#t even know And Bruno is so young but he is the only adult figure she can rely on there. Perhaps its not parental but familial in other way | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bruno-news · 8 years ago

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It’s Joy Time for Bruno Mars

WE’RE JUST CAVEMEN, hitting on rocks,” says Bruno Mars. “It’s no different—you’re a caveman and you got a rock in front of you, you hit it with a stick to get everybody dancing. This is our time to forget about everything, it’s joy time. So who’s the best at hitting that rock? Who’s going to make the village dance the hardest?”

At a casual glance, you might not know that Mars is one of our superstar cavemen. Pulling up to an upscale Italian restaurant on an anonymous street in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, alone in a relatively modest Cadillac, he parks in back by the dumpsters to slip in quietly. In contrast to the flashy outfits he wears onstage, he’s dressed in a simple collarless bomber jacket, a white Gucci logo T-shirt and camouflage pants. A small crucifix on a thin chain hangs around his neck.

But at age 31, the singer/songwriter/producer dynamo born Peter Gene Hernandez is unquestionably one of the most highly decorated figures in pop music, with 21 Grammy nominations and 21 Hot 100 hit singles. He has sold over 170 million singles and 26 million albums worldwide and notched his first five No. 1 hits faster than any male artist since Elvis Presley. His third album, 24K Magic, debuted at No. 2 in November; more than two months later, it was still parked in the top five.

On this drizzly January day, Mars is trying to take care of business before heading to Japan for promotional duties. He’s finalizing plans for the album’s second single, the breezy, drop-top banger “That’s What I Like,” and plotting out his performance for the Grammy Awards. Today, he’s mostly bouncing between meetings and calls to assemble the staging for his massive world tour—already more than 100 dates this year, starting in late March in Antwerp, Belgium, and hitting the U.S. in July.

“I want the show to be powerful, because people spent some money on a ticket,” he says. “I’ve seen some awesome shows. I’ve seen Prince and Michael Jackson ; those are nights I will remember forever. I’m not doing my job unless I leave a piece of me everywhere I go—if you do the right show, it will stay with people and they’ll tell their kids about it. I hope people can see what I was feeling when I made the records. Then I want to go beyond their expectations and fly.”

With his old-school dedication to entertaining and his grounding in classic pop and R&B songwriting, Mars stands alongside Adele as one of today’s most universally beloved musicians. “My mum loves Bruno Mars and my son loves Bruno Mars and he’s 5,” says James Corden, host of The Late Late Show—and, recently, the Grammys—in a phone call. “I love how joyful, positive, uplifting his music is. It excludes no one. Everybody is welcome.”

Mars makes no secret that being onstage comes much easier to him than being in the studio. Almost four full years passed between his quadruple-platinum Unorthodox Jukebox album and the release of 24K Magic. He works so obsessively on each song, he says, that he drew up parameters for himself in order to get the concise, nine-song project finished. “I wanted to make a movie, where each song has its own moment,” he says. “So ‘Versace on the Floor’ is the tender moment, ‘That’s What I Like’ is the fun moment, and the ballad at the end [“Too Good to Say Goodbye”] seals the deal. That’s how I kind of tricked myself into making the album.

“We were trying really hard to tap into the ’90s R&B music that we grew up with, and it’s a very fine line—it can get tribute-y, it can sound forced,” Mars adds. “But that New Jack Swing sound brought me so much joy as a kid, so we took that on and did our best to try to get that feeling, that effortless fun.”

His interest in exploring the sounds of the past has sometimes led to accusations that Mars is just a talented copycat. When 24K Magic was released, one publication offered a track-by-track analysis of which artist each song was imitating. Not surprisingly, Mars gets heated about such criticisms.

“Man, that pisses me off so much!” he says. “It’s so easy to say that, but anyone that does that kind of shit has never written a song in their life. That’s why I’m here, because of musicians before me.

“Don’t get me wrong—there is plagiarism when you just say ‘Hey, man, what are you doing? I’ve heard that already.’ And I’m not stupid, of course it sounds like [the ’90s]. We’re using these vintage instruments and there is a certain sound, but it’s not just regurgitated. You can tell that we were listening to ’90s R&B. It has that spirit. That’s what we capture, and that’s what I want.”

Every time I think about it, my whole story is just weird,” says Mars. “Even I don’t get it!” He was born and raised in Honolulu, one of six children—his Filipino-Spanish mother was a singer and dancer; his Jewish–Puerto Rican father was a percussionist. By age 4, young Bruno (the nickname came from his father, who thought the infant Peter resembled wrestler Bruno Sammartino) was performing five days a week in the family band, the Love Notes, singing Michael Jackson and Temptations covers.

According to his older brother, Eric “E-Panda” Hernandez, when Bruno was just a few years old, his parents dressed him up as Elvis for Halloween. “He was already so in tune with Elvis that he was imitating the moves, the lips, drawing a crowd,” says Hernandez. “I thought, ‘Holy cow, he’s a showstopper already!’ ” “Little Elvis” went on to perform at halftime in the 1990 Aloha Bowl and had a cameo in the 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas.

“If you took your kid to school with you every day, and you were studying rocket science, he’d probably be a rocket scientist,” says Mars. “So that’s just it—my dad and mom took me to work every single day, and I got to see what it’s like to entertain an audience. I got to entertain everybody who came to Hawaii—a roomful of people that didn’t speak English, from around the world—and to see what music can do, and how it can bring the world together.”

Above all, he learned the power of a great song, the fundamentals of writing music that far outlives its creator. Hernandez, who is now the drummer in Mars’s band, recalls Bruno constantly studying music videos—doo-wop, Michael Jackson, Elvis, anything he could get his hands on—in the bedroom they shared.

“I’ve been singing amazing songs since I was a kid,” Mars says. “They weren’t my songs, but they were classics. So I’ve trained my brain to know what it feels like to sing an amazing song—when you do a lot of covers, you see it; you’ll play a song and you see everybody freak out when you get to that chorus, everyone is singing. It taps into something, whether it’s nostalgia or it just makes people feel a certain way.”

His father gave him a guitar and started teaching him to play—surf music at first, classics like “Walk Don’t Run” and “Apache.” The influence ran deeper than just the music, as evidenced by the silk-shirt-and-shorts set, white shoes and gold jewelry he sports on the cover of 24K Magic. “The style stuff all comes from watching my dad—the pinkie rings, the pompadour, everything,” Mars says with a big grin. “My dad would take me to school in some big, busted-up Cadillac, and he’d be wearing a rhinestone jacket and have his hair all whipped and greased up, flashy glasses, and I was like, My dad’s not like the other dads at school! I’d try to get out of the car, zoom out. And now I’m the one driving the busted Cadillac, wearing some gaudy shit, and it’s what makes me happy.”

“Bruno is a fashion leader, with a sense of style that is truly his own,” says Tommy Hilfiger, whose clothes Mars sometimes wears onstage. “He is almost chameleonlike—for one concert, he’ll wear an animal-print shirt, then the next, he’ll be in a tuxedo, and it’s all him, he is totally in control of his presence.”

After graduating from high school, Mars moved to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career. (He now lives in the Hollywood Hills with model/actress Jessica Caban, whom he has dated since 2011.) He was signed by Motown Records in 2004 but then dropped. He kicked around town, signing a publishing deal, playing in cover bands and soaking up all he could from sympathetic, successful songwriters. He wrote songs for K’naan, Brandy and Flo Rida and, in 2009, co-founded a production team, the Smeezingtons.

His breakthrough came with the hits “Nothin’ on You” by B.o.B. and “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy, both of which featured his voice on the hooks, and then with Cee Lo’s 2010 smash politely known as “Forget You.” Just weeks before that song dropped, Mars released “Just the Way You Are,” the first single from his debut album on Atlantic Records, Doo-Wops and Hooligans. The irresistibly sweet ballad went to No. 1 and topped the adult contemporary chart for a record-breaking 20 weeks. (The next single, “Grenade,” also went to No. 1, and the ukulele-driven trifle “The Lazy Song” cracked the top five.) After a brief tour opening for Maroon 5, he played headlining dates for more than a year, as the album saw sales of more than six million units worldwide and an unbelievable 300-plus weeks on the Billboard Top 200.

