15 Best WWF/E Wrestlers

[Guest DeputyHawk]

Yes, face Booker vs. heel Nash would have worked absolutely fine over the 03 spring months for the Raw title. It would have been fresh and given Booker credibility by soundly beating a former champion.

 

Again, not to delve too much into fantasy booking, but a Booker-Shawn-Goldberg alliance could have been built up strong against Evolution (well, HHH, Flair, Nash & Jericho while the two young Evo pups healed up, at least..).

 

It would have solidified Booker to have two guys like Shawn & Goldberg have his back and would have also shown Goldberg interacting with the other faces more than he did, more an actual part of the Raw roster instead of just this intense outsider.

 

Hell, if Booker DID flop on top, they could have run the Nash program through Backlash & Judgement Day (despite tons of interference from all the heels) then done the Booker-HHH rematch at Bad Blood in Hell In A Cell to keep the bad guys out. Pseudo-Evolution could have done the old cage-lifting trick, beat the absolute living hell out of Booker (and I mean absolutely DESTROY him) while a furious Goldberg & Shawn are held at bay outside the Cage. Booker's hospitalized for a few months to bring him back strong later, Goldberg swears revenge on behalf of his friend, HHH lords it for two months celebrating his 8th World title while Goldberg gets angrier and angrier leading to HHH-Goldberg at SummerSlam and Goldberg going over.

 

However they chose to run the aftermath, it didn't really matter. After the angle they ran, Booker HAD to win the title at WM19 and pulling the plug on that at the last minute is one of the most ill-judged decisions the company's ever taken.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

"Yes, face Booker vs. heel Nash would have worked absolutely fine over the 03"

 

Hahaha. Booker getting the title, much less facing Nash as his first "threat", reeks.

 

I had to sit through that in 2000 with WCW, much less 3 years later.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

No love for Bad News? I mean, maybe it's just me, but I think that Bad News Brown was over enough in late '88/early '89 that he could have gotten a short run. And wasn't there a rumor going around that Bad News/Hogan was originally the planned main event for WMV?

[Guest DeputyHawk]

I've never heard that Hogan-Bad News was considered for WM5, I'd thought Hogan-Savage had been set in stone for some time. Bad News was decent (great for the time period, actually) but his only real main event run was against Savage in late 88-early 89 and was really just filler en route to Mania. I liked him a lot though and wish he'd stuck around longer than he did.

[alfdogg 0]

I'm so glad we have such insightful counters to this debate such as "he's a no-talent hack" and "that would reek". At least Hass of Pain is bringing the content.

 

Let's try to keep our personal biases out of the way here.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Roddy Piper - Yes

 

One of, I feel, the 8 or 10 most hated heels of all time. Definitely

 

Paul Orndorff - No

Just never saw him as a legit threat.

 

Bam-Bam Bigelow - No

 

Same thing. Only time I feel it was feasible woul dhave been as a challenger to Diesel, but LT killed that, as has been mentioned a few times. Even if he did beat LT, I feel he would have been fed to Diesel at best, and rightly so.

 

Ted DiBiase - Yes.

Yes. No debate. Next question.

 

Rick Rude - Yes

Yep. Had a great match with Warrior at SS 90, and was a great IC champ.

 

Mr Perfect - Yes.

Definitely. One of the 10 best wrestlers I've ever seen, in both psychology, in ring performance and work rate. Had a great manager in Bobby Heenan.

 

 

Razor Ramon - No

Upper mid card at best. Did a great job as IC champ.

 

Lex Luger - Yes

 

As much as I hate him(and am a Bret Hart mark) it seemed to just make sense to have him beat Yoko in the summer of 93, maybe even at SSeries 93. Could have still jobbed to Yoko or Bret to have Bret get the strap at WM10 if that was in the works from the beginning, but I just feel it would have made sense with the way the pushed him in 93.

 

British Bulldog - No

 

Someone referred to him as a stop gap challenger. That about says it. He was a great IC and upper mid carder, and had a good feud with HBK in the summer of 96. But HBK was the only champ I could plausibly see him beating.

