Badmovies.org Forum

Just watched E Hollywood True Story earlier and they did Hulk Hogan's life. It was a good documentary on Hogan. Who was your favorite Professional Wrestler? If they aren't up on the list just comment on them and they will be added. Started by adding former World Champions and others who were big draws.

(http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/~tmerl/wrestling%20page_files/image004.jpg)

Who was the wrestler who cut people's hair?
I'd vote for him.  I always thought it was great when he'd go for the scissors.

That was Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. Saw him wrestle Bret Hart in New Jersey one year in the 80's. He wasn't a very good wrassler, but he was best real life buddies with Hulk Hogan. He had one manuever which was a knee to the chest after whipping his opponent off the ropes. He had no other wrestling ability, but he did have a good gimmick cutting his defeated opponents hair.

Down South a loser looses their hair matches were big draws. Vince just created a character to do it after every match.

My favorite ain't here.Personally,I hate wrasslin. But if I had to pick one it would be TOR(the Swedish Angel) JOHNSON.

I can't remember the guys name, but he was a wrestler in the 80s when I would watch it on occasion as a child.  He was Asian, probably Japanese.  He would spray stuff from his mouth into his opponet's eyes to blind them.  I can never recall his name.....

Anyone know who I'm talking about?

One of the incarnations of somebody "The Dragon" somebody. Possibly Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. He had epic feuds in the '80s with Ric Flair and Randy Savage. More recently, a wrestler called Tajiri used the "green mist" to blind his opponents. He was always fun to watch; very innovative in the ring.

As for Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, I always kind of liked him. He seemed to have a good connection with the crowd. He was on the verge of a fair push when he had an accident that crushed his face (he was on the beach and somebody parasailed into him or something like that). After reconstructive surgery (and a couple of steel plates), he returned to wrestle as The Zodiac, a gimmick so lame as to doom his career. He's retired now for the most part.

I voted for the Hotrod Roddy Piper. He is a complete nutbasket, but he has a quick wit and is really fun to listen to. His feuds with Randy Savage and Bobby Heenan were what got me to watch wrestling back around 1990. He recently was diagnosed with lymphoma and is fighting to beat that right now.

Back then, it was Hulk Hogan.  Over the years, I decided it was Andre the Giant.  Hulk is still fun, as a larger than life character, but Andre had an interesting presence that I think appeals to my older self.

Skaboi your from the Carolinas and in the 80's it was probably The Great Kabuki, but depending on what channels you had it could have been Kendo Nagasaki or Mr. Fuji during those years.

(http://www.go4star.com/cwfmaw/heritage/Kabuki--SC83_t.jpg)

Andre The Giant was a very impressive person wether on TV or in person. One time I went to  the matches at the Philadelphia Spectrum around 1984 and Andre had a cab drive him down the ramp and to the back door of the Spectrum. He was so big he had to lay across the back seat just to fit in the cab. Also I once seen him in 1981 in Atlantic City teaming up with Chief Jay Strongbow and Jules Strongbow against Blackjack Mulligan, Mr. Fuji, and Mr. Saito. I was able to get right next to him and he was truely a giant. Legendary proportions.

(http://www.ddtdigest.com/features/buchanan/pictures/giant003.jpg)

Also was right with Roddy Piper when he entered the area outside the Spectrum just a couple months after his famous fued with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine which was a dog collar match. Piper had just started a major fued with Jimmy Snuka and never really faced Valentine again even though Valentine followed him into the WWF shortly after.

(http://www.steelcagematch.com/matches/attitude-era/wcw-nwo/hogan-v-piper/images/hogan-piper.gif)

The Great Kabuki!  That would be him!

Scott, how did you figure that out by where I live?   :smile:

You started the Frapper Location Map and according to that your live in the Carolinas.   :wink:

The Great Kabuki was also the father of The Great Muta.

(http://www.kinglawler.com/photo900_small.jpg)

Scott,

Originally you said:

Skaboi your from the Carolinas and in the 80's it was probably The Great Kabuki


I was just curious what my location had to do with the answer?  Just curious.  :)

1) If your were watching the local NWA Mid-Atlantic Jim Crockett promotion then the Great Kabuki would have been your Japanese green mist spewing wrestler.

2) If you were watching WTBS Superstation from Atlanta it could have been Kendo Nagasaki.

3) If it was mid-80's it might have been WWF on USA Network with Mr. Fuji.

By the way The Great Kabuki was one of my favorite all time wrestlers. He is lesser known and his story according to one time manager Gary Hart (not to be confused with Jimmy Hart) for wearing the face paint was that he lost a match in Singapore were he had his face burned in hot coals. Also if you saw The Great Kabuki in the Mid-Atlantic during those years he may have been teaming with The Magic Dragon who wore a mask (not to be confused with Ricky "Dragon" Steamboat).

I see Scott.

I have a feeling it would have been the local NWA thing you mentioned.  I know we had cable at the time (mid-late 80s) but I doubt it was on USA.  "The Great Kabuki" certainaly sets off quite a few bells in my overcrowded mind.

I'm sure I have some of his matches on VHS somewhere.  If I ever did run across them, I'm sure they'd be almost useless after so may years of non-use.

