Was listening to the Bryan & Vinny show the other day and hearing them talk about the Yokozuna/Shawn Michaels match and got me thinking...who else was so technically sound they could take someone as green as grass (not saying Yoko was green, but he was handicapped in a way as shown by his immobility) and get a decent match out of them? Obviously Shawn and Bret/Owen, Eddie Guerrero and Krispen Wah, Dean malenko. And for this generation would be Cesaro, the proof in the pudding being they trusted him the most to make the tough enough guys look good. But who are some of the lesser known guys or underrated workers?
Dean is the finest technician I've ever seen. Everything was smooth as hell. He didn't only know 1,000 moves, he knew how to perform each and every one perfectly.
HBK and Kurt - the 2 best ever. It's not only about being technical, but also about putting on a show, and i think those 2 combine it better inside the ring than anyone else i've ever seen.
And I also agree with your other choice - HHH isn't far behind. He's very good, though he's also had a few duds.
My first response is no one, you can't have a 5 star, absolutely flawless match without two dance partners contributing. You just can't.
The only exception I can even think of for this is Savage vs Warrior WM 7. That's a 5-star match to me, and Warrior was an awful wrestler. Savage's finest hour in my opinion
If we take away the 5-star caveat, and just say which guys could take poor in ring performers and make them have good and even great matches? Ric Flair is #1 for this, hands down no questions asked. He made a living for 5-6 solid years traveling around and giving everyone the best match they ever had.
Outside of Flair, I'd say Benoit should definitely be put up there. How many guys had their best match ever with Benoit? At least 10 that I can think of.
Daniel Bryan for sure is the modern day version of Benoit in that regard.
Mick Foley is another and I haven't seen anyone mention him. He was one of the best ever at taking a limited opponent, working to their strengths, hiding their weaknesses, and delivering an exciting match.
Shawn Michaels I don't agree with. Who has he ever carried to a great match? Hell, Shawn has been the one being carried more often than he has carried someone else. Name me one limited or poor in ring performer who Shawn carried to a great match. Don't say Diesel, because in the only great match they had, at IYH: GFBE Diesel worked his ass off and wasn't carried at all. Don't say Sid because none of his matches with Sid are even good, let alone great.
Shawn Michaels I don't agree with. Who has he ever carried to a great match? Hell, Shawn has been the one being carried more often than he has carried someone else. Name me one limited or poor in ring performer who Shawn carried to a great match. Don't say Diesel, because in the only great match they had, at IYH: GFBE Diesel worked his ass off and wasn't carried at all. Don't say Sid because none of his matches with Sid are even good, let alone great.
Fair enough but during his tag team days, he worked against some really limited wrestlers. Also when he returned in 02, he carried Hogan to a decent match, made Vince McMahon look like a million bucks, and am sure there would be a couple of other instances but I can't recall em off the top of my head.
The match against Hogan and Vince weren't necessarily 5 star matches but they could have been a lot worse.
Hart, Rollins, Mr. Perfect, Flair during NWA and WCW, AJ Styles, Eddie, Malenko, Punk, Aries, Benoit, Pillman.
The list goes on, also Devitt, Bryan, Cabana, Richards and Edwards. Gonna add Michaels, Ambrose, and Angle.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Wrestling Forum
23.4M posts
266.5K members
Since 2002
A forum community dedicated to all Wrestling enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about WWE, AEW, Ring of Honor, Impact and all forms of professional and amateur wrestling.