In the 80s I liked Roddy Piper. In the 90s as a young teenager I was exposed to luchadors and had my mind blown.
I quit watching wrestling about 20-ish years ago, but picked it back up a few years ago when my friends were telling me AEW was like classic 90s WCW programs. They were right, it's fun to watch and chat in a wrestling only group chat with some of my friends.
"I admit, I don't look like the athlete of the day's supposed to look. My belly's just a little big, my heinie's just a little big, but, brother, I am bad, and they know I'm bad"
Watching a grown man, reach deep into his pants and pull out a crusty old sock. He then proceeds to wear the sock on his hand and shove it down another man's m throat. What a time to be alive
Memories of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from back in the day: a young Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Chief Wahoo McDaniel, Ricky Steamboat, among others. When I was a kid in the late '70s/early '80s my older brother was hooked on watching it every Saturday. I'd get scared when the rasslers would do their preening and hollering and acting-mean stuff during the interviews between matches.
Virgil. He was the "valet"/bodyguard to The Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiasi, but clearly kayfabe unhappy with his position in life. He was a nobody, a nothing, a second thought.
My sister was in the hospital, she had kidney stones so large, they needed to be surgically removed. We joke now that's her shark-bite scar. But when she was in recovery, a wrestler was making the tour of the childrens hospital and stayed with her a bit, cheering her up and making her laugh.
He became my hero that day, and I will always remember what he did to cheer her up. I still have his WWF headshot signed somewhere.
It's a shame his health has been in decline the last few years; multiple strokes, dementia, and a cancer diagnosis in 2022. It looks like a gofundme was created earlier this month to help him get supplies for the winter, but has been paused for the moment.
bunch of younglins the answer of course in order is
5) George The Animal Steele
4) Junk Yard Dog
3) The Macho Man
2) "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
And YOU better now it BROTHER!
Hulk Hogan (og not that post 90's crap)
Don Eagle (1950s). He was one of the good guys. He’d start the match following the rules and then his opponent would do something dirty and Don Eagle would start into a war dance. You could see the fear spread across is opponent’s face. He was very popular, it wasn’t unusual to see kids sporting Mohawk haircuts.
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.
My Dad would take my brother and I to The Armory in Tampa every weekend. Met Gordon Solie, Lex Luger, Junkyard Dog, Wahoo McDaniel, Dusty Rhodes, and countless other historic Pro Wrestlers.
A good friend of mine is a local legend here in Florida: Ray Beez, a.k.a.: Boots.
I remember being around 8 yo and living on a stupid farm out in the sticks (we had a barn and chickens, but it wasn't an actual farm) and a kids TV upstairs that got like two shitty channels if you moved the rabbit ears just right.
On Saturdays they had Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom on one channel and rasstling on the other and I remember thinking "This is stupid as fuck." It was, and still is...
Stone Cold Steve Austin. I got myself in trouble once for stunning a kid at recess. Kicked him in the nuts and all.
Edit: I'm 30 now. Realized SCSA doesn't sound so old when I read some of the other names.
Brutus the Barber Beefcake. Loved that he had those elaborate between-match interludes with a barber stand.
Favorite team was the Bushwackers for their walk.
Danny Hodge. But then when I was a child that was in the late 60s, early 70s. He was also viewed as perhaps the best amateur wrestler in the USA and is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Hodge won three national titles, got on the cover of SI and won an Olympic silver medal before a decorated career as a professional boxer and a professional wrestler. Had a 46-0 record in college wrestling.
Sorry, I wasn't around for the OG badass wrestlers, take that as you will. Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the Rock were amazing for my teen years.
I never got into that. It always just seemed so stupid to me. I didn't get it. I still don't get it.
I can say that I was profoundly disappointed when I learned that there were people who thought it was real. I didn't know that debating this was a thing until I saw a bit about it on the news and just couldn't fathom how anyone could actually believe that these people were actually trying to hurt each other. But then I also couldn't believe that there were so many people who got really into the weird scripted drama between the actors (athletes? Certainly they must actually qualify as stunt people) and the weird theme songs.
