Who are your guilty pleasure wrestlers?

[Falco Lombardi]

Rikishi

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Domino (Cliff Compton) but only cause he followed me on twitter

 

[GongShowWilly]

Iron Mike , Canada's greatest athlete

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Gangrel

Gangrel was great and then....he spoke on the mic.

 

[Cor]

Muhammad Hassan.

 

[JackSlater]

Another WCW one - Scott Steiner circa 2000 and beyond. Guilty in that while he used to be great in the ring, by this point he was pretty limited. Pleasure in that his promos were brutal, hilarious, nonsensical and yet comprehensive. His gimmick also blurred lines more than pretty much any other gimmick has in the last 20 years as Steiner being a crazy, freakishly strong loose cannon was pretty much true.

 

[Morozov]

Steiner was my first thought here, but then I thought there's nothing guilty about it, he was awesome. Once his ring work deteriorated he still had the persona and the look that made him entertaining, it's just in the IWC if you can't work in the ring you're bad. I still loved watching him though and that's the whole point really.

 

[CHGoalie27]

Rikishi

I too am guilty of being a big fan of a big mans arse hole hitting another man's nose.

It didn't get old, it was f***ing hilarious every last time. Like Louis CK definition of hilarious.

 

[les Habs]

Not really watching much wrestling anymore I guess I have to look into Tyler Breeze.

Breeze is just good, I don't grasp the "guilty" aspect with him.

When guilty pleasure and wrestling collide, I can't help but think of WCW. Three guilty pleasures:

Buff Bagwell

Smiley was actually pretty good though, may not apply.

That Buff gif made me laugh because A) it was funny and totally Buff but also B) because it reminded of the time when all the Stings came down to the ring and the NWO kept taking them out Well when Buff hit the real Sting he turned around and started posing, but the real Sting wasn't fazed and delivered a Scorpion Death Drop. I'm sure you've seen it and know it well (I've watched way too many times) of course.

I'd say Smiley definitely applies. In my experience he's pretty universally loved, but not entirely known. Anyway, I recall his mic work being pretty average at best so I'd say that counts, but of course I always enjoyed him in the ring.

Current? Jinder.

Past? Al Snow (probably doesn’t count)and Blue Meanie

I don't know him that well, but Jinder sounds like a good answer for a current guy.

Rikishi

Another good answer, though for me maybe for a different reason. I recently was watching Stone Cold content and got to revisit heel Rikishi. Not a fan of the Rikishi Fubu look, but I liked the promo I saw. Very believable and seemed completely different than what everyone knew Rikishi to be until then.

Another WCW one - Scott Steiner circa 2000 and beyond. Guilty in that while he used to be great in the ring, by this point he was pretty limited. Pleasure in that his promos were brutal, hilarious, nonsensical and yet comprehensive. His gimmick also blurred lines more than pretty much any other gimmick has in the last 20 years as Steiner being a crazy, freakishly strong loose cannon was pretty much true.

I think Steiner was way too over to be considered, but I see where you're going. Anyway, I don't want to police picks and I'm just replying because I think a lof of what you said about his promos is spot on. In fact I'd say that he often times didn't seem to be blurring the lines but rather crossing the lines. While that to some degree was entertaining, when his opponent wasn't also crossing the line or at least wasn't in on what was going on then it didn't work so well for me. Of course Steiner also strikes me as a total ass to put it mildly. It made him an incredible heel though.

For me I'd say the earlier incarnation of Steiner fits the bill more. As a team they were always over because they were good in the ring and Scott in particular was fantastic. However he had the skill on the mic too. I don't think he was "unleashed" and maybe he was just born to be a heel, but as much as I liked the Steiner Brothers I think he should have had a solo run long before he did.

I'll just add that I think a heel Rick Steiner when he changed his look worked too. Never as good on the mic of course, but together they had a good new look. The problem though, and I know this didn't include Rick but it was a problem simply because of Scott, was the NWO was way too powerful. WCW had a bloated roster sure, but the NWOs ranks were too big and it took too long for WCW to "beat" them and when they did it was generally too late like when Flair was World champ/President.

 

[BonMorrison]

I thought the slow gradual Jason Jordan heel turn was fantastic tbh and was bummed he got hurt. He was really good at portraying the spoiled entitled wrestler gimmick.

I also think Jinder is a lot more talented than people give him credit for. Definitely not a main eventer but in the midcard he can be entertaining.

 

[JackSlater]

I'm pleased to see Jinder mentioned a few times. I like Jinder as well. There's room for guys with his skill set, limited though it may be. Even at the main event level I would rather see a Jinder Mahal run than yet another Orton run.

