B., Tom Zenk
present - Dolph Diggler, C M Punk, Shelly, Daniels,

47ronin

03-19-2009, 11:27 PM

rey mystero

x 2

AFTazz06

03-24-2009, 12:51 AM

Macho Man Randy Savage! Without question, one of the big talents of yesterday, but was never allowed to bask in the glory of being a champion long enough. Hulk Hogan kept getting the belt for years on end. Savage should be in the Hall of Fame too.

jtexas

03-25-2009, 01:05 AM

Savage was badass!
but his album wasn't so badass...

http://www.amazon.com/Be-Man-Macho-Randy-Savage/dp/B0000CF348/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1237957204&sr=1-1

AFTazz06

03-25-2009, 10:58 AM

Savage was badass!
but his album wasn't so badass...

http://www.amazon.com/Be-Man-Macho-Randy-Savage/dp/B0000CF348/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1237957204&sr=1-1

Oh hell no, he just needs to stick to wrestling or go into acting. Definetly needs to stay away from rapping.

jtexas

03-25-2009, 04:29 PM

i 2nd that man! that rapping was horrid!

AFTazz06

04-08-2009, 01:14 AM

http://ab.img.v4.skyrock.net/abf/wrestling-38/pics/1557204550_small.jpg THEN...
The Madness!!

http://imgsrv.wbcn.com/image/wbcn/UserFiles/Image/ToucherAndRich/savagenow.jpg NOW...
Not so much madness...or is there??

FitGems

04-09-2009, 07:13 PM

Shelton Benjamin is very underrated, and is among the most talented in WWE right now. However, his mic skills have improved a great deal and Vince was pretty high on Shelton during his US title run, so another push is not out of the question.

There are others out there, but Shelton is the first person that comes to mind when I think of underrated talent.

sam the man

04-10-2009, 07:17 AM

i will say mr kennnnnnnnnnndy.
charlie hanz
mark henry

sam the man

04-10-2009, 07:18 AM

sorry i forgot
the punjabi playboy KHALI

Zetawill

04-10-2009, 11:47 AM

Buff Bagwell!

TPT

04-10-2009, 10:38 PM

rick rude. great wrestler, crazy mic skills, and pissed fans off. watching weekly wcw was great with most of the storylines revolving around him. he reminds me of how triple h turned out as a heel.

47ronin

04-11-2009, 07:12 AM

i will say mr kennnnnnnnnnndy.
charlie hanz
mark henry

Mark Henry? The guy's so big he rarely if ever does any aerial moves, just moves that involve strength and power. There's no way he is UNDERrated.

"Rodz"

04-11-2009, 03:20 PM

Paul " Mr.Wonderful" Orndorff

Giantkiller

04-20-2009, 12:50 PM

Teddy Hart and Jack Evans..The best out!! Never heard of em huh? Most underrated out. Youtube em.

jtexas

04-20-2009, 03:49 PM

one of my faves growing up was this guy....

http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:21H_nQYtTVluuM:http://www.solie.org/lanny.gif (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.solie.org/lanny.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.solie.org/wwf.html&usg=__Dyia4sZlgCnvdmudyo_HlLGLsCI=&h=188&w=260&sz=16&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=21H_nQYtTVluuM:&tbnh=81&tbnw=112&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dleaping%2Blanny%2Bpoffo%26hl%3Den%26s a%3DN%26um%3D1)
Lanny Poffo!
the genius schtick was funny as well.

The Big Sexy

04-20-2009, 03:54 PM

Buff Bagwell was a horrible worker... horrible.

Booker T is a great worker I would have to say...

White Goodman

04-25-2009, 07:35 AM

Bob Cook and Mike Thor.

sam the man

04-25-2009, 08:10 PM

unless u dont know how to work with the mic,,, it doesnt matter how good u r as in talent, u need to work this out otherwise u will be on the bottom of the ladder..
everygreat one, got one factor common,,, they know how to work out with mic.

sam the man

04-25-2009, 08:14 PM

i think aj styles deserve a chance in wwe now.

sam the man

04-25-2009, 08:17 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzFC0RcefS8&feature=related

thats the real macho man,,, lol,,, he is some chara,,,,,er

SwolenONE

04-26-2009, 10:56 PM

saben and shelley, aj styles, christopher daniels and most of all sonjay dutt (because he didnt even get respect in tna, while being an amazing talent)

styles should be the next big thing in wrestling, and shelley not far behind

Styles>Cena, Batista, Orton, etc

Damocles

06-01-2009, 04:31 PM

Brett Hart for me. Always seemed to be around the mid-card, putting others over and when he did get the belt, they never gave him a good run with it. Seemed like it was just a transition period til they could put it on someone else.

<~~StrengthByGod~~>

06-01-2009, 05:10 PM

AJ Styles. He is like RVD and Mysterio rolled into one.

fatbackgoal

06-11-2009, 12:00 AM

Arn Anderson..If you are to young to have seen the four horsemen then you missed out. Flair got all the hype but when it came down to wrestling Arn was the man.

