IRL kills gimmick

[tiger_rick]

Who are wrestlers you have never liked or have soured on based on their real life behaviour or politics? 

We can leave Benoit out. There are other heinous criminals in wrestling but I don't think they'd have many fans anyway.

I'd exclude Chris Jericho, Hogan and Kane from mine. Jericho's wife being a right wing nutter and him probably being similar from his pod and association with her might have soured him anyway but, actually, he's just fucking dogshit as a character and often abysmal as a wrestler now anyway so I can't say his IRL politics are the reason. Similar for Kane. I think he's Mayor Douchebag but also, highlights of Kane or Jacobs' other characters from his 20 odd year run are sparse anyway. Him being a div hasn't spoiled his debut, that initial feud, or that great return after the ten-man tag in 2000. The rest is pretty crap anyway. I've also always hated Hogan. Him being a racist piece of shit feels more like vindication than spoiling anything (I'm being flippant here, I know).

I would include The Undertaker. I have a lot more fondness for him than Kane and there are loads more moments that I like. Even in some of his worst feuds in 1993 and 1995, I still always loved him and wanted more for him. Him being another high profile right-wing numpty really has soured him. There's very little after 1998 that I hold dear anyway, but it all comes with a major "Ugh". If I see him advertised for anything now, I'm not interested.

Very similar for Ric Flair - the horrendous sex pest. His old stuff is really tainted for me. I just don't enjoy watching him. Again, if he's advertised for stuff, I'm appalled. I didn't watch AEW for his entire run there. That was a disgraceful hire. Sting or no Sting. There's some personal shame with this one too. I've sat and watched all the shoot interviews in my younger years and heard the hilarious stories and thought they were cool stories about a mega-star living the life rather than the acts of a likely alcoholic sexual predator. I'm a disgrace too.

Randy Orton is someone I never warmed to and that was mostly based off the fact he seemed an absolute cunt to work with. He has grown up by all accounts and I have a respect for the way he works but just have no fondness for him and never did. The fact he's only ever had one great match in 23 years doesn't help either. 

I don't like Seth Rollins either. He's a shit, annoying promo and not anywhere near as good in the ring as he and the sycophants would have you believe, but the fact he's a dribbling arse-licker has made me hate him for years and years. I watched that WWE Vault compilation of The Shield's early years recently, and I like that I was right all along. Ambrose? Phenomenal. Reigns? Absolutely dripping with cool. Rollins? Fucking nerd.

Anyway, your turn.

[Chili]

Shawn Michaels. Even post born again, mainly down to my rightful mistrust of wrestlers going down that route. I'd back it up from stories of wrestlers dealing with God Shawn and him being a bit of a prick sometimes, especially around his Kliq mates. Real vibe of decent enough to you until the bigger boys appear and old pillhead, pissing on women, high school gobshite trait comes out of him in my opinion. RVD's impression of him is exactly what I imagine he's like tbh.

He's not the only one, I'll think of more.

Gonna point out that I don't feel put off watching any wrestlers who are problematic. Murderers, sex pests, political choices, nonces, criminals. Dunno why, I don't think I'm cold to it, their horrible real life tossers, but it's just the wrestling bollocks so I turn off from their reality as people. Bit of the art from the artist I guess.

Edited February 10, 2025 by Chili

[The King of Old School]

18 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

Randy Orton is someone I never warmed to and that was mostly based off the fact he seemed an absolute cunt to work with. He has grown up by all accounts and I have a respect for the way he works but just have no fondness for him and never did. The fact he's only ever had one great match in 23 years doesn't help either. 

What was that match, out of interest?

[Chili]

1 minute ago, The King of Old School said:

What was that match, out of interest?

Gonna guess The Foley 2004 match, unless Rick is going to become a subject of this topic himself ?

[Slapnut]

Braun Strowman was probably my favourite wrestler for a little bit whilst he was killing Roman and throwing himself everywhere. Genuinely thought he could have main evented Wrestlemania and it would have worked well. Then he posted his ridiculous “don’t expect me to pay your bills” rant and revealed exactly what sort of person he is, and now I can’t stand the sight of the cunt. B-b-b-braaaaun.

Edited February 10, 2025 by Slapnut

[Carbomb]

HBK's the main one - I enjoyed a lot of his later work, but more from the perspective of how it made his opponents look. I never actually rooted for him. The Hogan Summerslam match, I found hilarious, because he got a taste of his own medicine from the one guy who could give him it - and, seeing as I never liked Hogan either, I also liked Michaels making him look ridiculous with the overselling.

Val Venis/Chief Morley being an absolute roaster has soured me on him. Same with Road Dogg.

However, there's a very simple fact at play here: if you're not a right-winger, knowing the politics of every single figure in wrestling will kill your enjoyment, because you're really only left with Batista and Zack Sabre Jnr. I'm sure there are a few others, but fuck knows who they are.

