When Wrestling’s Country Kitchen opened for dinner, it got me thinking about the legends of American professional wrestling. Norine Stice is hopefully going to continue cooking up wonderful batches of goodies focused on the elder statesmen of the squared circle like Harley Race, Gorgeous George, Bruiser Brody, and the Funk family, so let’s take a look at the men who made a dramatic impact on the US wrestling scene during my 25 years as a fan of this unique performance art.
TODAY’S ISSUE: Modern Legends.
I was a wee lad of 3 years when Nature Boy Ric Flair won his first championship on February 8, 1975, and he remained adorned with gold for the majority of the next 30 years. A true caretaker of the business, Flair always lifted a young performer up to his level, and used his celebrity to “make” others in the business, perhaps most notably, Sting (another man who’s impact on the business is far reaching). The Nature Boy was known for being able to have a great match against a “broom stick”, meaning he could lead workers of various skill level to phenomenal performances. His classic matches against Ricky the Dragon Steamboat are still the measuring stick used to describe a truly great wrestling contest.
Flair’s stylin’ and profilin’ gimmick fit him like a glove; he used his expensive wardrobe, Rolex watches, and hard-partying lifestyle to get under the skin of his opponents, and often outclassed them as much in the ring as he did in the style department. He always claimed that to be the man you’d have to beat the man, and few could ever truly one-up the Nature Boy. Now that Flair has parted company with WWE, it seems he’s in prime position to fall apart (the recent scrape he had against his daughter’s boyfriend was hopefully an isolated incident, not the beginning of a melt down) but myself and millions of Flair fans would hate to see that become the final chapter in the epic story of the former 16-time world’s heavyweight champion. After all his contributions to the business, it just wouldn’t be fair to Flair for him to go out any other way than in a blaze of glory, as he seemingly did at WrestleMania XXIV. Wooooo!
Regardless of my personal feelings about Terry Bollea, his recent family woes, or his history of backstage politicking and backstabbing, you cannot discuss the most influential performers of the modern age without Hulk Hogan fairly high on the list. Hulkamania ushered in the rock-n-wrestling era, lighted the way for innovations like WrestleMania, and helped pay-per-view evolve into a viable concept for media distribution. He headlined the first several years of the WWF’s ppv supercards, and likely sold more merchandise and tickets to live events than evil genius Vince McMahon would have ever dreamed before he coaxed Hogan away from Verne Gagne’s AWA.
While his in-ring skills were (to be kind) limited, Bollea and McMahon devised a pattern that worked time and time again, both in storylines and match layout, and the WWF rode the wave of Hulkamania for a long, prosperous run. Years later, in conjunction with the arrival of the Outsiders to WCW in 1996, Hogan’s heel turn breathed life into the floundering fed, and his nWo lit the fuse on the Atlanta-based promotion’s hottest run; perhaps the hottest run of any wrestling company ever. His 2005 induction into the WWE Hall of Fame comes as no surprise, as perhaps more than any man NOT named McMahon, Hogan is responsible for contributing to the globalization of WWE and their conquering of most the independent leagues that existed until the 1980s. For better or worse.
For my entire life, Jerry the King Lawler has played a major role in the US pro wrestling scene. Winning more championships than anyone, promoting Memphis wrestling for years, facing the best in the business, establishing himself as one half of the most well-known wrestling commentary duo in television history, and even working a feud with one-of-a-kind comedian Andy Kaufman, Lawler can really claim to have done it all. Never afraid of crossing boundaries, Lawler feuded with WCCW champion Kerry Von Erich even while the King himself reigned as AWA champion (unifying those two titles for a short time in 1988) and he jump-started ECW’s “invasion” of WWF in 1997, culminating in a match against Tommy Dreamer on ECW ppv.
With the gift of gab, a simple yet effective gimmick, and an amazing looking haymaker, this WWE Hall of Famer made his mark on the industry time and again, and continues to play a major role, providing commentary on RAW each and every Monday night.
Shawn Michaels can do it all. He can mat wrestle, attack from the air, brawl, sell, and perfectly time his amazing comebacks. He can make you hate him as a wickedly evil heel or incite you to pop in support of his babyface shtick. A founding father of one of the key stables in WWF/E history, D-Generation, and a multiple champion up and down the card, Michaels has been more than a key player in the modern era in McMahonland; he’s been a true MVP. Certainly a great deal of Michaels’ legend was built in Montreal one cold November night around 11 years ago, but his contributions were noteworthy before, and have been great since then. Who could forget Shawn passing the torch to Stone Cold Steve Austin on the grandest stage of them all with a broken back? Watching that match again now, knowing how badly Michaels’ spine was damaged, it’s almost difficult to see HBK bump like a rag doll. The moment he takes that final knock-out blow from Mike Tyson and you know his night is over, you breathe a sigh of relief for the Showstoppa’.
And in case you’re thinking a main-event wrestler from 11 years ago might be running out of steam over a decade later, you haven’t been paying attention lately. Michaels’ feud with Chris Jericho right now is not only the best thing on current WWE television, but it’s the finest work McMahon and friends have produced in a very long time.
In a time of cartoon characters and childish gimmicks, Bret the Hitman Hart broke out of that mold and highlighted the “Middle W” of the World Wrestling Federation. His no-nonsense character, outstanding skill, ring generalship, intense promos, and ability to work with opponents of all shapes and sizes made the Hitman an all-time great. He won the WWF world championship 5 times, and joins 16 other men as triple crown winners in WWF/E history who have held a world heavyweight, tag team, and a secondary title (IC or US championship).
