Weighing in at 139 lbs, and hailing from Baltimore, Maryland
WWE Babe of the Year 2004
The Skinny Stranglers Select From the Women's Category, the greatest set of legs in the history of females, not to mention a glorious ass to boot
Stacey Keibler, aka Miss Hancock
__________________
2009-2001
1991-2000 - Rob Van Damn
1980-1990 - The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBaise
Pre-80's
Tag Team
Stable
Women's - Stacey Keibler
Personality
Storyline
Title Belt
PPV - Royal Rumble 21
Match
__________________ "Calgary Flames is the best team in all the land" - My Brainwashed Son
Team Hulkamania is gonna' go maybe off the board a bit here, and with the first pick from the Storyline category, we select:
Stone Cold Steve Austin Feud with Mr. McMahon (late nineties).
It's amazing anything could make a guy (and I'm talking about myself here) go from absolutely hating a guy (Austin - during his feud with the then heel Bret Hart......I still remember going to the "In Your House: Canadian Stampede PPV" at the dome...possibly my fav. live event of all time, but I digress), to loving him, is pretty amazing.
The impact that this storyline had on the popularity of pro wrestling is undeniable...I think at the time the Monday Night Wars were in full swing, but I would argue this is the angle that really pushed pro wrestling over the top.
Anyhow, a good place to read a bit about it is the Austin wikipedia page:
Randy Colley and Bill Eadie created the Demolition gimmick and worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They debuted as a heeltag team on January 17, 1987 edition of Superstars, alongside managerLucious Johnny V, defeating the team of Salvatore Bellomo and Mario Mancini. Demolition wore studded black outfits and black hockey masks to the ring, which they removed to reveal face paint usually comprised of some combination of either black, white, red, or gray colors, though other colors were sometimes included. After only a few matches, Colley was replaced with Barry Darsow. In an RF Video shoot interview with Eadie and Darsow, Eadie claimed that Colley was replaced because he was recognizable to the fans as the man who previously performed as Moondog Rex. The WWF pitched a few potential replacements to Eadie, but he felt fans would recognize the suggested replacements. Eadie felt that many WWF fans would not recognize Darsow, who left Jim Crocket Promotions following a dispute in order to take over the role of Smash.
Demolition proved to be a dominant tag team since their debut. At WrestleMania IV, Ax and Smash defeated Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana) to win their firstWWF Tag Team Championship, thus starting their domination as champions. As champions, they easily defeated a number of the top teams of the WWF, which at the time had a very talent-rich and hotly contested tag division, most notably British Bulldogs and Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart).
Their first big challenge came in the summer of 1988, when Powers of Pain (the Warlord and the Barbarian) entered the WWF and challenged them for the Tag Team Championship. Sensing that his team could not defeat these new challengers, Mr. Fuji turned on Demolition at Survivor Series 1988 and began to manage the Powers of Pain. Demolition turnedbabyfaces as a result of this betrayal by Mr. Fuji and defeated the Powers of Pain & Mr. Fuji in a tag team handicap match at WrestleMania V to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship. Prior to this, Ax and Smash also memorably squared off against each other as entrants #1 and #2 in the Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble 1989 before being joined in the ring by André the Giant.
Demolition became the longest reigning WWF Tag Team Champions after breaking the record of The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy and Johnny), and lasting a reign of 478 days. They finally dropped the titles to Brain Busters in a two-out-of-three-falls match on July 29edition of Saturday Night's Main Event.[1][24] Demolition started a feud with André the Giant and The Twin Towers (Akeem and Big Bossman). At SummerSlam 1989, Jim Duggan and Demolition defeated André and Twin Towers in a six man tag team match. Demolition focused on regaining the tag titles and restarted their feud with Brain Busters. On November 4 edition of Superstars (taped on October 2), Demolition defeated Brain Busters to regain their tag titles back and win their second WWF Tag Team Championship.
2009-2001
1991-2000 - Triple H
1980-1990 - Bret Hart
Pre-80's
Tag Team - Demolition
Stable - nWo
Women's
Personality
Storyline
Title Belt
PPV
Match
In 1992, the team had a violent “on screen” break up that helped propel Shawn Michaels into the singles ranks with the “Heartbreak Kid” gimmick that he still uses today. After the break up Michaels and Jannetty had an on again, off again feud due to Jannetty leaving the WWF on more than one occasion. In 1996, Jannetty teamed up with Leif Cassidy to form The New Rockers but the team never achieved much success in the WWF and ended later that same year.
