Guest spliffstar Report post Posted September 25, 2002 When I started watching wrestling, The Genius was on Superstars quite a bit, but I never actually saw him wrestle, with the possible exception of one match on SNME that didn't leave an impression. So, was he any good? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Masked Heel Report post Posted September 25, 2002 Lanny Poffo was once a very good wrestler if you ever see any of his Memphis stuff with his brother Macho Man Randy Poffo good heel good ring work however he's one of those guys who died because of bad gimmics such as the genius at one time he was a knight too i'm not sure where but yes he was a good wrester and even holds a count out victory over Hulk Hogan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest WrestlingDeacon Report post Posted September 25, 2002 The knight bit was a one time thing he did in the WWF for a come as you are battle royal. He dressed in the armor as sort of like a joke and I think he did a bit on Tuesday Night Titans in it. His original WWF character was that he would recite poems he wrote on a frisbee and then wing them into the crowd. He was fairly comparable to his brother starting out and apparently he and Randy had some sort of "empty arena" match down in Memphis that was a classic, not sure on the specs. I had an old Apter book that highlighted it when I was a kid. The thing with Lanny was that he did not show the charisma or sheer atheleticism of Randy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest dpac Report post Posted September 25, 2002 i remember when i first started watching he did the poem and frisbee thing, i always got pissed because he would do a few good moves(dropkicks, sunsetflips, fastpaced stuff) which was unheard of during that time, but than he would get squashed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MillenniumMan831 Report post Posted September 26, 2002 He had a match with Terry Funk on Best of WWF Volume 6 at MSG that was very good. No one seemed to know/care who Poffo was before the match, but as the match wore on and Poffo broke out one innovative move after another, the crowd really got behind him. Add that, to Funk's goofy selling and you had an entertaining match to say the least. HOWEVER, it ended with a sleeper. HHH must have taken notes. It was kinda sad to see MSG rally behind Poffo as the ref checked on Poffo, only to see the ref call for the bell and the crowd to completely deflate. Another cool thing about the match was Funk bailing out during a Poffo onslaught and seeing Funk spit right on the cameraman. The cameraman seemed PISSED! You could see him point at Funk as to say "watch yourself" as Funk gives a responce as if to say "piss off, I'll do it again" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest areacode212 Report post Posted September 28, 2002 Lanny Poffo pulled off hurricanranas and moonsaults in the WWF long before they were common. What were the details of his heel turn anyway? I just remember him as a frisbee-throwing JTTS, then all of a sudden he was The Genius. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mad Dog Report post Posted September 29, 2002 The character had it's moments. I have a few of his matches on tape. Some tag team stuff with Mr.Perfect was decent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest dpac Report post Posted September 30, 2002 Lanny Poffo pulled off hurricanranas and moonsaults in the WWF long before they were common. What were the details of his heel turn anyway? I just remember him as a frisbee-throwing JTTS, then all of a sudden he was The Genius. he was turned to the genius to manage curt henning, which i never understood b/c henning didnt need a guy to talk for him, and the genius was a good talent but once turning him heel there was no more cool moves from because that would make the crowd pop Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest areacode212 Report post Posted September 30, 2002 This is just idle speculation, but maybe Mr. Perfect was starting to get some face pops and they needed to give the fans a reason to hate him, so they gave him the effeminate (boo!) Genius to speak for him. Even my friend (who was otherwise a complete mark for babyfaces back then) cheered for Hennig, so it's possible that he needed the extra bit of heelishness that Poffo provided. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest WrestlingDeacon Report post Posted September 30, 2002 Hennig used to be managed by Heenan, but he pretty much gave up managing to be a commentator full time. Hennig won a lot of matches or lost them through manager interference, so I'm guessing they wanted to keep that dynamic. The genuis also managed the Beverly Brothers who could really use the mic help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest nWoScorpion Report post Posted September 30, 2002 Genius was his manager first, then Heenan (then Coach, ugh) correct spelling: HENNIG Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smark Hammill Report post Posted September 30, 2002 He was a good wrestler who did high flying stuff before it was commonplace. I mainly remember him as a jobber in Mid South. I don't know if there was an actual heel turn. Poffo was a babyface poet, then he was absent for a month or so, and when he returned he was the heel genius. Poffo was The Genius for a little while before he started managing Mr. Perfect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cawthon777 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2002 Wrestling-wise he was pretty good - especially by WWF standards. Aside from Owen Hart, he was the only guy in 1988 that could do a moonsault. However, he was a glorified jobber for most of his career in the WWF and would get squashed by all the faces. He was basically an 80s verion of Rico. He did wear the knight suit for a battle royal at the Boston Garden in January of 86, that Blackjack Mulligan eventually won. Before the Genius gimmick started, he was known as Leapin' Lanny Poffo and threw out frisbees. The Genius' main claim to fame was beating Hogan once on SNME via count-out after Mr. Perfect came ringside. During that time, he was Perfect's manager - which was a pretty good spot to have considering Perfect was the hottest thing going in late 89-early 90 and beat almost everyone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest WrestlingDeacon Report post Posted October 1, 2002 Yeah, you were right Scorpion, I had my dates backwards. There goes my theory. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Slingshot Suplex Report post Posted October 4, 2002 I have a really good match from about 1984 or 1985 with Poffo vs Bret. It was not long after Bret joined Jimmy Hart.He could sell for sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest deadbeater Report post Posted October 7, 2002 He beat Hogan on TV!!! With minimal help from Mr. Perfect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Your Olympic Hero Report post Posted October 7, 2002 He beat Hogan on TV!!! With minimal help from Mr. Perfect. EXTREMELY minimal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smark Hammill Report post Posted October 7, 2002 He beat Hogan with an equation. Awesome stuff. Unfortunately, with the jaded, cynical wrestling fan of today that has been bred by the internet, that stuff just wouldn't fly. It didn't really fly then, but at least it was funny. If that happened today, these post-internet fans would scream foul because it "makes the world champion looke weak!..whaaa!!" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MillenniumMan831 Report post Posted October 7, 2002 LOL! What was it? 6'8" + 303lbs = HOGAN DOWN That was great! Ventura's commentary during the match was great as usual. (During The Genius's very brief offensive stint) Go ahead, make fun of The Genius, poke fun of his attire, BUT LOOK! It's Hogan on the mat, it's Hogan begging, it's Hogan gasping for air! Not verbatim, but you get the picture. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smark Hammill Report post Posted October 8, 2002 I know that it ended with : = Hogan Down. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