There might be no more divisive wrestler among hardcore fans. Many rank the Hitman as one of the very best of all time, and some find him extremely overrated and too willing to believe his own hype. But one thing is certain: Hart’s WWF legacy, the Montreal incident, and the bizarre circumstances surrounding the bidding war for his services between WWF and WCW at the height of the Monday Night War will never be forgotten.
Stone Cold Steve Austin was a maverick, an everyman, a blue-collar champion, a redneck rebel, and the toughest SOB in WWF history. The foul-mouthed, beer swilling Rattlesnake defied authority at every turn, assaulted his boss, proudly gave the one-finger salute to crowds around the world, and destroyed everyone and anything standing between him and his goals. He birthed the age of the anti-hero in WWF, and tore down the old standard of virtuous good-guys versus evil bad-guys, helping to bring thousands of new fans to the then-struggling promotion. Much more than the brawler he’d later deteriorate to after enduring countless injuries that might have shelved another man with less desire, Austin was once a very good technical wrestler, which more than complimented his hell-raising persona.
According to some experts, Austin is the highest drawing wrestler of all time, outselling everyone in the areas of pay-per-view buys, merchandise, and television ratings. While it’s impossible to determine why a consumer watched a particular show, it’s easy to track popularity when arenas are full of fans sporting shaved heads and goatees, wearing Austin 3:16 shirts, waving foam middle fingers, and chanting along with Austin’s catchphrases. In fact, a stain he left behind is that damn “what” chant that persists even today, but it demonstrates just how much wrestling fans still love Stone Cold.
Nobody captivated a wrestling audience quite like the Rock. His promos are still the stuff of legend and he’s been gone from any consistent WWE role for over four years. He was also underrated as an in-ring performer in my book. His explosive offense matched the fireworks he’d spew at his opponents on the mic. Blazing his own trail with a raised eyebrow and a raucous catchphrase, the former 9-time world champion will always be missed in the squared circle.
The Rock epitomized the way fans dictate the atmosphere of a promotion. He was practically forced to turn heel early in his WWF run after the smiley, babyface gimmick originally assigned to him sunk like a lead balloon because jaded wrestling fans in 1996 wanted nothing to do with a character from bygone days like Rocky Maivia. Years later, with his “cool heel” routine honed to perfection, the Rock had to prevent fans who now wanted to cheer him from loving him too much until his official return to the good side of the force in 1999. Ironic, since they demanded his face turn and he was forced to hold off on it until the time was right. With the crowds driving Rock’s heel/face alignment, they were guaranteed to get what they wanted from him, so he couldn’t lose.
In order to fully appreciate how strong of a performer the Rock was, think about how any one of the currently dull, repetitive editions of RAW or SmackDown these days would become instant highlights if the Rock were to interrupt an interview and verbally layeth the smacketh down on some jabroni standing in the people’s ring, or drill a bad guy with the Rock Bottom and the People’s Elbow. The place would come unglued, if ya’ smell what the Rock is cookin’.
Clearly many other performers have made a huge impact on the business in the last 25 years and could have been included here, like the aforementioned Sting and Ricky Steamboat, Randy Macho Man Savage, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Andre the Giant, the Undertaker, Mick Foley, and the Road Warriors to name a few. Perhaps I’ll feature them and more in a future look at modern legends, but I’ll leave the likes of Dusty Rhodes, the Von Erichs, Superstar Billy Graham, Chief Wahoo McDaniel, and others in the capable hands of Ms. Stice. Until then, keep alert; you never know when you might see the next breakout star in the making as he puts the pieces together and creates a new modern legend right before your eyes.
Vin Sanity is not categorized as a psychological disorder… yet.
p.s. – “The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.” – Earl of Beaconsfield
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The original version of this syndicated column, titled Alternate Reality by Vin Tastic, appears each Monday morning on Pulse Wrestling.
Elsewhere on Pulse Wrestling this week…
PK continues his tradition of providing the very best live reviews on the ‘Net, as WWE presents No Mercy on ppv. A perfect companion piece is Pulse Wrestling’s staffers attempt at reading the minds of the WWE creative department (a daunting task) as they sit down for another Rasslin’ Roundtable.
David Wells is back with his Independent Run Down.
The boss drops by to offer up 1000 Words on K-Krush/K-Kwik/Ron The R-Truth Killings.
Mark Allen takes a look at Ring of Honor’s commercial release titled Stars of Honor in this week’s Historically Speaking.
In keeping with Mr. Allen’s assertion that Pulse Wrestling provides the finest ROH coverage across the IWC, here’s our very own resident Ace, Aaron Glazer, with Ring of Honor Weekly, discussing recent cancellations in Florida, and a double shot of Big Andy Mac reviews. First up is Dragon Gate Challenge II, widely regarded as a phenomenal show with an equally fantastic write up by your professor, and a slightly dated look at the sixth ROH ppv Take No Prisoners.
Finally on Pulse Wrestling this week is an interesting look at an interesting documentary by an interesting character. Bones Barkley reviews Lucha Libre – Life Behind the Mask, which sounds like it’s designed for all wrestling fans, not just fans of the Mexican sub-genre.
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