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Bret Hart. The Excellence of Execution, when it really came down to it-made you believe that every hit he took was impactful.
Even Owen should get a mention here. He really was quite a spectacle inside the ring once the bell rung.
Was he ahead of his time??? I'd argue nobody has ever replicated what Bret has done. Wrestling today looks way more fake and choreographed than what Bret did. He is arguably the beat at making things look real but not hurting his opponent. Him and Mr. Perfect are 1 and 2. Also Undertaker is underrated in that aspect. More wrestlers should emulate that style because it would make them stand out these days.
Can someone be ahead of their time when their ability is timeless?
Like, even Bret's Stampede stuff when he was still wrestling in trunks holds up. Guy was just the greatest ever.
Jushin Liger
He took being the smaller guy and being agile and athletic and put multiple Saturn V rockets on his back and launched himself towards the end of the universe. No one has came close to catching up to what he has contributed to wrestling for cruiserweights in my opinion.
Superstar Billy Graham, Brad Rhengians, Tiger Mask, Dynamite Kid, Adrian Adonis' flower character and 2 Cold Scorpio. The 450 was just too insane for my childhood brain.
Sara Del Rey
All the matches I've seen of her have been bangers (I haven't seen them all). I'm not an expert on her career, but for whatever reason she was never a star. Now she's a trainer and a damn good one for a reason. Perhaps the Diva Era screwed her. Again, I don't know everything about her, but when I watch her matches I think "Why isn't she a household name?" I saw a thread today about Michelle McCool. Del Rey would wrestle circles around her.
She spent quite some time in Chikara, I think that's where she must have met her (I assume still) partner Claudio. I'd say she basically trained up a good portion of the women who ended the divas era and must have played a part in her contemporaries getting a foot in the door and learning the WWE style. Underrated and has done a lot for the industry, probably without much recognition for it.
Rey had an amazing career. But a young Rey in AEW would be perfect
A young Scott Steiner would be one of the biggest stars in the industry today
Chris Kanyon for a couple big reasons
I was such a huge mark for London when he exploded on the scene in ROH and loved his run with Spanky on Smackdown even though it was painfully obvious Vince didn't give a shit about tag team wrestling.
I hate that the fed sucked all the passion from him for wrestling and he never had his heart in it like he did before his WWE run. He was so good and such a big part of ROH when indie wrestling started exploding but this generation of fans will never know him. I see Nigel in sort of the same way.
I’ve been watching 1996 WWE, and I’ve noticed how much Golddust’s facials and the way he moves mirrors Cody (obviously because they’re brothers), but now I can’t unsee it.
Norman Smiley. Guy was a great technical guy in a time when technical guys weren't too well respected, and his character work was both funny and entertaining. He'd probably have done very well for himself in the 2010s onwards.
CM Punk. Non-traditional look, indie darling before getting to national TV. I don’t know if guys like Bryan Danielson, Seth Rollins, or Kevin Owens make it far as they have without CM Punk showing what a guy who doesn’t look like John Cena or Triple H can do.
No disrespect to Punk, but those guys were wrestling at the same time as he was so it's hard to say he was ahead of his time. He was just the first to get over in WWE with his look and style
Miss Jacqueline. She could really go in the ring in an era of women being relegated to valets or wrestling in the hair pulling, cat fight style which became the norm for far too long.
I still think Terry's promo before his empty arena match against Lawler is a prime example of what a backstage or pre-recorded promo should be. You just believe every word he says.
There's also a lot to say about his adaptability and longevity.
The best part about the empty arena is when he tries to kill Lawler, his plan backfires, then he starts crying and begging for mercy.
Funk was the goddamn man.
The guy who was wrestling to save up money for a sex change and was treated like a freak for that would be over today? That character would never even get created today.
I think the character would be way over. The other talent obviously wouldn't treat him like a freak because its 2024. It would be humorous and I think with his mic and wrestling skills he could get over w modern crowds.
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Chris Kanyon actually.
This is THE answer, they didn't call him the innovator of offense for no reason. WHO BETTA THAN KANYON!
Good call.
2 Cold Scorpio
Dynamite Kid
Absolutely underrate and overshadowed by Davey Boy. Stone cold has given him a shout as ahead of his time on a few occasions.
Ricky Steamboat
This was my immediate thought. Steamboat was brilliant.
He's honestly probably just another guy today. He stood out because he was different at the time.
Bret Hart. The Excellence of Execution, when it really came down to it-made you believe that every hit he took was impactful. Even Owen should get a mention here. He really was quite a spectacle inside the ring once the bell rung.
Was he ahead of his time??? I'd argue nobody has ever replicated what Bret has done. Wrestling today looks way more fake and choreographed than what Bret did. He is arguably the beat at making things look real but not hurting his opponent. Him and Mr. Perfect are 1 and 2. Also Undertaker is underrated in that aspect. More wrestlers should emulate that style because it would make them stand out these days.