On the road, though, Mars became aware of the limitations of his repertoire. “The first album was so ballad-heavy,” he says, “and when I toured I was like, ‘Man, I need to dance!’ We gotta pick this up, because we can offer more and we’re kinda stuck. And that’s where ‘Locked Out of Heaven’ and ‘Treasure’ and a lot of tunes on the second album came from, because we wanted to push the tempo.”

With an Anglo-reggae groove reminiscent of the Police (Mars and Sting sang together at the 2013 Grammy Awards), “Locked Out of Heaven” shot Unorthodox Jukebox out of the gate in 2012. The album explored disco and classic soul styles and topped charts around the world. And then, at the end of 2014, Mars was featured on producer Mark Ronson’s earth-quaking, booty-shaking, record-breaking throwback “Uptown Funk.” Certified diamond, for sales over 10 million, the song is only the eighth single in history to spend at least 14 weeks at No. 1. “Uptown Funk” won three Grammys, including record of the year, and for months it was unavoidable—on your TV, in your car or at sporting events.

Mars says the song emerged only after a long struggle and that they had almost tossed it away. “We went through some trials and tribulations,” he says. “I’m not lying when I tell you that we were fighting—I was on tour and Mark would send me something and I’d be like, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ And I’d send him something back and he’d be like, ‘No, my version is better.’ We were both fighting for the greater good of the song.

“You press play and it went, ‘This here’s that ice-cold…’ and it was like, ‘Oh, what’s about to happen?!’ But then ‘Oh, man, that’s what you got? Nah, never mind, turn it off.’ And that kept happening for months.

“Finally the solution was that we just needed to dance—to say, ‘Don’t believe me, just watch,’ and that’s it. Don’t try to write a hook. You don’t need more; that already said everything. But it took us a while to feel that, because the way we were doing it was so unorthodox, piece by piece. When we finally got together and picked up the instruments, we got to feel it. That’s when the superpower comes in.”

Even after cranking out so many hits—plus collaborations with and writing efforts for everyone from Lil Wayne to Alicia Keys, Adele to Jay Z and Kanye West—Mars has no formula or shortcuts; songwriting remains an instinctive craft.

“When you’re in the studio, you can feel the energy shift,” he says. “It’s no different from telling a good joke—you can tell when it lights up the room. Or from telling a shitty joke that makes everyone want to leave and you hear the crickets. So you’re always trying to find that magic and then capitalize on it.

“You find something—‘put your pinkie rings up to the moon’—and everyone’s excited, but now what? What does the bass sound like, or the drums? If ‘24K Magic’ is supposed to sound like I’m having the time of my life, you gotta hear me smiling on the record.”

There’s no bigger stage than the Super Bowl halftime show; Bruno Mars is one of a few performers who have played it twice. In 2014, he played during a rare northern excursion, as the 48th annual game took place in New Jersey. “Rehearsing in the cold sucked,” he says. “We got lucky on the day, it was 50 degrees, but two days before it was -9 or something.” His action-packed performance was the highest-rated halftime show ever (since surpassed by Katy Perry and Lady Gaga) and earned widespread raves, especially considering that his career hadn’t quite reached the spot’s usual mega-A-list status.

Then last year, on the heels of “Uptown Funk,” Chris Martin of Coldplay invited Mars and Beyoncé to join the group’s halftime set. “I told Chris, ‘This is your Super Bowl performance, you deserve it, go kill ’em,’ ” Mars says. “But he’s such a sweetheart and he kept saying, ‘Bruno, this is a gift I want to give to everybody.’ He talked me into it. He’s a sweet talker, that guy. And she signed up, and all of a sudden I’m in rehearsal dance-battling Beyoncé—what the hell happened?”

Mars is proud of his work ethic and dedication to every appearance, something Corden can attest to after they filmed a Carpool Karaoke segment last year (the clip has had nearly 40 million views on YouTube since airing in December). “My biggest memory of that day was that the second it ended, I got a little depressed,” says Corden. “Like the last day of vacation, where you’re on the plane home and feel sad that it’s over. It was so euphoric, I just wanted to do it again. There’s a moment at the end of ‘Uptown Funk’ where we’re just sitting there and breathing heavily, and that was real. His commitment was everything—we left it all in the car.

“I think he’s 100 percent on his way to being one of the greats,” Corden continues. “There are great showmen who get by without always having great songs and great songwriters who aren’t great showmen, but he’s both those things. He has this unquantifiable energy, where you want to watch it and be a part of it somehow.”

Hernandez notes that his brother works tirelessly, showing up for every sound check, sometimes arriving before the rest of the band. “He sees something lacking in the business, maybe something we were influenced by as kids that’s missing today, and he sticks to his vision,” says Hernandez. “He’s put that work mentality on the rest of the band, where he makes us want to be great.”

The rain has stopped and as the sun goes down over the Santa Monica Mountains, Mars heads to the restaurant’s back patio for a cigarette. He seems in no great rush to get back into the scramble of preparing for a tour and keeping the business humming. With the long process of an album finally complete, he says that although he’s open to the idea of more new music or another collaboration, he wants to be careful.

“I just don’t want to feel gross,” he says. “It’s as simple as that. I don’t want to feel gross, I don’t want to regret any decisions. Even if I turn down a sweet check because I don’t want to be on that billboard, hawking some shit to the world—I just don’t need to do that. Because you get one shot at this.

“I’m not a model. I’m not an ice skater. I’m not a chef. I’m here to do music. And I want to be able to look back and say, ‘Yeah, I did it the way I wanted to do it.’ Whether it triumphs or fails, I can live with that.”

#bruno mars #interview #wsj #2017

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placetobenation · 7 years ago

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“The revolutionary force for over 50 years in sports entertainment” was a clever tag line used in the mid 90s before every WWF show. For most United States wrestling fans that are still alive, it is a way of life. Greater by the day is the lack of variance in the answer of what wrestling an individual grew up on. For better or worse, WWE has been the standard bearer. Throughout that rich history, performers ranging from Nature Boys to Undertakers have graced the squared circle. Foreign legends have had extended runs and some of the most iconic figures in pro wrestling history have been aces of the promotion reaching unequivocal mainstream pop culture heights in the world of wrestling.

With such a large history to play with, discovering the beauty of Bob Backlund’s charisma or the connection of Bruno Sammartino to the MSG crowd was a new development throughout this project similar to rewatching The Godfather and On the Waterfront to rediscover the genius of Marlon Brando. WWE may not have always been YOUR promotion but for the better part of 50 years, it was THE promotion in the United States and transformed the pro wrestling landscape. This project serves to praise the individuals that best helped shape the vision of Vince McMahon Sr. and Jr. Place to be Nation is proud to present to you a ranking of the Greatest WWE Wrestlers Ever.

– Chad Campbell

Note: Results of this list are based on 118 ballots received between May and December 2017. Voters were asked to submit their list of the 100 Greatest WWE Wrestlers of all time and consider only their WWWF/WWF/WWE career. Ties were broken based on 1) number of ballots a wrestler appeared on and 2) high vote.

Every wrestler who received at least one vote will be recognized in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned to Place to Be Nation as we reveal all of the honorable mentions right through the cream of the crop. Read the other installments, both written and audio, of this project here.

200. Sika Total Points: 195 Total Ballots: 5 Average Rank: 62 High Vote: 42 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: El Groino

Key Matches & Moments: One half of the Wild Samoans with brother Afa; Had three different stints with the company and were three-time Tag Team Champions; Notable matches with Ivan Putski and Tito Santana, Bob Backlund and Pedro Morales, Rick Martel and Tony Garea, The Soul Patrol (Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas) and the North-South Connection (Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch); Formed a tag team with Kamala when Afa retired; Also challenged Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan (on Saturday Night’s Main Event) for the WWF title in singles matches

Staff Thoughts: Mainstays of the tag division during a dark time for the tag division, but three separate stints in the company with three separate championship reigns is nothing to sneeze at. Taught generations of Samoans to come how to wrestle barefoot and have hard heads.

