If only they'd come along now...

[RedRooster]

We're in an era where size is much less of an obstacle when it comes to becoming a star in wrestling; and equally, gender is much less of a barrier than it once was. 

With that in mind, which wrestlers from times gone by do you think would have been bigger stars if they debuted in the modern era?

Some suggestions from my side: 

• Mickie James - She's not completely inactive; and she's obviously wrestled in recent years - but if Mickie James came on to the scene today, I imagine she'd have been one of the biggest stars in wrestling; rather than the butt of nasty fat jokes to amuse Vince McMahon. She's good in ring, but where she really shines is on the mic - something some (but obviously not all) of the bigger names in the WWE and AEW women's division struggle with slightly. She also has a great look - and in an era where companies rightly try harder to push diversity, it would send a really positive message to have a top female star of Native American origin. 
• Jazz - I thought Jazz was bloody brilliant when I started watching wrestling. She was great in ring, and incredibly intimidating. Like Mickie, she had a decent career - but if she debuted today, I think she'd end up being one of the biggest stars in the industry; with scope for a tremendous heel run and a money making babyface run. Her promo skills were never standout, but her strengths were so notable that I don't think it would matter. 
• Jamie Noble - When I started watching wrestling, Jamie Noble is one of the characters I enjoyed the most. He played the role so well, and backed it up in the ring. He'd be a cult favourite if he debuted in AEW today, and even in WWE I imagine he'd have a much higher profile; as opposed to being framed as a joke cruiserweight act. 
• Perry Saturn - One thing that struck me from watching back old episodes of WCW is how good Perry Saturn was. He looked terrifying, and had the in-ring style to match. The prospect of Saturn at his peak facing Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson or Kevin Owens is pretty appealing (for me, at least...) and I imagine he'd quickly become a top level wrestler if he debuted today. Again, mic skills are a problem - but given that managers have made a comeback, it wouldn't have to be a stumbling block. 

Edited March 25 by RedRooster

[Hannibal Scorch]

Shane "Hurricane" Helms - A cross between Kanyon and AJ Styles, innovative, dynamic and a hell of a finishing move. I thought he had it. Certainly more than just being a (successful) comedy act.

Primetime Elix Skipper - Another one who seemed to me ahead of the curve, never really got a big push

Mark Jindrak - One of wrestlings greatest What If's with him and Evolution, but he had a look which would probably put him in the upper mid card in my opinion.

 

[air_raid]

Mr Perfect. They could have given the run to him that they're currently giving to Gunther, except we wouldn't have to see The Perfect Record ended by Brutus the fucking Barber Beefcake. And when the ICT was off him, he'd definitely get a World title run.

1-2-3 Kid. Waltman was fucking brilliant, if Kid was around today he'd definitely have had the kind of reign on top that Kofi did.

Gail Kim. She'd have been a great underdog for Nia and Rhea the way she was for Kong in TNA. Or she could have been in Damage CTRL, giving them better promos.

Kaitlyn too. Underrated by many, I think there was the makings of a really great wrestler there. I'd have loved to see her work with the current crop and not some of the garbage she had to put up with in her own time.

Given that Saturn probably didn't have anything to do with size or gender, I've got a few that similarly don't ;

The Powers Of Pain. They'd have been massive stars in an era where Demolition weren't around to make them look less special in comparison. If AoP have won the tag belts, Warload and Barbar would have had them at least 5 times.

Umaga. He did pretty well but he'd have had excellent clubbering matches with Strowman, Roman and still got chance to bump into Lashley, plus he'd be a fantastic monster baddie for babyface versions of Bryan, Balor, Styles, Cody... Jesus, so many guys.

 

[Carbomb]

Umaga vs. Samoa Joe would've been for the ages.

Thing about Jazz was that, back then, they only pushed badass women as monsters, and she wasn't huge enough to be a bigger deal in that regard. But now that they recognise that there aren't only two types of women in wrestling, she could've been just a simple shit-kicker in a Stone Cold or Samoa Joe vein.

He did well given his issues, but prime Scott Hall or Razor Ramon now would've been massive, I'm sure of it. Man could always work, but you don't get that kind of sleazy charisma every day.