In 2005, the Rockers reunited for one night but nothing more came of it because Jannety was released by the WWE. In 2006, Jannetty was slated to return and work an extended angle, teaming with Michaels against Vince and Shane McMahon but only made 2 televised appearances before being released from his contract.
With it's fourth pick, Team Kayfabe selects, in the 1991-2000 category, Jushin Thunder Liger.
Keiichi Yamada (山田恵一 ,Yamada Keiichi?, born November 30, 1964), better known as Jushin Liger (獣神ライガー ,Jūshin Raigā?) and later, Jushin "Thunder" Liger (獣神サンダー・ライガー ,Jūshin Sandā Raigā?) is a Japanese professional wrestler who works primarily for New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Career
Early career
Yamada was an amateur wrestler while studying in high school. He applied to New Japan Pro Wrestling to become a professional wrestler in the early 1980s. He was not accepted because he did not meet the height requirements they had at that time. Yamada was determined not to give up his dream of becoming a professional wrestler, so he left for Mexico and began his training there. By his own account, he was almost starving while studying there, so NJPW officials who were visiting took pity on him and asked him to come back to Japan. While continuing his studies, he had his debut match in December 1984 at the age of 20. He began studying various martial arts styles because he wanted to add something new and different to his wrestling style, which is how he learned his Rolling Koppou Kick.
He left for England in 1986 where he wrestled for All-Star Promotions as "Flying" Fuji Yamada. After returning to Japan, he debuted his Shooting Star Press in 1987, for which he had gotten the idea from reading the mangaFist of the North Star. He left for Canada early 1989, where he wrestled in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling under his real name. He also trained under Hart in Hart's legendary "Dungeon." His experiences there led him to refer to Hart as a "very, very tough man." NJPW called him back to Japan, as they needed him for a gimmick based on an extremely popular animesuperhero, Jushin Liger, created by celebrated mangakaGo Nagai. NJPW had done this previously with Tiger Mask, which had become a huge success. Yamada was given a superhero-like full body costume & demonic looking mask, resembling the superhero type featured in tokusatsu and anime programs.
New Japan Pro Wrestling
Jushin Liger debuted in New Japan Pro Wrestling on April 24, 1989. In his debut match, he defeated Kuniaki Kobayashi. Afer using the Jushin Liger gimmick the anime progressed, and as the Go Nagai anime progressed, the hero powered up and changed three times. As the hero changed so did Liger. First to Fire Liger then to the character gimmick he goes by today, Jushin Thunder Liger. He quickly became one of NJPW's top Junior Heavyweights, eventually capturing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title eleven times among numerous other titles and accolades while wrestling around the world. When appearing without his mask on, Yamada blocks his appearance by covering his face with one hand. Early on, Yamada's style mostly consisted of high flying. Later on, he started adapting more power moves and started focusing more on grappling and telling a story in the ring, part this change was due to fact that Liger had to reduce the stress he was putting on his body after brain tumor surgery.
Liger has won two Super J Cup tournaments – the 1995 and 2000 events.
During 2000, as bookerRiki Chōshū decided to de-emphasize the junior heavyweight division (a costly decision that diminished its credibility), Liger wrestled heavyweights without wearing the upper part of his bodysuit or his mask horns.
From 2001-2007, Liger was the leader of the NJPW heel stable Control Terrorism Unit (CTU) along with Hirooki Goto, Minoru Tanaka, Black Tiger IV, Gedo, Jado, Prince Devitt and briefly James Gibson. CTU was disbanded in August 2007, when Liger decided CTU would disband while at the top of NJPW, Liger would then join Masahiro Chono's Legend stable.
On June 28, 2006, Liger was announced as a participant in the 2006G-1 Climax, the third time he has appeared in the tournament.