 

Owen Hart - No

Hate to say it, but nope. Maybe after SSeries 97, when he was the Lone Wolf, if Tyson Austin had panned out, but Austin clearly turned the company around. As such, they were right to give him the belt, and not Owen.

 

Vader - Yes

 

Forget the Diva search or the Invasion. This is where the WWF dropped the ball. Im always a mark for a monster heel, especially as a world champion/contender. See Yokozuna or Andre for proof. Could have been champ no problem. Having Cornette and a semi stable with Owen and the Bulldog only helped.

 

Ken Shamrock - No

I can't see him winning anything more than the IC title. His snapping, I feel, before he stepped into the ring, was just too goofy, I say.

 

Rob Van Dam - Nope

Same as Orndorff, I just can't see him with the strap. Good for the IC division though. Even in ECW, I always thought he was perfect for the TV title and not the World.

 

Booker T - Yes

Yep. Entertaining matches, good work rate, good heat. He wasn't 5 time, 5 time, 5 time, 5 time, 5 time for nothing.

 

Edge - Yes.

I genuinely feel he's ready for it. Good gimmick now, in my mind, and I truly can see him as a champ. Has to be this gimmick though. The tortured soul or with The Brood, or even as Adam Copeland for lack of a better description, warranted, hands down, an IC or Tag title, but nothing else.

[brighty 0]

Ted DiBiase - No

Much debate has been had over this one, whether DiBiase was originally scheduled to win the title tournament at WM4. How that would have panned out is uncertain, but it’s pretty much agreed things worked out better the way they happened with Savage anyway. A title switch with Savage in the summer of 88 is conceivable, but runs were longer back then and it would have weakened Savage’s credibility. No to this one.

if Dibiase had won at WMIV, they could've then built up to Hogan/Dibiase for the title at the first SummerSlam later that year - which would've been huge given Dibiase orchestrated the twin ref thing which screwed Hogan out of the title in the first place, with Hogan wininng the belt. Macho would get insanely jealous that he got all the way to the tournament final yet got passed over for a title shot, and then even more jealous that Hogan eliminates him from the Rumble and walks out of a tag match to look after Liz, then Macho finally snaps and that brings us to Mania V. same storyline for Mega Powers Explode, same main event of WrestleMania, just that Macho didn't go in as champion.

[Betty Houle 0]

I have to believe that Mr.Perfect as champion would have been a complete disaster. Sure, he's an amazing performer in the ring but was never much of a draw. I don't think he had a World Champion level charisma either. I just can't imagine a time when this would have worked.

[Guest DeputyHawk]

I have to believe that Mr.Perfect as champion would have been a complete disaster. Sure, he's an amazing performer in the ring but was never much of a draw. I don't think he had a World Champion level charisma either. I just can't imagine a time when this would have worked.

There's only really one time Perfect would have worked as champion and that would have been to go over Flair after turning face in late 92. And if Flair hadn't quit, you have to believe he would have done. He was the most over guy in the company for a few months, far more so than Bret, Yokozuna or Luger.

[Carnival 0]

Roddy Piper- Yes

Paul Orndorff- No

Bam Bam Bigelow- No

Ted Dibiase- Yes

Rick Rude- Maybe

Mr. Perfect- Maybe

Razor Ramon- No

Lex Luger- Yes

Bulldog- No

Owen Hart- Maybe

Vader- No

Ken Shamrock- Maybe

Rob Van Dam- Maybe

Booker T- Maybe

Edge- No

 

 

Maybe = at certain times in the past they could have been credible champions. But not for any prolonged period of time.

 

On the same note can anyone name some past WWF champions that should have never held the title or got the title too early? here's mine

 

Randy Orton

Batista

Bradshaw

Brock Lesnar

Vince

[Guest Hass of Pain]

No love for Bad News? I mean, maybe it's just me, but I think that Bad News Brown was over enough in late '88/early '89 that he could have gotten a short run. And wasn't there a rumor going around that Bad News/Hogan was originally the planned main event for WMV?