Edited March 25 by Carbomb

[RedRooster]

15 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Shane "Hurricane" Helms - A cross between Kanyon and AJ Styles, innovative, dynamic and a hell of a finishing move. I thought he had it. Certainly more than just being a (successful) comedy act.

Primetime Elix Skipper - Another one who seemed to me ahead of the curve, never really got a big push

Mark Jindrak - One of wrestlings greatest What If's with him and Evolution, but he had a look which would probably put him in the upper mid card in my opinion.

 

Interesting choices - particularly the first two. I wonder if they would stand out as much as they did back then in the modern era, given how many spectacular wrestlers are active right now, or if there's a case to be made that they might have ended up being less of a big deal? 

Shane Helms had a bit of a bland look and his promo ability was middling; and while he was good in ring, the competition is fierce in that respect. I need to rewatch his matches I think, but it would be a challenge for him to stand out over the competition in both AEW and WWE. 

Outside of (the admittedly amazing) walking the cage moment, I can't think of many stand out matches for Elix Skipper in TNA, at a time when they really were letting the X Division go balls-to-the-wall. Again, I think I'd have to go back and watch his stuff. He'd face the same problem as Helms though in that the wrestling talent around him is so good, he'd find it harder to stand out. 

To be clear, I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you - they're choices that got me thinking. 

[Lorne Malvo]

I'm with air_raid on Kaitlyn. She was good in-ring at a time when she had dross to work with and had a great look. Also, her spear was vicious. I know AJ Lee got all the plaudits around this time, but Kaitlyn was the better of the two for me. If she came along now she'd be a big deal, I reckon.

I think if Low Ki came around now he'd fit in better in todays landscape, especially in AEW where lack of height wouldn't hold him back and strike-based offense is in fashion. But in saying that, he'd probably burn his bridges after a week anyway.

[Hannibal Scorch]

9 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

Interesting choices - particularly the first two. I wonder if they would stand out as much as they did back then in the modern era, given how many spectacular wrestlers are active right now, or if there's a case to be made that they might have ended up being less of a big deal? 

Shane Helms had a bit of a bland look and his promo ability was middling; and while he was good in ring, the competition is fierce in that respect. I need to rewatch his matches I think, but it would be a challenge for him to stand out over the competition in both AEW and WWE. 

Outside of (the admittedly amazing) walking the cage moment, I can't think of many stand out matches for Elix Skipper in TNA, at a time when they really were letting the X Division go balls-to-the-wall. Again, I think I'd have to go back and watch his stuff. He'd face the same problem as Helms though in that the wrestling talent around him is so good, he'd find it harder to stand out. 

To be clear, I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you - they're choices that got me thinking. 

I think both were held back by where they were. Shane Helms was really developing after the break up of 3 count. I wouldn't say he was bland looking, especially not at the time, Everyone remembers the cage with Elix, but he was someone who looked like he could have been more if he had the right people helping him develop, something WCW nor TNA were offering at the time.

[DavidB6937]

I always thought Helms got a fair crack multiple times in different ways. If he came along now, I think there's a lot more people around capable of doing what he could do and better. If anything, he'd potentially struggle more now.

[air_raid]

8 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said:

I think if Low Ki came around now he'd fit in better in todays landscape, especially in AEW where lack of height wouldn't hold him back and strike-based offense is in fashion. But in saying that, he'd probably burn his bridges after a week anyway.

This is the truth. Low Ki was always in the same companies at the same times as peers that made it to the top - AJ when he got to top in TNA or New Japan, Joe when he had his long ROH title reign and then got courted by both WWE and TNA, got his start in WWE not long after Bryan got his. But he never stayed around long enough so either him or the company got sick of the other in TNA (multiple times), ROH (multiple times), WWE, New Japan, Noah, and though I don't remember a specific falling out with Zero One I have no doubt one happened. In the words of my favourite philosopher, Ava Max... maybe you're the problem.

[Loki]

He was a miserable old bastard, but if a 30 yr old Dynamite Kid was working in Japan in this era he'd be getting signed up to AEW on a multi-million dollar contract and working incredibly hard, violent main events with Danielson et al.

