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Luckiest/Unluckiest Wrestlers Ever

8K views 66 replies 52 participants last post by  RockStarDud 
#1 · (Edited)
So, for this week's podcast, we're looking to discuss various wrestlers that you think may have been the luckiest or unluckiest in wrestling history, and would like your nominations for these distinctions and why you feel they're good candidates. Obviously it's a career focused discussion (so not wanting to incorporate deaths into this), so whether it's people who you think got a bum deal by bad circumstances repeatedly, or somebody in the right place and time and had a far better career than their skills deserved, we'd like to hear your suggestions on both.

As always, the best suggestions will be read on the show and you'll be credited accordingly, so what do you think?

EDIT - The show discussing your nominations for Luckiest and Unluckiest Wrestlers Ever is now online and available to listen to at the following link: http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/play/peru2y/SCGRadio53-TheLuckiestandUnluckiestWrestlersEver.mp3
 
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#20 ·
If the magnitude counts, I'd say Bret Hart is near the top of being unlucky.

Born into a wrestling dynasty, training himself to be one of the best wrestlers of his time, connecting with fans big time; then not jumping ship to WCW when he had the chance, instead becoming champion in the worst era of WWF, needing to follow up Hulk Hogan, who screwed him over in the torch passing. Then he had incredible matches in the worst circumstances, helped keeping the company afloat, then was told by McMahon he couldn't afford his new contract. Getting screwed out of his title in favor of the biggest crybaby in history. Jumped ship to WCW just as they began to screw up left and right, getting cut off by Hogan again, was put in ridiculous midcard matches against guys like Evan Karagias even though he was at the time arguably the best of the "big names". Tragically lost his brother, making his interest in wrestling even less. And just when he won the WCW title finally, for the first time, shortly thereafter he received a career ending injury in a match against a guy whom he wanted to face for a long time. Afterwards, his contract was unceremoniously terminated. And one of the best wrestlers of all time went out with nary someone caring.
 
#19 · (Edited)
So, for this week's podcast, we're looking to discuss various wrestlers that you think may have been the luckiest or unluckiest in wrestling history, and would like your nominations for these distinctions and why you feel they're good candidates. Obviously it's a career focused discussion (so not wanting to incorporate deaths into this), so whether it's people who you think got a bum deal by bad circumstances repeatedly, or somebody in the right place and time and had a far better career than their skills deserved, we'd like to hear your suggestions on both.

As always, the best suggestions will be read on the show and you'll be credited accordingly, so what do you think?
Well, I'd say the unluckiest is your namesake, ironically enough.

Luckiest, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. These two chumps wouldn't have ever been looked twice at if it wasn't for their faces and who their father was, but instead they get treated like the fucking Pope.
 
#21 ·
Well, I'd say the unluckiest is your namesake, ironically enough.

Luckiest, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. These two chumps wouldn't have ever been looked twice at if it wasn't for their faces and who their father was, but instead they get treated like the fucking Pope.


WWE don't care about his heritage. They wouldn't even take on David Flair and think about the hard on Vince and HHH have for Ric.
 
#52 ·
Unluckiest: The Von Erich Family, they are still very big in Texas for WCCW and really nurturing and breeding inside the family when it came to working their asses off to put on a good show from the past generation through the next generation. But, tragedy struck and the family really hasn't been the same.
 
#3 ·
Interesting topic!

Luckiest, I can't really think of a guy. Some had lucky circumstances, getting a push due to an injury, etc. But who more than others?

Unluckiest, Brian Pillman comes to mind. His tag team with Steve Austin is broken up for little reason when they're hitting their stride, leaving him to suffer in the midcard doing nothing. Then in 1996, when he's the talk of the wrestling business and signs with the WWF, he wrecks and shatters his ankle. Just bad luck.

Magnum T.A. as well, but maybe there are guys who had re-occuring bad luck?
 
#29 ·
Luckiest wrestler ever is Glenn Jacobs. Can you think of any scenario where he could be a 20 year employee for the WWF if Undertaker didn't need a storyline brother? Before that he's Dr. Isaac Yankem and Fake Diesel. You're talking about guy who has never had a 4 star match in 20 years but he's a sure fire Hall of Famer. Don't get me wrong he's by no means untalented and I'm not criticizing him per se he's just lucky someone in 97 thought of the Kane character and he was the nearest big man that could pull it off.
 
#33 ·
I think Shawn Michaels has been kinda lucky, specially with all the things he's done that other talents would have been fired with on the spot (Wrestlemania 10 incident for example) .... I don't take away Shawn's talent by any means, dude was very talented but he has been very lucky throughout his career for sure.