I second the love for Bad News. I love that Saturday Night's Main Event where Bad News had the house mic and Hogan was clinging to his leg like a coward and Jesse Ventura was in full anti-Hogan mode ripping into Hogan for begging for mercy from Bad News. And then Bad News gets on the mic and he's all like "It's Ghetto Blaster Time FOOOOOOOOOL". He was way ahead of his time, I would have loved to see him at the top for longer, even without the title.

 

It's a shame he went Ron Artest and punched a ringside fan in the face, because if he would have kept his job longer they could have done some cool stuff with him.

[Betty Houle 0]

Roddy Piper- No

Paul Orndorff- No

Bam Bam Bigelow- No

Ted Dibiase- Yes

Rick Rude- No

Mr. Perfect- definite No

Razor Ramon- No

Lex Luger- No

Bulldog- No

Owen Hart- definite No

Vader- No

Ken Shamrock- possibly

Rob Van Dam- Yes

Booker T- Yes

Edge- No

[Jericholic82 0]

No love for Bad News? I mean, maybe it's just me, but I think that Bad News Brown was over enough in late '88/early '89 that he could have gotten a short run. And wasn't there a rumor going around that Bad News/Hogan was originally the planned main event for WMV?

I second the love for Bad News. I love that Saturday Night's Main Event where Bad News had the house mic and Hogan was clinging to his leg like a coward and Jesse Ventura was in full anti-Hogan mode ripping into Hogan for begging for mercy from Bad News. And then Bad News gets on the mic and he's all like "It's Ghetto Blaster Time FOOOOOOOOOL". He was way ahead of his time, I would have loved to see him at the top for longer, even without the title.

 

It's a shame he went Ron Artest and punched a ringside fan in the face, because if he would have kept his job longer they could have done some cool stuff with him.

I just saw that match! I bought a used tape at a video store Hulkamania 4 (not a very good tape sadly) and it has it as the first match. "Heres your hero" lol then he went for it and missed cuz he stupidly told Hogan what his next move would be.

 

Here's my thoughts

 

Roddy Piper- Yes but not a big ye , I like the idea of him winning the title prior to wm2 and having the big rematch there in a cage. Andre vs Hogan still could have happened. Hogan could have got a trophy that was biigger than Andre's simply for his 4 year anniversary in the company. I don't knwo if a piper reign would have hurt history that much.

Paul Orndorff- No

Bam Bam Bigelow- No

Ted Dibiase- Yes

Rick Rude- No

Mr. Perfect- Yes, if Flair had not jobebd to Bret and left WWF, I could see this match main eventing Wm 9 (would have made the show IMO) However that may have stopped Bret from ever being the champ. Unless they just did the wm x thing after Yoko beat Perfect for the title at say survivor series.

Razor Ramon- No

Lex Luger- Yes, so obvious I won't even elebaorate much. The crowd did buy Luger as a main face, and the match at Slam wasn't too bad IMO

Bulldog- No

Owen Hart- Maybe, I still think WWF dropped the ball by not doing an Austin vs Heel Owen program during the summer of 98. A match at summerslam 98 would have been huge, the backstory to the feud was obvious (the neck injury at slam 97)

Vader- Yes

Ken Shamrock- No, but he should have had a serious run at it.

Rob Van Dam- Yes

Booker T- Why not?

[Guest DeputyHawk]

On the same note can anyone name some past WWF champions that should have never held the title or got the title too early? here's mine

 

Randy Orton

Batista

Bradshaw

Brock Lesnar

Vince

See, now you’ve gone and done it. How am I supposed to do any work when you throw out a question like that? Okay, once again since the national expansion…

 

Hulk Hogan – Yes

Obviously. We probably wouldn’t even be on this message board if Hulkamania hadn’t ruled the world. His 93 and 02 reigns never should have happened, but they’re just a footnote, really.

 

Andre The Giant – Yes

The whole Hogan/Andre/DiBiase/Hebner screwjob angle was sheer perfection.

 

Randy Savage – Yes

The WM4 title tournament could conceivably have gone DiBiase’s way, leading to Hogan regaining it at SummerSlam and the MegaPowers Meltdown happening at WM5 with Savage as the challenger rather than the champion. In many ways, Savage’s 88-89 title run can be seen as a mistake in retrospect. However, his second run as champ in 92 was absolutely right under the circumstances, so a yes again on this one.