From the Voters: “3x tag team champ, if that accounts for anything.” – Sean Fluharty, August 9, 2017

199. Afa Total Points: 198 Total Ballots: 5 Average Rank: 61.4 High Vote: 41 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: El Groino

Key Matches & Moments: See entry for Sika above; Afa also challenged Bob Backlund for the WWF title, but did not stick around to challenge Hulk Hogan; Also returned as a manager for the Headshrinkers

Staff Thoughts: What more is there to say about the Samoans? Matches weren’t great (or often good) but they were believable monsters for babyfaces to slay. And he imparted all his knowledge to the Headshrinkers, including eating food in disgusting ways, not wearing shoes and no-selling headbutts. Did you guys know Samoans had hard heads?

From the Voters: “I have Afa ranked higher than I thought, simply for believability factor. He legitimately scared me as a kid. In a world where most seemed a work, the Samoans felt real.” – Lee Wes, November 26, 2017

198. Charles Wright Total Points: 202 Total Ballots: 16 Average Rank: 88.4 High Vote: 69 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Neil Trama

Key Matches & Moments: As Papa Shango he missed his cue on the run-in to break up pin in the Hulk Hogan/Sid match at Wrestelmania VIII; Cursed Ultimate Warrior causing him to vomit pea soup while also leaving fans a bit queasy (as did his matches); Challenged Bret Hart on a Saturday Night’s Main Event; Was repackaged as Kama “The Supreme Fighting Machine” as part of the Million Dollar Corporation where he stole the Undertaker’s urn (who didn’t?) then melted it down for bling; Morphed into Kama Mustafa who was part of the Nation of Domination; FINALLY hit on a winner gimmick that surely garnered his votes here with wrestling pimp The Godfather who smoked cigars and was escorted to the ring by his hoes procurred from the local “gentlemen’s clubs;” Won the Intercontinental Title as the Godfather; Let’s pretend the Goodfather never happened shall we?

Staff Thoughts: Everybody get on board that HO TRAIN! Everything before the Godfather wasn’t highlight reel material but Wright caught lightning in a bottle with the Godfather gimmick. He played it to a T though and was one of the hottest acts of the Attitude Era, perhaps because bringing a harem of scantily clad hoes to the ring appealed to teenage and young adult males in the audience. Who knew? Still remembered fondly, as evidenced by long-time PTBN staffer Cowboy Morissette confusing the much more charismatic Nate Milton for the Godfather and confessing he’d “been waiting to drive that Ho Train my whole life.”

From the Voters: “Godfather is a memorable character but his in ring work is just too bad for me to put him in. I agree that Papa Shango should’ve done a lot better. Very intimidating and scary heel look.” – Wade Ferrari, May 29, 2017

“He was good at getting teenage boys to cheer hot chicks and shout about smoking weed. How hard is that really? Otherwise, did he have any talent? I don’t think so.” – Adam Russell, July 20, 2017

197. Carlito Total Points: 208 Total Ballots: 12 Average Rank: 83.7 High Vote: 31 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Jason Fastkade

Key Matches & Moments: Won the United States Championship from John Cena in his debut match on SmackDown; Had his bodyguard stab Cena in storyline before losing the U.S. Title back to him and missing time with injury; Interrupted Piper’s Pit at WrestleMania 21 and sparred with Steve Austin; Conducted his own interview show, Carlito’s Cabana; Played the role of evil queen when he fed Big Show a poisoned apple, which also proved Big Show would eat anything at the time; Drafted to Raw in 2005 where he won the Intercontinental Title from Shelton Benjamin on his debut; Participated in the Elimination Chamber at New Year’s Revolution 2006 being the last wrestler eliminated by John Cena; Formed a tag-team with Chris Masters before feuding with him; Was involved in a relationship with Trish Stratus in storylines; Was given a ladies man gimmick and also had an on-air relationship with Torrie Wilson; Had a brief feud with Ric Flair transitioning into Flair becoming Carlito’s mentor and tag-team partner; Involved in the Money in the Bank match at WreslteMania XXIV; Returned to the SmackDown brand and began teaming with his brother Primo winning the WWE Tag Team championship and unifying the titles by winning a match versus John Morrison and The Miz at WrestleMania XXV;

Staff Thoughts: Spitting in the face of people that don’t want to be cool, Carlito took apple chomping and spewing to new levels. He was given strong push after strong push, winning both the U.S. Title and the Intercontinental Title on his debuts to SmackDown and Raw respectively, yet he was never able to put it together and have any hot reigns. He also had some ill-timed injuries that hurt. He was a good talker and fine in the ring, and a fixture in the midcard with U.S. title, IC title and both World and WWE tag title reigns, but it all kind of runs together, with no matches really standing out as memorable. Seemed like he could’ve been more than he ultimately achieved.

From the Voters: “Totally middling guy, who sort of represents the worst of his era to me in that he was talented but utterly clueless about what to do with that talent. Quickly became a walking cliche and despite being gifted a potentially hot angle with Cena had no traction with it. Stayed around for years doing nothing interesting of note as he was a static character and a cliched promo even for the era. I’m sure some of the issue with him was booking, but he’s the IRS of his time.” – Dylan Hales, July 6, 2017

196. Xavier Woods Total Points: 211 Total Ballots: 12 Average Rank: 83.4 High Vote: 65 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Jason Fastkade

Key Matches & Moments: Formed a team with R-Truth upon his debut and feuded with Brodus Clay and Tons of Funk; Recruited Big E Langston and Kofi Kingston to form the New Day, initially serving in more of managerial role; When New Day won the Tag Team championship at Extreme Rules 2015 it was determined they could defend the titles under Freebird rules leading Woods to a more active in-ring role in New Day; Woods became known for playing his trombone Francesca (and later Francesca II); New Day held the WWE (later renamed Raw) Tag Team Titles for 483 days, breaking the record previously held by Demolition; Woods scored the pin when the New Day defeated the Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team titles, the first time he had scored the pin to win a championship; New Day had good matches with the Usos and Sheamus & Cesaro throughout 2016; Before re-igniting their feud with the Usos on Smackdown in 2017, Woods gave a memorable performance in excellent match with the Usos at Hell in a Cell 2017

Staff Thoughts: New-Day-Rocks! Or Sucks, depending upon your point of view. He p lays a mean trombone. New Day as an act has been one of the hottest acts at times over the past three years and Woods has been an important part of that act. He has also been taking a more active in-ring role recently, most notably in the Hell in a Cell match with the Usos.

From the Voters: “He is having a tremendous 2017. And because of it I think he makes my list.” – Brian Bayless, November 14, 2017

“Now as far as WWE Video Gamers, Xavier is #1.” – Greg Diener, November 23, 2017

195. Kamala Total Points: 211 Total Ballots: 14 Average Rank: 85.9 High Vote: 55 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Jesse

Key Matches & Moments: Feuded with Andre the Giant including a high-profile cage match, while being managed by Classy Freddie Blassie also with handler “Friday”; Ate a live chicken on an episode of Tuesday Night Titans; Returned to the company managed by The Wizard with handler Kim Chee and feuded with Hulk Hogan in some really good, violent matches (also appeared on magazine cover with Hogan’s head on a spike causing Good Ol’ Will much jubilation); Feuded with Jake “The Snake” Roberts over his fear of snakes and then teamed with Sika; Returned in 1992, with Kim Chee as always, to be managed by Harvey Wippleman and feud with the Undertaker, featuring awful matches, including the first televised coffin match at Survivor Series 1992; Finally landed on the newly ordained Reverend Slick as his manager (did he get a free live chicken when he filled his manager punch card or something?) who humanized him by teaching him to bowl; Participated in the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-7 and numerous one-off appearances

Staff Thoughts: Talk about versatility, Kamala could be a terrifying cannibal putting Hogan’s head on a spike or comedy figure bowling with Slick. He’s got some really solid matches and is a beloved or at least well-remembered figure. As my dietary choices of IPAs and Hershey’s miniatures lead me down the road to Kamala’s physique, I plan to copy his fashion and paint stars and moons on my belly. And I will thank Kamala for this influence.