I would say Kevin Nash also, as I do feel that he's a guy who was around the right people at the right time, I do wonder how much longevity he would have had, had he not been around these guys over the years.

Unlucky, Wade Barrett .... everytime he gets some momentum or a title, he ends up with an unfortunate injury, Barrett doesn't strike me as being injury prone but I do feel he's been a little unlucky with things.

There are talents that could have had more, Tito Santana for example with the Matador gimmick and the way he was used was a little unlucky towards the early - mid 90's era and Bret to a degree too was probably held back, even though he achieved a lot I think this was because his work was undeniable.

Terry Taylor was unlucky too with the Red Rooster gimmick, as he was a pretty decent wrestler.
 
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#34 ·
Luckiest has to be HHH.

Ever since the Kliq saw Terra Ryzin jerking the curtain on WCW Saturday Night and decided that he would be the perfect guy to carry their bags around he's had a string of lucky breaks. The fact that he was friends with HBK, Diesel and Razor lead to him being able to sit in on some creative meetings and let his voice be heard. Once he had Vince's ear it was all up-hill from there. This lead to him meeting and marrying the boss's daughter and fast forward to 2015 and you have a guy who can write and re-write his own future and history within the company. His favorite hobby seems to be making himself out to be a much bigger deal then he ever actually was. He's relentless with spreading the fairy-tale that he was on the same level as a Hogan, Austin, or Rock. He's able to spread this message and stay in a prominent on-screen role simply due to the fact that he was lucky enough to marry a McMahon.
 
#37 ·
Lucky:

Brutus Beefcake. If you're being generous he was an okay worker, but this guy got to main event PPV's and have a decent career making good money in both WWE and WCW because he was Hogan's friend. I have no issue with wrestlers putting in a good word for the friends like Bret Hart or the Kliq would do, but at least make sure they are talented like Owen or Shawn Michaels were.

Unlucky:

Magnum TA. From what I've heard he was essentially going to be the NWA's Hulk Hogan and his carr accident changed all that.

Daniel Bryan. Forced WWE to change their plans and go with him and he got injured shortly thereafter. Made his return and got injured again. 2 serious long term injuries after finally getting the shot he deserved and because of that you can't really blame the WWE if they don't make a commitment to use him as a top guy when he returns.
 
#38 ·
Most of the AE era main eventers were lucky that good ol' Ted Turner signed the checks with which Bischoff hired all the big names in the busines : Hogan, Savage, Luger and even Bret Hart.

Keep it in mind if it wasn't for Turner having a hard on for "rasslin" there would be no Stone Cold push which would have meant:

* No Mr Mahon character
* No Corporation angle
* No The Rock push
* No Mankind push
* No Triple H push

What I'm tryin to say is WWF got lucky that Turner signed the checks without realizing/caring he was throwing the money down the toilet.
 
#41 · (Edited)
I'm going to nominate Batista for luckiest. Considering Mark Jindrak was going to be the groups enforcer for Evolution before Batista was given the role but Jindrak was kicked out at the last minute for being immature. Being a part of Evolution helped Batista way more than it helped Orton. The group was able to hide his weaknesses and get him over as 'the animal' until he matured into a decent in ring performer. His main event push was completely based on the fans eagerness to see him turn on HHH and he was never again as over as he was during that initial run
 
#46 · (Edited)
screw it. I usually try and think of a less obvious answer, but i just can't. It's too easy

Luckiest Wrestler: Triple H


Paul Levesque is by far the luckiest guy in wrestling history and as I've said a few times on this thread already.....it's not even close. Here's a guy that unquestionably had plenty of potential. I can't argue with the fact that he certainly looked like the kind of guy that was going to have a solid wrestling career ahead of him, but come on, no one in their dreams could have imagined that 20 years later, Paul Levesque, the snobby blueblood, would not only end up being a constant top main eventer with multiple heavyweight title reigns, but he would actually end up possibly OWNING THE COMPANY TOO! And lets be honest, he didn't get to the top of mountain with skill as a legendary performer, no no no, he got to where he is now because of......luck. Hey, maybe I shouldn't downplay the skill involved of befriending the best lockerroom politicker in history in Shawn Michaels, or the skill involved of making the daughter of Vince McMahon fall in love with you, but fuck it, lets call it what it is....luck. The guy was drowning in the beginning of his career, and although he wasn't terrible, it wasn't until he got involved with the kliq did his career finally start to go in the right direction. It enabled him to get more high profiled matches, and then to make things even sweeter, as soon as the guy is taken to the top with Shawn and DX... SHAWN QUITS, thereby leaving Triple H the entire stable to himself, furthering his career even more. NOW THATS LUCK. If Shawn doesn't quit, Triple H's career definitely doesn't take off as fast as it did. AND it doesn't stop there. At this point, he was going to have a solid career ahead of him, somewhere along the Mr Perfect, Randy Orton status of solid high-mid card wrestlers, but no no no...he ends up marrying Stephanie McMahond. And what does this allow? Over a decade of Triple H positioning himself as the "man" of the company, by giving himself a brutal early 00's championship reign of terror, and over a dozen other title reigns, where plenty of other more deserving guys get left in the dust. Would he have gotten all of this without marrying Steph? No chance. We all KNOW the guy doesn't have top 10 skills, and through declining tv ratings/ppv buyrates, the higher ups would have moved onto other more deserving talents.

