wrestling / Columns
The Wrestling Sandwich 06.23.12
Greetings pilgrims and welcome to the weeks Wrestling Sandwich.
As you may have noticed I was absent last week, which was unfortunate because quite a fair bit actually happened. I will be reaching back to a couple of those stories since they’ve been part of the running thread of topics I have been getting into here in The Sandwich.
So in the words of most sane musical producers…don’t bore us get to the chorus.
Let’s get to this weeks Wrestling Sandwich.
This past weeks Wrestling Top 5 focusing on the ECW and their top stars certain drew a fair amount of reader feedback. One of the big hot topics was the lack of love given to Mike Awesome.
The lack of love came with good reason I thought.
Truth be told Mike Awesome was never in ECW for that long and came into Philly long after the decline of ECW started and talent was going elsewhere for work. He was brought in as a shock weapon by Paul Heyman and managed to spark something thanks to his size and impressive moveset. In ECW it looked tremendous but it wasn’t enough to keep the company going.
He got found out when he went to WCW and later WWF where guys his size were a dime a dozen and he didn’t have a Spike Dudley letting himself get treated like a ragdoll to make Awesome look all the better. When he was placed with a bunch of other guys of similar size he had to rely on charisma to make him stand out and he sadly had very little.
My Top 5 went something like this…
HM: Jimmy Snuka
HM: Jerry Lynn
HM: Taz
5. Terry Funk
4. Shane Douglas
3. Raven
2. Rob Van Dam
1. Tommy Dreamer
Seriously, any of those five are inter-changeable and all brought something unique to ECW and helped define what the company became. I did however, in a moment of complete idiocy forget one guy…
Mikey Whipwreck.
Much like Tommy Dreamer, Mikey was almost wholly a product of ECW whose star rose and fell on the tide of ECW popularity. Whipwreck came from the brain of Paul Heyman and made his name for taking an incredible shit kicking in match after match to the point when he actually go an offensive move in, the crowd popped huge. It’s a story we have all heard.
I also think he may be the perfect example of why ECW was doomed to failure.
Heyman was a mad scientist to be sure. We all joke about him getting people to drink the Kool-Aid in service of ECW but that’s how he got talent to go out and nearly damn kill themselves for little money in front of a blood-thirsty crowd. Lance Storm made mention that Heymen would go out of his way to find anything remotely positive about a wrestler and just blow smoke that persons way. It’s what Paul needed to do to keep wrestlers.
Mikey was a guy of little training and even less talent that literally was put in a ring and feed to the wolves. Right now, he’s less than two years older than I am and needs neck surgery but refuses to do so and keeps working likely because he needs the money. He wasn’t taught how to work properly and to compensate for his inadequacies he did stupid things to entertain the mob. In 2001 he was looking to retire because he had a raft of injuries including two herniated discs, damaged knees, a damaged right shoulder and a jaw cracked to the point of not even being able to eat hard food
For me he is the good and bad of ECW. Good that Heyman was able to take someone so unlikely to be a wrestling star and turn them into a PPV headliner. Bad that in doing so it physically wrecked the man.
I have loooonnnggggg been a HHH booster and was genuinely perplexed when news leaked of his less than stellar opinion these days of Mick Foley. I’ve never had a problem with HHH the politician because those of us that are true students of the wrestling game know that pro-wrestling has been built on the tremendous egos of men and the politicking abilities. Usually those with the most power are those that are on top and make the most money.
It makes total sense.
However, since moving into the heir apparent position to Vince McMahon over the past couple of years I truly hoped and have stated a few times in the last coupe of months that he was going to be the bright light that would bring the WWE back to prominence. If everything we’ve read about the HHH/Foley thing is accurate, I may have to take that back. For those that missed what I’m referring to here’s the news grab that popped up…
During Dave Meltzer’s radio show for The Wrestling Observer, he reported that Paul “Triple H” Levesque is not allowing Mick Foley to be used on TV since his return in November.