From the Voters: “The Hogan feud is incredible, just awesome. That alone is enough to make it. Completely committed to the character. Amazing pro wrestler.” – Martin Boulevard, November 14, 2017

194. Jack Swagger Total Points: 219 Total Ballots: 9 Average Rank: 76.7 High Vote: 46 Low Vote: 96 High Voter: Eric Miller

Key Matches & Moments: “The All-American American�� debuted in ECW and quickly won the ECW title from Matt Hardy; Lost the ECW title to Christian and challenged him in a series of good rematches; Won Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI; Cashed in his Money in the Bank to defeat Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship; Trained Michael Cole for his “classic” match vs. Jerry Lawler at WrestleMania XXVII and received a Stone Cold Stunner during the match from special referee Steve Austin; Formed an alliance with Dolph Ziggler with both managed by Vickie Guerrero; Defeated Zack Ryder for the United States Championship before losing it to Santino Marella; Returned after time off with new manager Zeb Coulter and won the Elimination Chamber match to determine the #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship; Battled Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 29; Formed the Real Americans tag team with Cesaro, who were involved in a number of good matches like the elimination match at Survivor Series 2013 and the Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way at TLC 2013; Challenged and lost to Big E Langston for the Intercontinental Championship at 2014 Elimination Chamber; The Real Americans lost a fatal four-way for the Tag Team Championship during the pre-show of WrestleMania XXX and the team split up in the process; Turned face feuding with Rusev over the U.S. title with fun matches at SummerSlam, Battleground and TLC in 2014

Staff Thoughts: We! The People!…were moderately interested in Jack Swagger. Good in-ring worker, though he always seemed to be missing that “It factor.” Swagger showed tons of promise in his ECW run with good matches against Christian (when everyone had good matches against Christian), his tag run as the Real Americans (when everything Cesaro touched turned to gold) and his fued against Rusev (another good worker). He could always bring it in the ring, but never had the juice to elevate his feuds or matches to the next level.

From the Voters: “He had so much potential and upside on ECW, shame what happened to him. Still he built up quite a good list of matches over the years. Had a really good year in 2010 despite his miserable midcard world champ reign. His series with Kofi on SD is low key one of my favourites. The Christian match is fantastic. Good teams with Dolph and Cesaro too.” – Stacey O’Laughlin, May 31, 2017

“After his ECW run I would’ve said he was on his way. Didn’t happen.” – Jeremy Ray, May 30, 2017

193. Professor Tanaka Total Points: 22 Total Ballots: 5 Average Rank: 57 High Vote: 17 Low Vote: 77 High Voter: Steve Gennarelli

Key Matches & Moments: Had a successful run in the 1960s challenging Bruno Sammartino where he was DQ’d for throwing salt in Bruno’s eyes and defeated by the champ in the rematch; Also main evented MSG in tag team matches with Gorilla Monsoon challenging Bruno and Spiros Arion; Co-holder of the first WWWF International Tag team titles with Mitsu Arikawa; Teamed with Mr. Fuji and won the WWWF World Tag Team titles three times; The three tag team reigns set a record were tied by a number of teams, but not broken until the New Age Outlaws won their fourth tag team title in 1999; One of the only competitors to be managed by all three “Wise Men” (The Grand Wizard, “Classy” Freddie Blassie and Capt. Lou Albano)

Staff Thoughts: His team with Fuji held the record for tag title reigns until broken by the New Age Outlaws, which is crazy. And it’s fair to say they moved the belt a bit more freely in the Attitude Era, so the Tanaka and Fuji record is even more impressive. He had a great arm when it came to throwing salt in opponents eyes. In addition to the stellar team with Fuji (and check out the Facebook comments for more conversation on that team) Tanaka had a strong run opposing Bruno in singles and tag teams to bolster his case.

From the Voters: “But in tag teams Fuji and Tanaka get the nod here. They were put over as a bad ass heel team. They were scary. I was present to watch their second run in the WWWF in the late 70’s. I saw Fuji and Saito later on as a tag team, but Fuji and Tanaka still were better as a team to me.” – Timothy Ray, September 10, 2017

“He looks like him, but not Oddjob. He did have quite the acting career though. 3 Ninjas…Last Action Hero…Pee Wee’s.” – David Bayens, September 10, 2017

192. Natalya Total Points: 221 Total Ballots: 11 Average Rank: 80.9 High Vote: 50 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Trust Issues

Key Matches & Moments: Challenged for the newly created Divas Championship at Great American Bash 2008; Formed an alliance with Victoria to feud with the Bellas; Competed in Divas battle royal at WrestleMania XXV; Formed the Hart Dynasty with Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith; Appeared at WrestleMania XXVI helping her uncle Bret Hart during his match with Vince McMahon; Managed Kidd and Smith to the WWE Tag Team championship and was involved in feud with Usos and Tamina; Won the Divas Championship in a handicap match vs. Michelle McCool and Layla and feuded with the duo; Teamed with Beth Phoenix to defeat LayCool in the first Divas Tag Team Tables Match at TlC 2010; Formed an alliance with AJ Lee and Kaitlyn before turning on them and forming the Divas of Doom with Beth Phoenix; Given a much maligned farting gimmick; Formed an alliance with Great Khali and Hornswoggle to battle Rosa Mendes, Primo and Epico; Appeared on Total Divas feuding with fellow cast members and later AJ Lee; Lost to Charlotte in a good match at NXT Takeover in the finals of the NXT Women’s Championship Tournament; Managed Tyson Kidd and Cesaro when they won the WWE Tag Team championship; Was in the 10-Diva tag match on the WrestleMania 32 pre-show; Competed in the inaugural Women’s Money in the Bank match; Won the SmackDown Women’s Championship at SummerSlam 2017

Staff Thoughts: Always around when they need a challenger for a Women’s or Divas Title or to fill out a multi-women match. She’s had good matches throughout the years, like the NXT Takeover match with Charlotte. Her character has always been a bit bland and sometimes annoying. We won’t speak of the farting gimmick.

From the Voters: “I remember her title reign during the diva down years to be a standout. Great table match vs LayCool where she had to improvise an awesome finish. That and her Charlotte NXT match are standouts. I have her on my list right now because I remember her being a breath of fresh air for a time. (No this is not a reference to the brief farting gimmick)” – Travis Wokoshyn, June 1, 2017

“Cat people are weird. ”- Chris Manning, June 3, 2017

191. MVP Total Points: 227 Total Ballots: 10 Average Rank: 78.3 High Vote: 64 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Boss Rock

Key Matches & Moments: Signed the “largest contract in SmackDown history;” Feuded with Kane winning a street fight, steel cage match and tag team contests before getting set on fire in an inferno match; Challenged Chris Benoit for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 23 and Backlash before finally winning the belt in a two-out-of-three falls match at Judgment Day 2007; Began an excellent feud with Matt Hardy; Defeated Deuce & Domino for the Tag Team Championship with partner Matt Hardy (oh the wackiness) making him a double champion; Participated in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXIV and Hardy returned from injury and cost MVP the match; His U.S. title run lasted 343 days, the longest U.S. title reign (WWE version) until Dean Ambrose broke the record in 2014; Won the U.S. championship for a second time from Shelton Benjamin; Competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXV; Formed a tag team with Mark Henry; Competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI

Staff Thoughts: MVP’s original gimmick was original and timely, borrowing from diva football players of the day, such as Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. He was originally presented as a prima donna that was overhyped but proved himself and developed into a quality worker, leading to some really good matches with Chris Benoit capped by him ultimately winning the U.S. championship. His feud with Matt Hardy was really taking off, but somewhat ill-fated as injuries by both MVP and Hardy caused delays in the blow-off. He then lost some steam after that. He seemed like he could turn into a bigger star, he just never seemed to (which seems to be something we’re saying a lot in this section of the list). Fans did enjoy reminding MVP that he looked like a Power Ranger.

