Loki Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 (edited) I suspect we all have this, certain wrestlers that are particularly well loved or universally praised, but that do absolutely nothing for you. With the proviso that there are many different tastes and types of wrestling, all opinions are valid... For me it has to be Brian Danielson. He's had top runs in WWE and now AEW, his matches get greatly praised and people seem genuinely excited about him as an opponent for, well, anyone that AEW could conceivably bring in. But I just... I just don't see it and if I'm being honest I never have from his ROH days onwards. For me personally, he doesn't LOOK menacing. He's always had the physique of a fit but not spectacular person, and in his babyfaced early days looked like an unthreatening gymnast. Latterly his beard makes him look like someone you'd give change to outside a tube station. He also has a smirk on his face which completely undermines anything he's doing. When he tries to cut a fierce promo, the smirk makes it seem like he's not serious. When he's in the middle of a high drama fight, there's that smirk that seems to suggest it's all play-acting. I always think he looks like a guy PLAYING a wrestler but not taking it that seriously. And his style of wrestling - for me it's the reverse of what wrestling should be, which is something that looks like it hurts a lot but it very safe to do. Danielson's long history of concussions and injuries speaks to how dangerous his style actually is, but due to his smaller stature none of it looks that impactful. There are better kickers, better strikers. His mat wrestling he's undoubtedly good at but again, that smirk - he doesn't have the Benoit or Angle talent of making it look like he's seriously trying to kill you. He makes very tough matches look faked, somehow. Even the regular bleeding doesn't help. He's clearly a top level guy, is regularly voted the best wrestler alive, is name-checked in dream matches all the time, so clearly he has great appeal. But I can't remember a single match of his I'd watch again. ---- Who's your universally loved performer who just doesn't do it for you? Edited October 13, 2023 by Loki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TibBo Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 I've never got HHH or Punk from an in-ring perspective. They've obviously both got skills elsewhere, but once the bell rings....christ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 Cena was mine for quite some time. I appreciate him far more looking back than I did at the time. Probably can say the same for Flair and Hogan at points too. I was always more interested in guys like HBK and Bret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westlondonmist Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 (edited) Plenty of them over the last 30 odd years. Most of them I at least understand why people enjoy them, even if I don't. Mainly people like Hogan, Cena or Danielson. Randy Orton, just always felt bland. I never felt he did anything to either get me supporting him or disliking him. He was there but in an very high place that I never really understood. I still don't see why people are or were into hinm Edited October 13, 2023 by westlondonmist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browser Brady Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 HHH (excluding the original Dx run from sept 97 to April 98) Never looked forward to his matches , never liked his promo style or character. Just never captured my interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted October 13, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted October 13, 2023 (edited) I went right off that Chris Benoit lad in the mid-2000s. He might not fit the criteria exactly, but right now it’s Seth Rollins. You can’t argue with the crowd reactions, he seems to be beloved at a time of peak popularity for the company, and I see loads of people lauding him as having some amazing run, but I just don’t get it at all. I used to rate him - he was great in The Shield and there was an upper-card babyface run a while back that must have kept Roman Reigns up at night. They continued to push Roman over and over again, when every single sign was that Seth was the man of the moment. Unfortunately, by the time they got to him it was about a year too late. Didn’t help that they had him literally screaming in fear at Bray Wyatt, either. But right now? Nothing. He’s just a man doing moves in front of my eyes. I don’t feel a thing. I can’t get invested in anything he does. Even the mad clothes and stupid mannerisms, that’s usually right down my street, but it just doesn’t click at all with Seth. I love a daft idiot in wrestling that your Dad would roll his eyes at, Pretty Deadly are the biggest draw for me on Smackdown right now, but I dunno. Seth somehow manages to find the funniest, most ridiculous stuff, and yet suck all the charm out of it. It feels forced as fuck. Maybe it’s due to how much damage he’s done to his own brand on social media and in documentaries. I can’t buy him as the outlandish peacock when we all know deep down he’s a miserable, sulky prick with a rubbish dog. Edited October 13, 2023 by Supremo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted October 13, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted October 13, 2023 (edited) Oh christ, I have so many against the grain opinions! There are several guys I was just never able to accept as main eventers as they just screamed midcard to me. The ‘Ruthless Aggression’ era was terrible for this as they scrambled to fill the void after the proper stars had retired/gone to Hollywood. The Guerrero/Benoit Wrestlemania ending made me lose so much interest. What a drop off… I could never buy any as a world title threat, let alone holders. With Guerrero I could at least appreciate that outside of the ropes he had a rounded skillset and was versatile. But fucking Benoit (other than being a scummy piece of shit), a personality vaccum so lacking any mic skills that he had no business being anything other than