Meltzer reported that Triple H slams Foley whenever his name is brought up in creative meetings. Brian Gerwitz, WWE’s Senior Vice President of Creative Writing thinks Foley is a creative and good performer, but Levesque says Foley ‘doesn’t look tough’ and can’t be taken seriously as an in-ring performer.
A former WWE creative writer said to Power Slam in 2008 that Levesque would always insult Foley when he appeared for the company and hurt his value in the eyes of Vince and Stephanie McMahon.
Levesque was quoted as saying: “Foley is an out-of-shape nobody. No one cares about him at all. Funaki puts more asses in the seats than Foley does. He should pay us for coming on our shows.”
It is believed that the reason Triple H does this is because he is irritated over the opinion from his closest co-workers that his matches with Foley in 2000 “made him a star”.
Foley has also criticized Triple H in the past, including taking some shots at him in his 2007 autobiography The Hardcore Diaries. He was also against Triple H insulting Lilian Garcia on an April 2010 episode of RAW. He said he may have cost himself professionally but had to say something.
I’m sure I wouldn’t be out of step saying everyone reading that had some visceral reaction to that. As much as Dave Meltzer gets shit on most of his info is pretty on the mark. It’s funny that recently Meltzer admitted that for most of the 80’s and 90’s, when people were actively saying he was full of shit and wrong that almost all of his WWF news came from Vince himself as a means of Vince explaining his position without having to publically respond.
So I pretty much take Meltzer at his word mostly.
I know top line talents in any sports need ego and lots of it and I’m sure someone like HHH never felt comfortable with Foley being the man the made him. I’m sure HHH would like everyone to think he got there all on his own and that the 6-8 month mega push after SummerSlam 1999 with literally everyone putting him over had nothing to do with it.
Of course that is wrong.
Mick Foley took great pride in retiring and leaving the WWF in the hands of HHH. He was grateful to Trips for carrying him to a career end that was fitting to someone that selflessly gave his all in the ring. What that has meant for the company long term is up for intense debate but in reality HHH owes a massive debt to Foley for giving him credibility. Never forget that HHH was the man for the period of time when the WWE made the most money thanks to him feuding on and off with Austin, Rock, Foley, Benoit and Jericho. He was the “go to” heel. People have very short memories when it comes to HHH and why he got so powerful.
Sadly, if his opinion if so low on Mick Foley based on how he looks and a personal burr under his saddle then I wonder if he will be the great white hope the WWE needs.
Another big story that has popped over the past couple of days was Kenn Doane and his ranting against John Cena. To say he’s more than a little vindictive is an understatement. Funnily I believe most everything he says but not the context of what he’s saying. Case in point…
But regardless once John calmed down I asked him what that was all about he ranted and other crap saying people need to hold their own weight around here and some how he got to Randy being suspended saying he is trying for Randy’s release to send a message to everyone that they can all be fired just as easily. As for now I don’t know if John is trying for Randy’s release or not but if I had to guess I would say it is due to the fact that he told me he was before. This assumption could be wrong (meaning this could be false and not the truth) however John telling me in the past he did want Randy fired is true (that’s true because he told me, see how that works haters?).
Do I think that Cena may have tried to get Randy Orton fired? Sure! What Kenny-boy is neglecting to say is that at the time this whole thing was going down Orton was a major pain in the ass. He was being tapped as a guy to help carry the company but was fucking up left and right and had a major bad attitude. Because of piss-poor forward planning by the WWE John Cena is literally the only newly created draw they have had for the past 6-7 years and no one was stepping up.
I have no doubt John was feeling it at the time as this was around the period he started to get injured on a regular basis. The fact the guy that was largely tipped to be the next torch barer couldn’t keep his shit together was a major issue. Cena most likely though if Randy Orton was made an example of then the people trying to take his place my fall into line and realize they have to do what’s right to get ahead.
