Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Overrated/Underrated Superstars

Since the Matt Hardy post generated a good deal of commentary and Drew reminded us all of the classic literary form of the list, I thought it would be fun to combine both and take a look at the most overrated and underrated wrestlers currently employed by the WWE.

Overrated wrestlers:
5. King Booker. He used to be a good wrestler in his WCW days, but age and a terrible gimmick have taken a serious toll on the man who used to delight us with that spinning thing. He shouldn't be anywhere near a title shot.

4. Umaga. I know he's from the family that produced The Rock, Rikishi, The Wild Samoans, and Yokozuna, but he's just not interesting to watch. Thank God that the powers that be prevented him from ever beating Cena for the title.



3. Matt Hardy. See previous post.

2. Batista. Another one of McMahon's over-muscled favorites, Batista features a limited move set and virtually no mic skills. Without his huge push, he'd just be another Chris Masters.

1. John Cena. The current champ spends his time defeating future legends with a crappy finisher and generally not being able to wrestle. His good mic skills make him a serviceable champion, but not a good wrestler, and certainly not the Hall of Famer he is painted to become.

Underrated wrestlers:
5. Kenny. I think Kenny has been mishandled. First, he was put with the misfit Spirit Squad. Next, he was forced to wear pink tights and main card RAW. What we really have here is a young Owen Hart: whiny, athletic, and trained by the best (Stu Hart and Killer Kowalski, respectively).

4. The Undertaker. I know, I know. How could one of the most decorated champions of all-time make it onto my underrated list? Well, people still doubt The Dead Man. Every year, there are more and more groans about the age and ability of Taker, and yet he continues to show up, most recently evidenced by his over-the-top-rope dive onto Batista at WrestleMania 23.

3. Shelton Benjamin. Another case of names gone wrong (Does anyone know anyone named Bobby Lashley or Kenny Dykstra?!). Benjamin, a two-time state wrestling champion and Ohio Valley product, has all the moves and the looks to make it big in the WWE. Now all he needs is a name and a push.

2. Carlito. Carlito has a downright nasty move set and yet he's stuck with Ric Flair. I know that the Flair dynamic was supposed to make him a better wrestler and more recognizable, but he didn't even make WrestleMania this year. Missing chances to perform on the greatest stage in the world is going to hurt Carlito in the long run, keeping him as one of the most underrated wrestlers.

1. Mr. Kennedy. Yes, the future of the sport (according to Drew's list) is also the most underrated (according to me). Again, I have a problem with the generic yet odd gimmick name. Mr. Kennedy has a unique mix of power, speed, and flight which is seen in few wrestlers. Some of the most versatile (Rob Van Dam, Shawn Michaels) can combine two, but not three. Kennedy needs to develop a more defined personality so he can avoid showing up on this list in a few months.


Please comment on the board with your own lists.

2 Comments:

Drew Arnold said...

Nice list Ben. I would maybe add CM Punk to the underrated category, seeing as he's one of the best wrestlers in the company but hardly gets credit for it (in my opinion)

Benjamin Zeidler said...

I definitely thought about Punk, seeing as the WWE doesn't quite know how to use him and hasn't yet showcased his true ability. The kid has a few five-star matches under his belt, but you wouldn't really know it when looking at his WWE matches. However, with Bobby Lashley's pseudo-departure from ECW (despite still being the champ), Punk has received a large push and IS the main attraction on ECW. I want to see where that goes before I call him underrated.