Just found a clip on Youtube that has The Great Kabuki vs Jimmy Valiant. In the match The Great Kabuki uses his red mist to blind Jimmy Valiant after losing a match.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff4ATX1K3lw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff4ATX1K3lw)

I voted for Superstar Billy Graham. His heyday was before my time, but love his vibe and attitude. Ventura based his persona on Graham, from what I hear, but was too cartoonish for my tastes, especially once he turned good.

My favorites (big and small time) aren't on your list:

Jake "The Snake" Roberts
The Road Warriors
The Freebirds
The Bushwhackers - before they turned good (or are tag teams out)
"Bullet" Bob Armstrong
"Captain Redneck" Dick Murdock
Porkchop Cash - favorite wrestling name ever
"Exotic" Adrian Street - His gimmick got the rednecks around here worked up something good, even if it was just Gorgeous George with a touch of Boy George.
Ron Garvin
Kevin Sullivan - Was that man crazy in real life?
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams
The One Man Gang

BTW, you have Jerry Lawler listed in the poll twice. Which would gratify the King's ego no doubt, but if he gets any votes, it might split them.

I don't watch wrestling like I used to but it sure was fun to root for certain characters.  I voted for the Undertaker - one of my favorite personas.  I like his b-grade zombie gimmick and his overall brutal style, even though he's not the greatest worker.

As far as technical move sets, etc., I'll have to go with HBK  - always liked Shawn Michaels - he had great psychology too and was a great heel.  Chris Benoit is also a good technical wrestler.

And I must say that Jake "The Snake" Roberts also had great in-ring psychology.

Yaddo, you mentioned some of the very great ones. I can tell you had a steady diet of Georgia Championship Wrestling.

The Fabulous Freebirds and Kevin Sullivan were some of my all time favorites.

(http://www.terminal-boredom.com/freebirds.jpg)

How about the Masked Superstar. Truely one of my favorites and one wrestler Hulk Hogan never defeated in the WWF as far as I'm aware.

(http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/Photo_Albums/wrestlers/superstar/150x180/Masked%20Superstar%20Silver%20Mask.jpg)

I was a fan of Mick Foley. It's been a while since I watched wrestling on tv but I remember Foley being the person I connected with the most (I was in middle school then, give me a break). He was funny, he was different, weird, and he was tough. He fought ECW, WWF, ICW and a lot more leagues in and out of the country I'm missing. He did things other wrestlers wouldn't-- couldn't do. Big falls and bumps, explosions, barbed wire and other gimmicky dangerous things. The cage match between Undertaker and Foley where he goes off the cage and through one table was huge, especially for a WWF match. It was huge for any match. He later went through the cage in the same match. He's been exploded, stabbed, crushed, poked. He wrote two very entertaining books, traveled to Africa and Japan to wrestle, became WWF commissioner and generally epitomized what a good pro wrestler should be.

I don't like wrasslin to much,but I DO like BAD movies,and SANTO and the BLUE DEMON are pretty cool. I used to watch wrasslin as a kid,and Bobo Brazil,Haystacks Calhoun,and the original Sheik were fun to watch.George(the Animal )Steele is a classic! This got me thinking of wrestlers who have gone on to make movies...Diamond Dallas Page is great in the DEVIL'S REJECTS.Though somebody should convince the Hulk to please PLEASE stick to wrestling!
Roller Derby...now THERES a show!!!!

Skaboi, found these neat matches of the Great Kabuki on Youtube.


Here he fights his son The Great Muta in Japan.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OaZuSB9FbhM (http://youtube.com/watch?v=OaZuSB9FbhM)

Here you'll see The Great Kabuki make his traditional entrance teamed with Tiger Mask in Japan.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nI52rHMIGac (http://youtube.com/watch?v=nI52rHMIGac)

"Macho Man" Randy Savage was always my favourite growing up so I voted for him here. I like wrestling from years back, especially the late 70s-1980s far better than what they offer today if you can actually call it wrestling, Vince's "sports entertainment" phrase seems more appropriate somehow, nowadays.

Vince definately named the WWE appropriately, but I think he missed the mark. There are some people who simply hated wrestling years ago because it was "fake" and the business wouldn't acknowledge it publicly. People couldn't just enjoy it for what it was.

Now that it's admittedly "entertainment" more have become fans. We all knew that it wasn't all real back in the day. Why try to explain it to those who couldn't understand it? They have a much worst fan base now than they did back then. Even if some of the fans back then where a bit odd and on the slow side.  :smile:

What was presented years back had a more believable edge. Rules, clearly defined good guys and bad guys unlike today where there are no real rules, no officials truly enforcing said rules, etc.  meaning when someone cheats, it really doesn't create the negative reaction it's intended to since the heroes cheat just as much as the villains do.

The Ultimate Warrior ! why was he not on the poll? anyway my vote was for Undertaker. listen Ultimate Warrior was so funny he still makes me laf if I see him on you tube ... Ohhh here > Undertaker vs Ultimate Warrior ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm8u0m1IJ10 enjoy!

Yea, you had the "scientific" wrestlers and then you had the "rule breakers" or "good guys" and "bad guys". You had to get the good guy pretty upset to break the rules.