As has become the norm for me in the last few columns I have seem interesting reader feedback to discuss…
The whole “Vince McMahon is an insane psychopath!” crap really needs to be dropped now, you’ve made yourself look like a complete tool and nobody buys it. McMahon took a regional wrestling company and transformed it into a global entertainment company with multiple major revenue sources, crushing his competition and making over 600 million dollars revenue in the most recent financial year. But he must be an insane psychopath just because some no-name blogger on the internet said so!!!! Let me know when you’re Chairman and CEO of your own similar-sized company and then maybe I’ll take your shitty pretend diagnosis seriously. Until then, please STFU.
Posted By: Richey Davids (Guest) on June 10, 2012 at 03:47 PM
In a word Richey…no.
You see these columns at 411 are opinion based and I’m lucky to be afforded the space to express mine on a weekly basis. You as the reader either choose to read or don’t read and then you make a further choice to comment or not. Do I care that you have beef with my Vince McMahon opinion? Not one fucking iota. Why? Because I can. Just like you choose to hate on me.
Simple fact it over the past couple of months I have written several reasoned opinion based pieces about what I think of a megalomaniacal, pathological liar like Vince McMahon. I even offered the FACT that most CEO’s of large companies are in fact clinically diagnosed as psychotic. I didn’t pull that fact out of my ass and drop it for fun. I gave reported and verified via multiple sources stories that back that up my opinion of Vince McMahon as being batshit insane.
This will be a term I use again, likely weekly, until I see proof otherwise. Grow a pair, get used to it and move on.
The simple fact is that way back in the very first salvo I wrote about this topic I actually stated that Vince McMahon was a genius and the reason the WWF was hugely successful. Fuck, years ago after Chris Benoit committed murder/suicide I actually devoted almost a whole news column defending Vince McMahon. Just to prove a point, I’m going to report the whole rant it did nearly 5 years ago.
Just a couple of points…the general gist of this is still exactly the same. I may have screwed (hindsight being a wonderful thing) up the odd fact here or there but the intent is still the same. I’m not looking to start the latest ground war on the Benoit front and this isn’t intended on being as such, please keep in context the time it was written. However, if anyone wants to talk about it some more go right ahead…I don’t think it will ever be a dead horse that’s been flogged enough.
I’m a Wrestling Fan And Proud – Why I Support The WWE, Vince McMahon And Why I Don’t Think Chris Benoit Is A Bad Man
It’s been interesting times in wrestling circles since Chris Benoit made the decision to end his life and murder his wife and youngest son before hand. That one foul act has turned wrestling on its ear like no other moment. The US federal government has made it a cause dejour to prove the WWE is responsible for wrestler deaths, almost every wrestler is sweating bullets in fear of their name being mentioned in the same breath as “steroids” which could spell career oblivion and fans are leaving with a bad taste in their mouths.
While many internet column inches have been devoted to these topics I have sat back and read the changing tide of opinions depending on which way the wind is blowing and become disgusted at how quickly people have dropped their support of certain wrestlers and wrestling in general. All I can say is that those people are marks, easily lead like sheep who parrot the opinions of more well know wrestling “personalities” without trying to form anything resembling a singular and personal opinion for fear of shaking tree’s that will cause potential damage to their “reputations”. I’m not naming names but with my yearly wrestling column I’m going to lay out some potential home truths about some certain things and maybe show people that thinking for ones self aren’t such a bad thing. As you can tell by the title, I’m going to split this into two parts….
Why I Don’t Think Chris Benoit Is A Bad Man
I am a proud Chris Benoit fan and not afraid to say it. The way people judged him on biased news reports and general mass hysteria was nothing short of sickening. Now don’t get me wrong, the man committed a truly heinous act for which there is no excuse, no matter what reason there is or will be brought to light in the future, the only person who needs the finger of blame pointed at is Benoit himself and I believe if he were able to tell us from beyond the grave, he would take full responsibility for his actions.