[air_raid]

2 minutes ago, Loki said:

He was a miserable old bastard, but if a 30 yr old Dynamite Kid was working in Japan in this era he'd be getting signed up to AEW on a multi-million dollar contract and working incredibly hard, violent main events with Danielson et al.

Likewise if someone with Smithers' attributes circa late 80s came along today, he'd be top of the food chain immediately. Not when he got too big and was smoking crack, but when he could still break out into a bit of a sprint doing the running powerslam to a big lad. I know he wasn't always much in the way of promo but neither was Drew McIntyre with his weird AmericAyrn accent, and it didn't stop him winning the big belt twice.

[RedRooster]

1 minute ago, air_raid said:

Likewise if someone with Smithers' attributes circa late 80s came along today, he'd be top of the food chain immediately. Not when he got too big and was smoking crack, but when he could still break out into a bit of a sprint doing the running powerslam to a big lad. I know he wasn't always much in the way of promo but neither was Drew McIntyre with his weird AmericAyrn accent, and it didn't stop him winning the big belt twice.

On the subject of British wrestlers, William Regal would be a huge star if he debuted in 2024; with Japan, AEW and WWE all viable options for the guy. He has the potential to be incredibly menacing, comedic and generally likeable - his style of wrestling would fit in well; although given how influential he's been in wrestling, it's interesting to consider what wrestling might look like in terms of style and personnel if he hadn't been around. 

I also think Layla El (my first wrestling crush, but this suggestion is not from a place of bias...!) had the potential to have become a big star if she debuted today. In spite of wrestling in a weaker women's division - one that prioritised Vince McMahon's personal tastes over talent - she managed to become a decent in ring talent. If you surround her with better wrestlers and a greater focus on women's matches, I think she'd have become pretty damn good. She also had a charisma to her that would have worked in her favour. 

Moving away from Brits, I don't quite understand why he didn't rise to World Champion status in his own era, but if MVP came along now, he could certainly reach that status. Like Regal, Japan, AEW and WWE would all be viable options, and his ring style would work well in any of these companies. He's also excellent on the mic, giving him an obvious advantage. 

Finally, Bam Bam Bigelow - introduce him in WWE in 2024, and you almost certainly have a main event level heel. I'd be surprised if he didn't get his hands on a world title at some point. I'm not sure how he'd do in AEW though, given the company's track record with big man wrestlers - Tony Khan doesn't seem particularly arsed about pushing even the good ones. 

[air_raid]

1 hour ago, RedRooster said:

Moving away from Brits, I don't quite understand why he didn't rise to World Champion status in his own era, but if MVP came along now, he could certainly reach that status. Like Regal, Japan, AEW and WWE would all be viable options, and his ring style would work well in any of these companies. He's also excellent on the mic, giving him an obvious advantage.

I dunno... I lived through MVP in New Japan once, I wouldn't want to again.

[Supremo]

I’ll go to my grave arguing that the Spirit Squad had so much more to give. A wildly entertaining bunch of idiots. Huge potential tragically cut short so that Hunter and Shawn could go, “LOL this box says OVW.” Still reckon there was money in the way they’d incorporate the trampoline into high spots, too. You could have made an awesome gimmick match out of that.

I don’t know if the internet wrestling community is ready to hear it; but probably the best thing Dolph Ziggler ever did.

Edited March 25 by Supremo
Added some good old Ziggler slagging. Super noodle haired chump.

[jm29195]

'On the subject of British wrestlers, William Regal would be a huge star if he debuted in 2024; with Japan, AEW and WWE all viable options for the guy. He has the potential to be incredibly menacing, comedic and generally likeable - his style of wrestling would fit in well; although given how influential he's been in wrestling, it's interesting to consider what wrestling might look like in terms of style and personnel if he hadn't been around.'

Regal has so many 'what ifs' around how far he could have gone if he'd been sober in the mid-late nineties, and if he hadn't failed that wellness test in 2008.

In terms of this specific question, if he canw along now, I'm hoping we will see a similar trajectory from his son, Charlie Dempsey, who is already impressing in NXT. I see big things for his future, and hopefully his dad can be there to help him along the way.