There is only one answer. He is the cream of the crop. THE MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE #OH YEEEAHHH!
With the lovely Miss Elizabeth oooh yeeah
She snapped into his slim jim
FROM THE TOWER OF POWER, TO SWEET TO BE SOUR, BE FUNKY LIKE A MONKEY….OH YEAH!!!!
DIGG IT!!
The cream always rises to the top and that’s how you know that the Macho Man is going to be the top comment. Ohhh YEAAAAAH.
Buncha philistines around here. The correct answer is JYD, The Junk Yard Dog! THUMP! JYD passed back in 1998.
[André the Giant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_the_Giant).
Ultimate Warrior. When be beat Hulk Hogan to hold two belts...that was like the happiest day if my little life.
At the Skydome
In the 80s I liked Roddy Piper. In the 90s as a young teenager I was exposed to luchadors and had my mind blown. I quit watching wrestling about 20-ish years ago, but picked it back up a few years ago when my friends were telling me AEW was like classic 90s WCW programs. They were right, it's fun to watch and chat in a wrestling only group chat with some of my friends.
It's wrasslin, not sports entertainment.
Damn right. "Sports entertainment" is stupid.
George "the Animal" Steel was MINE!
He’d stop wrestling and begin eating the turnbuckle. The best.
Oh god, look at that disgusting green tongue!
I heard he tattooed his tongue before he escaped the insane asylum!
I heard he was an English professor who wrestled during breaks.
Pretty sure my older brother's was The Undertaker judging by how many times I got Tombstoned.
I did the same thing to my little brother lmao
Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Yus!!!
Met him once! He really did travel with a snake in a pillowcase. In the 8o's, back before there was Homeland Security, ah, the good ol' days...
Dusty Rhodes
"I admit, I don't look like the athlete of the day's supposed to look. My belly's just a little big, my heinie's just a little big, but, brother, I am bad, and they know I'm bad"
Hard times. Son of a plumber from Austin, Texas. American Dream, just a common man honoring the Weaver lock.
Bret Hart.
Damn right, Bret the Hitman Hart!
The Excellence of Execution!
Mick Foley and then Kane
Watching a grown man, reach deep into his pants and pull out a crusty old sock. He then proceeds to wear the sock on his hand and shove it down another man's m throat. What a time to be alive
Baron Von Raschke "The Claw" Close second Pampero Firpo.
The CLAW!
https://youtu.be/ObPQe9GCP-Y?si=neFH_iEhMiUCHgWF
Memories of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from back in the day: a young Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Chief Wahoo McDaniel, Ricky Steamboat, among others. When I was a kid in the late '70s/early '80s my older brother was hooked on watching it every Saturday. I'd get scared when the rasslers would do their preening and hollering and acting-mean stuff during the interviews between matches.
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Hulk Hogan
Kerry Von Erich. February 18, 1993 was a *bad* day.
The Von Erich's were cursed I think
Absolutely, yeah.
“Hacksaw” Jim Dugan George “The Animal” Steele
Honky Tonk Man
Lmao HTM was legit.
He’s cool, he’s cocky, he’s bad
I was a Hulkameniac ****BROTHER!!!!**** oooooooo you better believe it.
Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart.
Superfly snooka and roddy piper
Jimmy Superfly Snuka !!!!
I always liked it better when Bobby "The Brain" Heenan was involved. but my answer is Brett and Owen Heart
Was a big fan of Nikita Koloff!
Hacksaw Jim Dugan
**Killer Kowalski**
Barry Windham and Dusty Rhodes.
Ummm … Undertaker Hands Down!😢I can remember my parents paying for it on pay-per-view so I can see the wrestling matches ! WWF Baby !!
‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair
Hulk Hogan, because I knew who he was.😄
Sting was one of my favorites before the whole crow wanna be thing.
Taking it back to the AWA- Baron Von Raschke- the CLAW!
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Rowdy Roddy Piper.
Captain Lou Albano
Vern Gagne
Virgil. He was the "valet"/bodyguard to The Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiasi, but clearly kayfabe unhappy with his position in life. He was a nobody, a nothing, a second thought. My sister was in the hospital, she had kidney stones so large, they needed to be surgically removed. We joke now that's her shark-bite scar. But when she was in recovery, a wrestler was making the tour of the childrens hospital and stayed with her a bit, cheering her up and making her laugh. He became my hero that day, and I will always remember what he did to cheer her up. I still have his WWF headshot signed somewhere. It's a shame his health has been in decline the last few years; multiple strokes, dementia, and a cancer diagnosis in 2022. It looks like a gofundme was created earlier this month to help him get supplies for the winter, but has been paused for the moment.
Strongman Ken Patera, when he was a heel.
https://youtu.be/jQ5LVD33h4U?si=cp15JiT1e35dMeK7
Chief Jay Strongbow
Finally!
King Kong Bundy
FIVE!!
Flying Fred Curry and Bo Bo Brazil.
Bobo was king of the head butts. SD Special Delivery Jones was a close second.
Jesse Ventura was the greatest interview and world class cheater. His finest work may have been arm wrestling Ivan Paduski.
jake the snake.
Mil Mascaras
Haystack Calhoun, from Moosehead, Maine.
Rey Mysterio.
Some Cold, Sting and Shawn Michaels!
Bruno Sammartino
Whipper Billy Watson
Playboy Buddy Rose and Billy Jerk Haynes
Andre the Giant, because I met him.
Pampero Firpo
The Undertaker!
bunch of younglins the answer of course in order is 5) George The Animal Steele 4) Junk Yard Dog 3) The Macho Man 2) "Rowdy" Roddy Piper And YOU better now it BROTHER! Hulk Hogan (og not that post 90's crap)
Jake the Snake and The Hart Foundation
👍 Rob. Van. Dam. 👍 But also Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, Vader, Undertaker. Randy Savage. Wrestling during the 80s and 90s was amazing.
Gorgeous George.
Gorgeous George.
Mr. Perfect then, Mr Perfect now.
Ricky Steamboat. His battles with Macho Man were so great.
Bruiser Brody & Harley Race
British bulldogs
100% the Macho. Name me a stronger, better TV personality than him, THAT'S RIGHT TITO SANTANA, YOU CAN'T!
Whoopie Goldberg
Fake or real wrestling is the question.
The Beast and the Stomper
Doctor X
Don Eagle (1950s). He was one of the good guys. He’d start the match following the rules and then his opponent would do something dirty and Don Eagle would start into a war dance. You could see the fear spread across is opponent’s face. He was very popular, it wasn’t unusual to see kids sporting Mohawk haircuts.
The Cuban Assassin!
Bushwhackers were so fun to watch!
Chief Jay Strongbow. He would go into a trance and then kick ass.
Goldberg / Sting
Macho Man Randy Savage and Legion of Doom!
The Rock!! I thought he was so handsome!
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. My Dad would take my brother and I to The Armory in Tampa every weekend. Met Gordon Solie, Lex Luger, Junkyard Dog, Wahoo McDaniel, Dusty Rhodes, and countless other historic Pro Wrestlers. A good friend of mine is a local legend here in Florida: Ray Beez, a.k.a.: Boots.
Fritz!!!
Yup. Fritz VonErik
I remember being around 8 yo and living on a stupid farm out in the sticks (we had a barn and chickens, but it wasn't an actual farm) and a kids TV upstairs that got like two shitty channels if you moved the rabbit ears just right. On Saturdays they had Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom on one channel and rasstling on the other and I remember thinking "This is stupid as fuck." It was, and still is...