While new information has come to light about his state of mind and the fact he was functioning in society on a normal level with what basically amounts as serious brain damage, it’s been interesting to see the subtle change in the posture when it comes to Benoit.
For me, I was a huge fan of his work in the ring and respected the way he went about his business. Back when I was a fully fledged and proud mark I just knew he was good. I had no idea what actually made a wrestler good and how their primary goal was to create emotional investment in what is a staged athletic encounter that’s designed to entertain the masses. It was the look, the intensity and the way he handled his business that most casual fans could tell he was just good. His win at WrestleMania 20 and the subsequent six month title reign was just reward for hard work and dedication in a career that saw him put the sport and his craft above being the top guy or champion on paper.
His actions this past June sickened me and I literally was walking around in a daze for hours trying to comprehend just what had happened. I wasn’t in denial, I knew this was an animal act and no excuse will ever do but to define him by those three days is to deny the full story and maybe help other people realize that they may be going through similar dark times and stop themselves from trying to seek help.
Firstly I want to lay out a few fact or what pass as facts in wrestling these days….
Chris Benoit for all but three days of his life was a good and sometimes great man. Almost everyone to a person has said just how kind and decent he was and couldn’t do enough for you if you were in trouble. He was the compass or true north other used to judge themselves by and in an industry full of egos scrambling to see just who is the “best”, most said Benoit was the man. His ex wife, whom he left leaving her with two kids, has said he was one of the best men she had ever known. This was one of the few people in this world who really had an axe to grind with Chris but she stood up and supported him after his terrible act.
Chris Benoit himself was a lost man. Working in an industry where you spend more time with your fellow wrestlers than your own family, he often referred to Dean Malenko and the late Eddie Guerrero as his “road wives”. While most of us have our own partners and children to measure ourselves to, he used Eddie and once Eddie left us, he was alone and didn’t have anything to steady himself with. Sure he had other friends but sometime being a man’s man means you have trouble asking for help when you really need it. By the sounds he tried to find some answers and help in the bible and God but that seemed to only cloud his issues. With the recent finding he had what amounts to brain damage causing depression, paranoia and other odd behavior he was an accident waiting to happen and unfortunately he killed two innocent people.
What does this all mean? Benoit was a man in trouble and no one really saw the signs and certainly NO ONE predicted he would commit the acts he did. Hands up anyone who thinks Vince, the rest of the WWE and Benoit’s family and friends had any idea that Chris was going to do this and they just ignored it? Basic common sense says no one saw this coming and if Chris was a violent man or his private life was punctuated with violent acts, we’d have proof of it. The OJ Simpson murders showed that. When people looked a little harder at his life they saw a history of domestic violence and a man on the edge. So far we only have one withdrawn filing for divorce with vague references to abuse but nothing say he beat her. Remember, abuse can take several different forms.
So, I’m a proud fan of Chris Benoit. Saddened that a man who was truly decent descended into madness and ruined many lives and left even more unanswered questions that he felt so alone he couldn’t reach for help that could have been easily provided. I admire the Benoit family for starting the new foundation for further research into brain injuries and no shying away from the acts of their son and in their own stoic way, showing him their love and support even after he did what he did. That is true loyalty.
Why I Support The WWE And Vince McMahon
Vince often gets harangued for his love of big men and his willingness to push them ahead of smaller, more deserving wrestlers. My take? Guilty as charged but guess what? You have just judged a man for perpetuating the basic premise that wrestling has always been built on….giant larger than life fighters beating each other until they can’t answer a three count. Almost every major wrestling attraction in its history was about this very thing and usually the bigger and nastier they are the more money they could make you, especially if you had a popular babyface champ to play them off.
Vince, and his love of big men, is sticking to what he knows best. There’s no crime in that. Sure, it’s probably an outdated notion considering how tastes have changed in wrestling in the past 20 years but it’s hard to deny a man who knows what he’s doing and is a self made billionaire because he followed his instincts.
