Age concern

[tiger_rick]

So Trips turns 45 next month. He still looks and moves incredibly well and if he didn't have the responsibility, he could easily be part of the full time roster.

 

Has any wrestler ever been as good as Trips at that age?

 

Batista is 45 now. He still looks great but doesn't move like he did a few years ago. And as good as he was at one point, he's no Triple H.

 

Shawn Michaels was (almost) 45 when he retired in 2010. He was still good but he'd lost a step. Undertaker was 45 in that match. He's had a couple of incredible matches since but he's been on life support, working one match a year pretty much.

 

Randy Savage was 45 in 1997 when he had that incredible feud with DDP. He's got to be worth a shout. He went downhill fairly quickly afterwards. Same with Hogan who was a decent act in 1997 with his brand of main event but as a performer, he was well on the down slope when he turned 45 in 1998.

 

The best shout I can think of is Ric Flair, who turned 45 in 1994. He was still very good at that point and for a couple of years beyond, despite the odd booking in WCW constantly undermining his act.

[ColinBollocks]

Triple H is showing some of his best form ever, he's bouncing about like it's the year 2000.

 

Hulk Hogan when he returned to the WWE in 2002 had some incredible matches with the likes of Lesnar, The Rock, Kurt Angle etc. I think he was closer to 50 too.

[Sphinx]

He doesn't drink or do drugs, does he? That must help his cause along with the fact he is incredibly driven and in incredible shape. I fucking love Triple H. He is so smooth with his movement. He rarely botches and he paces his matches so well and has a lot of attention to detail. When ShortOrderCook wrote that piece about Taker vs. Triple H from Mania 27, I went back to watch it and it's pretty much perfect. They knew how to get the maximum out of the crowd. Their punches are deliberate, look great and they can keep the crowd with it rather than bouncing around all over the place. I guess what I'm saying is he's a bit of a Pirlo in a way.

[TheShowOff]

Shawn had lost a slight step towards the very end, but I'd say that was due to inactivity and no feud he was getting his teeth into. From WM25 to WM26 he was floating. There were a few fun matches with Legacy but nothing substantial... I mean it was Cody and Ted Jr. The last match with Taker tends to be kept in the shadow on the prior years effort, but if you review that match on its own, it's still amazingly good. I'd describe HHH along the lines of your Batista comparison... he's no HBK.

 

 

 

Hulk Hogan when he returned to the WWE in 2002 had some incredible matches with the likes of Lesnar, The Rock, Kurt Angle etc. I think he was closer to 50 too.

 

Incredible is a hell of a stretch.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Triple H has been very active over the last 3 months with Bryan and The Shield, but it's worth noting that he's been on a very light schedule since around 2010 himself. That's most likely contributed to maintaining himself this well. If he was able to be a full time roster member over the last 4 years, would he still be as good?

 

Full credit to him for doing it, though, considering how much responsibility he does have nowadays. He has a clear passion for the future of the business and is selflessly giving his body at a stage where he could have easily just stayed in the corporate role. Far removed from the 2003 "OMGZ spoilers HHH wins".

[ColinBollocks]

Incredible is a hell of a stretch.

Why? If you remember anything about his late WCW run you'll appreciate just how incredible it was to see Hogan have those sorts of matches with blokes. He came to WWE with the intention of working his arse off and he had some classics, before he fell out with Vince again.

[PowerButchi]

Age means far less than people think in wrestling. You work with your brain, not your body.

[tiger_rick]

Age means far less than people think in wrestling. You work with your brain, not your body.

While I don't disagree, you don't get many genuinely at the top of their game beyond 45. Steve Austin is 49 and has been retired for 10 years. Bruno retired at 46. Bret Hart at 42. HBK at 44.

[PowerButchi]

Whereas Lawler was working rings around the opposition in his 60s, Bill Dundee's still a good worker, Findlay is, Dave Taylor is, historically people like Mick McManus were, DDP was old, Justin Liger's not young. Age means nothing.

[tiger_rick]

Whereas Lawler was working rings around the opposition in his 60s, Bill Dundee's still a good worker, Findlay is, Dave Taylor is, historically people like Mick McManus were, DDP was old, Justin Liger's not young. Age means nothing.

Yeah, good workers. But Lawler aside, not top level talent. DDP was incredible at 40. He was finished at 45.

[PowerButchi]

By top level what do you mean exactly? As Liger is a tope worker, so's Dundee. Finlay's been fucking amazing since 2006.

 

Fact is, 45 isn't even really that old for a wrestler.

[tiger_rick]

By top level what do you mean exactly?

Hard to quantify in wrestling, but I'd say holding one of the best 25 spots in the world is the real top level.

 

Fact is, 45 isn't even really that old for a wrestler.

I agree. Plenty of guys work well beyond 45 and some are still really good because the experience has taught them how to get the most out of very little.

 

I guess what I'm getting at is that Trips is 45 and he's still working like a guy of 25-30. He's not working a style that he's adapted to, he's hanging with guys sometimes half his age. Lawler's a great shout. I haven't seen Finlay for years but he was doing the same 7 or 8 years ago so a fair shout too.

[Kaz Hayashi]

I think the epic HBK vs Taker match at WM 25, shawn was 43 and taker 44.

 

They may not have been full timers but were still able to put on arguably one of the top 5 matches of the decade. Chances are if you were fucking amazing during your 30's you 'should' be very good in your 40's. I agree with Butch, it's not so much the age, but people age differently. In reality, Shawn should arguably have been physically butchered (not saying he wasn't) going in to his 40's. However, I think he would still put an entertaining match now. It's a testament as to how good he is.

 

Steamboat is another one. When he came back to do the Jericho thing, he didn't look daft at all. I didn't see any of his ROH stuff over the last 10 years, so I have no idea if he looked the part or not, I struggle to imagine him doing anything in his 40's that was worse than very good.

 

I'm not even going to get started on how good Flair was in his 40's.

 

Age divides the men from the boys. I learned that in school when I went there that time.

[Vamp]

Whereas Lawler was working rings around the opposition in his 60s, Bill Dundee's still a good worker, Findlay is, Dave Taylor is, historically people like Mick McManus were, DDP was old, Justin Liger's not young. Age means nothing.

 

You can add Negro Casas to this list, the guy is in his fifties and still wrestles frequently and works as hard as anyone you could care to name. It helps that he's a smart wrestler but he's not exactly holding back and he certainly doesn't wrestle like a decrepit.

[Carbomb]

I'd say Sting's doing very well at 55. His style was never particularly damaging to the body, but every wrestler, no matter how safe the style, gets wear and tear. That said, he moves very well for a guy his age.