From the Voters: “For those asking, his best match is vs Matt Hardy on SD, July 2007. They also had good ones at GAB 07 and Backlash 08. All of the matches in the Benoit series are really good. Has good matches with random guys – Kofi on Raw June 2009, Batista on SD 2008, Swagger on SD 2010. I think he’s much better in the ring than he’s given credit for.” – Stacey O’Loughlin, June 22, 2017

“He’ll most likely make my list. A bit of a rough start, but he bounced back with good matches against Benoit and his feud with Matt Hardy is arguably one of the greatest midcard feuds of all time. I also really enjoyed the losing streak storyline which led to a surprisingly effective face turn, even if he was always a better heel. Not a dynamite promo but solid enough on the mic.” – Greg Rossbach, July 7, 2017

190. Lance Storm Total Points: 233 Total Ballots: 8 Average Rank: 71.9 High Vote: 39 Low Vote: 91 High Voter: Bret Hart; David Carli

Key Matches & Moments: The first WCW performer to invade WWF programming; Featured part of the Alliance teaming with Mike Awesome to face Edge and Christian at the Invasion PPV; Won the Intercontinental title during the Invasion and lost it to Edge at SummerSlam 2001; Joined the Un-Americans with Christian, Test and later William Regal, Won the Tag Team titles with Christian defeating Hulk Hogan and Edge; Had a good match with Christian against Booker T and Goldust at SummerSlam 2002; Continued teaming with Regal after the Un-Americans split winning the Tag Team titles twice; Chief Morley stripped Regal and Storm of the Tag Team Titles because the belts had not been defended in 30 days but Morley named himself and Storm tag team champions; Stone Cold Steve Austin encouraged fans to chant boring during Storm’s matches; Formed alliance with Goldust and began dancing; Began teaming with Morley again who had reverted to his porn-star Val Venus character and recruited Storm due to his allegedly huge schlong; Defeated Chris Jericho at ECW One Night Stand in 2005 in his last match for WWE

Staff Thoughts: Always a solid worker, his run in WWE didn’t match his runs elsewhere. But any run that includes both a boring gimmick AND a huge penis gimmick is…diverse? It all started well enough with the Invasion angle, but Storm wasn’t a big enough star to hold that position in the Alliance and shockingly being a lackey to Stephanie and Shane McMahon didn’t turn that around. He had a good match with Edge at SummerSlam that year, and the Un-Americans team and the team with Regal were both strong. Ultimately, he was what he always was, a really good wrestler lacking in charisma and the WWE didn’t do anything to help hide his flaws and accentuate his positives.

From the Voters: “One of the purest workers I’ve ever seen he rarely had anything less than a ** match. He just never quite got over in WWE the way he did in ECW. But he was an IC and tag champ. The UnAmericans angle was decent. So, while his WWE run wasn’t overwhelming I would have to still vote yes just because I cant imagine he couldn’t crack the top 100.” – Ryan Rahid, May 31, 2017

“Love lance storm but wwf run was Luke warm and lost in the shuffle in the invasion mess. Don’t see top 100 in this case..” – Shawn Kidd, May 31, 2017

189. Spiros Arion Total Points: 237 Total Ballots: 8 Average Rank: 71.4 High Vote: 37 Low Vote: 95 High Voter: Steve Gennarelli

Key Matches & Moments: Won the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship with Tony Parisi in his second match in the U.S.; Became the protege of Bruno Sammartino and the two teamed up to win the U.S. Tag Team Championship and were the last U.S. Tag Team Champions; Main evented MSG teaming with Bruno against Professor Tanaka and Gorilla Monsoon twice, including in a Texas Death Match; Teamed with Chief Jay Strongbow before turning on him and ripping his headdress to shreds; Managed by Classy Freddie Blassie as a heel; Fought Sammartino protege Larry Zbyszko in MSG causing Bruno to come out and make the save after the match; Had a three bout series with Bruno Sammartino at MSG in a series of very good and well regarded matches

Staff Thoughts: Arion is probably best known for the series vs. Bruno in 1975 in some intense brawls, at least one of which is on the WWE Network in the Bruno Sammartino collection. Has a really good supporting resume with three U.S. Tag Team reigns. The “Iron Greek” was so despised as a heel he was stabbed after a match where he tagged with Blassie.

From the Voters: “One of my favorite discoveries in this project. Good promos, good matches, cool sounding feuds, and I found the Bruno stuff very entertaining.” – James Proffitt, November 27, 2017

“I started watching those Arion/Bruno matches and really dug them, so I found some other stuff like him and Blassie cutting promos and a damn good match at MSG with a young Kevin Sullivan. Dude came out if nowhere and will probably slide into the top 80.” – Kevin E. Pittack, October 7, 2017

188. Gregory “Hurricane” Helms Total Points: 238 Total Ballots: 11 Average Rank: 79.4 High Vote: 60 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: El Groino

Key Matches & Moments: Part of the Alliance in the Invasion angle holding the Cruiserweight title until losing it to fellow Alliance member Billy Kidman; Adopted the superhero “Hurricane” gimmick and formed a tag team with Lance Storm with “Mighty” Molly Holly as a sidekick; Won the Hardcore Championship at WrestleMania X8 before losing it to Molly; Won the Cruiserweight Championship from Tajiri and lost it to Jamie Noble; Teamed with Kane to win the World Tag Team Championship; Defeated the Rock on Raw after being called the “Hamburglar;” Took on Rosey as his prodigy, well Superhero In Training (see it’s funny because the letters spell SHIT), and Stacy Kiebler joined the group as their sidekick Super Stacy; The team of Rosey and the Hurricane won the World Tag Titles; Reverted back to his real name of Gregory Helms, turned on Rosey and won the Cruiserweight Title while moving to SmackDown; Claimed to be better than all the cruiserweights so defended the title and “feuded” with all cruiserweights on the roster at the time; His Cruiserweight title run was both the longest Cruiserweight reign in WWE history and the longest reign of any kind in SmackDown history; Faced Matt Hardy at No Mercy 2006 in one of Helms’ best matches with the company; Eventually lost his Cruiserweight Title to Chavo Guerrero, Jr. in a Cruiserweight open; Returned to his Hurricane persona with a new catchphrase “I’m just sayin’!”

Staff Thoughts: Stand Back… there’s a Hurricane coming and it was mostly fun with a bit of Superhero in Training (but it could’ve been so much more shitty in less capable hands). His energy in the gimmick made it one of the more iconic in the modern WWE era. Helms was a very good worker and Hurricane was a fun mid-card gimmick. He was more than capable of having good matches with other cruiserweights, but the record-breaking cruiserweight reign meant less than it should have, since there were no intense feuds and the title was sometimes forgotten about for long periods of time. He had a fun tag team with Kane and his win over the Rock was a huge shock at the time.

From the Voters: “Consistently performed at a high level in the position he was asked to perform in. Has an all-time Raw moment in pinning The Rock. No less charismatic as a heel (IMO) than a guy like Orton. Plus, he had a good, long run with the company. All that said, top 100 guys over a 50 year history covers a whole lot of ground. I’m thinking he won’t make my list, but I’ll keep him on the “consideration” list that I’m scoring. Maybe he’ll surprise me.” – James Proffitt, June 14, 2017

“He owned the gimmick which I can appreciate. He’s got a chance for me.” – Brian Meyer, June 4, 2017

187. Alundra Blayze Total Points: 239 Total Ballots: 10 Average Rank: 77.1 High Vote: 30 Low Vote: 96 High Voter: Jason Fastkade

Key Matches & Moments: Brought into the the company to revive the women’s division when the Women’s Title had been dormant for three years; Won a six-woman tournament to capture the new Women’s Title in late 1993; Asked for more women to be brought into the company for her to wrestle; Defeated Bull Nakano at SummerSlam 1994 to retain her title; Lost the title to Nakano in Japan at the Big Egg Wrestling Universe event in November 1994; Regained the title from Nakano on an episode of Raw in April 1995; Was attacked by Bertha Faye immediately after regaining the title and put on the shelf until SummerSlam; Lost the Women’s Championship to Bertha Faye at SummerSlam 1995; Regained the title from Faye and became a three-time women’s champion; Proceeded to throw the belt in the trash on WCW Nitro

Staff Thoughts: Alundra Blayze had good matches, particularly the ones with Nakano, and showed she was a good, solid worker mostly in other areas. But appearances of Blayze and the Women’s Championship were few and far between and there just wasn’t enough meat on the bone for her to rank higher. She was the definitive face of the Women’s division whenever WWF remembered it had a Women’s division, before she was released and the company vacated the title for another three years. Honestly, you might as well throw the belt in a trashcan. Oh. Nevermind, carry on.