I’m a realist, I know while he has never openly told wrestlers to improve their physiques by certain means, he certainly has never said they shouldn’t and often made it easy for men under his employ to secure what they needed. Now here’s the thing, while steroids are the buzz word these days and if you believed most “informed” pundits you would think it’s a new thing but as long as steroids have been available, wrestlers have been using them to help them become larger than life.
I’m not going to go in depth on research but the existence of steroids in their natural form has been reported for over a 100 years and synthesis of these for not much less. Is anyone naive enough to believe that steroid use only came into wrestling with Vince Jr’s hard-on for muscle men? If you are, I have a couple of nice bridges in New York I want to sell you. Steroids are as much a part of the fabric of wrestling as crummy travel partners and bomb scars at ill-promoted indy cards. To deny this is to deny wrestling its history.
But why the sudden rash of wrestler deaths? The big difference of the last 20 years and the period before it is the so-called recreational drug scene that exploded in the 80’s. Designer drugs came into vogue on top of the usually drinking, hard drug use and general partying. Couple that with wrestling been pulled out of the dark ages and made into an industry, the money in certain major feds was huge and the men involved spent it after years of toiling in anonymity on making themselves feel good.
It’s no surprise that men who worked for Vince in the 80’s and 90’s are dying early in life these days. Why? Because every major wrestling talent in that period except for Sting has had a run in the WWF. So when a one dies he’s going to be labeled an “ex-WWF wrestler” but as with most things the picture is broader than you think it is.
Unlike today when wrestlers with nothing but a couple years of ring experience are signed to developmental deals and put in the WWE farm system, guys would spend almost a decade working their asses off in the territories just to get a chance at the spotlight before the first boom. Before Vince’s Senior and Junior knew who they were, they were experienced pro’s and guess what, probably well versed in certain chemical substances and their magical enhancement abilities. There’s an oft told story of Davey Boy Smith coming to Stampede and asking about steroids which prompted Dynamite Kid to inject milk into his backside as a rib. Funny how one of those men is dead and steroids maybe playing role in it, even funnier that he started juicing YEARS before even working a match in the USA let alone a WWF ring.
So let me ask this, where does personal responsibility come into this? Wrestling is a sport no doubt but it’s not true athletic competition, so it’s not subject to the same control true competitive sport are and should be. If a wrestler wants to add 20 pounds of muscle and uses steroids to achieve that, he knows exactly what he’s doing and what the consequences are. He/she/they are making an INFORMED decision to dabble in substances that can cause death. To pin there actions on Vince and the WWE is fucking insane.
People talk about the industry that needs cleaning up but don’t sit there and say this why most pro athletes and their sports are rife with drug cheats because the only difference here is that it’s the worst kept secret that wrestlers are on the gas. Take TNA and their recent firing of Andrew “Test” Martin for attitude and being “too” jacked. I’ll cop the attitude rap but don’t sit there and lay drugs on the table when you have fucking SCOTT STEINER on your books.
If the government and the internet/media lynch mobs want to cause real change, then how about cleaning up the body building industry! Wrestler steroid use begins in the gym often many years before they step in a wrestling ring to train and learn. The culture of bigger is better is practically gospel with body builders and finding a serious body builder who hasn’t juiced previously would be harder than trying to do the same in wrestling. Take that attitude into a wrestling context and watch it grow.
Yes, far too many men who have died too young have been steroid users but a large chunk of them died of SOMETHING ELSE. Hennig, Spicoli, Duncum, Crash, Sherri, most probably Kronos and a lot of speculation about Davey Boy, all went because of drug overdoses. Earthquake, Missing Link and Andre were natural causes. Owen we all know about and Chris Candido had complications from surgery. Renegade, Awesome and Benoit took their own lives. Those are all FACT. Guys like Bam Bam, Yokozuna, Bossman were all overweight when wrestling and for guys in their mid-40’s who are overweight and very active like they were are in a HIGH RISK group for heart attacks. Bad News was nearly 64 when he passed which isn’t many years below the average life expectancy of a normal man. All the Von Erich boys died of either drug overdoses or suicide most probably cause by the pressures brought on by their legend father Fritz and the expectations they carried into the professional wrestling industry.
