Save Three

[HomerThompson]

Lots of good and thought-provoking answers on here. Thanks for the responses.

Injury: "Ravishing" Rick Rude
Just watched some of his '91 WCW work. That was some top flight work and the spectacular match vs Sting where the injury occurred was supposed to cement him as the top heel and top guy in the company. The laundry list of problems that resulted from the injury (including his eventual passing) could've been avoided with one spot.

Personal: Chris Kanyon
This one is a little tough. Kanyon was peaking at a time where being gay would certainly have raised more eyebrows higher than they do today. Still, his confliction, the stress and anxiety from it, and the drug use that he used to cope left him too erratic to make the most of his prodigious talents. Who betta than Kanyon?

Booking: Big Show
His career has lasted longer than anyone would have guessed considering his size and he's gotten plenty of screen time and title reigns. Still, he was a ready made monster heel turned comedy act and occasional transitional champion. You could see him completely checked out for a stretch of years where he unnaturally smiled and waved like an awkward home schooled kid at freshman orientation because he was resigned to collecting a big check to be an "attraction."

Honorable Mention: Marc Mero
Man, did this guy check off all the boxes in positive and negative qualities. Great look, athletic, legit credentials, not bad at all on promo. Injury prone, drug and marital issues, shit gimmicks and storylines. When you're best known for portraying a gay black man when you're neither and for getting powerbombed by your 110lb wife in a domestic abuse angle, doing acrobatics at 235lbs is only going to end in disaster (listening Apollo Crewes?)

This is a great post, but there's no way that Apollo Crews is 235. He's like a foot tall.

 

[Good Ole Stannis's BBQ]

better than val venus and Godfather

really? All the shitty wrestlers that held that belt and those two stand out for you?

 

[lakersfan45]

Injury Bret hart. Hart vs angle hart vs Lesnar would have been incredible

Personal Shawn Michaels. I think it was the personal issues, not his back injury, that kept HBK out for so long. HBK vs rock would have been amazing

Booking Zack Ryder. Dude got himself over.

 

[Ozymandias]

Injury - Katsuyori Shibata, had a title shot in his last match and probably would've been a favorite to win this year's G-1

Personal - Eddie Guerrero, one of my all time favorites. I think he'd still be going today with countless title runs.

Booking - Vader, booked very poorly in WWF. Can't believe he didn't hold the strap once.

 

[My Spot]

One who doesn't necessarily fit the categories of injury, personal issues, or booking is David Von Erich. He was the most talented of the Von Erich brothers and would have been NWA World Champion had he lived. I suppose you'd have to add the category of premature death due to a serious acute medical condition.

lol
You still buy into that nonsense about David?

 

[Blackjack]

lol
You still buy into that nonsense about David?

Autopsies don't lie. The cause was acute enteritis. You know he was having stomach pains even before he left for Japan, right? He ate sushi the night eh died which is bad for enteritis. What about his past makes you think he wanted to die? he'd never overdosed before. He'd never even been known to have a drug problem. I believe he took some painkillers for the pain but if your stomach was rupturing you'd be in pain too.

Do you think Gino Hernandez was murdered? If not, why was the cocaine found in his stomach? Why was he fearing for his life in the last week of his life and even got a gun? Why was the deadbolt that he always locked as soon as he got into his house found unlocked?

 

[BenjaminRandalC]

really? All the shitty wrestlers that held that belt and those two stand out for you?

Those are the two shittiest in the era that ecw Jake Roberts could have held the belt. Val venis had a terrible gimmick and whether he was Papa Shango, koma Mustafa or godfather that guy had as much in ring skill as I do. He proved he can take a beating in brawl for all, but that shouldn't make you an ic champ

 

[Good Ole Stannis's BBQ]

Those are the two shittiest in the era that ecw Jake Roberts could have held the belt. Val venis had a terrible gimmick and whether he was Papa Shango, koma Mustafa or godfather that guy had as much in ring skill as I do. He proved he can take a beating in brawl for all, but that shouldn't make you an ic champ

they were both pretty over for midcarders even if they had ceilings.

 

[My Spot]

Autopsies don't lie. The cause was acute enteritis. You know he was having stomach pains even before he left for Japan, right? He ate sushi the night eh died which is bad for enteritis. What about his past makes you think he wanted to die? he'd never overdosed before. He'd never even been known to have a drug problem. I believe he took some painkillers for the pain but if your stomach was rupturing you'd be in pain too.

Do you think Gino Hernandez was murdered? If not, why was the cocaine found in his stomach? Why was he fearing for his life in the last week of his life and even got a gun? Why was the deadbolt that he always locked as soon as he got into his house found unlocked?

Sounds like you worked yourself into a shoot.

 

[My Spot]

Those are the two shittiest in the era that ecw Jake Roberts could have held the belt. Val venis had a terrible gimmick and whether he was Papa Shango, koma Mustafa or godfather that guy had as much in ring skill as I do. He proved he can take a beating in brawl for all, but that shouldn't make you an ic champ

The likes of Chyna and "The One" Billy Gunn were IC champ around that time too but you focused on 2 guys who were way over (especially Godfather)?