And I can't forget Norman Smiley!!

Chmbrspns3

06-13-2009, 04:56 PM

At the moment Idk if I can think anyone is underrated, But i think Dibiase is gonna be big at somepoint. For all time I have to go with my avatar Dynamite Kid.

YouTube - Dynamite Kid Tribute

Tu Holmes

06-13-2009, 05:12 PM

ROTFLMAO

06-13-2009, 06:23 PM

Mikey Whipwreck

billy mimnaugh

07-06-2009, 02:26 PM

Sabu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TheCutMan

07-06-2009, 04:04 PM

For all time I have to go with my avatar Dynamite Kid.

I don't think you can call the Dynamite Kid really underrated. He was the best of the best when he was at his peak. And everybody knew it - whether it was in the USA or in Japan.
When he came to the WWF along with Davey Boy, he was already messed up and therefore didn't stay long enough in the Federation to get a serious run as a single's competitor.

billy mimnaugh

07-07-2009, 10:14 AM

Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer was very underrated.All his matches were super stiff and fast and his promos were one of a kind.

TheNighthawk

08-05-2009, 10:23 AM

From the past, you never hear much said about either Bob Backlund or my personal best ever, Jack Brisco. Both were legit college wrestlers and tireless pros who could carry any opponent. The Jack Brisco-Dory Funk NWA title matches were what convinced me that pro wrestling was a sport for me.

Another overlooked star of the past was Austin Idol. I truly thought he had better looks, physique, ring work and mic skills than Terry Boulder/Sterling Golden (the future Hulk Hogan). I watched them both break in where I did, in the old Gulf Coast area and I really thought Idol was going right to the top.

Of the current era, my overlooked guy would be Christoher Daniels. He can go aerial, to the mat, or brawl and makes it all look great and believable.

~gymdiva~

08-05-2009, 10:35 AM

hey TheNighthawk! welcome to our little forum :wavey:

and excellent post...

Gaoshang Xiongshou

08-05-2009, 11:11 AM

DAMN... Adrian Street (mentioned in another thread) and Austin Idol... now there are two names I have not heard in a while...

TheNighthawk

08-05-2009, 09:45 PM

I don't think you can say anyone who has ever had the World Title around their waist is "underrated".

When you get to the very top, you're rated pretty much higher than everyone.

I think Brian Pillman was pretty underrated... Dean Malenko maybe... Lance Storm was always underrated to me... He should have been at least ECW champ.

I think Owen Hart was underrated as well... This guy could do it all and would have definitely held the world title had that accident not occurred.

RIP Owen Hart.

There have been a bunch of world champs who were transitional but even someone who just had a cup of coffee with the strap (Tommy Rich or Iron Sheikh) deserves kudos. I have to say I was pleased when my first trainer, Dean Malenko, was rated #1 in the PWI 500 is 97. If you look at a lot of the retro DVDs coming out, you see a Dean vs Eddie bout on a lot of them. One under-rated guy I'd add to this discussion was Magnum T.A. If he hadn't cracked up his Porsche, they would have put the NWA title on him ...

TheNighthawk

08-05-2009, 09:46 PM

hey TheNighthawk! welcome to our little forum :wavey:

and excellent post...
Thank YOU for having this board. It's nice to see that wrestling is still welcome in the physical culture (now there's old school lingo) community! :)

Goodfellas

08-06-2009, 10:48 AM

Kerry Von Erich

buckimscl

08-06-2009, 10:57 AM

I've got to agree on the Austin Idol. Great mic work and awesome physique for that time. I remember watching the Universal Hearthrob battling against Jerry Lawler in the old Mid-South region. As for now I think that Punk in the WWF is pretty underrated. I'll have to think about TNA though.

~gymdiva~

08-06-2009, 11:22 AM

buckimscl

08-07-2009, 06:37 AM

I can go along with that. He is defintely misued.

TheNighthawk

08-07-2009, 05:30 PM

I don't think Punk is so much underrated as misused...like why put the title on him on two different occasions and have him go like 2mo as champ? same can be said for a lot of past champions actually...
That's the problem with "transitional" champs, like Punk or back in the day Tommy Rich, Stan Stasiak, etc. They get the belt just so they can ultimately put it on who the promoter really wanted to have it (i.e. Jeff Hardy once WWE was sure he was not going to flake out again). When you won't book heel vs heel or face vs face, you need these "tweeners" as temporary belt carriers. In fact, Harley Race even did this because Dory Funk wouldn't drop the belt directly to Jack Brisco.

chitownmscle

08-07-2009, 05:46 PM

I don't know about Underrated but I think Brett Hart could have been made way bigger then he was. Just seem like he was a worker to go on and set up other guys for title runs.

Sorry just got done watching a video of the Montreal Screwjob with him and Shawn Michaels and probably making me a lil bias at this point

atomicplayboy3000

08-08-2009, 04:23 AM

Christian

Giantkiller

10-02-2009, 04:13 PM

Teddy Hart.