a solid midcarder. I’m tempted to say Razor Ramon/Scott Hall as, again, he was a fine IC champion but seems to have been retrospectively given this mythical main event status he never achieved when active. I’ve never understood why his ‘punches’ are so universally beloved and thought they were just open handed slaps that looked shit. Decent Scarface rip off but was a bit one dimensional for me and his career obviously stuttered due to his substance issues. But Edge, I mean… solid enough hand and I enjoyed the Brood when he first popped up. A career built on good timing or what?! Decent tag team act but never main even calibre for me, let alone building a cumulative 15 year run on top or thereabouts. Was never sure what he was meant to be good at. Edited October 13, 2023 by garynysmon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Tommy! Posted October 13, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted October 13, 2023 46 minutes ago, Loki said: I always think he looks like a guy PLAYING a wrestler That's me with Punk. Bryan is one of the few people I still pop my head into wrestling for if I'm honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted October 13, 2023 Author Share Posted October 13, 2023 Just now, garynysmon said: The Guerrero/Benoit Wrestlemania ending made me lose so much interest. This is the stuff I'm here for! Like the Daniel Bryan push in WWE it seemed so clamoured for by the fans, but it didn't really move the business forward at all, and indeed in retrospect there were very good reasons not to put the main belts on either of those guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 Bret Hart. Boring as fuck. The Dire Straits of wrestling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 7 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said: Bret Hart. Boring as fuck. The Dire Straits of wrestling. I hope Ian doesn't get damaged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Gus Mears Posted October 13, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted October 13, 2023 The Rock. Could never stand the promos. Like the anti Ric Flair, made everyone he came into contact with seem less important and less of a threat than before he grabbed the mic. Matches did very little for me as well with a few exceptions (Hogan and Austin - I'm giving them most of the kudos). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted October 13, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted October 13, 2023 Roman Reigns and LA Knight. Sheild into first singles run Roman I was pretty on board with. But his first title run just seemed once he’d won the belt, the momentum stopped. When he came back post Lockdown and the first few months as the tribal chief, I was on board. It felt fresh. The fact we’re now into year 4 of the never ending story of the Bloodline, and it’s well past done. I know why he’s still champ, but god it’s so boring to me. LA Knight, ripping of The Rock and Stone Cold like a Brit wrestler in 2002 is super over with the crowd. But he’s move set is dull, matches rarely more then just good and he’s 40 ish. I just don’t get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gaffer Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 (edited) It's actually Eddie for me. I remember when he died - being an impressionable teen and all that - doing that thing of immediately sticking on some of his best matches, but I just couldn't feel anything from them. The WCW matches were largely the usual psychology-devoid spot fests, then he went on to be a mid-card comedy heel in WWE and as can happen so often with your nostalgia during wrestling's biggest ever period he sort of just...stayed that way for me. So when he emerged to suddenly be a top guy in 2004 other than the admittedly excellent No Way Out match it just didn't do anything for me. It didn't help that post-drug Eddie became the most drab, serious post-drug person since Eminem. He's affecting this cheery, sly character but the whole time there was a bang of pain and solemnity behind those eyes. I remember his book was like that too. It's the most dull wrestlers biography ever. The ghost writer was fecked getting anything out of him other than "I worked really hard and now I love praying." Naturally, then, I found him much better when he transitioned into being a heel against Rey. The ringtone version of his entrance music, slow walk to the ring, just standing there with somebody's blood on his chest staring daggers into the crowd. It all worked way better for him. It's understandable that he was never going to be remembered that way, but I'd say even if he went on to live for years beyond he'd always be associated with that fun loving character that had a mid-card ceiling on it to me. Other than No Way Out I've never felt inclined to watch an Eddie match back. Benoit's in the mix too, but I think there was just a dearth of potential feel good moments for WrestleMania XX so giving him his flowers in the Garden was fair dues. The original Gratitude Era booking, perhaps? Immediately followed by 4-Real, Vince telling him to smile, being Eugene's mate, and looking awkward and cagey at autograph signings. Awful stuff, and he was right back down again once they clocked it. It was Raw-itis at the time too though. He'd have fared much better as an ice cold gatekeeper, holding the title as a heel on Smackdown against the likes of Kurt and Brock 03-04. Edited October 13, 2023 by Gay as FOOK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Tommy! Posted October 13, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted October 13, 2023 48 minutes ago, garynysmon said: fucking Benoit (other than being a scummy piece of shit), a personality vaccum so lacking any mic skills that he had no business being anything other than a solid midcarder. Off topic but I think they missed the boat a bit with him as a heel, stick him with a mouth piece and have him be the bad guy and it would have been much better than trying him as a top face in 04. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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