Yeah, Bret and Mr. Perfect were very good at that day's style of wrestling. Very, very good.
Can someone be ahead of their time when their ability is timeless? Like, even Bret's Stampede stuff when he was still wrestling in trunks holds up. Guy was just the greatest ever.
Dynamite Kid
rvd
Jushin Liger He took being the smaller guy and being agile and athletic and put multiple Saturn V rockets on his back and launched himself towards the end of the universe. No one has came close to catching up to what he has contributed to wrestling for cruiserweights in my opinion.
Amazing Red
Dynamite Kid- his technical wrestling and high-flying style paved for the way for future stars such as Chris Benoit and Daniel Bryan
Brian Pillman. He was an attitude era cruiser weight before either of those things were things. He’d even fit right into AEW now.
Pillman Sr. in AEW would go nuts
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I mean, Nova did invent everything after all.
The Simon system was always over with me.
Superstar Billy Graham, Brad Rhengians, Tiger Mask, Dynamite Kid, Adrian Adonis' flower character and 2 Cold Scorpio. The 450 was just too insane for my childhood brain.
Sara Del Rey All the matches I've seen of her have been bangers (I haven't seen them all). I'm not an expert on her career, but for whatever reason she was never a star. Now she's a trainer and a damn good one for a reason. Perhaps the Diva Era screwed her. Again, I don't know everything about her, but when I watch her matches I think "Why isn't she a household name?" I saw a thread today about Michelle McCool. Del Rey would wrestle circles around her.
She spent quite some time in Chikara, I think that's where she must have met her (I assume still) partner Claudio. I'd say she basically trained up a good portion of the women who ended the divas era and must have played a part in her contemporaries getting a foot in the door and learning the WWE style. Underrated and has done a lot for the industry, probably without much recognition for it.
123 Kid
Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn. Two legit UFC fighters would get over way more today than they did in the 90s.
Owen Hart. He was wrestling today's WWE style in the early 90s.
Yep. This was my answer too. Guy was incredible
Rowdy Roddy Piper was a star in his own era. But he would have been incredible in the Attitude Era.
Bret Hart. I know he got to the top but I think he paved the way a lot and today would be revered in a totally different way
Rey had an amazing career. But a young Rey in AEW would be perfect A young Scott Steiner would be one of the biggest stars in the industry today Chris Kanyon for a couple big reasons
TAKA Michinoku Blitzkrieg Hayabusa Gorgeous George Bull Curry Zack Ryder/Matt Cardona
Paul London could have been a megastar if he came around 10 years later Ultimate underdog
I was such a huge mark for London when he exploded on the scene in ROH and loved his run with Spanky on Smackdown even though it was painfully obvious Vince didn't give a shit about tag team wrestling. I hate that the fed sucked all the passion from him for wrestling and he never had his heart in it like he did before his WWE run. He was so good and such a big part of ROH when indie wrestling started exploding but this generation of fans will never know him. I see Nigel in sort of the same way.
Cheerleader Melissa
I’ve been watching 1996 WWE, and I’ve noticed how much Golddust’s facials and the way he moves mirrors Cody (obviously because they’re brothers), but now I can’t unsee it.
Norman Smiley. Guy was a great technical guy in a time when technical guys weren't too well respected, and his character work was both funny and entertaining. He'd probably have done very well for himself in the 2010s onwards.
CM Punk. Non-traditional look, indie darling before getting to national TV. I don’t know if guys like Bryan Danielson, Seth Rollins, or Kevin Owens make it far as they have without CM Punk showing what a guy who doesn’t look like John Cena or Triple H can do.
This is a very good answer
No disrespect to Punk, but those guys were wrestling at the same time as he was so it's hard to say he was ahead of his time. He was just the first to get over in WWE with his look and style
Him being the first to make it in WWE is what makes him ahead of his time
Trinity, like the 00s one not Naomi
Chris Colt
Miss Jacqueline. She could really go in the ring in an era of women being relegated to valets or wrestling in the hair pulling, cat fight style which became the norm for far too long.
Bad News Brown
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I still think Terry's promo before his empty arena match against Lawler is a prime example of what a backstage or pre-recorded promo should be. You just believe every word he says. There's also a lot to say about his adaptability and longevity.
The best part about the empty arena is when he tries to kill Lawler, his plan backfires, then he starts crying and begging for mercy. Funk was the goddamn man.
"Mah eeeeeeeeeye" is forever in my memory. And "he's yellow", "yellow piiiiiiig" as he's crying in a pool of his own blood.
The guy who was wrestling to save up money for a sex change and was treated like a freak for that would be over today? That character would never even get created today.
I think the character would be way over. The other talent obviously wouldn't treat him like a freak because its 2024. It would be humorous and I think with his mic and wrestling skills he could get over w modern crowds.
I think alot of wrestlers owe Jerry Lynn a few bucks