I think Steiner was way too over to be considered, but I see where you're going. Anyway, I don't want to police picks and I'm just replying because I think a lof of what you said about his promos is spot on. In fact I'd say that he often times didn't seem to be blurring the lines but rather crossing the lines. While that to some degree was entertaining, when his opponent wasn't also crossing the line or at least wasn't in on what was going on then it didn't work so well for me. Of course Steiner also strikes me as a total ass to put it mildly. It made him an incredible heel though.

What got me thinking of Steiner was reading/listening about one of the backstage fights I had forgotten about - DDP/Steiner. It's somewhat difficult to tell where the wrestler ended and the real guy began with short-haired Steiner. Steiner cut a typically brutal Steiner promo including shots at DDP, primarily because he was legitimately angry about DDP's wife, causing DDP to come at Steiner backstage soon after. Predictably Steiner destroyed DDP. The other wrestlers seem to have respected DDP just for having the stones to even stand up to Steiner, even if he got destroyed.

 

[Sheppy]

Carlito.

I legit thought he would be a huge star. The guy was solid in the ring, and cracked me the hell up.

I also really liked D'lo Brown. I was actually taking a piss next to him in the bathroom on WM 33 weekend in Orlando. Random, but kind of funny.

 

[Conrad McBenis]

As a kid, I loved X-Pac.

So did I.

 

[Brodeur]

At a certain point as a kid, Koko B. Ware was my favorite.

 

[TNT87]

Goldust

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

J E double F J A double R E double T

 

[Kimi]

J E double F J A double R E double T

I'm not sure if I've ever liked a wrestler who would spell out their own name.

 

[JackSlater]

The ribbon shirt version of Jeff Jarrett is a guilty pleasure for me. TNA Jarrett isn't really worse than HHH from that time either, in my eyes.

 

[CHGoalie27]

Goldust

The OG Goldust* Absolutely, great call. Funny now that he's just Dustin in a costume, I almost forgot how... ass-clenching it was watching him in 96.

Ribbon shirt Double J qualifies too LOL

 

[les Habs]

I'm tempted to throw Goldberg into the mix. I feel as though his promo work was always lacking, but I always seemed to appreciate him in the ring more than what it seems most do.

What got me thinking of Steiner was reading/listening about one of the backstage fights I had forgotten about - DDP/Steiner. It's somewhat difficult to tell where the wrestler ended and the real guy began with short-haired Steiner. Steiner cut a typically brutal Steiner promo including shots at DDP, primarily because he was legitimately angry about DDP's wife, causing DDP to come at Steiner backstage soon after. Predictably Steiner destroyed DDP. The other wrestlers seem to have respected DDP just for having the stones to even stand up to Steiner, even if he got destroyed.

I don't know if "wrestler" was part of it with Steiner at that stage. Always struck me as "real guy". Anyway, what was Steiner legitimately angry about? I would think it would have to be quite bad to justify his promos about her assuming one could justify them.

The ribbon shirt version of Jeff Jarrett is a guilty pleasure for me. TNA Jarrett isn't really worse than HHH from that time either, in my eyes.

I thought he was quite good, but then he was for me in a lot of ways just a Flair wannabe. He was given too much of a push for my liking as well but it seems poor booking of the Horsemen was going to be a drawn out theme.

Carlito.

I legit thought he would be a huge star. The guy was solid in the ring, and cracked me the hell up.

I never thought he'd be a huge star, but I think he's a great call for this thread as I feel as though his mic work wasn't always the best (which may be an odd take considering "Carlito's Cabana". As I did with the draft I think he'd be a great candidate for an LAX stable, but just tweak his look a bit with more "gangster" attire.

 

[JackSlater]

I don't know if "wrestler" was part of it with Steiner at that stage. Always struck me as "real guy". Anyway, what was Steiner legitimately angry about? I would think it would have to be quite bad to justify his promos about her assuming one could justify them.

Apparently Kimberly found some drug paraphernalia and told people, I think Bischoff included, that the stuff belnoged to wrestling Mother Theresa - Tammy Sytch. As we know Steiner cared about two things - his freaks and his peaks - and this apparently set him off. This is the promo that followed those events and preceded their fight.

 

[DaaaaB's]

Definitely agree with Rikishi, loved watching him.

A few more for me that haven't been mentioned yet are Crush, Warlord, Barbarian and Adam Bomb. I thought these guys were so badass as a kid but looking back now they seem pretty cartoonish and none of them were particularly talented between the ropes.

 

[Disclose]

im gonna add Yano to the list. guy is f***ing dumb and hilarious.

 

[Paris in Flames]

News thread just reminded me.

Adding to my answer. Jimmy Jacobs.

 

[The Shadow]

Raven (thought the gimmick was ahead of its time)

Papa Shango

The British Bulldogs

Tajiri

ECW. Loved it when it was on every Friday for guys like RVD, Dudley’s, Tazz etc