The timeline can go on and on, and in the end, the guy is still (at least in his mind) the face of the company, and regardless of the future, he's a top 3 guy when it comes to actually running the current company. Amazing stuff. Poor chyna.

LUCKY SON OF A BITCH.
 
#50 · (Edited)
why is that luck? the fact stephanie married him, and not some other motherfucker, he didnt win that in a lotttery. he must be a very cool guy. also that the clique ran with him from day one, thats not everyones previlege. he was a popular and powerful motherfucker backstage, if that furthers your career, it has nothing to do with luck, its a skill
 
#60 ·
Well Mike, your timing for that question is superb :)

Just want to thank everybody for their suggestions, we got to read a lot of them on the show, which is now available to listen to at the following link:

http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/play/peru2y/SCGRadio53-TheLuckiestandUnluckiestWrestlersEver.mp3

Join the panel as we talk the luckiest and unluckiest wrestlers in the history of the business, discussing the careers of Kevin Nash, Daniel Bryan, Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Ahmed Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Sid, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Brian Pillman, Ted DiBiase, Brutus Beefcake, Jake Roberts, and yes, Triple H, as well as many, many more! A really fun show this week as break down the chance elements that led many to their destinations, check it out and let us know what you think!
 
#62 · (Edited)
Listening now, 50 mins in so far, you should do a podcast on these here :

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/class...-reigns-various-wwe-titles-but-never-did.html

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/general-wwe/1772841-lost-art-managers-wwe.html

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/class...ed-face-heel-do-you-prefer-your-thoughts.html

They seemed to have created great discussions and I think would go down well on your podcast, along with the fact you guys spread out to different audiences that contribute to your podcast, I think it would be good :)

Oh yeah ... and you need to play this track within it also ha :D




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Edit : You just mentioned about RVD being unlucky when he was caught with the weed ... he talks about it here and he thinks it was great timing lol




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Edit : Just listened to the rest of the podcast guys, was really good, I know you didn't go into it much but Luger's situation with Flair is a bit of a misconception, if you fancy a listen here :

 
#2 ·
Hmmm. I think big guys were pretty lucky to get given spots they were due to Vince's big guy fetish.

Kevin Nash was pretty lucky to get handed the title so quick in his run in WWF. Even though his run was basically a disaster it put him on the map and gave him bargaining power to make a ton of money and become a big star. Not saying the guy isn't talented because he had plenty of upside, but if you look at his beginnings I think he was pretty lucky.

Ditto for Sid.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I disagree w/ that. Andre was limber and mobile in his younger days, when he was under 400 lbs. It wasn't til the 80s hit and his weight ballooned that he became the slow, plodding giant that most are familiar with.


As for my vote for luckiest, I'll have to go with HHH. He went from "Terra Ryzing" to boning Stephanie McMahon on a nightly basis and becoming the head honcho in-waiting for the largest wrestling company in the world. Tough to beat that.
 
#13 · (Edited)
There's only one answer for this. This wrestler had built a huge heel following as a member of the Skyscrapers in WCW in 1989, only to see his career sidetracked by a punctured lung in November of that year. After coming back as a member of the Four Horsemen, in April 1991 he was offered a substantial raise to his contract and a guaranteed world title run, and turned it down to join the World Wrestling Federation as their next Hulk Hogan. Yet immediately after signing, the steroid scandal broke. And shortly thereafter Ric Flair joined the WWF, making his franchise player run less certain. Nonetheless this man was reported by Alex Marvez in September 1991 to be scheduled to win the WWF World Title at This Tuesday in Texas by defeating the Undertaker....only to suffer a torn triceps weeks later. By the time he would return Vince McMahon had changed course and booked Ric Flair to win the title, and turned him heel. There was to be no franchise face run, and he was replaced by a returning Ultimate Warrior.