 

Ultimate Warrior – Yes

Hogan was off filming Suburban Commando I believe, and Warrior was the only real option to carry the company. He flopped on top big-time, but he was mega-over and it was only right that they gave him a run.

 

Sgt Slaughter – No

The first no on the list and an emphatic one at that. The Iraqi turncoat angle did huge harm to the company. They had to get the belt off Warrior and back onto Hogan, but giving a short run to Rick Rude at SummerSlam 90 would have done far less damage. I don’t know what they could have done with WM7 as a substitute, but Slaughter should NEVER have been champion.

 

The Undertaker – Yes

The initial week-long run in 91 could have potentially been done with Flair, but the way things worked out were fine. His longest run, for 5-months in 97, came about for the sake of stability because of all the backstage Bret-Shawn shenanigans and it was the best thing to do at the time. The 99 run was absolutely fine too. The only one I’d call into question would be the 02 reign: HHH probably should have held the undisputed title until the summer, bypassing the whole Hulkamania Reborn brainfart, but that was hardly Taker’s fault. Yeah, he’s always been the right man in the right place at the right time.

 

Ric Flair – Yes

Absolutely, and the way it happened with winning Rumble 92 was perfection as well.

 

Bret Hart – Yes

Again, his initial 92 run could have potentially been fielded by Savage, Warrior or Mr Perfect, but things worked out okay. The big run in 94 was perfectly justified – he was the most over face in the company. After that, his reigns tended to be transitional and much like Taker, he was the right man in the right place at the right time. Overrated as a champ, but a highly dependable stop-gap guy.

 

Yokozuna – Yes

But reigned for WAY longer than he should have done. In retrospect, Bret should have retained the belt at WM9, dropped it to Yoko at KOTR 93 and Yoko should have transitioned it to Luger at SummerSlam that year and remained an upper mid-card heel thereafter.

 

Bob Backlund – Yes

The Crazy Bob heel character was a great transition from Bret to Diesel and was a nice footnote to his earlier run. Looking back, it maybe would have been fun to see Owen Hart with the week-long reign but that feud had all but played out at this point and the Backlund character was at least somewhat fresh.

 

Diesel – Yes

Vince saw potential and went for it. Absolutely the right decision. He stuck with that decision longer than he maybe should have, but there you go.

 

Shawn Michaels – Yes

Shawn had been deserving of a run on top for a long time and WM12 was his moment. His later runs were all pretty justified too, though the early 97 one should have lasted a LITTLE BIT longer than it did. The DX heel Shawn was utterly awesome and had injury not struck he would have had far more runs than he has done.

 

Psycho Sid – No

The second no on the list. Vader should have been in Sid’s spot, simple as that. Possibly the worst worker ever to have been World champion.

 

Steve Austin – Yes

The most obvious yes since Hogan. He shouldn’t have been a heel on his 2001 run, at least not at first, but that’s by the by.

 

Kane – No

The third champion on the list to register a negative. There was no reason whatsoever to interrupt Austin’s first big run so early with a meaningless 24-hour reign.

 

The Rock – Yes

Survivor Series 98 was booking perfection, and his big face run in 2000 was absolutely right (apart from the fact it was overshadowed by the HHH-Stephanie-Angle love triangle). His numerous other reigns are all justifiable to ‘meh’ and other than 2000, he has been used mainly as a transitional champ, but he’s one of the most over wrestlers of all time, so yes unhesitatingly.

 

Mankind – Yes

Probably clouded by sentimentality, but yes. After being screwed at Survivors & Rock Bottom 98, I got SO behind the Mankind character I marked out like a little bitch when he finally got the gold. It could be argued the title flip-flopping between him & Rock weakened Rock for WM15, but personally speaking it was one of my favourite times ever of watching WWF, so I couldn’t care less. There was no need for his third reign though, Austin should have jobbed straight to HHH.

 

Triple-H – Yes

With Undertaker played out, Rock turned face and Big Show failing to catch on like they’d hoped, there was no option but to push HHH to the moon. And to be fair, once given the ball he took it, ran all the way home, mounted it in a display case and shot anyone else who tried to come near it. He’s now been TOO dominant on Raw since the brand split, though (controversial argument, I know) and NEEDS to stop being the sole focus of the show.