From the Voters: “Madusa Miceli was one of the most well-rounded American female workers of all-time…Alundra Blayze unfortunately was not. A toned-down in-ring style, lack of depth in the women’s division, & a more cartoonish character all hurt her WWF run. Her two most memorable moments as it relates to The Fed are her feud w/Bull Nakano & her showing up on Nitro to dump the women’s title in a waste-paper basket. One of my all-time favorites, but if we’re only looking at her WWF run she joins many other women (Lita, Molly, Victoria, Jacqueline, Leilani Kai, Luna, Asuka, etc.) who were/are good, but fall short of making my list.” – Nate Milton, September 10, 2017

“I’ll take the Nakano matches over anything Trish ever did.”- David Bayens, September 12, 2017

186. Jesse Ventura Total Points: 240 Total Ballots: 10 Average Rank: 77 High Vote:62 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Ryan Gray

Key Matches & Moments: Teamed with Adrian Adonis as the East-West Connection managed by Classy Freddie Blassie; Challenged Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship and later would challenge Hulk Hogan for the title; Tagged with Roddy Piper and Bob Orton, Jr. on Saturday Night’s Main Event to defeat Hillbilly Jim, Uncle Elmer and Cousin Luke after the heels “insulted” the hillbillies by pointing out obvious facts during Elmer’s wedding, such as “it looked like two carps in the Mississippi River going after the same piece of corn” when the couple kissed; Hosted his own interview segment The Body Shop; Was special guest referee for SummerSlam 1988 and SummerSlam 1999

Staff Thoughts: Jesse Ventura was one of the greatest commentators the company ever had, rooting openly for the heels, but often with more logic than babyface announcers Vince McMahon and Gorilla Monsoon exhibited. His in-ring abilities and matches were generally garbage and that may be generous. Was an influential wrestler adding to the template of flamboyant body-builder invented by Billy Graham and later duplicated and tweaked by Hulk Hogan.

From the Voters: “I really wish I could put him on my list. The fact is he just wasn’t that good of a wrestler and most of his best stuff was after he had retired and behind the announce table. He was extremely flamboyant and was fun to listen to always backing the heels. Great foil for Vince and Gorilla. Unfortunately I can’t think of one match that sticks out from his WWE days.” – Eric Boyd, May 30, 2017

185. Jamie Noble Total Points: 243 Total Ballots: 10 Average Rank: 76.7 High Vote: 44 Low Vote: 90 High Voter: Microstatistics

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted by attacking the Hurricane with his on-screen girlfriend Nidia, who was portrayed as an ex-girlfriend of the Hurricane; Won the Cruiserweight Championship and held the title for 147 days, feuding with Tajiri and Billy Kidman, who he lost the belt to at Survivor Series 2002; Nidia was blinded by Tajiri’s black mist in 2003, leading to Noble becoming a heel by doing things he thought she couldn’t see; Led to a blindfold match with Nidia at No Way Out 2004 that Noble cheated to win; Also feuded with Rey Mysterio over the Cruiserweight Championship; Left the company in late 2004, returning in 2006 to form The Pitbulls Tag Team with Kid Kash and challenging London & Kendrick for the WWE Tag Team Championship; Continued competing in the cruiserweight division and feuded with Hornswoggle, often losing in humiliating fashion; Noble feuded with Chuck Palumbo and later William Regal before joining ECW and retiring due to injury; Returned as part of J&J Security to protect Seth Rollins and his title

Staff Thoughts: Jamie Noble owned his trailer park trash gimmick and created fond memories of a “makeout contest” from WWF New York where Nidia assaulted the winning fan. Noble had good matches in the cruiserweight division and stood out as a memorable character at a time when the division was mostly forgettable and an afterthought (which was most of the time). He had a really good feud with Tajiri in 2003 and the Pitbulls match against London and Kendrick at Great American Bash 2006 is solid too. Noble made the most out of everything he was given and put everything he had into whatever silliness he had to put over. If you could combine his character work from WWE with his in-ring work elsewhere, you’d really have something.

From the Voters: “I loved his character on SmackDown as the heel cruiserweight champion. Tremendous promos and skits, some real good matches with the likes of Hurricane and Tajiri. But not enough, as much as it pains me to admit.” – Greg Phillips, May 31, 2017

“Noble’s best matches happened elsewhere and while I found his pairing with Nidia entertaining, that isn’t enough to warrant inclusion in my top 100.” – Matt Souza, May 30, 2017

184. Lou Albano Total Points: 244 Total Ballots: 7 Average Rank: 66.1 High Vote: 36 Low Vote: 82 High Voter: Alexis

Key Matches & Moments: Achieved moderate tag team success with partner Tony Altomare as the Sicilians, an Italian gangster stereotype; According to Wikipedia the actual mafia requested Albano and Altomare stop using the word mafia in their act; Won the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship with Altomare from Arnold Skaaland and Spiros Arion, but the reign only lasted two weeks and was not acknowledged outside the Atlantic City market; Became a manager at the suggestion of Bruno Sammartino; Managed Ivan Koloff to the WWWF title defeating Sammartino and causing the arena to fall silent before the audience rioted; Guided both Don Muraco and Greg Valentine to Intercontinental gold; Managed 15 tag teams to the WWF Tag Team Championships; Played a critical role in turning both Jimmy Snuka and Pat Patterson babyface; Appeared in Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Video” laying the groundwork for the Rock n’ Wrestling Connection; Albano claimed to have written all Lauper’s songs setting the stage for Albano to manage Fabulous Moolah against Lauper’s charge Wendi Richter at the Brawl to End it All, which aired on MTV; Still competed here in there during his time as a manager, still garnering big pops in the key markets

Staff Thoughts: Well, he’ll always have Atlantic City and that two-week tag team title run. And as a wrestler, that’s…about it. He went on to great fame as a manager and was critical to forming the Rock n’ Wrestling Connection and for wrestling to appear on MTV in front of a lot of new eyeballs. He was also great at generating heat for his heel charges, from the days of Bruno on. Did anyone understand the rubber bands or did we all assume he was a moron for poking himself with a safety pin to hang a rubber band on his face. Maybe he was just a little ahead of the piercing craze, because who wouldn’t want to look like Lou Albano?

From the Voters: “Lou Albano is a big, fat, sloppy pig.” – Jesse Ventura, November 2, 1985; Scott Criscuolo, every day since late 2011

“He had longevity, intangibles, flexibility (he changed some traits of his character to reflect his clients), promos. In J, he was the manager of Koloff when he won the title (don’t know if he was in the arena that day), managers of the heel tag champs, and was part of the big angle with Cindy Lauper. He would score well in N, J and P and will be in my top 100.” – Alexis Beaudet, June 1, 2017

183. Al Snow Total Points: 249 Total Ballots: 11 Average Rank: 78.4 High Vote: 20 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: David Carli

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted as the masked warrior Avatar and shortly switched to Shinobi, a ninja assassin (though I read ninja assistant and though he was assistant to the regional manage ninja); Repackaged as Leif Cassidy, teaming with Marty Jannetty as the New Rockers; Was sent to Philadelphia as part of the cross-promotions between WWF and ECW and developed his Head gimmick there; Upon his return to the WWF he became one of the guiding hands of the early Hardcore division where he was a six-time Hardcore champion and some good early battles with Hardcore Holly including one that ended in the Mississippi River; When Head was impaled by Prince Albert he replaced him with Pepper a chihuahua that Big Bossman ultimately fed to him later as part of their feud; The Pepper angle led to the infamous Kennel from Hell match at Unforgiven 1999; Teamed with Steve Blackman as “Head Cheese” and hilarity ensued; Later teamed with Mick Foley and won the WWF Tag Team Championship before turning on Foley due to jealousy over his friendship with The Rock; Had an entertaining European Championship reign entering to various countries native music and in their native garb (lederhosen anyone?); Became a trainer for Tough Enough and later participated in the WWE reboot of ECW briefly; Possibly best known for being the eternal punchline to all of Mick Foley’s jokes

Staff Thoughts: Describing the Pepper storyline has us questioning life choices that led us to this moment. You’d think talking to a mannequin head would be the low point of a guy’s career not the high point, but Al Snow was always different. That said he made some of the ridiculous bullshit he was handed bearable or even enjoyable. He was the rock of the early Hardcore division and he made it work. He was a solid worker during the Attitude Era when that was much less of a priority. But don’t take my word for it, read the excellent Making the Case article by Michael DeDamos to hear more about the goodness of Al Snow. And lets all pretend he wasn’t involved in a match featuring dogs humping, shall we?

