"Nobody's favourite wrestler" - or are they??

[RedTwoster]

I started watching in late 2002, and at around that time on Smackdown, they ran a storyline where Brian Kendrick was trying to get hired, and was doing all sorts of- including a cracking 5-minute match with Kurt Angle. For a brief period during my early fandom, Brian Kendrick was my favourite wrestler. I even made him WWE Champion in EWR! I was a young teenager at the time - 14, I think - and I had such a shitty web connection that being an ‘internet fan’ wasn’t even an option - so my opinions were untainted by the outside world.

As a result, I was properly into Orlando Jordan for a spell too! 

[Chili]

3 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I was a young teenager at the time - 14.

As a result, I was properly into Orlando Jordan for a spell too! 

The feeling would have been mutual.

[air_raid]

40 minutes ago, Jazzy G said:

Getting onto topic, I legitimately loved JBL's first run as WWE champion.

Damn it, he was in my head when I was collating my exclusion list but I forgot to include him when it came to his era.

Whether I'd support it or not. Literally the reason I stopped watching SmackDown.

[HarmonicGenerator]

+1 for Spike Dudley and The Hurricane over here.

One that hasn’t come up… Brent Albright. Right in the middle of my “Technical Wrestling Is THE BEST” phase came Paul Heyman’s stint booking OVW. Albright was one of his top faces, and was presented as their best technical wrestler, and I fully bought in to that. Excited and hopeful, and then gutted, when they brought him up to main roster as the charismaless nobody Gunner Scott.

Edited January 22, 2025 by HarmonicGenerator
He was in WWE, it counts!

[RedTwoster]

42 minutes ago, Jazzy G said:

Getting onto topic, I legitimately loved JBL's first run as WWE champion. The Million Dollar Man for our era/hard right Republican character was a heat magnet combined with his classic chickenshit heel in ring style. The fact that he managed to get people cheering Big Show over him at one point shows how much he got it. 

So did I! Eddie Guerrero was ‘my guy’ at the time, and I was absolutely gutted when he lost the belt to Bradshaw - I just hadn’t seen that coming - but as his reign continued, he became more and more entertaining. I still think he was a fantastic champion, and a brilliant character - great on the mic, and very enjoyable in ring too. He might have been an arsehole in real life, but all he lacked during that run was the opportunity to establish himself as a character prior to the title win.

[air_raid]

1 minute ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

One that hasn’t come up… Brent Albright. Right in the middle of my “Technical Wrestling Is THE BEST” phase came Paul Heyman’s stint booking OVW. Albright was one of his top faces, and was presented as their best technical wrestler, and fully bought in to that. Gutted when they brought him up to main roster as the charismaless nobody Gunner Scott.

I assume you've seen his NWA title match with Adam Pearce in ROH at the Hammerstein? That was peak Albright for me.

[Jazzy G]

Oh, also Matt Riddle. Loved him. @air_raidwill vouch for it. I used to lose it whenever he showed up at PROGRESS shows. 

Do I mention Toru Yano as well? 

[gmoney]

My one and only email to PowerSlam was sent in 2000, exclaiming that Brian Christopher was the future of the business. It was not printed. 

[air_raid]

Just now, Jazzy G said:

Oh, also Matt Riddle. Loved him. @air_raidwill vouch for it. I used to lose it whenever he showed up at PROGRESS shows. 

Do I mention Toru Yano as well? 

Not to break my own rule but Shibata should have been in my exclusions list, he was definitely knocking on my door at this timeframe. Until he dropped the nut on Okada.

[Jazzy G]

Shibata was and is great. 

Tomoaki Honma? 

[HarmonicGenerator]

15 minutes ago, air_raid said:

I assume you've seen his NWA title match with Adam Pearce in ROH at the Hammerstein? That was peak Albright for me.

I never have! I lost track of ROH after Age Of The Fall turned up, so I don’t think I ever caught his run there.

[LaGoosh]

In 1999 Test  was the best wrestler on Earth and no one could have convinced me otherwise. 

[Cheeky Boy]

In the mid 2000s, as I was losing interest in WWE fast, I became a big fan of Simon Dean. Had never watched ECW so had no previous attachment, but I just found him hilarious and went out of my way to watch Smackdown if he was going to be on. Swiftly lost interest when he went back to his Nova character, but for about half a year there he would've been my favourite. Haven't watched any of it back in 20 years, so am unsure if he was actually doing anything all that funny but I still smile thinking about him going on about his "patented Simon System".

When I started watching, my favorite was Tatanka which might count. Don't think I've lost interest in a wrestler faster or more substantially than when he joined the Million Dollar Man.

[Cousin Jim Bob]

2 Cold Scorpio was my favourite as a kid. Used to get "Whose that?" when asked at school who my favourite wrestler was. Most of the other kids who liked wrestling were watching WWF on Sky and not sneaking downstairs to watch WCW at 1 in the morning.

I remember reading in the WCW magazine that he was good friends with Vader from their time in Japan and thinking what the fuck? Vader is a monster whats Scorpio hanging about with him for.

We had got cable and I was watching WWF when he turned up as Flash Funk. I was still a fan but liked Austin and Bret a lot more by that point.

[DCW]

Jamie Noble on SD in mid 00's was one of my faves. The storyline of him winning the cruiserweight title & being able to now afford a double wide trailer and then later inheriting a moderate amount of money & being trailer park rich was just the sort of lower mid card nonsense I love. Plus, Nidia was also ace. He even made Vickie Guerrero somewhat entertaining towards the latter 00's

Teenage me was also convinced that now Billy Gunn had shaken off that Mr.Ass nonsense, The One was headed for the main events. I bought JR's interchangeable jobber moniker of 'best pure athlete in the WWF' hook, line and sinker. I think I just liked his new theme, which basically sounded like the intro to a family sitcom!

Edited January 22, 2025 by DCW