 

Vince McMahon – No

Second only to David Arquette in terms of booking stupidity.

 

The Big Show – No

There was really no need to break up HHH’s initial heel run like they did, first with Vince & the Six-Pack Challenge, then with Show’s win at Survivors 99. The fact Show was completely unover AND in the midst of that ridiculous dead father angle with The Big Bossman only compounded matters. The only explanation for that ugly reign seems to be one of contractual obligation. His brief run in late 2002 shouldn’t have happened either, and was only done in a panic when Show injured Lesnar.

 

Kurt Angle – Yes

His initial heel run should have been booked differently, or not at all, and in retrospect there was no reason not to roll Rock through to WM17 as uninterrupted champion for the showdown with Austin. But his all-American win after 9/11 was a good pick-me-up and the title exchanges with Lesnar in 03 were fantastic, having nailed his character in a way he hadn’t quite managed to on the first run. So no at first, but a resounding yes overall.

 

Chris Jericho – Yes

Something fresh was needed at the top of the card in late 2001 and Jericho was on a big roll after turning heel. He was always a transitional champ from Austin to HHH, but his reign could have actually meant something (and should have done) if he hadn’t been booked to look like a complete fool. Of course, Jericho has to take some of the blame for that but ultimately he was booked to fail. VERY weird period in history, but Jericho in theory was the right man to carry the belt over.

 

Brock Lesnar – Yes

An argument can be made that Lesnar was pushed too fast too soon and RVD should have won KOTR 2002 and gone on to win the belt at SummerSlam. Brock was still green as hell at the beginning of his reign and they turned him face way too early after he started getting a smidgen of a reaction from the crowd. But after turning heel again, he grew into his role magnificently and it’s a real shame he quit the business before hitting his peak. Much like Kurt, a no at first growing into an unquestionable yes later on.

 

Goldberg – Yes

Should have been done earlier than it was and should have been done with more conviction. Goldberg could have been a huge star for WWE, but they weren’t prepared to commit to it and the experiment fell flat. Bad booking of worthy champions seems to be quite the pattern, eh?

 

Eddie Guerrero – Yes

Much like Goldberg, Eddie could have been a massive star. But in this case, the fault for it not happening lay with Eddie himself, not with the booking. Unable to handle the pressure of carrying Smackdown on his back, he started to lose the plot backstage and there was no option but to take the belt back off him. A crying shame, but the absolute right choice to pass the ball to in early 2004.

 

Chris Benoit – Yes

2004 was a time of throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck. Benoit stuck for a while, for longer than most people thought actually, but with HHH dominating Raw his time on top was always limited from the get go. Completely right that he should have been given the 5-month reign, though.

 

John Bradshaw Layfield – Yes

Against all odds, JBL took this character, went balls-out with it, and made it stick after the Eddie push faltered. Respect is due.

 

Randy Orton – No

Much like Lesnar, Orton’s initial run came way too soon and booking him as an unproven face was just insane. Why not just job Benoit back to HHH instead of scuppering Orton’s career as a heel along the way? Utterly bamboozling. I hope he gets a decent stab at it again further down the road, and I suspect he will.

 

John Cena – Yes

Massively over with the crowd, give him his shot. I suspect he'll do pretty well with it.

 

Batista – Yes

Raw’s in such a bad state right now they had to at least try, and the initial signs were promising. What’s inexplicable is they don’t seem to be making any effort to help him improve his shortfallings now, he’s just being left out there to drown on his own.

 

So in conclusion, most decisions of who to put on top were pretty fair in retrospect. The only no’s I ended up picking were Sgt Slaughter, Psycho Sid, Kane, Vince McMahon, The Big Show and Randy Orton.

[Carnival 0]

Wow quite a detailed list. I'll expand mine a little bit.

 

Randy Orton - Too Soon - They should have turned him face...only to have him fall short of the title. Then turned him back heel around this time. I think after that he could have been ready.