From the Voters: “Carved out a nice midcard role with the Head gimmick but in the ring he never impressed me.” – Brian Cullinane, May 29, 2017

“Here is a pretty good TV match with Al Snow and Val Venis. I had been going with the conventional wisdom on Al but I have been watching what I can find on him for a good portion of the day. The more I find, the more I like. A lot of the Attitude Era stuff can be a bit of a blur because they did so much and the product was so hot. Al Snow seemed to always have an angle going and got a lot of tv time back then. “ – Michael DeDamos, June 22, 2017

182. Stan Stasiak Total Points: 251 Total Ballots: 12 Average Rank: 80.8 High Vote: 61 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Scott Herrin

Key Matches & Moments: Won the WWWF Championship from Pedro Morales and would lose it to Bruno Sammartino; Challenged Superstar Billy Graham for the WWWF Championship and later Bob Backlund for the WWF title; Challenged for the Tag Team titles on numerous occasions 1974-1979; Was a regular opponent of Pedro Morales during his title reign; Master of the heart punch, Fathered Meat

Staff Thoughts: Stan “The Man’s” claim to fame will always be that he was a transitional champion between Pedro Morales and Bruno Sammartino. He appeared to regularly challenge Pedro and also battled Superstar Billy Graham and Bob Backlund as well as challenge for the tag titles with a rotating cast of partners, but he never won the straps. He used the heart punch and the bear hug as his featured offense. Fathered Shawn Stasis, thus unleashing “Meat” on future wrestling fans. That’s about as positive as I can make this write up, now on to quotes from the Voters.

From the Voters: “Oh dear lord then Stan is really bad. I’ve never seen any of his matches, but saying he’s worse than (his son) Shawn takes him off the list of guys I need to watch.” – Trent Williams, June 3, 2017

“Worst champ ever?” – Parv, June 15, 2017

181. Molly Holly Total Points: 252 Total Ballots: 9 Average Rank: 73 High Vote:47 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: El Groino

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted alongside “cousins” Bob and Crash Holly in a feud with T&A and Trish Stratus; Had an on-screen relationship with Spike Dudley leading to a falling out with Crash and she pinned him in an intergender match; Became Might Molly, a sidekick to the Hurricane before braining him with a frying pan and winning the Hardcore Championship at WrestleMania X8 before losing it Christian the same night; Defeated Trish Stratus at King of the Ring 2002 for her first Women’s Championship; Earned her second Women’s Championship by defeating Gail Kim on Raw in 2003; Lost her title to Victoria leading to the Hair vs. Title match at WrestleMania XX where she was defeated again and got her head shaved

Staff Thoughts: During her time in the company she was depicted as a prude, a virgin and overweight before finally having her head shaved (though that was reportedly her idea). She certainly deserved better, as she was a really good wrestler at a time when the women’s division would swing between decent wrestlers and untrained models depending on the whims of the moment. Molly also did some good character work as Mighty Molly and with Spike Dudley. Her feuds with Trish and Victoria produced some good matches. Despite the disrespectful commentary and depiction of her character traits, she was given a lot of focus within the division and took advantage when she had the opportunity.

From the Voters: “She makes my list easily. And kinda high. But I’m terribly biased when it comes to her.” – Jason Sherman, June 1, 2017

“Mechanically probably the best worker from that era of women. Seemed to be game for anything, and always made the best of what she was given. Getting her head shaved at WrestleMania is probably her one big moment. Probably an overachiever given the timeframe she was active, but it won’t be enough to make my list.” – Adam Russell, July 12, 2017

180. Wade Barrett Total Points: 265 Total Ballots: 15 Average Rank: 83.3 High Vote: 21 Low Vote: 96 High Voter: Ian Goldsworthy

Key Matches & Moments: Leader of the Nexus group of NXT graduates looking to make a name for themselves; Was the last member of Nexus to be eliminated in the 7-on-7 match at SummerSlam 2010; Competed for the WWE Championship in a six-pack challenge at Night of Champions 2010; Defeated John Cena at Hell in a Cell forcing him to join Nexus; Challenged Randy Orton for the WWE Championship numerous times in 2010; Lost to John Cena at TLC 2010 when Cena dropped 23 chairs on Barrett; Formed the Corre after CM Punk assumed control of Nexus, kicking him out of the group; Defeated Kofi Kingston to win the Intercontinental title eventually losing it to Ezekiel Jackson; Competed in SmackDown Money in the Bank 2011 match and faced Daniel Bryan in a good match at SummerSlam 2011; Captained a team at Survivor Series to challenge Randy Orton’s team and was one of two survivors in the match; Assumed “Bad News” Barrett gimmick telling us all he had some bad news, getting over as a face in the process; Won the 2015 King of the Ring and taking the King Barrett gimmick afterwards; Joined the League of Nations with Sheamus, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio; Was a five-time Intercontinental Champion

Staff Thoughts: I’m afraid I’ve got some Bad News… despite all his talent and opportunities, Wade Barrett never became the star most believe him capable of being. Too many ill-timed injuries and stop-and-start pushes make him a classic case of woulda, coulda, shoulda (hear the guys discuss this very topic on a FYC podcast).

From the Voters: “On a list of 100, he might make it. I enjoyed his Nexus run, his bare knuckle brawler character, and of course, his Bad News run. He was middling in the ring but made the most of what he had and worked up against the likes of Cena and Orton in his rookie year. If anybody has a case for booking working against them, it’s Wade Barrett.” – Ben Morse, June 4, 2017

“I can’t see him cracking the list. Tons of potential. I always thought he would wind up breaking out but injuries kept striking.” – Matthew Richards, June 4, 2017

179. Dean Malenko Total Points: 268 Total Ballots: 8 Average Rank: 67.5 High Vote: 26 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Scott Herrin

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted as part of the Radicalz; Defeated Essa Rios to win the Light Heavyweight title; Lost the title to Scotty 2 Hotty before winning it back from him to become a two-time Light Heavyweight Champion; Had a great hidden gem match with Scotty 2 Hotty at Backlash 2000; Feuded with the other Radicalz and challenged Eddie Guerrero for his European title in a three-way match also featuring Saturn at Judgment Day 2000; Adopted a James Bond/Ladies Man gimmick as Double Ho Seven where he attempted to win Lita’s affection leading to a feud with her and the Hardy Boyz

Staff Thoughts: The Backlash match with Scotty 2 Hotty is a forgotten classic and the highlight or Dean Malenko’s WWF career. He had good matches, well almost always, but the Light Heavyweight division wasn’t exactly a hot division in 2000. Was always good teaming with or competing against the other Radicalz. The James Bond character was kind of interesting at times. There’s just not enough in his WWF career to rank any higher (though obviously Dean Malenko has great matches elsewhere).

From the Voters: “I just can’t fathom how this is possible outside of the Dallas 10 man and the Scotty match. I watched his entire 1.5 year run, and while the ladies man stuff was entertaining, there isn’t really anything here that I can even consider.” – Kevin E. Pittack, December 22, 2017

“WWE/F run was a bit limited. His best work was elsewhere, for sure. I think he was an undervalued member of the Radicalz, but after their initial break in h faded quickly into the background. I just don’t think he was a good fit in the WWE where big characters and intangible charisma were of elevated importance” – Matthew Richards, May 30, 2017.

