early eighties WWF guys

[Deleted member 429137]

Did not know this forum was a thing, but the timing is great. I've been putting on old Wrestlemanias as background noise when I work out and there are so many people I don't know anything about and barely remember.

Does anyone have any odd facts, funny stories or insights about how high these guys rose in the business?

Big John Studd

Billy Haynes

Butch Reed

Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Hillbilly Jim

The Killer Bees

Uncle Elmer

Don Muraco

Between all the midget fighting, justified wife beating, queer hating, foreign bashing, Murica lovin' shenanigans I'm ten years old again.

But I'm also wondering who these guys are because I also barely remember them from when I was a kid. (Except for Hacksaw, who was really popular when I was a kid, but I'm wondering who decided, "Let's give this idiot a board and have him rant about how great America is with his tongue hanging out.")

Also I remember hearing about how Hogan was a shitty wrestler. Looking at this as and adult that doesn't make any sense to me. You pretend to fight and act all emotional as you do it so the audience cheers and/or boos. It seems like he did it just fine.

 

[El Moose]

Hacksaw carrying the 2x4 came from Walking Tall
Butch Reed evidently never stayed in a hotel room without pissing on the floor
Killer Bees: Jim Brunzell was a great athlete, great high-jumper, Brian Blair was a no good jabroni (he was also a major part of the funniest story in Hogan's book)

 

[BotchMan]

Hacksaw got caught railing coke in a car with Roddy Piper and they both got arrested.
Billy Jack Haynes has a bunch of shoot (real life) interviews about conspiracy theories how Chris Benoit died.


In regards to Hogan, there are differences between wrestler and worker. Being a good worker (having entertaining matches by what moves you do and when) does not make one a good wrestler.
Wrestlers need to be good at these things in order to be stars
1. Charisma- which is mainly done by having good promos (mic skills) and how you present yourself (body language) and just being overall entertaining outside of wrestling matches in the ring.
2. Ring work/workrate- This is what people are talking about when they say Hogan was not a good "wrestler", if you were to watch a Hogan match with the sound off and not know anything about him, his matches would not be near as entertaining as they would be knowing his character and his stories. Hogan was so over (popular) with the crowds with his charisma and character and promos that it made everything he did in the ring matter that much more. Hogan would do simple things but everything he did mattered because he was the man and was marketed as the man. The same fans who clamoured for good workers at Wrestlemania 18 freaked out just as much as they would have as kids during this match.

 

[Deleted member 429137]

Hacksaw carrying the 2x4 came from Walking Tall
Butch Reed evidently never stayed in a hotel room without pissing on the floor

lol

Killer Bees: Jim Brunzell was a great athlete, great high-jumper, Brian Blair was a no good jabroni (he was also a major part of the funniest story in Hogan's book)

What's the story?

Hacksaw got caught railing coke in a car with Roddy Piper and they both got arrested.
Billy Jack Haynes has a bunch of shoot (real life) interviews about conspiracy theories how Chris Benoit died.


In regards to Hogan, there are differences between wrestler and worker. Being a good worker (having entertaining matches by what moves you do and when) does not make one a good wrestler.
Wrestlers need to be good at these things in order to be stars
1. Charisma- which is mainly done by having good promos (mic skills) and how you present yourself (body language) and just being overall entertaining outside of wrestling matches in the ring.
2. Ring work/workrate- This is what people are talking about when they say Hogan was not a good "wrestler", if you were to watch a Hogan match with the sound off and not know anything about him, his matches would not be near as entertaining as they would be knowing his character and his stories. Hogan was so over (popular) with the crowds with his charisma and character and promos that it made everything he did in the ring matter that much more. Hogan would do simple things but everything he did mattered because he was the man and was marketed as the man. The same fans who clamoured for good workers at Wrestlemania 18 freaked out just as much as they would have as kids during this match.

Thanks for the explanation. I've heard people say that WMIII's Macho Man vs. Ricky Steamboat was one of the greatest matches ever and, as I watched it, I have to admit I can see why people think it's exceptional in the way it played the crowd.

 

[Deleted member 429137]

Also I did not know Jake Roberts was so tall. I thought he was a totally average dude who just wrestled. He was actually a pretty big guy.

 

[BotchMan]

Thanks for the explanation. I've heard people say that WMIII's Macho Man vs. Ricky Steamboat was one of the greatest matches ever and, as I watched it, I have to admit I can see why people think it's exceptional in the way it played the crowd.