Puma

10-03-2009, 08:10 AM

From the past, you never hear much said about either Bob Backlund or my personal best ever, Jack Brisco. Both were legit college wrestlers and tireless pros who could carry any opponent.
Yeah they do seem to want to erase Backlund who was champion for years. Ivan Putski helped carry WWF for a while and his name doesn't come up enough. RVD never got the big push he deserved and I guess they created Evan Bourne to replace him.

TheNighthawk

10-04-2009, 12:31 PM

Putski was among the top "ethnic superstars" that WWWF pushed back then ... Sammartino, Victor Rivera, Pedro Morales ... which was a good angle up in the northeast with heavy immigrant neighborhoods.

I find that a lot of the undrerrated guys, like Brisco, Backlund, and my first trainer Dean Malenko, are the guys who could wrestle a broomstick and get a good ten-minute match out of it! Go look at the DVD sets that are coming out and see how many feature an Eddy Guerrero or Rey Misterio match vs Dean. Taking nothing away from Eddy or Rey, but if they didn't have a shooter like Malenko putting them over, how much would they have caught on?

Because you spend the whole match accepting the moves from the other guy and then making the big comeback at the end, the babyface champ always runs thye risk of being underappreciated.

I would always be in that position going around the south taking on the top local man. In order not to bury him and kill his heat, I had to make him look like he was always one count away fro taking my belt. I never did get to do but one "squash" match on the road like that (John Studd had booked me to work the first match after intermission and I needed to get the crowd riled up again --- I was heeling then).

Puma

03-18-2010, 05:36 AM

Yeah they do seem to want to erase Backlund who was champion for years. Ivan Putski helped carry WWF for a while and his name doesn't come up enough. RVD never got the big push he deserved and I guess they created Evan Bourne to replace him.
Well it was quite a wait since this post but TNA finally got RVD and he beats Sting on his first night back. Mr. Monday Night Returns!

swoleoneday

03-18-2010, 09:15 AM

There are alot of underrated guys that I can think of off the top of my head, but most underrated would probably go to Jake the Snake Roberts. Never held a belt because he didn't need one to get over. With all his drug problems nobody is giving him the respect he deserves. He could tell a story better than most in the ring.

Other people that deserve to be mentioned are:

Arn Anderson
Tully Blanchard
Curt Hennig
William Regal
Tito Santana
Greg Valentine
Chavo Gurrero
Jamie Noble
Fit Finlay
Paul Orndorf
Pillman
Rick Rude
Owen Hart

IMO, if you held the world title, I don't consider you underrated simply because you were the top guy. I don't recall any of these guys winning world titles in the two big feds.

I hate to make statements like this, simply because I don't have much experience with wrestling before about 1980. But from '80 to present, I'm confident this list about covers it for anyone that has worked for the WWF/E, NWA, WCW, ECW, ROH.

HammerStrength12

03-19-2010, 06:32 PM

Love William Regal. I think the whole stuck up, "gentleman" british as a pro wrestler character is fucking hilarious. He's a good wrestler too, I wish they'd give the guy some title shots and actually give him a better role better than GM/Jobber. How the hell do guys like Miz, Dolph and Drew win championship belts while a guy like William Regal gets demoted to jobber?

Puma

03-20-2010, 08:13 AM

Santino Marella because he wasa just 52 aweeks short of being the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all the times!

sfreemanii

03-21-2010, 08:46 AM

The most underrated wrestler today is Paul Burchill. The man is 6'3, 240, and can do a standing shooting star press. If you haven't seen Paul Burchill in OVW as the Ripper, you should check it out. I hope that he catches on in TNA or ROH, because WWE dropped the ball this time. BTW whoever said Teddy Hart, should have their head examined. That guy is not a wrestler he is an acrobat, you can see the same stuff in the circus. He is also a locker room cancer. There is a reason he has to work in mexico and can't get on with one of the US companies. It is a shame with the Hart last name he can't get a job.

billy mimnaugh

04-05-2010, 01:31 PM

Doug Furnas and Dan Krofat.

leg kick 408

04-17-2010, 06:13 PM

Rey Mystero
Sorry, have to disagree...I'm not saying he sucks, but his mic work does, and you can pretty much call his match ahead of time...same moves every time out. He was great to watch in ECW and back in the prime WCW years...but I can't watch him now.

I will say, his WCW matches with Juventud were awesome...but that was 10 years, 40 lbs, and who-knows-how-many surgeries ago...:dunno:

HammerStrength12

04-22-2010, 09:09 PM

Sorry, have to disagree...I'm not saying he sucks, but his mic work does, and you can pretty much call his match ahead of time...same moves every time out. He was great to watch in ECW and back in the prime WCW years...but I can't watch him now.

I will say, his WCW matches with Juventud were awesome...but that was 10 years, 40 lbs, and who-knows-how-many surgeries ago...:dunno:

Nobody who has ever won a title match at wrestlemania will ever be considered "underrated"