When you think about bad timing and injuries during his initial WWF run and what could have otherwise transpired, Sid Vicious has to be considered the most unlucky wrestler ever.
 
#14 ·
Hmmm. Anyone who jumped ship from WCW to WWE before it went full implode was lucky as heck. But it was the flip for those who jumped to WCW

Guys like Goldberg and Ultimate Warrior were lucky to be big physical roided specimens. Both bleh on the Mic and lacking in ring skills, forcing the bosses to keep their matches short and let them appear invincible by squashing guys.

Warrior in particular was a horrid wrestler and not entertaining to most over the age of 10.
 
#17 ·
lucky-velvet sky
 
#23 ·
In terms of luckiest that I haven't seen mentioned, I would say JBL has to be in the conversation. He was an afterthought aging tag team wrestler when WWE lost many stars to injury, retirement, and simply doing other stuff. He did some great character work but he was never great in the ring. Not long after becoming JBL, he was world champion getting to face guys like Eddie Guerrero and the Undertaker. Most guys at that age and with that history do not get a push of that magnitude.

No one would question Shawn Michaels as a performer but I would argue he's lucky that Vince never fired/or disciplined him further for his many displays lacking professionalism. Even his second run with the company may not have happened if HBK wasn't so close with Triple H and they were willing to give him a second chance.

There's other minor guys like Jack Swagger (gifted the MITB when unproven and still pushed despite drug issues), Mabel/Viscera (never a good worker or promo but won the King of the Ring and main-evented Summerslam), Sheamus (constant push despite being an uninteresting character), and in spite of all the hard work he does you have to at least mention Cena. The guy has been able to maintain his spot for such a long time in an industry that usually is replacing the top guy constantly. You can't tell me that a bunch of guys over the years wouldn't put in the same work as Cena if they were given the breaks he has gotten.

As far as unlucky, Wade Barrett immediately spring to mind. He's gotten hurt several times when he's seemed on the borderline of a push. He didn't have the political power to compete with Cena during the Nexus angle, particularly at Summerslam when Edge and Jericho were vouching for him to go over instead of Cena. Barrett got red hot with the Bad News character then they took away the best parts of that character because the crowd loved it. Barrett also looked like he was going to get an Undertaker Wrestlemania match when Nexus helped Kane bury Taker alive and he should have faced Jericho at Wrestlemania 29 only for Barrett to lose to Miz on the pre-show and Jericho to face Fandango.

Damien Sandow also could be mentioned here. His MITB win came too soon in his career but they put a stop to his red-hot feud with Cody Rhodes (who you could also nominate for unluckiest based on WWE killing his momentum several times) and had him job out to Cena. The match with Cena was a strong performance and they had no plans for Sandow after that. He's continued being entertaining and getting stuck with crap gimmicks.

Other guys who were unlucky: Dolph Ziggler (injuries, switch to one world title, stop and start pushes), Mr. Perfect (crowded scene when he was at his peak), and Tazz (injuries, crowded scene, company giving up on him pretty quick).

Owen Hart, Droz, and D'Lo Brown are all excellent calls, too.
 
#24 · (Edited)
As unlikely as it may sound to most on this list, Bruno Sammartino's career blossomed because of good luck more than anything else.

Sammartino's debut was in the late 1950s. He was basically a "strongman" with mediocre wrestling skills. Toots Mondt even tried to give him a push by pairing him with the great Antonino Rocca. This move was only moderately successful and Sammartino remained an upper mid-carder. He had mostly ethnic appeal to the large Italian communities of some of the big cities such as NYC and Pittsburgh in the Capitol Wrestling Northeast territory of the NWA.

Sammartino was alway full of himself and had his problems with authority. If my memory hasn't failed me, he was suspended for a time by the NWA. It is very likey that Bruno would have remained an upper mid-carder if not for the untimely illness of the WWWF's first World Champion - Nature Boy Buddy Rogers.

McMahon, Sr. and Mondt tried to cover up Rogers' cardiac diagnosis, but were painfully aware that the news was going to get out sooner or later. They made a decision to make an emergency hand-off of the title at the next MSG show on May 17, 1963. They would have much rather had a two out of three fall bloodbath, but had to settle for a quick one fall match that lasted under a minute so as not to risk Rogers getting a heart attack in the ring.

The aging Rocca was passed over for Sammartino who was put over by Rogers on that fateful night in MSG. Buddy Rogers' bad luck with his health turned out to be the luckiest break in the career of Bruno Sammartino!

- Mike
 
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