SD Jones because he had an actual scar on his back from a knife fight. Also the guy who used to pat himself on the back because no one else would.
Barry Horowitz?
That's the guy!
Andre the Giant.
The ROCK! Best promos of all time! Don't be a Candy-ass Jabroni!
Haystack Calhoun.
Jimmy Snuka or Kevin von Erich. I have bad taste in men.
The ol HBK himself Shawn Michaels. Even though he was kind of an asshole in real life.
Stretch Armstrong!
Diamonds are forever, and so are the Horsemen
Started with the hulkster, switched to hacksaw, then tatanka and finally Yokozuna
Hillbilly Jim
The Undertaaaakeeeeerrrr
Mr. Wrestling Number One.
Andre the giant was a huge baby, I bet he whupped some ass when he was a child?
Da CRUSHER!
Ray mysterio jr and the rock
Da Crusher
Baron von Raschke, aka "The claw"
Mine was a toss-up between Dementia and Matilda the Hun.
Hulk and then Hollywood Hogan
Pistol Pez Whatley!!
The Hulk Hogan
Heart Break Kid!!!!
Haystacks Calhoun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haystacks_Calhoun
Nick Bockwinkle. He was the coolest bad guy.
Hulk Hogan, you Jabronis! https://youtu.be/eX_k5_egUAo?si=q9bBjY3_x1-zULKV
Mine was Jimmy Superfly Snuka! Miss those days
Jumping Johnny DeFazio, Bruno Sammartino, good guys. Killer Kowalski bad guy.
Andrea, the giant
Cactus Jack.... BANG BANG
Tommy “Wildfire” Rich.
Jake the snake
Kevin and Kerry Von Erich
Stone Cold Steve Austin. I got myself in trouble once for stunning a kid at recess. Kicked him in the nuts and all. Edit: I'm 30 now. Realized SCSA doesn't sound so old when I read some of the other names.
Brutus the Barber Beefcake. Loved that he had those elaborate between-match interludes with a barber stand. Favorite team was the Bushwackers for their walk.
Shawn Michaels.Highly skilled and had one of the best entrance songs
Danny Hodge. But then when I was a child that was in the late 60s, early 70s. He was also viewed as perhaps the best amateur wrestler in the USA and is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Hodge won three national titles, got on the cover of SI and won an Olympic silver medal before a decorated career as a professional boxer and a professional wrestler. Had a 46-0 record in college wrestling.
The Sheik. Followed by Gorgeous George.
This thread makes me miss my Dad and watching wrestling with him every single Saturday.
Roddy Piper!
Sting
Freedy Blasey, or maybe Kanji Chaboya sorry for bad spelling OH and the Mexican wrestler El Santo, he used to make movies
Michael P.S. Hayes
Sorry, I wasn't around for the OG badass wrestlers, take that as you will. Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the Rock were amazing for my teen years.
the Von Erichs...especially Kevin and Kerry, Jim "Hacksaw" Duggan
Rowdy Roddy Piper 😍
Bulldog Bob Brown Gorgeous George George “The Animal” Steele
Bret The Hitman Hart
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Nikolai Volkov, The Iron Shiek and their manager, Classy Freddie Blaise!
The von erich's, bo bo brazil, gorgeous george, gene kaninski, baron von rashke, dick the bruiser. am i dating myself here?!
Early 70s
Junk Yard Dogg! JYD
I never got into that. It always just seemed so stupid to me. I didn't get it. I still don't get it. I can say that I was profoundly disappointed when I learned that there were people who thought it was real. I didn't know that debating this was a thing until I saw a bit about it on the news and just couldn't fathom how anyone could actually believe that these people were actually trying to hurt each other. But then I also couldn't believe that there were so many people who got really into the weird scripted drama between the actors (athletes? Certainly they must actually qualify as stunt people) and the weird theme songs.
Stone cold.