WCW
Jushin Liger also made appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) during the 1990s. He made his debut in late 1991. He feuded with Brian Pillman, whom he would go on to face at SuperBrawl later that year, where Pillman defeated him.[1] Liger left WCW in 1993 for NJPW, but he returned in late 1995. He would later face many other opponents such as Chris Benoit, Brian Pillman, Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio, Jr., and Juventud Guerrera.
He met with controversy in 1999 while wrestling a short tour in WCW as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion when he lost the title on WCW Monday Nitro to Juventud Guerrera via a blow to the head from a tequila bottle. Liger regained the title the next week from Psicosis, who was substituting for Guerrera because he broke his arm. However, the scripting of the title loss was very embarassing to New Japan Wrestling, so embarrassing that none of the Japanese sporting outlets reported the two title changes, and New Japan didn't recognize Guerrera's reign until 2007[2]. Liger was also referred to as a 10 time champion until this time. [3]
The Following User Says Thank You to GreenTeaFrapp For This Useful Post:
With his next pick the Grand Wizard Captain Crunch adds in the pre 1980's category, one of the greatest showman in the history of wrestling. The man that bought flash and entertainment to the wrassling industry.
Georgeous George Wagner
Videos and stuff to be added after work.
Career
At 5’9” and 215 pounds, Wagner was not particularly physically imposing by professional wrestling standards, nor was he an exceptionally gifted athlete. Nevertheless, he soon developed a reputation as a solid in-ring worker. In the late 1930s, he met Betty Hanson, whom he would eventually marry in an in-ring ceremony. When the wedding proved a good drawing card, the couple re-enacted it in arenas across the country (which thus enlightened Wagner to the potential entertainment value that was left untapped within the industry). Around this same time, Vanity magazine published a feature article about a pro wrestler named Lord Patrick Lansdowne, who entered the ring accompanied by two valets while wearing a velvet robe and doublet. Wagner was impressed with the bravado of such a character, but he believed that he could take it to a much greater extreme. As a result, he debuted his new “glamour boy” persona on a 1941 card in Eugene, Oregon; and he quickly antagonized the fans with his exaggerated effeminate behavior, which prompted the ring announcer to introduce him as “Gorgeous George.” Such showmanship was unheard of for the time; and consequently, arena crowds grew in size as fans turned out to ridicule George (who relished the sudden attention).
Gorgeous George was soon recruited to Los Angeles by promoter Johnny Doyle. Known as the "Human Orchid," his persona was created in part by growing his hair long, dyeing it platinum blonde, and putting gold-plated bobby pins in it (which he deemed “Georgie Pins” while distributing them to the audience). Furthermore, he transformed his ring entrance into a bona-fide spectacle that would often take up more time than his actual matches. He was the first wrestler to really use entrance music, as he strolled nobly to the ring to the sounds of "Pomp and Circumstance", followed by his valet and a purple spotlight. Wearing an elegant robe sporting an array of sequins, Gorgeous George was always escorted down a personal red carpet by his ring valet “Jeffries,” who would carry a silver mirror while spreading rose petals at his feet. While George removed his robe, Jeffries would spray the ring with disinfectant (which reportedly consisted of Chanel No. 5 perfume), which George referred to as "Chanel #10" ("Why be half-safe?" he was famous for saying) before he would start wrestling. Moreover, George required that his valets spray the referee’s hands before the official was allowed to check him for any illegal objects, which thus prompted his now-famous outcry “Get your filthy hands off me!” Once the match finally began, he would cheat in every way he could. Gorgeous George was the industry’s first true cowardly villain, and he would cheat at every opportunity, which infuriated the crowd. His credo was "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!" This flamboyant image and his showman's ability to work a crowd were so successful in the early days of television that he became the most famous wrestler of his time, drawing furious heelheat wherever he appeared.
It was with the advent of television, however, that George’s character exploded into the biggest drawing card the industry had ever known. With the networks looking for cheap but effective programming to fill its time slots, pro wrestling’s glorified action became a genuine “hit” with the viewing public, as it was the first program of any kind to draw a real profit. Consequently, it was Gorgeous George who brought the sport into the nation’s living rooms, as his histrionics and melodramatic behavior made him a larger-than-life figure in American pop-culture. His first television appearance took place on November 11, 1947 (an event that was recently named among the top 100 televised acts of the 20th century by Entertainment Weekly) and he immediately became a national celebrity at the same level of Lucille Ball and Bob Hope (who personally donated hundreds of chic robes for George’s collection) while changing the course of the industry forever. No longer was pro wrestling simply about the in-ring action, but George had created a new sense of theatrics and character performance that had not previously existed. Moreover, in a very real sense, it was Gorgeous George who single-handedly established television as a viable entertainment medium that could potentially reach millions of homes across the country (in fact, it is said that George was probably responsible for selling as many TV sets as Milton Berle).