If you wanna see an example of great in-ring workers my favorite match to show this is Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 21. Kurt Angle was an Olympic gold medalist in 1996 in wrestling and became one of the greatest workers of his era and Shawn Michaels is considered one of the best wrestlers of all time thanks to his combination of charisma and being a good worker.


Another one to showcase two of the best workers of all time is Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle. Many people consider Benoit the greatest worker (having good matches in the ring) of all time, and Angle was no slouch either. They had this match at Royal Rumble 2003.

 

[D.R.H.]

Brian Blair was one of our county commissioners for a while. Last I heard about him he got locked up for punching his kid...the kid was in his 20's I think so it wasn't that bad.

 

[davisbe]

Hacksaw got caught railing coke in a car with Roddy Piper and they both got arrested.

I thought that was Hacksaw and Iron Sheik? There was a big hoopla, since Hacksaw and Sheik were supposedly feuding, but got caught travelling together. Kayfabe and all that.

 

[faustian]

Did not know this forum was a thing, but the timing is great. I've been putting on old Wrestlemanias as background noise when I work out

lost

Anyways it was either Jim Brunzel or Brian Blair who completely shattered Brutus Beefcake's face in an irl parasailing accident

 

[liljoe]

Also I did not know Jake Roberts was so tall. I thought he was a totally average dude who just wrestled. He was actually a pretty big guy.

That's pretty much the only reason he was able to go far in the business. Tall and imposing but near zero muscular composition.

 

[Pittie Petey]

That's pretty much the only reason he was able to go far in the business. Tall and imposing but near zero muscular composition.

With all due respect this is one of the most ignorant responses eva
The only reason was his height?
Jake is one of the best promo men and ring psychologists in the history of pro rasslin and thats what got him to the top
You know just like those Muscle & Fitness all stars Dusty, Flair, Race, Bockwinkle, Foley, Funk etc

 

[El Moose]

What's the story?

Hogan had just started out in the Florida territory and Pat Patterson offered him a ride to the next town. So he's in the backseat while Patterson and Buddy Colt are up front, at some point Patterson turns around and says "This is your initiation kid, you've got to give both of us a blowjob" Hogan's freaking out and saying he can't do it so Patterson calmly tells him it's okay. When they arrived at the building Pat says to him "You failed your initiation, so when your match is over we're all going to fuck you in the ass"

So Hogan is wrestling Brian Blair in a what was supposed to be a five minute squash but Blair kept kicking out and the match went to a 20 minute draw. Hogan's exhausted and thinking he can't fight anyone off at this point so he starts crying on the way back to the locker room. When he heads through the doors all the other wrestlers are laughing. Patterson hands him a beer, gives him a hug and says something to the effect of "You're one of us now"

 

[faustian]

That's pretty much the only reason he was able to go far in the business. Tall and imposing but near zero muscular composition.

He also had the GOAT walkout music

 

[Jermei]

When Jake the Snake dropped the bell on Ricky Steamboat and then DDT'd him on the concrete I for real thought he killed him like uhhh, that was real.

 

[DSOTM]

I thought that was Hacksaw and Iron Sheik? There was a big hoopla, since Hacksaw and Sheik were supposedly feuding, but got caught travelling together. Kayfabe and all that.

yeah it was the Sheik. There is a wwe documentary that is on netflix where he talks about the incident. really decent documentary imo

 

[Shijima Claw]

That's pretty much the only reason he was able to go far in the business. Tall and imposing but near zero muscular composition.

Wow. Are you kidding?

 

[hot carl]

That's pretty much the only reason he was able to go far in the business. Tall and imposing but near zero muscular composition.

i respectfully disagree.

jake was a master of ring psychology. his cadence, tempo, lexicon, and everything about his mannerism and delivery were bone chilling.

he was a tall dude, but it is incredibly inaccurate to suggest that the only thing he had going for him was his height.

 

[the muntjac]

I met Jake Roberts last year, and when I sat next to him to get a picture, he whispered to me, "Just don't grab my ass." Funny guy, and he seemed to be in good spirits considering everything he's gone through.

As for a story with Hacksaw, here's Iron Sheik telling a story of them getting arrested before a show.

 

[AWESOMEACE]

With all due respect this is one of the most ignorant responses eva
The only reason was his height?
Jake is one of the best promo men and ring psychologists in the history of pro rasslin and thats what got him to the top
You know just like those Muscle & Fitness all stars Dusty, Flair, Race, Bockwinkle, Foley, Funk etc

answered for better than I could have, I hope your ready for the influx of the "new type of poster" to the rasslin discussion.

 

[Deleted member 429137]

lost

You're limiting your gains if you're not hulking out on your big 3.