Actually, just remembered: I've really soured on Jim Cornette. He seemed to be one of the few good guys in wrestling - a complete outlier being a Southern liberal. But he's spouted so much awful shit over the years, it's completely negated.

[LaGoosh]

All of the ones mentioned so far for sure. CM Punk also for me. The Brawl Out press conference ruined him in my eyes. Just seeing a grown man throwing a temper tantrum, stuffing his face with cupcakes, trying not to cry because some of his colleagues don't like him and there's rumours about him on the internet. A public meltdown over the dumbest, smallest stuff possible. Some people have real problems! It was all beyond pathetic and desperately sad to watch. I couldn't respect anyone after watching a thing like that. 

It's sad, because I used to be a big fan of his work. But now I can't watch him without thinking of his little paddy. Hard to buy someone as the voice of the voiceless, best in the world, tough guy when you've seen them throw their toys out the pram.

[Carbomb]

Punk is to my consumption of wrestling what Taylor Swift is to my consumption of music. I'm not a fan, their work does nothing at all for me to the point that I don't really see the big deal (not saying that they aren't big deals, just that they don't "reach" me), but politically I have a lot of time for them.

Edited February 10, 2025 by Carbomb
Lee Sharpe

[HarmonicGenerator]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

I would include The Undertaker. I have a lot more fondness for him than Kane and there are loads more moments that I like. Even in some of his worst feuds in 1993 and 1995, I still always loved him and wanted more for him. Him being another high profile right-wing numpty really has soured him. There's very little after 1998 that I hold dear anyway, but it all comes with a major "Ugh". If I see him advertised for anything now, I'm not interested.

This is absolutely the one for me. Undertaker was my favourite for years and years and years, but everything he's come out with since he retired and started talking out-of-character about not-wrestling ... no thank you.

Had he lived, I'm sure Trump's America would have allowed Ultimate Warrior (my childhood favourite) to very quickly wash away any goodwill he regained back around the time of his HOF induction.

 

I misread the thread title before I clicked on it and was convinced I was about to read "IRS kills gimmick", a news story about Irwin R Schyster getting done for tax fraud or something.

Edited February 10, 2025 by HarmonicGenerator
y'know

[Carbomb]

Wohhyahh was one of the dirt worst, and I don't care if that's speaking ill of the dead. Just an execrable human being, even worse than Ho Kogan.

[air_raid]

Not a wrestler but I can’t watch old Vince segments.

[Chili]

13 minutes ago, air_raid said:

Not a wrestler but I can’t watch old Vince segments.

Oh, I'd love to know more on this. When you say old, you mean Attitude Era and beyond Vince. I can imagine some of the segments or ALL the features women being a bit rum now in light of everything.

[Devon Malcolm]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

I don't like Seth Rollins either. He's a shit, annoying promo and not anywhere near as good in the ring as he and the sycophants would have you believe, but the fact he's a dribbling arse-licker has made me hate him for years and years. I watched that WWE Vault compilation of The Shield's early years recently, and I like that I was right all along. Ambrose? Phenomenal. Reigns? Absolutely dripping with cool. Rollins? Fucking nerd.

Ambrose was always the shit one in The Shield with his ridiculous comedy mugging selling and his piss-weak offence. Always has been and always will be fucking shite. Rollins did the high spots and the big bumps and was great in that role until he started getting ideas above his station.

[tiger_rick]

1 minute ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Ambrose was always the shit one in The Shield with his ridiculous comedy mugging selling and his piss-weak offence. Always has been and always will be fucking shite. Rollins did the high spots and the big bumps and was great in that role until he started getting ideas above his station.

Never change, my mate. Ambrose is front and centre on all the promos doing all the talking and being brilliant at it. Seth occasionally squeaks something unconvincingly. They did set him up for some high-spots, I agree, otherwise he'd have been completely useless. Was always madness that he was the one they turned and got behind. No wonder "The Authority" is the darkest of the dark days in the promotion. Shitehawk. 

[Chili]

9 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Ambrose was always the shit one in The Shield with his ridiculous comedy mugging selling and his piss-weak offence. Always has been and always will be fucking shite. Rollins did the high spots and the big bumps and was great in that role until he started getting ideas above his station.

He always sounded like a piss weak voiced nerd though did Rollins, before he started dressing like a Shoreditch gobshite. He's a great wrestler, but as a character has always failed to me, except when he was the teacher's pet in the Authority, and had goons doing all his bidding, genuinely enjoyed that run, because his whiney voice suited the role.

Though for this thread I can't include him. He's a complete kiss arse but seems to be a decent enough guy out of the ring from all accounts, even if he does dress like that because he thinks it's extremely cool rather than he actually likes it.

Edited February 10, 2025 by Chili