In this 2015 the “Year of the List”, I sat down and figured… Why not ME? Why not MY LIST?!
SO? Ladies, and Gentlemen, Cheap-Heaters of all literacy levels? Welcome to:
I am Pepper Brooks… or at the very least I AM wearing sunglasses and haven’t combed my hair, but do lack the neck tattoos of the above pictured, fictitious Dodgeball color commentator. Tonight I’m bringing you a simple list and I urge you to share yours.
The OCHO: Wrestlers I Miss
This is vague, and in a couple instances these wrestlers might still be active, but I don’t see their work (My #1 definitely falls under this umbrella… BOOM! TEASERS!)
Edge rose through the ranks during the Attitude Era, debuting as something of a Vampire Slayer and feuding with WWE’s resident Vampire, Gangrel. Eventually he worked his way out of that, was one half of one of the Era’s greatest tag teams, in Edge and Christian, and showed a lot of versatility both in the ring and on the mic. He was wildly entertaining and as the “Rated R Superstar” reached new levels of popularity and success. Unfortunately a neck injury forced him to hang up the boots. He also was part of the greatest era of Smackdown which also leaned heavily on THIS man…
Similar to Edge in that he was a total package. Debuted in the WWE with the “Radicalz”, after having lots of success in both ECW and WCW. In WWE was part of so many memorable stories and segments. Be it tagging with Chavo in Los Guerreros, or the genesis for “Latino Heat”. His win over Brock Lesnar and celebration is something I’ll always remember. In ring he was damn near peerless, and something that stood out to me, is when he was out there in an arena? He seemed to enjoy the hell out of everything he did. Of course Eddie was in ECW and so was he!
Okay… when I started this I wasn’t thinking it’d be THIS heavy. Pillman was one of my favorites when I became a wrestling fan in the early to mid 90s, watching WCW. Hollywood Blondes are one of my favorite tag teams of all time. Then his stuff in ECW and eventually bringing the Loose Cannon to WWF was spectacular. I think any of us during that time will remember the manic eyes, and of course Pillman pointing a gun at Stone Cold. Injuries kept him out of a WWE ring for most of his time there, before his untimely death in October of 1997. Pillman was part of a stable with…
I swear… I really wasn’t supposed to be like this. The theme going so far for me is talented in ring competitors and guys who could entertain in any segment they were involved in. Owen was my Hart family member of choice. I always felt like he got lost in the shuffle during that era. After the Montreal Screwjob and basically the entire Hart Foundation had left and it seemed uncertain as to WHAT Owen would do, he returned and attacked….
YAY! This one isn’t sad! Shawn Michaels is arguably the greatest in ring competitor this business has ever seen. He is a WWE Hall of Famer, and I can’t recall a bad match the man was in. His ego was on par with his talent, and in both cases he was many times head and shoulders above everyone around him. You don’t get nicknames like “The Showstopper”, and “Mr. Wrestlemania” to stick without having the chops to back it up. I still hope for one more match from Michaels, though I’m guessing that is not going to happen. Michaels really could have great matches with anyone, but put him in the ring with someone like this?
And it would be magical. Stop screaming. I KNOW Shelton is still active. Hell, I saw his match at Wrestlekingdom 9. I know he has been involved with RoH, but I don’t follow Ring of Honor close enough to know if that is still an ongoing place of employment for Benjamin. Doesn’t mean I see him regularly. Also doesn’t mean I can’t miss him. One of the greatest athletes the WWE has ever had in their ring. One of a generation of performers they brought in from the world of Amateur wrestling, and a guy who was close friends with Brock Lesnar… so why not bring him in too to make sure Brock was happy? Introduced to us as a “Tag Team” presented to Kurt Angle (Team Angle… eventually “Worlds Greatest Tag Team”) Shelton could do anything in the ring. He could do it smoothly. He could do it powerfully. If I’d do an OCHO of “guys they dropped the ball with”? He’d be at or near the top of the list. And he had some good matches in the WWE with…
I’m not alone in missing CM Punk. So many different ways he could have been used the last year. Especially with Lesnar being the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. A guy who was valuable and memorable in any segment on the show. One of the best promos in wrestling. One of the best wrestlers. Not having him around, stinks. But… ladies and gentlemen? Just because we miss him doesn’t mean we have to chant for him whenever for whatever reason his name pops into his head… just something to keep in mind. You know who WOULDN’T randomly chant “CM PUNK”?
Yes, Like Shelton I’m acutely aware that he’s still active. Well I THINK he’s still active. I’m not positive of such things. But Tajiri is one of my favorites. From his arrival in ECW through his WWE run, I was always entertained by him. Super underrated. He could be a standout in backstage segments, and wouldn’t speak a word. His non verbals were spectacular. While the rest of the list was set up so I could loosely tie them together? Tajiri is the top of the list for me.
So what about you? Who are the wrestlers you miss the most?