What also isn’t talked about is just how much a career as a pro wrestler effects the body. How many wrestlers do you see out there who don’t carry some affliction? Most end up with bad arthritis and even worse knees, cauliflower ears, bad necks and backs and that’s just the obvious stuff. A guy like Hawk was a HARD living human being. A fighter who never shied away from drugs or alcohol, he caused massive amounts of damage too himself and with the influence of steroids, which may have hastened his passing somewhat by only by a handful of years. Between the bumping, the partying and the ‘roids he body had to give. Guys like Hercules, Eddie Guerrero, Brian Pillman, Davey Boy and most of the rest sit in this group as well.
I guess what’s also annoying is guys like Dave Meltzer and the ex-wrestling vultures that have come out swinging for the fences hoping to score a lucky strike on Vince. Gee, I wonder what Mark Mero would have against Vince McMahon? Debra McMichaels….Jesus where do I begin? She picked NOW to make a stand against violence inflicted on wrestling wives and the WWE covering up such acts by Steve Austin from becoming public?
Firstly, I wouldn’t call a high-speed pursuit through downtown San Antonio of a drunk Steve Austin as being exactly under the radar. Plus, this wasn’t some anonymous woman with a John Doe husband; this was the most popular wrestler in history and his high profile wife. She comes out publicly right at the start and says Austin beat her and the level of attention and the celebrity involved would have protected her. Maybe if she didn’t sit on her hands for over THREE FUCKING YEARS then a woman like Nancy Sullivan may have followed her lead.
Meltzer’s stance is most baffling. Here is a guy that made a career out of getting dirt from backstage and putting out in public view. Funny how a man so in tune with behind the scenes dealings has keep his opinion of wrestling and the need for change so quite for so long when things like drugs and steroid use is a rampant as he has implied. Pretty much a case of a day late and a dollar short if you ask me. Like Debra, if his conscious was that loaded with negative thoughts and feelings, maybe standing up and being counted WHEN IT WOULD HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE would have been more appropriate.
Guys like Bret Hart, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle have come out and flat out said Vince and the culture of the WWE isn’t to blame. Bret and Kurt are NOT the type of guys that would protect Vince because they don’t need him to make money and have well-publicized beefs with him. Jericho, while he doesn’t have an axe to grind he wouldn’t protect Vince because he’s always been a stand up guy.
As for Vince himself, I’m no fool. He’s a liar and would as sooner stab you in the back as give you a hug if he thought there was good reason but guess what? Name any self made billionaire and head of a corporation that not only turned a tired sport into a global entity but created one of the most profitable trademarks in history that doesn’t play hardball business? People make fun of the XFL but hey, when do you see someone like him put their balls on the line so publicly? Sure he failed but he at least had the guts to try and do it. He has made many people very rich over the years and has never shied away from confronting those who seek to ruin him. I hope he takes this head-on like he did with Bob Costas because a pissed off Vince is what the WWE really needs right now.
So when the witch hunt of the WWE begins in earnest because congress is too afraid to ask the president just why he has lead his country into a war it can’t win, based on information that wasn’t true thus sacrificing over 4000 lives of US troops, just remember this…..Vince didn’t invent the rainy day, he just brought the best umbrella. As the only guy left standing in the wrestling wars he is the only real game left in town and thus the only guy to be in the firing line. So because he was successful and managed to come out on top in his business war he cops the brunt of it all because THERE IS NO ONE ELSE LEFT! Bet I bet Ted Turner is happy he’s out of the wrastlin’ game right about now.