 

[Prime Shane Douglas]

Save Magnum TA from his injuries from his car accident

Save Kerry Von Erich from his personal issues

Save Shane Douglas from politics and bad booking, the reason being that in ECW he proved he was as good as just about anyone in WWF/WCW but he didn't have their money and marketing behind him to make people aware of just how good he was, especially on the mic. He was cutting the best heel promos in the business in 1996 but only ECW fans knew about it.

You pretty much nailed it in one post. Great job.

 

[Thrawn33]

Injuries - Owen Hart. Do I have to say more?
Personal Demons - Chris Benoit. No explanation needed.
Booking - Bret Hart. Prevent the Montreal Scewjob or book correctly in WCW.

So now we have three of the greatest technical wrestlers alive and healthy....think of the options.

 

[BenjaminRandalC]

The likes of Chyna and "The One" Billy Gunn were IC champ around that time too but you focused on 2 guys who were way over (especially Godfather)?

I agree with Billy Gunn. Chyna was better than Venus and equal to Godfather. I guess it was just the shit in-ring with Godfather that I couldn't let slide with Mr. Perfect's belt.

 

[My Spot]

I agree with Billy Gunn. Chyna was better than Venus and equal to Godfather. I guess it was just the shit in-ring with Godfather that I couldn't let slide with Mr. Perfect's belt.

That wasn't the same belt.
Don't forget, the longest reigning IC champ ever couldn't wrestle for shit either but he got nuclear heat from crowds.

 

[gspieler]

Injuries - Owen Hart. Do I have to say more?
Personal Demons - Chris Benoit. No explanation needed.
Booking - Bret Hart. Prevent the Montreal Scewjob or book correctly in WCW.

So now we have three of the greatest technical wrestlers alive and healthy....think of the options.

You could probably make a case for Owen being on the mis booked list as well. Post-Montreal, they had him as a role player in NOD, and then the Blue Blazer gimmick. Such a waste for of the best talents in the business. There's no way Vince was ever going to let Owen get over after what happened with Bret.

 

[BenjaminRandalC]

That wasn't the same belt.
Don't forget, the longest reigning IC champ ever couldn't wrestle for shit either but he got nuclear heat from crowds.

Yes, I agree with the Honky statement. Maybe I'm just ignorant but what do you mean not the same belt?

 

[My Spot]

Yes, I agree with the Honky statement. Maybe I'm just ignorant but what do you mean not the same belt?

They stopped using the classic Reggie Parks designed belt the night after WM14.

 

[SocraticMethod]

Injury: Daniel Bryan. The PWD likes to crap on him, but he was more over than anyone had been in the WWE since Austin. Wins the title after a great build, has the fans force the WWE to acknowledge how over he is, gets the Mania moment and then gets one defense against Kane before he has to vacate the belt. Comes back for what, 3 more matches and then is gone forever.

Personal Issues: I'm going to put Angle here. I don't know if "personal issues" is the right thing to say, but whatever led to him asking for his release from WWE and then wasting all those years in TNA. We missed out on more Angle vs. Shawn and Taker, and matches like Angle vs. Punk and Bryan.

Booking: Rusev. They too his tank, you guys. They took his tank.

 

[Thrawn33]

You could probably make a case for Owen being on the mis booked list as well. Post-Montreal, they had him as a role player in NOD, and then the Blue Blazer gimmick. Such a waste for of the best talents in the business. There's no way Vince was ever going to let Owen get over after what happened with Bret.

Yeah, hell if Bret would get the rebooking save, probably wouldn't need to use the "injury save" on Owen....

 

[SocraticMethod]

You could probably make a case for Owen being on the mis booked list as well. Post-Montreal, they had him as a role player in NOD, and then the Blue Blazer gimmick. Such a waste for of the best talents in the business. There's no way Vince was ever going to let Owen get over after what happened with Bret.

Owen vs. Shawn was the logical next step, but never happened. I've heard it said here that Shawn refused to work with Owen, and you're probably right that Vince was scared of letting Owen get too big. But Owen winning the title back from Shawn, even if it was just for a month, would have been incredible. Then Shawn gets it back to drop it to Stone Cold at WM 14 and Austin has an elevated Owen to feud with again as champion.

I often think about how Shawn/Owen made more sense for the Royal Rumble match rather than Shawn vs. Taker in the casket match that seriously injured Shawn. If that's Owen instead, does Shawn not get hurt and then not need to take that time off? Does he go on to have classics with Stone Cold for the next year, or does he use his influence to interfere with Austin's ascension to the unquestioned top dog in the WWF? If Shawn doesn't get hurt does he ever get himself clean so we get those classics with Taker, Angle, Cena, Trips, and the greatest Superkick of all time on Benjamin? Or does he drug himself out even more and become another tragedy story?

Assuming Shawn still left after WM, Owen having that title win would have put him in the perfect position to be Austin's next opponent. There could even been a "deal with the devil" type thing where Vince asks Owen to help him get the belt off of Owen and Owen makes Vince apologize for what he did to Bret. "I apologize, dammit! Now you go beat that no good redneck or I'll screw you ten times harder than I screwed your no good damn brotherrrrrrrrrrrrr."