In addition to his grandiose theatrics, Gorgeous George was an accomplished wrestler as well. While many may have considered him a mere gimmick wrestler, he was actually a very competent freestyle wrestler, having started learning the sport in amateur wrestling as a teenager, and he could handle himself quite well if it came to a legitimate contest. The great Lou Thesz, who would take this AWA title away from Wagner, and who was one of the best "legit" wrestlers ever in professional wrestling, displayed some disdain for the gimmick wrestlers. Nevertheless, he admitted that Wagner "could wrestle pretty well," but added that, "he [Wagner] could never draw a fan until he became Gorgeous George."
On March 26, 1947, he defeated Enrique Torres to capture the Los Angeles Heavyweight Championship. Then on February 22, 1949, George was booked as the feature attraction at New York’s Madison Square Garden in what would be pro wrestling’s first return to the building in 12 years. By the 1950’s, Gorgeous George’s starpower was so huge that he was able to command 50% of the gate for his performances, which allowed him to earn over $100,000 a year, thus making him the highest paid athlete in the world. Moreover, on May 26, 1950, Gorgeous George defeated Don Eagle to claim the AWA (Boston) World Heavyweight Championship, which he held for several months. During this reign he was beaten by the National Wrestling Alliance World Champion Lou Thesz in a highly-publicized bout in Chicago. However, perhaps Gorgeous George’s most famous match was against his longtime rival Whipper Billy Watson on March 12, 1959, in which a beaten George had his treasured golden locks shaved bald before 20,000 delighted fans at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens and millions more on national television.
In one of his final matches, Gorgeous George later faced off against (and lost to) an up-and-coming Bruno Sammartino, though he would lose his precious hair again when he was defeated by the Destroyer in a hair vs. mask match at the Olympic Auditorium on November 7, 1962. This would ultimately be his last match, as advanced age and extended alcohol abuse had taken their toll on his body; and his doctors ordered him to quit wrestling.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Last edited by CaptainCrunch; 02-26-2009 at 05:48 PM.
With their 4th pick, Team Shooting Star Press selects Chris Benoit in the 1980-1990 category.
Vince McMahon: "That wrestler never existed"
WWE Heavy Weight Champions:
Goldberg - Sep 21/03 to Dec 14/03
Triple H - Dec 14/03 to Mar 14/04 No One, The Title Was On Vacation - Mar 14/04 to Aug 15/04
Randy Orton - Aug 15/04 to Sep 12/04
Triple H - Sep 12/04 to Dec 06/04
Last edited by Maritime Q-Scout; 02-26-2009 at 02:47 PM.
I was actually planning to take him with my last pick, but realized all my tag team options were running out.
I was really shocked and saddened when I first heard the news, but I haven't stopped watching his matches or anything. Some people I know took it really hard and can't even get through a single 5-minute SmackDown! match, but it never really bothered me that way.
On the Benoit issue it's a tough one for me. What he did was disgusting, but after meeting people up here who knew him quite well and how important his family was, I think there may be merit to this idea of repeated concussions causing mental health issues. A scientist asked for and received his brain to examine it.
Still no excuse for murdering his family, but if there can be any good coming out of a situation like that, then perhaps it can be for directing some attention to the long term effects of repeated head injuries.