 

Batista - Too Soon/Never - If they didn't screw up on the orton thing. They wouldn't have to resort to 2nd choice Batista. Batista IMO would have been about the 6th choice.

 

Bradshaw - Too Soon - Amazing character. should have had a couple midcard fueds to elevate him to main event status. That would have made his title reign even more a success at least at the beginning.

 

Brock Lesnar - Too Soon - Beating Rocky Cleanly and then putting him over everyone on the roster, was a horrible idea. He could have still been a monster without winning the title so fast. In hindsight...he should have never won it. But at the time he was over enough. They could have done so many different things with lesnar to make him look like a monster without having him become champion just months after his debut.

 

Vince McMahon - Never - For obvious reasons.

 

Sgt. Slaughter - Never - They could have had the fued go down just a easily and with as much heat, had slaughter not won the title.

 

Hulk Hogan - not 93, 02

 

Undertaker - not 02 - too many switches. main event SS 02 should have been Trips vs Rocky.

 

Bob Backlund - not his last one ? year - i like the owen idea. i think that would have added way more heat to the angle.

 

Psycho Sid - Never - A big waste. upper-midcard at best.

 

Kane - Too Soon - I'm not oppossed to him being champion, just his 24 hour reign was a waste.

 

Mankind - No to his last reign. Austin then to HHH at summerslamm. 24 hr waste.

 

Triple H - not this last vacancy then get the title back thing. nor the job to vince then get the belt back.

 

Big Show - Too Soon - no on the first reign. but i think he should have been champ at some point.

 

Kurt Angle - Maybe Too Soon on his first reign.

[Jericholic82 0]

As for JBL, I dont think his chacater would have been so great if it werent for the wwe title. remember he didnt hit his heel stired untill he won it, and started recruting lackeys and beocming more over the top and bragging. Sure most will make the case for a us title run first, but it wouldnt have worked so weel for him. Really the onyl other heel on sd at the time was booker t

[Carnival 0]

I agree, but i think that if JBL was slowly built in the mid-card over half a year then gaining momentum as he developed his stable. Then he could break through to the main events. He got over eventually during his title run. I think he's a good enough character they could have had him that over before the WWE Championship. That way people wouldn't have been respecting him half way through the reign, but maybe thye would have taken him as a serious main eventer from the beginning.

[gWIL 0]

Personally, I would have given Owen the title in the cage match and if Tyson/Austin happened, then again at Mania 14. But I'm an Owen mark.

 

I loved the Booker T/Triple H match myself. Booker T has all this momentum going in and is an upstart challenger to an established champion but it turns out it was just a fluke, a flash in the pan. In my opinion it had the big match feel going for it more than any other on the show. If it wasn't Triple H (whom I am no fan of) and the fued didn't have racist undertones it would be thought of in a more positive light.

 

Oh, and JBL rules and deserves a second run. Since that won't happen soon enough make the old WWE Championship his Million Dollar Championship and have him act like its the real World title and defend in the semi main events of PPVs. JBL had the best heel title reign of anyone in ages. Randy Orton would have been a good champion if booked right, as a heel he had a large number of fans, I remember the crowd (in Canada) popping when he beat Benoit. I would have kept him as the cocky arrogant heel who becomes a face very slowly because the fans like him so much and as a face he still does the exact same stuff. Hell from Backlash to the Raw after Summerslam (Thumbs Down Segment) I was an Orton mark and was enjoying his work, I order Summerslam just to see Benoit's abortion of a title reign get its mercy killing (Not Benoit's fault, more of the creative team's fault.)

[alfdogg 0]

Sid is not a waste, God damn it.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Sid was Austin/Hogan levels of over at points in his career. He may have sucked in the ring but he was definately a World Title calibur guy.

[TheFranchise 0]

Sid was Austin/Hogan levels of over at points in his career. He may have sucked in the ring but he was definately a World Title calibur guy.

Umm..

 

I dont want to second guess you... But I dont think it was Austin/Hogan levels.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Put in some 1989 NWA shows with him on there and it's scarey how over the guy was. If he was in a tag match the crowd would chant "we want Sid" until he was tagged in. He was also getting cheered like that as a heel.