178. Barry Windham Total Points: 271 Total Ballots: 10 Average Rank: 73.9 High Vote: 28 Low Vote: 92 High Voter: Jesse

Key Matches & Moments: Partnered with Mike Rotunda to form the U.S. Express; Defeated the North-South Connection of Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch for the WWF Tag Team titles; Dropped the belts to the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff at the first WrestleMania in a shocking upset; The U.S. Express regained the titles from Sheiky Baby and Volkoff and then lost them to the Dream Team; Returned to the WWF in 1989 as the Widowmaker and was scheduled to be on Randy Savage’s Survivor Series team before he left the company; Returned to the company in 1996 as The Stalker wearing camouflage facepaint and being billed from “The Environment;” Appeared at Survivor Series 1996 and was eliminated by Goldust; Began teaming with Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw as the New Blackjacks before turning on Bradshaw to join Jim Cornette in the NWA angle that was soon dropped

Staff Thoughts: Clearly, the Stalker and New Blackjacks blazed a trail for the WWF into the new millennium, cementing Windham’s place in the annals of WWF history. OK, the U.S. Express was a very good tag team and looked to be the WWF equivalent of a pretty boy babyface team that just didn’t stick around long enough to make that much of an impact. Kind of the story of Windham’s WWF career.

From the Voters: “He would rank fairly high on my NWA or even my all time list. Such a shame that some of these nominees that are considered great had such meaningless runs with the WWE.” – Michael Schoen, July 14, 2017

177. Taka Michinoku Total Points: 286 Total Ballots: 13 Average Rank: 79 High Vote: 37 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: Microstatistics

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted at the Canadian Stampede PPV in an excellent match vs. Great Sasuke; Won the Light Heavyweight Championship defeating Brian Christopher in the finals at the Degeneration-X PPV to become the first Light Heavyweight Champion recognized by the WWF; Held the Light Heavyweight title for 10 months before losing it to Christian at Judgment Day 1998; Taka began teaming with Bradshaw and feuding with Kai En Tai; Later turned on partner Val Venis to join Kai En Tai and assist in the “choppy choppy your pee-pee” incident we all know and love; Challenged Triple H for the WWF Championship in a semi-famous match from Raw April 10, 2000; Along with Kai En Tai repeatedly attempted to enter the 2000 Royal Rumble being thrown out repeatedly and with more vigor with each time; With Funaki became known for their “Indeed!” skits

Staff Thoughts: The early matches with Great Sasuke got Taka over and stole most shows (OK, it didn’t steal Canadian Stampede because of some other match on that card, but still). Was the inaugural Light Heavyweight Title holder and had a lengthy run with the (cough) prestigious (cough) title. Despite these legit qualifications and great matches, he’ll likely always be associated with “choppy choppy your pee-pee.” Indeed!

From the Voters: “Had a few good to great matches with Sasuke off the bat, then spent way too much time dicking around with Brian Christopher that first year. Never got enough time to do anything special with Aguila or the rest of Kaientai, then with the heel turn dropped off the radar until his insane Rumble bump and his match with HHH in 2000. Not enough.” – Ben Morse, June 9, 2017

176. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. Total Points: 287 Total Ballots: 13 Average Rank: 78.923 High Vote: 50 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Ian Goldsworthy

Key Matches & Moments: Came to WWF as part of the Alliance; Soon aligned himself with uncle Eddie Guerrero teaming as Los Guerrero; Part of the famed “SmackDown Six” that had fantastic matches week in and week out in singles and tag bouts together; Won the Tag Team Championship with Eddie at Survivor Series 2002 in a three-way match with Edge & Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit; Turned on Eddie and was defeated at Royal Rumble 2004; Joined by father Chavo “Classic” who helped Chavo Jr. win the Cruiserweight Title from Rey Mysterio; Successfully defended his Cruiserweight title at WrestleMania XX in a Cruiserweight Open; Adopted the much panned Kerwin White persona that was quickly dropped in the aftermath of Eddie Guerrero’s death; Turned on Rey Mysterio costing him his World Heavyweight Championship and starting a feud with Vickie Guerrero as his manager; Won the ECW title from CM Punk and lost it to Kane at WrestleMania XXIV in 11 seconds; Feuded with Santino Marella and Hornswoggle and lost a Hog Pen match (with Vickie) to Santino Marella; A four-time Cruiserweight Champion; two-time Tag Team champion (with Eddie) and an ECW Champion

Staff Thoughts: Well, I guess he WAS part of the SmackDown Six. J.T. Rozzero’s favorite wrestler had great matches during that time frame in tag matches against Benoit & Angle and Edge & Rey. The run with Chavo Classic was also entertaining, as Classic provided the charisma Jr. never had. His series with Mysterio was also very good. Chavo Jr. was the definition of a solid hand, but one that overstayed his welcome and by the time he was winning the ECW title crowds had grown tired of him.

From the Voters: “I mean, you could maybe name 10-20 guys who were bigger WWE stars than Chavo even during Chavo’s biggest 2 years in the business.That said, the Mysterio feud & Los Guerreros were both big deals, and his stuff with Chavo Classic was….well, classic. He won’t make mine, but he could be a sleeper on this thing.” – James Proffitt, May 29, 2017

“I have zero time for this fool, best run was the team with Eddie and he was clearly the worst SD Sixer. Boring ass singles guy. Boring promo. Aside from Rey carrying his ass has no memorable matches. Gross.” – Stacey O’Loghlin, May 31, 2017

“He is trash.” – JT Rozzero, January 16, 2017

175. Bob Holly Total Points: 289 Total Ballots: 18 Average Rank: 84.9 High Vote: 40 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Scott Butler

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted as “Sparky” Thurman Plugg and later changed to Bob “Spark Plug” Holly the wrestler racecar driver; Had a one-day Tag Team Title reign with the 1-2-3 Kid in 1995; Part of the Underdogs team losing to the Body Donnas team at Survivor Series 1995; Formed the New Midnight Express as part of the NWA angle with Jim Cornette; Competed in the Brawl for All and was the only opponent that Bart Gunn didn’t knock out, perhaps due to loyalty from the old New Midnight Express team; Was part of the J.O.B. Squad; Was a staple of the Hardcore division, changing his name to Hardcore Holly, becoming a six-time Hardcore champion and having good matches with Al Snow; Began teaming with his “cousin” Crash and the duo won the Tag Team titles and also added “cousin” Molly Holly to the act; Lost a fun hard fought WWF Title match to Triple H on Heat in the summer of 2000; Became a trainer for Tough Enough where he was known to beat the ever loving shit out of trainees; May or may not have sandbagged Brock Lesnar on a powerbomb attempt resulting in him landing on his neck and being out of action for 13 months; Challenged Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble 2004; Was part of the WWE ECW reboot and had a notable match with Rob Van Dam where he got his back sliced open on a table; Was part of the Extreme Elimination Chamber at December to Dismember; Had a “respect feud” with Cody Rhodes that led to the two forming a tag team, eventually capturing Holly’s third Tag Team championship with his third partner

Staff Thoughts: How do you like me now? Well, Sparky, I guess the voters like you to the tone of the 175th best WWE wrestler of all time. It seems longevity was his friend, as the racecar driving, wrestling student whoopin’, midcarder for life doesn’t seem super memorable. Highlights would be the early hardcore matches, his interactions with Crash as the Super Heavyweights (though Crash carried that joke better) and the ECW match with his back sliced open is certainly memorable (no doubt he is a tough son of a bitch). Steve Williams has more thoughts on Bob Holly (spoiler alert if you are a fan of Holly you may want to skip this).

From the Voters: “My 99. Always was a mark for him as the kind of “solid hand” who added depth to a show and had credibility with the audience as a vet badass. The Big Shot gimmick was my favorite Attitude Era mid-card gimmick. I admit it’s like putting a punter in the Hall of Fame, but I think there is a place for one or two punters.” – Dylan Hales, June 3, 2017

“Oh god no. Awful. A step up from the Brooklyn Brawler, a kazam away from someone like X-Pac as far as mainstay ‘measuring stick’ type guys. Wouldn’t make my top 250. Only time I can remember him being vaugely memorable was when he was the superheavyweight tag, and that was almost exclusively due to Crash’s charisma.” – James Derbyshire, June 3, 2017

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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