__________________
"OOOOOOHHHHHHH those Russians" - Boney M
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping…
With my fourth pick in the draft, I am proud to select in the 1990’s category – Raven
“Another major ECW feud was with Sandman. Raven "brainwashed" Sandman's real-life son to join his cult-like following and turned him against his father. Raven got at Sandman by having his son deny his relationship with his father and perform Raven's taunt to slowly eat away at Sandman's psyche. This led to many bloody matches, culminating in an October 1996 match in which Sandman's son interfered to help his father. After the match, the two embraced, but Raven came from behind with a Kendo Stick, and brutalized Sandman. Raven's lackeys, Steven Richards and the Blue Meanie, pulled out a giant wooden cross from under the ring, tied Sandman down to it, and lifted it up and "crucified" him.[2] At the same event, Kurt Angle was present as a special guest (he was considering changing pro from amateur wrestling) and the offensive angle caused him to leave and threaten a lawsuit if his name appeared on the same episode as the "crucifixion".[3] Levy came out and gave a questionable apology for his actions. To this day, Levy claims that the angle was not an insult to Jesus Christ, but an insult to The Sandman, by using religious iconography to convey an artistic standpoint. In a shoot interview for the Forever Hardcore documentary, Levy mentioned that his own religion came into question over the incident, with many ECW wrestlers believing that Levy (who, along with then-ECW owners Paul Heyman and Tod Gordon, is Jewish) deliberately used the crucifixion as an anti-Christian statement. Levy says he was coerced into the apology by Heyman, who feared a backlash, and was angrily confronted by wrestlers who questioned why Raven did not crucify Sandman on a "Jewish Star", to which Raven replied that it would not have any philosophical impact on the crowd whatsoever, and that they would then have to roll The Sandman out of the arena. The footage of the "crucifixion" was never used by ECW and was not publicly seen until it appeared on the WWE DVDThe Rise and Fall of ECW.
Raven dominated ECW throughout 1995-1996 and enjoyed two reigns as ECW World Heavyweight Champion. His group of followers became known as the Raven's Nest. During his first stint in ECW, Raven successfully defended the ECW World Heavyweight Title against famous veterans Terry Gordy and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, among others. He gave Dr. Death his first loss in a singles match in the U.S. in many years. His feud with Tommy Dreamer began at his debut and after a short pause while Raven feuded with Sandman, it lasted for the next two years, before Dreamer finally defeated him at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 7, 1997 in a "Loser Leaves ECW" match. Raven then moved on to World Championship Wrestling.”
2001-2009 à The Phenomenal AJ Styles
1991-2000 à Raven
1980-1990 à Bam Bam Bigelow
Pre-80's à The Dynamite Kid
Tag Team
Stable
Women's
Personality
Storyline
Title Belt
PPV
Match
With our 4th Round pick, The Second City Saints select:
As our Personality
Ed Whalen
While at his CHCT job, Stu Hart asked Whalen to work for him on his new wrestling show. Whalen gained worldwide fame for being the ringside announcer of the wildly popular Stampede Wrestling from 1958 to 1983 (plus its later revival from 1985 to 1989). The show popularized several Whalen catch phrases including "It's going to be a ring-a-ding-dong dandy!" and his trademark sign-off, "In the meantime and in-between time."
With our 5th Round pick, The Second City Saints select:
In the 80-90's catagory:
Keiji Mutoh
A.K.A
The Great Muta
Keiji Mutoh (武藤 敬司 ,Mutōh Keiji?, born December 23, 1962) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler who first gained international fame in the National Wrestling Alliance. He is mostly known for his work as The Great Muta in New Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1990s, but he has also competed in America, Puerto Rico, and Taiwan. He is the current President of All Japan Pro Wrestling, as well as being a full-time wrestler for the promotion since 2002. Mutoh is widely regarded as one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers of all-time, both in Japan and America. He is currently the reigning AJPW Triple Crown Champion.
Mutoh is credited as one of the first Japanese wrestlers to achieve a fan base outside of his native Japan in the United States. The Great Muta gimmick is one of the most influential gimmicks in puroresu, having been emulated by many wrestlers including Satoshi Kojima (The Great Koji), Kazushi Miyamoto (The Great Kazushi) and Atsushi Onita (The Great Nita). In addition, countless independent wrestlers have paid tribute to Muta through emulation and imitation.
Mutoh is one of two (the other being Shinya Hashimoto) wrestlers to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the AJPW Triple Crown Championship and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He is also infamous for taking part in what is generally considered to be the bloodiest match of all time against Hiroshi Hase, leading to the creation of the "Muta Scale."[1]