The wash up? Chris Benoit is a murderer and Vince McMahon is a raving egotist who’ll scratch and claw you until he comes out on top. That’s the simple explanation. Benoit was a man who was increasingly growing disturbed and depressed and ended three lives in the most tragic way. Vince isn’t the babysitter of grown men who have done harmful things to themselves long before he even met them. Sure, he can start the process to change the culture of wrestling away from rampant steroid use but the men he employs have to want to stop doing them as well.
Thanks to those who made it to the end of that little rant. I hope it gave some food for thought to some of you but ultimately I hope you have the presence of mind to make your own mind up about both topics I talked about. This time is THE defining moments in wrestling’s history make no mistake. What you really need to do is stand up and be counted as a WRESTLING FAN. Be proud of it, be proud of something that has been with most all of us since we were kids growing up. I have spent the last 24 years being a wrestling fan and I’m not going to stop just because some political pundit hack thinks it’s wrong.
I’m a wrestling fan……….and proud.
I’m not going to go into too much about this but I was curious at the listing for the WWE DVD on the top finishers. Here’s the breakdown…
50. JBL – Clothesline
49. Vader – Vader Bomb
48. Dusty Rhodes – Bionic Elbow
47. Million Dollar Man – Million Dollar Dream
46. Kerry Von Erich – Iron Claw
45. Ravishing Rick Rude – Rude Awakening
44. Lex Luger – Torture Rack
43. Dudley Boyz – 3-D
42. Bam Bam Bigelow – Moonsault
41. DDP – Diamond Cutter
40. Mankind – Mandible Claw / Socko
39. Honky Tonk Man – Shake Rattle and Roll
38. Yokozuna – Bonzai Drop
37. Flash Funk – 450 Splash
36. Sting – Scorpion Lock
35. Lita – Moonsault
34. Kevin Nash – Jack-knife
33. Jerry Lawler – Piledriver
32. RVD – Five-Star Frog Splash
31. Big Show – Chokeslam
30. CM Punk – GTS
29. Brock Lesnar – F-5
28. Bob Backlund – Chicken Wing
27. Batista – Batista Bomb
26. Mr. Perfect – Perfect Plex
25. Kurt Angle – Ankle Lock
24. Chris Jericho – Lion Tamer / Walls of Jericho
23. Edge – Spear
22. Iron Sheik – Camel Clutch
21. John Cena – Attitude Adjustment
20. Scott Hall – Razors Edge
19. Goldberg – Jackhammer
18. Rey Mysterio – 6-1-9
17. Road Warriors – Doomsday Device
16. Bruno Sammartino – Bearhug
15. Sgt. Slaughter – Cobra Clutch
14. Jeff Hardy – Swanton Bomb
13. Eddie Guerrero – Frog Splash
12. Macho Man Randy Savage – Elbow off Top Rope
11. Randy Orton – RKO
10. Bret Hitman Hart – Sharpshooter
9. Jimmy Superfly Snuka – Superfly Splash
8. Nature Boy Ric Flair – Figure Four Leg Lock
7. Hulk Hogan – Leg Drop
6. Shawn Michaels – Sweet Chin Music
5. Jake The Snake Roberts – DDT
4. The Rock – Rock Bottom / Peoples Elbow
3. Triple H – Pedigree
2. Undertaker – Tombstone Piledriver
1. Stone Cold Steve Austin – Stunner
I love these lists because of the politics that goes into them and you can get a peek into the state of mind of Vince when it comes to certain wrestlers. I actually don’t mind this list even with a couple of the bogey’s (Lita, Iron Sheik, Honky Tonk Man) placing as high as they got or even being in that list to begin with. You can’t argue with the tope three and they could almost be interchangeable. I wonder did Bruno Sammartino and his bearhug need to be that high? I’m a big wrestling history guy and no one talks about the devastating bearhugs of Bruno Sammartino.
Stuff like The Great Muta and his moonsault should be listed since it was such an innovation when he came out in the late 80’s and Scott Steiner’s Frankensteiner also needs a mention because of the same reason.
All this is purely subjective but I do look forward to this DVD set surprisingly.
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